Chapter Four
The four of them walked up the stone sidewalk and Rory knocked twice. Emily Gilmore opened the heavy wooden front door, but her smile faded when she saw Luke and Clara.
"Well, Well, what a surprise!" she stated stiffly, ushering them inside the Gilmore Mansion.
"Mom, I'm sorry. We sort of planned this out of the blue." Lorelai replied.
"Could have called." Emily muttered under her breath, leading them into the living room. They all followed and as they sat, Emily began preparing drinks for everyone.
"Mom, have I introduced you to Clara?" Lorelai asked, trying to making conversation.
"No, I don't believe you have." Emily responded, handing Lorelai a martini.
"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Gilmore. Your house is beautiful. I've never seen anything like it." Clara said, as Emily handed her a root beer.
"Thank you. I'm sure you haven't." Emily replied smugly and she took a sip of her drink. Clara glanced over at Lorelai, who got the message and changed the subject.
"Where's Dad?" Lorelai questioned her mother.
"He is finishing up a business call; he will be out in a minute." Emily answered, eyeing Luke. As if he had been cued, Richard Gilmore appeared in the living room.
"Richard, we have two other guests tonight. Luke and Clara." She told him and he smiled.
"Well, that is very nice, isn't it Emily?" Richard said cheerily, taking his drink from his wife.
"Yes, but I hope we have enough dinner for every one." Emily replied.
"Oh Emily, you know we always have enough for twenty. We should be fine." Richard chuckled.
"So Clara, why are you visiting with us this evening?" Richard asked. Clara looked nervously over at Luke and Lorelai. Rory jumped in.
"Clara had been accepted to Chilton on a scholarship. Headmaster Charleston asked me to come and help her get acquainted with the school. We became really good friends." Rory replied. Clara nodded agreeing.
"Well, where do you live, Clara? Who are your parents? Maybe we know them." Emily asked coolly.
"I lived here in Hartford for a very long time until I recently moved Stars Hollow and if you know my parents, let me know where they are. " Clara answered. Lorelai grimaced.
"You have no parents. How modern." Emily replied.
"Mom, enough." Lorelai said quickly.
"So where did you live here in Hartford?" Richard asked, trying to change the subject.
"Mr. Gilmore, I lived at the Hartford Children's Center." Clara mumbled. Lorelai and Luke exchanged a look.
"Mom, Dad. Luke and I have something to tell you. You know we are getting married next month. But what you don't know is that Clara is not just a friend of Rory's, she is going to be our daughter when the paperwork is filed in three weeks." Lorelai announced. Emily set her glass down and started to laugh.
"Richard, did you hear that Luke and Lorelai are going to adopt a sixteen year old girl." Emily laughed hysterically. Richard stared at his wife.
"They are not joking." Rory said seriously.
"Emily, they are serious." Richard noted; Emily stopped laughing.
"What?" Emily was astounded, looking back and forth between her daughter and her husband. Clara and Rory looked at each other nervously.
"I would like to propose a toast. " Richard beamed. "To the newest member of the Gilmore Family, Clara" He raised his glass and took a sip.
"Thank you, Dad." Lorelai said. Emily stood up, furious.
"Richard, what are you doing? Are you actually okay with this? I mean, why on earth, would two people want to adopt a sixteen year old girl, especially when they haven't even gotten married yet! And we just met her! Yet another thing she's kept from us!" Emily yelled.
"Isn't it obvious, Emily? They love her and they want her to have a home with them. I applaud their decision. She is a fine, smart, young lady, especially if she could get into Chilton on a full scholarship, not to mention very pretty." Richard glanced over at Clara and she blushed.
"Well, fine, let them adopt any child they want to, based just on the fact they get a lucky break." everyone in the room sat stunned as Emily fumed. Luke grabbed Lorelai's arm for she as if she was going to explode.
"Emily, she is going to be our granddaughter!" Richard replied.
"She isn't yet. I mean Lorelai, how long have you even known this girl?" Emily exclaimed. Clara stood and ran from the room as Richard and Emily continued to argue. Rory ran after her, but Lorelai felt anger and rage welling up inside her.
"Mom, for once in your life, I wish you would respect my decisions about my life and family. I didn't tell you about it because I knew it would be this way. I will talk to you later, Dad. Thanks for the drinks" Lorelai grabbed her coat and bustled out, Luke behind her. Emily stared as they stormed away.
Lorelai and Luke found Rory sitting with her arms around a sobbing Clara outside on the garden wall. Lorelai's heart ached, realizing what had just happened.
"Come on, girls, let's go." Luke said comfortingly as Rory walked Clara to the jeep.
The next morning, Clara went to the diner early with Luke. He watched as she silently swept up and refilled coffees. It was unlike Clara to be quiet like she was. Talking was her strong suit. So he slipped into the storage room and quickly dialed the number for the Dragonfly Inn., for Lorelai. After a couple minutes of conversation, the two hung up and Luke pulled his waitress aside.
"Lorelai wanted to know if you could help her up at the inn." Luke informed her. Clara nodded in agreement and she got her coat.
"Want me to drive you there?" Luke inquired.
"No thank you, I'll walk." She hugged Luke and left.
