Jess awoke the next morning, refreshed and hoping he could find himself a new job. Rory was still there, asleep on his lap. She stirred.
"Good morning." Jess said stroking her hair. She sat up and rubbed her eyes a bit.
"Did we sleep here all night? Why didn't you wake me up so we could sleep in an actual bed?"
"You looked so peaceful, it wasn't a big deal. I lost feeling in my legs at about 3am, but you knowI just fell asleep again anyway so it was fine." He struggled to get up, his legs tingled. Rory was in the kitchen already, brewing some coffee. It was Saturday, and the third one of the month, her day off. "Why don't we go out a grab a cup of coffee instead of that instant junk? It'll be fun."
"Okay, let me just go take a shower quick and change." It was a windy early autumn day outside. She washed herself off and found a warm shirt and her coat and scarf and returned to the living room where Jesswho had showered in the time it took her to dresswas waiting for her. She kissed him and noticed that he tasted like donuts and the cigarette he smoked last night. She was used to that, it had become sort of endearing. They headed out the door, aware that they are going to pretend there aren't worries in their hearts.
They spent the day window shopping in downtown Manhattan. It had been a long time since they had spent a whole day together with no agenda. She squeezed his hand gently as they strolled. "Look at that necklace!" Rory exclaimed stopping to look at the window of a Jewelry store. "It's so pretty, isn't it?" Jess nodded. She glanced over at the engagement rings, just for a moment. She tried not to make it obvious but he saw it.
He made a promise to himself that moment that one of those rings would adorn her finger someday. He took another sip of his coffee and they continued shopping.
The two of them sat adjacent to each other on the couch. Rory, stylish glasses covering her eyes, was reading out of a large textbook. Jess was looking at the employment section of the paper. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for, or what he would find but the point was that he was looking. He noticed an ad from the paper itself. They were looking for a new film critic to write for their small section on mid-town Manhattan arts and culture. He circled it and kept scanning. Several other construction jobs came up, he circled those too.
"Find anything?" She looked up and smiled hopefully.
"Yeah, actually a few things." He replied.
"That's amazing. What did you find?" She became interested, moving closer to him.
"Just a few possibilities, I'd rather not jinx it by telling you." He put a kiss on her lips.
"Okay." She smiled.
Jess had been to the two construction sites and not been bold enough to go in. He hated construction. He really didn't want to do it. So now, he pulled open the door to the Manhattan Times and strode with a little confidence toward the first woman behind a desk he saw. She directed him to the Arts and Culture editor upstairs and two doors to the left and there he stood knocking now.
"Come in." A voice from inside the door replied.
"Hi. I'm Jess Mariano and I am here to inquire about the critic's position that you placed an ad for here." He pointed to the paper he held in his hand. With his other hand he shook the editors' hand. The nameplate which sat on the edge of her desk read plate read Marilyn Frost. She was a pretty woman, blonde, late 30's.
"Mariano, that's a nice name. Especially for someone who wants to be a critic. Really has a bit of jazz to it. What kind of experience do you have?" She asked sitting back down and taking a sip of her Dasani water.
"Well, none in the profession, really. I've watched movies and loved talking about them for most of my life though. I just moved here four months ago, I haven't had a real steady job and this one seems like something I'd love to do."
"Where did you move from?" She asked.
"Stars Hollow, Connecticut." He replied. "But I am originally from New York. I was just in Stars Hollow the last few years because of some family issues. I am back to stay now though."
"Wow, that's quite a story. I like you Jess. I'd like to give you the job. You seem like a young talent who has seen and experienced a lot for someone his age. You start tomorrow. You have basically a hole in the wall office down the hall, not much else. Pay is by review, 250-350 per review. Does that sound okay?"
"Yeah, sounds great." He tried his best again to express happiness. It was not a normal emotion for him. He shook her hand and left.
Rory yawned, finishing a book for her literature appreciation class. The nice thing about working at a bookstore was that she could just take them off the shelf and read them and not have to worry about the expense of buying all these books. There was no one in the store so she had been mumbling notes to herself and almost falling asleep. The last few nights had been long as she had been up studying for a few harder tests she had coming up.
Jess bolted through the door. "Rory, guess what?" He stopped in front of her raise platform counter.
"What?" She looked up beaming.
"I got a job. A job I like!" He smiled back.
"That's amazing!" She ran down off her platform and around to him in the front. He picked her up and swung her around. "What is it?" She asked as he put her down.
"Arts and Culture critic for the Manhattan Times"
"Wow. That's amazing Jess. Does that mean we get to see shows and movies for free all the time?"
"Maybe, I suppose, yeah." He kissed her.
"I'm so glad you found something you are gonna enjoy." She kissed him again. Maybe things are changing for us, Rory thought. Maybe, things will start to work out like they should. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" She asked getting very close to his face and looking straight into his eyes. He looked back, nodded and smiled. Then they kissed again. "Let's celebrate!" She added.
"Yeah," he replied. "Dinner at our favorite restaurant?"
"Gino's?" She asked.
"Yeah" he responded.
"Sounds marvelous Jess."
"I know, Rory." He smiled as she ran back up to her desk to collect her things. I'm so glad that I got this. Things are finally looking up, he thought. Maybe they will be the way they were supposed to be now. He smiled as it dawned on him just how happy he was now. He had a job, he was in New York and he had Rory. What could go wrong
now? Nothing, he decided.
