Work Text:
December 2005
“Aaw, geez!” Luke exclaimed, balancing four plates in two hands and hearing the phone ring behind the counter.
“It’s okay, I’ll get it,” Rory offered, hopping up from her stool at the counter where she had been studiously reading.
“I always said you were a good kid,” said Luke, smiling at her as they passed each other.
Rory giggled at the comment, picking up the phone with a bright smile.
“Good afternoon, Luke’s Diner. How may we help you?”
“Rory?”
“Jess?”
It was tough to say who was more surprised to find the other person on the end of the line. Certainly, neither of them had been expecting each other.
“You work at the diner now? I thought you went back to Yale?” he asked, clearly confused.
“Oh, no, and yes, I did,” Rory rambled in true Gilmore style, before finally getting her bearings. “I don’t work here, I just offered to grab the phone because Luke had his hands full, and I am back at Yale, except right now it’s Christmas vacation, so I’m actually back home for a while,” she explained. “Jess?” she prompted when he took a long time in replying. “You still there?”
“I’m here,” he assured her. “Just a little out of practice on the speed at which you Gilmores talk.”
“Sorry,” Rory apologised.
“Don’t be,” he said, with a smile she was sure she could hear. “It’s good to hear your voice. You sound happier than last we talked.”
“I am happier,” she promised him. “Actually, you’re a big part of the reason why.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. I mean, a lot of people had tried to talk to me about the way my life was going. Mom, Luke, Paris. It just didn’t work. I thought I knew better. It was you that made me see the truth, Jess. I made such a mess of everything. When I think of where I might be this Christmas if not for you. Still at my grandparents or maybe living with Logan, but not talking to Mom, not going to Yale... Let’s just say, it would not have been a holly, jolly time for Rory Gilmore.”
“Hey, you fixed it in the end,” he told her softly. “Maybe I gave you a push in the right direction, but you did the hard work.”
“I could say the same about you and your book, but you’d argue too,” she pointed out smartly.
Jess laughed and Rory laughed too. It felt good to laugh, especially together.
“Oh, Luke is free now, I’ll pass you over,” said Rory, suddenly noticing him standing there. “Have a great Christmas, Jess.”
“You too, Rory. Maybe I’ll see you soon.”
“I’d like that,” she told him honestly, before handing over the phone, and walking back to her seat with a definite spring in her step.