when we come to it

Chapter 11: 2009 (6 of 10)

Thursday, 5.14.2009

"Well, no," Rory said, sandwiching her cellphone between her shoulder and her cheek so that she could fish in her purse for her key. "I mean, I expected something. You were acting kind of weird."

She pushed into the apartment and crossed to the kitchen island, setting down her work bag and her purse before waving at Jess. He spared her a wave before hunching back over the mess of papers in front of him. Even with a fever of 100°, Jess couldn't just relax for a day.

"You were acting weird, I'm telling you. I thought you were going to tell me something else," Rory laughed, digging through her purse and pulling out a small bag of double chocolate cookies and a bottle of cough medicine. 

"Cherry?" Jess asked, examining the opaque bottle.

"It's all they had," Rory whispered, pushing the cookies across the counter. "To sweeten the deal. Want a rink?" Jess made a face, but took both items from Rory and nodded. 

She turned to the fridge, holding her phone with her shoulder again while she got out the orange juice. "No, it wasn't a bad surprise, it was just a surprise. And I don't think it will change things as drastically as you think it will." 

Within seconds, she had poured Jess a glass and placed it carefully in a spot between the scattered papers.

"I can act normal if you can act normal," Rory scoffed, grabbing her bags and walking across the living room to drop them by her door. "Not a chance in hell. I'm like a lock box in the Titanic, it'd take a submarine full of scientists to get my secrets. Ha, no. Yeah, I'll see you. Bye."

She dropped her phone into her purse before going back to the kitchen. 

"Listen, I know that you don't like the cherry, but it was the only flavor they had. They were totally out of Tylenol, even the generic stuff. Interestingly enough, the cashier told me it was because of the full moon."

"The full moon?" Jess repeated, his mouth half stuffed with cookies. 

"The full moon," Rory nodded, tapping on the bottle of medicine to subtly tell him to get over the flavor. 

"The full moon was last week," Jess pointed out, clearly avoiding making eye contact with the cough medicine. 

"Interesting. Very interesting."

"I think so," Jess agreed, starting his second cookie. "Who were you talking to?"

Rory hesitated for a moment, running back through what she'd said in front of Jess. No, it was alright.

"Louis, actually." 

"Louis? What secrets does Louis know?" Jess asked.

"What do you mean, secrets?" Rory evaded, going to pour herself a glass of orange juice just so that she could look more casual than she felt. This wasn't exactly her secret to tell.

"C'mon, Rory. I distinctly heard the word 'secret'. And something about submarine scientists, which I find very interesting."

"Listen, this secret is not mine to tell. You'll find out pretty soon, anyway."

Jess nodded slowly, turning his gaze back down to his work. He seemed a little miffed, but it wasn't like Jess to demand information. He probably wouldn't have even had the grumpy expression if he wasn't feverish.

Rory let him stew in what she imagined was a very slight disappointment while she sipped at her juice. 

"I may have found the best bad book in the world, if you're interested."