Jess meets his nonna
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls does not belong to me.
Background: This is the back story to 'Jess talks to a little girl'. You don't have to have read that to understand this, though. They're pretty independent of each other. But as anyone who's read 'Jess talks to a little girl' will know, this isn't a Lit fic. This is just about Jess, and his relationship with Jimmy and that side of his family.
Chapter 1 – The call to adventure
Jess was living a comfortable life in New York and had been for a few years now. Though, maybe comfortable wasn't the word to describe it. He'd managed quite well in his courier job, when his car wasn't broken down. Because of this, he, and one of the other, more reliable guys he lived with, Rick, moved into a one room flat together. Well, to say one room was being a little unkind. It had a bathroom/laundry attached to the kitchen area. The pair managed to curtain off their single beds so that it didn't look quite so untidy if they ever had company over.
Jess was getting on quite well with Luke, who'd helped him move in. He'd moved in with Lorelai, so donated Jess' old bed and furniture to the pair.
While Jess was quite sure that he didn't want to be a courier for the rest of his life, he had no idea what he wanted to do. He was saving up for something. He guessed that it was a bigger apartment, but he wasn't quite sure. But he had savings. Only a few thousand, but it was on its way to getting bigger.
Jess was happy, though. For the first time in his life, he actually felt as though he had a family, and that he wasn't a screw-up. It was a lot better to feel that there was someone there he could go to if he needed help. Though, he hadn't needed help, and he probably wouldn't admit it even if he did. It was a good feeling, though.
For most of his life, Jess had worried that he'd end up being just like Jimmy, his father. When he was with Rory, by far the most meaningful relationship he'd ever had, he was worried that if anything more ever came of it. Worried that he'd run off when it came to be too much. So he ran early, when things were only just beginning to get to be too much. And he'd found Jimmy.
And now Jimmy was married, and he, and Sasha, and Lily were all happy and healthy. And Jess almost felt optimistic about his future, despite the fact that he had no idea what it was that he even wanted to do with his life.
Liz and TJ were happy as well. Jess' mother had visited last week to tell him that he'd be having a little brother or sister in six months. Keeping with tradition, she and TJ had kept quiet for the first trimester and Jess had been the first one she'd told, even before Luke. Of course, this announcement had come with a statement that he mustn't be jealous of the baby because she'll always have loved him longer.
Jess felt that no matter which side of the country he was on, he had family.
On Monday morning, Jess awoke as he always did – slowly. Mornings were never his best time of the day. Luckily, the apartment he and Rick had chosen was closer to courier headquarters than their last place. Jess was working nine-to-five now. Nice regular hours, no longer gallivanting off at any and all hours of the day and night to take express packages and documents. For this, he was grateful.
He stumbled out of bed, trying not to wake Rick as he was wont to do most mornings. Rick worked as a bartender over the other nine-to-five. The roommates barely saw one another anymore, unless Jess decided to come and visit, or if Rick took a day off. And of course when Jess woke Rick in the mornings, and sometimes when one of them was coming in and the other coming out.
Jess tripped over an errant shoe and swore, rubbing his ankle.
"Fuckin' shut up!" Rick swore.
"Sorry, sorry," Jess said. "Mornings aren't my best time either."
Rick covered his head with his pillow, leaving a single middle digit as his reply.
The Jake's Couriers uniform wasn't very formal. It was a monogrammed blue shirt that Jess usually wore over a wife beater with the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of plain beige slacks, and black leather shoes. They were also required to wear a name badge.
Today, Jess wasn't in the mood for a uniform, so he wore a black long-sleeved T-shirt and his pants. He's throw his short-sleeved monogrammed shirt over the top later. Jake didn't like it so much, but he'd never gotten around to rewriting the uniform regulations. Jess was the only one of his employees who dared, anyway. And Jess knew he'd get away with it because he was Jake's best worker. In the four years since he'd been working there, he'd never once taken a sick day. And he had about a month of leave stored up.
