Jess and Cassie got married in the autumn after she graduated from Columbia.
Cassie knew she would be the one to propose on a late winters night. She was sitting at the table in the kitchen as she studied for the bar exam she would take the minute she graduated college which was in a mere month.
Upon hearing the sound of keys entering its lock, she looked toward the door just in time to see Jess enter. Over time, he had allowed himself to grow out some scruff which was very much appreciated by her.
Jess walked into the apartment with snow resting on the shoulders of his coat and some in his dark hair. When he saw her sitting there he smiled the same smile he had always given her. The joy on his face never changing from when he first met her all those years ago.
"You gotta come with me," was the first thing he had said to her. Not bothering to take of his coat he took a seat right next to her, not forgetting to give her the usual peck on the lips. "Trust me."
She sighed and looked to him, "What are you on about?"
"There's nearly two feet of snow outside," He told her happily. That definitely caught her interest. "We can finally do the thing you always wanted to try."
"You mean cover me up in snow?" She asked excitedly as he nodded in agreement. "Really?" She questions again, not believing that this stupid childish thing that she always wanted to do was finally happening.
Jess closed the textbook in front of her with a smile. "Go put your coat on, I'll help with your 'lifelong dream'," he put air marks around the words.
And that was the moment she knew she was going to propose. Cassie would be lying if she said she hasn't thought about it before, but this was the first time that she knew she was actually going to do something about it.
So throughout the next week she had been to multiple stores looking for the perfect ring for Jess. He was never really a ring kinda guy so it was a challenge. But after what felt like ages of scouring places, she finally found one. A bit pricey but the things you do for love, am I right?
Making sure to get it in his size, she packed it up carefully in its box and hid it in her drawer until the perfect time arose. According to her brain the perfect time was when the two were eating dinner in the kitchen while The Killers played softly on the stereo.
She had waited until the middle of dinner to make the excuse of going to the bathroom to go and fetch the ring. Cassie came back nervously as she felt the outline of the small box press into her leg through the thin layer of her pocket.
Her heart knew that Jess would most likely say yes, but her brain was the one that was causing all the trouble today. It was saying how he'd say no and that would be the end of it. The end of the best five years of her life.
As per usual, she ignored her brain but it could still be heard quietly in the back. Once the two of them had finished dinner Cassie quickly caught his attention and slowly got down on one knee in front of him.
She held the box up in her hand as she looked up nervously at Jess who sat in his chair. "I know this probably isn't how most people do it," she began as she chewed the inside of her cheek. "But I want to marry you Jess. I really really do and I don't know anything I would be more honoured to do."
He didn't say anything just stared at her with his eyes wide open. "So Jess William Mariano, will you marry me?" For a moment neither of them said anything and she felt that her brain may have been right. Jess' face held no sign that he'd even heard her, he just stared at the ring blankly.
Instead he just got up from his seat and headed into their bedroom. Cassie knelt there on the floor in shock, not knowing what to do. She could feel everything inside her break into a million little pieces.
But then she heard his footsteps from behind her. She turned her head to see Jess with a small smile on his face. Jess came up in front of her and pushed the chair behind him away. Then he knelt down on one knee so they were both in the same position.
He held out a ring that sat in a small red velvet box. Not a diamond ring cause they both knew diamonds were overrated. Jess smirked at Cassie as the two of them knelt there in identical positions, a box in each of their hands.
"Looks like you beat me to it, Cherry." He commented as she let out a light laugh, trying to cover up the fact that she could feel some tears coming on. "So let's try that again."
She cleared her throat dramatically before lifting her hand with the box up ever so slightly. "Jess Willy Mariano," she added to his middle name, knowing that it was something they both found funny. "Will you marry me?" She repeated her question but this time there was no voice in her head telling her he'd say no.
"Only if you'll marry me, Rosie Quinn." Was his response. And that was how the happiest moment of their lives happened.
Now the wedding was another story. As told, it happened during autumn. But most people always asked why in autumn of all seasons, why not summer or spring. Well, she originally wanted a winter wedding but Jess managed to get her to tone it down to autumn, by saying that their guests wouldn't really appreciate being covered in snow.
