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Chapter Thirteen -How Good It Can Be
"What time is it?" Mathew held the phone away from his face and covered the end of the receiver with his hand.
"Uh, just after quarter past four." Jess checked his watch. "Why?"
"Damn. I said I'd pick Rory up from the train station. Her car's in getting serviced."
"So why didn't you go to D.C?"
"She wants to see Lydia. But I'm nowhere near getting this guy to sign the deal."
"Stay on the phone. We need this guy." Jess told him, picking up his car keys and putting his jacket on. "I'll get her."
"You sure?" Mathew asked, holding the phone back at his ear to see if the poet he was trying to sign was back off hold. "This means a lo-Yes! I'm still here. No, you would be our number one priority."
"Bye." Jess waved and headed out to his car.
"Gilmore!" Jess called out as he saw Rory get off the train.
"Jess?" She gave him a small smile, pulling her suitcase behind her. "What are you doing here?"
"Mathew was trying to land this poet, and I offered to come get you." He shrugged, taking her case off her and carrying it.
"Oh, that Harrison guy?"
"Yeah." Jess nodded as he open his car door and placed her case in the trunk, and then got in to the driver's seat. "Harrison Kay. He's talented. Really talented."
"That's huge coming from you, you hate poetry, if memory serves. Something about how they should 'hurry up and say it already'? No?"
"Yeah. I'm still not totally sold on poetry, but I know when a guy is good."
"I know." She nodded.
"And speaking of good, your last piece for the 'zine was incredible."
"Thanks." Rory smiled, a light blush staining her cheeks. "So, how's that wife of yours?" She asked trying to change the subject.
"Good. She's getting over the nausea."
"That's good. I can't believe it's April already. How many weeks is she?"
"Fifteen. Peanut now how a fingerprint and is growing eyelashes. Oh, and is about the length of a KitKat."
"A KitKat?" Rory laughed.
"Yeah." Jess sighed, shaking his head. "She's obsessed with checking what's growing this week. It's kinda cute though."
"It's amazing. How's the house hunting going?"
"Terrible. Nothing's right. Dammit." Jess swore as they hit road-works. He followed the diversions off the main road and through a more residential area. "But, the house, yes, nowhere seems right to Lydia. I told her I'll be happy anywhere, but I guess she needs to feel like it's home."
"You'll get somewhere. I have a feeling." Rory gave him a small pat on the arm and then turned to gaze out the window. She suddenly felt the car come to sharp stop and she turned back to Jess. "What? Is everything okay?"
He turned to her and then pointed at the house beside him with his thumb. "That's it."
"What's it?" Rory asked ducking her head to look at the house, and saw a 'For Sale' sign in the garden. "Wait? You mean that's the house?"
"Yeah." Jess nodded getting out of the car, and crossing the lawn.
"Jess!" Rory got out and ran after him, "What are you doing?"
"Trying to buy a house." Jess knocked on the door and then stood back. "I can't believe it's for sale."
"What are you talking about? A minute ago it was up to Lydia to find somewhere she feels at home? Now you're buying a house she's never seen! This is crazy."
"I know, but she has seen this house." Jess told her as the front door opened.
"Hello?" A man in his late forties stood in the entrance of the house.
"Hi." Jess offered his hand to the man. "Jess Mariano."
"Tom Patterson."
"Nice to meet you. I want to buy this house."
"Okay." Tom looked from Jess to Rory, trying to figure out if Jess was kidding or not. "Maybe you should contact the realtor."
"I don't have time. This is the house. I'll pay whatever you want. You see, my wife is pregnant."
"Congratulations." Tom told Rory.
"Oh no!" She corrected him, "I'm not his wife. Just a friend, who's deeply concerned at the minute. Jess what are you doing?"
"Rory, I'm not crazy. In the back yard there's two name printed in the cement, with hand-prints."
"How'd you know that?" Tom asked.
"One of them is Jamie, and the other is Lydia."
"Yes." Tom nodded, still not sure how Jess knew this.
"Seriously Jess, what's going on?" Rory tucked her behind her ear, glancing nervously at Tom.
"My wife is Lydia," he told Tom, "this was her grandparents house. Her Dad grew up here."
"Her Dad's from Philly?" Rory asked and Jess nodded, not taking his eyes from Tom.
"You're telling me you married Conor Murphy's daughter?"
"Yeah, did you know him?"
