Chapter 10 Notes: Conversations are had and decisions are made. The boys reach a milestone in their relationship. Next chapter is back to Stars Hollow for turkey day. I wanted to address a question from a reviewer as to why Jess hasn't written any follow up novels since his first. I guess since this is a revival-era story, I took my cue from Jess' writing not being mentioned in A Year in the Life. I felt like if he was still writing it would have come up when he was talking to Rory and suggesting she write her own book. I felt like she would have kept up on reading his books and brought them up in conversation. Instead they just focused on his job in publishing, so I went with that. Thanks so much to those of you still reviewing this story. You're reviews mean so much to me.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own obsession with Gilmore Girls.
Jess spent the next few days mulling over his options. He didn't feel like he had many. After the initial announcement, Chris and Matthew had gone over logistics with him. Truncheon would officially close its doors in Philly on December 20th and reopen in the New York offices of Penguin Random House on the first of the year. Jess had explained that his only hang up was Jeremy, that he needed to discuss this with him and with his social worker first before he could commit to something that would affect both of them like this. They had told Jess to think it over, they understood he needed to talk to Jeremy, and they didn't need an answer on the spot, but they would like a decision from him by Thanksgiving, if that sounded reasonable. They wanted to give the rest of their staff notice of the closing by the beginning of December, and they wanted to make sure they knew what Jess wanted to do before they did, in case he decided to decline the offer and they had to go with their second choice. Jess had agreed that Thanksgiving was a reasonable deadline, still ten days away, and he assured them that his hesitancy had nothing to do with how he felt about his job. He liked it and wanted to keep it. He had just never made a decision this big for someone else before and he wanted to do it right and discuss it with Jeremy first.
Jess had gone for a run every night since he got the news. Running usually helped him clear his head. He did some of his best thinking running through the city. He still had not told anyone yet. Not Jeremy. Not Luke. And now it was Friday evening and Jess was out for another run. He only had five more days before they packed the car and left for Stars Hollow on Wednesday. He knew he was being a coward by putting it off. He hadn't meant to delay the discussion for as long as he had, leaving Jeremy with half the time to process the news as he had had before the Thanksgiving deadline. He knew that wasn't fair. He knew he should bring it up tonight. He just wasn't sure how to go about doing it. Did he explain that this was what was happening, or did he give the kid a real choice? And if he did, and the kid said no, then what? Would he really give up his job if Jeremy didn't want to move and switch schools again? Would Jeremy feel so strongly about staying that he would choose to call off the adoption? Jess didn't think that was likely, but the thought was there, anyway, lurking at the edge of his thoughts, unsettling him.
He thought about Chris and Matthew and how happy they were with what they had accomplished. As they should be. This was big stuff. And, he was happy for them, too, he honestly was, but the news also brought on a wave of regret that he hadn't bought in as a partner when he had the chance. He remembered the recent push to wrap up other projects and wondered if some open projects won't make the transition. He thought about Matthew saying that Penguin Random House wanted truncheon for its relevance in book selection for the young urban, male professional, and he wondered if Rory's book would make the cut, since it doesn't seem to fall into that category.
Jess stopped running and looked around, clasping his hands on his head to open his airways and catch his breath. He had gone much further out than he had planned, all the way to the river. He stood there panting on the concrete edge of the Delaware River, suddenly feeling bereft. He would miss this city. He would miss the charm and the character of the old historic buildings. He would miss how walkable and manageable Philadelphia felt, almost quaint in comparison to New York. He had always lived a long walk or short bus ride from Truncheon, and he knew that would no longer be the case when the new office was in Manhattan. But, most of all, he would miss who he had been here. Philadelphia was the first placed Jess had moved to for something, instead of because he was running from something else. He had submitted the manuscript for The Subsect from his rundown and overcrowded apartment in New York, and after working closely on the rewrites with Chris and Matthew and several trips to Philly, he had accepted a poorly paying job reading through the slush pile at their newly minted publishing company and had left New York with a duffel bag full of clothes and books and a solid plan to pursue something he felt passionate about. The exact opposite of how he had left New York, Stars Hollow, then New York and Stars Hollow again, then California. If Luke had been the first person who had felt like home to Jess, Philly had been the first place. He had grown into a better version of himself here than he had ever been anywhere else. He would miss it.