When Clara arrived at The Dragonfly Inn, she noticed a sleek black Jaguar parked out front in the driveway. She hurried inside and saw Emily sitting in the dining room. She turned to go when Lorelai walked up behind her.
"Um, why don't you go into the kitchen, sweetheart? Sookie needs someone to help her. A bunch of the staff got sick and she needs a fill in. Ok?" Lorelai pointed and Clara quickly sped through the dining room into the kitchen. Emily watched her go as Lorelai approached her table.
"Can I help you, Mom?" she asked.
"Lorelai, I wanted to talk…" Emily started but Lorelai interrupted.
"Mom, I can't really talk to you right now. Especially if it is about Clara." Lorelai replied.
"Well, it is about that girl, Lorelai. " Emily insisted.
"Mom, do you know how upset she was by what you said? She has hardly said a word to Luke or me since last night. She is going to be my kid and she won't talk to me! I knew you would be upset but I never dreamed you would be so mean. Talking about not having enough dinner for everyone or saying having no parents is modern. Mom, what a way to make her feel like part of the family." Lorelai vented.
"I have to get to work. We are missing staff due to the flu and Sookie needs help in the kitchen. Drive safe." Lorelai walked away from an astounded Emily. Emily grabbed her purse, stormed out to her car and drove off.
Lorelai entered the kitchen to find Clara chopping vegetables for Sookie. Sookie rushed over to Lorelai, an excited grin on her face.
"Oh, Lorelai, she is a natural in the kitchen. She chops those carrots better than the trained staff we have." Sookie beamed.
"She told me she wants to learn more about cooking so she can help out here and at the diner. So I set her up and she is spectacular." Sookie stopped talking when she saw the look on Lorelai's face.
"She told you that today, Sookie?" Lorelai inquired and Sookie nodded.
"Yeah, why do you ask, sweetie?" Sookie asked and Lorelai left the room. Clara turned around as the door swung. She stopped chopping and sat down on one of the stools while Sookie walked over to her.
"Something is going on between you and your mom, huh?" Sookie asked and Clara nodded.
"Sookie, when you see her tell her I went home. I wasn't feeling well. Okay?" Clara requested as she pulled on her coat and exited through the back door. Sookie sighed.
When Clara got home, Rory was sitting in their bedroom, studying for a term paper. She looked up when Clara came in.
"Hey I thought you were going to be working at the inn and the diner today. Something up?"
"I thought you were going to be at Yale. Sorry, I'll go." Clara turned to go when Rory stopped her.
"No, stay. What's the matter?" Rory closed her book.
"Your grandmother came to the Dragonfly today, and Lorelai totally chewed her out. " Clara answered. Rory sighed.
"Wow, I can only imagine how that must have gone." Rory replied. Clara nodded.
"Not well, I could hear most of it from the kitchen. And it was mostly about me. I made up an excuse for Sookie to tell Lorelai so I could come home. It was awful. I mean, look what I caused." Clara said, sitting down on her own bed
"Clara, you didn't do anything. Mom knew Grandma would act crazy, but last night, she was over the top crazy. Don't blame yourself. Mom and Luke will figure it out."
"Do you think Lorelai and Luke still want to adopt me after what happened last night?" Clara asked. Rory came over and sat down next to her.
"Are you kidding? Of course, they will. Clara, I have never seen Mom smile like the way she does when she looks at you. Mom wants you to talk to her though. She's worried. So is Luke." Rory said. As she said that, they heard the front door open
"Rory, is Clara here?" Lorelai said loudly.
"Back here," Rory answered. Lorelai hurried in.
"Clara, are you okay? I nearly had a heart attack when Sookie said you were gone." Lorelai sat down next to Clara on the bed and threw her arms around her.
"I just told Sookie I wasn't feeling well. I knew you were offended about what happened with your mom, and I did not want to make you more upset." Clara answered.
"You heard that?" Lorelai asked. Clara smiled.
"The people in China could have heard it." Clara answered and Lorelai smiled a little.
"Honey, I just wanted you to talk to me. I was upset that you would talk to Sookie and not me. Sounds stupid but I am worried about you, kid. You have hardly said a word since last night, which is not like you at all." Lorelai said, releasing Clara from the hug. Clara smiled. Rory laughed quietly.
"I did not know what to say then, but I do now." Clara replied.
"What?" Lorelai asked.
"That I love living here with you all and that I don't want that to change and that I really love you…Mom." Clara said. Lorelai smiled with tears in her eyes. It was the first time Clara had ever called her "Mom". Rory smiled.
"Why don't we take the rest of the day and go shopping?" Lorelai suggested and both of the girls agreed.
"Let me go change and I will be right down." Lorelai hurried upstairs while Rory grabbed her books and started to load them into her bag.
"Hey, Rory," Clara stopped her and Rory looked up. "She smiles that way at you too. Trust me." Clara ran after Lorelai and Rory grinned.
(Author's Note: To clear it up, Clara is NOT a long lost family member of the Gilmores and/or Danes families. I just wanted there to be an immidiate spark so to speak between them all and I used apperance. Sorry for any confusion or disapointment, but I hope you are all enjoying the story! Mutiple chapter reviews are so HIGHLY apperciated!!)
