Chapter 31 Notes: Jess attends parents' night at school, and Jeremy ponders his future. Thanks for all the reviews and comments for the last chapter. The scenes related to Jeremy's adoption meant a lot to me, and so did seeing your feedback on that section. :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own obsession with Gilmore Girls
Jess was standing behind the counter at the bookstore with a notepad and pen, working on his to do list for the first guest author event he was planning. He had two authors lined up, so far, a fledgling novelist from western Massachusetts and a naturalist poet from Vermont, both of whom he had worked with at Truncheon. The majority of the authors in his network were from New York or Philadelphia and Jess had focused on these two believing that their New England sensibilities would be better received in Stars Hollow. Both were immensely talented in his opinion, but were having issues launching their careers. Jess had gotten their contact info from Matt and both had agreed to a reading and book signing event at the store in early March. Jess wanted to fill one more spot, and was debating asking Taylor to talk about his book. He knew it was ridiculous on so many levels, but it kept with the theme of small town New England and there was no denying that as much as people complained about the man, without fail, the town turned out for Taylor's events. Jess just wasn't sure how well he would be able to live with himself afterward.
He had been discouraged after his initial discussion with Andrew about introducing events to the store. He had pitched his ideas for hosting author readings, book club meetings, guest lecturers and book signing events. Andrew had listened attentively and then told Jess that he didn't want him to feel pressured to improve sales or bring in more customers. That Andrew himself was fine with how things currently were. But, he understood that Jess was young and from a creative industry and if Jess wanted to do these types of things for his own creative fulfillment, Andrew was fine with that, too, and would support him as best he could. It was the oddest conversation Jess could remember ever having with a boss, Andrew looking at him earnestly, and explaining that while he basically didn't care about increasing profits, he was willing to increase his expenses to benefit Jess's personal fulfillment. As with so many interactions with his employer, Jess couldn't help but think about Andrew losing his child. Jess hadn't really known the man previous to his loss except as someone from whom to purchase books, and Jess had to wonder how much the loss Andrew suffered had changed his perspective on everything. After Andrew had gone back to his office, Jess had stood at the register for a moment, a little stupefied and emotional, before returning to restocking the newest shipment of books. He had thought about how much fatherhood had changed his own outlook on life and he couldn't imagine how drastically losing Jeremy would alter his perspective even further. He had given up on the idea of hosting events for a while, figuring why make extra work for himself if Andrew didn't care either way. He had put his head down and focused on learning the business for weeks, but he had recently taken up the idea again and gotten Andrew's ok. Jess realized the man had been right, that he wanted this for himself and his own creative fulfillment.
Jess watched the door open and a customer enter the store pushing a baby stroller. Jess sighed, not in the mood for this particular interruption. "Hey, Rory." They had already run into each other at the diner this morning, during one of the breakfast shifts Jess was helping Luke with before work. They hadn't spoken much since Christmas a month and a half ago, and it had been awkward waiting on her at the diner. Especially when she had tried to leave a five-dollar tip for her meal. He knew it shouldn't have angered him the way it had. He knew she and Lorelai were supposed to follow the same rules at the diner that he and April had been following for over a decade. Luke's family ate free, but Luke insisted if they sat to eat and were served by anyone other than him, they needed to tip. Jess had put his hand on the five dollar bill as he cleared her plate and pushed it back toward her, trying to play if off humorously, telling her thank you, but he had a no tips from step-cousins policy.
Rory smiled as she lifted Leelee, dressed in a furry white onesie with cat ears protruding from the hood, from the stroller and held her against her side. "Look who it is, Leelee!" Rory spoke in a high voice to her daughter with exaggerated excitement. "It's the same guy who just served us breakfast at Grandpa's diner!" She smiled mischievously at Jess, then, and spoke with her voice modulated for adult ears. "Hey, I just realized something."
"Yeah?" Jess kept his voice neutral. "What's that?"
"So, you're working everywhere, right? You're here. You're driving all over town for Uber. You occasionally pop up as a server at the diner."