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Jess was about forty minutes into his long walk home when he decided he needed advice. He pulled his phone out of the pocket of his shorts, paused the song that was currently flowing out of his ear buds, and hit the number for his uncle. Now that he had stopped running, he was starting to feel chilled in his wet, sweaty clothes. He was glad he had thought to put a hoodie on over his tee shirt. It was already dark and it was already mid-November. Charisse had been gone for over six months now. Jess felt the rush of melancholy that he often got when he reflected on the passage of time and on how little he had to show for the thirty-three years he had already been given.
"Hey, Jess." Luke's voice was a comforting whisper in the dark. "Hold on." Then about twenty seconds later, at normal volume. "Sorry, Rory and Lorelai just got the baby to sleep. I didn't want to wake her up. I'm outside now. What's up?"
"So, how's all that going anyway?" Rory and Luke had both sent Jess pictures when the baby had been born at the beginning of November. Luke had continued to text almost daily pictures and updates, so Jess didn't really feel like he had missed out on much, but he knew how excited Luke was about his new granddaughter so he felt like he should ask.
"The baby? It's going great, Jess! She's incredible. I was holding her the other day, just for a few minutes, so that Rory could take a shower, and she fell asleep in my arms. Rory didn't want to wake her, so I ended up sitting on the couch holding her for almost an hour. It was the greatest feeling."
"That sounds…...great."
"It was." Jess could hear the concern in Luke's voice. "Hey, are you ok, Jess?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
"Well, I know you didn't just call to hear me ramble on about Leelee. So, what's up?" The name still annoyed Jess. Rory had kept the tradition started by her mother and named her daughter Lorelai and then christened her with a nickname that he knew she thought was quirky and special, but really just sounded foolish.
"I have something I want to run by you. You have a few minutes to talk?"
"Of course. What's going on?"
Jess relayed everything he had learned from Chris and Matthew about the Truncheon buyout, the relocation to New York, and the job waiting for him there. "So, I'm not sure what to do."
"You're going to take the job, right? I mean, what are your other options?"
"Yeah, I'm going to take it. I think. I'm like 95% sure. I'm not all that excited to go back to New York, but I don't know what my other options would be. Philly isn't exactly crawling with publishing companies with 'help wanted' signs hanging in the windows. And, I can't be without a job, especially now that I have Jeremy, but I feel really shitty about uprooting him in the middle of his senior year."
"Hmm…...yeah, I'm sure that won't be easy for him. But, he's only been where he is now for a few months. Has he really put down roots there aside from his relationship with you? I mean, you've told me before that he doesn't really have friends there, or anyone he sees outside of school. Maybe he won't mind moving as much as you think."
Jeremy doesn't seem to have made any friends, that was true. Jess had asked him once or twice about the kids at school, and the boy had shrugged off the question. He only ever mentioned tests and papers due, with occasional anecdotes about a particularly wacky teacher or some general disruption in class. But, the other kids at school didn't seem to feature into Jeremy's stories very often when Jess asked the boy about his day.
Jess himself would only count Chris and Matthew as his real friends, and they would be moving to New York as well. He was friendly with pretty much everyone at Truncheon, but not actual friends. He knew that not having a lot of friends didn't mean a person would welcome such a huge change to their routine. That had been the case for Jess when he was seventeen and being shipped off to Connecticut and it still held true now.
"Maybe. It just seems so….disruptive. It's not what I wanted for him."
"Well, you can't control everything, my friend. Sometimes parents get new jobs and families move. The timing isn't ideal, but you do what you've got to do to take care of your kid. And, he's a good kid, Jess. He'll understand."
Jess sighed. "I know, but our situation is more complicated than most families. I'm not even sure what the rules are for taking him out of state."
"So, you find out. Call his social worker on Monday."
"Yeah, I guess."
"And, he'll turn eighteen before you need to leave, so it's not like they can make him stay at that point if he doesn't want to, right?"
Jess wished he could feel as confident as Luke seemed to be that Jeremy would choose to go with him. "No, but it's not just that. He qualifies to get money for college and stuff from the system. Even if I adopt him, he gets financial help for college because he had an open dependency case when he was sixteen or older. I know the social worker said he could go to any Pennsylvania community college for free or get a decent chunk of his tuition covered at the state schools he's applied to. I don't know what the rules are if I move him out of state, if he's going to lose that benefit. That's a lost to ask him to give up."
