Chapter Seven
A.N. I'm so sorry for the length of the updates, I've been going non-stop for a couple weeks now. But I leave to visit my dad for Thanksgiving tomorrow and I thought I make sure to get the update out so that it gets out! Anyway thanks for sticking with my and for those of you who celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving, eat lots of turkey and mashed potatoes!
Christmas Eve has never been a small event for the Danes family - ever. When Mom and Dad got married they decided that they wanted Christmas Eve to be their holiday, Thanksgiving was spent with just about everyone possible. But Dad, particularly, wanted Christmas Eve to be about family. Of course everyone my mother has ever met is considered family so it tends to get very large. Dad closes down the diner and he and Sookie (who bounces between our house and the inn) go all out in the food department and more people then is probably safe according to fire code regulations pack into our house. And there's a lot of eating and presents and music and chaos.
Rory comes with Logan and the kids and so do Lane and her husband Jack (a music loving neurosurgeon) and their daughter, Mrs. Kim has been coming since Mr. Kim died several used ago. Davie and Martha come too, Davie with his flavor-of-the-week, and Martha will be bring her fiancee. Add Ing and Jess in there and you've got a list of the regulars in the chaotic play that is Christmas Eve. But there's plenty of people making cameo's as well, the Gilmore's show up occasionally, Liz and T.J. come when their in town, Paris and her husband usually show up at some point, Logan's best friends tag along and carious Stars Hollow residents pop up (a true Stars Hollow example being Kirk, Lulu and their seven children).
It's easy to get lost in the crow and that's never been something that I minded. This year is no different. Everyone is dragging their feet this morning as we get ready to go, and for the first time I realize that Ing's probably faked the cheerful expression she's always worn when she's come for Christmas in the past giving been up for an hour and a half and probably changed her clothes five times. I've taken 45 minutes myself to pack the overnight back and Jess has been barking impatient orders to use from the kitchen about how we need to "hurry the hell up."
"I'll get it!" I call when the doorbell rings, glad for the distraction from putting my final shirt into my duffel bag.
"I swear to God Lucy, if you're not done packing I'm going to throw your damn duffel bag out the window!" Did I mention Jess doesn't seem to thrilled about going either?
Quickly I shoved the last shirt into the bag, when it comes to Jess I know when to pick my battles and when there's an impending Rory interaction that's not the time to cross him. With that task finally done I pull open the door to reveal Jamie, "hey, um..." I trail Jamie was over all the time so seeing him on my doorstep wouldn't normally have thrown me off, but it was the duffel bag at his feet that was throwing me off. "What's up?"
"Ing invited me to come with you guys," Jamie explains, "I should have figure she'd forget to tell you."
"Oh," I nod.
"Is that okay?" Jamie shifts, suddenly looking unsure.
"No, of course it is," I respond quickly, "come in." Closing the door behind Jamie I call out, "Jamie's here!"
"Hey," Ing appears but when she sees me she lets out a frustrated moan.
"We look like Double Mint Twins," I laugh taking in Ing's jeans and black sweater.
"I've got to change," Ing looks to be on the verge of tears.
"You're fine," I respond, "I'll change. Jess, I'm changing and then we're leaving so don't even start..."
Once I've changed I stare in the mirror in the bathroom, if my grandmother shows up I'll never hear the end of my attire. Once dark blue jeans, now faded a very washed out denim and an oversized cream colored vintage sweater, but for the first time in years she won't find fault with my currently un-streaked and undyed hair.
"Lucy, we're going to miss lunch if you don't hurry up! What are you doing in there?"
"My hair," I call back as I quickly French braid my hair into two simple pigtails.
"We don't have time for you to color your hair," Jess knows me to well sometimes.
"Let's go,"I pull open the bathroom door and head for my duffel bag still on the couch.
"I can't believe you're coming with us," I tell Jamie when we've all settled into Jess' rarely used car.
"Ing invited me, I had nothing better to do," Jamie shrugs.
"And Ing told you about the insanity?"