Jess didn't bother correcting her by saying he drove to Hartford to do most of his Uber driving. "Huh." Jess aimed for slightly amused nonchalance. "Thanks for the observation. I couldn't figure out why I've been so exhausted lately, but now it makes sense."
Rory laughed lightly. "You're Kirk!"
Jess frowned, annoyed at having his work life mocked by someone who was still volunteering her time at the Gazette when she felt like it and writing a memoir, earning no money from either endeavor while she and her daughter lived off her mother and his uncle. When she had arrived in Stars Hollow, she had been, by her own admission, too broke to buy underwear, and since she hadn't worked at a paying job a day since then, Jess could only surmise that either Lorelai and Luke were funding the daily needs of her and her daughter, or that she was receiving infusions of cash from her father, her grandmother or the blond dick. Either way, Jess didn't feel like she was in any place to be throwing stones at his economic situation. Jess tried to keep his voice casual and not let her know that she was getting to him. "Wow. A comparison to Kirk? It's like that, huh?"
Rory smiled, clearly oblivious to the effect her words had had on Jess. "Hey, the similarities are real. You walk into any business in this town and you have a fifty-fifty chance of being served by you or Kirk. Does Kirk know that he's got this kind of competition? I'd be careful if I were you. You can trust me from my experience competing against him in the dance marathon, Kirk will stop at nothing to wipe out his competition." Rory smiled appreciatively at her own humor and it made Jess's annoyance shift into something stronger, but again, he kept it tamped down. He had had a whole lifetime of practice at keeping his emotions under the surface, and he knew he was competent at it. He also thought back to the dance marathon, the night Dean had dumped Rory and she and Jess had gotten together. He remembered how hopeful he had felt that night, talking to her on the bridge, thinking he would finally have something good in his life, something that would fix him and make him better. The memory of his naivety hit him hard enough to hurt. He hated how much baggage he ran into in this town on a regular basis.
He played along, keeping things friendly. "I'll have you know that Kirk has never worked at the diner. He tried, but it never happened. Luke has extremely high hiring standards."
"Ah, so you're marketing yourself as Kirk 2.0. Smart. I like it."
Jess smiled at her comment, but he realized he was over this. Their whole dynamic of Rory being playful with him when she needed attention or validation, while mentally storing their interactions to be thrown in his face as proof that he was still chasing her, when he really didn't believe he was. Not anymore. He could honestly say at this point, that between Jeremy and Luke and his three jobs, he never thought about Rory when he wasn't in the same room as her. At this point in his life, he knew relationships were hard enough without becoming involved with someone who had the history of cheating that Rory had. With him, on Dean. With Dean when he was married. Almost with him again, on the blond dick when she had come to Philly. He thought back to that night on the bridge after the dance marathon and how he hadn't let anything happen then, not until he had found Shane and ended things with her. He had seen the fallout from too many men cheating on Liz and treating her like shit during his childhood for cheating to ever be something that felt acceptable to him. Even at eighteen and in a casual relationship based mostly on sex, he had realized he owed Shane the respect of breaking things off with her before he started something new. Rory still hadn't learned that lesson by thirty-two. That was obvious by how she'd strung Paul along while sneaking around with the blond dick. He and Rory had basic differences when it came to how they treated people that made them incompatible, romantically, and possibly even as friends. He knew he wasn't perfect, that he hadn't been the best boyfriend to Charisse, hadn't supported her dream and helped her start a family and been the man she had deserved, but he also knew that Charisse had always trusted him to not cheat on her. That mattered to him, that he could be trusted like that. That part of their relationship had worked, and he wanted the same kind of trust with his next partner.
"I need to pay for college in the fall. I guess you do what you need to for your kid, right? If that makes me Kirk 2.0, so be it." He knew he hadn't kept his tone as light as he had wanted to when he watched confusion flash across Rory's face even as she held her smile in place.