"You can still make it work, Jess. You need to let him know that when you talk to him. If he loses those benefits, you'll be like every other family in the country with a kid in college. He'll take out some loans and you'll pay for the rest. Like Anna and I did with April."
Jess was silent for a moment, too embarrassed to let Luke know how much he was already struggling with money even without a kid in college. And New York was expensive. Even with the pay increase, things could get worse for him in the next year, living in New York with college tuition bills rolling in.
Luke seemed to sense something was off. "And, if you need a hand, I can help out with college."
"I would never ask you to do that. Jeremy is my responsibility. I'll figure it out."
"I didn't hear you asking. I'm sure you will figure it out, but I want you to know that if you need help, I'm here. Always. Ok?"
"Ok. Thanks."
"So, are you talking to him tonight?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, I think so. I just…...I don't know. I guess I'm just worried about messing up that conversation." Jess paused, not sure if he wanted to admit his real fear. "What if he decides he doesn't want to go with me? What if he wants to call off the adoption?"
Jess heard a soft sigh reach his ear. "I don't know, Jess. I guess that would be his right. But, I've seen you two together. I really don't think that's going to happen. My impression of that kid, when he was here, and we were talking, was that he wants a family more than anything."
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Jeremy was sprawled out on the couch on his stomach, one arm hanging off the edge, petting Winston, who was mirroring Jeremy's position on the rug below. Jeremy was ostensibly watching TV, but he was really thinking about his day and wondering what tomorrow would bring. Jeremy had had a good day. And an even better evening. His art history teacher had given out what Jeremy would normally consider a pretty lame assignment. Each student was to go to any Philadelphia art museum over the weekend and write a two-page paper about a work of art that inspired them. It could be any medium that spoke to them, painting, photography, installation art, etc. They didn't need to do any research, just write about the emotions they felt when they looked at the piece. Jeremy usually hated broad, unstructured assignments and pretty much anything that involved sharing his emotions or personal feelings in his school work. He thought this sounded like a waste of time, and if the teacher hadn't said that you needed to show your ticket stub on Monday, Jeremy would have just looked up the current exhibits at the Philadelphia Museum of Art online and written about whatever work of art he could find on the website.
As the students were filing out into the hallway after class, Melissa Chavez had turned to him and made a comment about how lame the assignment was. Jeremy had agreed. Then she had surprised him by smiling and saying it might be less lame if they went together, what did he think. Jeremy's mind had gone blank at the question, or maybe at her smile directed at him like that. He had nodded a few times before remembering how to speak and telling her that he thought that would definitely be less lame. The wattage on her smile had intensified then. She handed him her phone and told him to put his number in, and she would text him tonight after she checked in with her mom about the weekend. Jeremy had left school with a grin on his face, but he had tried not to get his hopes up. Sometimes people said things. Sometimes they even had the best of intentions to follow through on what they said. But, he knew a million things could happen that could distract Melissa or make her change her mind. He wouldn't count on anything until he heard from her again.
Then she had texted him about half hour ago, asking if he would he be able to go tomorrow. He had made himself wait a few seconds to text her back, so it wouldn't look like he had been waiting too eagerly for her text, before responding that Saturday was good for him. He knew he should probably wait until Jess got home from his run to ask him if it was ok, but he didn't think Jess would say no, and he didn't want to make Melissa wait. She had proposed a time and suggested they meet out front of the museum, Jeremy had confirmed, and Melissa had ended the conversation with a 'looking forward to it' followed by a smiley-face emoji. Jeremy had liked Melissa since he met her on the first day of school. They only shared the the one class, right after lunch, and since they were often the only two students who arrived early and the seating was arranged alphabetically, putting Melissa directly in front of Jeremy, they had gotten in the habit of spending those minutes before class talking. As much as Jeremy had started to like Melissa, he had never expected any real interest on her part. She was a nice person and he had just assumed she talked to him out of boredom because he was the only other person in the room or pity because he was new and didn't have any real friends. But, wanting to see him outside of school, even just for a class assignment, felt different, promising. Jeremy was looking forward to tomorrow, but he was already getting that nervous feeling in his stomach that always came from not wanting to mess up a social encounter with someone he really liked.
