Gilmore Girls: Breaking Free

Chapter 26: Sacrifice

Emily pulled out her cellphone and typed a message to let her granddaughter know she and Berta had landed safely and were on their way to her new home.  As they drove from the airport, Emily recalled a holiday in Maine, early in her marriage. Richard had surprised her by taking a week off work in June to enjoy the wonderful beaches, restaurants and of course the Cape Neddick Country Club golf course.

She smiled as she recalled how Richard had given her his cheque book and told her to go shopping for the day while he enjoyed breaking in some new golf clubs. Richard was never far away in her memories and seemed particularly close as Emily was driven by the York Harbor Inn where they had stayed.  As she recalled, this was most likely where Lorelai was conceived!  She breathed in deeply, willing away some unexpected tears.

"Can't you drive any faster?" Emily snapped at the cab driver in order to hide her emotions. "You do know where Independence Drive is I trust?"

The driver answered but Emily didn't hear.  She had received a message from Rory explaining she was sorry that she might not make it home by noon but she had a spare key under the mat by the rear entrance.

"I wonder where she is?" Emily thought, surprised that Rory was out and about so soon after being discharged from hospital. "I would have expected Rory to be here for my arrival.....young people these days have very different priorities!"

Rory felt awful to be late for her grandmother's arrival but she just couldn't leave Jess as the doctors were concerned with his scan and test results. The resident took Rory aside to give an update on Jess' condition.

"We have picked up a pulmonary embolism in the scans....it was hard to see at first because of the congested nature of Mr Mariano's lungs....." the doctor explained.

"Oh no! That's very serious isn't it?" Rory asked, feeling like she might need to sit down.

"Are you alright there?" The doctor enquired noticing that Rory looked pale. "Here, take a seat and I'll get you some water...."

Rory felt terrible. She hadn't eaten properly and the shock of seeing Jess was too much for her to handle. The doctor came back with a cup of water and then continued to discuss treatment options.

"This complicates things quite significantly....has Mr Mariano travelled recently?" The doctor queried.

"He did mention a trip overseas last Summer and he travelled by car from Hartford to York.....I don't think there's been anything else...." Rory offered not completely sure of everything Jess had been doing.

"Well clots can easily form even on a road trip...." the doctor muttered while adding notes to Jess' file. "Anyway at least we now know why Mr Mariano's oxygen levels were still so low and his pulse very weak .......you might have noticed his lips and extremities looked blue...."

"Yes....I wondered about that....so what can you do to help him?" Rory asked, her mind filled with fear.

"Well due to the pneumonia and pleurisy, we have to be careful...." the doctor looked serious. "We need to get on top of the infection and fluid first.  We will try to use blood thinners in the meantime but surgery may be required......Other than these current issues, he seems to be very fit and healthy so we are optimistic ........if he can get through the next couple of days....he should get through this...."

Rory knew she should be calling her mom to update her but she felt like she couldn't move.  All she knew was that she couldn't leave when there was no one else to stay with Jess. Looking at her phone, Rory knew her grandmother would have arrived but she couldn't talk to her yet.  Just then, a message from Logan popped up on her screen: