Rudy Can't Fail #9.5
"So this is Stars Hollow."
Jess sighed and shifted on his feet as they stood in front of the diner. "Yeah."
Nadia smiled and gazed around. "Nice."
Jess followed her gaze and his stare landed on Patty and Babbette, who were staring at them and whispering at the corner. "Real nice…"
"Okay," Nadia snickered. "Explain the sign." She pointed to the William's Hardware sign above the diner, and gave him a questioning look.
"My grandfather, William… this used to be his hardware store."
"But…?"
"He died, the hardware store went under, and Luke turned the place into the diner."
"And the sign…?"
"You think I know how my uncle's mind works?" Jess asked, looking perplexed. "I have no idea." He took her hand and began to lead her to the door. "Come on."
She let him guide her into the diner, and looked around. "Nice."
"Hey!"
Nadia looked up and smiled at Luke. "Hi, Luke. Great place."
He nodded. "Pays the bills."
"He always says that," Lorelai smiled. "Hey guys."
Jess nodded. "Lorelai."
"Jess!"
"Oh, no," he muttered.
Liz came bounding down the stairs and threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're here!"
Nadia gave Jess a sweet smile and he glared at her harshly.
Liz let go of her son and smiled widely. "You look great, doesn't he look great?"
"You just saw me a couple of weeks ago," Jess muttered. "Remember?"
"I was too busy yelling at TJ to see how great you look," Liz replied.
"Where is TJ?" Jess asked.
"Upstairs, plucking his-"
"Please don't finish that sentence," Luke interjected.
Lorelai cleared her throat and nudged Nadia forward. The younger woman looked back at the Gilmore and then at Jess.
Jess sighed. "Liz, this is Nadia. Nadia, my mother, Liz."
Nadia smiled. "Hi."
Liz smiled back. "Hi." She turned to Jess. "You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!"
Jess sighed.
"It's very nice to meet you," Liz said, shaking Nadia's hand. "Y'know, Jess never used to introduce me to his girlfriends."
"You were never around to meet them," he muttered.
"They never lasted long enough," Liz countered.
"Okay!" Lorelai cried. "Did you guys bring dessert?"
Nadia nodded, and held up a casserole dish. "Brownies."
"What kind?" Liz asked, taking the dish and looking in interestedly.
"The… brown… chocolate kind?" Nadia offered.
Jess sighed heavily and took the dish, sitting it on the counter. "So who else is coming?"
"Well," Lorelai said gently. "Sookie and Jackson and Davie… and my parents… maybe…and…Rory. Isn't that a great guest list?"
Jess stared at her blankly. "Luke?"
"What?"
"Upstairs."
Luke sighed.
"Upstairs," Jess snapped.
The two men headed for the apartment.
Nadia smiled. "So, uh… Rory's gonna be here."
Lorelai nodded. "Yup."
Nadia tightened her smile. "That's… peachy…"
"Thanks for the heads up, Luke," Jess said angrily. "I really appreciate the notification."
"If I'd told you, you wouldn't have come," Luke countered.
"Damn right!" Jess yelled.
"If it makes you feel any better, she has no idea you're gonna be here, either," the older man offered.
"Sure, that's great. Because the last time I saw her unexpectedly, it turned out amazingly well," Jess replied sarcastically. "What are you thinking?!"
"Y'know what I'm thinking?!" Luke cried. "I'm thinking I wanna have a nice, pleasant Thanksgiving with my girlfriend, and our families. So for once in your life, you're gonna behave! You're gonna sit quietly, and be a good boy, and you're not gonna say anything snide, or mean, or stupid!"
"Oh yeah?!"
"Yeah!"
"Why?!"
"Because I said so! Keep arguing, and I'm lifting your ass over my shoulder and dumping you in the lake again!"
"Be my guest!" Jess yelled. "It's gotta be better than playing nice with the Little Princess!"
"You used to be in love with that girl!" Luke growled.
"Yeah, and then I realized that she was selfish, and spoiled, and probably the dumbest smart person I'd ever met!" Jess yelled. "Do you know how much better off I am without her?! Do you?! For shit's sake, Luke! Look at her! She's a mess!"
"So are you!"
That shut Jess up in a hurry.