Jeremy heard the key in the lock and immediately sat up. He knew it was unnecessary, but it was an automatic reflex, stemming back to the days when he had tried so hard to walk the fine line of exuding appreciation for a placement without appearing overly comfortable, wanting to look like the model of a well-mannered and grateful child at all times. Jess had been running a lot this week, every night, and he didn't look like his usual happy, post-run self when he came home, his shorts and hoodie the only indication he had been running. Tonight Jess had been gone for almost two hours. Jeremy couldn't read the expression on his foster father's face as the man crouched down to pet Winston who had walked over, tail wagging rapidly, to greet him at the door. "Hey, buddy! How's it going, boy? How's my good dog?" Jess scratched Winston's head for a moment before looking toward Jeremy, a small, tight smile on his face, as he straightened back up to his full height. "Hey, Jeremy, can you come sit at the table with me for a minute please? I need to talk to you."
"Uh, sure." Jeremy stood up from couch and followed Jess over to the table. Jess looked serious, which would normally make Jeremy worried, but he really couldn't think of anything he had done recently that could have upset the man. Plus, he was a little distracted by his plans with Melissa. "Hey, is it ok if I meet a girl from school at the art museum tomorrow? She's in my art history class and we have to go to the museum this weekend for an assignment and she asked me if I wanted to go with her." When Jeremy realized that he was grinning more than he probably should be over just going to a museum with a girl, he expected Jess to tease him for it. Instead, Jess' expression became even more serious, almost pained, and Jeremy started to worry. "Is everything ok, Jess? Did I do something….?"
"What? No, Jeremy, you didn't do anything. Everything's fine. Of course, you can go meet this girl tomorrow."
"Ok. Thanks." Jeremy spoke slowly, hesitantly, not really convinced that everything was ok. "I'm not meeting her until two, so we can still take Winston to the park in the morning."
Jess nodded. "Ok. That's fine, Jeremy. So, uh, I got some news at work this week that I need to talk to you about. The company I work for just got bought out by a much bigger company that's located in New York, and, well, I need to be in New York by the end of the year, too, if I want to keep my job. I'm really sorry to spring this on you like this."
Jeremy felt his stomach drop like the floor had been pulled out from under him. He felt an instant clenching in his chest, a wave of nausea. He knew this had been too good to be true. Everything about this placement. How well Jess treated him. How accepting his whole extended family in Connecticut had been. The whole idea of getting adopted into a loving family right under the wire before his eighteenth birthday. He should have seen this coming. He should have known something would happen. He felt so stupid for having let his guard down as much as he had and not having done better at keeping himself mentally prepared for the worst. So Jess had tossed about words like 'adoption' and 'dad.' That didn't always mean anything in the end. He felt his eyes fill, one single tear spilled over and ran down his face and he didn't bother to wipe it away.
He felt Jess' hand on his forearm before he realized that man was speaking again. "I'm really sorry, Jeremy. I know this is the worst timing. I really wanted you to get to spend your senior year in one place."
Jeremy had wanted that, too. He felt dazed. He tried to nod politely, but wasn't sure his head had actually moved. There was no point in making Jess feel bad about it. Things happened. Jeremy knew that.
"I know this isn't what you wanted to hear. I'm not really excited about moving either. But, hey, it's not the end of the world, right? Everything will be ok. Things will work out." Jeremy had been told this before, when he had been removed from so many past placements, that he couldn't stay, but that it was ok, everything would work out for him. He didn't have it in him to play along that he was ok and that he believed everything would turn out all right, not this time, not when it hurt this much. Jeremy realized he hadn't moved or spoken when he felt Jess' hand shift on his arm, giving him a gentle squeeze, as his foster father frowned, a concerned look in his eyes. "Is it this girl? Is that why you're taking this so hard? You really like her, huh?"
Jeremy looked at Jess, confused. His mind flashed back to sitting at this same table with his foster father on the night he arrived, when Jess had told him that he had to go to school and pass all his classes. Jeremy had been turned off by the guy's cluelessness and hadn't felt that way about Jess again until now. He had thought he had a family and now he found out that he didn't. Did Jess really think he was upset about a girl he barely knew when he was about to lose Jess and his last hope for a family? He realized his disgust must have shown on his face when Jess slowly recoiled, pulling his arm back to his own side of the table, his expression uncertain.
