Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls or the characters. It would be really cool if I did.
Synopsis: What if Lorelai had been pregnant with twins? What if she and Christopher had gotten married? What if they had another child years later? How would things turn out for her and the kids. This is my take on that idea.
AN: Thank you all so much for all the reviews, follows, and faves. Ya'll are awesome, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
A Place to Call Home
Chapter 2: No Hard Feelings
It had been three days since Lorelai and the kids had moved to Stars Hollow. They had spent the time unpacking. Lorelai was happy the furniture finally came and the kids didn't have to sleep in sleeping bags on the floor anymore.
Rory and Ryan were given permission to explore the town as long as they stayed together. Ruby, on the other hand, was not happy that she couldn't tag along with her older siblings. 'Not fair', 'Boring', and 'Uncool' were just a few of the phrases she used to describe her dissatisfaction of the situation.
She was now standing in front of the Independence Inn with Lorelai. "This is soo boooring." She made sure to drag out the so and the boring for dramatic effect.
Lorelai turned around and knelt down so that she was eye to eye with her little girl. "Ruby, I'm going to need you to be my sweet girl today."
Ruby kept her pouty face.
"It is very important that mommy gets this job. Actually everything is riding on me getting this job. I don't have any other plans or options. So please be good and sweet. If I get it, I will get you the biggest ice cream sundae you've ever had." Lorelai was not against bribery, if it worked.
Ruby put her hands on her hips. She wasn't impressed. "What if they don't have ice cream in this town? I haven't seen any yet." She asked.
"Oh Ruby, please," Lorelai put her head in her hands. It was her fault Ruby was so damn attentive. It was exactly how she was raising her to be. Lorelai looked back at her daughter. "I can almost guarantee that this town has ice cream. You have to trust me on that, okay." She felt like she was saying that an awful lot lately. She hoped all of her children trusted her to make the right decisions for their family.
Ruby nodded.
"Alright, let's do this." Lorelai grabbed her hand and led her into the Inn. She took it all in.
It was exactly how she imagined it would be. Perfect. "I want you to take this bag of fun things and sit on that couch right over there." She pointed to the couch in the center of the room. "Don't move and don't talk to anyone." Lorelai told her as she kissed her forehead. Fortunately, Ruby did as she was told.
Lorelai took a deep breath and exhaled, as she made her way to the front desk, where a grumpy young man was handing out room keys.
"Hi," Lorelai greeted him.
He looked up from his notebook and then back down without speaking to her.
Lorelai rolled her eyes. Of course this wasn't going to be easy. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with a jerk. "Yes. Excuse me." She tried to get him to look up at her but to no avail. "I think I need your help."
"Are you checking in?" He asked with his deep French accent, still not looking up from his notebook.
"No. I'm actually looking for Mia."
"Oh well then you don't need my help. My job is to check people in and answer the phone. But I do not have to help you find Mia. Not in my job description." The man said rudely without ever looking up at her. "Goodbye now." He finally looked up and flashed her a sheepish smile.
"Excuse me!" Lorelai was fed up. Most days she would let this go, but today was not most days. "Hey," she leaned over the desk and pulled his shirt so that she could see his name tap. "Michel." She didn't care if she pronounced it right or not.
"Hey!" Michel exclaimed. "Get your hands off of me. You are invading my personal space and I don't appreciate it."
"I don't appreciate your disgraceful attitude. You don't have to be a jerk just because you can." Lorelai growled at him. "You are the first person that people see when they come into the Inn. You are the first person they talk to, and you should at least be respectful to them." Lorelai didn't realize that people were not looking at her. Everyone but Ruby, who was focused on her bag of fun. "You never know what a person is going through and how your words will affect the rest of their day. It may not be your job to find Mia for me, but I'm pretty sure being nice is a part of your job description. And if it isn't then this is not I place I would ever want to work." She shook her head and let out a loud sigh.
"Are you finished humiliating yourself?" Michel asked as he pointed to all the staring eyes.
Lorelai looked around and composed herself to the best of her ability. 'Great,' she thought. She was not making a very good first impression on her new town. But she was not going to let Michel ruin her day. "Only if you are going to help me."
"Excuse me," A woman tapped on her shoulder.
"Hi," Lorelai gave her a nervous look.
"I think you may be looking for me. I'm Mia." She extended her hand, and Lorelai nervously shook it.
She dropped her head in embarrassment. The person who was supposed to give her a job had just seen her have a meltdown. She could feel Michel's eyes smirking at her. "Oh no." Lorelai ran her fingers through her hair and began nervously fidgeting. "I should just go. I'm sorry for causing a scene." She turned towards Ruby.
