Chapter 9

The way he said it—baby—allwarm and soothing, had fresh tears pooling in her eyes and words tumbling out of her mouth. Her phone was on speaker on her lap as she drove to the grocery store, where she remained parked in the lot as they continued talking for another half hour.

She did leave out some details from her story, like the part about how uneasy she felt about Tyler's relationship with Zoe. But between sniffles and sobs, she told him everything else—about her mom and what she'd found in the attic, about Melanie, about soccer being over and how ill-prepared she felt for her new job at the school yearbook. She touched on what was going on with Tyler and his new girlfriend, including how he brought Zoe to her soccer game that day. Kept it vague, skimmed over the trigger points.

"Damn," Jay said. "I don't think I've ever seen Tyler with a girl. Right? Unless I wasn't paying attention?"

Rory closed her eyes as she rested her head back on the driver's seat. She was supposed to grab some snacks for tonight but was now sufficiently late in delivering them. Talking to Jay made her feel calmer though, and the last thing she wanted to do was hang up.

Especially after the way he'd called her baby.

"No, you're right," she answered. "I've never seen him with a girl."

"Probably because he's always been so obsessed with you," Jay mumbled. "But hey, looks like he's moved on."

Her stomach dropped. She hated that it mattered so much to her. Was there a chance that he was doing it to spite her?

No, he's not like that, she reassured herself. Even if Tyler was different from the others, he was still a guy. Moving from one girl to the next was like a teenage rite of passage…right?

She sighed as she got out of the car, making her way toward the entrance of the store. "What snacks should I get for tonight?"

"Takis, duh," Jay said. "Oooooh, and what about those, like, Reese's snack mix bags?"

"I see college hasn't changed the range of your palette."

"Basically the only thing that hasn't changed." His honesty resonated through the phone's speaker.

Her heart twisted. She'd spent all of this time talking about herself and hadn't even bothered to ask him about college or how he was doing. Given his incessant texting and his ability to chat with her for almost an hour on the phone, let alone on a Saturday night, something was definitely off.

"Shouldn't you be out partying?" she asked.

"Overrated," Jay answered.

Her mind drifted to all the times Jay had itched to go to parties over the years, always trying to weasel his way out of closing the shop or sending them rallying messages. "I'm sorry, but that's the least Jay-like thing you have ever said to me."

"Yeah, well, turns out college isn't exactly what I thought it would be."

She wanted to push him, to dig and find out what was really going on with him.

She turned the corner into the snack aisle and found Jess. She wore the all-black Post Road Market employee uniform and was in the middle of restocking chips, looking rather pissed with each bag she threw onto the shelves.

"Oh my god, Jess is here," she whispered into her phone, stepping back so she wouldn't spot her. "Since when does she work at the grocery store?"

"Since always," Jay answered. "She's helping the bakery make cakes."

Rory's mouth fell open. "How did you know about her second job and I didn't?"

"Because, believe it or not, I actually listen when my friends talk to me."

"Aww, we're your friends? I thought we were all beneath you," she cooed.

He chuckled. "Not sure if Jess would actually consider me a friend, but she did tell me about her off-season gig."

"Well, she's not working on the cakes at the moment. She's currently restocking chips, and not looking too pleased about it." Rory was peeking around the Pringles pyramid, watching Jess aggressively handle the innocent chip bags, which were probably all crumbs at this point.

"Is her face all red like it got when you made her drop that cake?"

"Okay, you know what?" she said, fighting a smile. "That was an honest mistake, and again, it happened one time."

Jay laughed loudly, his voice echoing off what sounded like an empty room. "But the look on Jess's face when her beautiful cake was smeared all over that carpet? Never forget."

Rory shook her head. "Should I talk to her?"

"I'm going to go with no."

Before she could slink away, Jess looked up and caught Rory's eye. She tossed the bag she was holding, pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, and crossed her arms.

"She sees me, I better go," she mumbled.

"Tell Mom I said hi," Jay said. He always referred to Jess as his work mom. "And call me later if, you know, you want to?"

Rory's heart broke a little at the vulnerability in his voice. Throughout the past week texting him, she wondered if maybe he was talking to her because she brought him comfort—a piece of home he could easily access with a few taps on a screen. But all of the flirting and the innuendos he sent over text meant something, right? He did just call her baby, a first for the two of them.

She had no idea what to think, but after crushing on Jay for so long, Rory was a little too curious not to find out.

"Yeah, okay," she said gently. "I'll call you when I get home."