"Do you seriously think I'm upset over Melissa right now? Are you seriously asking me that?" Jeremy spat out, getting angry now. "I guess I didn't mean as much to you as you meant to me, because the last thing on my mind right now is some girl I barely know from school. I'm sorry if it offends you that I'm upset, but I guess you're just going to have to deal with it if it takes me a few minutes to adjust to this. You're going to have to deal with not feeling like you're such a great guy for once." Jeremy jerked back from the table and stood up so quickly that his chair skidded backward across the kitchen floor before falling onto one side. Jess was staring at him with wide eyes. Jeremy knew his foster father was unaccustomed to receiving this kind of attitude or hostility from him. He also knew he was being unforgivably rude, but he didn't care. Jess could go fuck himself. Jess and his stupid empty promises.
Sustained anger had never been in Jeremy's nature, and this was no exception. He felt his rage crashing down around him, leaving him with his more familiar companions of sadness and heartache as he stood there in the kitchen, by his upended chair, feeling an overwhelming sense of grief take over, no energy left to storm out and slam his bedroom door. He could feel more tears coming and he felt shame at how sensitive he was, that crying came so easily to him. "I can't believe you're doing this to me. I really thought you cared about me." Jeremy heard his voice crack, but instead of averting his eyes in shame, he kept his stare locked on Jess. No matter how disgusted he felt with himself, he was more disgusted with Jess.
"What? Jeremy, I do care about you! Of course, I care about you!" Jess was out of his seat and around the table facing Jeremy, but careful to keep an arm's length between them, not touching, his voice soft and concerned. "I'm sorry, but this is out of my control. I need to follow my job. I can't afford to be out of work right now. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. I wish things were different, but they're not. What part of moving has you so upset? Talk to me. I'll do my best to help with whatever I can. I think you might like New York if you give it a chance. And, this might sound really corny, but we'll still have each other. We'll still be together. And right now, that what's most important to me."
The realization hit Jeremy with equal parts relief and mortification. They were moving to New York. Jess had been telling him that they, as a family, were moving to New York. Jeremy could feel his face getting warm. He felt like an ass. "Oh." He looked at Jess and spoke tentatively. "I get to go, too."
"What?" Jess released an audible breath, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. He looked more relaxed, now. Jeremy could see the man's mood lightening and hear the relief in his voice. "Yes, you get to go, too. Of course you get to go. You're my kid, Jeremy. I want to adopt you. Did you really think I was going to leave you behind?"
Jeremy shrugged sheepishly.
"I'm so sorry, Jeremy. I thought you were mad about having to move again and switching schools. I didn't realize you thought I was abandoning you. How could you think that?"
Jeremy looked away from Jess, embarrassed at having jumped to the wrong conclusion and overreacting like he had. His eyes settled on Winston, who was on his feet, watching them warily from the living room, not used to raised voices or crashing furniture. "I don't know. It's happened before. Sometimes something unexpected happens in a placement and people can't keep a foster kid with them anymore. I just figured…." Jeremy trailed off, not sure how to continue without insulting Jess further.
"You just figured what? That I didn't care about you enough to want to keep you? That I was going to get rid of you for logistical reasons? That I-" Jeremy looked back at Jess when the man stopped speaking mid-sentence. He was looking down at the floor in front of him, a pensive look on his face. He looked back up at Jeremy. "You thought that I don't love you and that it would be possible for me to walk away from you if it was more convenient for me. But, I do love you, Jeremy. And, I could never walk away from you. I know I haven't said that before, so it's not like I should have expected you to know, but it's true. I'm all in, Jeremy. You, me, Winston. This family. I'm serious about this."
Jeremy felt something rich and good spreading in his chest. Something warm and comfortable and safe. He had gone so long in the world with no one loving him. Since his parents died thirteen long and lonely years ago. He felt like he might tear up if he tried to talk, but he knew he had to risk it. Jess had been brave to tell him, and he wanted to be brave, too. "I'm, uh, I'm pretty sure I love you, too."
Jess laughed softly. "That's good to hear. I'd hate to think I was all alone in this."
Jeremy started to smile tentatively. "You're not." Jeremy felt choked up, but he didn't cry. "And I'm sorry for what I thought, and, uh, how I acted. I shouldn't have talked to you like that. I'm sorry."
"It's ok, Jeremy." Jess was smiling now, the smile that always gave Jeremy the warm feeling that everything was going to be ok. "You were upset. I get it. I would have been angry, too, if I had been in your shoes, thinking what you were thinking."
"Being upset isn't a good excuse. I was really terrible. I just…...I'm used to being disappointed…" Jeremy felt like he needed to justify his actions. "And, I'm sorry that's where my mind went."