"I grew up two streets over. We went to school together. Why don't you come in, and we can talk." Tom stood aside and let Jess and Rory into the foyer of the house.
"Wow." Rory looked about her. "This is a great house."
"Yeah, but it's too big for just my wife and I." Tom lead them into the sitting room. "Sit down, I'll get Shelia, my wife. She'd love to meet you."
"Jess, where are we going?" Lydia fiddled with the bright blue scarf Jess had tied around her eyes.
"It's a surprise. Be quiet and stop trying to peek. Lily, check that's still tight."
"It is." Lily confirmed from the back seat of Jess' car.
"How come Lil's not blindfolded?"
"Because, it's not a surprise for me." Lily grinned.
"Well you can stop complaining. We're here." Jess cut the engine of the car.
"We are?" Lydia smiled and went to untie her blindfold.
"Ah, no you don't!" Jess pulled her hand away from her face. "Not yet." He got out of the car and jogged to open her door and help her out of the car. When Lily climbed out behind her and stood beside Lydia, Jess reached up and pulled the knot out of the scarf.
"What's going on?" Lydia blinked, adjusting to the light. "Jess, why are we at my grandparent's house?"
"Come on." Jess grinned, taking her hand and pulling her across the lawn.
"Jess, this is crazy. How is this a surprise?" Lydia pulled her weight behind him. Jess dropped her hand and climbed the steps to the porch, knocking on the door.
"What are you doing?" She ran up the steps after him.
"Knocking the door." Jess raised one eyebrow at her, as the front door opened.
"Jess, it's good to see you again. Lydia, you look different from when I last saw you."
"I do?" Lydia asked, glancing between Jess and the man at the front door.
"You probably don't remember me, you haven't seen me since you were ten."
"Okay." Lydia tilted her head to the side when a look of realisation crossed her face. "Mr. Patterson?"
"Yeah, you can call me Tom." He smiled, "Come in, Shelia's been dying to meet you." He walked back into the house and Jess grabbed Lydia's hand and the two and Lily followed Tom into the living room.
"Jess, what's going on?" Lydia whispered as she looked about the empty room.
"You look just like your grandmother." A blonde woman came into the living room.
"Thank you." Lydia gave her a smile.
"I thought we could have some tea on the back porch? Come on hunny, you can tell me about about your pregnancy. How far along are you?"
"Nearly seventeen weeks." Lydia looked up at the woman, who had slipped her arm through Lydia's.
"I can't believe how much you've grown up. You were about ten when you were last here. You used to play with my daughter Katie, remember?"
"Yeah, how is she?"
"She's in Australia. She's an engineer." Shelia explained as they sat down.
"Wow. Well tell her I was asking about her." Lydia smiled at Jess as he sat beside her. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise that you guys bought this house after my grandfather died."
"We didn't. We bought it about nine years ago." Tom explained as Shelia handed Lydia a glass of ice tea.
"Thanks." She smiled. "That explains why I didn't know you lived here. You moved in after my parents..."
"Yeah, we heard about the accident. We're sorry." Tom took a glass from his wife.
"It's fine. It was a long time ago." Lydia sat her glass on the table and looked about the back garden. "Are you moving? You've no furniture."
"The moving van left a few hours ago. We're moving to a smaller place. No point in a big house with only us two rattling around."
"Didn't you have a son?"
"Peter. Yes, he's in Seattle. He's in advertising."
"He's out of college already?" Lydia blinked, "Man, that makes me feel old."
"You are old." Lily quipped from her spot across from Jess.
"Hush!" Lydia smiled at her. "So this house is for sale?"
"No." Tom shook his head. "It was for sale."
"That's why we're here." Jess told Lydia.
"What do you mean?"
"This house has been sold. I bought it."
"You what?" Lydia almost choked on her tea. "You bought a house? This house? You bought a house without telling me?"
"You have to calm down. Lyds, think of the baby." Jess ran his hands down Lydia's arms.
"Think of the baby? You should have thought of the baby before you did something so idiotic that I wanted to kill the baby's father!" She stood up and pushed her seat out. "Excuse me," She told Shelia and Tom, "and I'm sorry." She turned and walked back into the house.
"Go after her!" Lily shoved Jess' shoulder.
"Right." Jess stood up and left the table.
"He really is an idiot." Lily told the Patterson's.
"She's pregnant." Shelia smiled. "She'll come around."
