Chapter 10: A Surprise:
When their plane got in to Hartford International Airport, Rory and her parents were exhausted and ready to crash. They had to take a cab from the airport to Stars Hollow because they'd left the jeep there while away for Christmas. Of course they had way more stuff coming back from Fiji than going because of Christmas presents, which they'd all bought many of. As Rory walked to the cab with her parents, she was thinking about the car and how to go about selling it.
'Should I just put an ad in the Stars Hollow Gazette? Everyone in Stars Hollow reads it, including Dean and his parents. My selling the car means it's really over. It'll get the message across to him if he hasn't already gotten it,' Rory thought.
"What's up, Hun?" Lorelai asked, noticing her daughter had an intense look on her face.
"Just thinking," Rory replied.
"Intensely. About what?" Lorelai asked.
"Just how to sell the car," Rory said.
"You want your mom and me to put an ad in the newspaper?" Christopher asked his daughter, joining in on the conversation.
"Maybe. I don't know yet. Gypsy was looking for another car to sell. I could sell it to her and she could sell it. Of course, that would be kind of weird considering she knows all about the car," Rory pondered.
"Gypsy would still gladly buy the car from you so she could sell it. She's been low on cars to sell, and she really needs the parts only anyway. So you could sell it to her for the parts," Lorelai offered.
"Yeah I guess. Grandpa and Grandma want me to go car shopping with them tomorrow before I head back to school," Rory remarked.
"Oh, what fun," Lorelai said sarcastically.
They made it home in time to unpack their things and still get to Luke's for dinner before he closed down. Then went into Luke's and sat down. "What can I get you?" Luke asked when he approached their table.
"Coffee and a cheeseburger with everything," Lorelai replied.
"Same," Rory said still thinking about how to sell the car.
"I'll have a coke and a burger," Chris said.
"Coming right up," Luke said.
About twenty minutes later Luke came back with their order and Rory's phone rang so she went outside to answer it.
"Hello?" Rory asked.
"Hey, Mary," Tristan greeted.
"Hey, Tris," Rory said smiling, "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing much, just missing you. My flight home is hours away and we both leave for school the day after tomorrow. Let's make plans to see each other tomorrow sometime," Tristan offered.
"Okay, that's cool with me. How about around noon? My grandparents are taking me car shopping tomorrow morning. I was planning on driving to Boston tomorrow after car shopping so I'd be ready for school starting the next day, but I can do that after lunch," Rory said.
"Okay. See you tomorrow," Tristan said trying to keep the surprise he had for her. He was so excited that it was hard to keep from telling her.
"See you tomorrow, Tris," Rory said before they both hung up.
As she hung up Rory walked back into the diner to eat her dinner.
"So who was on the phone?" Lorelai asked her daughter.
"It was Tristan. He's flying out early tomorrow and wants to get together before we both leave for school," Rory replied.
"That's going well isn't it?" Chris asked.
"For now… Who knows what could happen with us in two different states for most of the rest of the year," Rory said frowning.
"At least he's willing to try the long distance thing," Lorelai said,
"Unlike a certain ex I won't mention… By the way, what are you planning on doing about the car?"
"Just sell it….do whatever. I'm done. I'm going car shopping tomorrow and not even paying for the new car, so just sell it. Put the money in my school fund. Keep it…do whatever, I just don't want it," Rory offered carelessly frustrated.
A few hours later as she was getting ready to go to bed there was a knock on the front door. Since her parents were already in bed, Rory was the only one who could answer the door.
"Coming," Rory said as she headed to the door.
She opened the door and was surprised to see Tristan standing there.
"Hey," he said.
"I'm glad you're here, but I thought we were meeting at noon tomorrow," Rory said confused.
"When I called you earlier, I was just about to fly out of Fiji. I agreed to those plans because I wanted to surprise you tonight before I went 'home.' I took an earlier flight because the late flight I had wasn't going to work for me. I had to see you one last time before we both left for school," Tristan explained grinning.
"Really?" Rory asked.
"Yes really," Tristan replied, "I couldn't not see you one last time before we headed back to school."
"Do you want to come in?" Rory asked, "We can just hang and talk."
"Sure," Tristan said walking into the house.
Rory and Tristan talked until 1 A.M. Then he had to go home and Rory had to go to bed.
"So we're still meeting for lunch later?" Tristan asked at the door as he was leaving.
"Yes, we are. At the Château Café in Hartford right?" Rory asked.
"Yep. See you then," Tristan said heading out.
"See you later," Rory said before closing the door behind Tristan.
This is it for now. Enjoy the newly reposted beta versions.