A/N: So, thanks for all the reviews last chapter. Yall are the greatest. And I'm extremely sorry that it's taken me half a year to update this. I really wanted to update this more over the summer but I've been focused on other fics. But since I've neglected yall so long, I took time out of my hectic schedule to update this. I seriously have 4 papers due this week, several meetings, Revival at church...plus it's Homecoming Week and I'm expected to go to all of those events. And I have mid terms next week. But I'm updating and I'm actually quite pleased with this chapter. It turned out exactly like I wanted it. And hopefully yall will like it too. So, enough about my life and on to Rory's. Comments are greatly appreciated and have a great day!
"I can't believe our only granddaughter is getting married," Emily Gilmore exclaimed loudly at the dinner table. Rory smiled at her grandmother, Lorelai downed another glass of champagne, and Richard kept reading his newspaper.
"Neither can I," Lorelai answered as she handed her champagne glass to the newest Gilmore maid. Sure, Lorelai gave Logan permission. How could she say no? She feared Rory would run off and marry him anyways, rebelled against her like Lorelai rebelled against her parents. And she didn't hate Logan. She just preferred that they waited to get married. At least for a few more years. She wasn't thrilled at all.
Emily jumped up from the dining room table and ran to the study, "I have to tell the girls from the DAR about this one."
Lorelai and Rory sat in the dining room in silence, only the sounds of the newspapers flipping pages filling the space between them. Lorelai couldn't take the silence anymore. "So, Dad, what are your thoughts on the wedding?"
"Did you know the stocks soared nearly five points yesterday? Extraordinary."
"Well, it's a good thing I bought those stocks in llama farming," Lorelai answered.
"And all this time I thought you was wasting your money and told you to go into bee farming," Rory responded shaking her head in mock disbelief.
Emily came running back into the room. "The girls are extremely excited about this. Rory, you are going to have the most extravagant wedding of the season!"
"Oh, grandma, that's not necessary. I was just hopping for something smaller, just family…"
"Oh, Rory, you don't think a small wedding will work do you? It's the Huntzbergers. And you know Logan's mother is going to try to out-do us in making the wedding plans. All of Hartfort will be invited, the President of Yale, the mayor. We have got a lot of planning to do. Richard! Have you been paying an attention at all? Did you hear anything I said?"
Richard dropped the section of the newspaper he was reading. "What Emily?"
"Your granddaughter is marrying into the Huntzberger family. Can you believe that? The Gilmores and the Huntzbergers are finally joining."
"Wow. This is big. We have a lot of planning to do," Richard said jumping up from his seat, making his way to the study.
"What time are you available to go dress shopping tomorrow?" Emily asked Lorelai and Rory.
"Oh, grandma, that's not necessary. I mean it will be a long engagement. It probably won't be until the spring or sometime."
"Yea, mom. Don't you think you are making it too big of a deal?"
"Nonsense. You can't be over prepared when it comes to marrying a Huntzberger. I will pick the both of you up at twelve tomorrow."
Rory shook her head as her, her mom, and her grandmother walked through another wedding store. She didn't see what the big deal was about when it came to marrying Logan. Yes he was a Huntzberger. And yes, he was a socialite. And even though all of the other Huntzbergers and socialites did things in a grand fashion, it didn't mean her and Logan had. But she had to please her grandmother.
Lorelai sighed heavily as she flipped through another section of wedding dresses. "I'm so sorry mom," Rory said apologizing for the hundredth time that day.
"I told you to stop apologizing. It's not your fault kiddo," Lorelai answered as she held another dress up to her. "You know, I never thought I would be picking out your wedding dress before I would be picking out my own."
"But what about that time you rare off with the plumber and got married in Vegas. Didn't you pick out your wedding dress then?"
"Well, I rarely count that sailor dress as a wedding dress. Besides, it doesn't count in Vegas."
"Rory, Rory! Come look at this exquisite wedding dress! It's absolutely perfect for you!"
Rory smiled at her mom and went to look at the dress. She did have to admit it was gorgeous. But it was way too fancy for her. It was strapless, with a long train and lacy bodice with lacy on the ends of the dress, and a long veil to top it off. "It's gorgeous," Rory admitted.
"What size are you Rory? "
"Grandma, no, I can't get that dress."
"If you're worried about the price, your grandfather and I will be happy to pay for it. In fact, we will be more than willing to for everything. You're granddaughter only gets married once to a Huntzberger."
Rory smiled nervously. "Well…thank you, really…but the dress…I mean it's gorgeous…but it's not me." Rory walked to the other side of the room and found a simple but elegant dress. It was long but shorter than the previous one, strapless, and silky with just a little bit of lace at the top of the dress where it rested on her chest. "This is more me," Rory said smiling as she held the dress to her. Mrs. Huntzberger…the name continued to replay through her head.
"Rory that is an unacceptable dress! It's just not going to do."
"You know what mom, I think we've had enough dress shopping for one day. The dresses will still be here next week," Lorelai jumped in coming to Rory's aid.
"But we haven't even finished looking at all the stores and…"
"Mom, really…" Lorelai interrupted.
Rory mouthed a thank you as the three headed to the door. Rory was excited about marrying Logan but wedding dress shopping a few days after the engagement was too much. The Gilmore Girls walked down the sidewalk heading to a local restaurant to eat dinner at. Rory stopped outside of a small shop and grabbed a free zine. She flipped through the pages seeing what articles were in it. Being a journalist major made Rory appreciate all types of journalism even more than she already did. Rory continued flipping through pages in the zine until a particular article caught her eye. A small blurb on the bottom of page 9 about the newest great American novelist:
The Newest Great American Novelist
With the end of Mark Twain, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, everyone thought the eras of the Great American Novelist died. But could a new era been revived? Many think so, especially with the rise of Jess Mariano. Mariano is a Philadelphia native and owner of the newly built Truncheon Bookstore. His recent publication, The Subsect, has proven to be a hit with critics and audiences nationwide. Truncheon Bookstore has been a hit, as well. The grand opening was last week and I've heard nothing but praise about the quaint bookstore. When asked about his accomplishments, Mariano has repeatedly dismissed the acclaim, replying, "I've done nothing special. I slapped some pages of a book together, filled an abandoned warehouse some books."
Now, that's something you don't see ever day. A humble writer with some amazing skills. Maybe Jess Mariano is just what the nation is looking for. Maybe he is the next Great American Novelist.
Rory stopped in her tracks as she read the article. And she re-read it three more times, making sure she read it right. Jess Mariano, her Jess, had wrote a book and opened his own bookstore. Of course she thought about him: wondering what he was doing, if he was doing ok, what it would have been like if he was the one proposing to her. It was natural. You never forget you first love. But now, he was practically jumping off the pages, slapping her in face. She never thought she would actually be faced with him, actually see him, even if it was in a zine.
"Rory, honey, are you ok?" Lorelai asked as she came back to where Rory was standing. Rory's heart raced, Rory's breathing quickened. She couldn't believe Jess Mariano was in a zine. She couldn't believe he had made something out of himself. Made a good living actually. She couldn't believe she was starring at his picture and the picture of his bookstore. She couldn't take it. She couldn't handle. She couldn't face it. For some reason, she was panicking. Everything around Rory turned to black, as she fainted, landing in her mother's arms.