Chapter 8

Chris sliced a few pieces of turkey and put a couple on the plate Gigi held up and then some on his own.

"Thank you," she said, setting her plate back down and filling the rest of it with vegetables and a roll.

It was just the two of them at the house this year, since her grandma had officially moved to warmer climates all year round.

After her plate was full and she'd started in on the meal, Gigi asked, "How was your date the other night?"

"Eh, it was okay."

She speared a few green beans. "Just okay?"

"She was nice enough and we had a pleasant time." He was silent for a minute as he scraped a forkful of turkey through his mashed potatoes and gravy. Chewing, he rocked his head back and forth. "She just wasn't . . . I don't know. I'm not sure that we really connected."

Gigi sighed. She knew what that meant. He didn't think they were compatible at some superficial, trivial level. She didn't like the right music or movies. Or he made a dumb reference she didn't pick up on, and he thought that kind of thing was important. It meant his date wasn't Lorelai.

It was so frustrating. He might actually like someone out in the world if he'd drop his idea of Lorelai being the one and only perfect woman. "I think you should go out with her again. Give her another chance," Gigi said.

"I don't know," he said doubtfully.

"You can't expect a love connection after one date. Sometimes it takes longer."

He gave her a perplexed look. "Since when are you an expert?"

"I'm not. I just think you're expecting too much too soon, and it isn't realistic or fair."

They ate in silence for a minute, then Chris said, "You're the young, twenty-something girl. Who are you seeing these days? You haven't brought anyone to meet your old man in a long time."

"Work keeps me busy. There isn't anyone around here to bring, anyway." True enough, if not at the moment. Last year Xavier took her to New York for shopping and ice skating at Rockefeller Plaza under the big tree. They were just going to watch Christmas movies while she put up her tree this year.

Deflecting, she went on, "I worry about you sometimes. I'm all grown up and out of the house, Grandma is in Florida now. And when was the last time you hung out with friends?"

Slightly exasperated by the question, Chris thought about it. "I guess it's been a while. But I'm out of town a lot for work." Ruefully, he said, "Thank you for pointing out how pathetic I am."

"Sorry," she said. "I just, don't want you to be lonely. Maybe you should get a pet."

"I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me."

They ate some more, and got seconds. Gigi changed the subject, "I'm turning my second bedroom into a dance studio."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. I called up my old ballet teacher, Michelle—remember her?"

"Which one was she?"

"She gave me the beads when I behaved."

"Oh right, I remember her, she was nice."

"She was, so I asked her a couple months ago if she would be my teacher again, and she could. So she's been giving me lessons once a week." Gigi added, "I'm going to to dance en pointe again, eventually."

"Mm, I can't wait to go to the en pointe shoe store again."

She grinned. "Me too."

XXX

Later that day, she sat at the end of Lorelai's couch, watching a holiday special. Lorelai and Rory's presence was so sought after, evening was the only time they could squeeze in their own Thanksgiving dinner with Luke and April. Gigi rested her cheek on her fist, the silent observer. An outsider. That family member one forgets about the rest of the year and then invites to the holiday gathering out of obligation. They'd all pretend it wasn't weird for Gigi to be here.

Lorelai had put her old television set and VCR back in the living room after Chris and Gigi moved out. But the old technology hadn't held up, and she finally had to break down and get a flat screen TV and blu-ray player. Other than that, the living room looked remarkably unchanged. Lorelai didn't even rearrange the furniture much. Waspy of her. There was a fishing magazine and an outdoorsman catalogue on the coffee table that must belong to Luke, and yet, Gigi had never figured out if he actually lived there or not. She used to jealously wonder if April got to have Rory's room. It wasn't just a room, it meant inclusion into the Gilmore realm. It didn't matter, either way. It wasn't like Rory bestowed any more sisterly affection on April than she did Gigi.

Luke's nephew, Jess, had joined them today, too. His attendance in Stars Hollow for holidays was as spotty as Gigi's. But she knew who he was, or at least, the little Rory was willing to share. It was only because of an incident when Gigi was nine that Rory was forced to admit they had history. They had been caught by April in a compromising position upstairs at the diner.

"You and Jess? Oh my god, how did I not know about this?" April had asked excitedly.

"What were you doing with him?" Gigi wanted to know.

"They were, uh—kissing," April said hastily.

Gigi gave her a hard stare. She had not wanted the answer from April, a girl she'd met once. And she was still a little confused by the new people. Was Jess April's brother?

Rory downplayed it, only divulging that they dated senior year of high school. It hadn't worked out though. He was troubled and needed to sort some things out for himself.

"But what about now, what does this mean? And you getting back together?" April asked. She was strangely fascinated that her brother, or whoever, and Rory had romantic ties. "Oh my god, I cannot believe no one told me."