"Ok. Well, we're going to go check out the kids' section-"
The phone rang and Jess excused himself to answer it.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Jeremy was sitting at the kitchen table looking at his laptop, Winston curled up in his dog bed at his feet. Jeremy sighed as he read through the admissions information for another college in Hartford. The application deadline had already passed for that one, too. All the four year state colleges and universities he had looked at in Connecticut had application deadlines sometime during January, and it was already mid-February. He wished he had hadn't waited so long to look into this. He had finished the whole college application process early, having all his essays written and applications completed and submitted during the fall. Then everything had been so up in the air for a while. First they were moving to New York, then Jess lost his job, then they lost everything else in the fire and Jeremy hadn't been sure college would still be possible, then they moved to Stars Hollow. And all of Jeremy's college applications were now sitting on the desks, or in the computers, of admissions officers at schools in Pennsylvania that were anywhere from four to six hours away from his new home. Jeremy had applied to those schools because they were local. But, now they weren't, and he didn't want to be four to six hours away from Jess and Winston and Luke. He wanted to stay close by and have them in his day to day life and get to spend time with the rest of his family and deepen and cement his bonds here, before he was off on his own again.
The only Connecticut schools that were still accepting applications for the fall semester were community colleges. Jeremy didn't know if Jess would be ok with that. It would save them a ton of money, though, and he could always transfer to a four year school later. Jeremy was no longer a Pennsylvania resident and he wouldn't be a Connecticut resident until the second semester of his freshman year. He would be paying exorbitant out of state rates no matter where he went. The same would be true for the community college, but the out of state rates there weren't nearly as daunting, less than half of what they were at the state colleges and universities. He didn't know if this would be enough of a selling point for Jess. Or, if Jess would be at all swayed by Jeremy's preference to stay close to home next year.
He kind of got the impression that Jess wasn't taking his concerns over going away to college seriously. The man had pretty much shut down when Jeremy had raised the issue at lunch after his adoption. Jess probably thought he was being a baby about not wanting to leave home, or worse, that he was being ungrateful about the opportunity Jess was working so hard to give him. And, he wasn't. Jeremy felt extremely grateful for everything Jess was doing to help him go to college. But, he was so grateful for everything else, too. The time Jess spent with him, the way he always listened when Jeremy needed to talk or hugged him when he needed a hug, the family and the home he had given him, Jeremy's first in such a long time. Jeremy wasn't ready to give any of that up yet. The thought hit him then, that maybe Jess was. Maybe Jess's desire for him to go to college wasn't strictly about Jeremy's education. Kids, even biological kids, were supposed to turn eighteen, graduate high school and move out. Maybe that was what Jess expected and wanted for his own reasons. He knew Jess loved him, but that didn't necessarily mean that the guy wanted Jeremy hanging around for another year after high school. Jess had given up a lot of things to have Jeremy in his life, and he might want the chance to get them back. Like dating. Or writing. Or getting his own apartment. Or getting out of Stars Hollow.
Jeremy heard the key in the lock and watched Winston rouse himself from his nap and slowly get to his feet to greet Jess. It made Jeremy think about how old Winston was, and the idea of not getting to be with his dog for the time he had left brought the unexpected feeling of impending tears. Jeremy did his best to quickly blink back the moisture in his eyes before Jess noticed.
"Hey, buddy! How's my good boy?" Jeremy watched Jess crouch to pet Winston, the dog angling his nose up into Jess's face in greeting. Jeremy smiled at the sight, thinking about how much he loved both of them.
"So, should I take it personally that you always say hi to Winston before you say hi to me?"
Jess gave Winston one final head rub and then stood up with a grin. "Hey, no one's stopping you from greeting me at the door, too." Jeremy was amazed on a daily basis by Jess's ability to work twelve hour days dealing with the public and still manage to always come home with a smile for his family. Jess walked over to Jeremy, gently cupped the side of his head with one hand and dropped a kiss on top of his hair. Jeremy would miss this so much.
"How was your shift? Any crazy stories?" It was ten thirty and Jess was getting home from his third job of the day, driving for Uber after he had finished at the bookstore and helped Luke out that morning. He didn't usually drive on the days he worked breakfast shifts, but he had texted Jeremy from the bookstore that afternoon to see if he minded if he picked up a few rides that night. They had agreed that Jess would stop driving and head home around ten when Jeremy had expressed his concern for Jess's safety after reading a story a couple of weeks ago about an Uber driver who had been beaten and robbed while driving in New York late at night.