"She probably already has." Lily shrugged. "Her mood swings never last long. So, where are you moving too?"
Jess had followed Lydia back into the house and found her in the foyer, her arms wrapped around herself, crying.
"Lydia?"
"Don't come near me Jess Mariano. I can't believe you'd do this."
"Do what? You told me before that you loved this house? When I saw it was for sale...I guess I just wanted you to have your dream house." he sighed.
"I know." Lydia sniffed, and wiped her eye. "But you could have talked to me first. I wanted to be a part of choosing our house, and buying it. And how have you bought it? We were buying it together."
"Think of it as an early birthday present."
"You can't buy me a house as a birthday present."
"Well, I haven't. The down payment, yes. We have to pay the mortgage together. So apart from being really pissed-"
"Language!" Lydia chastised him.
"Sorry. Apart from being really mad at me, what are you thinking?"
Lydia sighed before turning in a circle and facing Jess. "I love this house." She smiled. "This is really ours?"
"Yeah."
"And you like it? I don't want you buying it because I love it. You have to live here too."
"I know. And I told you that I'd be happy anywhere. But I think this is a great house."
"It is. Our baby is gonna grow up where my dad grew up."
"Yeah." Jess nodded wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
"Thank you." Lydia whispered, kissing his jaw.
"Jess dipped his head and caught her lips with his. "You're completely aggravating Murphy."
"I know." She nodded. "And I love you too. God, this feels like home."
"And that was completely corny!"
Jess and Lydia turned to find Lily propped up against the door frame, smirking at them.
"Oh shut up!" Lydia scoffed, "Do you like this house?"
"Well..." Lily shrugged, pushing herself of the door frame, "Love it. It's not too Amityville, and It's not too Brady Bunch. Kind of perfect." She smiled as she walked over to them. "We just have to convince Simon to my paint my room again. I'll miss my Paris mural."
"I'm sure he can be persuaded." Jess told her, "You think he'll do the nursery too?"
"No!" Lydia shook her head. "We have to paint the nursery. It's like a rule."
"But neither of us have any artistic talents."
"Then we fake it." Lydia smiled, kissing Jess' cheek. "This place has a good vibe, right?"
"Don't use the word 'vibe'." Both Jess and Lily said at once.
"Jeez, alright. No more use of the 'V' word."
"Everything okay in here?" Shelia and Tom arrived in the foyer.
"Yes." Lydia smiled. "Sorry about earlier, I get a little crazy sometimes."
"Hormones, dear. I understand."
"Yeah, hormones. What was your excuse before the baby?" Jess muttered under his breath, causing Lydia to nip his side.
"We should get going." Tom told them, pulling a set of keys out of his pocket. "We just wanted to give you these." He handed the keys to Jess.
"Thanks." Jess took the keys and then shook Tom's hand.
"Yeah, thank you." Lydia smiled.
"Take care." Shelia pulled Lydia into a hug. "I hope you make many wonderful memories here."
"I think there's a good chance of that." Lydia nodded as the Pattersons made their way the front door. "Have a safe journey." She told them just before the shut the front door behind them.
"So." Jess wrapped his arm around Lydia's waist from behind, placing his hands on her small bump.
"So..." Lydia repeated, leaning her head back on his shoulder, "When can we move in?"
"Gilmore, it's late." Mathew answered his cell phone after midnight.
"I know, but I just in from work and I wanted to hear your voice."
"That's sweet, but I was sleeping." Mathew grinned as he sat up in bed, flicking on his bedside lamp.
"Sleep? What a luxury."
"What was that noise? Did you just start up your laptop?"
"Yes. I still have to email my editor a few pieces."
"Rory, babe, you need to sleep."
"And I will sleep. When I'm dead."
"Rory."
"Mathew, seriously, I'm fine. I have a long weekend off, and when I get up tomorrow, a Friday, that I'm off, I don't wanna work. That's why I'm emailing these now. Okay?"
"Okay. So what time will you get here at tomorrow?"
"Around four. I was thinking we could get dinner, catch a movie?"
"Sounds good, and I have Saturday all planned."
"I know, I'm excited. You sure you won't give me a hint. I don't know how to dress for surprise."
"Nope, no hints." Mathew smirked, "Just dressy casual. Something you'd wear for drinks in Empire."
"So, we're going to Empire?"
"No. Quit asking."
"Okay, I give up. Oh my God!"
