(Monday Morning: Hartford)
"Ms. Gilmore, welcome. I'm Julie Summers."
Lorelai shook the woman's hand. "Pleasure to meet you." Lorelai smiled.
"Likewise. Please, come in. Have a seat." Julie closed the office door behind them. "Again, Welcome to the Hartford Adoption Agency. Or as we refer to it, H double A." Julie lightly laughed.
"Sounds … fun." Lorelai replied.
"Yes, we try to keep the up most spirits around here. Every day is a precious gift that we must cherish." Julie sat down behind her desk. "So, I hear that you're wanting to adopt."
"Yes. I've thought a lot about it and I think that adoption is something that would benefit not only a child somewhere, but myself as well."
"Uh, huh…" Julie smiled. "Tell me, Ms. Gilmore, do you have any other children?"
"Well, I have a daughter. She's twenty-two. She just took a job in Iowa after graduating from Yale."
"A Yale graduate?" Julie gaped. "My… You must be extremely proud."
"I am." Lorelai smiled. "She's quite a young woman."
"Yes, and you are a young woman yourself, especially to have a child that is already a college graduate." Julie eyed Lorelai over. "Pardon me for asking, but did you marry young?"
"Well, I didn't get married when I became pregnant with Rory. I stayed single. I raised her alone." Lorelai paused. "But she was always in contact with her father."
"Oh, I see." Julie quickly scribbled down some words on a pad in front of her. "Have you ever been married, Ms. Gilmore?"
"Once. To Rory's father." Lorelai replied, she felt her face becoming red.
"Oh? And I assume you are no longer married?"
Lorelai paused. "No. We divorced a few months ago."
Julie peered over the rim of her glasses and then scribbled again on her pad. "Tell me, what do you think makes you qualified to adopt a child?"
"Well, I own and manage an inn in Stars Hollow. I've always been very hardworking and dedicated. I love kids. I want another one more than anything. I have my own house also in Stars Hollow and there's a spare bedroom that really needs to be filled. I'm a good mother, you can ask Rory."
Julie smiled. "I'm sure you are, Ms. Gilmore."
"Um…" Lorelai began. "Does me not being married… does that cause a problem for adoption I mean?"
"Well, we like to see children enter into two parent homes, but in today's society, we recognize and understand that single parent families are just as nurturing. I assure you, your marital status will not knock you out of qualification for adoption, but we must have all of your background information on file. We'll be performing background check today. It usually takes about two hours. I suggest you go for a walk and grab a bite to eat in the mean time."
"Oh. Wow, only two hours?" Lorelai stood from the seat.
"It's amazing how fast technology has become these days." Julie stood as well. "After we receive all of your background information, you and I will sit down and go over what kind of a child you're looking for. We'll explore options. Take a look at some photos and videos and see what direction we'd like to go in."
"That sounds great." Lorelai replied.
"The secretary outside will need some of your personal information. Come back around 10:00 and everything should be ready to go."
"I will. Thank you."
Julie walked over and opened the door. "Again, congratulations regarding your daughter."
(Red Hawk, West Virginia)
Janeeva walked around the house to the old barn where she'd dealt business with Roscoe only a few nights before. He was sitting at his desk reading through a large stack of papers.
"Morning, Roscoe." Janeeva smiled as she stepped into the barn. She was wearing the nicest dress she owned; it was pink with yellow daises splattered all around it.
"Good morning, Janeeva. You look awfully pretty."
"Well, a girl can't go around in rags if she's expectin' good money." She walked over closer to the desk. "Any jobs ready for today?"
Roscoe threw the papers towards Janeeva, "Those three men right there are my best customers. They pay good money and I always offer them my best goods."
"Sounds perfect." Janeeva picked up the papers. "Oh, my… Senator Marcum?"
"Don't look so surprised. I run the best escort business in five counties." Roscoe replied. "People trust me. People trust my girls."
"You know can trust me, Roscoe. I ain't never lied to you 'bout nothin'."
"I know that. That's why I'm giving you those three customers." Roscoe stood from his desk. "Go in the order they are marked there. Marcum today, Jameson Wednesday, and Taylor Friday. At the end of the week, I'll give you your cut."
"How much?" Janeeva asked.
"At least 300 hundred. More than that if they really like you and throw in a tip."
"That's good money, Roscoe. I ain't made that kinda money in a long time. I've been living off only fifty dollars a week from welfare and that ain't been enough to feed me or Cheyenne, let alone buy us anything else we needed."
"What happened to the girl? Roscoe asked.
"She's gone." Janeeva answered. "They came and took her yesterday when she got back from church."
"Church?" Roscoe asked a smile creeping across his face.
"Mr. Williams took her…" Janeeva rolled her eyes. "Thinks he's gonna save the world."
Roscoe laughed, "He sure does. He always has. Tried to get me to shut down my business nearly a hundred times. And I always say to him, 'Harold, I gotta earn my money the best way I know how and I never made it passed the 9th grade of schoolin' so I do what I know best.'."
Janeeva laughed for a moment and then stopped, "I miss her, Roscoe. It's only been one day, and I miss her."
Roscoe walked over and put his arm around Janeeva. "Gotta ask yourself, darlin'. What's better for her? What's better for you?"
