Rory's eyes opened to a dim bedroom, though the morning was well on its way toward noon. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and wondered whether it was supposed to snow last night. Her flannel pajamas crackled and sparked against the flannel sheets as she shoved herself from bed and stepped to the closest window to survey the landscape, though not with the elated feeling that hovered in the pit of her stomach at eleven years old, or would have even now if she'd been in a better mood. The sky was full of grey clouds, which had recently dusted everything with three inches of snow. Perfect weather for hibernating or brooding.
She hopped back into bed and pulled the covers over her head to review last night's events. Jess, an ass. Jess, an idiot. So, of course, immediate forgiveness coupled with an inability to freeze him out had been her unthinking approach. Well, she hadn't forgiven him totally, but when it came to Jess she was always doing things she knew were probably not in her best interest. It was impossible to talk to him like a distant friend or acquaintance. Just like a bag of Doritos, once she got started she couldn't stop.
"Leave the bag unopened, or tear it up and scarf the whole thing," she muttered aloud, scorning her behavior.
She always opened the bag intending to eat two or three, or just the recommended serving size, approximately 13 chips. But half an hour later, she'd be staring at a few chip scraps rattling around in a vacant bag. As if following her thoughts, Rory's stomach growled and she lost track of the ways Jess was like a bag of Doritos.
"Sustenance now," she commanded herself.
Fully expecting to step into the kitchen and find Lorelai there with a cup of coffee, she furrowed her brow at the empty coffee maker and silent room.
"Mom?" Rory asked as she walked into the family room. The look of surprise on her face when she saw Lorelai outside scraping ice off the jeep was only slightly less dramatic than the time Lane dyed her hair purple, then insisted they die it back to black.
Slipping her feet into shoes she found in the foyer she rushed outside, folding her arms across her chest in defense against the cold.
"What are you doing?" Rory asked.
"What am I doing? You'd best get back inside and bask in the glory of every window in that house being fully functional and weather sealed."
"I can't believe you're up and outside on a snowy Sunday morning."
"Well, daughter o' mine, I'll have you know I'm preparing to journey to Doose's where I will acquire well-liked foodstuffs. Despite last night's snowfall I'm prepared to brave the streets; that's just the kind of mother I am. I figured, ya know…Luke's—not that good after all. Not on this particular morning." She made a sweeping gesture, her arm taking in a patch of sky, some nearby evergreen trees, and Babette's garden gnomes. "On a morning like this we need, among other things, bacon, a box of assorted donuts, and Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch. Clearly." She continued her scraping efforts, the metal on glass rasping loudly.
"Mom, let's just go to Luke's."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm totally fine. I'm freezing my butt off, so can we talk about why I'm fine later? Let's just go to Luke's this morning for the pancakes that I love and won't be able to have until my next visit. Jess is not a big enough deal to come between a girl and her pancakes. With a side of bacon."
"Of course."
"Of course," Rory echoed, not sure whether her mom meant that of course bacon must go with pancakes, or of course a boy should not affect a girl's food choices.
Lorelai tilted her head and paused a noticeable beat or two before replying. "Okay, but can we take the jeep anyway? See how cute she is this morning? And she was so sweet while I scraped off the snow and ice…good girl," Lorelai finished, patting the driver's side window.
"Must you anthropomorphize everything? We can walk. It's obvious you're just trying to rationalize your laziness."
Lorelai opened her mouth and closed it again, trying to come up with a real killer comeback. "Oooh, big words from a small girl—Yale's paying off!"
Rory glared.
"Mocking me before I've been showered and coffeed is unacceptable. I will see you again after I've completed these aforementioned rituals." Turning quickly, she strode, with a small sleepy stumble, into the house.
"Yeah, well, just be sure you don't afore yourself into…the…I'm just gonna trail off now."
Lorelai patted the car again. "You're the only one who understands me, Sheila."
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Jess did not wake up as Rory had, in her own time and with the chance to ponder last night's events in the dim afterglow of snowfall. Luke's alarm went off at exactly 5:30 a.m. and, just in case it didn't wake him up, Luke threatened him with physical harm if he wasn't downstairs in half an hour. A little bit of snow didn't slow down anybody in Connecticut, and even if it had snowed a foot there were plenty of customers within walking distance of Luke's in Stars Hollow.
The diner was, as usual on a Sunday morning, packed.
"Cesar, I needed those two omelet specials yesterday!" Luke barked into the kitchen.
Two heaping plates appeared in the up window and Cesar's face peered through.
"You know, they say that yoga is very relaxing. Relieves tension and centers you spiritually. Maybe you should try it sometime."
"Yeah, I'll take that into careful consideration," Luke muttered before hurrying off to the unnumbered table in the back corner.
Jess made the rounds with a pot of regular and decaf in each hand, deftly refilling mugs as customers waved him over.
Luke glanced at him skeptically. "That looks real impressive and all, but if you spill coffee on any customers you're so fired."
"Aw, come on Uncle Luke, pouring coffee's just like riding a bike. I never forgot how."
Luke growled quietly at Jess' sarcastic use of formal address and moved on to the next table to take their order.
Jess smiled and wondered for the twentieth time that morning when Rory and her mom would show up for breakfast. She wouldn't leave Stars Hollow without coming to Luke's, would she? He wondered what she'd wear this morning. His train of thought was broken when Luke waved him over.
"Hey, you're doing a good job with refilling drinks and bussing tables, but I need you to act as a server too. See that 6-top over there? Think you can handle it?"
Jess looked in the direction of the table and saw an unfamiliar group. Each customer perused the menu with the energy of someone who would ask multiple questions and make a minimum of four changes to each item they ordered.
Without hesitating, he answered. "Sure, no problem." He knew Luke would be testing him this morning to see how hard he'd work before he acted like a jerk. He hadn't snapped yet.
There was no more room for thinking about Rory as he grabbed a pad of paper and pen.
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"Mom, I'm totally over this whole Jess thing. I swear." Rory and Lorelai unintentionally power-walked through the Stars Hollow streets, their pace increasing with the intensity of their conversation.
"Uh huh."
"Mom, I saw him last night--"
"What?" Lorelai stopped walking.
Rory took a deep breath and started over. "I saw Jess last night, at the Firelight Festival, and we talked so the suspense is over." Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "We talked like…old acquaintances." Another deep breath. "It's fine Mom, I promise. At least for now. He's thinking about staying in town--"
"Again, what?"
"He's thinking about staying in town—can we keep walking instead of standing on the sidewalk like we're about to have a fight?"
"Okay, sure, if that helps you."
"It does. He's thinking about staying in town with Luke. It's the only way he can afford to go to school. Mom, he's doing the best he can and he's in town because of Luke, not me. Everyone is not as focused on me as you are, you know." They had arrived at Luke's and stopped outside the door to finish their conversation.
"Well, that may be true and it's their loss. I know that Luke will be happy. It's just…I don't want you getting hurt again. I know he's not a bad person, but I don't trust him. Just be careful with yourself, okay?"
"I will be. You have to trust me to do that. It's okay that you want to help me out, but I'm not a girl anymore."
Lorelai pursed her lips seriously. "Not a girl, not yet a woman. I get it. I'm hip."
Rory rolled her eyes, "I know you did not just compare me to Britney Spears. For goodness sake let's have some coffee." That said, she pulled open the familiar diner door and stepped inside.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, though it was a bit shorter than I intended. Just seemed like a natural place to stop. You there, if you have an opinion, don't just say nothing, let me know. All opinions and constructive criticism are welcome and always helpful.