Chapter Two

After the Gilmore girls leave the room Nathan looks over at his father incredulously.

"How do you know Avery's mother, exactly?"

Tristan sighs and runs his hand through his graying blonde hair.

"Nathan…"

Nathan puts his hand up to stop him. "I think I have a right to know. I saw the way that you looked at her."

Tristan sighs again. "I loved your mother. I don't know which way that you think I looked at your friend's mother, but I didn't. Can we just drop this nonsense please?"

"I don't believe you, but okay, we'll drop it. For now." Nathan glares at his father, "And Avery, she's not my friend, nor will she ever be. Her mother's hot, though."

Tristan pretends as if he didn't hear that last comment, and walks over to his youngest daughter. He holds her hand gently and looks into her eyes, "How are you feeling sweetie?"

Aurora looks away trying to cover up the tears that were welling in her eyes. "Are you mad at me daddy?"

The look on his face softens and he answers, "Of course not. What makes you think I'd be mad at you?"

"Because," she is crying now, "you yelled at me when I fell."

He rubs his finger against his daughter's wet, chubby cheek and kisses the top of her head.

"I love you babe. And no, I'm not mad at you. I was worried about you."

333

In the car, Avery is interrogating her mother. "How do you know Nathan's father?"

Rory is humming along to her favourite song, only half listening to her daughter's questions.

"Bible boy?" Lorelai pipes up. "How do you know bible boy? That was the question."

"Hmmm," Rory is still in a trance. "I know Tristan from high school. He was one of those popular, rich boys that try to make your life hell. But he also had a sweet side…"

Avery waves her hand in front of her mother's face. "You're driving; eyes on the road please. Okay, so was he a major player in your life, or what?"

Rory peels her eyes away from the road and looks at her daughter, puzzled. "What makes you think that he was a major player in my life?"

"Because of the way he looked at you today. Especially after all those years apart," she responds.

Rory giggles, "Tristan didn't look at me any special way sweetie. We were just beginning to become friends when he up and disappears to military school. So no, he was not, and probably will never be a major part of my life. Now stop worrying." She calms down and sighs, "Avery, does this have to do with his boy? Is he making trouble for you at school?"

Avery blushes and says, "Maybe a little."

Lorelai teases, "Do you have a crush on this boy?"

333

From the high-tech kitchen he just renovated in his newly purchased condominium, Logan looks over lovingly at his young sons, Aiden and Logan Jr, playing scrabble.

"R-E-T-I-N-A. Retina, which is…" Aiden was explaining to his brother as the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Logan?"

"Yeah, whose this?"

"Tristan. Tristan Dugrey."

"Oh, hey, its been a long time since I've heard from you."

Tristan sighs noticeably, "I know and I'm sorry. Its just been…since my wife died and…"

"Say no more," Logan says. "I heard about that. The wife and I were going to go to her funeral, but she was called away to Bangkok at the last minute. My condolences, even though I know it's a little late."

Logan hears the stress in his old buddy's voice. "So what's with the call?"

"Well, I just met your wife."

"You met Rory? Wow, small world."

"Yeah. It's just, why didn't you call to tell me you got married?"

It is Logan's turn to sigh. He starts walking towards the sofa couch, "It's just that it was at the same time that your grandfather was ill and I felt that you didn't need that extra stress."

"You know," Tristan says, "You could've asked Rory's opinion."

Logan laughs, "What would Rory have had to say about it?"

"You know that we went to the same high school…"

Logan sounds more serious and more puzzled, "I know…"

"I am curious as to why you didn't tell me you got married to Rory Gilmore?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Of course it matters!" Tristan yells into the phone. "She's Mary, and you knew that!"

Rory's cell phone rings as she turns into her driveway. She sees that the caller ID is Logan and picks up.

"Rory, we need to talk."