Lorelai is laying in her bed, wide awake, when she looks over, outside her window, and sees the wind blowing. The leaves are falling down, scratching lightly across the window. Lorelai smiles, excitingly, as she gets up and quietly walks downstairs, careful not to wake her girls, and looks outside. She cracks the window open just enough so she can smell the air. She grabs the answering machine and a blanket on her way to the couch, and she presses play while she covers herself up.
"Lorelai, it's Max. Medina. Max Medina. And once again we miss each other. It's now two in the afternoon, on Thursday, and I'm in my office grading a paper entitled: Emily Dickinson, Get A Life. Anyhow, as I sit here losing my faith in mankind, I wonder if we're ever gonna actually go on that date we talked about many moons ago. I teach a night class in Stamford twice a week and when I pass that Stars Hollow sign on the turnpike, I think, 'out there is a beautiful woman that I someday hope to spend time with.' Anyhow, I'm just thinking about you. I don't know, maybe next week we can find some time. Bye, Lorelai Gilmore." Lorelai smiles widely as she listened to the man on the answering machine. She quickly presses replay to hear it yet again, but Rory walks out just before it starts.
"Mom?" Rory calls out, quietly, as she walks into the living room.
"Sorry." Lorelai turns off the machine.
"What are you doing up?" Rory asks. She turns on the lamp and gets under the blanket with her mom.
"I couldn't sleep."
"It's freezing in here."
"Just close your eyes and breathe. I smell snow."
"It's that time of the year." Rory tells her.
"Can you smell it?" Lorelai asks, as she sniff the air.
"You know, it's like dogs and high-pitched noises. I think it's something only you can smell."
"I love snow." Lorelai smiles.
"Really? I had no idea." Rory says, sarcastically with a smile.
"Everything is magical when it snows. Everything looks pretty. The clothes are great. Coats, scarves, gloves, and hats."
"Thermal underwear, wool socks, ear-flaps." Rory adds.
"Do you know the best things in life have happened when it snowed?" Lorelai asks.
"Why, yes, I do." Rory says, having heard them all her life.
"My best birthday."
"Your first kiss."
"Your first steps. They all happened when it snowed. I feel good. Tingly."
"It's call frostbite."
"You are mocking your mother, woman who birthed you." Lorelai glares, playfully.
"I'm sorry."
"During a snowstorm, might I add."
"So, how soon is it supposed to hit?" Rory asks.
Lorelai thinks for a second. "Mm. Tomorrow." She nods. "Definitely tomorrow."
"Okay. Then, tomorrow it is."
"What?"
"You, me, Lauren, donuts, coffee, standing out in the snowstorm."
"At midnight?"
"At midnight."
"You are my favorite daughter." Lorelai jokes.
Rory laughs. "You say that to all your daughters." She notices the answering machine. "So, how many times are you gonna listen to that?"
"Till it stops being sexy." Lorelai grins.
Rory grimaces. "Stop. That's my teacher you're talking about. I have to respect him."
"Okay. Well, if it makes you feel any better, while he's being sexy he's also bring grammatically correct."
"Better. Thank you."
"Sorry I woke you up."
"It's okay. It's all fodder for the tell-all. Goodnight." Rory kisses her mom on her forehead, and then walks to the window, closing it, before heading back to her room.
"Goodnight." Lorelai says. She presses the play button again when Rory closes her bedroom door. And she giggles like a teenager again, going under the blanket to listen to Max Medina's voice once again.
It's morning at the inn and Lorelai is busy getting everything ready for the snow when Rory, Lauren, and Lane, who is dressed in a band uniform, walk in. Roy is digging frantically through her book bag, and Lauren keeps sneezing uncontrollably, and Lane is talking.
"And then one day I look over, and it Rich." Lane tells them. "Rich Bloomenfield."
"Where is my chemistry book?" Rory asks. "I had it at your house yesterday, didn't I?"
"Rory, focus, please."
"I'm sorry. I just can't find my book." Lauren starts sneezing again, and adds a couple coughs in. "Lauren, you need to find Mom. You are sick."
Lauren shakes her head as she sneezes again. "No. I'm fine."
"You are not fine." Rory continues looking through her bag.
"Mom's going to make me stay here if I don't go to school."
Lorelai walks over to them. "Hey, babes. Sergeant Pepper." She says to Lane.
"Mom, do you know where my-"
Lorelai interrupts Rory already knowing what she's going to ask. "Big scary Chemistry book? Behind the desk."
"Oh, thank God." Rory walks away to retrieve her book.
Lorelai looks up at Lane's feathered hat. "Wow."
"Yeah." Lane says.
Lauren starts to dry cough. "Whoa! Where did that come from?" Lorelai asks, looking down at her youngest.
"I'm fine." Lauren says, trying to force her best smile.
Lorelai smiles, sadly. "You are not fine. You don't even sound close to fine." Lorelai feels Lauren's forehead. Lauren's cheeks her flushed and she is warm to the touch. "How are you still standing? You have a fever, Lauren. There's no way you are going to school, especially not in this weather."
