Chapter 2: Waiting line
"Ace?" She heard one of her best friends call as she lay in bed, trying to concentrate on the book in her hand but finding it hard to do so.
"In here" She said hoarsely, her voice thick from crying
Logan came in and smiled softly "Hey. How you holding up?" He asked, sitting down next to her on the bed
Rory shrugged "I stopped crying" she said carelessly
"That's a start" he chuckled "He's going to be back before you know it Ace" Logan assured
Rory nodded mutely "You want something to eat or drink?" She asked
He shook his head "I'm fine. How about we go to Juanita's…get you some tacos" he suggested with a grin
Rory nodded "Sure, just let me get ready. You can watch TV or do whatever…" She said practically pushing him out the door.
"I'm giving you 30 minutes Ace. After that, I'm making you cook" Logan joked from the living room with a smirk
Rory rolled her eyes "Whatever Huntzberger" she mumbled shutting the door.
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"Brilliant idea. Juanita's is amazing" Rory mumbled while stuffing another bite into her mouth
Logan smiled "I try. So what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" he asked
Rory shook her head "I'll be fine Logan. Besides, you probably have things to do. Like work maybe?" she suggested
"Nope. Canceled everything, so I repeat. What do you want to do?" he asked again
"You dropped everything to come and be bored with me?" She asked incredulously
"I dropped everything because one of my best friends needed me. Now would you stop ranting about this and just get on with it" he said with a sigh
"Thanks" Rory said with a soft smile "How about…oh I don't know, you're the adventurous one!" She exclaimed when she couldn't think of anything
"How about we go play tennis?" he asked with a smirk
Rory's eyes widened "You did not just suggest a physical activity!" She exclaimed
"I did" he confirmed with a nod "Fine fine" he relented at her glare "How about we visit Stars hollow? I bet Babbette and Mrs. Patty are missing this perfect face" he said smirking
Rory grinned "Sounds perfect. Mrs. Patty is in her serenading phase by the way, so you're perfect little rear is going to be just fine"
Logan laughed "I love you Ace"
"Come on! Finish eating…I want to see what song she's going to dish out for you…" she ushered
"I'm going I'm going Ace…you still have 2 tacos left!" he stated
"Logan?" Rory asked after she had finished eating
"Yeah?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, seeing she was going to say something pretty serious
"Thank you" She said quietly "Can I ask you a favor?"
"Anything" he said curiously
"Don't tell my mom how terribly I'm taking it. I can tell you know that I'm in pretty bad shape…but I cant let her know…it would kill her too, and she's happy right now" She pleaded
"She would understand Ace…you never keep anything from her" he said confused
"Just…please don't say anything. I know she's going to ask you…but I don't want her worrying when she and Luke are finally happy. You know how self destructive she gets when something goes wrong in her life…I don't want that happening" She explained
Logan nodded "Fine" he sighed "But she's going to notice Rory. She's your mom"
It was almost 6 when her cell phone rang. Immediately she snapped it open and answered
"Hello?"
"Hey beautiful" She heard the voice on the other side say
Rory grinned "Hi" She said awkwardly
"I just wanted to call and let you know I got here safely. I don't know if I'll be able to call you for a while…" he said regretfully
"Oh" Rory said disappointed "I miss you" she said softly
"I miss you too Mary. How's Logan?" he asked
"Fine. We're in Stars hollow" She responded
"Good. Tell your mom I say hey…I love you Rory…stay beautiful" he teased
"You stay beautiful" Rory countered
"I have to go…I'll talk to you soon, promise" he said
"Love you, be safe" Rory said before hanging up
"I take it that was Tristan" Lorelai said as soon as she hung up the phone
Rory turned to face her and nodded "Yeah…he's there" she answered put out
"I know you're a wreck kid" she said, sitting down on the bed and patting the spot next to it for Rory
Rory sighed, closing her eyes as she walked and sat down next to her "I knew Logan wouldn't keep his mouth shut" she muttered
"Why wouldn't you tell me?" Lorelai asked
"Its not that I didn't want to mom…I swear. It's just…things are really good for you now, and I don't need to be bringing everyone else down with me. I mean…thousands of girlfriends and wives…they deal with It." she explained
"It's okay to miss him Rory…its okay to be a wreck" Lorelai comforted
"I know. and I am…trust me…I am" Rory cried, trying to hold back her tears "I cant stay like this though…I'll drive my self crazy" she said shaking her head
"Like the nysnc song?" Lorelai teased
Rory laughed through her tears "Thanks mom"
"You want me to come stay with you for a while?" Lorelai asked
Rory shook her head "I'll be fine…its only 6 months right?" she said taking a deep breath
"I can come babe…" She pushed
"You can't stay with me for 6 months. I'll be fine" Rory insisted "Come n…I have some ass kicking to do" Rory teased referring to Logan.
