Chapter 24
The scent of popcorn mingled with the rich, savory aroma of fettuccine Alfredo and freshly baked garlic bread in Rory's living room. The coffee table was cluttered with colorful plates piled high with pasta, Jess's homemade sauce glistening under the light of a white drum ceiling lamp. Jess swirled his wine in a tall water glass, a stand-in for proper stemware. Rory had never thought to buy wineglasses for herself. Why would she, when her evenings were more about sparkling water and baby books than entertaining? Tonight, however, her apartment felt different. For the first time the space felt truly small and packed. And the chatter of friends, the scrape of forks on plates, and the delicious crunch of garlic bread made the space feel warm and lived-in, a reprieve from the baby gear stacked in the corner. For a few hours, Rory let herself forget the overwhelming unknowns of motherhood and just savor the moment. Besides, Jess had insisted on cooking as a thank-you to Rory for helping him out at Liz's house over the past month.
"I'm telling you, Get Out is the movie of the moment," Lane insisted, waving the remote. "It's Jordan Peele, so it's scary and brilliant."
"I heard it's an allegory," Jess said from his corner of the couch, where he was nursing his second glass of wine. "Satirical, like old-school Rod Serling." It was his first real night off for him, too, since he'd moved to Stars Hollow, Doula having been invited for a sleepover at a friend's house.
Zack squinted at Jess. "Who's Rod Serling?"
"Twilight Zone guy," Brian muttered, poking at a Kalamata olive with a toothpick.
Lane rolled her eyes. "Honestly, it's amazing I married you." She clicked on the movie, silencing Zack's protests. "This one's non-negotiable."
As the opening scenes unfolded, Rory glanced around the room. The warm chatter, the clink of glasses, the sound of friends arguing over the artichoke heart—it all made her feel almost normal. Almost. She shifted her position on the couch, trying to get comfortable and ignore the pile of baby gear crowding the corner of the room by the television.
By the time the movie got going, the group had already fallen into a rhythm of banter, pausing occasionally to laugh or groan at the screen.
"So, the moral of the story," Zack said, gesturing dramatically with a piece of garlic bread, "never date someone who invites you to meet their parents in the middle of nowhere. Red flag."
Lane snorted, "Zack, your parents live in the middle of nowhere."
"Yeah," Brian chimed in, "and technically, so do you now."
Zack frowned, considering.
"Okay, but at least we don't have secret cult meetings in the church basement. I think."
Jess raised an eyebrow, his wineglass poised, "That's exactly what someone with a secret cult in their neighborhood basement would say."
Rory, trying to suppress a laugh, waved him off - "Alright, settle down, Manson Family."
She leaned back, savoring the lively chatter.
"Can we talk about how every one of these so-called 'perfect' neighbors looks like they stepped out of an ad for Stepford Real Estate?" Lane nodded emphatically.
"Oh, totally. 'Now with more creepy smiles per square foot.'" Jess chuckled.
"There's always a creepy smile quota. It's in the Homeowner's Association bylaws." Rory shook her head, grinning as she grabbed a piece of garlic bread. The talk meandered from the movie to their own neighbors, sparking a hilarious debate about whether Stars Hollow would even notice a sinister cult, given the town's natural eccentricity.
"Taylor's totally leading it," Lane declared, and that sent the group into a new round of laughter.
"Hey, Rory - you don't happen to have a spare blanket somewhere. I'm feeling kind of chilly," Lane then asked, shifting the subject. Rory had wrapped the comforter that normally housed her couch around herself, hence for a moment the request caught her off guard. She hadn't meant to be a bad host, not that this would by any terms measure up for Emily Gilmore's standards.
"Um.. ugh, I know, check that top box over there," Rory said, pointing towards the corner that held all her still packed-up babygear.
Lane helped herself, soon finding a pink plush blanket. As he put the box back on top of the stack, she nearly tilted the pile over, but managed to save it at the last second.
"That's some... serious hoarding," Jess said, gesturing with his wine glass. "I never realized how many things a baby 'needs'," using casual air quotes. It was no surprise to Rory that Jess was very anti-materialistic that way, being able to go on about manufactured demand for hours if given the chance.
Rory hesitated, heat rising to her cheeks. "Oh, that? My grandmother hired a professional baby shopper," she said breezily, waving a hand as if it was no big deal. "Apparently, it's a thing." Technically this was only half truth, though, at least part of those items having come from Logan, not Emily. If Logan really was going to try to be apart of the baby's life, sooner or later the fact of his paternity would become known to Jess. Even though it wasn't technically Jess' business, Rory was damn sure he wasn't going to like it. And Rory was genuinely concerned for the fate of their friendship depending on how he'd react.
"A professional shopper?" Jess's eyebrow quirked, his tone skeptical but amused. "Of course. Hidden privilege strikes again."
Rory narrowed her eyes at him, but wasn't mad at his teasing.
"Hey, I didn't ask to grow up in the land of high tea and DAR meetings," Rory shot back, smirking. "Blame my ancestors."
"Noted," Jess said, his smirk mirroring hers. He returned his focus to the screen, though his lips twitched as if another comment was lurking.
"Why do they always go back into the house? Just keep driving!" Lane exclaimed.
"If it were me, I'd be halfway to the next state by now." Zack, lounging on the armrest, chimed in.
"Yeah, right. You'd stop for snacks and get caught at the gas station." Brian smirked.
"The vending machine wouldn't take her dollar, and that's how the killer finds her." Lane pointed at him.
"I'd like to see you outrun a villain in your Converse." Rory laughed, tossing a piece of garlic bread onto Zack's plate. "Let's face it, we'd all be doomed. Stars Hollow would just declare the murderer their new honorary citizen and throw a festival in their honor."