The wedding took place by a lake in Central Park, they made sure no swans or pigeons were nearby beforehand, obviously. It was during a Tuesday evening so there weren't many people around in the park. The leaves that scattered the ground were in brilliant shades of red and orange. The tall trees that surrounded their event made the evening sky look even more red than usual.
There weren't many people there. Just Maria, the Gilmore girls, Luke, Paris, Lane and her band, Liz and TJ -her husband-, Zayna and Benjamin -surprisingly-, and some of Jess' friends from Truncheon Press. Her grandparents even flew in all the way from London. There were also a few residents of Stars Hollow that insisted they be there, i.e, Merritt, Miss Patty, Babette, Sookie and Michel. And that was it.
Luke had walked Cassie down the aisle, which made everyone tear up, even Michel. In his words, 'Who knew the lumberjack was capable of human interaction.' Rory and Paris had been her bridesmaids while Luke also acted as Jess' best man.
Jess and Cassie's vows hadn't been the normal ones, it had been the ones from Corpse Bride. Right, they were huge nerds. Which as usual, Cassie's grandparents had found absurd and Lorelai and Maria had said it was the best idea ever since someone had decided to invent tacos.
"With this hand I lift your sorrows,
Your cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine.
With this candle, I will light your way in darkness.
With this ring, I ask you to be mine."
Cue everyone's clapping the minute the two of them finished the vows. One thing that Cassie realised wasn't there before was that inside the hand of the ring was a single word, engraved into the steel. Cherry, was all it said. But it was enough for her to look at Jess and kiss him for what felt like the first time all over again.
Lane's band had played at the wedding as well. They even played the song for Jess and Cassie's first dance, You and Me by Lifehouse. It took a lot of persuading and bribes, but Jess agreed to actually participate in the dance. The song choice didn't really sit well with most people, mainly her grandparents. They wanted something more traditional, but they managed to make it work.
Sookie had been the one to cook up all the meals and as per usual, they were delicious. The cake was a lot bigger than any of us expected but there was just no controlling Sookie. The best chefs are mad after all.
After that was all the speeches. Liz and Maria went first, they both said similar things about how proud they were of their kids and all that stuff. Also how they welcomed Cassie and Jess into their families happily.
Next up on the speeches were Rory and Luke. It was strange sight for all of them to see Luke tear up in front of them all. It was like seeing Bigfoot break down on how he remembered when Cassie first met him. And how she asked why he dressed like Cher Horowitz with all that flannel and plaid.
Rory was another story, instead of her tearing up, she made nearly everyone bawl their eyes out with her words. She was also the one to lead the toast to the newlyweds.
It was strange for the two of them to be married. It was never on either one of their lists and yet it was as if it was all they had been waiting for.
Once Cassie has passed the bar exam, she got a job at the same firm she had interned at. Before she knew it, she went from associate to junior partner. But she knew that she wasn't gonna stop until her name went up on the wall, becoming a name partner.
Jess was doing better than either one of them expected. His book had sold thousands of copies all over the world and Truncheon Press came very far from five smelly guys in a cramped room putting out three books a month.
One thing that she realised was that her three phase plan was complete. With just a few little corrections.
Phase One, ace my SAT's. Check
Phase Two, Get accepted into Yale and graduate with a Law Degree. Kinda check, just no Yale.
Phase Three, move to New York and become an amazing lawyer. Check
Phase Four, Jess.
Jess was never a part of her plan. Yet he came to Stars Hollow and turned everything upside down. Gave her a whole new meaning of love in a way that she understood.
One thing Jess showed her was that things never go according to plan. And sometimes that was for the best.
"Jess," Cassie caught his attention as they both sat side by side on the couch watching the tv. He hummed in response, making her hear it through her whole head that was resting on his chest. "I love you."
She heard the smile in his voice as Jess spoke. "I love you too, Cherry." And Cassie knew that no matter what happened, she'd be okay as long as those were the first words she'd wake up to in the morning and the last thing she heard at night.
The End
Thank You Pt. 2
So if you're reading this then you've reached the end of this book. I hope you've all enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making it this far. I'm sorry if this book wasn't up to your expectations but you can't please everyone. But to those of you who actually enjoyed my writing, I owe it all to you. So goodbye, for now.
All the love,
H.