"Not too hard! It's too nice to look at!" Lorelai yelled after her
"What did I hear about my ass being nice to look at?" Logan smirked when he saw a pissed off looking Rory walk into the kitchen
Rory glared, remaining silent.
"Give it up Ace, your eyes give you away…you're not really angry" Logan said amused
Rory tried biting back a grin, stomping her foot when she couldn't "I hate you" She said with a smile
"You want some cake?" Logan asked when the oven beeped
Rory squealed "I love you!" She shouted as she saw her favorite cake coming out of the oven "Is this what I think it is?" she asked happily
"German chocolate cake with my own little twist? Yes it is" He answered with a knowing smile
"Logan…this takes hours to make! Thank you" She said hugging him
"No problem Ace…now come on. Grab that ice cream before the cake gets cold" he ushered
Rory grabbed a carton of vanilla ice cream from the freezer and made a few bowls. "Mooooomm!!! Guess what Logan made" Rory shouted, carrying two bowls into the living room
Lorelai grinned "Oh Logie…you shouldn't have" She said fluttering her eyelashes at him as she took the bowl from Rory
Logan groaned and the nickname "Logie? Are you serious! No one's called me that since I was 4" he whined, taking a seat next to her
"Not true!" Rory gasped from her seat on the couch "I remember Valerie Cartion calling you that at my grandparents Christmas party last year!"
Logan glared "You just had to bring that up. No more cake for you!" he stated
"Oh come on Logie…Valerie wasn't that bad. But I have to say…your first wife was by far superior" Rory teased
"I'm not so sure. My first wife made me a mud pie for our first meal…literally" he smirked, remembering their mock wedding they had when they were around 4 years old.
"Hey…that was an amazing heart shaped mud pie!" Rory defended.
"Right. And then you stuck your foot in it because I wouldn't eat It." he mused
"I'm in the mood for a sappy movie" Rory announced making both Lorelai and Logan groan.
"Hey!" Rory defended "Come on guys…you know I hate watching movies alone"
"Sappy? Sappy as in Casablanca sappy or sappy as in chick flick from the 90's sappy?" Lorelai asked suspiciously
"Sappy as in I want to cry my eyes out until they bleed!" She said defiantly
"So…Casablanca?" Lorelai said hopefully
She shook her head "Like an affair to remember" She stated making them both cringe
"Alright sweets, I'll grab the ice cream" Lorelai said sympathetically eyeing Logan
"Yeah…and I'll grab the cake" he said looking at Lorelai confused
"Freeze" Rory stated "I'm not an idiot." She said slowly like she was talking to children "If you guys aren't back in 5 minutes I'm going to tell Luke you're sick and that you can't have coffee. And you!" She said to Logan who was smirking "I'll tell Steph you stole her Prada tie!" She said
"It's a mens tie…" Logan defended
"Its Stephs and she's been looking for it for 3 months!" Rory exclaimed
"Fine fine…we're coming back. But give us 15…we need to run to Doose's and grab some comfort food for ourselves" Lorelai groaned
"Fine. Oh and grab some pizza on your way back" Rory said excitedly
"Aye aye captain" Logan sarcastically remarked
After they left Rory sighed, looking around her childhood home. She was so confused…confused about what she was supposed to do…just about everything. Slowly, she opened the duffel bag lying next to her and took out a picture of her and Tristan from it. It was a candid…their foreheads were leaning against each other's and they were just gazing into each other's eyes like nothing else mattered into the world. Things were so much simpler back then…well maybe not…but definitely not as complicated as they were now. What if something happened? How was she supposed to get in touch with him… I guess it didn't really matter…if something were to really go wrong…they had ways of contacting him right? Of course they did.
"Oh Tristan…" Rory whispered sadly as she watched a lone tear sputter onto the frame. He called her today, that meant he wouldn't be calling at least for another week…she hoped her letters were keeping him busy…What was she thinking? It had only been one day…he was probably too busy to even think about her and here she was…pining for him. But deep down she knew it wasn't true…he missed her just as much as she missed him.
"Dugrey! Over here man" he heard one of his friends shout. He turned towards him and grinned "Mike…hows it going man"
The man laughed "Alright alright…how about you?" he asked. He was tall, taller than Tristan and had the same buff yet slim figure Tristan did. He had black hair which was curly enough to be considered an afro…
Tristan shrugged and sat down on the cot next to him "Eh…you know how it is." He said offhandedly
"Saved you a cot man" Mike said pointing to the one next to his
"Thanks" He said appreciatively happy that he didn't have to sleep on the floor despite getting there late. He looked around the small space set up for them…dirt floor, portable heaters everywhere and about 5 separate cots spread out across the room. Sighing he moved his things onto his bed…this was his life for the next 6 months.