"Mom." Lauren whines.
Lorelai shakes her head. "They will just send you home anyway." Lorelai sighs. "This always happens the day of the first snow with you."
Rory walks back over. "She sounds worse than she did when she woke up."
Lauren rolls her eyes. "Thanks a lot, Rory."
Lorelai pulls Lauren to her not missing the fact that Lauren puts her whole weight onto Lorelai, obviously feeling worse than she wants to admit. "Is Sookie in the kitchen?" Rory asks.
"And there she'll stay. Come on, little one. Lets go lay you down in my office." Lorelai says, gently pushing Lauren forward.
"Okay. So, where were we?" Rory asks Lane as they walk to the kitchen.
"I just met my soul mate." Lane tells her.
"Right. Rich Bloomenfield. Does he still wear the Star Trek shirt?" Lane rolls her eyes as they walk into the kitchen. "Hey, Sookie."
Sookie turns around. "Hey, kitty-cats. Cinnamon buns are over there."
"Do you have any of those rock road cookies that you made yesterday?"
"I can scrounge some up." Sookie tells her.
"So, anyhow, Rich has this amazing hair." Lane tells her.
"Really?" Rory asks.
"Oh, my gosh. It's so perfect. It's thick, but it's not too thick, and its got a really good natural wave. So, he probably uses way less product than most guys."
"Always a plus. Hey. What time is it?" Rory asks.
"I don't know."
"I have to get to the bus stop. Dean's meeting me there."
"I'm trying to talk to you about this." Lane says, impatiently.
"I know. We'll talk on the way."
"Here you go." Sookie hands Rory a bag of cookies.
"Thank you, Sookie."
Lorelai runs in just before they leave. "Hey, sweets. I have a locksmith coming to the house today, like five, and I don't know how long it will take. So, tell Grandma and Grandpa I'll be late."
"I'll relay the message, but what about Lauren?"
Lorelai shrugs. "I am going to see how she is feeling when we leave here. But if she still isn't feeling well then I may just have to stay with her, or find someone to stay with her while I go." Lorelai notices the bag Rory is holding. "What is this? You hate rocky road cookies."
"I do not."
"I'm sorry. That must be my other daughter, Shmory."
"We're leaving now." Rory tries to walk away.
"Wait a minute." Lorelai says, grabbing Rory by her arm. "I know who likes rocky road cookies." She puts her arm around Rory with a knowing smile.
"Who?" Sookie asks.
"Dean. They're for Dean."
Rory glares at her mom. "She's bringing baked goods to a boy."
"Wow. Serious." Sookie laughs.
"Here, Dean, these cookies are for you because you're keen." Lorelai says in her best girly voice.
"Stop." Rory begs.
"Rory's in love." Sookie laughs.
"Love. Love. Love. Dean. Dean. Dean." Lorelai teases.
Rory pulls away and she and Lane leave quickly. "You need meds for Lauren?" Sookie asks.
"Yes, please."
Lauren is already sleeping when Lorelai walks into her office. She couldn't help but smile, and feel sad for her little girl. It happens every single year, Lauren gets sick on the first day of snow. She's miserable all week and gets very clingy after awhile. Lorelai didn't want to wake her daughter up, but she knew she had to if she wanted to give her this medicine.
"Lauren." Lorelai whispers. She sits on the side of Lauren's small sleeping body and feels her head. It feels warmer than before. "Lauren, baby, you need to wake up. I have some medicine to give you."
Lauren opens her eyes slowly. "I don't need medicine." Lorelai sighs. Lauren was also difficult when it comes to taking medicine.
"Lauren, you need to take it then you can go back to sleep." Lauren sits up. "Atta girl. What's hurting? Be honest." Lorelai says, sternly, knowing her daughter will leave out anything so she can pretend she isn't sick.
"My head and my throat." Lauren says, hoarsely. Lorelai pours the medicine into the small cup and gives it to her daughter. Lauren makes a nasty face as the medicine goes down her throat. "So gross."
Lorelai laughs, lightly. "I'm going to get you some stronger medicine later. Okay. Lay back down. I'll be back and check on you." Lauren nods and lays back down. Lorelai kisses her daughter gently on her cheek before she walks out.
In town, Rory and Lane are walking towards the bus top.
"I just, I just can't believe it." Lane says, still going on about Rick. "I mean, I've known him since the 6th grade, but suddenly he's different. He's not gangly anymore. You remember how gangly he was?"
Rory is rummaging through her Chemistry book not really paying much attention to Lane. "I'm sorry. What?"
"You're not listening me." Lane says, getting frustrated.
"I am. I'm sorry. I just couldn't find my bookmark. Okay. Go ahead." Rory says, putting everything down.
"Okay. Here are the problems facing the whole Bloomenfield-Kim situation."
"One: hyphenation would be a pain." Rory tells her.
