Another Look

Chapter 2

Having a destination on an average work day morning felt good to Rory. The job at Morgan & Stewart was, while not her usual cup of tea, surprisingly challenging. It was the first time she really had to think about making things sound a bit better than they actually were, her first 1-0-1 in sales and marketing, you could say, and it certainly was nothing like working as a journalist. However, she enjoyed the challenge of trying to make something utterly boring sound interesting. It wasn't her dream job, but for now, especially while working on her book on the side, it kept her afloat.

It was time for a lunch break and Rory grabbed a few slices of pizza from the cafeteria along with an orange juice and sat at a window table, pulled out her phone and headphones for her phone date with Lorelai.

"So, did you read it?" Rory inquired, biting into her pizza hungrily.

"Yes, I did. God, I wish I could see you in person right now. But if I was there I'd hug you. I'll come by later in the week and do just that," she promised. "But I want to thank you, it really moved me. And you wrote it really tastefully, nothing excess and I don't think Grandma will mind either," she explained, describing her impression on the first few full paragraphs Rory had e-mailed her a few days earlier.

"I am glad," she said with a lump in her throat. She had wanted to tell the story so badly, and now her mother was willing to let her continue, whoknows maybe she'd even get to publish it.

Lorelai could hear it in her voice and changed the subject, not wanting her to tear up at work during lunch on her first week. "How's life, kid?" she asked.

"Mom, I am not a kid anymore. But life's okay," Rory said pushing her tongue to the ceiling of her mouth.

"Always a kid to me," she joked, "How do you like the job so far?" Lorelai continued.

"Not quite in the footsteps of Christiane Amanpour but I am learning something new, so good I guess," Rory replied with a sigh.

"Working as a maid was never my plan, but it got me where I wanted to be," Lorelai reminded her.

"That's a good point, never quite thought of it like that. You've been a manager and an owner longer in my conscious memories so I keep forgetting that part," Rory replied. It did make her feel a little better. She'd had a lot of things handed to her on a silver platter: her education, good internships, a couple of very decent jobs. She almost had forgotten that most people have lives that don't wait around for pro-con lists or have the option of turning down good offers in hope for better ones, like she regretfully had right after graduating.

"Plus I doubt having a steady income hurts," Lorelai added.

"Sure doesn't, though this is not something I will make a fortune with. Of course it helps that I get to live in Grandma's house at the moment. Though it feels utterly wasteful to live somewhere so big all alone," Rory stated.

"If you are lonely, you could come back home...," she offered.

"The drive is longer and I just feel like moving back home is too much of going back, and I want to keep moving. I will try to get my own place as soon as I can save up a bit. Though don't get me wrong, I would love to hang out with you more," Rory explained.

"Any cute guys in that office of your's?" she inquired suggestively.

"Some," Rory said hesitantly.

"Spill!" Lorelai ordered.

"Well it was sort of the other way around really. I ran into Finn a couple of weeks ago, you know, Logan's friend. Do you remember him? And the company actually belongs to his family, and he got me this job basically. I don't work under him directly," Rory said, realizing only then that it might sound a bit off.