Missing Pieces

Chapter 28: 'Tis the Season

Rory sighed in relief as the last bell of the day rang.  It was now officially winter break, and she had three glorious weeks off work.  She gathered her things and locked her classroom door for the last time this year.  She smiled and felt her body visibly relax as she walked down the hall to pick Emma up.  She loved her job, but she was ready for some rest and fun.

"Hey there, Em.  You ready to go?" Rory asked when she reached Emma's classroom. 

"Mommy!  How many days until we leave for our trip?" Emma asked excitedly.

Rory chuckled at her daughter's excitement for their coming mini-vacation.

"Three days, sweet girl.  Let's head home," Rory replied.

"Is Finn coming over tonight?" Emma asked.  It was becoming incredibly rare for him not to come over after work.  They usually had dinner together, and about half the time he would spend the night.

"He is.  Is that okay?" Rory asked.

"Of course, Mommy!  I love it when Finny comes over," Emma assured her.

"Well, good.  Do you want to stop for hot chocolate on the way home?" Rory offered. 

"Ooh!  Please, please, please, please, please!" Emma squealed happily.  She always loved their hot chocolate dates.

Rory loaded Emma into her car and drove to their favorite place for hot chocolate, Sarah's Coffee House.  They arrived a few minutes later and Rory ordered two large hot chocolates with extra whipped cream and chocolate syrup.  Emma had certainly inherited the Gilmore women's appetites and iron stomachs.  They sat down at a quiet table and enjoyed their drinks.  Emma was so excited about Christmas and couldn't keep herself from chattering about it constantly. 

"Mommy, can I get Finn a present for Christmas?" she asked as they were sitting and enjoying their hot cocoa.

"Of course, sweetie.  What do you want to get him?" Rory asked.  She hadn't even decided what she wanted to get him yet.  He was the type who just bought anything he wanted, which made it difficult to shop for him.

"I don't know.  Can we go shopping?" Emma asked.

"Sure, we can do that," Rory assured her.  "We still have plenty of time to find the perfect gift for him."

The two girls finished their drinks over more discussion of the upcoming holiday, and Rory couldn't help but get excited as she heard Emma's pure joy over the Christmas festivities and their trip.  Finn had practically begged Rory to let him take herself and Emma to New York City for the week before Christmas, and she'd finally relented.  They were planning to enjoy a stereotypical New York Christmas tourist experience, complete with ice skating, FAO Schwartz, The Rockettes, the Rockefeller tree and the holiday decor. 

Rory looked at her watch as their finished their drinks and decided they had some time to go shopping now.  She loaded Emma into the car and drove to Westfarms Mall.  They walked through several department stores and looked at everything from cologne to ties to dress shirts to watches, but nothing seemed quite right. 

Just as Rory was about to give up for the day, she spotted Things Remembered across the mall.  She led Emma over to the engraving store and they browsed through the displays.  She looked at the wallets, cuff links, money clips and tie tacks, but none of them caught her eye.  Suddenly she saw a beautiful sterling silver picture frame holding a picture of a couple and she had an idea.  She took it up to the cashier and wrote out what she wanted engraved on the frame before taking Emma back onto the sales floor to browse while they waited.

Emma giggled over all of the Star Wars and Marvel cufflinks and finally picked out a simple sterling silver dog tag on a chain.  She pointed to it excitedly.

"Mommy, can I get that for Finn and pick out what I want it to say?" Emma asked.

"I think that would be perfect.  What do you want it to say?" Rory asked.

Emma whispered in her mom's ear, and Rory smiled happily at Emma's words.

"I think that's perfect, Em.  Let's go tell them what we want and pay for it, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy!" Emma replied happily.

*                    *                    *

Finn had taken the afternoon off to finish his Christmas shopping.  It was Friday, and he and Rory and Emma were leaving for New York on Monday.  This would be his last chance to go shopping without the girls, and he still needed to get gifts for Rory and Emma.

He drove the short distance from the office to Becker's Fine Diamonds & Jewelry.  He quickly found a parking place and walked inside, where he was immediately greeted by a salesman.  He told the gentleman helping him that he had in mind and then followed him over to the display cases.  He looked at all of the beautiful rings in front of him and tried to imagine which one Rory would like best.  He didn't want anything too flashy, because that definitely wasn't her, but he hoped to find a piece that she would love and that could become a family heirloom.  After looking at what seemed like dozens of rings without seeing "the one", he suddenly spotted it out of the corner of his eye.  It was breathtaking and the beautiful sapphire reminded him of Rory's eyes.

"That's it - that's the one," he breathed reverently as he held the ring and looked at it closely. 

"Excellent choice, Mr. Mogan.  Do you happen to have the lucky lady's ring size with you?" the salesman asked.

Finn unlocked his phone and scrolled through his text messages from Lorelai.

"Actually, I do.  She wears a size 6.  Could I get the inside of the band engraved?" Finn asked.

"Of course, sir.  Just write down what you'd like to have engraved on this sheet of paper and we can have it ready for you to pick up as early as tomorrow."

Finn thought for a moment and smiled as it came to him.  He quickly wrote down the three words that he wanted engraved on the band and then paid for his purchase.  It was perfect.