DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gilmore Girls, The OC, or either of the two shows' characters.
Author's note: I'm a new GG fan, so I might not have Lorelai's character acting very similar to how she acts in the show, but I tried my best. I had this idea for a few weeks and wanted to see where it went. Please let me know what you think!
Sandy sat in a small, but packed café, a few miles away from his apartment he shared with 3 friends while attending law school. Finals were almost here and if he had any chance of passing his Litigations exam, he had better be studying as much as he could, which meant being as far away from his crazy roommates as possible, who were back home drinking beer while watching the basketball season's opening game.
He had just opened his book and began reading when he couldn't help but look up at the sound of a young woman who had an east coast accent start babbling about a coffee lid.
"I just don't understand why you don't offer coffee to go? You know there is a thing called a lid, and you put it over the rim of the coffee, it keeps the coffee from spilling…although it doesn't always work, because there was this one time, I was in a really big rush, Rory was going to her first day of preschool, and I ran, like literally ran to the car with it, and the lid didn't do its job, but in any other case, it does."
Sandy was amused with this woman's ability to carry on a conversation in a coffee shop that was completely filled – all starting to stare at her. There was something about her, her vibrant conversation, the way she used her hands to describe a coffee lid, the expressions she made as she babbled on, it definitely got Sandy's attention.
"Mam I'm sorry, we do not have to-go service," said the hostess.
"Are you people so desperate for a tip that you don't offer to-go service? I mean come on, what's a person going to leave as a tip for being served coffee anyway?"
"I'm sorry, I can take your name and you can wait for a table if you want."
"Whatever happened to counter service? I'd even take that!" the woman continued on, still not able to believe there was no to-go service.
"Actually, she's with me. Sorry about that!" Sandy said with half astonishment and half nervousness in his voice. He couldn't believe he was standing 2 feet from this woman, defending her, but somehow, something told him that he wanted to get to know her, have a conversation with her. Even if that meant embarrassing himself in front of a whole café full of people, he was willing to do it.
Lorelai Gilmore turned around, surprised when she heard someone defending her. "Hi?" she said with a smile on her face, a bit unsure of what to say to this stranger who she was now supposedly meeting here, but at the same time wanting to accept his offer as she was really craving a coffee badly.
Sandy smiled and said, "Hi, shall I take you to the table?" She was more beautiful up close than he thought. She had dark blue eyes that looked intriguing and mysterious and a smile that could light up a room a mile away.
"I was just kidding," Lorelai said with a smile to the hostess, who just stared at her in confusion, "but seriously, you guys should think about lids!" She then turned to her left and looked down, saying, "Come on Rory, change of plans, we're going to have a snack here before heading to the motel."
Sandy turned around and looked for who she was talking to. He hadn't seen anyone with her while she entertained the whole café with her lecture on a coffee lid. Hiding behind her was a little girl, no more than 3 feet high, who looked exactly like this woman. She was busy playing with a Barbie in one hand and holding as what he presumed was her mother's hand in the other.
When they all made it through the crowded tables and reached Sandy's, Sandy pulled out both chairs saying, "Sit, do you need a menu?"
"Rory, honey, what do you want? We aren't at Luke's, so I don' think they'll fix you up the 'Rory Special'."
Lorelai looked back at Sandy to explain, saying, "The 'Rory Special' is a cookie dipped into hot fudge with a scoop of ice cream on the side."
The girl, still preoccupied with her Barbies, just shrugged her shoulders.
"Okay, so then you want a chocolate chip muffin and a glass of milk?"
The little girl shook her head "yes", still not amazed by anything that had happened in the past few minutes.
"Thank you," Lorelai said smiling as she looked at Sandy, "that was really, really nice of you to let us join you. When I'm craving a coffee, I can be very embarrassing. One time, when Luke was out of coffee, I told him that if he didn't make a pot that very second, I'd learn how to use a coffee pot. It was really funny, although he didn't think it was that funny. He just gave me that stare of his, you know that kind he makes when you tell him a joke but since he doesn't get many of my jokes, okay actually you don't know Luke so why am I telling you this again? Sorry, I tend to talk a lot. I'm Lorelai," she smiled and reached out her hand. "And this is my daughter, Rory."
"I'm Sandy, it's a pleasure to meet you, and you too, Rory," Sandy said as he looked at Rory and smiled.
Rory, still playing, was nudged by her mother playfully, "Rory, what did I teach you to do when you're introduced to someone?"
"Hi, Mister, it's a pleasure to meet you," Rory said with a small smile.
"Thanks, you can call me Sandy," Sandy said a bit awkwardly. He had never been with a woman on a date who had a child. "Was this even a date?" He thought to himself, "Maybe she's married. She did mention Luke." He added in, "And don't be sorry, you're stories are very interesting. I gotta say, it doesn't look like you need coffee to me," with a laugh.
The waitress then came and took Lorelai and Rory's order.
"A lot of people say that," Lorelai laughed. She noticed Sandy's books on the table and said, "I'm not intruding, am I?"