"No, nothing crazy tonight. All courteous, well-behaved passengers." Jeremy suspected that Jess had started toning down his stories after he had realized how worried his driving job made Jeremy. Jess squeezed Jeremy's shoulder and headed into the kitchen. He usually came home hungry.
"I made veggie chilli. There's some left in the fridge." Jeremy called after him.
"And, that's why you're my favorite kid." Jeremy watched Jess pull open the refrigerator door, disappear behind it, and emerge with the covered glass container of chilli. "This looks great, Jeremy. Thank you."
Jeremy thought about bringing up his trepidation over going away to college and the possibility of staying with Jess for another year, but decided that no one wanted to be hit with someone else's problems as soon as they walk in the door after a long day. And, Jess had had an exceptionally long day. He knew he couldn't put the conversation off forever, but he convinced himself this wasn't the right time. "Is it ok with you if I work more shifts at the diner?"
Jess scooped some chili into a bowl and opened the door to the microwave, the only real update he had made to Luke's apartment, and turned to Jeremy with a puzzled look on his face. "You want to work more shifts?"
"Yeah. I only work two nights during the week. I want to do more than that. It's not right that you worked three jobs today and I didn't work at all."
Jess frowned as he stood by the microwave, waiting for his dinner to heat up. "School is your job. You have homework and studying. You need time for that."
Jeremy nodded. "Yeah, but, it's the last semester of high school. The teachers are going pretty easy on us. I can usually get my homework done during my study period at school. And, all my college apps are out. I really don't think I can mess anything up at this point."
"How much more do you want to work?"
"As much as Luke will let me, I guess."
"Have you talked to him about this?"
"Yeah. I asked him yesterday. He said I needed to check with you. He got kind of uncomfortable, too, like he didn't think it was a good idea, but he didn't want to say that."
Jess sighed and Jeremy felt guilty for wrecking his father's good mood when he was only trying to help. "Well, he probably sees this as the first step in you following in my footsteps. What about baseball season? Won't that be starting up soon?"
Jeremy shrugged. "Yeah, in March."
"Ok. I'm fine with you working as much as you, and Luke, decide, as long as you stick to weekend shifts only once you're playing baseball. Does that sound fair?"
"Yeah, that sounds fair. Thanks."
"Sure." Jess carried his warmed bowl of chili to the table and sat down across from his son.
"Hey, Dad?"
"Hey, Son." Jeremy watched Jess smile into his chili. It amused Jeremy that Jess never seemed to tire of that joke, but he kind of liked that it had become their thing, too.
"What do you think you're going to do next year?" Jeremy asked.
Jess lifted a spoonful of chili to his mouth and ducked his head to blow on it, looking up at Jeremy in confusion. "What do I think I'm going to do next year about what?"
Jeremy shrugged and shifted his eyes back to his laptop for a minute, looking back up to see Jess chewing thoughtfully. "Just in general. Like, after I go to college. Are you still going to stay in Stars Hollow?"
"Oh. Well, yeah. I probably am. I'll probably stay right here, for a while at least, keep working at the bookstore, keep driving for Uber. Hopefully Jenya will be able to take her breakfast shifts back after this semester, but other than that, I'm thinking I'm going to do pretty much the same thing I've been doing this year." Jess was studying Jeremy carefully. "Why do you ask, Jeremy?" Jess smiled then, but Jeremy noticed it didn't reach his eyes. "You worried your dear old dad will have nothing to do once you're gone? That me and Winston will just be sitting here, moping around in an empty apartment?"
"No, of course not." Jeremy felt himself getting embarrassed at Jess's assumption. "I was just curious. I know you don't like it here as much as I do, and I was just wondering if you were going to stay. That's all."
