After Luke and Lorelai did their best going around to every table and greeting their guests, they sat down at their table in between Rory and Jess. Rory sat beside Logan, Jess sat next to Liz and T.J. and Emily and Richard were seated opposite the bride and groom. As everyone ate their first course of a cranberry sorbet, they all talked about Rory's travels across the U.S.
"I really do love the adventure side of it all. No two places are exactly the same," Rory commented. "Some of the other journalists think I'm crazy. They think we don't see enough of the cities to note the cultural differences, but I like to see what I can find. I do a bit more exploring when I can get away."
"That can get dangerous – a young woman exploring an unknown city on her own," Logan commented.
"I can take care of myself," Rory responded.
"Typical independent woman response," Logan replied.
"If she says she can handle herself, I trust that she can," Jess interjected.
"Rory's a very capable young woman," Richard chimed in, commenting on his granddaughter. "But a young woman in a strange city should never feel overly confident about traveling through an unknown city on her own."
"Richard's right," Emily added. "Yet, I saw Rory handle herself throughout Europe, and she did just fine on the afternoons when I rested in our hotel rooms."
"She has always been capable of doing anything that she puts her mind to," Lorelai stuck up for her daughter as well.
"Well, I know I've always been capable of seeing an unknown city on my own. And, Grandpa, you don't have to worry that I take a non-chalant attitude walking the streets that are unfamiliar to me. What I meant when I said I could take care of myself is that I know some self-defense moves that could help me protect myself, need be."
"Self-defense?" Emily asked. "That doesn't sound very ladylike, Rory."
"Grandma, I only need to use it in situations that call for it. I don't go around making the self-defense moves on a regular basis. And I only practice them during my daily cla*s."
"Your daily cla*s?" Emily asked.
"I've mentioned my Tai chi cla*s that I've been taking to you and Grandpa."
"I do recall that," Emily answered, nodding.
"That sounds amazing, Rory!" Liz exclaimed. "How are you able to take Tai Chi cla*s while you're traveling from city to city?"
"One of my fellow journalists initiated a Tai Chi cla*s on the road. And while much of the Tai Chi we do is for health benefits, some of the moves have definitely been for self-defense."
"Good for you, Rory!" Luke replied. "It sounds like you're really doing something that's healthy and beneficial for you! Something you'd never learn from your mother!"
"Hey! You can't say things like that to me today!" Lorelai responded. "You're supposed to do nothing but praise and adore me all evening."
Luke took Lorelai's hand and kissed it softly. He then gently massaged her hand as he answered. "You're absolutely right. Have I told you how unbelievably beautiful you look today?"
Lorelai smiled tilting her head as she gazed over at her new husband. "Yes, you have. But you can keeping telling me over and over again."
"Aren't you both so sweet," Liz answered. "My big brother's finally a happily, settled married man. Congrats, Bro!"
"Thanks, Sis."
"I think it's time to chime the glasses," Liz suggested, "and get a good kiss out of you two!" Liz raised one of her wine glasses and her larger fork, and she was about to chime the fork against the glass when Luke stopped her.
"Please, let's not do that! I have my young, impressionable daughter sitting at the table."
"Dad! I've seen you and Lorelai kiss before. Besides, I'm almost fifteen. I think I'm beyond the impressionable age period."
"You're most definitely not beyond the impressionable age period! You've got years to go until I say you're out of the impressionable age period! In fact, until you're an adult and living on your own, you'll remain at an impressionable age!"
"Dad!"
"Do you hear me, Young Lady? Even if you don't agree with me, please just humor me and agree with me."
April sighed, glancing around the table. "Fine, Dad. I'm still as impressionable as young tadpole learning how to hop around the lilipond."
Luke nodded his head and smiled. "Thank you."
"And you're welcome!" April said. "Excuse me a moment," she added, before getting up to leave the table.
"Aw, Luke, you embarrassed the poor girl," Liz remarked.
"Humiliated is more like it," T.J. added.
"She'll get over it," Luke responded.
"Rory," Liz continued, "if you don't mind, would you tell us more about these Tai Chi cla*ses your taking? I'd love to know how you manage them on the road."
"Sure, I'd be happy to tell you more about it, Liz," Rory answered.
"It still sounds a bit unreal to me to hear my daughter talking about doing regular exercise," Lorelai said. "I know I've known about you doing this. But seeing you stick to it- it's almost a miracle. And now you know self-defense moves too! Now that's nothing short of interesting!"
"A miracle, Mom? No, if you did regular exercise, that would be a near miracle. My trying to participate in exercising with my fellow colleagues, that may just be interesting, as you put it… Now to answer your question, Liz, a fellow journalist, lost a lot of weight from Tai Chi, and it has been her form of exercise and stress-relief ever since. She also met her future husband when she started."
"You're just as lean as your mother, Rory," T.J. said. "You don't need to lose any weight. We'll hardly be able to see you if you become any thinner."
"Thank you, T.J., but I don't necessarily do it to lose weight. In the beginning, Jahara was doing it by herself, and she asked me to join her just for the company. I figured it would be a good first step to making friends with my fellow journalists. Plus, I felt bad with idea of letting her exercise alone day in and day out for the length of our assignment. So, in the mornings or evenings, whenever we could fit it in, we'd have a cla*s about five or six days a week. She's really a great teacher. It's been so much fun. Now there are about nine of us who do it regularly, and many of us will go eat a huge meal afterwards if we have nothing scheduled immediately following the cla*s."
"Jess did some kind of martial arts when he was an adolescent in New York," Luke commented. "Right?"
