Do You See Her Face? (A Jess Mariano Fanfiction)

An Orwellian Nightmare

Disclaimer: All Gilmore Girls content belongs to Amy Sherman-Palladino.

*Warning: This chapter contains depictions/descriptions of depression. Please proceed with caution.*

. . .

"The door itself is worth more than everything we own." Jess gawked at the large mahogany door of the famed Gilmore house.

"Welcome to the realm of the one percent," Ella replied, smirking as they stood hand-in-hand facing the entryway. Beyond it, she could hear the faint sound of classical music and polite chatter. "I don't hate it, though. It's got kind of a Great Gatsby thing going on, don't you think?"

"Maybe. But I think it's more like Dracula."

"Hm," she nodded, lifting her eyes to see the pillars on either side of the door. "Wuthering Heights?"

"Oh yeah," Jess agreed. "That sounds right."

"Get ready, then, Heathcliff," Ella quipped, ringing the doorbell.

Jess scoffed. "Ready as I can be, Catherine."

Not more than a moment later, the door swung aside to reveal a woman in a maid's outfit in the sprawling foyer. Behind the maid, there were groups of well-dressed people, mostly older, milling about with martini glasses in their hands, sugar on the rims. Though she couldn't quite be sure, Ella thought it was Mozart playing from somewhere farther inside, live on a piano. It sounded fine, but she had always preferred Beethoven. The lesser of two evils, she had taken to calling him. Before even stepping beyond the threshold, she could see at least two chandeliers gleaming in the yellowish lights. She tugged Jess along by the hand, stepping up and into the house.

"Good evening," the maid said.

"Hi," Ella said, smiling at the small woman with black hair and dazzling brown eyes. "This is Rory Gilmore's graduation party, right?"

Jess chuckled behind her. They'd gotten a bit lost on the way up to Hartford. The plan had originally been to follow Luke's truck, but he had decided against going at the last minute. He wasn't sure if Lorelai would really want him there. Instead, they had followed the less than legible directions Luke scribbled on one of the diner napkins. Luke rarely remembered street names, using mostly landmarks. The drive would have been easier if it wasn't already near dark by the time the party started.

"Yes, ma'am," the maid answered formally, holding a hand out to Ella. "May I take your bag?"

Furrowing her brows, Ella looked down at her large black purse, the only one she owned, and then back up at the woman. She hadn't been expecting such a question, instead thinking she'd either carry it with her or stumble upon a coat rack somewhere. "Oh, sure. Thank you. That'd be great...sorry. I didn't catch your name?"

The maid looked equally confused as she took Ella's bag from her. "Helen."

"Okay, Helen. I'm Ella," she said, sticking out her hand for Helen to shake, tilting her head in Jess's direction. "That's Jess. We're Rory's friends."

Jess nodded in greeting at Helen, biting back a laugh as the maid shook Ella's hand with a disconcerted expression.

"Enjoy the party," Helen muttered, then turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd behind her.

"I don't think you were supposed to introduce us to the maid," Jess chuckled as Ella led him through the sea of people to the left, revealing a large sitting room with an open bar.

"Who cares what we're supposed to do?" Ella shrugged, stopping in her tracks as she began to search the room for anyone she knew. "Rory used to tell me her mother fired a maid a week. Figured she might need at least one friendly face tonight."