Chapter 9: Summertime in Rome with Pinot Grigio
Instead of flying, Rory takes the long 12-hour train ride to the Eternal City, giving her time to process her recent life-altering decision.
She leans against the large heavy window, out of which she watches lush vineyards and olive groves whisk by as the train glides along the tracks. With an unexpected jolt, Rory's head smacks into the solid glass. Pain shoots through her head, complementing her already aching heart.
Her eyes look down to her left hand and its empty ring finger. Her other hand caresses it in sorrow.
Rory tried explaining to Jess that her life was too uncertain and that she couldn't make such a commitment right now. The situation will be different if she can secure a full-time writing job and feel that she's made something of her life.
She thought her words would cause the old Jess to resurface, and he'd argue that the time was right and that she shouldn't deny it. But instead her words were met with silence, his eyes giving away his pain as he slipped the ring into his pocket. After escorting her back to Harold and Darlene Johnson's house in uncomfortable silence he said he was leaving for Philadelphia the next day and hopes she finds what she's looking for.
Rory assumed this was his way of saying he needed time to himself, perhaps to heal from the wound she caused or to keep him from saying something he'd regret. Rory admired Jess for his heroic efforts to respect her free will and accept her choice. As difficult as the situation was, she takes comfort in having witnessed his incredible maturity and the depth of his pure love for her.
But as their relationship had begun with an unspoken understanding, it now seems to have ended the same way. Rory did not want to repeat the mistake she made with Logan, thinking that they were together while he believed they were broken up. So she considers her relationship with Jess over, which makes her heart hurt far worse than her head.
The train arrives in Rome, and Rory saunters off, hollow and in a daze.
She enters the bustling train station and hears an unpolished operatic female voice sing, "Rory, where are you going?"
Startled, she whirls around and sees her mom and Luke standing nearby.
"Mom? What are you – "
"Buona sera!" Lorelai exclaims.
Luke rolls his eyes. "Can you keep it down? We don't need the whole train station looking over at the crazy American."
"What? It's their language. I'm just blending in," Lorelai says in her defense.
Luke grumbles, "You blend in nowhere but a coffee shop, and even that's debatable."
Rory is still gaping, surprised to see her favorite odd couple here in Rome.
"I was able to convince the Roman Rebel here to get a little culture in him," Lorelai explains.
"If I wanted to be cultured, I would have opened a museum instead of a diner."
His disposition changes as he turns to Rory with a warm smile. "It's good to see you. Are you staying close to here?"
"Not far. There's this lady over on the –"
Lorelai interrupts, "Cancel."
"What?" Rory asks.
"Cancel. You're staying with us."
Rory laughs. "I can't just cancel."
"Yes, you can. I haven't seen you in over two months. You're staying with us. I insist."
Her mom's unwavering perseverance tears down the walls of self-sufficiency that she's built up to sustain her on this solitary European adventure. Now all she wants is her mom. Rory's eyes well up as she pulls out her phone.
A text later, she says, "Done."
"Good. Isn't this exciting? Here we are in Italy together, the Three Musketeers," Lorelai says with exuberance, yanking them in closer to make a Lorelai panino.
"The Three Musketeers were from France," Rory states.
Luke says, "We're more like the Three Stooges."
Ignoring her critics, Lorelai leads them out of the train station and into the sticky summer night air of Rome.
Luke goes to bed early, muttering something about adjusting to the time difference. On the balcony of their two-bedroom hotel suite overlooking Saint Peter's Basilica, Lorelai and Rory sip Pinot Grigio from their wine glasses.
The nutty flavor with a hint of lemon reminds Rory of the last time they were in Rome together, drinking Pinot Grigio in the summertime.
Lorelai's long and flowy purple floral dress bobs up and down as she moves her legs in contemplation. "I wonder if the pope will have time to catch up with us while we're here."
"Mom," Rory says, ignoring Lorelai's musings, "I love seeing you, but what are you really doing here?"
Lorelai takes a large swig of wine before saying, "I told you we were going to visit, and here we are."
Rory isn't fooled by the artificial smile plastered on her mom's smooth sun-kissed face. "And…?"
"And…" Lorelai drags out, struggling to say no more.
But Rory succeeds with her relentless stare, and Lorelai confesses, "I wanted to see if you had a ring on your finger!"
Their last conversation makes sense now: Lorelai warning Rory not to get engaged and married in Paris, Lorelai knowing that Jess was in France with her.
Rory confronts her, asking, "He talked to you, didn't he?"
"Jess called me the day before you left for Paris and asked my permission. Don't get me wrong, I love that all your boyfriends are coming to me first, but I hope for their sakes that this won't become a regular occurrence."
Discussing her pained love life aloud with Lorelai stings but Rory also finds it cathartic.
"What's going on, Honey?" Lorelai asks, placing a tender hand on her daughter's arm.
"It's my articles, Mom, my career. I'm not getting anywhere. I'm no further along in my goals than when I started this stupid trip. Things are so confusing in my life right now. I don't know which direction to take, and I just can't throw marriage into the mix." As a side, she adds, "Not to mention my mom isn't very keen on the guy."
"Rory, listen to me. I'll be the first to admit I've never been a rallying force for Team Jess, and I had good reasons for it. But he's really gotten his life together, and I know he cares about you. I take full responsibility and blame for any recent resistance I've had. I love you so much, Kid, and I want to make sure that whoever you're with treats you good, like Luke treats me."
The irony is not lost on Rory that she sees Jess treating her in much the same way as his uncle treats her mom.
"So can you forgive your fabulous yet imperfect mother and follow your heart?" Lorelai asks.
"It means a lot to have your support, but it doesn't change my decision about Jess."
"You have my blessing either way. Luke on the other hand," Lorelai teases as she shoots a furtive glance toward the suite door, "might be harder to convince."
"Poor Luke," Rory says, wistful.
A few minutes of silence and a few gulps of wine later Lorelai says, "We definitely have to go back to the corner of Bark and Cheese this week."
"Definitely – as long as I don't have to order cream in Italian."
"Oh come on, it'll be fun. We'll give Luke the stinky cheese." Lorelai smirks as they clang their glasses together in conspiratory fashion.
Their week in Rome included another close-encounter with the pope, as well as dramatic complaints from Lorelai because her favorite gelato shop near the Pantheon isn't open early in the morning. One of Lorelai and Rory's favorite biscotti moments consisted of watching Luke almost get into a fight with a pushy Italian street vendor.
Rory already misses their liveliness and humor, as Luke and Lorelai's flight left a couple hours ago. The suite is hers for another night, but her plans end there. She spent this week trying to forget her failed attempts to get published and her heart-wrenching breakup.
As she wanders the cobblestoned streets of Rome, she takes notes for her article on the differences between American and Italian food habits. Her mind drifts to some of the memorable times she spent with her mom in Belgium and considers it her next stopping-off point.
She thinks back on her recent travels: Ireland, England, France, Italy – all destinations she's visited before. Rory considered this trip to be a defining act of adulthood, independence and maturity, but she realizes that up to now every country she's traveled to already holds stories from her past. While it's a sweet sentimental truth, she doesn't want to trek only the familiar paths.
Finding an obscure country in Europe that she hasn't visited isn't good enough. She must plunge into the murky waters of an untouched continent.
Rory yanks out her phone and types into the Web browser: Cheap flights from Rome to Tokyo.