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"If you fall and hurt yourself, don't come crying to me!"
"I won't!"
Rory turned her head at the sound of familiar voices, smiling at the sight of Doula running full-tilt across the park to the ice-cream truck, while Jess followed behind at a more sedate pace, one hand in his pocket, the other shielding his eyes from the sun as he kept watch over his little sister.
"Is that the key to a good sibling relationship? Ice-cream and tough love?"
"Apparently." Jess smirked, stopping walking when he saw her there. "Hey."
"Hey. It's been a while... since you were here, I mean."
"I promised D. It was her birthday last week."
"Right."
Of course, he wasn't there because he heard that she was home for a while. Rory wasn't sure why she ever thought as much. Maybe it was only wishful thinking. Maybe she should stop living in the past.
"It's good to see you," he told her, bringing the smile back to her lips.
"You too. Jess, you know, I’ve been thinking about the last time we saw each other, and I wanted to…”
She was interrupted by the thunder of six-year-old feet.
"You remember Rory, right?"
Doula nodded, but didn't speak, her mouth full of vanilla goodness.
"That looks yummy." Rory smiled.
The little girl smiled back. "Ice-cream always tastes better from a cone.”
Glancing up to meet Jess' gaze, Rory smiled, the expression reflected back at her, warming her more than the sun ever could. "Yeah, I think I heard that somewhere before."
“Uh, you maybe want to get a coffee after I drop the munchkin back home?”
Hope sparked in Rory’s chest. She nodded her head. “In a half-hour at Weston’s?”
She knew they were on the same page when Jess replied; “As you wish.”