Rory didn't answer any questions, or say much more about it. She just changed the subject.

It was years later that Gigi worked out that Rory hadn't been kissing her old high school boyfriend. They screwed around sometimes. It made a lot of sense. They had shared family in Stars Hollow keeping them connected, so it was inevitable. Sometimes Rory got lonely and sometimes Jess was around. He was a convenient old flame waiting in the wings when she wanted someone to turn to. And the Gilmore girls, with their magical golden vaginas, or whatever it was, ruined other women for their exes. Most of the time.

Thinking about who she'd spent her day with, Gigi noticed a common theme amongst them all. Three people had unintentionally made a kid with someone they didn't want to be with. The rest of them were the products of those unions. Except Jess, she didn't know his story. As far as broken families went, this one was broken the same way over and over. The lack of variety was strange.

"So how's the insurance business?" Rory asked, peeling an orange she'd been rolling between her hands.

"It's really good, busy," Gigi answered. "I've been traveling a lot."

"Oh, where?"

"Just in the United States."

"When I was traveling on the campaign bus with Obama, I never got to see much of the cities I went to," Rory said, eating a section of the fruit. "I was always in my hotel room, writing. I know it was the same for my grandpa, when he traveled for work."

"I can see the city if I make time." Gigi added, "I've learned three languages, so I guess I should think about going into the international division."

"Cool. That's what my grandpa did. You know, he once told me I could work in insurance if journalism didn't work out. He was impressed with the way I negotiated for him to pay for Yale."

Gigi averted her gaze for a moment before humoring her with a nice smile. "I'm sure you'd be great at it."

Rory stood. "Is anyone thirsty? I'll get us some drinks."

"I'll help," Gigi said, not wanting to be left in the living room with Jess and April.

There wasn't really room for Gigi and Rory in the kitchen, where Luke was cooking and Lorelai was mostly getting in his way. Rory took glasses down from the cabinet and Gigi filled them with ice.

Lorelai asked, "Are you gearing up for the big Junior League Winter Ball?"

With a frown, Gigi glanced at her between cups. "Uh, that's coming up, but in New York. We're pretty busy with other things here."

"Sure, the seats at the symphony hall won't get reupholstered without a benefit dinner."

Gigi told herself it was probably a good time to take a deep breath. In and out, nice and slow. Let it go. Shake it off. Haters gonna hate, and all that. Let Lorelai keep the outdated image she was comfortable with.

But why?

"Our last benefit was for a teen pregnancy program," Gigi said. "And we served lunch at a soup kitchen last week." The people there had hit rock bottom. Looking them in the eye, she'd felt their pain.

Lorelai blinked. "Oh. That's good."

"I wonder if that one soup kitchen in Hartford still skimps on the vegetables," Rory said, probably thinking of her next feature article. "I did some volunteer work there during college."

"Court ordered?" Gigi asked.

Rory froze for a second. "Yes."

"Volunteer work of any kind is commendable," Luke said as he carefully basted the turkey.

"Right, like when Emilio Estevez teaches a ragtag group of kids to play hockey," Lorelai said quickly. "He was there as punishment, but he really made a difference in those kids' lives."

A bit flabbergasted, Luke asked, "Are you talking about Mighty Ducks?"

"I am."

"It's about hockey."

"So?"

He shook his head. "Wonders never cease."

They were about to go back to the living room, when Rory paused to grab another orange from a bowl on the counter.

"Are you feeling alright?" Luke asked her.

"Yeah, why?"

"That's the second orange you've had tonight. And you had one after lunch too. I'm amazed you've had two pieces of fruit in the same year," he said. "It must be some kind of Gilmore record."

"I don't know," Rory said, peeling the skin off the orange. "I was just hit with a craving for oranges the past few days. It's weird." It was quiet for a moment before she spoke again, her sentence not flowing confidently, "Uh, Mom, it might be like that time you wanted to eat apples."

"You're sure going to town on those apples," Rory had said to Gigi once when she was 16, at a movie night.

"Yeah, are you pregnant?" Lorelai asked.

"No," Gigi had said quickly, putting the apple down. She felt her face flush. Did they know Chris made her go on the pill? He was probably worried about his bad karma. It didn't mean she was having sex though. She didn't want people thinking she was slutty.

At her concerned expression, Lorelai had waved it off. "I'm joking. It's a Gilmore thing."

Things were finally getting interesting around here. Especially given the fact that Rory was taking some time off with her boyfriend. Luke wasn't sure the guy was good enough for her anyway. Coincidentally, Chris wasn't so sure either.

"You wanted an apple?" Luke asked Lorelai. "Were you hallucinating that it was a doughnut, or something?"

"I was going through a phase." She focused on Rory. "Do you really think it's like that time? I've been wrong before. Think back, surely you've had a Twinkie or a Ding Dong in the last 24 hours. It really could just be apples and oranges—or maybe it's scurvy."

