Rory walked slowly towards the Stars Hollow Gazette, her mind adrift thinking about the things her mother and Paris had said to her. She debated internally over whether they were right, but she couldn't figure out how or really if she had become a person that she neither recognized nor liked very much.
She was lost in her thoughts when she heard her name being called from her right and she turned to see who it was. She had found herself walking past the Stars Hollow elementary school, and Lane smiling was walking towards her.
"Rory! I'm so glad I ran into you! Do you have time for a coffee before work?" Lane asked as she approached.
"Lane! Oh, hi! Sure. I can grab a quick coffee. Do you want to go to Luke's?" Rory replied
"How about my place instead?" Lane answered. "We are only a block away and it's on your way to work."
Rory nodded and the two set off towards Lane and Zack's new home. They had finally been able to buy a house a year or so ago, after Zack had been promoted. It was a small three bedroom house, and had an unattached garage that the band could use as a jam space. It had the added bonus of being just around the corner from Mrs. Kim's, where Lane now worked.
"What's new?" Lane asked innocently.
Rory grimaced and shook her head. "Once we get inside." She responded.
"Rory? Are you ok?" Lane asked quietly
"No. Not really. I had a huge argument with my mom this morning." Rory replied. They had reached Lane's walkway and started inside. Lane nodded and lead Rory into the kitchen where she went to start the coffee.
"Actually, how about tea instead?" Rory said.
Lane turned slowly towards her friend. "Tea? Wow. You are in a bad way! What happened? You and Lorelei never fight- or almost never!"
"No, but when we do, it's a big one." Rory agreed. "Lane - have I changed?"
Lane frowned. "Well yeah. We all change. What do you mean?"
"I mean am a good person? Am I more selfish than I used to be?" Rory asked with a small voice.
"Selfish? No, I don't think you're selfish. You're driven, I guess. I mean, you have a lot on your plate, right? All kinds of assignments, all over the world. That takes a lot of your time. Is Lorelie saying that you are selfish?" Lane was confused.
"No, I mean in my personal relationships. Am I a selfish friend? That's kind of what mom and I argued about. She says that I don't take care of other people's feelings. I think. It's kind of confusing." Rory had sat at the kitchen table and was toying with some sheet music that was sitting there.
"Rory - you and I have been best friends since kindergarten. I can say with complete certainty that you are not selfish! You have always been there for me. You may not have been able to be here in person, but we have always been in contact by text and by phone. That's what friends do. You tell me about your life and you listen when I tell you about mine." Lane shrugged. "I'm not sure where your mom is coming from with this."
Rory sat back and looked at Lane. She was silent for a minute processing what Lane had just said.
"Lane. I'm a horrible friend. Wow. My mom is right. I haven't told you about hardly anything in my life in the past two years. We chat and I just tell you about work or where I'm traveling. I don't tell you the kind of stuff that you tell me. You told me all about when you and Zack were having problems when he wanted to quit his job. I didn't tell you anything about my problems." Rory confessed.
Lane waived her hand dismissively. "Come on Rory- your life is pretty great! You're traveling and working. That's what you always wanted, a big career. What would I know about problems in journalism?"