Another Friday night, another Friday night dinner with the grandparents. They were all eating peacefully. Not an argument, not a sarcastic comment.

But it was just the middle of the evening.

"How's the meal?" Emily asks the girls.

"Tasty." Rory tells her.

"Very tasty." Lorelai agrees. "New cook?"

"Yes. Marisella. She's introduced us to some wonderful dishes so charmingly specific to her native country." Emily looks over at Lauren, who was very quiet all evening, which was somewhat unusual. "Lauren, is everything okay over there? Are you not enjoying the food?"

Lauren looks up at Emily. "No, Grandma, everything's fine. The food is great."

"Well, you're awfully quiet tonight. That is very unusual."

Lauren smiles. "Nope. Just enjoying the food that much." Truth was she kept thinking Alex and him calling her. Those two times didn't stop there. He has be continually calling her, and she has been continually hanging up on him. She wasn't sure what she should. Lauren wanted to tell Lorelai, but she was scared. Alex kinda threatened her the last time they talked, but she didn't give him enough time to finish his threat due to her hanging up on him.

Lorelai looks at her youngest and could see that she was thinking hard about something. She had, indeed, been very quiet lately, and not just here at dinner, but at home, too. But now was not the time to bring anything up. "So, what country is she from?" Lorelai asks her mother, changing the subject back onto the cook.

"A little one, next to Mexico." Emily tells her.

Lorelai looks at her girls. "How charmingly specific." She says, sarcastically.

"Too bad Grandpa's not here." Rory says. "He likes weird food."

"Where's he eating his weird food tonight? Argentina? Morocco?"

"Akron." Emily answers.

"Ohio?" Rory asks.

"Yes."

They were expecting some place bigger and out of the country, like usual. "Get out of here." Lorelai says.

"I will not get out of here." Emily scolds her.

Lorelai laughs. "No. I didn't mean really get out of here. I mean-"

"Why is Grandpa in Akron?" Lauren interrupts so her mom doesn't have to explain herself to Emily.

"I don't know." Emily says.

"It was just a saying." Lorelai continues.

"They sent him to deal with a problem with their local office." Emily explains.

"A saying like, 'save me,' or 'get me out of here.' Things like that."

Emily glares at her daughter. "Would you like a mirror in front of you so you can see yourself during this conversation?"

"Sorry. Dad's in Akron."

"Yes. The amenities are atrociously lacking. He had to eat at a coffee shop last night." Emily tells them, sounding very worried. "The whole thing's insulting. He's miserable."

Rory frowns. "I hate that he's miserable."

"So do I. We really ought to do something."

"Yes, I agree."

Lorelai quickly looks at Rory. "Warning. Warning."

"I'm glad you said that." Emily grins. "I thought of a wonderful way to cheer him up."

"Cool. What?" Lauren asks, suddenly interested.

"Danger, Will Robinson. Danger!" Lorelai continues.

"An oil portrait of you and your sister for his study." Emily says, happily.

"An oil portrait?" Rory questions, looking at Lorelai who has given up trying to warn her daughters.

"I tried." Lorelai shrugs. "Have fun."

"It could hang right over his mantel. He'd just love it." Emily tells them.

"I guess that would be okay." Rory says.

"Mom, please don't make them do this." Lorelai begs.

"She just said she would."

"Fine. But don't make them sit and pose for it. Paint it from a photo."

"A photo?" Emily asks. "That's what they do at malls."

"I'll sit. It's fine." Rory assures them. "Lauren?"

"Yeah. I'll do it, too." Lauren agrees.

"Just because your experience was bad doesn't mean Rory and Lauren's had to be." Emily tells her daughter.

"Mom, you have a portrait, too?" Lauren laughs.

"They never finished." Lorelai says, proudly.

"The painters started and they all three quit." Emily tells them.

"Why did they quit?" Rory asks.

"She wouldn't stop scowling."

"I was going for a Billy Idol thing." Lorelai explains.

"The one from Italy had some sort of breakdown."

"It didn't hurt Van Gogh. The guy should thank me."

"A year later, I swear I saw him rummaging through our recyclables."

"Well, we're happy to sit." Rory tells her grandma. "If it's for Grandpa, why not?"

"Wonderful. I'll set it up first thing in the morning." Emily smiles.

"Psst." Lorelai calls quietly to her girls. "If you want, I can teach you the Billy Idol. Most people focus on the lip thing, but the eyes are just as important." Emily slams the salt shaker down, making Lorelai stop talking. Lorelai glares at her mother, but turns back to Lauren who is smiling evily. At least she had one daughter who would follow her antics.


At the diner, Lorelai had asked Luke, earlier that week, for his help with how to open up their own business. So now, she and Luke are sitting at a table discussing everything Luke had to go through, while Jess walks around refilling coffee. Well, he was supposed to be.

"So, first thing you and Sookie would do it incorporate." Luke tells her.

"Wow. Sounds so big time." Lorelai says as she write that down in on her notepad.

"Not really. It just means you're a single business entity. You'll both be officers and shareholders, and you'll get to make up a name for your company."

Lorelai grimaces. "I'm terrible at coming up with names. When we first bought our house, Rory and I wanted to name it. You know, like Jefferson named his place Monticello, but all we could come up with was The Crap Shack."

"Nice."

"Coffee?" Jess asks, walking over to them.

"Oh. Yeah, thanks." Lorelai smiles. "How are you, Jess?" She asks, politely.

"I'm not bleeding or anything." He tells her.

"Then it's gonna be a good day."

"It's 7:45." Jess tells Luke.

"So?" Luke says.

"So, do you want me to go to school, or you want to openly defy child-labor laws?"

"Go. And stay out of trouble."

"I guess I'll call off the chickie run at the salt flats." Jess says, sarcastically.

"Out!"

"Wow. So much love." Lorelai says, watching them.

"So, do you guys have a site in mind for the inn?" Luke asks, once Jess walks away.

"Yes." Lorelai smiles, widely.

"Great. Where?"

"You've seen pictures of it. The Rachel property."

"Oh, right." Luke nods.

"Right. Sorry."

"It's okay."

"I just meant, Rachel took the pictures, and the pictures kind of got us into the place. So, we started calling it the Rachel property because it made sense, and then it became a habit. But now, out of respect for you, I'm gonna stop using her name and think of another name to call it. Let's see. The Crap Shack is taken." Lorelai thinks.

"It's okay." Luke laughs, lightly. "Call it what you want."

