Tiskets, Taskets and Tristans
3
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“Where
is my mother?” Rory asked pacing near the auction block where
auctioneer.
“I
don’t know,” answered Sookie at her side, “I lost her at the bend”
“We
have a bend?”
“…Thank
you!”
completed a bid, “…now this one may not look like much…”
“That’s
hers!” Rory pointed.
“Where
could she be?” Sookie looked around at all the people in the center.
“I’m
gonna kill her!”
“Can
we start the bidding at five dollars?”
announced but no one spoke up, “No? How about two fifty?
“Five
dollars!” a muffled voice from the back cried out.
“Now
were talking!”
looked up at the crowd, “We have five, do I hear seven?”
“Seven!”
the same voice from the back.
“Umm…
“Ten!”
the same voice again.
“Oh
no” Rory deduced
“What?”
Sookie asked innocently but just as quick figured it out too, “Oh…”
“Excuse
me sir, but I don’t think you understand how this works”
person bidding in the back.
“Fifteen!”
the same voice pressed on behind a fisherman’s hat.
Mrs.
Patty made her way towards the back.
“Seventeen!”
bidder hardly surprising anyone.
“Twenty?”
Lorelai asked all the disapproving looks before slumping her shoulders in
resignation, “Oww…”
“That
was you great plan?!” Rory asked her mother when Lorelai made her way towards
the girls.
“It
almost worked!” Sookie said encouraging.
“Yeah…
“Now,
well, if we can continue, ”
asked looking at Lorelai pointedly, “I think we were at two fifty for this
basket?”
“Ten
bucks” Luke came to the rescue.
“Sold!”
his gabble before any further interruptions could pop up.
“My
hero!” Lorelai cried out in mock swoon…
During
the commotion, nobody noticed the sleek silver sports car that pulled into
viewing distance. Tristan looked on with
mild amusement. He recognized half of
the people from one of the previous times he had made the trip so he was pretty
sure that Rory would be around there too, somewhere…
hit it getting into the car, stupid Lexus…
Tristan pressed the button by the door and the window rolled down
smoothly letting the sounds of the town enter…
“Sold!
“I
have a name,” Kirk walked up to the podium, “you know my name.”
“Fine,”
annoyed, “sold to Kirk for seventeen
fifty… Now here we have…”
Tristan
spotted Rory just in time to see her point to the basket and then herself.
Rory
Blood
rushed to his ears as his stomach tightened and flipped a couple of times.
“Five
dollars!” a voice called from the crowd.
“We
have five dollars!”
roared, “Do we hear ten?”
“Ten
dollars!” a different voice, a young man Rory did not recognize.
“What’s
going on?” Rory looked around confused, “Where did these people come from?”
“Fifteen!”
“Oh
no… Miss Patty…” Lorelai remembered.
“Do
those guys have pictures of me?!”
Rory gasped.
“…Twenty
five dollars!” came another voice.
“We
have twenty five dollars!”
pressed.
“No!”
Rory tried to no avail.
“Thirty
dollars!” yet another voice, possibly the same that bid the first five.
“Wait!”
Rory cried to no one in particular.
“Forty
five!” definitely a new voice somewhere in the back.
“Stop
it!” Rory pointed at the crowd angrily.
Somewhere in the back Lorelai stifled a laugh.
“A
hundred dollars!” came a voice even further from the back shutting everybody
up.
“Whaa...?”
Miss Patty drawled out craning her neck to see.
She had said fifty dollars, that was the limit! Why couldn’t people follow
directions!
“Who’s
that?” Lorelai asked though Rory could not really say.
something about the tousled hair looked familiar to her.
Tristan
at the other end of the crowd grew impatient thinking his offer was being taken
for granted, “Two hundred dollars!”
The
murmuring of the crowd pleased him.
Surely he’d been noticed now.
Sure enough, he had to smile when he noticed recognition dawn on Rory’s
beautiful face. Taylor, who thought the
whole thing was just another of Lorelai’s childish pranks was not amused.
“Now
listen here young man! This is a serious
event! We are trying to raise money
for--“
“Three
hundred!” Tristan called out not batting an eye.
“No!
wait!”
“Who
is that hon?” Lorelai worried. Sookie
looked on enthralled.
“Wait
here” Rory said walking away from her mother.
“Hon!”
“It’s
Tristan” Rory breathed out offering no further words before disappearing into
the very curious crowd.
“Who?”
Rory heard Sookie ask innocently...
“Do
you understand”
admonished, “That these are American
dollars you are calling out young man?!”
When
Tristan ducking into his car he snidely commented to Kirk who stood next to him
pawing his basket, “I thought so… kids these days… so disrespectful…”
not notice Tristan coming out of his car again, jacket in hand. Nor did
taking out a slim checkbook from the chest pocket of the jacket,
“Four
hundred dollars!” Tristan slammed four crisp new bills on the hood of his
car. He noticed Rory gaining on
him. He hoped this little game with the
overgrown Keebler elf was drawing to a close.
Indeed,
the second Kirk noticed the bills lying on the hood of the car he grabbed
out, “Sold!”
“What
are you doing here?” Rory broke through the crowd.
listening in on the mystery man with the flashy car or watching
only one who can officially…”
“Is
that how you say hello to an old friend?” Tristan tried out his most composed
stance.
“You’re
drunk!” Rory pulled back smelling the alcohol on his skin.
“Probably”
Tristan said matter-of-factly, so much for composed.
Rory
looked around at the people watching them, “…furthermore!
As the official town auctioneer…” then grabbed Tristan pulling him away
from the throng by the arm.
“Well
I did suspect that you missed me, but in public, right in front of --“
“Didn’t
you get sent away? How did you get out?”
Rory asked her visitor roughly pushing him behind a tree.
“It’s
military school Mary, not jail.” Tristan spat out brushing bits of bark from
his shoulders, “They do let you come
home to spend some time with the house
help every once in a while.”
“Fine,
but what are you doing here?!” she hissed accusingly.
“Participating
in some small town fundraising? What’s
in that basket anyway?” Tristan raised an eyebrow.
“You’ve
got to be kidding me?” Rory was not amused.
Her eyes were filled with a frustrated hatred Tristan had only seen too
many times before.
“Right…
and obviously getting the same welcome I received at home.” Tristan said
soberly. Straightening himself he turned
around and started to walk back to his car.
“This
was a mistake” He said more to himself than anyone within earshot.
didn’t quite recognize.
“Tristan”
He didn’t stop.
“Tristan
wait!” Rory cried out annoyed but Tristan did not slow down, the money slipped
and fell on the floor unceremoniously, “What about the auction!”
“I’ll
pick you up at seven thirty. Wear
black.” He called not breaking his stride, okay,
maybe it wasn’t such a mistake...
“It’s
supposed to be a picnic lunch!” Rory stamped her foot in frustration but he was
already in his car, which pulled out smoothly with barely a sound leaving an
astonished crowd behind which promptly turned to the other spectacle before
them, “If you ever touch my gable again!...”