Chapter VII
"What does Dean think about all this?"
Rory blinks at Lane's question. "Dean? Oh, Dean! Um, he doesn't know yet. He's at his grandmother's till Friday, and I'd like to tell him in person."
Lane jots down a description of the vintage chair in her notebook after a quick overlook. Rory pushes it aside with one foot so she can see the night table behind it. Lane responds, "Well, just make sure you're the first one. The talk about the accident is spreading like wildfire."
"I'm not surprised," Rory says. "My dad said two people already tried to tell to him about it, and he doesn't even live here. It's been less than 24 hours!"
Lane steers back to Dean. Her boyfriend. "How upset do you think he'll be? Scale of 1 to 10?"
"Is 12 an answer choice? He's going to freak. And if Jess weren't already at the hospital, he'd put him there." Rory hands Lane the purple pen, color-coded as vases, jugs, and other such containers.
"He can always prolong the stay," Lane offers, twisting the porcelain vase to check for a design to describe.
An image of Jess in the hospital flashes through Rory's mind. Exhausted and drugged and unable to even read a book. She tries to avert her attention to the scuff on the toe of one of her grey Converses. "I knew before that Jess would get blamed, but then he ended up in the hospital. I thought that would change things."
"And you were wrong?" Lane asks in a falsely innocent voice, feigning shock as she places her fingers over her mouth, the pen wedged between them and nearly grazing her cheek.
"Hey, take it easy," Rory shoots back, trading the purple pen for the green one. "I just didn't think they'd blame him so… entirely. I was there too."
Lane pulls her tape measure across the tabletop. "2 feet, 3 inches. Of course you were there, but he's why you were there. And he was the one driving."
"Lane!"
Her friend jumps onto the defense. "I'm not saying they're right. I'm saying I don't understand why you're so shocked by everyone's reactions. They have an impression of Jess, and first impressions are lasting impressions. If you form a first impression over 5 months."
"But I've been trying to tell them it's my fault too, though really it isn't anyone's fault. And none of them are listening!" Rory wants to scream in exasperation, then suddenly asks in a softer voice, "Do you blame him? Are you mad at Jess?"
Lane lowers her notebook and adjusts her glasses. "I'm upset that you're wrist is broken, but I'm not mad at Jess. It was an accident. Rory, I'm on your side. You know that."
"Thanks, Lane. You should've heard what Babette said to me about it." Rory accepts the assurance; she desperately needs it, though she knows there shouldn't have to be sides. Not requiring prodding to continue, she goes on, "Did you know she used to be in a cult? Apparently she joined a cult because some guy told her to, and she equated that to me and Jess! He's a, note my quotation fingers here, a dirty little wolf trying to lead me astray."
Lane laughs, and the girls let the conversation fall away from Jess, Dean, the accident. Rory cannot handle the pressure of it all right now; she'll think about it tomorrow when she returns to the hospital. Today, she's going to watch a movie in the Town Square with her best friend and parents. Christopher is barely ever here, and now that he is, bonding shall ensue. Serious bonding. What Lorelai calls "scar-him-for-life bonding", though she didn't explain why. Yes, tomorrow, she'll think about the accident, and today, she will spend time with her father before he has to leave. Again.
But life isn't from Gone with the Wind. Rory can't act like Scarlett O'Hara and declare that she will think about it tomorrow because tomorrow is another day. Nope, today is the day, and life wants her to think about it now.
Dean calls thirty minutes before Movie Night is supposed to start in the Town Square.
"Hello?" Rory picks up the landline while offering her dad a Skittle. Nothing like a pre-movie snack before the pre-movie. Her mother warned her to bring a blindfold for a pre-showing Kirk original. Rory senses she should bring earplugs too.
"Hey, Rory!" Dean's voice says excitedly. "Guess what?"
Rory moves into her room after begrudgingly sacrificing the rest of the Skittles bag to Christopher. She says, "Your grandmother's house blew away and you don't think you're in Illinois anymore."
Dean chuckles. "Am I Dorothy in this scenario?"
"Nah, let Clara take the lead. You can be Toto."
"So now I'm a dog. Thanks, babe."
"Anytime. So what's up? Where did my guess fall short?"
"Everywhere. I called to tell you I'm coming home Monday night instead of Friday. Something came up at work for my dad so give it 48 hours, and I'm all yours."
Rory's eyebrows shoot up like two rockets side by side whose fuses reach the base at the exact same time. Monday. Geez, what happened to one week of formulating what to say? How does she prepare for this? She's a planner. Planners make plans and execute them while controlling for as many variables as possible. All the variables are flying frantically around her head now and she can't grab onto a single one. She is Spongebob struggling to catch a plump, pink jellyfish in the net, a net woven out of-
"Rory, you there?" Dean asks.
"Yeah. I'm here. Um, that's awesome! I'm sorry your visit with your grandmother got cut short. I know she and Clara were excited." She slides on the sleeves of her jacket.
"Nah, it's okay. Chicago is too crowded. Anyway, I'll let you go. It's Movie Night, right?"