"So she had an orange, it's a good thing," Luke said, checking another dish on the counter.

"Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't know," Rory said, doing a less convincing job of hiding her panic.

"Hey, you know what?" Lorelai said, turning to Luke. "I think we forgot something."

"What?" he asked. "We have everything."

"No, we forgot candles for the centerpieces. Mom was going on and on about hers being the wrong scent and I thought she was overreacting, but now I understand. The right candles really do set the mood. It can make or break an event."

"This isn't an event, it's dinner. And it's almost ready," he protested. "We don't need—"

"Rory and I will go get some. We'll be right back."

It happened rather quickly. They pulled on jackets and rushed out. The others shook their heads in amused wonder at the delightfully quirky whims of the Gilmore girls.

And then there were four. Gigi contemplated her options. She could go back in the living room with April and Jess, or stay in the kitchen.

Sensing the awkwardness of being left alone in each other's company, Luke said, "Hey, I didn't ask, are you still vegan?"

"No, no, not any more. I'm more Paleo-adjacent now. Fruits and vegetables, and meat."

He nodded. "Like cavemen."

"Right." She nodded too.

"Good, that's healthy." He nodded some more and put his hands at his waist for something to do.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and pointed to the door that led to the porch. "I'm just going to go check . . ."

"Oh right, sure," he said quickly, nodding some more.

She sighed with relief when she was outside, alone. She checked her email, and was responding to one when the door opened a few minutes later. Jess slipped out. He didn't say anything to Gigi, just sticking a cigarette between his lips and pulling out a lighter. He probably forgot she was there since she disappeared during her trip to the kitchen. She was sure they'd never spoken to each other before, beyond the briefest of obligatory greetings the few times they were both here. She finished her email before pocketing the phone and hugging herself. She rubbed her arms and wished for a coat.

She gave Jess a sidelong glance and considered the opportunity in front of her. "You were Rory's high school boyfriend?"

"Yup."

"I guess she confided in you about how she didn't get to have her dad because of me. I've been dying to know how much she resented me."

He was silent for a beat, then, "Rory wouldn't. She's better than that."

Better than what, real human emotions? Gigi rolled her eyes. "Give me a break."

"She is. You don't even know how lucky you are that she's your sister."

"Oh, I'm well aware."

He shook his head minutely, his eyes straying to her car. She worked at least 60 hours a week, she could afford a nice one. The dismissive look in Jess's eye said he thought she was a spoiled brat at best, a joke of a human being at worst. It pissed her off.

She counted to 10 and told herself to stop letting things bother her. She checked the time on her phone. "The food will be cold by the time they get back."

"They're just running over to Doose's. It's not far."

She scoffed. "They're definitely going at least one town away, if not Hartford. They went to get a pregnancy test, not candles."

He turned his head to look at her for the first time. "What?"

She shrugged. "Lie of omission, it's a Gilmore thing." She wondered when he hooked up with Rory last. "She's at an advanced maternal age though, I would have thought she'd be more careful. She told me how important it is to be safe when she told me about her first time, with her high school boyfriend."

He let it sink in before he said, "That's wrong."

"What is?"

"She was a . . . She didn't—do that, in high school," he said, trying to be discreet.

"I know. She's a good girl. She was 19, when she got back to Stars Hollow for summer break," Gigi said. She wondered how much this guy hated Rory's ex-boyfriends. "She got back together with—Dan or Don or something. I asked her all about it after my dad gave me the sex talk. I had some follow-up questions, woman to woman."

Chris had given her the talk, adamant that she hear about it from a parent and not from friends or TV or some other unreliable source. Still, he thought it would be good for her to have a woman to talk to. Lorelai offered, but Rory bravely stepped up to the plate.

Gigi added, "She said they still loved each other. Isn't that romantic?"

He didn't touch that. "You're still confused. That guy had a wife."

"So?"

"So you aren't listening. Married. He was married," Jess said slowly.

"I heard, I'm waiting for your point."

"The point is that it doesn't add up when you stop and think." He tapped his head. He was staying calm, but he did not like what he was hearing.

"Haven't you ever heard of the Reynolds Pamphlet?" she asked rhetorically. "Or Lemonade? It happens a lot."

Jess shook his head at Gigi. "Haven't you ever met your sister, at all? It's Rory."

"You can keep saying that, but it doesn't mean anything."

He looked at her like she was the stupidest person in the world. "It does. She'd never do something like that."

Maybe. Maybe not. Jess's complete denial of the possibility was by far the more fascinating thing here.

"Don't worry, we all know it wasn't her fault, if she did. It was probably just her evil twin who seduced Prince Seigfried. I'm sure of it."

His brows furrowed, not up on his Tchaikovsky. "You don't know anything, and you don't know Rory." He pointed at himself. "I know her."