Janeeva removed Roscoe's arm, "Well, I'd better get going… I got work to do."
"Stop by again tomorrow. We'll take you out and buy you a couple new dresses." Roscoe replied.
"That'd be nice. Thank ya, Roscoe." Janeeva smiled and walked out of the barn.
"Take care, now."
(Hartford)
10:00 took forever to finally come around, and Lorelai felt more nervous than ever. She took a deep breath as she waited outside of Julie's office. She was positive her background check was superb, but until she heard the words "Ms. Gilmore, you're approved." She never get it off her mind.
Julie's office door opened and she quickly invited Lorelai in. They both resumed their usual seating from before and Julie grabbed several papers from her desk.
"One of the most impressive background checks I have seen in a while." Julie began. "You're a very responsible and respectable woman."
A large smile dashed across Lorelai's face. "Thank you."
"It is my pleasure. I should have thought of it sooner, your last name being Gilmore and you telling me your daughter is a Yale graduate. You're the daughter of Richard and Emily Gilmore. My parents and your parents are very close friends." Janeeva smiled.
"Oh?" Lorelai asked a bit surprised.
"I've actually been to several of their dinner parties, yet I have never seen you there."
"I don't go to many of the parties…" Lorelai replied.
"And I can see why, managing an inn and raising a child and taking care of your own house… my, you must have the energy of three women."
"I drink a lot of coffee… a lot of coffee." Lorelai replied her eyes bright.
Julie laughed, "I've often heard about Richard and Emily's amazing granddaughter. They are very proud of her."
"They are. She's everything they could have ever hoped for. We're all very proud."
"Well, I know without a shadow of a doubt that any child that came into the Gilmore family would be given the most proper care and education that can be offered. I wish all of our children were guaranteed such high quality homes. So, let's get started, shall we?"
"We shall." Lorelai scooted her chair closer to the desk.
"Why don't you begin with telling me what you had in mind?"
"Well…" Lorelai began. "I was hoping to find a child that's between the ages of five and ten."
"Five and ten?" Julie repeated. "That's a very difficult age range."
"It is?"
"Well, zero to ten, really. Newborns are always asked about the most, and of course infants and toddlers… the closer a child gets to his or her teenage years, the less likely they are to be adopted. It's a very sad process and it can also be very damaging to the children."
"So, you don't think there's a five to ten year old out there anywhere?" Lorelai asked meekly.
"Well, I'm not saying that there's not one out there anywhere, I'm just saying that it may take a lot longer than you are expecting to find one. You can be put on a waiting list or we can get in contact with other adoption agencies and go from there."
"What do you have available here?" Lorelai asked, trying not to make it sound like she was shopping for a new car.
Julie sighed, "Here, we have many teenagers and we have children who would fit into your age range, but I'm afraid they are… well… they're special needs children. They'd require a lot of work and attention and they'd never be fully functional in society. They're here because nobody wants them. We have nurses on call to take care of many of them. They'll be here until they reach their teen years, and then they'll be taken into special programs for the mentally and physically challenged."
"How horrible…." Lorelai replied her face saddening. "That's the most pitiful thing I've ever heard in my life."
"The adoption workplace can bring a lot of heavy emotions." Julie replied as she cleared her throat. "But moving on…. Do you have a gender preference?"
"No." Lorelai answered shortly.
"Are you interested in newborns or infants or in teenagers if a child between five and ten cannot be located within in six months?"
"Well… not exactly, I… I'd rather not have a baby. I mean not that I don't love babies, it's just I was kind of hoping to skip all of that. And well, a teenager seems… I mean I'd like for them to be younger so that I could have more of an influence, I guess." Lorelai felt her face getting red again as she tried to explain herself.
"Right." Julie replied. "I completely understand."
"Six months is an awfully long time… is that how long it takes to find children?"
"Sometimes yes. Sometimes longer." Julie paused. "Ms. Gilmore, may I suggest another idea?"
"Of course." Lorelai replied, "And please, call me Lorelai."
"Lorelai, I don't usually do this, but seeing as how I know your parents so well and I have personal faith in your parenting abilities, I'll make a few phone calls for you. I can see that you're wanting to adopt as soon as possible, and unfortunately, the adoption process can take a very long time even after a child has been located. The best and fastest way, especially in your situation, would be to find a child whose parents are either deceased, or have given up all rights as legal guardians. Those children can be adopted fastest and usually the process runs much smoother."
"That sounds wonderful… I hate for you to go out of your way but if you could, I would be so grateful."
"Think nothing of it." Julie smiled. "Helping a young child land into your arms would be a blessing unto myself. I know a lot of people in a lot of states. If you'll give me a week. I can have some potential children lined up for you."
"A week?" Lorelai repeated. "That's soon."
"Well, the actual adoption would take longer of course, up to a few weeks for all the paper work and such to be completed. But you could come back next Monday and take a look at what I've found. If you see a child that interests you, we can schedule for you to meet."
Lorelai smiled, "That'd be incredible. Really… I can't thank you enough."
"No need to thank me, Lorelai. Just be here next Monday at 8:00."
"I will. I will certainly be here. 8:00 on the dot." She smiled.
"Great. I'm so glad you've chosen adoption. You're going to make quite the difference in some very lucky child's life."