"It's ok, Jeremy, really."
"It's not that I don't trust you."
"Jeremy, c'mere." Jeremy let himself be pulled into a hug, his chest pressed against Jess' thick sweatshirt, still cool from the night air. "We're good, kid. Ok?" Jess chuckled. "I know I probably don't smell too great right now, but I'm not letting you go until you say we're ok." Jeremy could hear the amusement in Jess' voice, and he huffed out a soft laugh into the shoulder of Jess' hoodie as he hugged back tightly, feeling snug and secure, safer than he had in a very long time.
"We're ok." Jeremy said it because it was what Jess wanted to hear, not because he wanted to be released from the hug.
Jeremy looked down, feeling a little overwhelmed, as Jess pulled back from the hug. Jess placed his hands on Jeremy's shoulders and dipped his head, trying to get the boy to make eye contact. "Hey, Jeremy." Jeremy looked up at his broadly smiling foster father in time to feel one hand leave his shoulder and a light, almost gentle slap land against the back of his skull, knocking his head forward an inch or two.
"Ow." Jeremy said softly, the word leaving his mouth out of instinct rather than reaction to any actual pain.
Jess was grinning infectiously now, the skin around his eyes crinkling with happiness, his hands on Jeremy's shoulders, gently shaking him forward and back. "That was for thinking I was going to abandon you. Now, we're good."
Jeremy grinned back. He felt Jess' hand cupping the back of his head where he had just hit him. Jeremy yielded to the gentle pressure allowing his head to be tipped forward toward Jess. He felt a kiss land on the top of his hair. When he looked back up, Jess was grinning again. "All right. If we're done having this Hallmark moment, I'm going to go jump in the shower." His expression became more serious. "But, just to confirm. You're ok with moving to New York in January? The entire Mariano-Cooper family will be moving to New York, together, yes?"
Jeremy smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine with moving to New York as long as you'll be there."
"Thank you." Jess smiled softly at Jeremy, and raised a hand to lightly pat the boy's cheek. "You're a good kid, Jeremy Cooper."
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That Wednesday found Jess and Jeremy on the road headed to Stars Hollow for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Jess was feeling good. He had given Chris and Matthew his answer on Monday, and even though he knew the move to New York would be stressful, he felt better that he had made a decision, that things were settled, and that he and Jeremy would be in it together. He was giving himself until after the holiday weekend to start getting his shit together for the move, leaving him feeling mostly relaxed and happy today.
He smiled to himself as he thought about how things had turned out. How what he had feared would be a tense and difficult situation had resulted in a turning point for him and Jeremy. He felt good, proud of himself even, when he thought back to Jeremy telling him that he loved him. It made him feel like maybe he wasn't so bad at this foster parenting thing. That maybe he was actually doing something right, maybe even enough to be good at it. It had been a weight lifted off his shoulders, giving him the feeling that they had taken one giant step forward in solidifying themselves as an actual family instead of just two people coexisting in an uncertain situation. He hoped that telling the kid he loved him had gone a long way to assuage Jeremy's fears of being abandoned. He could still remember the first time Luke had told him he loved him, and he knew the value in knowing you were loved by the person taking care of you instead of just seen as a responsibility that that person had to deal with. He knew that love alone wouldn't provide the kind of security that Jess wanted Jeremy to feel, but he also knew that real security couldn't exist without it.
"Do you think Winston and Paul Anka will get along?" Jeremy asked from the passenger seat. The boy turned to pet Winston who had stood up in the backseat at hearing his name. "Sit down, boy. C'mon. Lay back down."
"I don't know." Jess said, eyes on the road in front of him. "I'm not sure how Paul Anka is with other dogs. He seems pretty scared of everything, though, so we'll have to go slow and be careful when we introduce them."
"Is Winston staying at Luke and Lorelai's house?"
"I was thinking he'd stay with us in the apartment. Why would he stay at Lorelai's?"
Jeremy was up on one knee, stretching his seatbelt to reach into the back and pet Winston, trying to help the dog lie down and get resituated in his safety harness. Jess patted the boy's side. "Sit back down, Jeremy. That's not safe if we get in an accident."
"Sorry. One sec." Jeremy turned back around in his seat once Winston was lying down again. "I don't know. You have to walk through the diner to get to the apartment. I wasn't sure dogs were allowed to do that."
