Finding Rory

Chapter 12: I'm Ready Now

Paris and Rory had opted for a casual night out at one of their favorite pubs in the neighborhood. They walked in and Rory smiled at the memories of time spent in a similar establishment in college. They chose a quiet corner booth in order to avoid being disturbed as much as possible and quickly began catching up after they'd ordered food and drinks.

"Alright, Gilmore. It's just the two of us now, so spill," Paris demanded.

"Spill what?" Rory laughed.

"You have that look on your face and I can tell that you're dying to tell me what's going on, so out with it."

"You're right, there is a lot to tell," Rory admitted. "I don't even know where to start," Rory said hesitantly.

"Try the beginning," Paris deadpanned.

"Alright, I guess the beginning is the Chilton reunion. I actually ran into someone there and we kind of...reconnected." Rory wasn't sure how Paris would take the news of what had been going on between her and Tristan. He had been a definite bone of contention between them in high school, and she could only hope that Paris wouldn't react poorly to the news.

"That's vague," Paris huffed.

"It's Tristan, Paris," Rory admitted quietly. "He was there and we started talking, and we've been hanging out since then."

"It's about damn time, Rory," Paris barked.

"I'm sorry, what?" Rory asked in confusion.

"That man has been in love with you for fifteen years. You guys weren't ready for each other then, but maybe you could be now."

"Wow...I'm a little surprised. I was afraid you would be upset," Rory said in relief.

"Not upset, Gilmore. Tristan and I have kept in touch since we ran into each other at Harvard. He was there for law school while I was there for med school."

"I had no idea you guys were in contact still. You never said anything," Rory replied.

"Well, like I said, you guys weren't ready for each other, and I wanted to try to prevent one of you leaving a path of destruction in the other's life."

"But now we might be?" Rory asked.

"You tell me. Are you ready to take control of your life and cut Tristan 2.0 loose?"

Rory almost spit her drink across the table.

"I'm sorry, who?"

"Tristan 2.0. It's obvious that Tristan was the original rich, blonde pretty boy in your life, and Logan was your do-over because you'd never given Tristan a chance. Have you gotten him out of your system yet?"

Leave it to Paris not to pull any punches.

"Yeah, I'm finished with him. Tristan's actually helped me to make a lot of changes in my life, and I'm feeling more like the old Rory every day."

"That's good. What kind of changes?" Paris asked.

"Well, he and I have started running together to help me clear my head and deal with stress. I thought I would hate it, but I've started looking forward to it," Rory chuckled. "Then I have this job interview, which hopefully turns into something. And he helped me see that I deserve better than Logan; that I should never be anyone's second choice."

"He's right, you know. You and Logan had a good run in college, but the time for that is long in the past. He's not what you need now."

"I know, and I realize that. Like I said, I called him and broke it off. We're completely finished."