"Two: he's my band partner. Romance would be completely awkward. Three: he's never even looked at me like I'm a girl or something resembling one." Lane adds as they sit down on the bench. "Four: there's no way I could convince my parents her was Korean. But I can't help it. I'm obsessed. Did I tell you about his hair?"
"It's on his head, right?"
Dean walks up and peeks his head between them. "Hi." He smiles at Rory.
Rory smiles. "Hi."
"Lane."
"Dean."
"Here." Dean gives Rory a book and sits down on the other side of her..
"How'd you like it?" Rory asks.
"Well, I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." He jokes.
Rory laughs. "You liked it! You like Jane Austen. I knew you would. Lane, Dean like Jane Austen."
"Wow. Who would've thought." Lane says, not amused and clearly annoyed.
"I told him he would. But he was all: Forget Jane Austen. You have to read Hunter Thompson."
"You do have to read Hunter Thompson." Dean tells her.
"Not as much as you needed to read Jane Austen."
Dean sees the bag of cookies. "What's that?"
"Just some cookies."
"Rocky road." Dean says, looking surprised.
"Yeah."
"Wow. She brings me cookies. How can I repay her?"
"How about a little Charlotte Bronte?"
"How about something else?" Dean leans in and kisses her.
"That's good, too."
"Okay. I gotta go. I'm gonna be late for homeroom. I have that perfect attendance certificate in my sights." Lane says, grabbing her things.
"See you later." Rory says, as she continues smiling at Dean.
Lorelai walks into the front lobby of the inn with a big smile on her face.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have flakes! Flakes have be sighted!" She announces to everyone. "Flake-age, if you will, has begun!" She walks to the desk and stops when she sees Lauren sitting in Michel's chair, blowing her nose. "Lauren Lorelai Gilmore, what are you doing out here?" She scolds.
"I don't want to miss the snow." Lauren says in the most pathetic sickly voice. Sadly, she wasn't doing it on purpose. Her sore throat was literally making her sound just as miserable as she looks.
"She has her germs all over my chair." Michel says glares with anger.
Lorelai rolls her eyes. "Lauren, I promise you won't miss it. But, for you to do so, you need to feel better. So, please, get yourself back in my office and lay down. I'm going to be there in a few minutes to recheck your temperature." Lorelai points to her office.
Lauren jumps off the chair with a huff. "I hate being sick!" She tries to yell as she walks away.
Lorelai walks over to Michel who is lysoling his chair. "Michel, it's the first snowfall of the season." She tells him cheerfully. "It's very lucky. Make a wish."
"Get away from me." Michel tells her with no emotion.
"Oh! You're not supposed to say it out loud." The phone rings and Michel answers it. "The world changes when it snows." Lorelai continues. "It gets quiet. Everything softens."
Michel gives the phone over to Lorelai. "It's your mother."
"And then the rain comes." She sighs, and grabs the phone. "Hi, Mom."
"Have you seen the news?" Emily asks.
"Ever?"
"A bad storm's heading your way. It's already hitting here."
"Well, don't panic. I'll get the ark, you get the animals." Lorelai jokes.
"I just sent Lance to pick Rory up from school. The roads are terrible. Black ice everywhere. It's just a mess out there. I hate this kind of weather. So, anyhow, what time will you get here?"
"Well, gee, Mom, I don't know. Let's see. Black ice, treacherous roads. I guess I'll just put on my red-white-and-blue leotard, grab my golden lasso, and fly the invisible plane over."
"You're not coming?"
"Well, if it's as bad at you say it is, I don't see how I'd get there. Plus, Lauren is sick anyway, and I don't want to drag her out just to get worse." Lorelai tells her.
"Well, I guess it'll just be the three of us then."
"I guess so."
"And, you know, Rory should probably spend the night tonight, also."
"Okay."
"And if it's still bad tomorrow-"
"Mom, why don't you see what the weather does before you fill out a change of address card for her." Lorelai interrupts.
"Fine. Did you bring Lauren to the doctor?" Emily asks.
"No."
"Lorelai, for your child to get better, you need to take her the the doctor. You're not a doctor, you know?"
"Oh, shoot. I thought this was a hospital I've been working at all along. Mom, Lauren goes through this, every year, around this time. She is currently laying down, doped on medicine I gave her earlier. If she is feeling worse by tomorrow I will take her to the doctor.
"Hey, Grandma." Rory walks in.
"Rory's here." Emily says, happily.
"Put her on a sec." Lorelai tells her.
"Rory, it's your mother."
Rory takes the phone. "Hey."
"Hi. Things bad out there, huh?" Lorelai asks.
"It's crazy. Snow is coming down everywhere. And let me tell you, saddle shoes are not the best all-weather footwear."
"Oh, you fell!"
"Twice."
"Yikes. I'm sorry."
"So, what's the deal? Are you coming over tonight?" Rory asks.
"No. I guess I'm pretty much stuck in the Hollow tonight. Your sister is sick as a dog."