Huh. "I hadn't really thought about that." Jess admitted.
"And, he needs to go out four times a day, so that's eight trips through the diner every day that we're there."
"I see your point." Jess hadn't told Luke that Winston was coming home with them, and he hadn't considered having to walk Winston through a crowded diner. "Let's just hope Luke's in a good mood."
"Luke seems like he's always in a good mood."
Jess huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, we'll see about that when your dog is traipsing through his diner tracking dirt and hair all over the place."
"Oh, so now he's my dog?" Jeremy laughed.
"Yup. And you're right, I should have thought of this and asked Luke before we brought Winston. But, it'll be fine. Luke will huff and puff about a dog running through his diner, but in the end, he'll be won over by the little guy's charm and let him stay with us."
"I hope so." Jeremy said, a thoughtful frown on his face. "So, once we move to New York, the trip to Stars Hollow will only be half this long, right?"
"Yeah. It's only about two hours from New York."
"So, maybe we'll be able to visit more often?" Jess heard the intentional nonchalance in Jeremy's voice.
"Yeah, you'd like to do that?"
"I think it might be fun. I really like your family, and I had a good time with them the last time we were there. Didn't you?"
"Yeah, it was good. I think we should definitely be able to get out there more often if that's what you want. I know Luke would love to get to spend more time with you. And, he hates driving into the city. He'll do it. But, he hates it."
"I can't really picture Luke in the city."
"Don't try. It's not a pretty picture. He complains about everything the whole time he's there. New York, Philly, any city, it doesn't matter. He thinks they're all overcrowded and dirty"
Jeremy laughed. "You have to cut him some slack. It's got to be weird to have spent your whole life in Stars Hollow. Every place else must look like a dump in comparison."
"I think you're right. I guess it all depends on what you're used to. I grew up in New York and Stars Hollow always felt like a freak show to me." This seemed like a good place to ask about Jeremy's childhood and where he had spent most of his time, in cities or small towns, and maybe get Jeremy talking and opening up about his life. Jess had offered to listen to Jeremy about anything in his past that he might want to talk about, but so far Jeremy had never taken him up on his offer. Jess was set to adopt the kid in less than a month and he still didn't know much about the boy's past other than the limited details written up in the report he had received from the social worker. He told himself that he was just respecting Jeremy's privacy, but he knew he was being a little bit of a chicken by never asking questions, and possibly leading the boy to believe he wasn't interested. Jess wasn't sure if it was a good time to get into it when they were about to spend the weekend with family. Jeremy's past couldn't be easy for him to think about and he didn't want to set the kid off before the weekend. He made a mental note to make it a priority for the conversation on the drive home, when they had four more hours to kill.
"So, hey, did you guys decide what woodworking project you're going to make?" Luke had asked for Jeremy's phone number right after their last visit and sent the boy the occasional text, sometimes with links to various beginner woodworking projects that he thought Jeremy might be interested in, sometimes with pictures of the baby or Paul Anka in a group text that also included Jess and April, and sometimes just to say hi and ask how he was doing. Jess knew it had a lot to do with Luke wanting Jeremy to know he still liked him and had no hard feelings about the peanut allergy incident. Jess was grateful that Luke was taking being a great-uncle so seriously, even in light of having recently become a grandpa.
"Almost. It's down to either a chessboard or a birdhouse."
"I didn't know you play chess."
"I don't. That's why I'm leaning toward the birdhouse. But, the chessboard just looked really cool. You use two different shades of wood to create the different colors on the board. The design seemed really interesting. But, yeah, I wouldn't really have a use for it."
"You could always learn to play. It's not like we really have any place to put a birdhouse either."
"That's true. Luke says my first project doesn't have to be about what I actually make. He said it should be more about the learning process and developing fundamental skills. That I can just pick something fun that inspires me and not worry about how useful it will be after it's done."
"Huh. That sounds like good advice. The journey over the destination and all that. I had no idea Luke was so zen."
Jess glanced at Jeremy out of the corner of his eye, took in the boy smiling happily in the passenger seat, clearly pleased to be headed to Stars Hollow. He thought about all the progress they had made in their relationship since the last time they had been in Connecticut and how much closer they had gotten, on the verge of officially and legally being father and son. He wondered if Jeremy would still prefer Luke to him and whether it would be harder to take this time around. Then he mentally kicked himself for his own insecurity.