ROSIE DIDN'T BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, but stepping off the bus and gazing at New York for the first time in her life made her reconsider her beliefs on the cliche.
She was struck by a sense of thrill as she strolled around the streets, distancing from the bus stop she got off of, making her way to the park out front. Right off the bat, she was startled by how crowded the street was, so used to the serene streets of Connecticut. She crept around the borders of the park, trying to look for the entrance she was supposed to stand by.
When she peered down at her watch, it first occurred to her that she was a whole hour early. Secondly, she was transfixed with horror when she realized she forgot to switch her birth mother's vintage Rolex with the cheaper watch she once got herself from Casio.
A voice spears through the tranquility, hoarse and familiar. "You made it."
Rosie turned around, smiling sweetly when she saw Jess standing there, his thumb between the pages of the book he held. "I did."
"You look like you just saw a ghost."
"On a scale of one to ten, how dangerous is it that I'm wearing this?" She flashed him her wrist by sliding down her jacket's sleeve.
"Nine, if you're gonna keep your arm like that the whole time for about five more seconds."
She jolted her arm down in terror, rolling down her sleeves to cover the watch and not-so-discreetly scanning the environment around her to check if anyone noticed.
When she turned to him, she saw him biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing at her. "Relax; this is real life, not Reservoir Dogs."
"I'm cool, I'm cool." She brushed off, relaxing her shoulders. Her gaze melted into his, analyzing him from his sharp and chiseled smirk to his inspecting eyes, mirroring her. Rosie felt herself alleviate when it clicked with her why she checked her watch in the first place. "You're early."
The corner of his mouth hitches, choosing not to elaborate on that comment. "So, the tour." He commenced, clapping his hands together. "Excited?"
"Fairly so."
"How much time do you have?"
"All the bus rides are an hour earlier than scheduled, so I still only have about an hour."
"Then we better get started. Any suggestions?" He asked, gesticulating at her to walk alongside him.
"Only a few." She said, "I want to eat a dollar pizza while standing on the side of the street, yell at cars while I jaywalk, cry on the subway, and make fun of all the tourists in Times Square."
"That's ambitious." He retorted. "But have you considered just taking a stroll around Central Park first?"
She pretended to consider it for a moment. "Starting off typical, but I'll accept."
"I promise not to disappoint."
"You better not." She pressured him as they crossed the street.
"So..." He set a side glance her way, his eyes darting to the plaster on her forehead. "How's the cut?"
"It gets better the less people talk about it." She explained. "Which is why the healing process has been really slow so far." She remarked bitterly as she recalled Stars Hollow and all its snoopy residents.
"I can imagine." He said. "And how's..."
"Luke?" She guessed. "He's fine. Bummed since you've been gone. He can't get the coffee machine started."
He nodded, imagining the situation vividly. "He's probably using the broken plug instead of the new one."
"I'll be sure to remind him of that." She said, sensing how much Jess must've missed his uncle. "I'll tell him you said hi. If you want." She added quickly.
"Whatever." He feigned indifference. In his language, that was the closest thing she could get to an enthusiastic yes. "So, first impressions?" He turned to her with anticipation.
She looked around Central Park, conveying liking to the place. "There's a man crying over there on the bench and not one person is staring at him." She stated. "God, I think I love this place already."
"Don't get too attached, we're leaving for the next place."
"Where to next?"
"First on your list." He recalled. "Dollar pizza."
She perked up in excitement, discreetly fastening her pace for the sake of getting to the pizza place faster. As she walked around, gazing around at the view of the skyline over the park, she smiled to herself. When they reached the end of the park, she asked; "So, meet anyone new?" She asked curiously.
"Not really." He said. There's a glint in his eyes, like he understood something she didn't. "Why do you ask?"
"Not terrorizing anyone? Stealing their baseballs, gnomes, or vandalizing their books?"
"Not that I recall." He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. He gently placed his hand on her back to direct her towards the line for the pizza place. "Seriously, why?"
"Oh, nothing. Just looking out for all the New Yorkers." She reasoned as they made their way out of the park. "Like Spiderman."
"Oh, god, please don't tell me that's another thing on your list." Jess snickered as they made their way to the back of the line of the pizza place. "Running around the streets of New York in spandex, I'm not enthusiastic about."
The corner of her mouth perked up. "Don't say that, you're stomping right on my wildest dreams." She teased, taking a step closer to the pizza truck when the line moved along.
