CHAPTER SEVEN
** Miracles Happen When You Least Expect Them **
Genre: Romance
Pairing: Lane/Dean
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: Lane, Dean, Mrs. Kim, Clara and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended.
Lane charged into the house like a lioness when she returned, she was so angry about all her mother's dirty tricks that she refused to tuck in her tail any longer.
"Where is Popkong, Lane?" Mrs. Kim screamed out.
"I have no idea, Mama!" she screamed back.
"You do not talk to me like that in my own house, Lane Kim. You will go and find him now."
Lane was glad she'd been ordered out of the house, the way she was feeling now, she wasn't sure if she'd ever return.
"Lane!" Mrs. Kim shouted as Lane started heading for the front door.
"What is it?" Lane yelled back.
"First you go and put on that very slutty outfit you wore for that naughty boy you were with when I came home and caught you."
"I don't believe you, Mama! You've never let me wear were clothes like that before. Why do you want me to wear something like that now?"
"Popkong liked you very much that night when he saw you in that outfit. I know, I'm a woman, I can sense these things. Perhaps he ran away from the barber shop because he was disappointed that you don't look like you did the first night he saw you."
"But why is it okay for Popkong to see me dressed like that and not other men?"
"Because Popkong is your fiancée who's going to marry you and not a dirty white American boy who just wants to use you like they do all their other American girls."
Lane almost ran out of the house that very second. She couldn't take Mrs. Kim's insanity any longer and the thought of Popkong ogling her sexually made her want to puke more than the thought of eating the lima bean rutabaga chili. But she realized it might be fun to dress up like she did on her date with Dean and run around Stars Hollow freely, looking cool for once. Also, Mrs. Kim had no idea where Popkong was, so she could stay out as long as she wanted and maybe hook up with Dean along the way.
She put on her outfit again, along with her makeup and contacts and bolted for the door, knowing her first stop was going to be at Dean's house.
Dean's little sister, Clara, answered the door when Lane rang the bell.
"Wow! Are you a movie star?" Clara asked, wide-eyed, as she stared at Lane in her stunning outfit.
"Well, no, actually I'm not, but I hope to be in my own rock band someday," Lane responded, feeling great about Clara's compliment. "Is your brother home?"
"Dean!" Clara yelled out. "A really pretty Japanese girl is here to see you!"
"Tell her I'll be right down!" Dean yelled back as he ran down the stairs.
"Hey, squirt," Dean said to Clara as he affectionately patted her head, "this is Lane and she's Korean, not Japanese. It's not polite to guess someone's ethnicity, so next time just say 'Asian' if you're not sure. Okay?"
"Oh, Dean, it's fine. I wasn't offended," Lane remarked. "She definitely paid me a compliment by calling me pretty, nothing wrong with that all. Uh, could we go some place to talk?"
"Sure! Clara, tell Mom I'll be out for a while when she gets back from Doose's. Okay?" Dean said as he grabbed his car keys off the hook by the front door.
"Okay, Dean. Nice to meet you, Lane."
"It was very nice to meet you too, Clara."
They climbed into Dean's car and he put his keys into the ignition and turned to Lane, admiring her once again in her black and hot pink outfit.
"Have you eaten yet, Lane?" Dean asked.
"Thankfully, no, my mother's preparing a lima bean chili, flavored with rutabaga sauce."
"That's sounds disgusting! We can go for Mexican over in Litchfield if you like," he suggested.
"I like!" she agreed eagerly, relieved she was going to have a much better dinner than she expected.
"There's just one thing I gotta do before we leave, though."
"What?" she asked anxiously.
"This," he replied as he took Lane into his arms and kissed her sensuously. "I wanted to do that so badly when we out on Saturday and I thought I'd missed my chance for good."
"Second chances are wonderful," Lane murmured as she leaned in for another kiss. Her first kiss ever and it was even better than she imagined. She couldn't understand how Rory could ever think about another guy once she'd tasted Dean's lips. She knew she would never be able to.
He took a deep affectionate look into her eyes and stroked her silky, ebony hair gently before he started the car to leave.
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at Senor Pancho's and both ordered beef chimichangas while Lane caught Dean up on the latest turn of events in the Popkong saga. Dean didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he sat and listened to the details, but when she announced that her mother had said they were leaving for Korea on Friday, he knew he'd better come up with a solution pronto because he was definitely falling a lot deeper and a lot quicker for Lane than even he'd ever expected.
Dean suggested that they go back to his house and talk this issue over with his parents. He felt quite sure that they'd suggest taking the matter to the police and ordinarily he'd want to avoid taking such drastic measures, especially if it meant Mrs. Kim getting arrested, but he could see that Lane had very little time to waste.
On their way home, they drove through a seedy section of Litchfield, past a dumpy motel called Beddie Bye Now,and Lane happened to spot Popkong and the other man from her church that Mr. Floyd from the barber shop had mentioned to her. They were walking through the parking lot with a couple of street hookers on the way to their rooms upstairs.
"Dean! STOP THE CAR! That-that's Popkong and Mr. Lee from my church going into that motel with a couple of prostitutes!" Lane screamed out.
"Whoa! What kind of church do you go to?" Dean asked laughing as he swerved his car into the parking lot. "Here," he instructed, "take my cell phone and get some pictures of this, in case your mother doesn't believe you."
He quickly stopped the car and Lane snapped the incriminating photos as fast as she could before Popkong and Mr. Lee spotted her. Next, she called her mother and instructed her to get over to the Beddie Bye Now motel immediately. She had her proof with the cell phone pictures, but she wanted her mother to confront Popkong in a way only Mrs. Kim could.
TO BE CONTINUED…