"Bummer. Well, we can take our snow walk tomorrow night."
"Absolutely. Lauren will be thrilled and hopefully feeling better by then. Alright, honey, tell Grandma you arrived there not a member of the junior league. I'd like you to leave the same way."
"Call if you get lonely, even though I know Lauren will not want to leave your side."
"I will." Lorelai smiles. "Bye"
Lorelai is up in Lauren's room trying to make her feel comfortable and giving her all the necessities she may need even though she pumped her with more medicine and was pretty sure Lauren was going to pass out at any moment.
"Alright. You have your magazines. Tea. Ipod. I am going to pick you up some soup in a little bit, okay?"
Lauren looks helplessly at her mom. "Please don't leave me."
"Lauren, I will be ten minutes. I promise. I'll ask Babbette to come sit with you while I'm gone, okay?"
"Hurry."
Lorelai kisses her gently on her forehead. "I will. I love you"
"I love you." Lauren tells her and quickly falls asleep like Lorelai knew she would.
The re-enactment men are walking through town, passing Luke, and Lorelai walks up laughing.
"There goes the fire chief, the police chief, and the one paramedic with a valid license. I feel safe. Don't you?" She asks Luke.
"Look at them." Luke says, shaking his head in disapproval. "All relatively intelligent men, but there they are dressed up in costumes, standing out in a snowstorm, and for what?"
"Because it's tradition." Lorelai reminds him.
"Tradition is a trap that allows people to stick their head in the sand. Everything in the past was quaint, so charming. Times were simple, kids didn't have sex. Neighbors knew each other. It's a freaking fairy-tale. Things sucks then, too. It just sucked without indoor plumbing."
"I think some traditions are nice. Birthdays, holidays, taking a walk in the first snow of the season."
"I didn't get the Hallmark card for that one."
"When I was five, I had a really bad ear infection, and I had been home in bed for a week, and I was very sad. So, I wished really hard that something wonderful would happen to me. And I woke up the next morning, and it had snowed. And I was sure that some fairy godmother had done it just for me. It was my little present."
"Your parents never explained the concept of weather to you?" Luke asks her.
Lorelai rolls her eyes. "I am making a point, mouthy McGee. Of course, many years later, I realized that logically, the snow was not there for me personally. But, still, when it snows, something inside me says, hey, that's your present. I don't think it'll ever change."
"My father use to be one of those guys."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. He even had his own musket. Never had to rent it."
"Where's the musket now?"
"He was buried with it."
"Wow."
"Yeah. He loved that musket."
"That's nice in a disturbing sort of way."
"So, if this is your walk of the first snow of the season, where's your daughters? Shouldn't they be walking along with you?"
Lorelai sighs. "Well, Rory is stuck in Hartford with my parents, and Lauren is at home sick. I'm actually on my way to get her soup. So, I'm enjoying my present by myself for a little bit." Lorelai smiles as she walks away.
With soup in hand, Lorelai is walking cheerfully through town, but she stops when she sees a familiar face standing across the street. Max turns and looks forward, looking at Lorelai with a big smile. Lorelai walks over to him.
"Well. Well. Well." Max says.
"What's up, teach?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I live here. What are you doing here?" Lorelai asks.
"I was on my way back from Stamford. My car decided to stop."
"Here?"
"Yes."
"In my town?"
"Good car."
"It's nice to see you."
"You, too."
"You know, a minute ago I was really angry about something, and now I just can't remember what it was." He tells her.
"Well, that's snow for you." Lorelai laughs.
Max smiles, staring happily at Lorelai. "I guess so."
"So, this is quite a predicament you're in. Stranded here in a strange town with no one you know. Oh, wait."
"Where's Rory tonight?"
"She's in Hartford with her grandparents."
"That must be nice."
"Whatever you say."
"So, Rory's in Hartford."
"Yes."
"And I'm in Stars Hollow."
"Correct."
"And you're-"
"Holding soup for my sick kid at home." Lorelai shows him.
Max closes his eyes, laughing quietly. "Yes. The other one." He remembers.
Lorelai laughs. "Yes. The other one. I have another daughter, you know?"
"Yes. Lauren. How is she?"
"Miserable."
"Poor girl."
"Yeah. Would you like to come over? I'm sure she won't mind." Lorelai jokes, knowing Lauren probably wouldn't even know.
Max smiles. "Sure. Let me give this man my keys and then we can be on our way."
"Great."
Rory is doing her school work at her grandparents dining room table while Emily is on the phone.
"I just don't understand why you waited so late to call. Are you sure? Fine. Alright. Yes. Goodbye." Emily hangs up. "Well, I don't know what I'm gonna do now."
"What's the problem, Emily?" Richard asks, as he sits in his chair reading the newspaper.
"The problem is that apparently Florence cannot get here because of the storm."
"Florence?"
"Our cook."
"Oh. We'll just have to go out, then."
"Oh, please, Richard." Emily exclaims. "Pay attention. We can't go out. It's miserable out there."