Jess nodded. "Stars Hollow isn't exactly my top choice of places to live, but I'm loving the free rent. That's what's going to make it possible for me to pay for your college. So, yeah. I have no plans to give my current deal up anytime soon." Jess paused. "You ok, Jeremy? You seem a little down tonight."
"I'm ok. I was just thinking."
Jess nodded seriously. "Fair enough. But, just know that you don't need to worry about me when you go off to college. I'll miss you like crazy, but I'll be all right. Honestly. Ok?"
Jeremy nodded, pushing down his emotions before he could embarrass himself. "Yeah. Ok."
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Jess fidgeted in the uncomfortable chair, took a small sip from the paper cup of coffee in his hand before placing it on the beige desk in front of him. He took in the periodic table of elements on the wall, along with several dilapidated posters displaying quotes from the usual suspects of notable authors, Shakespeare, Twain, Hemingway. The same guys that had decorated the walls back when he was in high school. The very same posters as the last time he was in this room for all he knew. He focused his attention on the speaker at the front of the classroom and tried not to have flashbacks about his own time in this school. The teacher at the front of the class was talking about the school's honors math program and Jess was bored. He idly wished he had brought a book to read, then smiled, amused at how little he had changed. The speaker must have noticed because she shot a small frown in Jess's direction, making him think about how little the whole situation had changed. There were four other teachers in chairs lined up against the dry erase board on the side of the classroom, and they had all taken their turns to speak already. Jess felt a measure of relief that this must be the last speaker he would need to sit through. Then on to the one on one's with Jeremy's teachers. He imagined those would be brief for him since his kid was pretty perfect. He smiled again at his own humor, but this time masked it behind his coffee cup as he took another sip. It all felt like overkill. This room was full of the parents of seniors. At this point, he was pretty sure they were all clear on how school worked and would prefer to only get called in if there was an issue. Jess was only here because it was his first parents' night and he didn't want to let Jeremy down by not showing up.
"Ok, parents, we just have one more speaker for you this evening. She was tied up putting out a fire, but I think I hear her coming down the hallway now." Jess obediently listened and could hear footsteps moving quickly in their direction, before a smiling, Asian woman hurried into the room. "Most of you already know her, but let me introduce your students' guidance counselor, Ms. Howard."
Jess watched the woman walk in and was hit with a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time, and hadn't really been sure he was capable of feeling again. It took him back to the night he met Charisse. He had been at a bar with Chris and Matt. Chris's girlfriend had ended up at the same bar while she was out meeting a friend and joined them at their table while she waited for her friend to show up. When Charisse had walked in, Jess had felt something visceral, something more than just physical attraction for a beautiful woman in well-fitting jeans, her brown skin glowing against her cream colored off the shoulder top, her expression an engaging mix of confidence and warmth. He had been hit with an intense longing, the need for something he hadn't consciously thought was missing from his life. Her. This beautiful woman in front of him. And, when Chris's girlfriend had made introductions, when their eyes had locked and their hands had touched as they shook across the table, Jess had known she felt something, too. He remembered walking her back to her apartment that night, saying goodbye on her stoop like a gentleman, asking her out for that weekend, and spending a sleepless night anticipating seeing her again and also scared to death of messing up something he wanted so badly. Jess didn't believe in love at first sight. Of course, he didn't. He was a realist. But, he did believe in following his gut. It had been right with Charisse. And, to a lesser extent with Rory, when he had wandered into her bedroom to get away from the adults when he had been at Lorelai's house for dinner, and he had gotten the first glimpse of the girl who had ended up being his first love, the one he had been sure could save him. He felt that his gut could be trusted.
Jess's visual attention was focused on Ms. Howard as she walked to the front of the room and addressed the parents, but he knew he was missing a lot of what she was saying. Ms. Howard. This had to be the Mallory Howard that Jeremy had met at the diner, who had gone to school with Jess. He hadn't put the name together with the only Asian girl other than Lane around their age in school. It's likely he had never known this girl's name in high school and had just seen her in the hallways. He was pretty sure Jeremy had mentioned her being a year younger than him. Jess tried to focus. He took in the earnestness in the woman's voice as she spoke about guiding her students toward college, the promise she saw in each and every one of Stars Hollow's graduating seniors, the warmth of her optimism as she talked about sending each of their children out into the world with the confidence to be productive and compassionate adults. The more he watched her and heard her speak, the more captivated he felt himself becoming. He wanted this woman in his life. He made sure to mentally classify the longing as 'want' instead of 'need' this time, knowing he was an adult and a dad and he didn't 'need' a woman to fix him or make him happy. His stomach dropped as it hit him that as Jeremy's guidance counselor, this woman was off-limits to him even if she was otherwise available.
