Gilmore Girls: Wish Upon a Snow

Chapter 5

Rory arrived back in Stars Hollow after a perfect evening with Logan and the Life and Death Brigade. Logan had an ease about him that engulfed Rory and allowed her to feel challenged, enthralled, and safe... all at once. She couldn't help but lose all sense of reality in the curve of his jaw. It had been so easy to forget that Odette was a living, breathing person who was in love with the same man. Rory felt deeply and hopelessly sad at what she lost with Logan. She replayed the events of his proposal over in her mind almost daily. Rory had been wandering through life for the past five years. She felt that her window of opportunity had been missed. She would never live up to her potential now. She was not as new or fresh as the young journalists on the scene, but did not have the extensive experience that could translate into a lucrative and steady career. She felt betrayed. What had happened? A priceless, Ivy-League education had failed to catapult her into the journalism stratosphere. What had she worked so hard for? She could have still been great if she had married Logan. Why did she feel like she had to choose? Rory experienced what was out there. It wasn't everything that she had hoped it to be. Sometimes you really do find the love of your life that early on.

She planned to stop at Luke's when she returned, as she had uncharacteristically skipped out on a free breakfast with Logan. She had to be the one to walk away this time. She was tired of seeing him go back to Odette.

Pulling open the door to Luke's, she smiled. The familiar smell of pancakes and coffee washed over her. Luke looked frazzled behind the counter.

"You okay, Luke?" Rory asked gently, glancing around. The diner was busier than usual but it was not a madhouse.

"I'm fine, " Luke said hurriedly. He adjusted his baseball cap and smoothed down the front of his shirt.

"Ok, then. Coffee?" Rory asked.

"I think I left a small box of order pads upstairs by the door," Luke grumbled abruptly. A woman seated at the opposite end of the counter waved frantically, mentioning something about a lack of butter pats on her pancakes. Luke visibly rolled his eyes and moved down the counter to address her.

"Luke! Do you want me to grab them for you?" Rory called. He waved his hand at her. Not knowing whether this meant yes or no, Rory decided to go upstairs in search of the order pads. Opening the door, Rory began scanning the apartment for a box, as it was definitely not by the door as Luke had said. She grabbed a pair of scissors off the table and spying a box by the bathroom, she walked over to pry it open.

As she fiddled with the box, the clunk of footsteps approaching nearly scared her out of her skin. She raised the scissors quickly over her head out of instinct. "Whoa! Though she be but little, she is fierce!"

She looked up at Jess Mariano.