"An extra week?" Jess asked. "Rory, I have to get back to my life in California."
"Right, right. Sorry, that was stupid of me to ask that. And selfish too, just ignore that." She felt stupid, begging him to stay. He probably had a girlfriend. Or a wife. Or a child. "What do you mean by 'life in California?' Are you married or something?"
"What?" Jess said, laughing at her question. "This is me we're talking about here, not Dean."
"Oh. Well what did you mean by your 'life?'"
"I mean that I have a job and classes that I'm taking at a community college."
"Oh."
"Yeah…I've been taking some classes at Santa Monica City College."
"Oh, that's good."
"Yeah, I think what I'm doing is the same type of business program that your mom did."
She smiled at the thought of her mom's business classes. Not because of the graduation which she missed, but because of the fun she had with Jess in New York which caused her to be late and not attend the graduation.
"What's so funny?" Jess asked.
"I never told you this, but that day, during my junior year, when I went to see you in New York, remember?" He nodded. "Well that day, I missed my mom's graduation from the community college. I felt so bad."
"Somehow I feel responsible for that, especially since your mom already hated me at that point," he said.
"Why?"
"Well you came to see me, after all."
"Yeah, so what? It was my decision."
He could have gone on about how she came to see him in New York, because Luke had sent him there, because he had screwed up and gotten into a car accident. But he decided to just give it a rest. There was no use rekindling issues from the past that were mistakes in the first place.
"Anyway…it just reminded me of that, with the talk of community colleges and all. Where's Luke today?"
"Didn't your mom tell you? They decided to go to the Bed, Bath, and Beyond in Hartford. They're redecorating the house, your house, as a matter of fact."
"Oh. I just wondered, 'cause I didn't see him here in the diner, and he's usually always here."
"Yeah, Caesar's in charge today. Didn't your mom tell you where she was going today?"
"I haven't talked to her in eight days," Rory said, as she took a huge gulp of her coffee.
"You're kidding."
"No, I'm not. I told you. I live with my grandparents. I barely see my mom anymore."
"It's funny, I've talked to my mom more recently than you have talked to yours."
"Well Jess, you can't compare our situations. I mean, you had a funeral to initiate communication with your mother. I'm sure if my mom's husband died, I would talk to her a lot too."
"Actually, my mom and I call each other once a week. After I was here for her wedding, I left her my cell phone number." Rory instantly smiled at the thought of Jess's weekly phone calls with his mother.
"You have a cell phone. I never thought I'd see the day." She paused. There was a feeling in the pit of her stomach, a little childish butterfly that she used to get during junior high when debating over asking a cute boy to sign her yearbook. The feeling was kicking around in her stomach so hard that she finally forced herself to spit out her question. "Can I put your number in my phone book?"
"Sure," he said. "I have Verizon."
"Me too!" she squealed. "Oh, man, AT&T was terrible. I never had any service. Do you have free Verizon-to-Verizon minutes?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Me too. That's good, 'cause astronomical phone bills are just plain depressing" she said, feeling dumb. Partially because she was getting overly excited over a cell phone, and partially because she was feeling feelings she hadn't felt in three years.
Their conversation was nearing closer to being completely awkward. She knew she couldn't rely on cellular small talk to avoid having to actually discuss her feelings.
"It's not that I don't want to stay," he said, "I do."
"I know," she said, almost in a whisper, her lips fading into a small smile. "But maybe I deserve it. When you were ready for me, I didn't listen. Now that I'm ready for you, you shouldn't have to listen to me either."
"Well I'm ready now, it's just that I'm almost done with all my requirements for my degree."
"I know."
"I mean, I wish there was some way that I could transfer my credits to a local college over here and stay here for a while with Luke," Jess said. Rory smiled at the hypothetical situation of the two of them, together again in Stars Hollow. Just like senior year, she thought. Except better. She was feeling giddy and capricious, foreign feelings for Rory, someone who always had thoroughly planned schedules for months in advance.
"I only have one semester left," Jess continued. "It ends in January. I was thinking, I've been thinking, for a while of coming out here and moving in with Luke for a while. Things didn't really work out with my dad." He felt stupid after he said the last part. He never really enjoyed discussing his family issues with Rory. As much as she could speculate from conversations Luke had with Lorelai about Liz, she only knew half of Jess's childhood in New York.
"Oh," Rory said, her lips starting to loosen up and fade into a smile. She wanted to conceal the giddiness she was feeling at the thought of him returning to Connecticut.
"Anyways…you know what…maybe there's someway that I could transfer my credits and finish my final semester over here."
"Yeah! You could talk to my mom about the college that she graduated from. I mean, it didn't have much of a lawn, but it's pretty local, like in Hartford, and the business program was good."
"Yeah…" he said, his voice drifting off. He loved California. He had left here expecting it to be his home, but Stars Hollow felt more like a home than any other former residence of his. He was ready to come back here…permanently.
His thoughts of what defines a home was interrupted by Miss Patty.
"Aww…it's so nice to see you two…getting along again," she winked, walking towards them.
Jess just smiled at her.
"How are you, dear?" Miss Patty asked, gesturing to Rory.
"Oh good."
"Having fun taking time off from school? And, work…and, rekindling…things?"
"Yeah, work is really nice, anywhere near books is nice," Rory said, deliberately avoiding Miss Patty's insinuation of her relationship with Jess.
"Okay, I have a dance lesson to get to. I'm sure I'll be seeing you two around. Both of you, I mean…together possibly," she said, emphasizing the last two words the most.
"Bye Patty," Rory said.
"So," Jess said.
"So," Rory echoed.
"What time do you have work again?"
"12:30. I should probably get going," she added.
"Yeah, so I'm going to call the college and see if the credits can be transferred or whatever. It was nice catching up with you Rory." He stood up and walked to the door. "And before I go," he said, pausing, "goodbye Rory."
"Goodbye Jess."