"One day," Luke said. "I'm begging you. One day of civility."
Jess sighed.
Rory glanced around the diner uncomfortably and sighed. "Hi, Mom."
"Hey, Sweetie!" Lorelai smiled. "You're early."
Rory nodded. "Yup."
Lorelai smiled and wrapped an arm around her daughter. "Rory, this is Liz, Luke's sister."
Liz smiled. "Hi, Rory. Nice to meet you."
Rory waved awkwardly. "Hi… that's Jess's mom…" she muttered to Lorelai.
"Yup," Lorelai replied. "And that over there?" she nodded to Nadia, "that's his girlfriend."
Rory shot a stare at Nadia, who was seated at the counter, fidgeting with a ketchup bottle. "Great…"
"Be nice," Lorelai ordered. "Hey, Nadia."
The girl looked up and smiled nervously. "Hi."
Rory looked her over seriously. "Hello."
"Happy Thanksgiving!"
"Hey, Sookie!"
Sookie walked over and hugged Rory. "Hey, Popcorn! Happy Thanksgiving!"
"You, too, Sookie," Rory smiled, giving another serious glance to Nadia, who had gone back to her ketchup bottle.
Lorelai followed her gaze as Jackson walked in, carrying Davie. She sighed and gave a kind smile. "Hey, Nadia, come on over and meet the gang."
Nadia looked up at her in slight surprise. "Oh… okay…" She got up and walked over.
"Sookie, Jackson, this is Nadia Henderson, Jess's girlfriend," Lorelai introduced. "Nadia, this is Sookie and Jackson Mellville, and their son Davie."
"Nice to meet you," Nadia smiled.
"Oh, you, too, Honey," Sookie smiled. "You're a brave girl, taking on Jess."
"Oh, he's not so tough," Nadia snickered. "You find out where he's ticklish, and you've pretty much got him proverbially hog-tied."
Sookie giggled. "Well, there ya go."
"You're from New York?" Jackson asked pleasantly.
Nadia gave a nod. "Yeah, I guess the accent gave that away. I was born and raised in the Bronx."
"Wow, neat," Sookie smiled. "What do your parents do?"
"My dad makes and fixes pianos," Nadia told them. "My mom did some secretary work, but she's retired."
"Wow, Pianos," Jackson mused. "That's neat."
Nadia smiled, and then caught a glimpse at the somber expression on Rory's face, and decided on a blank frown.
Lorelai looked from one girl to the other. "I'm gonna… go see what's taking the guys."
Nadia smiled nervously at Rory. "So… uh… How's school?"
Rory stared.
Lorelai turned toward the stairs, just in time for Luke and Jess to come down into the diner. "Oh! Good! Look who's finally decided to join us!"
Jess sighed and walked over to Nadia, placing an arm around her. "Scared yet?"
She smirked. "Nah. So far, so good."
"Hi, Jess," Rory spoke up.
He almost said something snide, but bit his tongue. "Hi."
They stood in awkward silence.
"I'm gonna go talk to my mom," Rory informed them, turning and walking off.
Nadia was out of ear-shot and then turned to Jess. "Spit it out."
"I see you've expanded your vocabulary beyond 'no.'"
"Feel better?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
"It would have been a good one," Nadia told him affectionately.
He nodded. "She woulda been pissed," he told her solemnly. "Luke made me promise to be civil."
"All day?" Nadia asked jokingly.
"Shut up."
"Jess!" Luke cried. "Kitchen!"
"Duty calls," Jess sighed. He leaned over and kissed Nadia softly. "Play nice."
She grinned. "I have my ketchup bottle to keep me company."
"Freak," Jess accused.
"Nerd."
"Headcase."
"Hello, Pot. I'm kettle. It's very nice to meet you."
"Damn woman," Jess grumbled.
"Have fun in the kitchen," Nadia grinned, sitting back down at the counter.
Jess rolled his eyes and headed into the back. "Hey," he greeted Luke.
"How's it going out there?" Luke asked, as he opened up the oven to check the turkey.
"Okay, I guess," Jess replied, glancing out into the diner. "Rory keeps giving Nadia weird stares."
"What?" Luke asked. "That's ridiculous."
"Yup."
"You're imagining things," Luke accused.