"Wait a minute." Mia stopped her. "I thought I heard you say you were looking me Mia. Well I'm Mia."
"Yes. But I think I just realized I need to go hang myself instead." Lorelai only half-joked.
Mia looked at Michel. "Not a word." She warned him. She looked at Lorelai. "Why don't you follow me?"
"Really?" Lorelai was surprised.
"Yes." Mia pointed to the hallway that Lorelai assumed led to her office.
Lorelai started to follow her. "Oh wait. My daughter is right over there."
"Oh not a problem. Michel will watch her. Right Michel." She dared him to say no with one look.
"Of course, Mia." He glared at Lorelai. He didn't know why she was here, but he hoped that she didn't stay.
She was sure that she was never going to get a job now. It was waste of time. Her mother would be so embarrassed of the way she had acted.
They walked into a small office. Mia made her way behind her desk and gestured for Lorelai to sit down. "What is your name, sweetheart?"
"Oh it is Lorelai. Lorelai Gilmore."
"That is such a beautiful name." Mia told her.
"Thank you. I've always been a fan of Gilmore. My ex-husband wasn't too happy when we got married and I told him that I wasn't changing my last name. My mother said it was absurd, and that to be a good wife you should take your husbands last name. But I didn't agree. I don't think your last name makes you a good or bad wife. I mean we got a divorce so maybe it was a bad omen, or maybe it was because we got married at seventeen. In my opinion it should be illegal to get married that young, even if you do get pregnant. With twins at that. But just because you get pregnant does not mean that you should be forced to get married. I knew the marriage wasn't going to work. Maybe that was why I didn't change my name or let my twins take his name. Gilmore is a good strong name. It makes me feel good about myself. And my kids look like Gilmore's. I should have let my six year old take the name. But I was married when she was born so she took his last name. Hayden. It is a good name, but it isn't as good as Gilmore. Ruby Hayden is cute though. She is a sweet girl. A little sassy but sweet all at the same time." Lorelai finally took a breath.
Mia stared at Lorelai. She was amazed by how fast the young woman could speak.
"Oh God," Lorelai realized she had been babbling. "I am so sorry. I think I'm nervous."
"Don't apologize to me. I think you are very lovely."
"You don't think I'm crazy?" Lorelai was surprised when Mia shook her head. "That's good."
"So tell me Lorelai, what brings you here to see me?"
Lorelai paused to compose herself. She wanted to make sure that she said the right things and didn't scare Mia any more than she already had. "I saw an ad in the paper that you were looking for an Events Planner." Lorelai took a folder out of her bag and handed it to Mia. "I planned a ton of events back in Hartford. I was the go to party planner for all of my mother's friends." Lorelai felt like she sounded like a teenager. "I helped with the annual DAR bash. There were over a thousand people there one year."
"This is a nice portfolio."
"Thank you." Lorelai had worked really hard even if she had only gotten the jobs because of who her mother was. After she got married, Emily wanted Lorelai to focus on her kids and husband. It was only after Rory and Ryan started school that Emily asked Lorelai to help her out at the DAR functions. Once the ladies of the DAR saw what Lorelai could do, she booked more jobs. She actually fell in love with party planning. But honestly she had a fascination with Inns. It was a dream for her to own her on one day.
"You really seem great."
"Oh no." Lorelai could feel it. "You don't like me."
"That's not it at all." Mia informed her. "I love you. I think you are a breath of fresh air. And I love how you handled Michel out there. I wish other people could handle him like that."
"But."
"But I decided not to hire an Events Planner."
"Oh." Lorelai looked devastated. She had no backup plan. "I understand."
"Actually no one knows this, but I am planning on moving to North Carolina hopefully within the next one to two years. I have decided to hire someone to shadow me and take over in my absence."
"Like a manager?"
"Yes. A manager in training. That person would help with the events planning as well as everything else."
"I completely understand, Mia." Lorelai stood up. "I know I don't qualify for that position. I am sorry for taking up your time. And again I am sorry for my outburst."
"Wait a minute," Mia stopped her once again. "I want to ask you something."
"Okay." Lorelai turned to face Mia.
"Why did you come to Stars Hollow?"
Lorelai sat back down. "It seemed like a really good place to raise my kids and make a change for myself. I have actually wanted to come to Stars Hollow since I found out that I was pregnant. Instead I chose to get married, even though I knew it wasn't going to work out. I should have trusted my instincts. I wonder how different my life might be had I moved here fourteen years ago, but there is nothing I can do about that now." Lorelai sighed. "You know I want to be my own person. I want to prove to myself that I can do this. I don't think anyone believes in me, but that's okay. I believe in myself. And even though this job didn't work out, I know I will find something. I will do great things for myself and for my kids. I want to give them the best possible life, and I think that I can do that here."