"So, who taught you about all this business stuff? Your dad?" Lorelai asks, curiously.

"Please. My dad didn't have a checking account till I got taller than he was. He bought this land with cash, built this place himself. Didn't have a bookkeeper, accountant, or anything."

"Wow. So, you had no one showing you the ropes."

"Nope. I figured I had to dive in on my own, fail if that's my destiny, and forget what the experts say."

"That is exactly my philosophy. Exactly. Except I'm not on my own, I'm diving in with Sookie. And failure is not even a choice of destinies. And I'm consulting any expert who will listen to me. Otherwise, it's identical."

"Well, I should be getting along. You gonna write this meal off?"

"Why?"

"We talked business." Luke tells her. "You gotta be thinking about these things."

"No. I mean, 'why?' I'm not paying for it." Lorelai jokes. Luke exhales. "Exactly."

"You're gonna do fine." He assures her.


Lorelai is just getting back from her meeting with Luke, and she is now in the kitchen talking to Sookie about it.

"It shouldn't be too flashy." Sookie tells her, as they discuss names for the inn. "How about something historical, like 'The Paul Revere?'"

"Oh. That could work."

"What could work?" Michel asks, walking in.

"We're thinking up names for the inn we're gonna open." Lorelai tells him.

"If you want simple, something 'The Country Rose.'" Sookie says.

"That's pretty good."

"We could like the front path with multicolored roses."

"Or 'The Inn by the Hollow.' Kind of long?" Lorelai grimaces.

"But nice."

"How about 'The Money Pit?'" Michel asks. "Or 'The Outhouse?' Go international."

Lorelai and Sookie rolls their eyes. "Go back in your hole." Lorelai tells him.

"Or 'The Inn Heading for Bankruptcy?' Kind of long, but nice."

"You who have no dreams, rain on those who do."

"I say this because I care about you. It's risky, what you are doing. And most new businesses go down within two years."

"I say if we go down after two years, it'll be the most exciting two years of our lives." Lorelai says, proudly.

"Same here. Boredom sucks." Sookie yells.

"Fine. Proceed blindly." Michel tells them. "Here." He hands Lorelai a paper. "This came in ten minutes ago. It does not involve The Independence Inn. Therefore, delivering it was beyond my official obligations so I am taking an extra long lunch break." Michel walks out while Lorelai reads through the papers.

"He's so genuine." Sookie says, sarcastically.

"Oh!" Lorelai says, excitingly.

"What?"

"It's the title search for the Rachel property. Guess who owns it."

"Tell me it's not that bastard Donald Trump." Sookie scowls.

"Fran."

"Fran from Westin Bakery?"

"Sweet little Fran, the cupcake lady." Lorelai shows her. "Not some cigar-chomping, dirty-dealing city slicker."

"Oh, that's good! Hey! The Country Slicker. Funny name, cutesy idea."

"Eh. It's a little much." Lorelai tells her.

"It's way too much."

"I'll call Fran."

"Fran's old place. It'll be like Ruth Chris Steakhouse. People will be trying to figure out who Fran is. Or The In Inn. It's an Inn that's in with the in-crowd." Lorelai just smiles and nods her head. "I'm gonna go sit down." Sookie sighs.

"Do that, sweetie." Lorelai agrees as she walks out.


At the market, Taylor Doose is walking through town, heading to his store. While he is looking through his mail, he comes upon a crime scene look-a-like. There's a body traced in chalk, on the cement, and crime scene signs hanging around his store's entrance. He looks around becoming completely panicked.


At Westin's Bakery, Lorelai is sitting at a table when Sookie runs in.

"Honey, I am sorry. Am I late-late, or just late?" She asks, sitting down.

Lorelai smiles. "Two pieces of carrot cake, and a rum ball."

"Ugh. I am so sorry. I swear, I meant to be on time. But I was prepping the raspberry glaze for tonight's dessert, and it struck me: I made blueberry glaze for the souffle I made last Tuesday, and this Tuesday. And lot of locals come every week on the same night every week. And I just didn't want to serve them a similar dessert, even though it's a completely different berry." Sookie explains, out of breath.

"I need another rum ball."

"I'm sorry." Sookie frowns.

"No. You're a perfectionist. And that attention to detail is why people call you the 'maestro.'" Lorelai jokes.

Sookie gasps. "Really Who calls me that?"

"The people who eat the rum balls." Lorelai says, pointing to herself.

Fran walks up. "So, ladies, how are we doing here?"

They smile up at her. "We're doing great, Fran." Sookie tells her.

"That's wonderful."

"Fran, could Sookie and I talk to you for a couple minutes?" Lorelai asks.

"Oh. Of course. Marjorie can handle things." Fran sits in the empty seat in front of them. She grabs her hip suddenly.

"Fran, are you okay?"

"It's this bum hip. It needs to be replaced." She tells them. "Again. And I have this awful angina."

"Oh. We're so sorry to hear that." Sookie says, sincerely.

So, I know you didn't come here to listen to me gripe, so tell me what's on your mind."

Lorelai laughs, nervously. "Okay. Well, Fran, we understand that you own the old Dragonfly bed and breakfast, that whole property out there."

"Yes, I do. It was my parents' business." Fran tells her.

"It's a beautiful place." Sookie says.

"Oh, it used to be. But its in such disarray now."

"Yes, it is. That's kind of why we're here." Lorelai says. "We'd actually like to buy it."

Fran looks confused. "Buy the Dragonfly?"

"Yes. We'd like to buy it and make it beautiful again, and we're prepared to make you an offer right now."

"Oh, my." Fran says, nervously. "This is a surprise."

"See, Sookie and I are going to start our own inn and we've been searching for the perfect place." Lorelai explains.

"You own inn?" Fran asks, happily.

"Yeah."

"Oh, how wonderful! You are going to be so successful."

Sookie smiles, gratefully. "Thanks, sweetie." She says, in awe.

"That means so much, like, we have your blessing." Lorelai smiles.

"But I can't sale you the property." Fran tells them, immediately breaking their hearts.

"What?" Sookie asks.

"How come?" Lorelai asks.

"I just couldn't." Fran says, sadly. "You know, I have no siblings, and no children, and in a way, that place is really the only family I have. I'm the last Westin left. So, I plan to own it forever."

"Forever?" Lorelai questions.

"Forever and ever."

"That's a very long time."

"A very long time." Sookie says.

"I'm sorry." Fran frowns.