The individual meetings with teachers were optional and Jess stayed even though he doubted he would learn anything knew about his son from these teachers who had only known the boy for a month. He wanted to give Jeremy the full experience. A kid who worked as hard at school as he did deserved to have his parent come home from parents' night and report back how great his teachers thought he was. Jess was waiting alone outside Ms. Kendall's classroom, the last parent waiting for his turn to speak to Jeremy's English teacher, when Ms. Howard walked by. Jess looked up with a smile at the woman and she stopped in front of the folding chair he was sitting on.
"Mr. Mariano?"
"Uh, yes." Jess stood and extended his hand. "Jess Mariano. Jeremy's dad."
They shook and Jess felt something, not the electric charge he had felt when he first touched Charisse, but something. He wondered if he was just older and better at managing his expectations now.
She smiled at him, and Jess felt it inside. "I figured from the last name. Although, you guys look about as similar as me and my dad do. He's Jewish, but the Korean genes on my mom's side trumped his."
"Oh, Jeremy's adopted." Jess was instantly pissed at himself, knowing that Jeremy had wanted to change his name before school started so that he wouldn't have to explain his situation, and here he was, spilling the private details of his kid's life to the first pretty woman who smiled at him. "Oh, uh, I shouldn't have told you that. I don't know why I said that. Jeremy's really private. I don't think he wants anyone at school to know, unless he decides to tell them himself. Can you maybe not say anything to anyone else? The adoption is still new…"
"No worries, Mr. Mariano!" She smiled cheerfully, and Jess found himself trusting her to keep his son's confidence. "Jeremy actually told me himself during one of our meetings."
"Huh. He did?" Jess was surprised to hear that and it must have shown on his face.
Ms. Howard smiled playfully at him. "Yes, he did. Don't look so shocked. I'm the guidance counselor. People tell me stuff. It's what I'm here for."
"Huh." Jess repeated again, thinking that Jeremy must have gotten as good a feeling off this woman as he did for him to share the details of his life with her. Then he realized he had just said 'huh' twice in a row and worried that he couldn't be making anywhere near as good an impression on her as she was on him. He sighed. He had forgotten how stressful this could be.
"So, I just wanted to come by and say hello. I'm not sure if you remember me, but we went to school together. I was a year behind you."
"Yeah, of course. I remember seeing you around."
"I was pretty hard to miss as one of the only two Korean girls in school." Her smile was open and warm, not bitter. "And, we had European History together when you were a senior and I was a junior."
Jess tried to think. "We did?"
Ms. Howard laughed. "We did. Although, if I remember correctly, I attended class a bit more often than you did."
Jess felt his face warming and he wondered if he was blushing the way Jeremy always did. He wasn't normally embarrassed by his past behavior anymore, but he somehow felt thrown off in front of this woman who was an educator and his son's guidance counselor. High school dropout was not the aspect of his identity that he wanted to lead with in this situation.
"Uh, yeah." Jess chuckled lightly. "I guess I wasn't really great at attendance back in high school. But, I promise, I watched every episode of the Tudors on Netflix to make up for it and you know, see how everything turned out over in Europe." Jess gave her his most charming, 'hey look at me, I'm effortlessly fun and witty and not too hard on the eyes' smile, and he really hoped he didn't sound like he was trying too hard.
Ms. Howard's laugh seemed authentic, and Jess felt a measure of relief. Jess thought he heard a door open, but didn't turn away from her to look. He barely registered a couple walking by them in the hallway talking softly, heard a throat being cleared in the background.