The group settled deeper into the movie as it unfolded, sparking pockets of commentary and pop culture tangents. When a chilling twist landed onscreen, Lane let out a gasp.
"Okay, that's why this movie is genius," she said, pointing at the screen. "Peele layers everything. Social critique, horror, comedy—it's like a Hitchcock smoothie."
Rory nodded, her arms crossed. "He's like a modern-day Shirley Jackson, mixing societal unease with genuine creepiness."
"You two are going to start a film studies podcast next, aren't you?" Zack said, grinning around a mouthful of cold pasta.
"Hey, don't give her ideas," Lane said. "She's already got enough projects."
The wine flowed for everyone except Rory, who sat with sparkling water in one hand and her nose tilted toward Jess's glass.
"It's not fair," she said, inhaling deeply. "I'm stuck with fizzy water while the rest of you get this velvety... cherry-scented... injustice," she groaned.
"Patience," Lane said, laughing. "Zack brought me a whole picnic of off-limits food to the hospital after I had the twins. Deli meat, unpasteurized cheese... a glass of sparkling wine - a small glass, but still."
"Yeah, 'cause I'm a romantic guy," Zack said with a proud nod.
"You're something, alright," Brian quipped, earning a snicker from Lane.
Zack, undeterred, leaned forward, a look of genuine curiosity crossing his face. "Hey, so... any word on the dad?"
Lane shot him an elbow in the ribs so sharp he let out an audible "Oof!"
Rory coughed, the sparkling water having gone in the wrong way.
"Smooth, Zack," Jess said dryly, sipping his wine.
"Still just me, Zack," Rory chimed, recovering from the surprise quickly.
Rory could tell the question had been on Jess' mind too, making the secret weight on Rory even more. She could've truly used that glass of wine right about now.
Eventually, the movie ended, and with it came the slow fade of energy that signaled it was time to call it a night. Lane and Zack wrangled Brian, who seemed determined to argue about the finer points of the ending with Jess. After hugs and promises to do this again soon, the apartment quieted, leaving Rory and Jess alone amid the clutter.
Jess stood, stretching. "I'll help you clean up. Least I can do."
"You really don't have to—" Rory started. "I'll just do this tomorrow…," she added.
"Relax. I'm not trying to score brownie points," Jess said, stacking empty takeout boxes. "Consider it a karmic thank-you for all the hours you've spent editing my manuscript."
Rory smiled. "Okay. But no complaining when you're scrubbing sauce off the coffee table."
With the dishes cleared, the two of them ended up sitting on the couch again, Rory's back needing a break. Jess, a little looser than usual from the alcohol, leaned back and rested his head on the back of the couch.
"So," he said, his voice carrying the casual weight of someone ready to dive into deeper waters. "How's work? Besides fixing my typos?"
For a while they'd even talked about possible companies and jobs Rory might want to try, but they'd never gotten around to discussing whether she'd actually applied for anything.
Rory shrugged. "The Gazette is... quaint. And kind of… dull. But honestly, I think editing your book has been the most interesting thing I've done in a while."
"High praise," Jess said, though his smile was warm. "Despite my typos," he laughed. "What about your own book? Any progress?"
Rory hesitated, her fingers tracing the edge of the armrest. "Not really. I haven't touched it in months."
"Why not?" Jess asked, despite having asked already before.
"It's just…," Rory sighed. "It feels self-indulgent, I guess. Writing about my life, when I haven't exactly figured it out yet."
Jess tilted his head, studying her. "That's the point, though. You write to figure things out. Or at least, that's what I do."
Rory gave a small laugh. "Says the guy with several published novels."
Jess shrugged, the humility softened by wine. "Trust me, that doesn't mean I have it all together."
Rory thought about it, her mind flickering back to her manuscript. "I don't know. Maybe someday."
They let the conversation drift into safer territory, swapping favorite books from recent years. Jess waxed poetic about Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, while Rory gushed about Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, even bringing out her laptop with her GoodReads lists. Let's just say there were at least a dozen. Their shared enthusiasm reignited something in Rory she hadn't realized she missed: literary camaraderie, actually scattering her tiredness for a while.
By the time they decided to put on another movie —one they'd watched together in high school, The Royal Tenenbaums— and having gotten through its introduction, Rory was struggling to keep her eyes open, sleep catching up with her. Somewhere around the midpoint, she drifted off, her head tipping against the armrest.
Jess noticed the soft rise and fall of her breath and smiled faintly. He adjusted her comforter slightly, not wanting to wake her. As he stretched himself, pondering whether to make a quiet exit or stick around, he switched off the ceiling light but returned to his seat on the couch. As he did, his foot hit the corner of Rory's laptop, illuminating its screen awake. The cursor blinked over a folder labeled Gilmore Girls. He knew what it was.
He stared at it for a long moment, his mind going through a tug-of-war. But before he could second-guess himself, he clicked the file.
When Rory woke hours later, the TV screen as well as the entire room around them were dark. She stretched, feeling the stiffness in her neck, and turned to see Jess sitting at the table, her laptop in front of him, its screen being the only light in the entire room.
"You read it," Rory said, her voice still heavy with sleep.
Jess looked up, guilt flickering across his face. "Yeah."
Rory pulled the blanket tighter around herself, torn between irritation and curiosity. "Well?"
"It's good," Jess said, his voice serious.
Rory's heart twisted. She wanted to feel flattered, but all she felt was exposed. "You shouldn't have read it," she said softly.
Jess closed the laptop and stood. "I know. But... you've got something here. And I think you know it."
Rory sighed, unsure whether to laugh or cry. "I'm not ready."
"Okay," Jess said. "But when you are... I want to read the rest."
His words hung in the air as he gathered his jacket and headed for the door, leaving Rory to drift back to sleep.