Chapter 28

One Month Later

November 13, 2004

"To love somebody deeply give you strength, to be loved by someone give you courage. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Gilmore request the honor of your presence at the wedding of their daughter, Lorelai Victoria to Lucas Danes and of their granddaughter Lorelai Leigh to Jess Mariano on Friday, the 31st day of December 2004 at the Dragonfly Inn, Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Ceremony 6:30pm, reception and New Years celebration to follow," Rory read to Jess as they sat at a table in the diner one Saturday afternoon. "That's it, it's done."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Jess said rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. "Having second thoughts?" he asked.

Rory raised his hand to her lips, "No, I'm just wondering about whether or not I should send this one." She held an invitation out for him to see. Mr. Christopher Hayden was the addressee.

"Rory, he's your father," Jess said softly. "You should have him at your wedding. At least, invite him. If he doesn't want to come, he doesn't have to come."

Rory shifted through the pile of envelops in front of her. "I'm glad you feel that way, Jess, because if I send that," she referred to envelope addressed to Christopher. "I would like you to send these."

Jess took the two envelopes and read the addresses on the white linen paper. "Mr. and Mrs. Gary Johnson and Mr. James Mariano and guest," he read. "Rory…"

"Jess, they're your parents, they should see you get married," Rory used his logic to argue the point with him.

"Rory, my parents never cares about what I did or what happened to me. My mother visited me once since the accident, I never heard from Jimmy at all," Jess ranted.

"Okay, you're right," Rory capitulated. "But when we get married we're going to start a new life. You could try and start one with your parents too."

Jess was quite for a minute. He wanted to invite his Mom and Dad at his wedding, just like he wanted his old friends from New York there. He just wasn't sure if he could take the hurt. If Rory was going to risk it, then he could risk it. "All right, we'll mail them out but I bet they won't come."

"Twenty bucks?" Rory proposed. "That or dinner for two prepared by the loser."

"Since my bet is safer than yours and I've seen your culinary skills, I'll take the 20 bucks," Jess teased.

Lorelai's arrival at the diner was signaled by the ringing of the bells over the diner's door. In her hands she was carrying two small packages, "Luke!" she called. "Luke come out here."

Rory and Jess turned around, "What's that?" Jess asked.

"I'll tell you in a minute. As soon as Luke," she said it louder so he could hear her in the back. "Gets out here."

Luke came into the dining area from the kitchen wiping his hands on his towel. "What? I'm busy back here."

"I know," Lorelai said playfully. "But everything else can wait because here in my hands I hold two very special packages, once in a lifetime packages. These are our first wedding presents," she announced handing one envelope to Rory. "They're from the grandparents."

Rory opened up the envelope with Jess while Lorelai opened hers. Inside Rory and Jess' envelope was a photograph of 127 Plum Street. Underneath, it was written in Emily's handwriting, "Congratulations on your wedding and your new home. Grandma and Grandpa."

"Oh my God!" Jess gasped. "They did not buy us a house."

"Oh they did," Lorelai confirmed. "Luke and I thought it would be a good idea. Once you're married you'll need a place of your own, and with your school, Rory and Jess' job and therapy you don't have the time to go on a fabulous European capitol's cruise," Lorelai held out her own envelope with two tickets and itineraries.

"Rory, this place…it has handicap accessible doorways, a shower chair…what did they do, remodel it?" Jess asked.

"I have no idea," Rory replied. "Let's go and take a look at it. And while we're at it, we can mail the invitations."

The home on Plum Street was gorgeous. It was white with a full porch including a ramp for Jess, and a two car garage. The inside was tastefully yet sparsely furnished, only the essentials had been provide. Emily and Richard felt that to fully furnish the house would be overstepping their boundaries, anyway, if Rory and Jess had to live there, they had to be the people to choose the overall décor of the house. This ban on meddling was put in place by Richard and Lorelai, who felt that providing a house and furniture for the house might bruise Jess' pride.

"Wow!" Jess sighed. "Just, wow! This is too much."