"I think it's your turn, Mr. Mariano." Ms. Howard tilted her head to the side, and Jess followed, turning his head to find an older woman at the open classroom door, smiling broadly at them.
"Ok, who's next?" She asked pleasantly, as if Jess hadn't been making her wait as he stood in the hallway like a clown staring the guidance counselor as if he'd never seen a woman before.
"Oh, uh, sorry. That would be me." Jess turned back to the guidance counselor. "It was nice to see you again, Mallory."
Her smile made him grin. "You too, Mr. Mariano."
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Jeremy was wiping down the counter in the almost empty diner and looking up at the door every so often. He knew it was lame to be eager to hear what his teachers said about him, but he was. He had never had anyone go to his school's parents' nights before and he was interested to hear how it went. Luke walked out of the kitchen and glanced around the dining room. "No Jess yet?"
"Nope." Jeremy thought of something from earlier. "Hey, Uncle Luke, when Lorelai was in here today she told me to ask you about bagel hockey the next time it was slow. What does that even mean?"
Luke sighed. "It means my wife enjoys driving me crazy, and now she's trying to enlist my great-nephew to help her."
Before Jeremy could ask a follow up question, the bell above the door chimed and they both turned to see Jess walking in.
"Hey Jess!" Luke said. "How did it go?" Jeremy liked knowing that Luke was interested, too.
Jess walked up to the counter and took a seat across from his son and uncle. "It was great. I don't know why you always complained whenever you had to go to my school when I lived with you. Parents night is pretty great. You show up and everyone tells you how amazing your kid is. What's not to like?"
Luke laughed. "Yeah, that's exactly how I remember it, nephew." Jeremy smiled at Luke's sarcasm.
Jeremy watched Jess shrug playfully. The man seemed really happy, and Jeremy wondered how parents night could have put him in such a good mood. "Not sure what to tell you, Luke. I guess you should have had a kid as good as mine."
Luke scoffed. "Yeah, it was clearly my fault that all my meetings at that school were awful."
"Looks like." Jess agreed, nodding seriously.
"Well, at least he had April." Jess pointed out. "So, he had one kid that teachers liked."
"Wow, my own son is turning on me now, too!" Jess frowned, pretending to be hurt.
"Looks like." Luke smiled, pleased with himself. "Hey, you want dinner, or you too busy being a smart-ass?"
"Sure. I'll have whatever's easiest. I forgot how much of an appetite a guy can work up listening to teachers drone on and on…..and on….."
"Thanks for going, anyway." Jeremy said.
"Hey, I'm your dad, it's my job. And, it was my pleasure, Jeremy. It really was pretty cool hearing all those teachers saying good things about my smart little school nerd."
Jeremy smiled. "Yeah?" Jeremy asked, not wanting to look like he was fishing for compliments, but curious as to what had been said about him.
'Yeah. They all think you're pretty great over there." Jess smirked playfully, and Jeremy wondered if his father's good mood was solely attributable to parents' night going smoothly or if something else had happened earlier in his day. "I had to set 'em straight and tell them how you snore like a rusty chainsaw and put the orange juice container back in the fridge with only a sip left."
Jeremy smiled at Jess's ridiculousness. "Um, those are both you."
"They are?" Jess feigned seriousness and Jeremy smiled, thinking about his first impression of Jess and how the man had turned out to be so much sillier and more fun than Jeremy had expected. His dad was fun. Jeremy still liked thinking things like that. His dad. "Huh. Interesting. I guess I'm not as good a catch as I thought I was."
Luke laughed and patted one palm against the counter before turning to walk away. "I'm going to leave you two to your nonsense. I'll be right back with your dinner."
"Do you want to hear what they said about you?" Jess was grinning at Jeremy.
Jeremy nodded his head, smiling. "Sure."
Jess started to pull off his jacket. "Well, I'll start with Ms. Valdez. She had glowing things to say about you. And that lady was teaching when I was at that school and as I recall, she wasn't the happiest camper back then. I don't think I ever saw her smile. So, you must have really won her over because-"