The Inn

            Lorelei sat in the kitchen staring at her cell phone secretly willing it to ring. Sookie looked over from the opposite side of the table where she was decorating the cake for the last Christmas party of the season.

            "Sweetie, she's in Rome. She'll call soon."

            Lorelei's head jerked up. "I wasn't waiting for my cell phone to ring.

            Sookie smiled. "Then what have you been thinking about so hard? It wasn't my stove smoking this time."

            "I was ummmm… thinking how ridiculous it is to have a Christmas party after Christmas."

            "I whole heartedly agree, but that was your excuse half an hour ago."

            Lorelei looked at Sookie in that offended sort of way she was so good at faking. "That doesn't mean I can't still be thinking it."

            "You know it's perfectly ok to miss her. She's your daughter."

            Lorelei threw her hands up. "I gave her a detailed schedule of when I'd be home and to call there, and when I'd be here and call the Inn phone or my cell phone. Even when I'd be at Luke's and to call there, you know cell phone rule. I even changed the time it was here to the time there." Sookie nodded as Lorelei's head fell just a bit too hard onto her arms.

            "Et um…" She and Sookie looked toward the door where Michel had just entered. "Satan, your Spawn is on the phone." He added an even deeper frown to show his complete disdain. Lorelei jumped off the stool and shoved Michel into the door so she could get through. "UGHHH! This is a three hundred dollar suit!" When he saw that no one in the kitchen truly cared he huffed and puffed back out into the lobby to complain to Lorelei about how he wanted company funded dry cleaning.

            Rory hung up with her over zealous mother with a huge grin on her face. Though she has been a bit distracted with being in Rome and her fledgling relationship with Tristan, plus the scheme plotted against their grandparents, she deeply missed her mother. She walked to the vanity on the other side of the room and began to apply her make up for the evening. Her dress called for smoky eyes and bright lips. She wanted for once to be the one making Tristan's hormones tweak out, especially since he couldn't do anything about it.

            She smiled to herself and then began to pout her lips and practice the sultry looks her mother had tried to teach her.

            "Nice face." She jumped and twirled around to find Tristan's amused face staring back at her.

            "Shut up."

            He imitated the face she had just made. "I was told that you should meet us down stairs in the lobby. From what I can tell the units want you to make a memorable entrance and entice me that way."

            "Hunny, that face, not so good. You need practice."

            "I'd like to see better."

            "Oh you might." She got up and walked toward him with her sultry smile plastered on her face. He gulped and backed out of the room.

            She laughed loudly and shut and locked the door in his face.

            "That was not fair."

            "Just shows you that that face does work. Not so much on mirrors, but definitely on you."

            She heard him sigh. "I'll meet you down stairs." She turned around and gave her dress the evil eye.

            After ten minutes of struggling by herself to zip the dress, she hooked the hanger end in the zipper hook and sighed. She had worked up a sweat in the struggle. With her jewelry in hand she walked to the elevator and headed downstairs. She stopped and then began to walk toward her party. She squeamishly moved about in her dress and the ringlet tresses that her grandmother had put in earlier swung about in frenzy. The jewelry was another melee of trouble.

            "Rory." Her grandmother looked her up and down. "Are you ok?"

            "Well I had a feat getting this dress on without someone to zip it for me." She shrugged and let out another labored breath.

            "Nice entrance Gilmore." Tristan looked highly amused and extremely handsome with that devilishly face painted across his face. "I don't think I could have ruined it better myself."

            Emma gave Tristan a scolding look and wrapped an arm around Rory's waist as Emily had done on the opposite side. Escorting her to the limo while fixing the young girl's appearance, as it should have been, they comforted her saying that it could happen to anyone especially if they were nervous about their first opera. The men were left to trail behind the three graceful figures.

            Even though Tristan was acting like a jerk, his insides were reeling at the sight of her, his girlfriend. The dress was magnificent on her. It fit every curve and line to the tee. It took all his will power not to keep staring at her.

            In theater, the grandparents positioned it so the two teenagers sat in front and side by side. They acted indifferent to one and other during the performance and during the intermission snuck a quick kiss while the Gilmores and DuGreys went and socialized with some important person or another.

            "You look beautiful."

            "And you do to." Rory smiled lightly.

            He brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I'm beautiful?"

            "Handsome, whatever, you are beautiful."

            "I can't say anyone has ever really told me that I'm beautiful."

            "OH MY GOD! TRISTAN YOU'RE SO HOT!" Rory flipped her hair to her other shoulder and pretended to giggle playfully. "That's the norm right?"

            "I suppose you could say that, but I swear to God you are the most beautiful thing I've ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on." He leaned over and gave her another kiss.

            "Who knew that Tristan DuGrey could be such a sap?"

            "You know that if you weren't in such a nice dress and our grandmothers wouldn't kill me for tarnishing you're exquisite appearance, you would be begging for mercy right now."

            "In your dreams."

            The lights flickered signaling that the second half of the performance would commence in just a few short moments. Tristan and Rory returned to their side of the box and watched as if they were perfect strangers.

            In the middle of the second act, Rory had the sudden urge to relieve herself. Though he pretended to protest accompanying her, Tristan "gave in" and followed her out the curtained area and out into the hall way. Rory laughed as his annoyed face drained away and was replaced with a glowing smile. He leaned down and kissed her quickly before turning and running in the opposite direction.

            "I should probably do the same. The men's room is this way. I'll meet you back here in five."

            "Make it ten."

            "Oh I forgot. Girls have to sit down to pee."

            "You're extremely articulate in the matter aren't you?"

            "I'd say so." Rory turned and began to walk away. "Don't pee on your dress. I heard it was expensive." She stopped in her tracks, but mumbling something about men and walked away without looking back.