AN: Thanks for the continued interest in my story, on with the next chapter! As always, I take full credit for any spelling or grammar errors as I don't have a beta. I try my best to catch them when proofreading, but its inevitable something will slip by. For example when rereading what I've posted already, I noticed in a previous chapter I spelled Stars Hollow wrong - yikes! .
Lorelai stood waiting for the front door to open, wringing her hands nervously. She shifted her feet, unable to contain the tension that thrummed through her body.
The door opened and startled, Lorelai looked up to see the maid staring at her.
"I'm here for dinner," she said weakly, stepping hesitantly through the front door.
Before she could take another step, someone tackled her in a tight hug.
"Mom!" Rory exclaimed happily, smothering her mom.
Lorelai returned the hug gratefully, drawing strength from her daughter. "Hey kid," she whispered.
Rory stepped back as she heard the click of shoes on the hardwood floor and Rory turned to see her grandmother approaching them.
"You're late, Lorelai," Emily said briskly, beckoning the girls to follow her into the sitting room.
"It's 7:03 mother, the world is not going to end because I was three minutes late," she said sarcastically, handing her purse off to the maid.
"The world may not end Lorelai, but the expectation is that dinner is at 7 and you are expected to be on time. After the little stunt you pulled last week, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. It seems you've forgotten all your manners," Emily replied haughtily.
Lorelai's shoulders slumped as she followed her mother into the sitting room. Rory trailed behind her, observing her mom carefully. While Lorelai looked immaculately put together, Rory had seen the fatigue lining her face and noticed how her eyes had seemed dull and lifeless. She frowned as she remembered how her mom had seemed thin when she hugged her and she stared at her retreating form trying to see if it was noticeably visible.
"Coming kid?" Lorelai turned around, staring questioningly at Rory.
Rory plastered a smile on her face and followed her mom and grandmother into the sitting room. She smoothed her skirt down as she sat on the settee next to Lorelai.
"Richard will be down in a minute. Now, what would you girls like to drink?" Asked Emily
"I'll have a martini," Lorelai said.
"I'll just have a soda grandma," piped Rory.
Emily prepared the drinks and brought them over before sitting in the chair opposite the settee.
"Rory, I want to hear all about the event you had last week for the newspaper," Emily said warmly, smiling at Rory.
"Oh grandma, it wasn't a big deal," said Rory shyly. "The dean of the university was giving a speech and I was covering it for the paper."
"Rory, that sounds like a wonderful opportunity!" Emily gushed.
"Hello girls," said Richard walking into the room. "Sorry I'm a little late. I had a business call that ran longer than expected. Now Rory. What's this I hear about the speech you covered for the paper?"
Lorelai sat quietly as her parents spoke animatedly with Rory. An unexpected spark of jealously flared in her as she listened to her parents talk easily with Rory. Emily and Richard both spoke earnestly and nothing was said with hidden malice. She dreaded the moment the conversation turned to include her, as she expected insults to be casually dropped into the conversation by her mother at her expense.
"Dinner is ready Mrs. Gilmore," the maid announced, interrupting the conversation between Rory and her grandparents.
"Sarah, its very rude to interrupt a conversation. In the future, you must wait for a break in the conversation before interrupting," Emily said exasperatedly.
"Sorry Mrs. Gilmore. I didn't want dinner to get cold," the maid said timidly.
"Never mind, let's go eat," said Emily, standing up and walking into the dining room.
Lorelai hung back, taking a moment to calm herself. Now that Rory had exhausted the topic of Yale, the conversation was sure to turn to what was going on in Lorelai's life. All week Lorelai had tried to think of the best way to inform her parents of her broken engagement with as little detail as possible. She was hoping to avoid the topic of Christopher all together, but she assumed he would be brought up after what happened at dinner the previous Friday.
"Lorelai, did you forget how to walk? We're waiting for you to start dinner," Emily said, aggravation evident in her tone of voice.