"What? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I, um, I just saw a spider. A huge one. But I've trapped Charlotte under a coffee mug. I'm safe."
"Oh, you sure?"
"Positive."
"Okay. Well I'll let you go, get some sleep."
"Work, then sleep."
"Right. You know you're insane, right?" Mathew chuckled.
"I am my mother's daughter."
"Night Ror."
"Night baby." Mathew smiled at her term of endearment as he hung up his phone and placed it back on his nightstand. He flicked the light off again, before settling back down to sleep.
Rory was curled up on the couch in the Truncheon apartment on Saturday morning. She had a cup of coffee in one hand and pen in the other, poised over a spiral bound notepad.
"Hey girlie!" Lydia smiled as she came in the front door.
"Hey!" Rory returned the smile, flipping closed her notepad and standing to hug her. "My god, look at that bump."
"You can notice it? Jess said you couldn't! I knew I was getting fat." Lydia sat on the couch and put her head in her hands.
"You're not fat. I just haven't seen you in a while, so I noticed the bump." Rory sat beside her, rubbing her back.
"You're a terrible liar Gilmore. And oh man!" Lydia hit her forehead with her hand, "I forgot! Stupid pregnancy brain! I'm not talking to you!" She pointed at Rory.
"What? Why?"
"Well, you knew that Jess bought a house!"
"Oh yeah." Rory nodded. "I heard you love the house."
"I do love the house. But that doesn't negate that fact that you knew and didn't tell me."
"It was a surprise." Rory shrugged, sipping her coffee.
"A surprise? You surprise a pregnant girl with chocolate or flowers, not a house. Surprising her with a house could send her into shock, hurting the baby."
"I heard you got mad and almost ripped Jess a new one."
"No. Not exactly. And besides, he deserved it." She smiled.
"So when are you guys moving in?"
"Couple of weeks. We're going furniture shopping today."
"What are you doing with your apartment?"
"We're thinking of renting it out. We don't think we'll get a buyer in this market."
"That's probably wise." Rory nodded as Jess opened the apartment door.
"You ready Lyds?"
"Yes!" Lydia stood up and shouldered her bag. "IKEA awaits! Bye Rory, have fun tonight!"
"Do you know where I'm going?"
"Yip." Lydia grinned. "And I'm not telling. It's a surprise! Bye!"
"You're evil!" Rory laughed as Lydia closed the door.
"You look really good." Mathew took Rory's hand as they sat in a cab that evening.
"Thanks." Rory smiled up at him. "Do I get to know where I'm going yet."
"Sure." Mathew nodded. "You like Camera Obscura?"
"The band? I love them. Lane got me into them senior year in high school. Why?"
"We're going to see them."
"What? Are you serious? How'd you know I liked them?"
"Jess mentioned it." Mathew shrugged.
"Wow. This is amazing. Wow."
"So, good surprise?"
"Great surprise!" Rory grinned, and then reached up to press a kiss to his cheek.
"Another rum and coke?" Mathew whispered in her ear as the band sang 'If looks could kill'.
"Please." Rory smiled as she danced along with the song.
Mathew returned and handed her the drink, which she accepted with a smile.
"Baby, you gotta go." She sang along with the band, as Mathew slipped one arm around her waist, and held her as she danced along.
As the band finished their last song, 'French Navy', Rory finished another drink, and was feeling slightly buzzed. She slipped her arm through Mathew's as they left the club and he hailed down a cab.
"You wanna hit a bar?" He asked her as they slid into the seat.
"No." She shook her head, before resting it on his chest. "Let's just go back to the apartment."
"Okay." Mathew nodded and told the driver the address.
"Thanks for tonight, I really loved it." Rory smiled as they climbed the stairs to the apartment.
"I'm glad you liked it." Mathew grinned and gave her a quick kiss. "Beer?"
"Love one." Rory sighed as she crashed on the couch. "You know what bothered me about tonight though?"
"What?" Mathew asked as he returned from the kitchen and handed her a bottle of beer.
"I felt old." Rory complained, as she unscrewed her bottle top and took a sip.
"Old?" Mathew smirked as he sat beside her, tossing his own bottle top onto the coffee table.
"Yeah, the average age in that place was twenty one and a half. Compared to that twenty six is old." Rory sighed, sitting on her knees, with her arm over Mathew's shoulder.
"Well, I'm twenty seven. What does that make me?"
