"Mom"
"Yeah?"
"I'm pregnant."
Lorelai went to put her bottle of champagne down and then promptly lifted it again. She filled her glass and gulped its contents. She filled it again. The liquid rapidly bubbled toward the rim, hugging the edges of the glass as it threatened to overfill.
"Are you celebrating?" asked Rory. Her eyes studied her mother. Lorelai didn't falter.
"Are we?" Lorelai tipped her glass toward Rory and waited. Rory shifted her gaze. She stared intently at her hands, as if she might find the answer in between her cold fingers.
Lorelai reached out, took her daughter's hand into her own and squeezed gently. Rory looked up and met her gaze. Rory stared blankly at her mother and remained silent.
"Who's the father?" asked Lorelai quietly. Her voice was soft and without judgment but the cadence was uneven and uncomfortable.
"Logan."
"You're positive?"
"I'm positive," responded Rory quickly. She pulled her hand away to fidget with the hem of her sweater. Her fingers retreated into the soft burgundy sweater.
"Does he know?"
"No."
"Give me something to work with here, kid," encouraged Lorelai. She set the champagne aside, moving closer to Rory on the gazebo until their sides were touching. "I'm here for you. Whatever you need. Talk to me."
Rory sunk her head into her mother's shoulder. Her face was stoic. Lorelai instinctively wrapped her arm around Rory. They sat in silence for a long moment, watching the town hum around them. People offered their polite congratulations on the wedding as they passed, but gave the pair their space.
"You're the first person I told. It makes it feel…" Rory trailed off, showing no interest in finishing her sentence.
"Let's get inside." Lorelai helped her daughter to her feet. "Let's get some – let's go get some hot chocolate."
Rory and Lorelai sat at the kitchen table with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate and a half empty bag of marshmallows sitting between them. As Lorelai methodically launched marshmallows into Rory's hot chocolate, the warmth from the mug seemed to bring Rory back to life.
"I just found out," volunteered Rory, chasing the words with a large sip of hot chocolate. "Well, I found out a few weeks ago. I wanted to wait. I didn't want to ruin anything for you. I didn't want to ruin your wedding. I didn't - "
"You've kept this to yourself for a few weeks?"
"I just didn't want to -"
"You've kept this to yourself three – four weeks?!" exclaimed Lorelai, slapping the table in her exaggerated surprise. The mugs shook dangerously, threatening to spill the hot liquid onto the table. "You should have told me, Rory."
"I didn't want - "
"You're not ruining anything," insisted Lorelai.
"I haven't told Logan yet," repeated Rory.
"When are you going to?"
"Should I?" queried Rory. "It's all messed up, Mom."
"Rory - "
"What do I do? Just call him up and say, 'Hey Logan, I know we said our goodbyes to each other for forever and had one last great night together and all and that was great, and now from that one last great night together, I'm having your child, but you're still engaged to your beautiful French heiress fiancé that your family adores and…'"
"Well that's a start. Maybe add a breath in there somewhere, but a great start," responded Lorelai.
Rory's hands cradled her head, massaging the front of her forehead. "What do I do?"
"What do you want to do?"
Rory paused, gathering her thoughts and spinning her mug on the table. She watched the marshmallows bobble in the hot liquid, slowly melting into a white froth. Delaying, she added another marshmallow to the mug.
"I don't need him," she said slowly, gauging her mother's reaction. "He doesn't have to be involved. I mean, I don't not want him to be involved. But he doesn't have to be involved. He doesn't have to end things with Odette. I don't want to force him to raise this child. This doesn't have to change anything."
"Rory, this will change everything," insisted Lorelai. "Whether you want it to change or not, things are going to change."
"So, what do I do?"
"You figure out what you want. You call him. You tell him."
"I just call him?"
Lorelai nodded. "He deserves to at least know."
"Even if it ruins everything?"
"What's the alternative? Your kid hunts him down a decade from now for some science fair project?" retorted Lorelai, bitterness seeping into her warning. She forced a laugh, recognizing the rising tension. "It's not as fun as it sounds."
Rory picked up her phone abruptly. Her fingers trembled as she tapped the screen.
"What are you doing?" continued Lorelai.
"Calling him."
"Calling Logan?"
"Calling Logan," confirmed Rory.
"Right now?" exclaimed Lorelai, grabbing for Rory's phone. "Don't you think you should think this through?"
"Right now." Rory held the phone to her face, pushing Lorelai's hands away from the phone. "Before I talk myself out of it."
"Are you sure?" questioned Lorelai.
"Sh!" hushed Rory, before her face turned into complete panic. "His voicemail – what do I do?"
"Leave a message!" encouraged Lorelai. "No! Hang up!"
The phone beeped.
"I – uh – Hey, Logan. It's Rory. Rory Gilmore. I was just calling to – uh – We need to talk. Oh – uh – don't panic. Nothing bad. Or – uh - We just –um – I'm pregnant," blurted Rory. She pulled the phone away from her face, her eyes wide with frenzy. She took a deep breath and returned the phone to her ear. "Sorry. I didn't mean to tell you like that. Look, you don't have to have any responsibility in this. I just wanted you to know. That's it. Call me back, and we can talk about this. Sorry."
She hung up the phone and crumbled onto the table. She pulled her arms over her head, hiding her face in a mess of hair and limbs.
"Mom," she called, her words muffled by her arms.
"I know, sweetie. I know."