Lorelai blushed and slunk into the dining room, muttering a quiet, "Sorry."
It was quiet as they all began cutting into their food. Emily began to talk at length about the latest event she was planning for the DAR and Rory feigned interest. Lorelai sat quietly, pushing her food around her plate. The food tasted like ash in her mouth and it was all she could do to choke down an acceptable amount. She didn't want to face the additional scrutiny Emily would bestow on Lorelai if she left her plate uneaten.
"Lorelai, I thought I told you that you needed to be on your best behavior tonight," Emily said suddenly. "You've been quiet and sullen all evening and frankly I'm inclined to ask you to leave."
Rory sent an apologetic look at her mom and tried to change the subject, "Grandpa, how is the insurance business treating you lately?"
"Rory, I'm talking to your mother. She hasn't participated in a single conversation all evening. Now, Lorelai. Why don't you tell us all why you felt the need to run off so suddenly last week. Poor Christopher had to leave he was so embarrassed and you completely humiliated me," said Emily, glaring at Lorelai.
Lorelai looked down at her plate and took a deep breath before blurting out, "I slept with Christopher."
Emily dropped her fork with a loud clatter as it hit the porcelain plate. Richard sat frozen with his drink halfway to his mouth, and Rory looked at her mom nervously. Lorelai closed her eyes and slumped down in her chair, unable to believe what she had just blurted out. She hadn't intended to tell them about Chris just yet.
Emily recovered quickly, picking up her fork and laying it gently on the table.
"I don't understand, you are engaged to Luke. While I was never very fond of Luke, I can't believe you would be so unrefined as to cheat on him! You've proven in the past you have commitment issues, just look at the situation with Max, but to sleep with someone else! I'm ashamed to call you my daughter, Lorelai," Emily finished her tirade, glaring at Lorelai.
Lorelai's cheeks burned in embarrassment and tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. Rory was looking at her mom with eyes filled with pity and Richard was studiously cutting into his chicken, avoiding getting drawn into the conflict.
Emily continued her rant, "Of all the poor choices you have made in your life Lorelai, this one is near the top. No wonder poor Christopher was so embarrassed last week. You know he's been in love with you since you were 16 and you were always too stubborn to give him a chance. If you had married him back then, your life wouldn't be such a train wreck. You go from man to man, never committing and always running. You are acting just like you are 16 all over again. I only hope you have managed to use protection this time. I don't think this family could handle the scandal of another pregnancy out of wedlock."
"Mom!" Lorelai interrupted her harshly, anger burning in her eyes.
"I will not sit here and listen to this. Not that it is any of your business, but Luke and I broke up. We were not engaged when I went to Christopher. It's nice to know my mother thinks I'm just a big slut who goes around cheating and sleeping with any man she comes across," Lorelai ranted.
"Lorelai! Language!" Emily interrupted, aghast at the crass words coming from her daughter's mouth.
"What, did I offend you with my word choice?" Lorelai said sarcastically.
"Lorelai, that's enough. That is no way to speak to your mother," Richard spoke up, glancing at Emily.
"I can't believe you guys are ganging up on me. Oh wait, I can, because I'm not Christopher. You always did like him better than you ever liked me, I'm surprised you didn't adopt him after I got pregnant. Why can't you ever consider that he isn't as perfect as you think he is. He hurt me!" She exclaimed out of anger. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had just let slip.
"What do you mean he hurt you?" Emily asked shrewdly, staring intently at Lorelai.
Lorelai attempted to backpedal from her slip, "Nothing. Forget it. Mom, dad, thank you for a wonderful dinner. I have to be going."
She stood up abruptly, pushing her chair back with a loud screech. For the second week in a row, Lorelai fled the room, leaving her parents staring at her in shock.
Rory sat awkwardly, pondering her mother's words. What did she mean? Christopher hurt her? It was obvious that her mother had let something slip that she hadn't intended to. She couldn't imagine her dad doing anything to hurt her mom. Had he gotten angry and hit her? She shuddered at the thought.