Jess glanced out into the diner again. "See for yourself."
Luke took a peek into the diner. "Jeez!"
Jess nodded.
They heard the bell on the diner door ring, and the distinct voice of Emily Gilmore fill the room.
Jess grinned. "Guess who's here?"
"Shut up," Luke growled. "Just shut up."
"But she's your favorite person," Jess snickered.
"Jess…"
"And someday, she could be your mother-in-law."
Luke grabbed his plastic spatula and smacked Jess upside the head. "Shut up."
Jess flinched, but laughed. "What's wrong, Luke? Are you afraid of your new mommy?"
"How was the drive, Mom?" Lorelai asked.
"Fine," Emily replied, taking off her coat. "Just fine. The traffic was miserable, but it was fine."
Lorelai blinked. "Okay, Mom…"
She was about to go on, but there was a crash from the kitchen.
The assembled group turned around.
Lorelai gave a fake laugh. "Those crazy diner boys! Always doing something… crazy!"
"Boys?" Emily asked, confused. "There are two?"
Liz smiled. "My baby's here for Thanksgiving."
Emily stared, and then turned to Lorelai.
"Jess," Lorelai told her.
"Jess is here?" Emily snapped. "Jess? The same Jess who got Rory into that car accident, and then ran away without a word after they'd dated? Black-eyed, hoodlum Jess?"
"Wow," Nadia said. "Someone hide the cutlery, that woman is on a rampage."
Lorelai gave a warning look to the younger girl. "Mom, Jess is here to spend Thanksgiving with Luke and Liz and… that's Nadia, his girlfriend."
Before Emily could protest, Luke zoomed out of the kitchen, carrying three full plates of food. "Dinner's ready!"
"Wait," Lorelai said. She turned to her mother. "Is Dad coming?"
"No," Emily snapped. "Your father has a business meeting today."
Luke sighed and put the plates down on a large table. "Hello, Emily. It's nice to see you again."
"Hello, Luke," Emily replied. "So… where's that darling nephew of yours?"
"He's calling child protective services," Luke muttered.
"Excuse me?" Emily asked.
"He's fine," Luke told her. "He'll be out in a minute."
Nadia snickered. "Oh, Jess!"
"What?!"
She hopped down from her stool and walked over to the kitchen door. "Are you pouting?"
"No," he muttered as he picked up some plates.
"Would you like some help?"
He nodded. "Get the last few plates?"
She smiled and nodded.
"Luke, this is delicious," Liz smiled.
Jess cleared his throat. "So, Liz, where's TJ today?"
"He's up in Vermont with his Aunt Trudy," Liz replied. "He's still afraid to introduce me to the rest of his family. He wants to wait for the right moment."
"That's very thoughtful of him," Emily commented. "When are you getting married?"
"We're already married," Liz smiled.
Emily's face fell. "Oh…"
"Yeah, she picked a real winner this time," Jess quipped. "What is it he keeps calling himself?"
"An escrow," Luke supplied.
"Right," Jess snickered.
"Leave your step-father alone," Liz ordered.
"It's hard to believe she's been saying that for nineteen years," Jess muttered.
"You promised you would be a good boy today," Luke warned. "Don't make me follow through on my threat."
Jess sunk in his seat.
"So!" Lorelai smiled at Nadia. "Nadia, where are your parents today?"
"In Florida, visiting my grandfather," she replied.
Rory glared at her a little.
"Oh?" Emily asked. "Where in Florida?"
"Del Ray Retirement community near Boca Raton," Nadia replied.
"How nice," Emily said tersely. "Why didn't you go with?"
Nadia scratched the back of her head. "Well… he can't be around a lot of people anymore… he starts thinking he's back in 'Nam… giving orders… he once rolled on the floor, thinking he was on fire."
Everyone stared at her.
"Wildly inappropriate?" she muttered.
Jess nodded. "Yeah."
Nadia blushed. "Whoops… Great food, Luke!"
Sookie smiled. "Yeah, Luke, this is great… Turkey's a little dry though."
"Don't start, Sookie," Luke warned.
"I could give you a few tips on how to-"
"Turkey's fine, eat up," Lorelai cut in.
They sat in silence for a long while.
