satelliteblues21 – I have a little confession to make. I don't know which reference you mean, though I probably would recognize it if you pointed it out. It was an unintentional quote.
f4ll3n – Aren't they phenomenal? I got to see them in February, and it was bloody AMAZING.
Disclaimer- I do not own Rory, Jess, or Winter Dreams. And I'm going to be tossing out real actor's names for the sake of making it seem like Jess actually is a 'movie stahh', so keep in mind that I don't own Kirsten Dunst and co.
"Where's my blue tie?"
"Why do you need a tie?"
"I don't know, I'm just thinking that I should be prepared for anything."
"You're not taking a suit, why do you need a tie?"
"I have a dress shirt, and incase I get invited somewhere that requires nice clothing."
"Fine. Take the tie."
"Thank you for your permission, oh wife-of-mine. Where is my blue tie?"
"Probably hangin' with its homies in the closet." Jess stopped frantically folding clothes for a second to look up at his wife. Rory was sitting up in bed, yawning, with a cigarette in one hand, the remote in the other, and a glass of wine sitting on the nightstand.
"Please turn of BET right now." She giggled in a very drunken way, and continued her channel flipping. One of her nightgown straps slipped down her shoulder, dangerously close to revealing all, but she didn't seem to notice. She was happily ensconced in an effervescent world, being in a happy-drunk mood, and oblivious to all but the TV and occasionally her husband.
The fact that it was currently 6:12 AM did not stop her drinking or his packing.
A few minutes later, she was standing up to pour herself another glass of wine from the bottle on the dresser as Jess warred with his suitcase zipper.
"I don't have anywhere to be today, right?" He nodded affirmative, while not actually knowing the answer. "Goody." She took instead the bottle, and brought it back to bed with her.
"Okay, that's it. Suitcase packed, suitcase closed, Rory wasted. I do believe that means it's time for me to go."
"When are you getting back?"
"Friday. Kiss the kids bye for me?"
"Sure thing. Oh, Spongebob."
"Can I kiss you goodbye?" She hesitated, obviously thinking hard.
"Am I mad at you?" He smirked.
"Can't remember?"
"Answer the damn question."
"Nah, you're not mad at me." She nodded as he approached her, bent over, and lightly pecked her lips.
"Bye-bye."
"Bye-bye. Now go back to sleep, I'm sorry I woke you up." She shrugged, having already forgotten the tantrum she'd thrown when their light turned on at 5:30.
He dragged his suitcase down the stairs, and the driver waiting patiently in the front room took it with a stern nod. Yawning, he made his way to the kitchen where their maid, Kathy, was making coffee in her housecoat.
A sweet-tempered, middle-aged woman, Kathy was the one to oversee the household and report back to him while he was gone. Rory couldn't be trusted; she was a workaholic or an alcoholic, depending on what day it was. She was either absent physically or mentally almost all of the time. So Kathy could be counted on to clean up Rory's messes, wake the dazed lady up on time, pay and oversee the gardener, and keep an eye on whatever nanny they currently employed. They'd hired Kathy upon first moving into this big, beautiful house five years ago, originally only part-time. But she'd become a good friend, as well as proved herself to be a trusted employee in a world of snakes, and she now lived with the family.
Their other live-in employee, the nanny, was a different story. When Jane was born, both parents were already hardworking people, and though they'd tried to juggle work and parenthood, by the time she reached her first birthday, it was evident that another pair of hands was needed.
The first nanny had been Shane Montgomery, a fiery little blonde whose credentials had greatly impressed the Marianos from the start. Several less dignified occupations might have been more appropriate for the promiscuous girl, but no one could deny her gift with children.
After Shane had come Jenna, a lovable brunette who adored Jane…but wasn't attentive enough to keep her from tumbling down the stairs.
And then there was Mina, their current nanny. She wanted to be an actress, but had (smartly) thought to find employment before running around New York, looking for acting opportunities. Sadly, she wasn't a very good actress…just another pretty face from a small-town who thought she had more talent than she actually did.