"We'll figure something out."
"What? What will we figure out?" Emily asks, growing frustrated with her husband.
"I don't know. But-"
"I hate this damn snow!"
"Emily, calm down."
"This is a serious problem. These Friday dinners are the only proper food that child eats all week."
"Rory, are you in any way malnourished, or in need of some international relief organization to recruit a celebrity to raise money on your account?" Richard asks.
"I'm good." Rory answers.
"She's good, Emily."
"Your sense of humor rears its ugly head at the oddest of times, Richard." Emily glares.
"Emily, I'm not the mastermind behind some great scheme to spoil your dinner plans, and I don't care to be treated as such."
"So, you're fine with having no dinner tonight, is that it?" Emily asks, knowingly.
Richard puts down his paper. "I certainly am not."
Rory walks over. "Hey. How about I check the fridge? I'm sure there's something in there we could whip up."
"Whip up?" Emily asks.
"Yeah. Come on. It'll be fun. I promise." Rory walks away.
"Well, come on, Mr. We'll Figure It Out." Emily tells Richard as they follow Rory into the kitchen. Rory opens the fridge where there is packages of leftover and a box of frozen pizza. "Nothing."
"Not a blessed thing." Richard says.
"Hey. There's frozen pizza." Rory shows them.
"How did that get there?" Emily asks, looking confused.
"Maybe you bought it and forgot about it."
"I've never bought a frozen pizza. It must belong to Anna."
"The maid." Richard says.
"Yes."
"Got one!" He says, proudly.
Rory starts to take the pizza out of the box. "What are you doing?" Emily asks.
"I'm gonna make it." Rory tells her.
"That hardly looks like dinner."
"I agree. Rory, that's food you eat at a carnival or in a Turkish Prison." Richard tells her.
"I promise you're gonna love it." Rory tells them. "Listen. Just leave it up to me. You guys go back into the living room, and I'll call you when it's ready." Richard and Emily look at one another and shrug. "Hey, Grandma?"
"Yes?" Emily asks, turning back around.
"What are the odds of your knowing where a cookie sheet would be?"
"I'd say very slim." Richard answers for his wife.
Emily glares up at her husband. "Never mind. I'll find it." Rory assures them.
"Very slim? Thank you for that." Emily says, as they walk out.
Max and Lorelai are getting to know each other while they walk to Lorelai's house.
"So, tell me something about yourself." Lorelai says.
"Like what?" Max asks.
"Um. Have you ever been married?"
"Nope."
"Ever been close?"
"Once."
"And?"
"She's in Thailand now."
"Sex trade?"
"Bank of America."
"It's usually one or the other." Lorelai jokes.
"She went there on business. She did well. She never came back." Max explains.
"Oh. Sad."
"It was, at the time. But if it was meant to be-"
"Oh, he believes in fate."
"Fate. Poetry. Love. They all go together, don't they?"
Lorelai laughs. "Yes. They do."
"How about you?"
"Oh. I've never been married."
"Ever been close?"
"My daughters' dad proposed."
"What happened?"
"The bell rang. I was late for Chem lab."
"You ever sorry that you didn't?" Max asks, curiously.
"Oh, no. We were so young. And my life would have been completely different. You know, I would live here. I wouldn't work here. I probably wouldn't have Lauren. I wouldn't be walking here with you." She says, as they gaze at each other.
Richard is on the phone while they are all still waiting for the food to be finished.
"Oh. This is getting ridiculous, Aaron." Richard complains through the phone. "I will not continue to have these conversations with a child! Yes, he is a child. Well, when he's worked thirty years at the company, that's when he's not a child. Until then, I don't care what his opinions are. Aaron, are you listening to me? Good. Because I am hanging up on you now."
Rory was growing restless. She got up from looking through the window and started making her way upstairs. She walks into Lorelai's old room and begins looking around. Rory opens one of the dresser drawers and takes out a photo album that is there. There are old pictures of when Lorelai was younger. One especially of Lorelai and Christopher when they were teenagers slips out. Rory picks it up and smiles at the picture. Lorelai and Christopher are smiling at each other.
Emily runs in. "There you are. You must come downstairs immediately." She says in a panic.
"What's wrong?" Rory asks.
"The stove is buzzing."
"It's just the timer, Grandma."
"I know it's the timer, Rory. What I don't know is where it's located or how to turn it off."
"Okay. Let's go." Rory says, following Emily out of the room.
Richard and Emily are staring down at their pizza while Rory grabs a piece of pizza, happily, taking a bite.
"You want to eat it before it gets cold." She tells them. Emily cuts a piece and puts it in her mouth, but she almost chokes. "How is it?"
"Not cold." Emily tells her.
"Mmm. It's quite tasty." Richard says. "Emily, we should have this more often."
"What?"
"Perhaps, instead of that horrible salmon that keeps showing up."
"That salmon is fine delicacy."
"Try it again, Grandma. It's probably cooler now." Rory urges.