"Fran, may I ask-" Lorelai looks at Sookie.

"Go ahead, honey. Ask me anything you want."

"Well, what happens to the place it you-if forever isn't quite forever?" Lorelai asks, carefully.

"I don't understand, dear. All I know is that I can't sell the place."

"Oh, no. I don't mean selling it. I mean, you would keep it forever, but what happens once you're no longer in the position of physically controlling the property?" Lorelai asks.

Fran still looks confused. "How could that be?"

"Oh. Well, if you-"

Lorelai turns to Sookie for help. "Take a long vacation." Sookie tells her.

"Yes. Take a long vacation. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"And when you're on that vacation, the property is just left sitting there. What happens then?"

"I don't enjoy vacations." Fran tells them, still not understanding what they are trying to tell her. "I toured the California Gold Country ten years ago. It was hot, and the bus smelled."

"Okay. I mean, a longer vacation than a trip to California." Lorelai tries again.

"To a different place." Sookie adds.

"What kind of place?" Fran asks.

"A place out there." Lorelai tells her.

"Way out there, Fran." Sookie says.

"Europe?" Fran asks.

"I mean, the ultimate long vacation." Lorelai tells her.

"Yeah, Fran, see, eventually we're all gonna take the same long vacation." Sookie explains.

"And with that being the case you might want to sell the property now and enjoy the money."

"I'm very sorry, but I can never sell the place." Fran repeats.

"Thanks for your time, Fran." Lorelai says, sadly.

Sookie sighs. "Yeah. Thanks, Fran."

"Bye, now." Fran walks away.


Lane and Rory are walking through town when they see a crowd of people around Taylor's market.

"What happening over there?" Rory asks as they walk closer.

"Just try to calm down, Taylor." The cop tells him as they examine the body traced in chalk.

"Calm down?" Why should I calm down?" Taylor asks. "I want action, not words!"

"We're gonna get to the bottom of this. I promise."

"A crime was committed right in front of my store!"

"Now, we can't say that for sure yet."

"How come you can't say that for sure? This is police tape. You're the police. You own the tape."

"Taylor, we've contacted everyone in the precinct. No one knows anything about this."

"Well, what do I do? I've got a dead body in front of my store!?" Taylor yells.

"No. You have a chalk outline of a dead body in front of your store. Look, my partner's doing a head count to see if anybody in town is missing. Until then, just hang tight." She says and walks away.

Rory and Lane walk up to Dean. "Hey." Rory says.

"Hey." Dean says.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. I got here, and this is what I found."

Lauren runs up. "Cool!" She says, looking at the outline.

"I told Taylor it looked fake, but he didn't believe me."

"And you have such an honest face." Rory says.

Dean shrugs. "Well, he must not love me as much as you do."

Lauren fakes throwing up. "Okay. You two are officially sickening." Lane tells them before she walks away.

"Everyone's accounted for." The cop says as she walks back up to Taylor. "Looks like this is just an elaborate prank."

"It looks so real. Where'd they get the police tape?" Taylor asks.

"Kids have their ways."

Lauren looks up and sees Jess across the street, watching. She taps Rory on the arm and nods her head towards him. "Who'd be depraved enough to pull a stupid prank like this?" Taylor asks.

"Hard to say."

Rory looks at Jess. Lauren smiles at him, completely impressed by the prank, but Rory, on the other hand, was not amused.


Rory is sitting in the kitchen, at the inn, going through receipts at Sookie's desk while Lauren is helping Sookie stir.

"Mom, you're not writing what you purchased on the back of these receipts." Rory tells Lorelai.

Lorelai is pouring herself some coffee. "Oh." She says, walking over to Rory. "Just put cooking spray and sponges."

"Okay. And when an auditor wants to know why you need such a large amount of those?"

"Then I'll drop my pencil, and put the scoop-neck sweater, that I'm not making a mental note to wear, to good use."

"Well, at least you've got a solid plan."

"I had a dream last night about us and Fran." Sookie says.

"Oh. What was it?" Lorelai asks.

"Well, it was in the future, and we were all old: you, me, Rory, Lauren, Jackson, Michel, everyone, gray hair, walking around with canes and we're all kinds of ailing. I had those big cataract glasses on. You were hard of hearing. You get going 'huh!'"

"Oh, that's attractive."

"It's you kid and your rock 'n' roll." Rory jokes.

"But what, ho! Here walks up Fran, and guess what? She looks exactly the same, even better." Sookie says, sounding angry.

"That's not fair." Lorelai whines.

"That woman is gonna live forever."

"Not necessarily. Did you look up angina? I forgot to."

"Yeah. It's nothing major."

"You guys have got to stop talking like this." Rory tells them.

"Like what?" Lorelai asks.

"We love Fran, remember? Fran is great."

"No. Of course we love Fran. We just want to know what God's plan is for her, that's all." Sookie tells her.

Lauren hops off the stool, she was kneeling on. "The stirring is complete. You're welcome." She says, bowing her head.

Lorelai laughs as Sookie curtsy's. "Thank you very much."

Michel walks in. "I would advise at least pretending to look busy. The boss is here."

Rory and Lauren jump up. "Mia!" Rory says, happily.

"You're kidding. When?" Lorelai asks him.

"I just spotted her walking in." He tells them.

"Let's go." Lorelai leads her girls out of the kitchen. They walk into the lobby and see Mia.

"Mia!" Rory says, running up to her.

"Oh!" Mia smiles, happily, seeing her girls. She quickly grabs Rory and Lorelai in a hug, leaving Lauren stuck in the middle.

"Did we know you were coming?" Rory asks.

"I didn't know I was coming."

"This isn't a surprise inspection?" Lorelai asks.

"That's exactly what this is. Ready?" Mia says as they all three stand together while Mia walks around them. "You're too thin, as always.

"But we eat." Lauren says.

"And you three are just too beautiful."

"Yes, that's true." Lorelai agrees. "We often feel guilty monopolizing the amount of beauty we possess."

"And I don't see you enough, which is my fault, so you pass." Mia hugs them again. "And I haven't seen you since-hmm, you were how old?" Mia asks, pretending to be thinking, as she winks at Lauren.

"Nine." Lauren smiles.

"Oh. You are just like your mother." Mia laughs. "So, are you three too busy to sneak out with me for a walk?"

"If it's okay with the boss." Rory tells her.

"It's a demand, at this point."

"Let's go." Lorelai says. "Michel, hold down the fort."