Jamie nods, "I've been warned."
"Wow who knew all this time I've been working with a crazy person?"
"I've known I've been working with a crazy person," Jamie teases.
"Don't you have a book to bury your nose in?"
"Actually, yes," Jamie nods and pulls a book out of his bag instantly immersed in it.
"You're really going to read and ignore me?" I pout, honestly I love car ride and didn't really need the distraction but Jamie is just so damn fun to give a hard time. But Jamie continues to ignore me so I shift through the duffel bag at my feet, pull out my camera and snap a picture of Jamie.
"What was that?" Jamie looks up from his book, "is there a reason you're taking a picture of me or is it just to annoy me?"
"There's a reason, the annoying you is just a bonus," I smirk.
"What's the reason?"
Ing turns around from her passenger seat to explain for me, hell she's almost more excited then I am, "a man from Freeze Frame..."
"Freeze Frame?" Jamie interrupts.
"They're a photography company, jeeze Jamie get with the program," Jess' words are mocking Ing's from when she had told him about the it the day before.
"They're a photography company who do most of the photo shoots for major magazines," I explain further.
"And," Ing states enthusiastically, "they are having a contest for amateur photographers. The top three winners get internships and the first prize winner gets a job after the internship. And Lucy is entering."
"Lucy, that's awesome why didn't you tell me?" Jamie questions closing his book and staring intently at me.
I shift Jamie's gaze is making me uncomfortable, "oh I just found out about it. Besides it's no big deal, Ingrid is more excited about it then I am."
"Oooh shock," Jess responds as he weaves his way through New York City traffic. "When do you ever express enthusiasm over anything?"
"Look who's talking," Ing laughs gently nudging Jess, "you hardly smiled on our wedding day."
"Well, then I guess it's the Dane's blood in me," I respond.
"Well that's a no-brainer," Ing states.
"So Lucy what are you going to enter?" Jamie asks bring our attention back to the original topic.
"I was thinking of taking pictures of people in Central Park - real people doing real things."
"That sounds interesting," Jamie's tone sounds less then interested and for some reason that bothers me more then I would like it to. After that everyone gets quiet, Ing turns on the radio and pulls out her sketch pad, Jamie returns to his book and Jess concentrates on driving, leaving me to stare out the window and think over Jamie's words.
Nobody changed their actions until we get off the exit marked "Stars Hollow". Ingrid immediately began fixing her perfectly curled hair and make-up, Jamie closes and puts his book away, but both Jess and my actions remain the same.
"It's so quiet," Jamie comments as we pass through Constabulary Road, his eyes are intently out the window taking in the entire town.
"Ha, that's what you think," I can't help but scoff, the closer we get to the house the more nervous I get about seeing everyone and having to battle all of the inevitable questions. In just a matter of minutes Jamie was finally allowed the picture I'd tried to paint for him, there were cars all over the front lawn and people could be seen through the windows of the house.
Jamie is the first to reach for the doorhandle before I moan, "the Gilmore's are here." At my comment no one moves, and Ing sighs but Jamie finally pushes the door open.
"Are we going in?" Jamie asks, "or did we drive all this way to sit in the car?"
"Car," I states, "the car sounds great."
Jamie shakes his head and stands up and makes it halfway to the door before he turns around to glare at us. "We could just leave him," Jess offers and I'm pretty sure he's only kidding slightly more then he's serious, but before anything can be done Miss Patty and Babette appear on the porch directly headed toward Jamie.
Reluctantly I push open my door and reach him just as they door, "Lucy, sugar, your parents said you were coming." Babette hugs me tightly.
"Now who's this gorgeous boy?" Miss Patty questions turning her full attention to Jamie. "Lorelai didn't mention you were bringing a boyfriend."
I can hardly hold back my laugh at the look on Jamie's face, "this is Jamie, just a friend," I assure much to their disappointment.
"He's cute Lucy," Miss Patty informs, "I wouldn't let him get away if I were you."
