Living in Sin
Disclaimer: If I owned them, I certainly wouldn't be wasting my time fantasizing about them:) I own nothing.
A/N: Well, it certainly has been a long time since we've seen an update on this one, eh? I needed a little time to think about what's coming next in Bend and Not Break (cough, read it, cough), and I got inspired to write some more of this story. Hope you like it, and hope you review!
Chapter 3
Lorelai looked up as Jess walked back into the diner. "Father Mariano." She said. "Did you deliver my daughter safely?"
Jess nodded at Lorelai and took the seat across from her. "I did. She's still holding grudges. I-I didn't really count on that."
Lorelai smiled and touched his hand. "You underestimated the Gilmore stubbornness. We're known for it."
Jess shrugged. "I guess I forgot."
Luke slid next to Lorelai and wrapped an arm around her. "She'll come around." He said to his nephew. "She needs a friend now. Hopefully she'll let it be you."
Jess shrugged. "I want to help her. But you can't help someone if they don't want to be helped. That's a lesson I've learned many times over at the church. Her daughter is beautiful."
Lorelai beamed with a pride that only grandparents can possess. "Yes, she certainly is."
Jess looked at Lorelai and asked, "Lorelai, what happened with her and her husband?"
Lorelai shrugged. "I really couldn't tell ya, padre. She won't talk about it with me. She didn't show up here until after the divorce was finalized. We didn't even know she and Logan were having problems. I talked to her once a week, and she never mentioned anything. She just showed up on my doorstep with Anna and told me that it just didn't work out with her and Logan. As much as I tried to get it out of her, she just refused to let me in."
Jess's face twisted in confusion. "That's so unlike her."
Lorelai laughed lightly. "Oh, you've been gone too long, padre. It's just like her. After she got married and moved away, she changed. She slipped into the world I ran from. We saw each other four times a year, if that. We just drifted apart. She became this whole other person. She turned into…"
"Don't say it." Luke said gently, brushing Lorelai's hair away from her face.
"She turned into my mother." Lorelai said sadly.
Jess frowned. "How could she change so much?"
"It's that world. It sucks you in. It's a black hole. Give it enough time and it'll engulf the sun." Lorelai said bitterly.
Luke kissed Lorelai and said, "Look how well you turned out though."
"That's not from living in that world, it's from running away." Lorelai retorted, kissing Luke again.
Jess smiled at the two. "It's great to see you two so happy together."
Luke smiled. "It's great to be this happy."
Jess stood. "Alright, this is getting far too sappy now."
"What do you do when you perform weddings?" Lorelai asked with an amused grin.
"I'll let you know after I perform one." Jess responded. "I'm going to go down to New Haven for a few hours and check in at the kitchen. Thanksgiving is always a big day there. I'll see you both at Rory's later?"
Luke nodded. "We'll be there."
Lorelai and Luke watched Jess leave, and then she turned to Luke. "Is it wrong that I like him so much now and hated him so much as a kid?"
Luke smiled and took his wife's hand. "No. I think it's because now there's no chance of him impregnating your daughter."
Lorelai smacked him lightly. "Not an image I wanted to relive. I had to deal with it far too much when they were younger."
"Well, to be fair, he's much easier to deal with now than he ever was when he was young. He's a kinder, better person now than he ever was then." Luke responded. "When he was a kid, he made it really difficult to see the good in him."
"You saw it." Lorelai said with a smile.
"Well, I've got the patience of a saint." Luke said, returning the smile. "I have to. Have you met my wife?"
Lorelai leaned into Luke and said, "I have, actually. Beautiful woman. Great sense of humor."
Luke leaned in the rest of the way and kissed Lorelai. They pulled away and he mumbled, "Love you."
Lorelai smiled. "I love you too."
Jess walked into the soup kitchen and looked around. All the tables were full of people who were eating the meal the volunteers had prepared and served. He walked over to one of the young ladies serving turkey. "Hello, Monica."
