Richard Gilmore

Lorelai pointed to a picture on the same page. "This is a nice picture of Dad," she said, looking at Luke and giving him a slight smile.

Rory leaned in to look at the picture. "That is a cute picture. I didn't know Grandpa would be in your album, too!"

"Well, let's think about this logically, Rory. Where there's Emily, there has to be Richard, right?" Lorelai reasoned.

"Usually, unless they go through that whole Penilynn Lott dinner fiasco again," Rory said, rolling her eyes.

Luke adjusted his baseball cap. "Who the hell is Penilynn Lott?" he asked. "And why did Richard go out to dinner with her?"

"Penilynn Lott is my almost Mommy," Lorelai said, grinning.

"Translation? Grandpa's ex girlfriend that caused some intense arguing on Grandma and Grandpa's part. Mom calls Penilynn Lott her 'almost mommy' because of that," Rory explained.

Luke turned to Lorelai and shook his head. "You're crazier than I originally thought you were," he teased.

"I love being crazy. Normal is so overrated, you realize this, right? And what the heck is 'normal'? Do 'they' all sit at a table and think these things up?" Lorelai mused.

"And that starts the age old debate of 'who are they, anyway?' and it gets to be one of those conversations we have for hours," Rory insisted.

Luke took Lorelai's hand as a gentle sign that he wanted to move on. "Yes, this is a picture of you and your dad, after the wedding."

"He looks very handsome in that tux," Rory pointed out.

Lorelai smiled. "It is a nice picture. Invisible post it goes right here," she said, pretending to put a post it note on the picture.

"Yeah, your dad's a good guy. I think all this time he was a little easier to deal with than your mother," Luke reasoned.

"Well, Grandpa's a reasonable guy as long as you're honest with him. He knows that you would take good care of us, because if you didn't, he knows darn well we'd starve," Rory teased.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows and turned to Rory, giving her an apologetic look. "Ooh, that reminds me, sorry, hon, but you're roped into Friday Night Dinner with us next week."

Rory shrugged. "That's all right, I kind of miss it. Don't shoot," she said, holding her arms up in mock self defense.

"But the good news is that it's the last one I'm required to attend before the baby comes," Lorelai said, clasping her hands together and waving them on either side of her, pretending to be victorious.

"It will be nice to have a break," Luke added.

Rory smiled. "I think I'll go while you two are gone, to keep them company. I owe them a few dinners, anyway. I've been away for so long."

"That's my practical offspring for ya!" Lorelai teased. "And I'm sure they would love to catch up with you after you've been away for so long."

"Richard showed up at the diner a few weeks ago," Luke informed Rory. "He likes to brag about you to me, and sometimes he shows up to talk. But this time, he wanted to talk to everyone but me."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "This is a good story."

"He wanted to get to know the town better, because he figured he'd be around more once the baby comes," Luke started.

Luke turned and looked at who was coming in the door of the diner. Richard Gilmore straightened his bow tie and walked up to the counter. "Hello, there, Luke, is any table acceptable for me to seat myself at?"

Luke nodded. "Sure, have a seat wherever you'd like, I'll be over in a few minutes."

"All righty," Richard said, seating himself at Kirk's table. "Hello, young man, how are you?"

Kirk's eyes widened. "Uh… I… uh…"

"Are you a friend of Lorelai and Luke's? I presume you know my granddaughter Rory, former editor of the Yale Daily News and correspondent for an online magazine," Richard continued.

"Yes, I do," Kirk said, panicked.

Luke walked over to the table and couldn't help but inwardly laugh at the seating arrangement that Richard had created. "Richard, any table is really fine, there's no need to consolidate."

"I was just getting to know this young man. I've been to town a few times now, and I have yet to introduce myself to the majority of the town. Who might you be?" Richard asked, directing his attention to Kirk on the last part of his sentence.

Kirk stood up perfectly straight at the table, next to his chair, and saluted Richard. "Kirk Gleason, sir," he said, staring straight ahead.

Richard chuckled slightly and gave a sympathetic smile. "At ease, my boy."


Kirk sat at the table again and Luke escorted Richard to another table. "Kirk's a little… odd," Luke explained.

"What's a small town without some local color? It's completely fine. I just don't feel like I know a lot about the town," Richard mused.

Luke sighed. "Well, then, you should come to one of the crazy festivals they have. You'll learn a lot at one of those, that's for sure."

"Festivals?" Richard asked, genuinely interested.

"Well, we have festivals as a town, usually for a strange holiday, fundraising purposes, or, if the town's really bored, just for the heck of it. There's always something going on. I'll have Lorelai give you a heads up when the next one comes around," Luke explained.

Richard chuckled. "That sounds fascinating! I'm looking forward to it!"

Rory grinned. "So Grandpa wanted to stop by for a festival, huh? That would be really funny!"

"Oh, it was," Lorelai added.

Rory looked at Luke in disappointment. "No, I missed it? Aww. I'm disappointed! I really wanted to be here for something hysterical like that."

"Oh, God, was it funny! Grandma and Grandpa came to a town meeting!" Lorelai revealed.

Rory raised her eyebrows. "And I didn't hear about this because?" she pressed.

Luke gave Rory a sympathetic smile. "That was right when your phone broke for that week. And your mom wrote everything down that she wanted to tell you, but she lost the box full of notes."

Rory nodded. "Oh, I remember that week. That was one intensely awful week."

"For you, or for me?" Lorelai asked, crossing her arms and leaning back on the couch.