She hung up the phone as she approached Jess, who was now staring at the bags of chips, her arms still crossed tightly against her black polo.

"You're a long way from the cake aisle," Rory teased.

Jess blew at a blonde strand of hair in front of her face. "If you're just going to mock me, then buzz off."

Her eyes went wide. Jess was angry angry. "Why are you restocking the chips?"

"Because we're understaffed, and apparently my asshole manager thinks this is a better use of my time," Jess explained. "Not like he actually looks at the numbers. If he did, he would see that the cakes are his bestselling items and we should probably double our output. But that would be too smart of a move for that little shit."

Rory couldn't help but chuckle. Jess was always a fireball compared to the rest of them—all business and no play. It's probably why she got along with Calvin so well. The only times she saw Jess let loose was at their annual Haverfest beach bonfire, when she unveiled whatever disgusting ice cream cake combination she made for them to eat. She'd actually seen Jess smile for the first time that past summer, which was saying a lot, given that she'd known her for almost three years.

"That…sucks, I'm sorry. Need any help?"

Jess rolled her eyes. "I don't need a handout, Gilmore."

She tensed. She hated when anyone called her that, but she also didn't want to argue with Jess. She was clearly pissed and wanted nothing to do with her right now. "I—okay, sorry I asked. Just here to get snacks and leave."

"Good," Jess said. She turned back to her box of chips and resumed tossing them onto the shelves.

Rory grabbed a few bags, far from where Jess was stocking to make sure her chips were actually intact, then hesitated before turning to leave. "Um, good to see you, Jess. And Jay said to say hi to his mom."

Jess perked up, looking over at Rory. "Jay? You talked to him?"

Rory shrugged. "Yeah, that was him on the phone actually. We've been talking."

"Like…talking, talking? What happened to Tyler?"

To her shock, Jess seemed invested. Probably wondering what happened after the Great Scoops Showdown. When everything had gone to shit.

"Tyler has a girlfriend," Rory admitted. "If you picked up a newspaper last week you would have seen her. He's quite literally Haverport royalty now."

"Wow," Jess breathed. "I honestly never thought Tyler would get over you. Seems weird."

"Um—"

"And Jay? Does he like you?" Jess asked. Before Rory could answer, Jess shook her head. "God, forget I asked. I literally do not care about this."

Rory smirked. "Seems like you do a little bit."

"Nope." She was back to restocking her bags. "The opposite actually. Couldn't care less."

Her face fell. She turned to walk toward the checkout.

"Wait, Rory."

She whirled back around, startled to find Jess sauntering across the linoleum floor.

"But if I did care," she said, stopping when her shoes almost touched Rory's, "you could probably talk to me. I know things haven't been…easy."

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

"People talk," Jess explained. "I know your mom took that bartending gig at Wilson's. And that Melanie hasn't been doing well."

Her throat tightened. Okay, maybe she didn't want Jess to care. This was crossing the line.

"I'm—fine. Really. Cool as a cucumber." She winced after she said it, feeling like she'd hit an advanced level of awkwardness.

Jess's brows furrowed. "I don't believe you. But fine, forget I said anything." She turned on her heel and walked to her boxes, not bothering to look back in Rory's direction.

Rory bought her snacks, her insides churning. When had Jess ever cared about her? It had been obvious that Jess favored Melanie after their summer working together at Scoops. It only took a few months for Jess to ask Melanie to help her with making the ice cream cakes, a job she never trusted the rest of the Scoopers with. Rory tried not to be bitter, not to show how much it stung.

So what changed? And did Rory just screw it all up by pushing her away?

She groaned, resting her head against the steering wheel of her car. She was really good at pushing people away. Maybe that was what she should major in if she went to college.

* * *

The following morning,Rory poured her coffee to the brim with a loud yawn. She hadn't stayed long at the party, just a couple hours of screaming rowdy chants and singing through their game-day playlist one last time before they all dissolved into a puddle of tears and told each other how much they were going to miss this. Rory didn't drink—she wasn't ready. And thankfully, it meant she got to drive home that night and tuck into her own bed instead of on Kayla's couch or one of the deflated air mattresses on the floor.

As promised, she called Jay when she got home, talking to him for another half hour on speakerphone as she got ready for bed. He kept asking her if she was okay, wanting to know if she was feeling better from before. Despite her conversation with Jess, which still made her feel a little on edge, she did feel better. Even though Jay had his moments of being a complete dickhead, he was also a loyal friend. He stayed on the phone with her until she was in bed and her eyes were drooping.