The four of them walk into Luke's. Mia looks around.

"Look at this place." She smiles. "Exactly the same."

"I made him paint it a few months ago." Lorelai tells her.

Luke looks up and smiles, walking over to them as they sit at an empty table. He brings Mia into a hug. "Nice to see you, Lucas."

"You're the only person that can call me that, Mia." Luke glares, playfully.

"I know this."

"I'm saying it for any others who plan to try it later." He says, looking at Lorelai.

"Whatever, Lucas." Lorelai mocks.

"Mia, you know anything about toasters?"

"Not a damn thing." She tells him.

"Well then, sit down and let me get you some coffee." He smiles, as he goes to grab the pot.

"So, Mia, how's living in Santa Barbara?" Lorelai asks.

"Horrible. Did you know the sun shines all the time out there?" She tells her.

"They've written song about that." Rory nods.

"Well, no one told me that's how it was. Half my wardrobe is obsolete."

"Oh, drag. Hey. You know that blue coat-"

"You're not getting it." Mia interrupts Lorelai already know what she's going to ask.

"Right." Lorelai sighs.

Jess walks in. "You're making it worse." He tells Luke, who is working on the toaster.

"Big help." Luke says, sarcastically. "Thanks."

"Luke's nephew." Lorelai whispers to Mia.

"Luke, that's your nephew?" Mia asks.

"He's Liz's kid." Luke tells her as he brings over the coffee. "Jess, this is Mia. She owns the Independence Inn."

"Huh." Jess grunts.

"That's, 'hello. Nice to meet you,' in slacker."

"You don't need me down here, do you?" Jess walks upstairs before he could receive an answer.

"I'm sorry, Mia. He's just-"

"Oh, please." Mia scoffs. "Forget it. You weren't exactly talkative yourself when you were his age."

Lorelai smiles. "That's right. You knew Luke as a boy."

"I can't imagine Luke as a boy." Lauren says.

"Can we change the subject?" Luke asks.

"He would help people carry groceries home." Mia tells them.

"Oh, how very boy scout of you." Rory grins.

"For a quarter a bag." Mia adds.

"Oh, how very John Birch Society of you." Lorelai says.

"He was never without his skateboard for a time." Mia remembers.

"Were you any good?"

"I could hold my own." Luke smirks.

"And there was that year you wore the same shirt everywhere you went." Mia tells him.

"I don't remember that." He says a little too quickly.

"Maybe something flannel." Lorelai jokes.

"No. It was from that t.v. show, that famous one." Mia tries to remember.

"It's not important." Luke says.

"Star Trek! That's it."

Lorelai gasps as Lauren and Rory start laughing. "Oh, my." Lorelai laughs.

"Stop it." Luke glares at her.

"You were a Trekkie?" Rory asks, amused.

"I was not a Trekkie."

"Oh. I believe denying you were a Trekkie is a violation of the Prime Directive." Lorelai tells him.

"It was a gift from my aunt. I wore it to make her happy." Luke explains.

"I've never wanted to make my aunt that happy."

"Did I say something I shouldn't have?" Mia asks.

"Oh, no, Mia. That's okay. I just have to cancel everything I scheduled for the next three months cause I'll still be laughing my ass off." Lorelai teases.

"Luke, I need to talk to you right now." Taylor says as he walks into the diner.

Luke sighs in annoyance. "What is it, Taylor?"

"I have conducted a thorough investigation of all the people who may have inadvertently been witnesses to the phony murder at my store last night."

Luke rolls his eyes as he walks behind the counter with Taylor following. "There was a phony murder?" Mia asks the girls.

"Yeah. The town's too dull to work a real murder." Lorelai tells her.

"Luke, are you gonna listen?" Taylor asks.

"What's this got to do with me?" Luke asks him.

"Three people have reported seeing Jess in that area late last night, skulking, lurking."

"There were a lot of people out last night. I know because I fed them. I'll give you their names to add to your suspect list."

"Another person witnessed Jess walking out of an arts-and-crafts store two days ago with what appeared to be chalk."

"You appear to be bugging me."

"What are you gonna do about it?" Taylor asks, sternly.

"About what?"

"About the results of my investigation."

"Nothing. But thanks for the info."

"You have to do something. People want action!"

"People?" Luke questions. "Meaning you."

"Not just me. I speak for the Stars Hollow Business Association, the Stars Hollow Tourist Board, Neighborhood Watch Organization, and the Stars Hollow Citizens for a Clean Stars Hollow Council." Taylor lists.

"All of which are you."

"So, are you going to act?"

"Yes. I'm gonna act like you never came in here."

"Fine. Have it your way." Taylor says in frustration. "But I warn you, there's gonna be a lot of unhappy people at the SHBA, the SHTB, the SHMWO, and the SHCCSHC."

"F-I-N-E!"

"Ugh! You are impossible!" Taylor turns around and starts walking towards the door until he sees Mia sitting there and stops. "Oh, Mia." He says, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Nice to see you, Taylor." Mia say. Taylor smiles and leaves quickly. "Oh. I've got to get out of Santa Barbara. I miss the small town theater. And I miss you." She says, looking at the girls. "Hey. Do you realize it was fifteen years ago, almost to the day?"

"Yes, it was." Lorelai smiles.

"What was?" Rory asks, curiously.

"To the day when this skinny little teenage girl showed up at the inn. She had this tiny little thing in her arms." Mia explains.

"A little thing named Rory." Lorelai says, proudly, as she pinches Rory's cheek.

"Okay. No physical re-enactment." Rory says, waving her mom's hand away.

"You marched up to me, looked me in the eye, and said: I'm here for a job. Any job." Mia says.

"Well, IBM had turned me down for the CEO slot, so I was desperate." Lorelai jokes.

"Work experience, none. Recommendations, none. Skills-"

"Besides flawlessly applying mascara in a moving car, none."

"Not one thing to recommend hiring her. Just that- how do I put it and remain a lady?" Mia wonders. "That 'who cares' look in her eye. So, I gave her any job. The other maids hated you."

"Yeah, well, they were slow."

"You were special."

"Mia, why don't you move back here?" Lauren asks. "We miss you."

"Or at least visit more. You never come at all." Rory tells her.

"I don't have to." Mia tells them. "Your mom has made me redundant."

"I have not." Lorelai scoffs.

"Don't be humble. The inn is beyond covered. It's never run this well or been this successful. That inn is like your place now. Without you, I wouldn't know what to do. I'd be lost."

