Chapter 11: Stars Hollow in Hawaii
"What are you doing here?" Rory asks, walking up to Jess.
"Well, hello to you too."
Composing herself she replies, "Oh, sorry, hi. How did you -" she stops and answers her own question in mid-sentence, declaring, "Lane."
Jess explains, "I was still in L.A. after the premiere doing interviews and Lane called, insisting that I come to Kauai to see you. She said you really wanted to see me."
Intense hope and curiosity cling to Jess' face.
Rory didn't expect to have the opportunity so soon to pour her heart out to him. She hasn't rehearsed it all as much as she planned to. Now that he's standing before her the oyster of her emotions snaps shut, locking up the pearl of truth within. "Yes, of course. It's really good to see you."
His eyes fall, casting slight shadows of disappointment before their quick recovery.
"I've been following the box office stats," Rory says, switching subjects. "Your movie is beating record after record."
"You've been keeping tabs on me, Gilmore?" Jess teases.
Unshaken, she replies, "It's so exciting!"
Disinterested in "shop talk," Jess looks around, taking in their surroundings. "I've never been to Hawaii."
"Me neither, should be fun."
"So what does your thorough research have to say about this place?"
He knows her well enough to assume she wouldn't go anywhere without an extensive study of the locale.
Without hesitating she slips into tour guide mode. "There are four main sections to the island: North Shore, South Shore, West Side and the East Side – which is where we are now in Lihue. It takes about two hours to get to any drive-able part of the island."
But now that she has the opportunity to talk with him she wants to discuss things other than geographical descriptions.
"How was the L.A. Premiere?"
"Not as fun without you there."
If he isn't going to bring up the obvious, she will. "You and Kandy seemed to be having a good time."
"The magazine cover, right?"
His face reveals no trace of remorse. "George showed up drunk and was yelling at the cops, saying he deserved to be part of the premiere. Most of the Chronicles guests laughed as the police dragged him away, but Kandy saw it as her chance for publicity shots."
"Oh," Rory breathes out in relief.
"We didn't go together or anything. I'm not a cheater."
Rory smiles in sweet gratitude but hates that she again misread a relationship, thanks to a lack of direct communication.
Jess and Rory make the short 15-minute drive to the deluxe resort in Kapaa that Richard and Emily insisted on gifting her with as a "welcome home soon" present.
They put their stuff down in their respective rooms and walk to the Waipouli Town Center shopping square. Jess' hand taps against the rental key in his pocket, a clinking chime tagging along on their stroll.
Roosters dot the landscape, crowing and bobbing their heads.
"What's up with all the chickens?" Jess asks.
Rory can't tell if he's just being observant or if they really annoy him.
"No one's sure," Rory says, "but the numbers increased in the '90s after a few hurricanes so there's a strong theory that they broke out of their cages during the storms."
"They're probably on the menu in every restaurant around here."
"Apparently their meat isn't good enough to eat so they just keep wandering."
She smiles in amusement as a rooster mocks a McDonald's sign, striding passed it.
"So you don't think of roosters when you think of Hawaiian beaches, huh?" Rory jokes.
But Jess seems preoccupied by more than feral chickens, blurting out, "Logan. You told me in Philly at the open house that you're in love with him."
Stunned by the conversation change, Rory says, "Jess, Paris had nothing to do with Logan."
He stays on track with the memory. "You said that despite all the bad he's done you can't help it – you're in love with him."
After their brief walk around the Waipouli area they cross the road and head toward the beach.
Rory explains, "That was a naïve college girl talking, thinking she knew what love is. I was dependent on him. I hate to admit it, but it's true. And in spite of the ways he made things difficult somehow it felt more comfortable holding onto him than letting him go."
Rory's heart races. She'd never talked about this situation in so much depth, and she hates recalling her feelings and having to speak aloud her failure and stupidity.
Jess is silent, looking in every direction but hers.
Rory continues. "I wish I had realized it earlier, like when you first came back to visit me at Yale. He treated you so horribly, but I was so entrenched in my little world. I finally made the choice I should have made before – but only after he proposed."
He lights up with intrigue, now locking his eyes with Rory's.
She explains, "He proposed right after graduation and wanted me to move to San Francisco with him, but I couldn't marry him."
That sounds familiar, she reads in his eyes.
"But it wasn't just the timing or the move – it was the guy. The reason I said no to you was different. I was so worried about having everything figured out in my life first without realizing that we could be figuring it out together."
Jess cups her head in his hands and draws himself closer to her, whispering, "So would you say yes now?"
"If the offer still stands." Rory smiles in eager excitement.
With roosters crowing and waves crashing, Jess digs a knee into the warm scratchy sand and pulls out the same dark velvet box from Paris, protecting the same solitaire diamond ring.
"Rory Gilmore, will you marry me already?" Jess smirks.
Tears well up and she chokes with emotion, bursting out with, "I will, yes."
He slips the ring onto her finger, and it is no longer empty. He rises and draws her into a deep, enthusiastic long-awaited-for first kiss as an engaged couple.
"Let's get married," Jess says. "Right here. As soon as possible."
"Whoa, there," Rory starts, putting her hands to his chest.
"What is it?"
Rory's eyes dart away in embarrassment.
"I know this might sound stupid but I really want to share my wedding with Stars Hollow. They're my family. I'm not the girl who planned out her whole wedding when she was five but having them all there is the one thing I've always really wanted if I was getting married."
Jess breathes out with loving patience. "Okay then. We'll wait."
They walk down the beach together in silence, and Rory feels more at peace here than she has anywhere else on her trip.
Most of the mornings they sit by each other at a resort bench overlooking the ocean, watching the orange-hued sun rise along the coast. Rory writes her articles while Jess reads. A few hours later they sight-see for the day then spend their evenings walking the beaches, catching up on their past and considering their future.
On the desert-like West Side of the island they hike Waimea Canyon, which Mark Twain coined "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific." They soar high above the jungles on a helicopter tour, taking in the Na Pali Coast on the North Shore.
Rory frequently tilts her hand back and forth, enjoying the way her diamond shimmers under the Hawaiian sun.
As they walk along Poipu Beach, Rory's distracted by the distance she's feeling from home. She called Lorelai and Lane countless times this week to share her exciting news but they aren't picking up or returning her voice messages. She then tried Luke, Babette, Miss Patty and Kirk. No one's answered.
She even called Luke's Diner and the Dragonfly Inn, where she did talk to live people but would get brief explanations about everyone being too busy and unable to talk.
"It seems that all of Stars Hollow has disowned me," she moans.
Maybe they already know about the engagement. Did the paparazzi follow Jess to Kauai? Are there magazine covers filling convenience stores around the world announcing the engagement? Maybe everyone in Stars Hollow knows and disapproves. Maybe they are mad they first found out from the press. Rory had searched online but couldn't find any hint of the engagement in the news.
"They could never hate their prized citizen," Jess reassures her.
"Then what's up with everyone? It's like I've been rejected by the entire town."
Jess looks passed her and smiles. "I think you're anything but rejected." His head motions for her to turn.
There on a small hill off the shoreline she sees the familiar faces of Stars Hollow: from Andrew to Zack and everyone in between. She even sees her dad, grandparents, Paris, Michel and Taylor. Many are smiling and waving toward her. Some even chant her name.
Most of them could never afford to come here, and she asks in disbelief, "You did all this?"
He shrugs, saying, "They didn't seem to mind an all-expenses-paid trip to the wedding of their town's international traveling sensation."
Wrapping an arm around her waist he nudges her with his nose, pleading, "Now can we get married?"
Rory smiles up at him and says, "Yes. Now let's get married."