The 18-year-old girl looked up at Jess with a wide smile. "Hi, Father Mariano. Happy Thanksgiving!"
"You too, Monica. How have things been so far today?" Jess asked, looking around.
"Busy." She said with a sigh. "But good."
"Any problems?" He asked.
Monica shook her head. "No, not that I can think of. Oh, Scottie Morris was looking for you. I think he's still sitting in the back."
"Is he? Good." Jess said with a smile. He put a hand on Monica's arm and said, "I'll see you later. Take care." He walked over to the seating area, leaving the young lady to stare after him, a look of longing in her eyes.
Jess walked over to a table in the back where a 17-year-old boy was sitting, eating his meal silently and reading a book. Jess sat down across from him. "Hi, Scottie."
Scottie looked up with a small smile. "Hey, Father. Happy Thanksgiving."
"You too. How are you doing today?" Jess asked, folding his hands on the table in front of him and looking intently at the young man. Scottie had first came to the soup kitchen the year before. He'd run away from an abusive father and currently bounced around from shelter to shelter, sometimes being fortunate enough to crash with a friend for a while.
Scottie shrugged and closed his book. He stared down the cover to avoid looking Jess in the eye. "I kinda miss my mom and my sisters. Thanksgiving…well, it was always a big deal in my house."
Jess nodded and asked, "Did you try calling them again?"
Scottie nodded sadly. "Yeah. Twice. The first time my dad picked up and I hung up the phone. The second time, my mom answered. When I told her who it was, she got really quiet. Then she told me to stop calling and she hung up on me." There were tears welling up in the young man's eyes.
Jess frowned. It pained him to see the young man so hurt. He missed his family terribly, but he knew that he couldn't go back and live in that house. "My offer stands, Scottie. I'd be glad to go to Middletown and talk to them."
Scottie shook his head fervently. "No. Thank you, Father, but I just can't let you do that. This is how it has to be."
"You're a young man. You should be in school. You should be with your family." Jess said insistently.
Scottie sighed. "I know, and I miss going to school almost as much as I miss my family. I'll be 18 soon. Once I am, I'll be able to get a fulltime job. Once I do, I'll be able to get my own place. Once I'm settled, I can get a GED and then go to college. It'll take a long time, but I'll do what I have to." His eyes were sad as he said it.
Jess shook his head. "I know I can't change your mind. I've tried already. Where are you living right now?"
"The Harmony Shelter." Scottie responded.
Jess nodded. "That's a good place. If you need anything though, make sure you let me know."
"I will, Father. Right now though, how about a few words of inspiration?" Scottie asked, blinking back tears.
Jess thought for a moment before saying, "They that sow in tears shall reap joy."
Scottie smiled. "That's a good one. Mark?"
Jess shook his head. "Psalms."
"Yeah, never could get all those quotes straight. I'm more of a novel man."
Jess smiled. "Yeah." He pulled his Hemingway out of his back pocket. "I brought this for you."
Scottie took the book. "Old Man and the Sea. Sweet! Thank you so much, Father."
"You're welcome, Scottie." Jess said, standing up. "I have to go. Take care and stop by the church soon."
The young man nodded. "I will. Thanks."
"Where are the prettiest girls in the world?" Lorelai called as she entered Rory's house.
"Grandma!" Anna Catherine called as she ran to greet Lorelai. Lorelai met her granddaughter and lifted her up.
"Hey, Anna. Where's your mom?" Lorelai asked.
"In the kitchen on the phone." Anna Catherine responded, nuzzling into her grandmother's neck. "She's sad."
Lorelai frowned and made her way into the kitchen. Rory had her back to the doorway, and had the phone pressed to her ear.
"Logan, I'm not going to have this fight with you again. I'm sick of it." Her voice was wavering.
"No, Logan. Please, just stop. Fine. If you want to go through with this, we will. But you are not going to win this. I'm not going to let you destroy my life just because you destroyed the one we built together." Rory slammed the receiver down in its cradle and let out a low growl of frustration.