"Ha!" she laughed, genuinely amused. "Oh I'm sure you do. She gets all your references and you like the same music . . . And books—you know, all the important things. And I bet she was the one next to you when you wrecked your first car," Gigi said. Then, it was like she wasn't even talking to him anymore, "You didn't have your shit together back in high school, and your timing was all wrong, but California was the perfect place to find yourself, and you're such an adult now. It can finally work out." She shook her head. Back in the moment, she added, "The only way to end up with the white swan is to throw yourself in the lake with her."

His eyes narrowed slightly, because she was obviously crazy. "I don't like swans."

"Oh yeah? Then get over that one." She wasn't sure when her interpretation of a classic ballet about good triumphing over evil became so warped and cynical.

She was just sick of this. Some people needed to realize they were making themselves miserable and move on with their lives.

XXX

Xavier Stiles held the marquis de Lafayette inside his jacket as he snuck through the back door early Saturday morning, and knelt down to let him out. The little dog went a couple steps ahead of him, toenails clicking on the kitchen tiles. Xavier quietly followed, thinking he'd slip in unnoticed, it was early and—

Nope, his parents were both seated at the dining table, coffee cups in front of them and the paper out. His mom was in her robe still, but his dad, who never sat around the house in pajamas no matter what day it was, already wore a sweater with his khakis. The dog caught their attention, both looking over to watch him run across the room and wonder where he came from. Then they spotted their son.

Xavier could count on his dad to respect that he was a grown man, who could come and go as he liked, and make life choices for himself. His life was his business, not everyone else's. Jason totally got that. However, Jennifer Dugray was nosy gossip. It was her business to know everyone's business.

Jenny's brows creased sharply. With a quick glance at the time, she asked, "Where have you been, rockstar?"

"Out."

"In yesterday's clothes," she said. "And with your dog?"

"He doesn't like to be away from me." Gigi's cat had hid behind the couch all night, not interested in making a new friend. That was safer than streaking across the room, which would have roused the dog's interest.

Xavier collected a few items from the cabinets and refrigerator and took a seat at the table with his parents. He poured milk over his cereal. "Can't a guy Netflix and chill without his mom interrogating him the next morning?"

Her nose scrunched up. "Ech, I thought you came to visit your family, not to whore around."

Between mouthfuls of cereal, he said, "I can do both."

"So glad you can squeeze everyone in," she said dryly.

"Let's give the boy some credit," Jason said. "We weren't sure he'd be able to get a girl."

Xavier pointed a finger at his dad as he lifted his spoon to his mouth, his brow raised at his mom. "And not just any girl, a dancer."

"Oh, nice."

Jenny gave her husband a look. "Do you guys want to high-five about it?"

"Well not while you're in the room. But probably later," Jason said.

Jennifer watched her son with mild disgust as he ate his cereal. "So you're one of those guys who slinks out in the morning," she said. "I had hoped you were better than that."

"I come from a long line of ladykillers," he reminded her.

"Yes, but I didn't think you took after them."

He didn't. He just lucked out with Gigi.

Jenny declared she was going to make turkey chili with the Thanksgiving leftovers and got up to get vegetables out of the refrigerator before going upstairs to change.

Xavier's puppy scampered back into the room, apparently having not found anyone else to play with in his exploration of the house. Jason took a piece of bacon from his plate and held it down for the dog to see. Lafayette bounded over to eat it and lick his fingers. "Does he know any tricks?"

"Tell him to take a knee."

"Lafayette, take a knee."

The dog promptly rested his head on Jason's leg, his ears back. Jason pet the dog's head. "Okay, that's pretty cute."

Sloan entered the kitchen then, the family's bullmastiff in tow.

"Okay, there are too many dogs in this house," Jason said, getting up to cut the turkey leftovers for his wife.

"Will you please answer when people text you?" Sloan requested of her brother.

"Who's texting me?" he asked, reaching for his pocket and tapping on the screen. "Why are you and Tristan blowing up my phone?"

"When you didn't answer him, he started in on me to get you. But you didn't answer when I knocked on the wall, so I started texting you," she said. "He wants you to go over to his house to help him with something."

Xavier asked, "Can't Knox and Yates help him?"

"I assumed they were the ones to break something that now needs fixing."

"How do you all function when I'm not here?"

"Somehow we manage," she said dryly. But then added, "Don't stay there the whole day though."

Their mother returned and went about chopping celery and carrots at the center island. Xavier watched his parents for a moment before getting up to put his bowl in the dishwasher. Thinking of what Gigi said about the people she spent her holiday with, he asked them, "Hey, how did you two work out?"

"Work out?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, you had me and got married years later. Not everybody does that successfully. Why did you work?"

Jason, still focused on cutting up the turkey, answered, "Because we both wanted to."