"No, thank you. I'm fine."
"You know what?" Rory grabs the cheese and tosses a bit on Emily's pizza. "It's really good if you add some extra Parmesan to it. This is Mom's special trick. Frozen pizza is a staple at our house. Mom's become a major doctoring genius. She'll put anything on it. One time Sookie came and brought us some Foie Gras, and Mom stuck it on a pizza."
"How was it?"
"Pretty good once we took the Froi Gras off." Rory tells her. "Okay. Try it." Emily just stares at it again. "Try it. Please?" Emily cuts it with her knife. "If you want to get really crazy, you can pick it up."
"Well, alright." Emily grins. She picks the pizza up with her hands and takes a bite. "Mm! That's wonderful!"
"See!"
"Rory, pass me that cheese." Emily brings it over to Richard and tosses some onto his pizza. "Trust me. It makes all the difference."
"I'll be right back." Rory runs upstairs and comes back down holding the photo album from earlier. "I found this in Mom's room."
"What's that?" Emily asks.
"Pictures."
"Oh. Goodness. I haven't seen that in years." Emily opens it. "Oh. Look at this." Richard starts laughing.
"That's one fluffy white dress." Rory says, amused at the baby picture of her mom.
"Yes. There were twelve petticoats underneath it. We got it in London, remember, Richard?"
"She looks like a little princess."
"Yes. Well, if memory serves, I believe about two minutes after that pictures, her highness dumped a glass of grape juice all over it."
"Look, Emily. It's Hopey." Richard points.
"Hopey?" Rory questions.
"My younger sister." Emily tells her.
"Has she been here when I was here? I don't remember her."
"She lives in Paris. Our great expatriate." Richard tells her.
"I haven't seen her in such a long time." Emily says.
"Maybe we should take a trip this year."
"That would be nice."
"Maybe Rory and Lauren could go with us."
Rory smiles. "I'll start packing tomorrow." Emily turns the page to a picture of herself and Richard on their wedding day. "Oh. Is that you guys?"
"Yes. It is." Emily confirms. "Our wedding picture."
"That's an amazing dress."
"It should've been. My mother had three seamstresses working round the clock making it."
"You still have it?"
"It's upstairs packed away somewhere. I'll save it for you, if you like." Emily smiles.
"Oh, Emily." Richard scoffs. "Rory's too young to be thinking about things like that."
"Oh, please. Every young girl thinks about her wedding. I know I did. I knew from the time I was twelve that I wanted lilies and orchids with a silver bow wrapped around them for my bouquet."
"You also knew that you wanted to marry Errol Flynn."
Rory laughs. "Grandma has a thing for the pirate guy?"
"I did not have a thing for the pirate guy." Emily grins.
"She was mad about him." Richard tells Rory. "She even tried to get me to grow one of those little mustaches."
"You're kidding." Rory says.
"Richard, stop." Emily scolds, playfully.
"She wanted me to swing from the chandelier. Luckily, I was on the fencing team at college, or I would have married Lucinda Lester by now." Richard jokes.
"Actually, Lucinda Lester looked a lot like Errol Flynn." Emily laughs. "I should have married her. It would've been very modern of me."
Rory turns the page, enjoying this reminiscing with her grandparents, and a picture of her mom dressed in a white long dress is on the next page. "Wow. Mom looks really beautiful here." Rory says.
"Yes. She does." Emily says, suddenly not interested in the photo album anymore.
"What was the occasion?"
"Who would like some coffee?" Richard asks, changing the subject.
"That was he debutante gown for her coming out party." Emily tells her grand-daughter.
"Mom had a coming out party?" Rory asks, looking surprised.
"No. She didn't." Richard goes into the kitchen.
Rory finally understands the sudden mood change. Lorelai was pregnant with her. "Oh."
"Yes. Well, things happen, don't they?" Emily asks, closing the album, and follows Richard into the kitchen.
Max and Lorelai walk up on the porch to the front door.
"So, this is it, my house." Lorelai tells him.
"It's nice."
"Thank you."
"Good porch. Nice windows. Front door. Max says reaching for the knob. "Which opens, I assume."
"Yeah." Lorelai hesitates.
"Something wrong?"
"No. Nothing's wrong."
"Are you sure?"
Lorelai sighs. "Okay. It's just that you're about to meet my daughter. My eleven year-old daughter. My baby. She may not seem like an eleven year-old at first, because she thinks she's twenty-five, sometimes, but she's my daughter. My very sick daughter, who, right now, is very clingy when she is sick. Lauren has never met any of my 'friends' so this will be new to me and to her."
"You don't think she'll like me?" Max asks.
"No. Well, I don't know. Like I said, you're meeting her at a very weird time right now. See. I have very strict rules when it comes to dating. I keep my personal life totally separate from my life with Rory and Lauren. You know, I never want them to feel unsettled, or like their life could just shift at any moment. And they come first, and this is their house, too."
"Do you want me to leave?"