She took a slurp of her coffee and carefully balanced it as she went out to the back deck, sliding the glass door open and stepping out into the chilly air. Fall had officially made its appearance. The trees were covered in burnt oranges and reds, leaves slowly gliding down and settling on the damp earth in her backyard. She shivered, tucking her knees inside her big sweatshirt as she leaned back in one of their plastic Adirondack chairs. Gabi hadn't woken her to talk through their fight before leaving for her shift, but she did leave half a pot of coffee, which almost felt like an apology. While hot coffee would generally be the way to her heart, she knew it wasn't going to work this time. There was a lot more baggage between the two of them that needed settling.

She heard a door swing open and watched as a flurry of pink charged at her. Bea took the stairs two at a time as she climbed up Rory's deck.

"Rory, are you free today? Can you take me to Lacey's?"

"BEA!"

Mrs. Chapman was now standing on the deck next door in a bathrobe, hands on her hips, her hair still tucked in a silky black bonnet.

"Morning, Mrs. Chapman."

"Rory, I'm so sorry. She has clearly lost her manners."

She chuckled, turning to Bea. "What's going on, girlie?"

"I need to go to Lacey's today," Bea rushed out. "They finally restocked their friendship necklaces and all the girls at school are wearing them and I just have to have one before they sell out or I'm going to positively die of embarrassment. Do you want that for me, Rory? To die an unexpected death as an adorable sixth grader?"

She couldn't help but laugh at how serious Bea looked after her breathless monologue, which seemed to only frustrate the girl. Bea was already dressed for the day, wearing a pink cable-knit sweater and a matching frilly skirt, her feet tucked into a fuzzy pair of hot pink boots.

"Sure, Bea bear, I'll go."

She squealed, throwing her arms around Rory's neck.

Mrs. Chapman rolled her eyes. "You better buy Ms. Rory some lunch, Bea."

"Oh I will," Bea said, looking elated. "Anything you want, on me."

"Steak dinner?"

"Okay, maybe not that. Something a sixth grader's allowance can afford."

"So…grinders?"

Her eyes sparkled at the mention of her favorite food. Rory knew exactly the way to her heart, it was dangerous. She was pretty sure she was bound to spoil Bea for a long time to come.

* * *

After securingthe necklaces—one of which hung around her neck after some clever convincing—she took Bea over to the deli. They split an Italian grinder with the works: salami, ham, shredded lettuce, tomato, pickled banana peppers, oil, and oregano. Bea chomped away at her half, her hot pink boots swinging happily beneath her.

Rory smiled. "Thanks for lunch, Bea bear."

"Thanks for the chips and the soda," she answered, digging her hand in a large bag of salt and vinegar chips between them. "And for taking me to Lacey's. Mom was moving so slowly, and Tyler was being lazy and still sleeping."

"Past ten? You sure it was Tyler?"

She expected Bea to laugh, but she just growled. "He was out late with her again."

Rory tensed. "Oh."

Bea rolled her eyes. "That's all he does these days, it's dumb. I don't like her."

"Hey now, that's not—"

Bea rolled her eyes again. She was such a sassy middle schooler, and Rory loved every minute of it. "Come on, do you like her?"

"She's nice."

Bea glared back at her.

"Bea! She's nice!"

"You're lying. I know when you're lying."

Rory shook her head. Unfortunately, Bea would know if she was lying. None of them could ever get anything past this girl. Tyler and her always joked that she'd make a great lawyer. In pink, of course. Always in pink.

"I'm not lying about this, she is really nice," she said honestly. "But I don't know her. I don't know if I can trust her yet."

Bea took a silent bite, her little mind thinking it through. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

She coughed, some of her soda almost spilling out of her nose. "Uh, no. I don't."

Bea grumbled, looking back down at her sandwich. "It just doesn't make sense to me," she whispered.

Rory frowned. "What doesn't?"

Bea shook her head. "Nothing, forget it."

They rode in silence back to Misty Bay. Rory offered Bea her phone so she could pick the music, but Bea shook her head, the little one lost in her thoughts. She remained quiet for the rest of the drive until Rory pulled onto their road. Bea sat up straight, lifting her hand.

"Who's that?" Bea pointed.

She pulled into her driveway and parked, then looked where Bea was pointing, up at a tall form leaning against her porch.

Her heart started pounding.

Bea grinned, showing her little crooked teeth. "You sure you don't have a boyfriend?"

He smiled at the sight of her and winked in her direction.

Jay. He was home.