"So, Rory, how is school going for you?" Liz asked. "Lorelai talks about you and Yale all the time."
"It's going well," Rory replied politely. "Thank you for asking."
"Nadia, do you go to school?" Emily asked.
"I take a couple of night courses," she replied. "Between the coffee house and helping my dad at the shop, I'm pretty busy."
"You don't find school important?" Emily asked.
"I don't find it necessary," Nadia corrected. "I've learned a trade, I know what I'm gonna be doing with my life, and I'm happy with it." She ate some green beans and shrugged as she swallowed. "Besides, we don't have the money for college. Even if I lived at home, I'd be paying off loans till I'm fifty."
Emily stared.
Nadia's face fell. "Again with the wildly inappropriate?"
Jess smirked and took her hand. "Don't worry about it."
Rory rolled her eyes.
Jess shot her a look. "Y'know, it'd teach you lesson if your eyes got stuck that way."
She didn't' reply.
"It's nice to know you've grown as a person in these past couple of years," Jess muttered.
"Cut it out, Jess," Luke snapped.
"It's nice to see you're still totting around slutty girls," Rory snapped.
"Hey!" Jess cried.
"Oh, wow," Lorelai muttered.
"Whoa, so not a slut," Nadia interjected. "Very monogamous, thanks."
Rory snorted. "Right."
Jess got up. "Okay. It was nice seeing everyone."
Nadia pulled him back into his chair. "We're not leaving."
Jess sighed heavily. "She's jealous, and she's just trying to piss me off."
"Hey!" Rory cried. "Sitting right here!"
Nadia frowned. "Later, okay? We'll talk about it later… let's just eat."
The table became deathly silent.
They stood in front of the diner, a heavy wind blowing past them.
"Thanks a whole lot, Jess," Luke said sarcastically.
Jess sighed. "Rory started it. And Emily was attacking Nadia. I didn't say a word about that."
"You take half the blame for the fight with Rory," Luke told him. "And… thanks… for not saying anything to Emily."
Jess nodded. "You owe me."
"Jess."
Both men turned to see Lorelai walk out.
"Hi," she said.
"Hey," Jess nodded.
"Listen… I'm… sorry… for the way Emily and Rory acted today." She had a hard time saying it, but there it was. "I don't know what got into them."
Jess nodded. "S'okay. I tend to bring out the worst in people."
"Won't argue there," Lorelai muttered.
"Play nice, please," Luke cut in.
Jess nodded. "We should probably get going."
"Where's Nadia?" Luke asked.
"Talking to Liz."
"Lucky you," Luke muttered.
Lorelai giggled. "I can't believe the pot joke Liz made to Emily… her eyes looked like they were going to fall out."
"The highlight of my evening was when Nadia spilled gravy in Rory's lap," Jess smirked.
"It was an accident," Luke commented. "Did you see how embarrassed she was?"
"That was half the fun," Jess smirked.
"Those were new pants," Lorelai pouted.
Jess snorted. "I'm sure her grandparents can buy her another pair… or eight."
Lorelai rolled her eyes, as Luke smacked Jess upside the head.
Nadia walked out with a large grin on her face.
Jess glared. "What did she tell you?"
Nadia giggled. "Exploded mac and cheese in the microwave?"
"Jeez," Jess rolled his eyes. "You ready?"
"Yeah, I guess," Nadia replied.
Jess nodded. "Okay. Let's get outta here."
Nadia smiled at Luke and Lorelai. "Thanks for having us. It was nice to see you again."
Lorelai smiled back. "You, too."
"And uh… Tell Rory I'll… reimburse her for the pants," Nadia said.
Luke sighed and turned to Jess. "Sorry this turned into such a crappy day."
Jess shrugged. "It's normal for us, remember?"
"You guys leaving already?" Liz asked, walking outside.
Nadia nodded. "Yup. Got work in the morning."
Liz hugged Jess tightly, and then took Nadia's hand. "Well, call me, okay? Maybe we can get together some time when TJ is in town."
"We'll see," Jess replied.
Luke dragged Jess into a short hug. "Call."
Jess nodded. "Next week."
"Bye, guys," Lorelai smiled, waving.
They watched the couple walk to the car, and Lorelai glanced back at the window, where Rory was watching as well.