"Lost, yeah." Lorelai repeats, thinking about her own inn.

"Yeah." Rory and Lauren says, sadly.

"You look sad now. Why?" Mia frowns.

"Nothing." Lorelai shrugs, and takes a quick sip of her coffee in hopes of moving on from this topic of conversation.


Lorelai walks into the kitchen, at the inn, where Sookie is preparing another dish. She was frustrated with the whole Mia thing and with what happened yesterday.

"In all the excitement, I hadn't thought about telling Mia." Lorelai tells her best friend. "What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing is wrong with you." Sookie assures her.

"I feel terrible. I should have told her before. I should have told her the day the idea occurred to us. She deserved that. After all she's done for me." Lorelai's phone rings. "Hello?" She answers.

"Lorelai, your daughters are being impossible." Emily tells her. "They won't pose in an appropriate manner."

"We're trying to, Grandma." Rory whines as she and Lauren try to position themselves like Emily wants them to, but it was pretty difficult to do for a long period of time.

"Yeah. It's really awkward, Grandma." Lauren tells her.

"Let me guess how you're posing them. They're in a silly gown, on a silly chair. You have Rory sitting in the chair with both of her hand raised in some silly way, and Lauren is sitting on the side of her with both her hands raised as well."

Emily looks at the girls. "No. Just the one hand raised, and none of it's silly."

"Pick a simpler pose, Mom."

"This is the simplest, and it wasn't my choice."

"And your choice is?"

"I wanted the swan to sit regally aside the girls' throne."

"Swan?" Lorelai asks. "Throne?"

"Oh, now you have a problem with swans and thrones?"

"Because swans and thrones scream one thing, Mom: Siegfried and Roy."

"Who?"

"Make a change, Mom."

"I suppose you'd have them sitting and reading a book?" Emily assumes.

"Now, that sounds great." Lorelai smiles.

"Oh be serious!"

"I am! That's a completely natural pose for my daughters. And a printing of them reading, that's gonna be hung in Dad's study seems just crazy enough to work." Lorelai explains.

Emily sighs. "Well, maybe it's not such a bad idea."

Give it a try, and let them lower their arms."

"You both can lower your arms." Emily tells the girls.

Rory and Lauren both look relieved as they put their arms down. "Thanks!" Lauren says, gratefully.

The swan squeals scaring them. "I think he's just hungry." Emily says, a little frightened. "We're going to lose the swan!" She yells.

"Good going, Mom." Lorelai smiles. "Bye." Lorelai hangs up and looks back at Sookie. "So, how do I do this?" She asks, back on the Mia topic. "How do I tell Mia that I'm leaving?"

"Get her drunk first." Sookie suggests with a laugh.

"Oh, I can't believe it." Lorelai groans. "I'm gonna let down the one person in my life who was there for me when I needed it most. I'm great, aren't I?"


Later that night, Lorelai, Rory, Lauren, and Mia are walking through the town square and over to the town meeting at Miss. Patty's.

"We're late." Rory tells them.

"We're not late." Lorelai says.

"The last time we were late, Taylor said there would be consequences." Lauren reminds her mom.

"He did not. He said there would be severe consequences."

"Mia, what time is it?" Rory asks. "Are we late?"

Mia laughs. "I hope so."

"Mia." Lorelai says, surprised.

"I'm sorry. But it's been too long since I've been to a town meeting, and I want some controversy."

Luke is locking up the diner when they walk by. "Aha!" Lorelai yells, scaring him.

"Geez! Don't sneak up on me like that." Luke scolds her as he walks over to them.

"Yeah. Boy, I was lucky you had your phasers on stun." Lorelai jokes.

"Well, at least we're not late." Lauren says. "Luke's never late."

"Actually, we're two minutes early." Luke tells them.

"We should get a prize for being on time."

"Luke, let's go back to the diner and get pie as our reward." Lorelai begs, playfully.

"Then you'd be late." He informs her.

"A funny conundrum, but I want pie."

"You're harassing me now."

"I'm not harassing you. We're your groupies. Luke, you're so dreamy. Be my guy." She says in a high-pitched voice.

"No. Be my guy." Rory mimics.

"I'm bringing up the need for more police protection." He tells them as they walk into Miss. Patty's where it seems that the meeting has already started.

"I think we're late." Mia tells them.

"What's going on here?" Luke asks, glaring at Taylor.

"Nothing." Taylor hesitates.

"Meeting was supposed to start at eight. It's a minute to eight."

"Oh. You might as well be honest with him." Patty tells Taylor.

"Honest about what?" Lorelai asks.

"If you must know, there was a special issue that the business community had to deal with first, so we decided to start early." Taylor explains.

"I'm in the business community, and I wasn't told about it." Luke says as everyone looks around, nervously. "Taylor?" Luke questions, sternly.

"Alright. Fine!" Taylor gives up. "You weren't invited, Luke."

"And why is that?"

"You weren't invited because we are dealing with Jess situation."

"The Jess situation?"

"If this was the Wild West, we'd be diving into the water trough about now." Lorelai whispers as they find empty seats to watch the show.

"Damn it, Taylor!" Luke yells.

"Luke, honey, calm down." Patty says.

"After all, this is all your doing." Taylor tells him. "If you hadn't so cavalierly dismissed the issue we wouldn't have had to do this. I lost business because of what your hooligan nephew did."

"How was business lost, Taylor? You had to open late that day, your customers just came back later."

"Not so. When Mrs. Lanahan couldn't buy her head of lettuce for her lunch, she drove straight to Woodbury to buy lettuce from a competing market. Isn't that right, Mrs. Lanahan?" Everyone turns to Mrs. Lanaham who appears to be sleeping. "Mrs. Lanaham." Taylor calls out, waking her up.

"You really shouldn't be driving anymore." Lorelai whispers to her.

"Word has it that she was telling other Doose's Market shoppers that Woodbury lettuce is crisper. That's business flying out the door."

Luke shakes his head, furiously, as he walks up towards the front of the room, and takes out his wallet. "Fine. How much is a head of lettuce? $1? Oh, let's go crazy. Give me five heads." he says, slapping five dollar bill on to Taylor's podium.

"This goes well beyond a head of lettuce, young man." Taylor scolds. "The charges against your nephew are numerous. He stole the save the bridge money."

"He gave it back."

"He stole a gnome from Babbette's garden."

"Pierpon was returned, too."