"Hey, babe." Lorelai said, walking the rest of the way into the kitchen.
Rory spun around quickly, wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh, hey mom."
Lorelai put Anna Catherine down and said, "Anna, why don't you go find a book and I can read it to you while we wait for Grandpa Luke? Pick a good one!"
Anna Catherine nodded eagerly. "OK!" She scurried out of the kitchen and Lorelai looked at her daughter. "Ready to talk yet?"
Rory shook her head. "Mom, there's nothing to talk about. Logan's talking about getting custody of Anna Catherine. It won't work though. It's no big deal."
"It most certainly is." Lorelai said. "Rory, why won't you let me in anymore?"
"Mom." Rory said, shaking her head. "There's nothing to talk about. It just didn't work out with me and Logan. This whole custody thing will work out fine. There's nothing to talk about."
Lorelai sighed. She was sick of trying to force her daughter to talk to her. At that moment, Anna Catherine ran back in the room with a book in her hands.
"Look, Grandma! The Lorax!" Anna Catherine said, holding up the book for Lorelai's approval.
Lorelai smiled and took the book from her granddaughter. "Good choice, sweetie. Let's go read in the living room until Grandpa Luke and Jess get here."
"Jess is Mama's old friend." Anna Catherine declared, as if it was new information. "He has pretty eyes and he was nice to me."
Lorelai smiled. "He's a very nice man." She said agreeably, taking her granddaughter's hand and leading her into the living room.
Rory sighed and braced herself against the counter, allowing herself to cry silently.
Jess knocked on the door to Rory's house tentatively. Anna Catherine opened the door and smiled widely. "Jess!" She exclaimed.
"Hi, Anna Catherine." Jess said with a smile as he entered the house. "How are you?"
"Good." She said. "Mama will be happy to see you. Friends make her happy and she's sad."
Jess raised his eyebrows. "She's sad? Where is she?"
"In the kitchen." Anna Catherine said, pointing.
Jess walked through the living room, waving hello at Lorelai. He walked through the door where Rory's daughter had been pointing. He peered in and saw Rory standing facing the window. He could hear her crying.
"Rory." He said simply as he entered the kitchen.
Rory's shoulders stiffened and the tears immediately stopped. She wiped furiously at her red eyes before turning around. "Hello, Jess."
"Are you OK?" He asked, walking towards her.
"I'm fine." Rory said, shaking her head. "Is Luke here yet?"
Jess shook his head. "I didn't see him. He had to close the diner though, sohe'll be here soon."
Rory nodded. "I'll put some coffee on." She practically ran over to the cupboard and pulled out a package of filters and a canister of coffee before darting over to the coffee pot.
"Rory…" Jess started again.
"Stop saying my name." Rory barked, slamming down the coffee can and finally turning to face him. A new set of tears had started falling freely from her face. "I just need to work this stuff out. I don't need anybody to help me. I don't need my mother and I really don't need you."
Jess sighed. "I know that I deserve that. But why'd you invite me here tonight, Rory? If you don't want me around you at all?"
Rory shrugged. "You're a part of my mom's life now. She likes you. You're friends. I'm returning a favor. I asked her to give you a chance when we were dating. Now I'm trying to give you a chance. But this whole 'I'm here to help' attitude is just as annoying and just as painful as your old 'I don't care about anything' attitude."
Jess felt himself getting angry. "Look, if you don't want to be around me, then don't be around me, OK? I want to help you, and I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you when I should've been, but don't do me any favors by 'giving me a chance' for your mom's benefit. If you're going to give me a chance, do it because you know that I've changed and because you want to." Jess took in a deep breath and said, "I'm outta here. This is the last time I put my feelings on the line for you. I'll stick to saving my congregation and leave you to save yourself."
Jess shook his head at her in disappointment and walked out of the house, waving goodbye to Lorelai as he walked through the living room.