"Or me?" Luke added.

Rory hugged Lorelai. "I'm sorry. I e mailed you as much as I could!"

Lorelai smiled, putting her hands on her stomach. "I know, sweets, it's just that hearing your voice was better, and this one doesn't talk back quite yet."

"That was a rough week on all of us," Rory agreed.

"So your grandfather and grandmother came to a town meeting," Luke started.

Lorelai jumped in, interrupting Luke's train of thought. "It was a classic Luke versus Taylor match."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Taylor was being unreasonable."

"Isn't he always?" Rory asked, taking Luke's side.

Lorelai smiled. "You are a little traitor, aren't you, Benedict Arnold?"

"So your grandparents met us outside Miss Patty's studio, right before the meeting was going to start," Luke continued.

Luke took Lorelai's hand as they walked to Miss Patty's. He wasn't thrilled about attending this town meeting, but he had to, especially now that Richard and Emily were coming. For fear of not looking like he was involved in the town, and for fear of being yelled at for other reasons, Luke decided that he would attend the meeting. While they waited to meet up with Emily and Richard, Lorelai chattered on endlessly about what she imagined would happen with her parents mixing in with a town meeting, and just as she came up with 'her best' scenario, Richard and Emily caught up with the pair.

"Luke, Lorelai, hello!" Richard said, taking his hand out of his jacket pocket to shake Luke's hand.

Luke retuned the gesture. "Hello, Richard, hello, Emily, how are you?"

"We're just fine, thank you, Luke. Lorelai, what on Earth did you bring?" Emily asked, motioning to Lorelai's doggy bag from Luke's.

She grinned. "Lots of food. Fries, a burger, and extra pickles!"

"Why on earth would you bring that to a town meeting?" Emily pressed.

Lorelai shrugged. "It's more of a vaudeville show, or a variety hour than a meeting. And plus, I'm eating for two, mind you."

"Honestly, Lorelai, your pregnancy cravings are no excuse for poor etiquette. At least you didn't bring a milkshake, I suppose," Emily muttered.

Lorelai produced a Luke's 'to go' cup and took a sip out of it. "If I can't have coffee, might as well get my energy somehow, huh?"

"Let's go inside, shall we?" Richard asked, rubbing his hands together in excitement. "I've been looking forward to this all week long."

"Here we go," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes.

The four entered the meeting, and it had just started. Taylor banged the gavel on the podium yet again and silenced the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, I want to get this meeting over with quickly, as some are staying up to watch the pilot episode of Kirk's cable access show."

Lorelai snorted. "That should be interesting," she said, elbowing Luke.

"Lorelai, shhh!" Emily hissed.

Lorelai leaned in to whisper to her mother. "No one follows etiquette at these meetings, just relax and say something if you want. Just stand up when you do, so Taylor can give you the floor."

Emily rolled her eyes and turned to Richard, who was already enthused by the activity.

"The only item that needs to be discussed on the agenda tonight is the proposal of Stars Hollow's walkathon," Taylor continued.

"Walkathon?" Zach asked.

"The walkathon is when everyone in Stars Hollow will walk backwards all day to raise money for the bridge," Taylor explained.

Luke rolled his eyes. "That's a safety hazard, Taylor!"

"How can one possibly walk backwards, all day?" Richard asked. "If someone isn't coordinated as it is, that could be potentially dangerous."

Emily groaned and put a hand over her face in embarrassment, while Lorelai watched the exchange like a tennis match.

"Okay, so that idea has been shot down, priming you for the next idea… the first annual Stars Hollow craft day!" Taylor announced.

Lorelai smiled, and gave a 'thumbs up' sign. "Way more my speed, Taylor."

"This craft day would take place in the Stars Hollow High gymnasium… wait a minute, people, you're accepting this garbage? Honestly, I thought you, Lorelai, of all people, would be willing to accept something a little quirky and fun!" Taylor ranted.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Not something that's going to injure me. We could always do something quirky, yet safe!"

"What about the Stars Hollow Day of Silence?" Kirk suggested. "No one talks all day. Everyone buys tickets, and you have five to start with. When someone utters a word, you take their ticket and write your name on it. Then you put the tickets in a big lottery and you pick a grand prize winner."

"I'm out," Lorelai said, raising her hands.

Richard smiled. "Silence is golden, young lady."

"How am I supposed to run my business, Taylor? I have to communicate with my customers and with my employees!" Luke ranted.

Lorelai leaned in to Emily. "Watch that vein in Luke's neck get really big now. French fry?"

Emily declined the French fry, but pointed to Luke's neck as the vein popped out. "That?"

Lorelai giggled. "That's it!"

"He's very passionate, isn't he?" Emily asked.

"He is."

Rory's attempts not to laugh were unsuccessful. "I'm so sorry I missed that one. Really! I just don't even know where to begin…"

"You missed a really good day, kid. I'm so glad you're moving back, so you don't miss anything, ever again," Lorelai insisted.

"I'm glad, too. Those must have been some fantastic moments I missed," Rory mused.

"They were, they were perfect Kodak moment material. Or Thanksgiving stories, one or the other. Or both," Lorelai insisted.

"Who's next, Luke, turn the page!" Rory said, pointing to the album and once again including Luke in the conversation.

Lorelai smiled. "Turn the page! Turn the page!" she chanted. "Luke! Luke! Luke!"

Luke turned to her, and she stopped chanting as he turned the page.