"He hooted at one of my dance classes." Patty adds.

"He took a garden hose from my yard." Fran says.

"My son said he set off the fire alarm at school last week." Andrew tells him.

"I heard he controls the weather and wrote the screenplay to Glitter!" Lorelai shouts, dramatically.

"I think it's time for me to pipe in." Bootsy says as he stands up.

"Yeah. That'll be good." Luke says, sarcastically.

"I have every right to pipe in, Luke. I'm a local entrepreneur."

"You took over your father's newsstand. Doesn't make you an entrepreneur."

"And you took over your old man's hardware store."

"And turned it into a diner."

"Big whoop! Who can't fry an egg!?"

"Let's keep things moving here, boys." Taylor interrupts.

"I never like the look of that kid from the second I saw him." Bootsy says.

"Unbelievable!" Luke yells.

"Boys, the bottom line here is that there is a consensus among townspeople who are in agreement that Stars Hollow was a better play before Jess got here." Taylor says.

"So, this half of the room gets the tar, and the other half gets feathers."

Taylor sighs. "There hasn't been any talk of tar and feathers, although-"

"Look, I've lived in this town my entire life, longer than most. I've never bothered anyone, I've kept to myself, and I've done the best I could. I pay my taxes and I help people when I can. I haven't pitched in on decorative pageantry town stuff because it all seems insane to me, but I don't get in the way of that either!"

"What's your point, Luke?"

"His point is-" Lorelai looks at Luke for approval. "Do you mind?"

"Be my guest." Luke tells her.

Lorelai stands up next to Luke. "His point is if there's a problem-"

"And I'm not saying there's a problem." Luke interrupts.

"Right. But if there is, give him time to deal with it before you storm his diner."

"Right. What I'm dealing with, being a problem that I don't necessarily agree that I even have!"

"Right." Lorelai hesitates.

Taylor looks confused. "I didn't get that last part."

"Lay off him." Lorelai tells everyone. "Because what's your all doing stinks."

"I'm done here. I'm done with all of you. Oh, and I was gonna stay open later in case anyone wanted to eat after the meeting. Forget that!" Luke yells before he storms out of Miss. Patty's.


After the meeting, Lorelai, Rory, Lauren, and Mia walk out of Miss. Patty's studio and start walking down town.

"Well, I must say, that was quite exciting." Mia tells them with a big smile.

"A little disturbing." Lorelai says. "I think the whole town needs a field trip."

"You think Luke's okay?" Lauren asks, looking worried.

Lorelai wraps her arm around Lauren's shoulders. "I think he will be. He just needs to cool off a litte."

"Hey. I'm gonna go check on Dean. He's been scraping the outline off the cement for two days now." Rory tells them.

"Good idea. There's nothing like your face on his to make the cleaning process go faster." Lorelai teases.

"I'm going to go to Elizabeth's for awhile." Lauren says.

"She's all yours, Mia." Rory says as she and Lauren walk off.

"Oh, I am just having the most wonderful time." Mia tells Lorelai who smiles back at her. "And I am so proud of you and those girls. You three have just come so far."

"Yeah, we have." Lorelai says, sadly. "Uh. Mia, I need to talk to you about something."

"Of course. What is it, honey?"

"Well, it's really hard, and I should have brought it up ages ago, but Sookie and I are thinking of making a change."

"A change?"

Lorelai stops walking and faces Mia. "We're gonna open our own inn." Lorelai finally admits.

"Ooh."

"We've talked about it for a long time, and it seems like the time is right. And oh, Mia, I love the Independence Inn, and Sookie loves it, too, and we both love you so much."

"I know."

"But it just feels like something we need to do. You hate me."

"No, I don't." Mia laughs.

"I'm letting you down. I'm walking out. Being ungrateful."

"Lorelai, stop. Do you think I was naive enough to thing that you'd work for me forever?" Mia asks. "You and Sookie have more talent for this business than I do, and I'm very good." Lorelai turns away, feeling embarrassed by the compliment. "You're going to open an incredibe place. And if you don't let me help you in any way I can, then I'll be very mad."

Lorelai smiles, happily. She felt so relieved to hear that. "Of course we need your help. We'd be lost without your help."

"Good." Mia says, excitingly. "I was just wondering, what's the time frame for this big move?"

"Well, we're waiting for this perfect location to free up. That's all that's delaying us, but I promise you'll have plenty of notice, and I'll be there to find replacements and train them." Lorelai assures her.

"Oh, yes. That's very sweet of you, but I'm wondering if you could possibly make it sooner rather than later." Mia says, surprising Lorelai.

"What?"

"Well, you see, your leaving gives me the perfect excuse to finally sell the place."

"Sell the place?"

"Oh. I get offers all the time, lucrative ones, but I never even considered it because, oh, of course I love the inn, but I couldn't do that to you. And now that you have this big change coming up in your life, it might be time for one in mine."

"Oh." Lorelai says. She was lost of words, and not so happy. She couldn't wrap her mind of someone else owning the inn. "Good."

"Actually, it's very good." Mia smiles.

"Okay. Well, good." Lorelai says again, as they continue their walk.


When Rory leaves Dean at the market, she stops when she sees Lauren and Jess talking outside of the bookstore. She was confused when she sees Lauren laughing and Jess actually smiling at her. She hadn't ever seen Jess really smile since he had been here and it was weird. But then, Rory gasps when sees Lauren lean in and hug Jess before she runs away. Jess's smiles seemed to get bigger as he walks to the diner, leaving Rory completely confused.


Lorelai is sitting at one of the tables, at the inn, working on name tags for a function they were putting together. Her mind was still thinking about last night's conversation with Mia, and she was really bummed about it, which was putting her in a really crummy mood.

Sookie runs up, happily, and shows Lorelai a piece of paper. "So, I'm working on the menu for the Duncan wedding." Sookie tells her.

Lorelai looks at the paper Sookie is holding. "I can't read that." She says, quickly looking at the scribble of Sookie's handwriting on the paper.

"I know." Sookie grabs it back. "I had it all typed up neat to begin with, but on the drive to work I got an inspiration. I started writing in the new stuff, and it ain't easy writing and driving. Hey. How did your talk with Mia go?"

"Fine. Good. She took it like you said she would: classy." Lorelai tells her.

"She is classy." Sookie agrees. "Good. That's a relief. It's a relief, right?" She asks, looking at how somber Lorelai looks. "You said she took it good?"