"Yep. The Yearling." She exits her room.
"Solid choice. Sorry to miss it. I'll see you tomorrow. We get back at 7 on Monday. Love you."
"Go straight home, okay? I'll be waiting for you when you get back." Rory says before hanging up. Shoot, shoot, shoot. She has a small fraction of the time she thought she did. She hears Lorelai call for her and drops the phone into its base before heading out the door with her parents.
Rory runs up to Lane in the Town Square. All she says is, "SOS".
"Tell me about it. That cast is so boring. Angry girl for an angry arm." She holds up a sticker and starts peeling off the backing paper.
"No, Lane! SOS! Dean called. He's coming home Monday night, not Friday. What am I going to say? What am I going to do?" She raves while barely keeping her arm still enough for Lane to press the sticker onto her cast.
"Lead up to it with some pie?" She proposes as they keep walking.
"Real suggestions, please."
"That was a real suggestion." Lane snaps her fingers after a few seconds. "How about a note? Use your persuasive writing skills to nudge him away from the dark side."
Rory considers it as she scans the seats for her parents. "You know, that's actually not bad. Good thinking."
"Lane and brain don't rhyme for nothing." She responds.
"That was so corny."
Lorelai approaches the two teens and says, "Hurry and take a seat. You guys don't want to miss this. Which means you do want to miss it. Because Kirk."
Because Kirk. That should be a new town saying, Rory thinks.
"Don't give Kirk too much credit now!" Miss Patty saunters up to them in a mass of saucy glamour. A sequined shawl hangs over her large shoulders and bosom, sparkling in the rays of the streetlamp. "Yours truly played a big part. You'll know it when you see it."
"I'm sure we will, Patty," Lorelai answers. She ducks back slightly when Miss Patty's long cigarette waves quickly through the air as she whips around at the call of her name. The smoking tip misses Lorelai's face by inches.
"Patty, doll, come here!" Babette's raspy voice cuts through to the quartet.
"See you darlings after the show," Patty says over her shoulder with a small wave as she goes to join the other town gossip. Lorelai sighs audibly in relief.
Christopher walks past them saying, "I'm going to get some popcorn."
"I'll come with you. Actually, I'm going to put my coat down first," Rory says, and her mother pokes her to signal her request for an additional carton.
As she shuffles through their row to put her jacket next to her father's leather one, she hears Patty exclaim, "I know!"
"I mean, look at the poor tot. All torn up and in that cast. I heard she has to keep it on for two whole weeks!" Babette hisses back.
"And it wasn't even his car!"
Rory glances behind her and sees the two women engulfed in their conversation, too occupied to see her listening fifteen feet away. She slips into her seat to attract less attention.
Babette says, "I tried to tell her it's his fault. Even told her my cult story. She seemed out of it, though."
Should Rory cover her ears? Make her presence known? She doesn't want to listen to this, and she shouldn't have to.
"She's probably just upset with it all, and with him, of course," Patty answers. "I mean, everybody is. Luke hasn't talked about it yet, but what do you think he's going to do?"
Rory slumps down in her seat, deciding to remain unseen, and is instantly disheartened by the mention of Luke. Poor Luke. Patty's companion says, "I have no idea. I heard he might be shipping the kid back to New York. Greta's friend Dawn saw him carrying some huge boxes into the diner earlier."
Rory freezes, then shakes her head. Boxes don't mean anything. But Babette continues, "With a new roll of packing tape!"
Miss Patty argues, "Really? I don't think Luke would send him off like that."
"Maybe the kid wants to go. I mean, he should be ashamed of himself for doing that to Rory."
"True enough. But now what are we going to do for entertainment around here?"
"I don't know, doll. Back to Lorelai's dating life, probably. Oh, it's starting!"
Babette's announcement brings Rory back into her own body. She has been glaring at the leg of the seat in front of hers, focused on nothing besides Babette's and Patty's voices. She tries to begin processing the conversation, then reminds herself of what Lane said. She should not be surprised that Jess is taking the fall here, whether he deserves it or not. And she should know better than to think some boxes and tape means he is going back to New York. He's only been here a few months, and Luke wouldn't fix up the apartment and get Jess a tutor just to give up on him. Just to send him back to the city to live with Liz when he didn't do anything wrong. No way.
She looks up just as her father is seating himself next to her. "For someone so young, you have a very short memory span. Here's your popcorn."
Rory takes the carton, but her stomach feels queasy. Screaming out in starvation mere minutes ago, now it doesn't know if it wants the butter-coated puffs. Rory gives it an answer by shoving a fistful in her mouth as she watches Kirk appear on the screen. This is nothing.
While they watch the short film, Rory leans into her dad. He tries to cover her eyes and grimaces at Kirk's physical exposure. And while he is gone getting them all refills of popcorn for the main film, Rory tells Lorelai, "I like it when he's here."
Her mother responds with a genuine smile. They both wish he doesn't have to leave after the film, Lorelai more than she would let on. "Yeah, me too."