"That's right!" Liz exclaimed. "All the young boys in our neighborhood were in to the martial arts, so I pushed Jess for about a year or two to take those cla*ses. Financially, it was a bit of a struggle to come up with the money for them, but fortunately, they let us pay on a sliding scale. But then I was out of work for a while and just couldn't afford it at all, so Jess had to stop."
"Yeah, that's exactly why I stopped going!" Jess commented. "It was a money issue."
"I take it you're saying it wasn't a money issue?" T.J. asked.
"The kids who were in the cla*s were morons. None of them ever in their pathetic lives picked up a book to read. I just got tired of Mom trying to get me to like it. She was trying to get me to be more social with the rich kids. I had my group of friends, and none of them took Tai Kwan Do."
"Those kids weren't from rich families!" Liz interjected. "Most those kids lived in our area and had small, dingy apartments where the musty smell never left, just like we did," Liz answered. "The only difference was that either they had both parents, or the fathers were involved in the kids' lives, and at least one parent in each household had a steady job."
"It sounds to me like your mom just wanted the best for you," Logan commented.
"Yeah, well, you know what they say about good intentions," Jess answered.
"I just love doing the Tai Chi," Rory continued. "I don't know how Tai Kwan Do might differ, but it's such a great way to escape from stress and life and work, and I don't exactly have a sanctuary being on the road, so the cla*ses and exercise has become my oasis."
"But you'll still have your chili fries and coffee as a late night snack, right?" Lorelai asked.
"Of course, Mom! I haven't gone completely Zen and granola on you, I promise."
Lorelai sighed. "That's good."
"You don't usually hear a mother encourage her daughter to eat junk food and worry about their children exercising regularly," Luke said.
"What happened to you adoring me all night?"
Luke sighed and nodded. "You're right. It won't happen again. I promise."
"Thank you!" Lorelai answered Luke and turned her attention to her daughter. "Besides, I just want to make sure she hasn't completely changed personalities on me. Otherwise, I'd be very suspect that either my very brilliant, precious daughter underwent a lobotomy or she was kidnapped and this individual was sent in her place… Hey, weren't you wearing a different dress at the ceremony?"
"Yes, Mom, I was. But I'm the same person, thank you very much! And it was your idea that my dress transform into a completely different dress for the reception!" Rory added. She now wore an ivory lace attachment to the bodice of the navy satin dress, so that most of her cleavage was now covered and made the dress look more Victorian than Louis XIV risqué, and the large, cumbersome skirt had been removed to reveal a new straight, narrow skirt of the same satin fabric.
April returned back to the table in one big swoosh, and she was completely out of breath. "I know you all know this quite well, but I just have to say it again. Kirk's very weird!"
"You think?" Jess asked.
"I definitely do," April responded.
"What did he do now?" Luke asked, not sure he really wanted to know.
"He's saying that in the last few weeks, he's had the feeling that someone was watching his every move. Kirk feels there's some young kid out there who wants to mimic his life. Apparently, this person likes what he sees and wants to follow in Kirk's footsteps."
"Who does he think this young guy is?" Rory asked.
"He doesn't know," April continued, "but he wishes the kid would just show his face, and then he could take him under his wing."
"Oy yoy yoy!" Luke remarked.
"Tell me about it!" April said. "Kirk said the kid could then mimic everything he does for real, except for anything that's related to Lulu, of course. But even with that, Kirk said he can give tips on how to get and keep a girl like Lulu."
"Kirk barely knows how he got Lulu," Luke commented. "I saw their first date. He was as dumbfounded as was I by what Lulu saw in him. He doesn't have a clue!"
"Does any guy know how he got so lucky to get the love of their lives?" T.J. asked, looking at Liz. "It's usually by some God-given miracle that such a beautiful woman would consider the poor shlub."
"You're very sweet, My Love," Liz said. "But it's still your turn to wake up with Doula tomorrow morning."
"That's not what I was getting at, at all!" T.J. exclaimed, sounding a bit bruised by Liz's response.
"Really beautifully said, T.J.," Logan responded.
"Thanks, man," T.J. responded. "Gosh, women! You try to be everything they want, but sometimes, you still end up in the doghouse. And you don't know what you did wrong!"
"I guess they have their reasons," Logan added, looking at Rory.
"They certainly do," Jess chimed in, looking from Logan to Rory.
Rory started to slouch down in her seat, not looking at Logan or Jess; instead she gave her mother a blank stare.
Luke asked, "Hey, Rory, would you dance with me? I love this song." He really did not have any strong feelings one way or the other to "I Heard It Through The Grapevine."
"Dance with my new stepfather? I would love to!" Rory answered, jumping out of her seat.
Before he could get up, Lorelai kissed Luke briefly. He knew she was grateful for his coming to Rory's rescue like that.
"Jess, would you dance with me?" Liz asked.
"Maybe later," Jess answered.
"Jess, go dance with your mother," Lorelai remarked.
Before Jess could respond, Logan jumped in, "If it's okay with you, I would love to dance with you, Liz."
"Thanks, Logan, that would be great!" Liz responded.
Lorelai looked at Jess who was not saying anything. "Wait, Logan! I'll dance with you. Jess, get up and dance with your mother – now!" Jess just looked at her. She knew he wanted to say something to her. Lorelai remembered the rude, teenage punk who told her off in her own house when she last tried to butt into his life six years ago when he first moved to Stars Hollow. Lorelai assumed he was remembering that moment too as he stared at her intently. But he was older and hopefully more mature and knew better to tick off a bride at her own wedding.
Without saying a word, Jess got up and went over to his mother. Liz laughed looking quite thrilled with the outcome, hugged her son and said, "You'll see, it won't be the horrible torture you're anticipating."
Jess gave his mother a brief smirk as he walked her out onto the dance floor.