"Yes, she did." Lorelai confirms.

"But you look upset."

"She's gonna sell the inn."

"You're kidding!" Sookie says, looking surprised.

"No. She says she gets offers, and this might be fortuitous timing for her." Lorelai explains, getting angier as she thinks about it.

"Well, great. Everybody wins." Sookie says, still not getting it. "That's good. Look happy. Okay, this does not look happy."

"I just don't understand how she can do this."

"What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is she's not gonna sell it to another Mia. It's gonna be a big chain, they'll come marching in with their business models, and their architects and designers, and change everything. The place will lose all its personality and charm." Lorelai explains.

"Well, I hope they don't, but our place is gonna be full of charm." Sookie tells her.

Lorelai glares at Sookie. "You don't care what happens here?"

"Of course I do. But it's not up to me. I can't control that. The only thing we can control is what our inn's gonna be like."

Lorelai frowns. "I guess."

"You guess what?"

"We'll see."

"We'll see what?"

"It's just shortsighted to write off this place when we haven't even bought Fran's yet. And hey, we don't if we will." Lorelai says, walking off with the name tags.

"We don't?" Sookie questions, looking very confused as she follows Lorelai through the lobby. "Is this about Fran's life expectancy?"

"No, Sookie, it's about the fact that we haven't looked at other places. And we don't know if that's the right one. We have to be very practical about this."

"But it's the perfect location. We all said so."

"Well, we can't get emotionally attached to our decisions about this inn." Lorelai tells her. "This is business. You've got to stay detached."

"But we're all so not detached." Sookie says. "Okay. Do you have another location in mind?"

"Not really."

"Do you wanna look for a new location?"

"Oh, yeah, like I have all this time to go looking for other locations." Lorelai says with attitude.

"Well, I don't know. Should we try to buy this place?"

Lorelai laughs, sarcastically. "This place is five times what we can afford."

"So, what do we do?"

"I don't know. It's on hold, I guess."

"Okay. It's been on hold for years." Sookie argues. "We were moving forward."

"Yeah. Well, I'm looking at the economy right now, and I'm thinking the timings not good." Lorelai tells her.

"Okay. That's not fair because I don't know anything about the economy."

"Oh, well, good thing you hooked up with me because it's not looking good."

"Okay. What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"We had a vision. We had a plan. You're the one that got this ball rolling again, and then I jump on the ball, we're rolling on the ball together, and then you hopped off the ball, and I'm still on the ball! And I'm confused because I see our vision. And you saw it, too, up until today."

"Well, I know you would like things to be simple and straight forward, but unfortunately, things are more complicated."

"Okay. That's why we'd be partners. If something gets heavy for the one person, the other one's there to pick up the slack." Sookie explains.

"Yes. Well, that's great in theory, but I've got to tell you my back is aching from all the clack I'm taking up." Lorelai complains.

"What did I do so wrong?"

"Let's not get into this stuff!"

"No. Get into it!" Sookie argues back, taking the name tags from Lorelai.

Lorelai exhales. "Well, you're not the most reliable person in the world, or the most punctual."

"You've always known that."

"Yes, but getting into business, it's not so cute. It could hurt us. You were late for the Fran meeting. You're constantly changing menus, even after you've started making it."

"I don't believe this." Sookie scoffs. "Before it was kudos for attention to detail. I was the 'maestro.'"

"That's fine for an established place like the Independence, but you do that at our place, it could wipe us out. Profit margins in a new business are slim, Sookie."

"Stop! Now you're talking down to me." Sookie says.

"I'm not talking down to you. I'm trying to explain."

"Yes, you are! And I don't know why you are, but I don't want to start crying in front of you because it'll give you one more thing to point at to say, 'she's too emotional and weak to go into business with.' So, I'm leaving. And I'll see you tomorrow, if I can remember to show up." Sookie walks off leaving Lorelai alone. She had never yelled at Sookie before, and it's not like she meant to take what she is going through out on Sookie, but she did, and now she was feeling terrible about it.


Dean and Rory are walking through town together.

"Hey. I've got to drop by the market." Dean tells Rory.

"But it's your day off." Rory frowns.

"Yeah. It's to get my paycheck. If I don't get it by four, Taylor locks it in a safe. And it's on some kind of timer. And when I complain, he lectures me on promptly putting checks in the bank and my head hurts from all the nodding I do, even though I don't know listen-"

"Go. Go." Rory laughs.

"I'll just be a minute." Dean says as he walks into the market, leaving Rory alone.

Jess walks up to her. "Should you be standing here all alone?" He asks. "I hear this is a dangerous corner."

"I'm fine." Rory says, looking annoyed.

"Feeling sufficient today?"

"Pretty much."

"Did I do something to offend you?" He asks, curiously.

"Me? No. You might want to ask that same question to Luke."

"Meaning?"

"You've got this whole town down on him."

"How did I do that?"

"You know how."

"I'm familiar with the blue-book laws in the town, so you could be talking about a lot of things. Dropping a gum wrapper, strolling arm in arm with a member of the opposite sex on a Sunday." Rory points to the ground where there is still a trace of a body. "Ah. What about it?"

"You did it." Rory accuses. "The whole town knows you did it. They had a meeting about it."

"You actually went to that Those things are so To Kill a Mockingbird."

"Yes, I went, and Luke went. And when he got here, they ganged up on him. They all want you gone."

"Bummer."

"And he's defending you and paying Taylor back for his lettuce losses. Now, Luke's a pariah, all because of you." Jess looks away, trying not to laugh. "What a shock. You don't care about any of this." Rory says, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't say that."

"And whatever you have going on with my little sister needs to stop."

"What are you talking about?"

"She's twelve, Jess."

"I know that." Jess says, looking very confused.

"She's a little too young for you." Jess laughs. "Why are you laughing? This is not funny." Rory says, sternly.

"As you just said, Lauren is twelve. She needed someone to talk to. I was there."

"She's my sister. If she needs to talk to someone she'll come to me."

"Apparently, not." Jess walks away, leaving Rory there thinking about what in the world her sister could talk to Jess about and couldn't talk to herself or Lorelai about.


Lorelai is hurrying to her parents' door as the girls quickly follow.

"I wonder if Grandpa is still in Akron." Lauren says.

"Well, for Akron's sake, I hope he's moved on to Boise." Lorelai says, ringing the doorbell. The maid opens the door. "Hi. We're the daughter and grand-daughters." She says, handing the maid her coat.

