Finding Rory

Chapter 40: The Purge

Rory walked into the living room of the pool house on Sunday morning, still half asleep, and smiled when she saw Tristan. He was working on yet another one of the little projects that she'd wanted done in order around the pool house. So far, he had caulked around windows, repaired a leaky faucet, helped her clean out some storage closets, and replaced a broken piece of the guttering.

"Hey, you," Rory greeted Tristan sleepily.

Tristan turned and smiled at her broadly. "Morning, babe. Did you sleep well?" he asked.

Rory walked into his waiting arms and laid her head on his chest. She snuggled into him and closed her eyes. "I slept very well. I guess I was really tired; I didn't mean to sleep that late," Rory replied sheepishly.

"You obviously needed it," Tristan replied tenderly before kissing her on the forehead. "So, what do you want to do today?"

"I really need to go through my closet and figure out what fits and what doesn't for work - even though I've gained weight, my clothes are looser thanks to working out. The girls and I did a little shopping yesterday, but I didn't really find anything that I liked for work."

"Well, I just finished up here. Why don't we take the dogs for a walk to that cafe down the street that we like and have breakfast? They have that patio, so Romeo and Juliet will be able to stay with us. Then we can come back home and go through your closet and figure out what you need. I'll even go shopping with you," Tristan promised with a grin.

Rory looked up at him and laughed. "You just want to feel me up in the dressing room," she teased as she poked him in the side.

Tristan gasped in mock outrage at her insinuation. "Mary, I can't believe you would accuse me of such a thing!" He moved his hands down her back and picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Besides, I don't need a dressing room to touch my girlfriend," he whispered seductively.

Rory closed her eyes and moaned as he lavished attention on her neck. Tristan chuckled under his breath as she tilted her head to give him better access. He loved the way she reacted to his touch.

"I don't think you want me to stop, do you, Mare?" Tristan growled. Rather than answer him, Rory moved and kissed him passionately. When she pulled away, she leaned up and whispered in his ear. "Breakfast will have to wait - I'm craving something else right now," she purred. "That okay with you, sexy?"

"Hell yeah," Tristan smirked as he followed her into the bedroom.

*                    *                    *

Tristan walked into the bedroom with two bottles of water and couldn't help but laugh. Rory was sitting there in the middle of a pile of clothes from the closet, and she looked adorable. They'd just come home from breakfast, and Rory had gone off into the bedroom to get started going through her closet while Tristan took a phone call.

"It kind of looks like your closet exploded on you, babe. Are you sure you aren't injured?" Tristan teased.

Rory looked up and rolled her eyes at him. "Such a helpful boyfriend," she shot back.

"Alright, what's the problem? I can tell you're frustrated, so let me help you."

"I don't know - it just has me all stressed. I don't know what looks good and what needs to go, and I'm just...too emotionally invested, I think," Rory replied quietly.

"Too emotionally invested? In clothes?"

"Yes. I know that might be a foreign concept to you, but some of these clothes have been with me for years. I can't help but feel loyal."

Tristan laughed to himself, knowing better than to laugh out loud at such a moment, and moved to sit down next to her.

"Let's go through them together, then. The only thing in this room that I'm emotionally attached to is you, so I'll be your neutral opinion. Let's start by weeding out everything in this pile that doesn't fit you, and then we'll move on to what's still in the closet."

Tristan and Rory spent the next half hour going through the pile of clothes that Rory had amassed. She tried on items she wasn't sure about and Tristan weighed in with his opinion on pieces that she was on the fence about. She was surprised to find how much of her professional wardrobe was either terribly outdated or no longer fit properly.

"I can't believe none of this stuff fits!" Rory huffed as she tried on yet another too-big article of clothing.

"You've really toned up a lot since we started working out, babe. It's only normal that your clothes wouldn't fit right at this point."

Rory turned and looked at herself in the mirror. She was standing there in her bra and panties at the moment. As she looked at her reflection, she couldn't help but notice her lightly-sculpted abs and the definition in her arms and legs. She was jarred from her thoughts by the ringing of her phone. She walked over to the nightstand and picked it up.

"Hey, Mom," she answered after looking at the caller ID.

"Hey, Sweets. How's it going?" Lorelai asked.

"It's going...well, okay. Tris and I are going through my closet, weeding out all of the clothes that don't fit anymore. It kind of looks like a bomb has gone off in my bedroom," Rory giggled.

"Ooh, bring the clothes to Mommy, please?"

"Sure, Mom. So, what's going on?" Rory asked.

"Oh! Sookie and I were talking about the bid-a-basket next weekend, and since you're going to be in town she offered to make you a basket if you wanted her to."

"That's so sweet of her, but I've got it all taken care of already. I'm going to pick up some of Tristan's favorites from a local deli, and I thought I might make a couple of things that I know he likes, too. Tell her thank you for me, though," Rory replied.

"Are you sure, kiddo? She's already making baskets, so it's really no big deal," Lorelai offered again.

"I'm sure, Mom. I actually really enjoy cooking now, and I want to do this for Tris," Rory replied firmly.

"Alright then," Lorelai relented. "I'll see you next weekend."