Gilmore Girls: More in the Life

Chapter 103

Lane spotted dirty laundry shoved behind books on her sons' shelves. Rolling her eyes, she crossed the room to grab it with the hope that a smell had not yet developed.

No such luck.

Her nose involuntarily wrinkled as she tried to avoid breathing in. Would her boys— and Lane included Zack in the "boys" label— ever learn proper hygiene? As soon as she thought that, she dismissed the thought because she knew better.

Moving through the house toward the laundry room, Lane heard her phone ring. She initially planned to disregard it, then decided to see who was calling before making a decision to ignore it.

The number on her screen said it was from New York. Her interest piqued, Lane slid the bar and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Is this Lane Van Gerbig?"

"It is."

"I am Craig Kallman, the chairman of Atlantic Records. I am calling because I was recently sent a CD that had been recorded by Hep Alien years ago. I loved the sound and rhythm and was wondering if Hep Alien still played together."

"Uhh, yeah, we do occasionally play but not as much as we used to."

"Hmmm, that's too bad. I was hoping you may consider throwing together a new CD for us. It wouldn't be anything major to start with but if the interest was there, we may be able to work out plans for a small scale tour. There may even be more, depending on what type of response we got."

Puzzled, Lane asked, "Mr. Kallman, who sent you the CD? If it's the one I think it is, we recorded that about nine years ago."

"One of our producers found it online and sent me the link with a note that your band had a love of music that was rare today. I happen to agree. Your heart was evident, even in the covers you played."

"I am completely flattered but this just doesn't make sense. What's the producer's name?"

The response made Lane smile.

"He's one of our best. His name is Dave Rygalski."

*****

Lindsey sat in her apartment with an old yearbook open on her lap. Her finger slid over Rory's photo. Even in fourth grade, Rory was pretty. Unlike some girls, especially as they got older, she never seemed to be driven by her appearance. Even now, Rory was secure in who she was and didn't give thought to what others thought about her.

When she had started Marty dating five years before, he had confessed to Lindsey that he had gotten his heart broken by a girl who didn't want him. That led her to share her own wound, telling him that she, too, had been hurt when her husband cheated with a previous girlfriend. Lindsey had mentioned Rory's name and noticed immediately when Marty's face filled with shock.

They quickly realized the culprit for both of their broken hearts was the very same girl.

Such an odd coincidence brought them closer and forged a strong connection as they each worked past their own heartaches.

Running into Rory wasn't exactly a highlight of their short time in Stars Hollow. She hadn't realized that Rory and her fiancé bought a home in the small Connecticut town. Given that her only connection to her childhood town was her grandparents, who didn't exactly keep up on town events, Lindsey had gambled and lost that Rory moved away and never looked back.

When Lindsey and Marty got back to their room at the Sugar Bear Inn, they talked about how they each felt seeing Rory again. Marty admitted it was hard, as eliminating her from his life had been necessary to move on. Lindsey agreed.

For a while after the affair went public, Lindsey was embarrassed. She hated leaving the house because it felt like everyone's eyes were on her. Time, though, healed that pain and a realization settled in: no matter how she represented her and Dean's divorce to Rory, Lindsey suspected early on that her marriage would never last. It didn't excuse Rory's hand in speeding up their split but Lindsey knew as she said her vows all those years ago that she was marrying someone whose heart belonged to someone else.

What Lindsey never told anyone was that she overheard Dean's friends discussing how he was calling out Rory's name in Luke's Diner the night before their wedding.

She had no real explanation for why she went through with it. The only thing reason she could ever come up with— which didn't entirely fit— was that Dean had seen Rory earlier in the day so when he drank too much, she was on his mind.

Deep down, though, Lindsey always felt like Dean compared her to Rory. And she always failed miserably.

*****

Paris watched as her children climbed into the back of Doyle's car. It was yet again his weekend for visitation. Part of her hated seeing them go while the other part was ready for a break. Why was drop off day becoming harder as the weeks went on?

Would single parenting ever get easier?

Movement to her left pulled her from her thoughts. It was only Jamie, who was adjusting his shirt in the driver's seat.

"What do you want to do now?"

Paris shrugged her shoulders, remaining silent.

Doyle waved as he pulled away. She lifted her hand in her own futile attempt at a wave.

Jamie glanced over toward Paris. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Fine."

"You sure?"

Nodding almost imperceptibly, Paris turned her gaze to the world outside her window.

Jamie continued watching her, clearly debating on whether to push. He seemed to decide against it, instead asking about plans for their kid-free evening. "Want to see that new thriller you've been wanting to?"

"Sure."

Paris wasn't in the mood for anything but a movie may be the best choice since it went without saying that talking would be kept to a minimum. She needed to process through the emotions she wasn't used to feeling.

A half hour later, Jamie led Paris to a bank of empty seats at their usual theater. Equipped with popcorn and a fountain drink, he appeared to be content with just being in her company. He didn't try to fill the void with conversation. Something she greatly appreciated.

The movie proved to be very interesting. It kept Paris' attention and allowed her to escape from her troubles, even if for a short while.

In addition, something one of the main characters said stuck with her. A mother was trying to move past losing a loved one. She told a fellow character that the time comes when you have to learn to live again after a loss.

Even though Paris didn't lose Doyle to the afterlife, she did lose him. She needed to grieve that loss before she could move on. It didn't matter that she was Paris Geller. She was still human and, being such, mourning was a part of life. It was the flip side of joy.

And one day, she would again find joy.

Looking over at Jamie, she suddenly realized that perhaps joy was already waiting.