"You're hired." Mia told her.
"What?" Lorelai didn't think she heard her correctly.
"I want you to be my new manager."
"I'm not qualified." Lorelai was shocked.
"When I came here, I wasn't qualified either. I came here looking for a change and wanting the best possible life for myself and for my family. Stars Hollow was my saving grace." Mia smiled. "And it will be yours too."
"Are you serious?"
Mia nodded. "Yes. I want you to be my manager. And if there is anything I can do for you and your kids, you better not hesitate to ask."
"I can't believe this." Lorelai had tears forming in her eyes. "I won't let you down."
"I know you won't. I have a good feeling about you, Lorelai." Mia stood up and walked to where Lorelai was sitting. Lorelai stood up and hugged her.
"Thank you so much." Lorelai hugged her twice.
"All anyone ever needs is a chance to prove themselves. I truly believe that."
Lorelai couldn't believe this was happening.
"You can come back tomorrow, and we can discuss all the details then."
Lorelai nodded.
"Let's go tell your sweet daughter."
"She's going to be excited. She gets ice cream."
"I know the perfect place for ice cream."
Lorelai and Mia started to leave the office. "Oh and Lorelai I didn't tell you the best part."
"What's that?"
"You'll be Michel's boss."
Lorelai couldn't stop smiling. This day had gotten so much better.
As they walked around the corner, Lorelai let out a loud laugh. Ruby was sitting at the desk with Michel. She had put jewelry on him and was showing her all of her ponies.
"Ruby bear," Lorelai said as she continued to laugh at Michel. "Thank you for keeping her company." She told the mean Frenchman.
"I had no choice." Michel looked at Mia. "You can take your child now. I need to get back to my real duties. That does not include playing with a child."
"Oh Michel you and Ruby are going to be the best of friends." Mia told him and smiled at Lorelai.
"And why is that?" Michel's smile began to fade.
"I'm the new manager. Lorelai Gilmore." Lorelai said with glee.
Michel's jaw dropped. 'Oh hell no,' he thought to himself.
"But no hard feelings about earlier. I'm sure we are going to be the best of friends." Lorelai tapped his shoulder.
"You got a job, mommy."
"I sure did, sweetie pie." Lorelai picked up her daughter. "This is Ms. Mia."
"Hi, Ms. Mia." Ruby smiled at her. "Thanks for giving my mommy a job. She is the very best around."
Michel rolled his eyes.
"I have a feeling you are right about that." Mia told her. "And your mommy told me that you wanted ice cream. Do you want to come with me to find the best ice cream in town?"
"Yes." Ruby exclaimed. "Ice cream is the best."
"I would have to agree with you."
Lorelai set Ruby down, and they followed Mia into what looked like the kitchen.
They heard a lot of noise. "Sookie," Mia called out.
'What is a Sookie,' Lorelai thought to herself.
"Oh Sookie." Mia walked around the island to find Sookie sitting on the ground holding a watermelon. "Sookie, darling, what are you doing?"
"Oh Mia hi. I was talking to the watermelon."
"What?" Lorelai said out loud.
Sookie looked up at her. "Hi."
"Hi. I'm Lorelai." She bent down to where Sookie was sitting. "That's a nice watermelon. I've never talked to my watermelon, but I like to sing to my peaches." Lorelai joked.
"Oh me too," Sookie, however, was not joking. "It is much better to sing to peaches than to merely talk to them. I sing to the grapes too."
Lorelai smiled. "I'll have to try that next time."
"Excuse me." Ruby sat down beside Sookie. "I was told there would be ice cream in here."
"That is right, Sookie. I was hoping you had some of that homemade ice cream left."
"Oh yes." Sookie held out her hands for Mia and her helping hand, Jose, to help her up. They did just that, with a little help from Lorelai.
"My mom promised me a sundae. Can you make me a sundae?"
"I can make you the world's best sundae." Sookie smiled. She walked over to the freezer. "So who are you?" She looked at Lorelai.
"Sookie this is Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter Ruby. Lorelai is going to train to be our new manager."
"Oh wow. That's great. You look like a great manager. I have a feeling about it. And my feelings are never wrong." Sookie turned around and hit her head on the freezer door.
Lorelai and Ruby both jumped in pain for her.
"I'm alright. I'm alright. How did that door get there?" She laughed. "Come on cutie patootie. We are going to make a sundae that's going to have so much sugary goodness in it that it will be illegal."
"Cool." Ruby followed Sookie around the counter.
Lorelai smiled.
"I think she likes it here." Mia told her.
Lorelai nodded. "She's not the only one."
Let me know what you thought! Our favorite Diner owner makes an appearance in the next chapter!
