Other Girls of Gilmore Girls: The Lindsay Lister Story

Chapter 7

View Along: S3 E14 Swan Song

I logged into my Blogger account and started writing as the Athenian girl. She had to share a story about this boy she knew and their first kiss. I started and the screen filled up, scrolling in front of me.

||||     Under the cloud of war, I kissed him and that was the only thing I knew in that moment.||||

I posted it and then printed out the previous three entries to submit to Mr. McKellen. This one didn't need to be submitted for a grade.

The next day I read back through my blog. There was a comment. A comment? That's a thing? I clicked on the text and it expanded: "And then what???!?!?!?"

Abby called me. I was hoping it was Dean, but the caller ID flashed Abby's last name instead.

"Hey."

"I can't stop thinking about how perfect you and Dean are. Tell me something new."

I laughed. There wasn't anything new to tell her. I was waiting for him to call and for any possible opening that we could be alone together again.

"He hasn't come over or anything?" she asked, suspicion filtering through her voice.

"It's been one day."

Abby made a sound to acknowledge that she understood, but she wasn't happy. "And Rory and Jess are still together?"

"I would have no idea. That has nothing to do with anything anyway." I bristled but couldn't take that out on Abby. No one could tell what was going on with them because Rory didn't go to our school, and I never saw Jess at school anymore either. They tainted something about Dean though; the two of them hovered above and over him. "But I know how he feels about the whole situation. It was rough on him having to ignore their whole thing. He had a bad time for a while. But me? They mean nothing to me."

"Dead to me!" Abby said in solidarity. "But do you worry?"

"About what? That his ex that didn't even like him for half of their relationship is... what? Going to try to get him back or something?"

"Or that he isn't over her?"

Why would Dean be interested in someone that treated him so poorly? I couldn't say this to Abby because we had all been interested in people who treated us poorly. Abby used to try to follow Jess around school just to hope to get to say something to him, and he probably still didn't even know who she was.

"I literally only went out with him one time. It's new to me too." I had no idea why I said that, but I wasn't ready to share with Abby that what Dean had disclosed to me was the sort of thing that was only for us. That Dean and I shared this something that was not for anyone else.

I hung up and waited for Dean to call. Or should I call him?

I called him. His mom answered, and I had to ask for him, which made me the most awkward person alive. Dean was at work, but she took a message. He called as I was getting ready for bed and told me it was just to say goodnight. Then he called again Monday right after school.

When he called on Tuesday, he apologized for it being so late. "Now I'm going to tell you why, and it won't sound true," he laughed.

"Try me."

"I was leaving Doose's, and Miss Patty said she needed help lifting something."

"Honestly, I'd ask you to move things for me too."

"Only she didn't need help lifting anything," Dean laughed again. "She was testing out a new one-woman show and needed an audience."

"And the audience was you?" I choked out, trying to imagine Dean sitting alone in Miss Patty's studio watching her performance.

"Me and a few others. She kept dragging them in. I could have used you there to talk to."

"So what was her show?" I was hooked.

"I was there for well over an hour, and Lindsay, I don't even know what it was about."

"Oh no!"

Dean paused. "I," he stopped again.

"What?" Everything went hot in me. What could it be?

"I like you a lot. Really a lot, and it sounds stupid to say it. Not that I like you, that's not the stupid part, but I mean, saying this over the phone feels stupid. I'd like to tell you in person. But the thing is, I want you to like me back. I want you to be my girlfriend so we can keep this going. What do you think?"

The heat in me stayed. I wanted to be able to see him, and I told him that. "It's not that late," he offered. "I could come over?"

"Just be quiet and meet me outside."

It took 15 minutes for Dean to show up in my backyard in the darkness under a tree. We sat where he had after our first date, and he apologized for not asking me in person. "I couldn't wait," he said. "And I want to let you know that I saw Rory at Miss Patty's. Do you want to know if I see my ex? I don't need to know if you see yours."

"Mines at college." I rolled my eyes. "Out of state."

"So do you want to know?" Dean asked me.

The thing was, I wasn't sure if I wanted to know or not. In a few months Rory would be gone too, so what did it matter? Plus she was with Jess. Plus I had made it this far without thinking about her. Was it always so complicated? I don't think Daniel had any exes, so this was the first time I had to deal with it. Thinking about what to do with exes made me feel a little off balance. Everything felt a little less secure than it had before.

I thought about what I had seen on TV or in movies. What did they do? I decided to act strong, so I said: "I don't care either way. If you are with me, and like me, it doesn't matter."

"Oh I like you. I am with you. That's ok, right?"

"Yes." I smiled. "Dean Forester is my boyfriend. Starting right now!"

He leaned forward in his chair and kissed me. My mouth softened at the touch of his.

***

The next day Abby was meeting me to walk to school together. "What the hell is this?" she yelled, waving a blue piece of paper in my face. "Rory and Dean couldn't stop talking about it? Rory and Dean?" I couldn't see the paper as Abby's hand was frantically flapping back and forth. I took a step back and reached out to grab the sheet. "Miss Patty's one-woman show, oh yeah! Dean told me."

"Dean told you?"

"Of course. He wanted to let me know he saw his ex, so it wouldn't be weird." I kept scanning the flier and laughed. "I really should have seen this," I said as I handed it back to Abby. "And he's my boyfriend now. So."

"Shut up! Shut it all up!" Abby grabbed my arm and jumped up and down. I rolled my eyes and let her get it out of her system. "Well, well, well."

I folded the flier a few times and tucked it into my coat pocket.