"Spandex? That does it for you?"
"Oh, I'd kill to see you in spandex." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at his assumption.
"Kill? That's a stretch."
Rosie snorted, catching the customer's attention when she laughed loudly. "Did you just say a dad joke?" She asked when her laugh died down to a normal tone.
The corner of his mouth twitched. "I can't believe the loudest I've ever made you life is over a spandex pun." He rolled his eyes, as if disappointed in himself and her humor.
"It's New York." She decided. "It's having the exact opposite effect on me than everyone else."
"The usual curt New Yorker persona kicks in after at least three months."
When they reached the truck, they got a big box of pizza and were handed it shortly after paying. They walked through the sidewalks, biting into the pizza slice and moaning in pleasure. When they finished the pizza, they threw the box into the trashcan and headed to their next destination.
Rosie rolled up her sleeve to peer at her watch while Jess was still ahead of her, realizing she only had about twenty minutes until she had to go back to the bus stop. "What is it?" Jess turned back to look at her after she hastily rolled her sleeves down to cover her watch again. He took notice, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Nothing." She caught up to him. "Where are we going now?"
The corner of his mouth curved up into a smirk as he pointed to a store a few steps ahead of them. From the window display, she could spot an independant corner bookstore with crowded shelves. When they walked in, they were the only two in the store aside from the cashier, yet they still took up most of the space. The bookshelves started from the ground to the high ceilings, a ladder placed at the corner to help reach the top.
There wasn't much room to walk around, yet it was still the most beautiful bookstore Rosie has ever seen. It felt like a warm cup of coffee. She looked around, scanning the book spines carefully, spotting some notable first editions of classics. She ended up getting four books, two for her and two for Rory.
"Done already?" Jess asked, surprised.
"I have to leave for my bus." She said after grabbing the change from the cashier and placing it in her pockets. "It's not far, is it?"
"No, it's right around the corner."
They began their route to the bus stop, walking in silence the whole way back. It was the longest she's ever gone with him without talking, and it was oddly comforting. Rosie kept her eye on the horizon, lifting her gaze to the skyscrapers overhead.
She thought back on why she's never visited the city in her young adulthood, then recalled Emily and Richard's distaste for the traffic. They always prefered the quiet. They'd vacation in countryside Tuscany instead of Milan, Mallorca instead of Barcelona, and so on. And with Lorelai, she would often stay in Hartford while her sister took trips to concerts with Rory, following the rules her parents set when she planned to stay in Stars Hollow.
Rosie was ushered back into reality when she realized she reached the bus stop. She looked to her left and spotted the bus back to Connecticut. When she walked over to the bus door, she hesitated. "I love this place."
"Yeah, it's cool." He shrugged off.
"Makes you figure Ayn Rand wasn't talking total gibberish in The Fountainhead, doesn't it? I, too, would give anything to see this skylyline again." She quoted the book. "No other religion needed."
Jess slid his hands into his jean pockets and nodded. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before saying, "You know, Cambridge has a great English Lit. program too."
"Yeah, but my future at Yale is already written on stone." She dismissed quickly, refusing to let the stem of the idea be planted inside her mind.
"It was just an idea." He said. He reluctantly looked at her once more, narrowing his eyes. "I didn't think you'd come." He confessed, the thought seemingly weighing on him since she arrived.
Rosie pursed her lips. "Didn't want me to?" She asked with the tilt of her head.
"No, that's not it."
"Well, I had to." She said, "It didn't look like you were coming to visit anytime soon, and if I didn't come now, I wouldn't see you until you visit for thanksgiving."
"Actually, I don't celebrate thanksgiving, so you wouldn't have seen me 'till Christmas." He said, a hint of humor in his tone, but she wouldn't doubt him if he wasn't joking.
"Doesn't work, I'm staying in Hartford for Christmas. New Years?" She played along.
Jess pretended to consider it. "And miss all the fireworks here? Forget about it." He joked. "Easter?"
"I'll probably be in Yale by then." She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "Might as well say goodbye forever now."
"Might as well." He agreed caustically, nodding at her with soft eyes.
Rosie heard the last call for her bus and felt a chill dance down her spine simultaneously. She turned to Jess one last time, all humor aside, and gave him a weak smile. "Goodbye."
He watched her climb the stairs to the bus and said, "I'll see you around, Rosie."