"Not at all. I needed a break from the books. The end of the semester, it can make you go crazy, you know?"
"Well, I haven't done the whole college thing, but I know what you mean, about something that can make you go crazy!" Making sure Rory was preoccupied with her dolls, Lorelai continued in a more quiet voice, "My parents, they make me crazy. It's why I moved out at 16. So believe me, I understand what you're going through," she said reassuringly.
"You moved out at 16?" Sandy said with surprise in his voice.
"Yeah, I needed to," Lorelai said seriously, suddenly feeling awkward. Maybe Sandy wouldn't understand her situation. She'd dealt with some people who didn't understand, so maybe this guy was one of them.
Noticing how her face had gone from smiley and bright to serious and sad, Sandy corrected himself, "No, I mean, I did too. I'm just surprised that I met someone else who did."
"You did? Get out!" Lorelai said with a small laugh, relieved that her suspicions were inaccurate.
Lorelai and Rory's food arrived. Lorelai broke Rory's cookie into small pieces for her and helped her eat.
Sandy was amazed at how good a mother Lorelai was. He figured that she couldn't have been over 21 years old, yet she really knew how to be a mother to her daughter. "So, I'm going to take a wild guess that you're from the east coast, somewhere around New York?" Sandy said with a smile.
"Close. Connecticut. And I'm going to take a wild guess that you're from the east coast, and I'm going to say that you're from New York City?"
"Yup. The Bronx. So how did we both end up on the west coast? I guess you could say our parents really did drive us crazy. Crazy enough to make us move this far," Sandy said with a laugh.
"Actually, I still live in Connecticut. Stars Hollow to be exact. It's about 20 minutes from where they live."
Sandy was a little disappointed when he heard this. He had just assumed that this woman lived out here, close to him.
Lorelai looked down and rubbed her finger around the rim of the coffee cup saying, "But, you could say that we live on opposite coasts, we haven't spoken to each other since I was 16."
Sandy, not wanting to bring up a subject that looked like it was very personal, said, "So what brings you here?" Hoping, as he asked this, that she wasn't going to say, "My husband, he's on a business trip."
"We needed to get away, right kid?" Lorelai said as she rubbed her hand through her daughter's head. "I really don't know what I want to do with my life right now. I'm working at a motel chain back home. My ultimate goal is to open up a bed and breakfast, so I thought that maybe I'd come out here and tour California, it seems like a good market to open one. Plus, Rory really wants to go to DisneyLand, so we'll be doing that too, right baby?" she said looking at Rory.
Hearing DisneyLand, Rory smiled excitedly.
"How long are you here for?" Sandy asked inquisitively.
"I'm not sure. Since I'm staying at my job's motel here, and this motel needs extra help, they said I could resume my job here if I want. Don't worry, I'm not going to live in the motel. I'm still on vacation right now. I'm not going to decide that until after New Year's."
"Ah, so you'll be here for another 3 weeks?" Sandy said excitedly.
"Yup. Rory's preschool is on vacation till mid-January so I guess we could stay till then if we want. I'm not sure yet though. So tell me about yourself. What are you going to school for?"
"I'm in my second year of law school. I have an internship at the public defender's office a few towns over. I enjoy surfing and skiing. I live with 3 roommates in an apartment that's not even big enough for one of us. And, I enjoy taking walks on the beach to watch the sunset."
"Wow, you could give me a run for my money, you're quite the talker, too!" Lorelai said winking.
"I think you beat me on that one."
An awkward silence followed the conversation. Up till now, it had been flowing non-stop.
Sandy was really starting to like Lorelai. "She hadn't mentioned anything about a guy, and she wouldn't be sitting here over coffee with him if she had a boyfriend? Right? And she wouldn't be away from a boyfriend she had back home and not give him a definite date of how long her trip was? Right?" Before he could let anymore questions into his mind, he daringly said, "I'm not being nosy, but, are you married?"
"No, no, I'm not married." Again, looking at Rory to make sure she was preoccupied, Lorelai said quietly, "Rory's dad and I split up when she was a year old. We weren't married though. I've been on a few dates, but its hard. Rory comes first, and most guys I date can't understand that."
"Oh. I understand that. What would you say if I asked you and Rory out to dinner tomorrow night?"
"I'd say yes. Rory, what do you say? Want to go out for dinner with Sandy tomorrow?" she said smiling.
"Okay," Rory said pleasantly.
"Alright, dinner it is. I look forward to it," Sandy said, looking Lorelai in the eyes.
"Me too," she smiled back and for once, was speechless as she gazed into Sandy's deep blue eyes, mesmorized in them. "Well Rory, what do you say we get going? It's getting past your bed time," Lorelai said as she continued to glance at Sandy.
"I say we stay here longer. I'm having fun and you are too," Rory giggled.
"I'm glad you're having fun, baby, but its getting late. We'll see you tomorrow Sandy," Lorelai said as she put money on the table for her and Rory's food.
"It's on me," Sandy said as he put the money back in her hands, briefly touching for a second.
Lorelai smiled at Sandy. This trip just started and it was definitely better than she expected.