Jess had cereal and a glass of orange juice for breakfast, making him feel very grade school.
He managed to get to work early, which was never a good thing, but he couldn't stand the deserted stillness of the apartment when Rick wasn't awake. There'd always been chaos in the places where he'd lived. Liz would always be bringing home a guy, or throwing a raucous party. At Luke's, the diner sounds always made their way up the stairs and through the apartment door. And at Jimmy's there'd been Sasha, and Lily and between ten and five hundred dogs. At the old place there'd been five guys and now that it was just two in an apartment with very good soundproofing, Jess had been unnerved.
Jess didn't have an office of course, but there was a locker room (which Jess never used) and a lounge with a coffee machine, and bagels and doughnuts. It was empty when Jess got there, and far too quiet. He went in and turned on the stereo full blast. It was playing some poppy track that Jess normally wouldn't have tolerated, but the dial was screwed and it was the only station that had ever been received clearly in all the years Jess had known the radio.
Seconds later, Jess' boss, Jake wandered in, looking tired and grumpy. He was about forty years old, with thinning chestnut hair and complacent blue eyes. Jess might have considered him his friend if he wasn't his boss.
"Jesus, Mariano!" Jake grumbled. "What did I tell you about arriving at work early?"
Jess shrugged. "Rick was being bitchy again."
Jake stalked over and turned the radio off.
"You need to get that fixed, Jake."
Jake was a little odd. He insisted on being called Jake, but referred to all his employees by their surnames.
Jake shrugged. "Non-essential. Which reminds me, I need to talk to you."
Jess frowned. Non-essential. "What about?"
"This, Mariano," Jake indicated with his hands at the place. "What are you doing here?"
"I told you, Rick was being bitchy."
"Not here now," Jake attempted to clarify. "In general. What are you doing with your life?"
Jess scowled. Who was he to ask such a personal question? "I'm saving up."
"For what?"
"Whatever," Jess shrugged.
"You can't want nothing out of your life. This is a dead-end job, Jess." Jess was startled by the sound of his first name coming from his boss' mouth. "It will take you nowhere. You're as high up the ladder as it gets without being me. And you don't get to be me." He took a step sideways, getting out of the doorway. "I want you to leave, but I don't want to fire you."
"What?" Jess was confused. "You want me to quit?"
"I don't want you to quit," Jake stated. "You're my best employee. I want you to think about where you're going and where you want to be. You've been working here four years now. You're young. You've got your life ahead of you, and you deserve more than I can offer you." Jake caught Jess' wandering gaze. "Take the day off, Jess."
"What?" Jess repeated.
"You've been here four years, and you've never taken leave, never taken a single sick day. I know you don't get sick–"
"I get sick!" Jess protested. "On weekends, and public holidays."
"But you need to take a day for yourself sometimes. Do something you want to do."
"I do that on weekends and public holidays, too!" Jess was indignant.
"I'm not arguing with you, Jess. You're taking the day off. Hell, if you want to take the week off, it's fine. Paid leave. I won't even count today in your week."
"You're insane, do you know that?"
Jake gently steered him out the door.
"What am I supposed to do?"
Jake made no comment. Jess wasn't persisting as long as Jake thought he might have.
"You made me get up early and have Rick bitch at me for no reason."
They reached the front door and Jess pulled his unbuttoned shirt off.
"You made me wear the damn shirt, and the damn pants!"
"If you leave us, Mariano," Jake said, finally acknowledging Jess' protestations. "I'll change the uniform."
Jess gave Jake one final 'You're insane' look before heading to his car, crumpled shirt in hand.
Jess was clueless about what to do now. He took his car home. He didn't want to go into the silent apartment, though. He pulled 'A Tale of Two Cities' from his glove box and headed for the nearest public park. On the way, his cell phone rang. 'Jimmy' flashed across the screen.
"Yeah?" Jess answered.