Kathy had stayed longer than the three of them put together, so not only did the Marianos trust her to keep an extra eye out for the kids, she knew everything going on under their roof. Secrets that would have earned her millions in talk-show royalties. But she didn't tell, if not only because she was a good woman, but because she cared about her employers. Unmarried and a single child, she didn't have many family members to look after, and none of her previous jobs had lasted as long as this one. She was loyal to the family.
"Kathy, make sure that the Missus doesn't spend too much time with the kids if she's going to be slobbering drunk all day."
"She's already at it?" Kathy clucked her tongue. Now that she was treated as an honorary member of the family, she dropped the prudish servant formalities. She talked to the Marianos like they were her own children, though she was always careful not to intentionally tread on their bad sides.
"I guess she's free today."
"Yes, but not tomorrow. She's got to get her butt out of bed before the sun, and drive up to Boston tomorrow." He winced.
"Do what you can to make sure she's not too hung-over."
"I plan on it."
"Thanks Kathy. Is Mina awake?"
"Did you tell her what time you were leaving?"
"I don't remember."
"I'd say she's awake, and more than likely will be disappointed if you don't say goodbye." She handed him a travel mug of coffee and two warm poptarts wrapped in a paper towel as she spoke.
"Guess I'd better go see her. See you Friday, Kathy."
"Be good, Jess." He wiggled his eyebrows as he backed out of the swinging kitchen door, and made his way past the anxious driver.
"Did you bring my stuff to the car?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Hang tight then, I gotta go take care of something." Strangely enough, while the man felt it a crime to speak impolitely to his client, he thought nothing of rolling his eyes.
He made his way upstairs again, and to the other end of the hall where his and Rory's bedroom was located. A nursery and a little girl's room, each displaying the room's owner's name on a hand-carved sign on the door, a bathroom, and a smaller bedroom took up this wing of the house. He set his breakfast down on one of Rory's annoying little decorative tables in the hallway, and knocked on Mina's door.
"Come in," the 22-year-old's voice greeted him. He opened the door and entered into the waiting arms of the honey-blonde girl. "Hey there."
"Hey. I'm leaving, thought you might be awake."
"And you wanted a goodbye kiss?" He kissed her at that moment, not bothering to give an answer.
She backed him against the now-closed door, taking her time lapping at his mouth. She became more frantic as the seconds passed, until it was as if she'd never see him again.
"Mina, I'll be back on Friday." The words were somewhat garbled by her tongue, but she got the message, and backed off.
"Right. Sorry." She blushed when she realized exactly how forward she'd been, a gesture of innocence that reminded him of Rory a few years ago. He could still coax the same bashful response out of his wife if he tried, and if it was a good day for her. A little alcohol in her system would normally help as well; touching him seemed to be almost out of the question when she had her wits about her. But often, instead of trying and possibly failing, he'd go right for Mina's room.
"Okay. So I'm off." He left the room, closing the door behind him, and picked up his breakfast again. He couldn't resist peeking into his son's room, but once he had assured himself that Riley was sleeping soundly, he went back downstairs.
The car that had been sent for him was nice- he could close the divider between him and the driver, lay back, and watch reruns of The Office. As he crossed his arms behind his head to use as a pillow, he thought ahead to the movie he would be working on as soon as he got off the plane in Canada. Winter Dreams, based on the story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, about a gorgeous girl named Judy Jones who had a dozen admirers revolving around her, but refused to limit herself to just one. He was playing Dexter, the narrator, who believed himself to be different from Judy's other men.
Later on in the story, when Dexter had finally accepted Judy's inability to have a monogamous relationship, and gotten engaged to another girl, he ran into Judy again. Forgetting his fiancée, Judy's old habits, and the obstacles that had existed between them, he went back to her without a second thought.