"No. No. No. Just beware. That's all I'm saying."
Mox nods. "Alright. Well, let's get this soup to her."
Lorelai walks in and slowly opens the door, letting Max in. "Babbette, I'm back."
Babbette walks over. "Hey, sugar." She sees Max, and smiles. "Oh, hello."
"Max, this is my neighbor Babbette. Babbette, this my friend Max. His car broke down so while it's getting fix I decided to bring him here." Lorelai explains.
"Oh. You don't have to explain anything to me, sugar."
"How's Lauren doing?"
"She was asking for you about five minutes ago. She said something about your ten minutes was up and then she just fell right back to sleep, poor thing. I'm gonna get going and leave you two alone."
"Thanks for watching her, Babbette."
"Anytime."
"Nice meeting you." Max says.
"It was nice meeting you, too, honey." Babbette looks over at Lorelai and nudges her. "Oh! The chin!" She tries to whisper, but Max hears her and smiles.
"I better go check on Lauren." Lorelai says when Babbette leaves. "Make yourself at home." She grabs the soup from Max and goes upstairs. When she reaches Lauren's room, Lauren is still sleeping, sprawled out with Kleenex surrounding her. Lorelai didn't want to wake her up, so she pulls the covers over Lauren and turns her lamp off, hoping she stays asleep for the rest of the night. Lorelai comes downstairs and heads to the kitchen with Max following. "She is still sleeping." She says, putting the soup on the counter. "How do you like your coffee because I've built such a tolerance to it, I usually make it too intense for most people."
"Don't hold back."
"Okay."
"Can I help?"
"Um. Yeah. You can fill up the pot."
"Oh. I am very good at that." He laughs and grabs the pot from Lorelai. "Six cups sounds good?"
"Fine. What're are you gonna have?" She jokes.
"You do know that was a leading question, right?"
"Really? How so?" She asks walking closer to Max. He kisses her softly on her lips. "How bad do you want that coffee?"
"Not that badly." He tells her.
"Such a good answer." She grabs Max around his neck and kisses him again. They keep making out, staying together as they make their way into the living room. Lauren slowly makes her way down without being seen.
"Mom?" Lauren says, scaring both Max and Lorelai apart.
"Oh, Lauren! You scared me." Lorelai says, holding her chest.
Lauren walks all the way down the stairs, staring at Max in the process. "You were only supposed to bring soup home." She reminds Lorelai in a raspy voice.
Lorelai and Max smile at each other. "Uh. Lauren, this is Max. Remember the guy I was talking to you and Rory about? Mr. Medina? Rory's English teacher?"
"But why is he here?"
"His car broke down, so I brought him here to wait. Max, this is my daughter Lauren."
Max puts his hand out. "Nice to meet you, Lauren."
Lauren just looks at his awaiting hand. "I'm sick." She says, looking up at him.
"It's okay. I can handle it." Max tells her.
Lauren slowly shakes Max's hand. Lorelai puts her hand on Lauren's forehead to check for a fever. "Your hand is freezing." Lauren whines, pulling away.
"You're still really warm. Come on. I have your soup." Lorelai tells her.
"I'm not hungry."
Lorelai grabs Lauren's hand and leads her to the kitchen. "Max, make yourself comfortable."
Max looks around the living room and sits on the couch as he listen to Lorelai coach Lauren into eating her soup.
With a lot of fussing and gagging due to her sore throat, Lauren ate her soup. After she finished half of it, she and Lorelai went sit with Max on the couch, Lauren sitting right in the middle of them. She's leaning against Lorelai as she continues staring at Max.
"So, are you and my mom, like, dating?" Lauren asks him.
Max and Lorelai exchange glances knowing part of this is Lauren's fever talking. Max smiles softly. "I would like to. But only if that's okay with you and your sister."
Lauren shrugs. "Mom's a big girl. She can do what she wants."
Lorelai smiles. "Thanks, hun." She says, rolling her eyes.
"Do you have any kids?"
"No kids." Max answers.
"Ever been married before?"
"Nope."
"Ever been close?"
Max smirks at Lorelai who is trying not to laugh. "Once. But it didn't work out."
"Why were you in my town?"
"I teach a class in Stamford and ride through here." Max tells her.
"What kind of product do you use for your hair?"
"Lauren!" Lorelai covers Lauren's mouth.
Max laughs. "You ask a lot of questions."
"I like to know things." Lauren shrugs. They are silent for a few minutes until Lauren looks back up at Max. "You really like my mom?"
Max looks at Lauren, then over at Lorelai who is waiting for an answer as well. "Yeah. I do. I like your mom a lot."
Lauren simply nods and turns back to watching t.v. Lorelai kisses Lauren, gently, while she looks at Max and silently thanking her daughter for asking that question.
After an hour, the meds kicked in and Lauren was back asleep.
"I think I should go. It's getting late." Max whispers.
Lorelai sighs. "Why don't you just stay here?"
"Oh. I don't know." He says, pointing to Lauren.