"Uh, Jess?" Jimmy seemed hesitant. As though the person that sounded like Jess answering his cell phone wouldn't be his son.
"It's me," Jess sighed. A month ago he probably would have said "No, Jesus."
"Yeah." There was a long pause. Just as Jess was about to interrupt, Jimmy continued. "Your great-grandmother died last night."
Jess swallowed. He hadn't known that he had a great-grandmother. Well, of course he'd had one. He's just assumed she'd died a long time ago.
"Huh," he said, for lack of something better to say.
"Can't you at least fake concern?" Jimmy asked. He'd obviously been upset by the news.
"It's not my fault that I never knew her," Jess stated, angry at his father for being upset.
"I know that," Jimmy spat through the phone, upset. "I'm a screw-up. We've been through this."
Suddenly Jess felt guilty. "Sorry. You were a screw-up, but you're better now. You've got Sasha and Lily."
Jimmy's breathing on the other end seemed to slow. "Yeah. We'll be going to Italy," Jimmy said.
"Italy?" Jess queried. That seemed to have come out of nowhere. And he was almost upset that he hadn't been invited. He wouldn't go, but it would have been nice to be asked.
"Yes. For the funeral. We're leaving on Thursday and I want you to come."
Oh, so he was being invited. "Italy?"
"That's where nonna lived. Why do you think you've never met her?"
"I guess that makes sense." Just because Jimmy abandoned Jess didn't mean that the rest of his family had to. In fact, they probably would have discouraged it. Or so the naïve part of Jess liked to think in his younger days.
"Do you think you can come? You'll meet your nonna, my mama. Papa's been dead since before you were born, though."
"It's kind of short notice."
"That's what happens when people die. Please, Jess? I'll pay for everything."
"I'm going to have to talk to Rick and Jake." Thinking of Jake made Jess realise how serendipitous it all was. Jake forces him to take the day off, and his father rings to tell him that he should take a few weeks off.
"I haven't been around as much as I could have been in your life. And I'm trying to make it up to you. Isn't part of the reason why you came to California in the first place to find yourself, though me?"
Jimmy was right. It had been part of the reason. A small part, but a part nonetheless. But he'd just been screwed up in general back then.
"You know your mom's side of the family. Her, and Luke, and the whole town, basically. Damnit you're a Mariano. If nothing else, it would mean a lot to your nonna. She asks about you all the time, and I can never say anything. Then she-"
"Okay," Jess interrupted. "I'll talk it over with Rick."
"I'll pick you up on Thursday. Plane leaves at 11:50. I'll see you at about eight."
"Pick me up? Jimmy you live on the other side of the country."
"It's on the way," Jimmy interjected. "We'd be making a stopover anyway."
"I think I can get on a plane to Italy by myself."
"You sure?"
"Now isn't the time to be all paternal. I'm twenty-three years old. I'm a legal adult. I can look after myself."
"Okay," Jimmy succumbed. "I'll email you the details."
"That all?" Jess asked.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Okay, bye."
Jess hung up without waiting for his father to return his goodbye. He was going to Italy on Thursday.
Jess had always wanted to visit Italy. He'd read so many books about it, so many that were set there. But he'd never really thought he'd get to go. He guessed that that was what Jake meant. He didn't really want anything. He wondered where in Italy Jimmy's family lived. Sometimes he'd forget that Jimmy was Italian. And to think that he'd grown up there was such a foreign idea. Jimmy was about as American as you could get. The man owned a hot dog stand for goodness' sakes. When he thought about it, he guessed that that was how his mother came to fall in love with his father in the first place.
Jess made his way back to the apartment, 'A Tale of Two Cities' forgotten. He'd read it a hundred times before, anyway.
Selfishly, Jess woke Rick. After Rick was finished with his bitching and whining (who needed more than seven hours' sleep anyway?), Jess stated "I'm going to Italy on Thursday."
"What?"
"My great-grandmother died last night. I'm going to her funeral."
"In Italy?"
"Yes. In Italy."