"Really old." Rory smiled as she placed her lips against his. Mathew wrapped his arm around her waist but before he could deepen this kiss, Rory pulled away.
"Wait? Twenty seven? If you're only a year older than me, how were you here at the open house? You should have still been in your senior year at college."
"I skipped third grade, started college early." He shrugged, taking her bottle out of her hand and setting in on the coffee table along with his own.
"Oh, so you're a genius?" Rory grinned. "A regular, original, know it all?" She sang.
"What the hell is that?" He laughed pulling her into a kiss.
"Shania Twain." Rory smiled against his mouth. She pulled back, pouting, when he groaned. "What, Baby? Don't you like Shania?"
"No." He chuckled. "And Ror, what's with calling me Baby?"
"Is it not okay?" She bit her lip.
"No it's fine."
"It's just that, Mathew's so long to say, and it feels too formal or something. But you don't like Matt, and I never tutored you in Math-"
"Neither did Lydia. That's her story, but she too, felt Mathew to rigid for an eight year old, and called me Math. One of the many reasons my parents are anti-Lydia."
"They don't like her?"
"No. It started off with the name thing. My folks believed you should respect the name a parent gives their child. If they wanted me to be called Matt, or Math, that's what they would have named me."
"Wow. But it's more than that right?"
"Yeah, but it's an unjust hatred. As far as I can remember, I wanted to go to Stanford. But I never told anyone that. As a Mitchell male I was supposed to go to Dartmouth and then either Harvard Med or Law School."
"Wow talk about Sophie's choice."
"Exactly. But for as long as I kept it a secret about wanting to attend Stanford, Lydia told anyone who would listen that she was bound for UPenn."
"Really."
"Yeah. Her Grandpa taught there. He was head of the History department. They named a lecture theatre after him. But when her parents died, Penn became Stanford so she could be close to Jamie. Stanford was half an hour away from the town we lived in. So when I announced my plans for Stanford, my parents thought it was because that was where Lydia was planning on going. And yes, I'll admit I was glad she would be close by, so I could keep an eye on her, but I had always planned on Standford. It had great classes, but my parents couldn't see that."
"But, Stanford is a great school."
"It might as well have been a trade school." Mathew sighed. "So that's why they don't like Lydia. They blame her for me deviating from their plans. They have yet to realise I was never going to follow the plan. I would have been a terrible lawyer and Med School was out of the question. I can't watch ER without getting queasy."
"'Cause Clooney's way hotter than you?"
"Exactly." He smiled.
"You said you haven't spend a holiday with them since you were eighteen?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "They moved back to Boston during my sophomore year, and coming up to Thanksgiving I had a huge pile of work. So I called and said that I wouldn't be home for Thanksgiving. It didn't make sense to fly all that way for a weekend, especially with my workload. But my father, in no uncertain terms, told me that if I missed that holiday I could miss them all. So I have. I've spend every holiday since with Lydia."
"Oh my God. And I though the Gilmore's could be frosty."
"Believe me, your family would seem like a tropical heatwave compared to mine." Mathew sighed."God, I've probably killed your buzz."
"Nope." Rory smiled, kissing him hard of the mouth. "Thank you for telling me that. Really." She kissed him again.
"Rory?" He pulled away and looked her dead in the eyes. "I love you."
"What?" Rory blinked once to try and focus. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah." He breathed. "I've never said that before." He said, more to himself, than to Rory, "But I do." He looked back at the girl beside him, "I love you."
Rory grinned and kissed him again. "I love you too, Baby."
He laughed and pulled her onto his lap, kissing her again.
"Mathew, Baby, maybe we should move this from the couch?"
"Chris is at Simon's tonight. We're fine."
"Why is he there?"
"Apparently, we're loud."
"Oh jeez." Rory's head fell onto Mathew's shoulder, her face red with embarrassment.
"Oh come on Rory, it's not that big a deal. We've all heard each other. Chris and Si. Lydia and Jess."
"Stop talking." Rory placed her hand over his mouth. "Now you're killing my buzz!"
"So? The couch? Where's your sense of adventure?"
"Where's yours?" Rory grinned, kissing the pulse point on his neck. "The couch is so boring." She whispered.
"Well where do you suggest?"
"Well, I'm feeling a little grimy after that club." Rory stood up and pulled her shirt over her head and threw it in Mathew's lap. "I think I need a shower." She smirked and bent over to kiss him again. "Care to join me?"
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