"Rory, what did Lorelai mean?" Emily pressed Rory, searching for information. "What exactly happened between your mother and Luke?"
"I...I don't really know grandma. Mom didn't tell me much, just that she and Luke had broken up. She said she went to dad's that night, but she didn't want to give me many details..." Rory trailed off, not wanting to air all of her mom's problems to Emily. She didn't want to betray her like that.
"Well, she always did have a flair for the dramatics. As if Christopher would do anything to hurt her," Emily reasoned.
"I'm sorry grandma, but I should go. I want to call mom and see if she's ok. I'm worried about her," Rory said softly, rising from the table.
"Tell your mother I didn't meant insult her," Emily said uneasily. "Perhaps I overreacted a bit. I've always had a hard time keeping my cool with Lorelai."
Rory raised her eyebrows at her grandma's uncharacteristic apology. Emily was never one to admit she was in the wrong. She looked at her grandpa, who was desperately trying to remain out of the conversation.
Rory walked over to Richard and gave him a hug before embracing Emily.
"Thanks for dinner. I'll see you next week," she said quietly, leaving her grandparents sitting silently at the dinner table.
Rory fumbled for her phone as she raced out to her car. As expected, her mom's car was nowhere in sight. Sitting in the driver's seat of her Prius, she pressed speed dial one and waited anxiously for her mom to pick up.
The phone rang and rang before Lorelai's voicemail message came on, "You are dazed, bewildered, trapped in a world with no time, where color collides with sound and shadows explode. You see a sign up ahead. This is no ordinary answering device; this is "The Twilight Phone."
"Come on mom, answer the phone. What happened at dinner? I'm worried about you. I'm coming over, we need to talk," Rory frowned as she hung up. It wasn't like her mom to ignore her call.
Speeding through the streets of Hartford, she drove numbly towards Stars Hollow. She couldn't stop playing her mom's words in her head.
He hurt me.
She didn't understand what her mom meant. While Lorelai had glossed over the details of all that had happened, she hadn't given any indication that something sinister had happened. She sped towards home, resolving to get her mom to open up about what had happened.
Lorelai drove blindly through the streets, her eyes clouded with tears. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid. How could she have blurted something like that out at dinner?
Her cell phone rang and startled her from her thoughts. Glancing down at it, she saw the name Rory flash on the screen. Biting her lip, she let the phone go to voicemail. She wasn't ready to face her daughter yet.
Speeding past her house, she drove straight to the inn. She hoped not going home would give her extra time to settle herself and decide what to tell Rory. She didn't know if she would be able to gloss over what she had revealed in the heat of the moment.
Slamming her car into park, she stumbled out of her jeep and practically ran to the stables. Her heels stuck in the soft grass and she kicked them off in her haste, stumbling and falling to the ground. She picked herself up off the ground and ran to the stable barefoot, then pushed the door to the stable open. Quietly, she approached Desdemona's stall.
"Hey girl," she whispered, petting the horse's velvety nose. "You up for some company?"
Desdemona nickered quietly and Lorelai unlatched the stall. Creeping inside, she sank down in the straw in the corner of the stall. Desdemona stepped over to her and lowered her head, sniffing at Lorelai inquisitively.
Lorelai stroked the horse's face, allowing herself to get lost in Desdemona's gentle eyes.
"I messed up tonight girl," she whispered. "I said something I shouldn't have and I don't know how I'm going to fix it. I never thought I'd say this, but my mom is right. My life is a train wreck."
Finally allowing the tears to fall, Lorelai sat in the stall, huddled in the corner. The straw poked at her through her thin dress, but she didn't care. She cried as she thought about the malice in her mother's words, insinuating she was easy. She cried for the way her dad had looked at her with eyes filled disappointment. No matter what, she always managed to fail them. Nothing she ever did would be good enough for them.