Later that night, he groaned when he wasn't able to sleep at all. He knew he should…he really should. Tomorrow was going to be hell even with the proper amount of sleep. He quietly unzipped his duffel bag and took out the stack of letters Rory had given him. Smiling softly to himself he took out the first one and turned on his small light before opening the letter up and reading.
Tristan, I don't actually know if you'll ever get these letters but I guess it's my version of a journal…maybe this will last longer because my last one lasted a whole 30 words. I always did find writing to an inanimate object strange.
Tristan chuckled after finishing that much. She found writing to them strange but talking to them and naming them was okay?
There's something weird about you today…or I should say there wasToday's sort of over…you look exhausted…tried and just too drained to function. Im a little bummed you're not telling me what's bothering you…and there is something bothering you, but you'll tell me when you're ready right? Who am I kidding; I'm not a patient person
Tristan chuckled; he knew exactly which day she was taking about. It was the day he found out that he was being deported here…he couldn't bring himself to tell her and as much as he tried to hide it…she just knew him too well.
So I want to know something, something that's been bothering me for the entire day. What did you put in the coffee this morning! Im going crazy trying to figure it out…
Nutmeg. Tristan though to himself. He put nutmeg in her coffee that morning to throw her off a little and she had gone crazy with love…apparently his coffee matched Luke's, which was near impossible
Despite the strange day, I really loved waking up with you this morning. I love how there was no awkwardness…it was nice. You know me and awkward situations; they just don't go well together. And since you'll never get this letter, I can say that I hope I wake up like that for the rest of my life…wow that was so cliché. I'm just going to stop now. But seriously, what's the deal? We've always been able to share things with each other…this has to be big if you're not telling me and are stressing this much about it. I can see the stress lines on your forehead now and it's taking everything I have to not wake you up and demand answers. I just hope that whatever it is, that you trust me enough to tell me…because if I don't know soon, my brain is just going to start racking up even stranger scenarios….and trust me, that wont be good for either of us. On the off chance that you do get these…I love you Tristan. Probably more than you think I do…I just hope you feel the same way.
Love,
Rory…Mary
Tristan's eyes had misted over. He missed her now more than ever and he felt like shit for leaving her…she didn't blame him but it was his fault. Albeit he couldn't help it but…it didn't hurt any less. Grabbing a pen and a piece of paper he began writing
Mary,
Really? You think writing to inanimate objects is strange? Don't tell me you've given up your toaster naming and coffee pot conversation ways, I don't think I'll be able to adjust!
I remember the day you wrote this letter…I wasn't there to see you do it but I can just picture you writing it. It was the day I found out that I had to leave. I couldn't do that to you Mare, you were so happy, we were happy…I wanted that to last longer. The coffee that morning? Just a simple pinch of nutmeg.
I miss having you in my arms Rory…its hell. The bed feels awkward without you…cold. I knew you were nervous that morning after our first time…and I'm glad that you were okay…I could feel it when you woke up. Your whole body just sort of tensed…but I think when you remembered where you were…you relaxed…it felt good to know that you weren't embarrassed about being with me Mary…it felt good. When I get back…I promise, we won't spend one night apart. You'll get sick of me.
Watching me sleep were you? I love you more than life itself Rory, and conveying this in a letter? It just doesn't cut it for me. You're the only thing that's keeping me sane out here…and I can't wait to hear your voice next week. Well it's the middle of the night here and I should be getting to sleep for my first day tomorrow. Goodnight baby…and I'll see you soon…before you know it.
He finished the letter, stuck it in an envelope and wrote her address on it before shutting his light off and grunting as he plopped himself down in bed.
It had been about 5 days since Tristan left and she had just gotten back to her apartment…sighing she checked her mail and grinned goofily when she found a letter addressed to her from Tristan. Quickly she got in the elevator back to her apartment before curling up on the couch and opening it. She realized he was responding to the first letter she wrote and smiled when she thought about him reading those. Even thousands of miles away, it still felt so intimate for him to read those…it was nice.
"Hey Logan?" She said into the phone softly, she had gotten up in the middle of the night, not being able to sleep any…feeling scared and lonely in their apartment.
"Ace?" she heard a groggy voice answer
"I'm sorry…are you busy? I didn't realize it was so late" She said quickly
"What's wrong Ace" She heard him sigh
"I feel…I don't know I just feel so alone" She said into the receiver, hoping she didn't sound foolish
Logan heard the vulnerability in her voice and smiled to himself "I'll be there in a bit…and Rory…"
"Hmm?"
"Don't worry about it" he said before hanging up
A/N: There you go guys…next chapter is kind of intense…it jumps ahead 5 months…so bear with me. I thought the whole lack of troryness would get old…besides writing phone calls for 5 months is ridiculously difficult to come up with new ideas with…lol. Read an review!