Lorelai smiles. "I doubt she will even remember any of this. Really. The couch is comfortable, and there's pillows and blankets. The bathroom's through there. The kitchen has nothing in it but running water if you get thirsty." Lorelai looks at the window. "And it's an awful night." She says, watching the snow continue to come down hard.
"Okay. If it's not a problem."
"Not at all. Let me just take this one upstairs, and we'll be out of your way." Lorelai stands up and reaches for Lauren, but Max stops her.
"Wait. Let me help you." Max picks Lauren up, cradling her in his arms. "Do you feed her?" He jokes.
Lorelai laughs. "Quite a bit actually. Her room is right upstairs." Lorelai tells him as he follows her upstairs. Max slowly puts Lauren down in her bed when they walk into her room. Lorelai grabs the covers and places them over her daughter and gently kissing her cheek. "Thanks for this." She whispers to Max when they walk out of the bedroom.
"It's not a problem. She's a great kid. Beautiful. Just like her mom." Lorelai smiles and closes the door behind them. "Could I at least give you a kiss goodnight?" He asks.
"Only if you intend to live till morning." Lorelai tells him as she leans in and kisses him right on the mouth.
"Goodnight." Max says, pulling away.
"Goodnight." Lorelai smiles and walks away to her bedroom.
Lorelai wakes up to the sound of a car, the following morning. She jumps out of bed and runs to her window just in time to see Rory getting out the car her grandmother provided for her. Lorelai quickly puts on her shoes and jacket and meets Rory outside before she can make it to the door.
"Hi!"
"Hi." Rory says, sensing something suspicious. "What's up?"
"Nothing. What's up with you?" Lorelai asks her.
"You have something to tell me." Rory says, knowingly.
"Boy. You're so smart. Right. Okay. Here we go." Lorelai takes a quick breath. "I've got a boy in the house."
Rory looks confused. "You what?" She's unsure if she heard her mom correctly.
"Nothing happened. He slept the whole night on the couch, and you know him."
"I do?"
"And you like him! I don't know if that's relevant. I just thought that I would throw that in there." Rory pushes her way into the house. Lorelai watches nervously as her daughter looks into the living room. "That's Mr. Medina." Lorelai whispers.
"I know." Rory whispers back, as she stares at her sleeping teacher on her couch. "My English teacher is on my couch."
"It was the snow." Lorelai tells her. "You know how I get. It's like catnip. I was walking. He was there. His car was broken. It was the snow." Lorelai nudges her daughter a bit. "Rory, say something." Rory turns around and walks into the kitchen. Lorelai follows her in. "Rory, talk to me. How do you feel?"
"I don't know." Rory says, honestly, as she makes herself a cup of coffee.
"Take a guess: Angry, frustrated, nauseous?"
"Weird. I feel weird. Has he been here all night?"
"Pretty much."
"Oh, my gosh. Did he go to the bathroom? I have stuff hanging in there!"
"Honey, you knew I was gonna date him, right? This isn't a total surprise."
"Yes. I knew you were going to date. I just didn't expect for him to be here at our house in the morning." Rory tells her.
"I know."
"I don't even remember ever there being a man in our house."
"Yeah. Well, I kinda of broke the rules."
"Why is this so weird for me?"
"Because I should have told you first."
"No."
"Because I should have talked to you before I did this."
"No."
"Because you're afraid he smooshed the couch pillow out of shape?"
"Do you love him?" Rory asks, unexpectedly.
"I, uh..." Lorelai stutters. "We had one date. It was a great date. World series level. But it was just a date. Honey, I promised myself a long time ago that I was gonna keep all this stuff separate from you girls. And I want you to know that still stands, okay? This was a one time thing. I'm not gonna start just bringing guys home. This is not a trend."
"You can, you know?"
"What?"
"Bring guys home. I mean, if you like someone, you should feel comfortable doing that."
"I appreciate that."
"I want you to be happy."
"And I love you for that."
"Plus, I know you're not a cat person. So, you truly will be alone if you don't find someone."
"Okay. Look. Someday, I will bring someone home. But, when I do, I just want to be sure it's the guy."
"Mr. Medina's not the guy?" Rory asks.
Lorelai shrugs. "I don't know. He might be. But, right now, it's just you, me, and Lauren."
"Oh. Lauren." Rory says, remembering her sick sister who was left her last night. "Did she meet him?"
Lorelai smiles. "Oh, yes. She and her snot met him." She jokes.
"How'd she take it?"
"I don't know. She asked him questions, but she was looped up on medicine, I doubt she'll remember any of it."
Rory smirks. "I'm gonna go check on her."
"I am going to go and wake the man up." Lorelai tells her as they both make their wait to the living room. One to the couch and the other goes upstairs. Rory stops halfway up, hearing her mom laugh with her teacher. Her teacher. Rory takes the picture she took from Lorelai's photo album of her mom and dad. She looks at it before and sighs before walking into her sister's room, closing the door behind her.