Jess could draw parallels between Fitzgerald's tale and his own life. Rory, his wife, had her own demons. He had other things going on for him- his work, his children, and his distractions. And most of all, they had a history both good and bad together. But he was most like Dexter in that Rory would stay first and foremost in his heart no matter what happened. And if she'd let him, he'd come crawling back whatever the consequences, no matter how much it caused him to hate her.
And, like Judy Jones always did in the end, Rory kept pushing him away every time he made the effort.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
"Where're my babies?" Rory slurred as Kathy walked into the room. Ignoring the younger woman's question at first, Kathy began to open curtains, turn of the TV, and pull the covers off Rory's frail body.
"I brought you water, aspirin, and Kraft. It's currently four in the afternoon, your 'babies' are with Mina on the play set outside, and it's time for you to get up and greet the day." Rory blinked as Kathy helped her sit up, and pushed a breakfast tray in front of her.
"Did Jess leave yet?"
"Several hours ago."
"Oh. Did he find his blue tie?"
"I don't know. I'm not feeding that to you, just so you know." Whining and rubbing her eyes, Rory unscrewed the cap from the water bottle.
"Where did you say Riley and Jane were?" She swallowed the headache medicine, and made a face at the macaroni in front of her. It didn't smell very appealing at the moment; but when you're on the verge of throwing up, nothing really does.
"Playing out back with Mina. Last I saw she was pushing Riley in that confusing little 'Tot Swing!' and Jane was in the sand box. Don't think you're not eating that." Instead, Rory pushed the tray to the floor as she ran to the bathroom. Sighing, Kathy began to clean the mess up, as the sounds of Rory being sick serenaded her from the bathroom.
"Do you need anything, sweetie?" No answer. She left the room to find a product to scrub the cheese out of the carpet, making a mental note to tell Jess about the reoccurrence of this frequent incident when he called sometime in the next few days.
Meanwhile, Rory sank down onto the cool bathroom floor, her hand searching wilding for the little flushy thing on the toilet. Finally, after what felt like hours of searching, she found it. She'd spent the early hours in a giddy mood, and now that she'd had more to drink, slept some of it off for hours, and purged everything from her stomach, that switched to a bitchy-drunk mood. This frame of mind, while making her more active and seemingly normal, prompted her to be the cold, heartless shrew Jess often felt she was.
She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and added jeans to the skimpy nightgown. Kathy was returning as she left, and had a sad look on her face as she watched Rory walk past her and head for the back staircase.
The sun hurt her eyes, but it didn't stop her from crossing the backyard and heading for the girl taking care of her children. Mina Saunders stopped digging through the sand box to look up at the woman approaching her, looking every bit the Hollywood actress: messy-but-stunning hair and makeup, sexy clothing, wavering slightly from side to side in her walk, and a thousand-dollar pout on her lips.
"Mrs. Mariano, good afternoon!" She beamed up at the mother of her charges, hoping her admiration for her employer would be conveyed in her smile. Rory didn't look pleased at the compliment.
"Get away from my children." Recognizing the signs of bitch-Rory, she hurriedly bade goodbye to Riley and Jane, and entered the house. She went through the empty kitchen, wondering where Kathy was. She liked the woman's mothering, even if Kathy didn't seem to like her back. She couldn't imagine why, though. She'd never done anything bad to her.
As she thought this, Rory settled down on the grass near the sandbox.
"Mommy, you like the castle?" She bestowed a dazzling smile upon her daughter, and opened her arms for a well-deserved hug.
"It's beautiful, Baby Jane."
"Me, Mommy?"
"You're both such architects! Let's go get the camera so we can take pictures! We'll show them to Daddy when he comes home." Eagerly, Jane led her inside the house, while Riley toddled along happily after his mother and sister.
Bitch-Rory had faded quickly, as it always did. Maternal-Rory was now in her stead, and only the people who knew her well could keep up with her changing personalities.
Because she'd grown comfortable with shutting people out, the only people in the position to know her well were Marty, Kathy, and Jess.