"I didn't know you were Italian?"
"Half," Jess shrugged. "Where did you think the 'Mariano' came from?"
Rick shrugged. "I need ten hours' sleep to function."
"That's definitely true," Jess quipped.
"So, rent?" Rick said.
"I'll send it from Italy."
"Okay," Rick nodded in agreement.
"I'll call you when I get there. Give you my number."
"Well," Rick stretched. "I could go for some lunch."
He turned to Jess. "You in the mood for Italian?"
Jess threw a pillow at him. "Chances are I've got one of those stereotypical families where all the women are great cooks and will force me to eat more than I am physically capable of under the pretence that I'm too skinny."
"All right, all right," Rick surrendered, holding up his hands. "Indian it is."
This time, Jess merely glared. He hated the smell, and Rick loved it. Like Rory had.
Rory. He still thought about her sometimes, much as he hated to admit it. It would be the stupidest things, too. But she was his first love, and that doesn't just leave you. He hadn't seen her since asking her to run away with him, stupidly. He still didn't know if he actually had expected Rory to go with him. He was so used to being let down that he must have been setting himself up for a fall. The only sensible thing he'd done back then was reconciling with Luke… and getting his job. But that was really more about Jake.
Jess wondered if he could just go to Italy and just leave Jake a note. He didn't want to be present when Jake smugly told him "I told you so."
Rick finished getting changed and turned to Jess. "Ready?"
Jess nodded. They were going to have a bonding lunch. He noticed that he was fucked up. His best friend was a guy he had a two-minute conversation with twice a week. And they liked none of the same things. He knew that they'd end up having lunch at "Golden Palace" Chinese because it was the only food that they both tolerated. It was either that or the food court at the shopping mall.
Jess decided that it was probably best if the conversation he had with Jake was over the phone. He needed to pack so he wasn't going to come in. He woke early on Tuesday morning, just to tell Jake. He hoped he'd appreciate it.
"Hey," Jess said into the phone once Jake was on the line.
"I hope you're calling in sick," Jake stated.
Jess rolled his eyes. "Not quite. It pains me deeply to disappoint you so."
"So you're on your way in, then?" Jake seemed let down. "Calling in to tell me you'll be ten minutes late because you're stuck in traffic?"
"Sorry, not that either," Jess could almost hear Jake frowning.
"Well, you'll have to enlighten me, then."
"I won't be in for a few weeks."
"I knew it!" Jake celebrated Jess' finding of himself.
"My great-grandmother died," Jess burst Jake's bubble.
"Oh," Jake's tone was sombre. "I'm sorry." And he was.
"No, you're not. I didn't know her. I never met her."
"Then I'm even more sorry."
"I'm going to Italy for her funeral. Going to get to know my dad's side of the family better."
"That's good. So, yeah. When do you think you'll be back?"
"I've got no idea, actually," Jess replied. "Three weeks or so. Jimmy, my dad's booking flights. I haven't quite heard everything."
"Well, be sure to give me a ring when you know," Jake said. "And while you're gone, think about yourself, would you?"
Jess rolled his eyes again. "Yes sir, Mr Boss Man, sir."
"Have a good trip," Jake wished Jess well.
"Yeah. Don't let the company fall apart without me."
"Of course not," Jake said. "I was functioning before I met you, you know."
"Barely," Jess mock-scoffed.
Jake laughed. "Bye."
"I'll see you."
Jess hung up. That hadn't gone as bad as he thought it would. Now if only he could make it back from Italy in one piece.
A/N: So what'd you guys think? By the way, does anyone want to be my Italy beta? I've never been, but I had to write this story anyway. And you know, while I'm at it, anyone reliable (that just means more reliable than me, which isn't much) want to beta-beta? I can never be stuffed to read through stuff before I post it, even though I should. I actually think this chapter is a prime example of that.
And there's a mailing list for this and 'Jess talks to a little girl' if you want to be on it. Then again, author alerts are far more reliable.