"I don't think so," Rory smiled. "I think it's just enough. It's their way of saying they accept our choice." She caressed his shoulder and sat on his lap, "I'm going to miss this when you don't need the chair anymore. It's a ready made seat."

He placed a kiss on her forehead, "Tony says I'll probably never be out of the chair completely. We'll always have to keep it in the trunk of the car."

"I know, but maybe with two it won't be as necessary," Rory said with hope.

"I hope so, too, Baby," Jess replied. "Let's go home now. I have therapy in an hour, and you have to call your grandparents. This is one great gift."

It was the first of many great gifts as it turned out for as the days and weeks passed and the wedding date drew closer Rory and Jess along with Luke and Lorelai received some very lovely gifts, including a silver English tea set and a TV/VCR/DVD combo. They also received some very odd gifts, including two couples's subscriptions in the Jelly of the Month club.

By the end of the Thanksgiving holidays, the wedding plans were in full swing, and responded were pouring in. So far, every person invited had responded yes, except Rory's paternal grandparents.

"Mail call," Luke called as he came into the house one Friday in mid December. "We've got magazine, magazine, magazine, bill, bill, flyer, and about twenty response cards. How many people did you invite?" he asked Lorelai and Rory, who were flipping through the latest issue of Brides.

"I lost count at one hundred twenty," Lorelai replied.

"I didn't know that Jess invited Jimmy to the wedding," Luke sighed. "It could be a disaster if he comes."

"I would think more so if he doesn't," Rory replied. "I talked him into it, I told him he should try and make a new start with his parents."

"Are you going to open it?" Lorelai asked.

"You think I should?" Rory looked at Luke instead of Lorelai, her mother was too nosy to be objective.

"Yeah," Luke replied. "You never waited to open the others. You shouldn't change now."

Rory agreed with that and took a stack of responses, Lorelai took the remaining stack and together they opened them leaving Jimmy Mariano's for last. Rory opened it holding her heart in her mouth. She looked at the writing, a bold scrawl like Jess.

James Mariano and Sasha Murdock accept.

Under the official response were the words:

Jess,

Please call me.

Dad

"So..." Lorelai waited for the answer.

"He's coming," Rory let out a sigh of relief.

"Who's coming?" Jess asked as he maneuvered his way into the house after a full day. "Is it from your Dad?"

"No, yours," Rory replied and handed him the note.

Jess looked up confused. He was sure that Jimmy wouldn't come. Now that he was coming he wasn't sure he wanted him there.

Rory could read Jess' face. He was upset. "Jess…"

"I don't…I don't want him here," Jess told her. "I only agreed to invite him because I was sure he wouldn't come. He…he didn't even call me after…he didn't even send a letter or flowers…"

Luke was next to Lorelai and he stared at his hands. That was his fault. He tried to notify Liz with no success but never tried to notify Jimmy. Now it was time to fess up.

"Jess, he didn't know," Luke said so quietly it was nearly a whisper. "I never called him after…"

"Why? You knew I had a relationship with him, however weird it happened to be, it still existed. Why didn't you call him?" Jess asked.

"Because…" Luke wasn't really sure why. "I just didn't think of it."

"That's bull," Jess argued. "You just wanted to be in control, to take all the responsibility and all the credit for yourself. Did you even think about how I would feel, believing that even after I knew my father and had a relationship with him, he still wanted nothing to do with me?" Jess' eyes were shining with emotion.

"No, I didn't. I just…I…" Luke didn't know what to say. "I didn't think. I'm sorry."

"Sorry," Jess scoffed. "I was sorry about a lot of the things I did, all the times I messed up, but that never did any good," Jess snapped.

"Jess," Rory said, gently touching his cheek. It felt damp. He shrugged her touch away and turned his chair around and opened the door.

"Where are you going?" Luke asked.

"Out!" Jess replied and slammed the door.

Luke looked pained and Lorelai went to comfort him. Like Jess he shrugged her touch away and started for the back door.

"Where are you going?" Lorelai asked her voice cracking.

"Out," Luke replied huskily and left mother and daughter standing staring at two closed doors.