Rory roared up to the front of the Crap Shack and slammed her car into park. She frowned when she noticed her mom's Jeep wasn't in the driveway and the house was completely dark. Sitting in her car, she thought about where her mom might be. If this was three weeks ago, she knew her mom would be at Luke's ranting about dinner and having coffee and pie. But now,Lorelai was upset because of her situation with Luke and she hadn't stepped foot in the diner since the night of the breakup.
After thinking it over, she decided to try the inn. She knew her mom had been working overtime, and with the diner out of the question, working seemed like just the distraction her mom would be looking for. Sighing heavily, she headed towards the inn.
Relief flowed through her when she pulled up in front of the inn and saw the Jeep parked haphazardly out front. It was obvious her mom had been in a rush as the Jeep was parked diagonally across the lawn, nowhere close to being in a parking spot. Throwing open the door and hopping out of her car, she ran into the inn. She looked up only to find herself looking into the face of the night manager, Tobin.
"Hi Tobin, um, is my mom here?" Rory asked, glancing into the next room to see if she could see her mom.
"I'm sorry Rory. I haven't seen her this evening. Last I saw she was leaving to get ready to go to dinner," Tobin said cheerfully.
"Oh, ok. Well her Jeep's out front, so she must be here somewhere," Rory replied, worried that her mom hadn't come inside.
"You're welcome to go check her office Rory. Maybe I missed her come in," Tobin said warmly.'
"Thanks," she said gratefully.
She walked down the hallway until she came to her mom's office. Knocking gently, she questioned, "Mom?"
Hearing nothing but silence, she pushed open the door. The room was dark and quiet, with Lorelai nowhere to be seen. Rory frowned, growing more worried about where her mom was.
Walking slowly out the front door, she paused on the steps and looked around. She was about to walk to her car when she noticed a faint light coming from the barn. Squinting her eyes in the darkness, she could just make out the barn door cracked open. She started walking towards the barn and nearly fell when she tripped over something in the grass. Looking down, she noticed her mom's heels thrown on the ground. She furrowed her brown in concern. She picked up her mom's shoes and continued on towards the barn. The door creaked as it slowly opened and she paused in the doorway. Listening carefully, she heard sniffling coming from the direction of one of the stalls.
"Mom?" Rory whispered.
There was a pause and Rory heard the sniffling stop. She heard some rustling coming from Desdemona's stall and walked over. By the time she reached the stall, her mom was emerging from the darkness. Rory looked over Lorelai and noted the mascara and tear stains on her cheeks and the straw stuck to her dress.
"Hey sweets. You found me," she said softly.
"I think we need to talk. Do you want me to take you home?" Rory asked gently.
Lorelai nodded and allowed Rory to guide her to her car. She let Rory place her in the passenger's seat and she slumped against the window, utterly exhausted. A headache throbbed in her temple and she closed her eyes.
Rory hopped into the driver's seat and glanced over at her mom, worry clouding her features.
AN: Once again, I apologize for the delay in posting. I was out of town for a week and a half and wasn't able to find time to write.
Generally I do not like scenes where Emily is portrayed as an evil person. While her character is problematic and she and Lorelai have a rocky relationship, she was never overtly cruel or vicious. I tried not to make Emily seem too evil here, as I'm trying my best not to make everyone completely unrecognizable from their canon character. So hopefully I portrayed her ok.
Ummmm I am not creative enough to come up with a voicemail message, so credit belongs to whoever came up with it and posted it on lol. Lorelai always had funny voicemail messages when we heard them on the show, so I thought one with a pop culture flair was appropriate.
I'm still mulling over in my head how to get where I want with this story. I have a chapter written that takes place roughly 2 weeks after this one. It was actually one of the first chapters I wrote and everything has been sort of leading up to it. Still trying to figure out how to get there in an interesting way that isn't just rehashing the plot from the beginning of the story. I feel like there are only so many chapters I can make of Lorelai at the inn or at home, so I'm stuck a tiny bit.