"Oh!" Babette's eyes go wide, "he must be the boy you're moving in with."
Jamie turns to look at me as if to ask how they knew that, "Jamie this is Miss Patty and Babette, they know everything that happens in Stars Hollow - or to it's former residents."
"Former residents?" Babette asks, "Lucy, dolly, you're always be a part of Stars Hollow. I mean Rory hasn't lived here in years but she'll always be a resident in our hearts."
I shoot a look at Jamie to make sure he caught the comment, he doesn't believe me when I say that the entire town of Stars Hollow is obsessed with my sister. "You know," Jamie speaks up, "I've yet to meet Rory, so we should get inside."
"Oh, Rory's not here just yet, but you should get inside," Lorelai has been waiting all morning to see you.
"Ready to brave the chaos?" I ask Jamie and for a second it looks like he's lost the confidence's he's been exuding all morning.
But he just nods and the look passes, "sure thing, let's get in there."
"You doing okay?" Jamie and I had only been in the house twenty minutes and already he looked massively overwhelmed.
"Yeah I just didn't..."
"Believe me when I told you that the entire town was utterly insane?" I ask lifting an eyebrow and giving him a cocky look that he's declared many times before that he hates.
"Shut up, I figured you were over-exaggerating, you tend to do that."
"What?" My jaw drops, "I do not."
"Yesterday you told me that there were ten people waiting in line and you needed my help at the coffee counter, there were two."
"That's just cause I didn't want to do it," I laugh, "but I'm not exaggerating with this town. I grew up here. My mom is the queen of this town and she's insane so you could easily deduce..."
"Lucy Belinda Danes," I cringe at both the use of my full name and the voice that's just spoken it.
"Jamie prepare yourself to meet the Emily Gilmore," I sigh before turning to face the only grandmother I have. Not that that ever meant anything. Emily wasn't the grand motherly type and I certainly wasn't the pristine granddaughter she expected either. "Hi Grandma."
"Hello Lucy," Emily's greeting is stiff and I know she wants to have a few words to me privately, but she's to polite to say anything in front of Jamie. Turning toward Jamie she introduces herself, "I'm Emily Gilmore, Lucy's grandmother."
"It's good to meet you," Jamie responds graciously shaking her hand, "I'm Jamie Deluca, I work for Jess."
Emily looks surprised by this revelation, "you're not James Deluca, son of Anthony and Margueax Deluca are you?"
"Actually I am," this time it's Jamie's turn for a stiff response, and his usually openly expressive face is unreadable.
"We're so sorry to hear about your father, Richard and I were just by to visit him but he seems to be in good spirits. But I'm sure you know that, he's a strong man." Emily Gilmore stares at Jamie with a look I've only ever seen on her face when she's impressed by someone's breeding and family.
"It was good meeting you Emily," Jamie states, "but I think I'll see if I can help Luke or Sookie with anything in the kitchen."
"Jamie..." I begin but he's left both of us before I can say anything else. All of this is new to me, I know that Jamie doesn't have the best relationship with his parents but Jamie's never talked about them. "Grandma," curiosity had gotten the better of me, "who's Anthony Deluca?"
"You don't know?" Emily looks surprised by this as well, "Anthony Deluca's family were oil tycoons, and then Anthony invested in a pharmaceutical company that made him billions of dollars. He's one of the richest men on the eastern seaboard and he's recently been diagnosed with an incurable heart condition, meaning in the next year your boyfriend is going to come into a large sum of money. He never told you?"
"No," I shake my head and stare after Jamie, to shocked by this revelation to inform my grandmother that she could stop planning my wedding because Jamie and I weren't dating. Sure I didn't know a ton about Jamie, but it's not like he was a huge mystery. Actually he wasn't at all. He was an English major at NYU. He worked whenever he wasn't studying. He wanted to be a writer. He was quiet and awkward around people in social situations but for some reason could get himself into a ten minute conversation with someone in the check out line. I knew he didn't get along with his father but suddenly Jamie seemed like nothing but a mystery to me.