"You are majorly crabby." Rory says, following her in.

"I just have a headache."

Emily comes towards them. "Oh, good! Come. It's all done. It's great!" She says, leading them to Richard's study where the pictures of Rory and Lauren are hanging up on the wall. "What do you think?"

"It's freaky." Lauren tells her.

"Freaky?"

"Just seeing me up on the wall like that."

"I like it. It's good, I guess." Rory says. "We should just take ourselves out of the judging process." Rory tells her sister.

"I think Richard's gonna love it. It's perfect. Don't you think?" Emily asks Lorelai who just nods. "You gotta admit, it turned out better than you thought."

"Yeah." Lorelai says, uninterested.

"Well, come on. Say a little more than that."

"It's great, Mom. It's just a notch below Rembrandt."

"Well, you don't have to take that attitude." Emily frowns.

Lorelai grimaces. "What do you want from me? I'd light some sparklers and jump up and down, yelling 'yay' for the paintings, but I'm out of sparklers, and my feet hurt too much to jump. But next week, when I have more energy, I'll write a love song for the chandelier!"

Emily walks out of the room, clearly hurt by Lorelai's response. "Mom." Rory scolds.

Lorelai rolls her eyes, knowing she went too far. She follows Emily into the kitchen, instantly feeling bad. "Hey. How dare you walk away from me when I'm being a world class jerk to you." Emily ignores Lorelai and continues to pour tea. "The paintings are great, Mom, really."

"Thank you."

"I really like them. It's so natural that they're reading, which is great. And they're not sitting next to a goose, which is good. And Dad is gonna love it. It's a good thing you did here."

"You can be so harsh, and I don't know where it comes from, or hwat I've done." Emily tells her.

"You did nothing."

"I must have done something."

"It's just been a bad week. Sookie and I were moving forward with plans to open our inn and we had a huge fight. And we've never had a huge fight, let alone a fight. Awful things were said. It started when Mia showed up for a visit and I told her about our plans." Emily tenses up when she hears Mia's name. "She's talking about selling the Independence Inn, and it wigged me out." Lorelai explains. "It's stupid. I don't know. But it was our home for so long, mine and Rory's. It's just weird to think that it wouldn't be there and Mia wouldn't be there, and I wouldn't be there. And I just got very upset. Anyway, I'm rambling. The paintings are really great. Will you accept my apology?"

"Yes, I will. I've had bad days, too."

"Thank you." Lorelai says, sincerely.

"We should get back to the girls." Emily says, walking off.


Sookie is in the kitchen, cooking, when Lorelai walks in.

"Hi." She says, carefully as she walks over to Sookie. "Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, stuffing: comfort food"

"I thought it would be good with the weather changing." Sookie tells her. "But if you don't think it's right, I can make something else. Although, I'm on a schedule and on a budget, so a change would throw things off. Your call."

"No. Everything looks great." Lorelai assures her. "Hey, Sookie."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about what happened. I said stupid things, and I said them for reasons that have nothing to do with you. I hate myself for doing it, and I know you do, too, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Sookie shrugs.

"No, it isn't. You are a brilliant chef and to do things differently from how you do them now is ridiculous. You don't tell a great violinist to hold his bow differently. You don't tell a great cymbal player to crash his cymbals differently. You just let them play."

"There are great cymbal players?" Sookie asks.

"Theoretically."

"Okay. Well, it's okay."

"I want to go ahead with our plans. Forget about my freakout. Pretend it didn't happen." Lorelai pleads. "Let's move forward."

"Well-"

"You don't want to move forward?"

"I do. But I need you promise you're not gonna lose it on me again."

"I promise." Lorelai says, quickly.

"Cause I couldn't take losing a business partner and my best friend in one feel swoop. It's be too much."

"Sookie, I will place my hand on whatever you want and swear that you can trust that I will not lose confidence in our dream."

"That's good enough." Sookie laughs. "Cause I know you don't like to put your hand on things."

Lorelai laughs. "We're gonna give it our best shot."

"And if we go down after two years-"

"Oh, it'll be the most exciting two years of our lives." Lorelai says as she and Sookie hug.


In the lobby, Emily walks in, slowly, and spots Mia talking to a guest. Mia turns to her once the guest leaves.

"Hello. Can I help you?" She asks Emily.

"No, thank you. I just-" Emily hesitates.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to meet the woman who helped raise my daughter." Emily says, bitterly.

"Emily." Mia says, surprised.

"Yes. I'm Emily Gilmore."

"I wanted to meet you, too, for a very long time."

"That's nice."

"Would you like to sit down Or have something. Have lunch with me, won't you?" Mia begs.

"No, thank you. You have a lovely place here. It's a beautiful hotel. Not a home, but still a beautiful hotel."

"Sometimes home is where you heart is."

"Or where your family is."

"Yes. That, too." Mia agrees. "You sure you don't want some tea? Tea usually makes things like this less awkward. There's thing to hold and stir."

"I don't know why I came here."

"You wanted to meet me." Mia reminds her.

"After all these years, it makes no sense."

"I expected you to come eventually."

"Did you? And what did you expect to say to me when I did come?" Emily asks.

"When Lorelai showed up on my porch that day with a tiny baby in her arms, I thought to myself: 'what if this were my daughter and she was cold and scared and needed a place to live? What would I want for her?' And then I thought, 'I'd want her to find somebody to take her in and make her safe and help her find her way.'"

"That's funny. I would've wanted her to find someone who would send her home. I have to go. I'd appreciate if you didn't mention this to Lorelai."

"I won't."

Emily walks back towards the door, but stops. "Do you have pictures? From back then?" She asks Mia.

"I'll send you a box full tomorrow." Mia promises.

"Thank you." Emily says and continues her way out.


Lorelai, Rory, and Lauren are sitting down at the diner eating breakfast.

"Man, it's such a relief to have that Sookie thing fixed." Lorelai tells her girls.

"I know. I hate fighting with friends." Rory says.

"That's what enemies are for." Lauren adds.

"And we have our share of those."

"People who eat crunchy food with their mouths open." Lorelai says.

"People who dog-ear library books." Lauren adds.

"People who spit when they talk."

Rory gasps and wipes her eyes. "Oh! You got me in the eye!"

"I did not!"

"You totally did."

"You're full of it." Lorelai and Lauren laugh.

"Luke, where's my toast?" Rory asks.

"It's gonna take awhile. My big toaster's broken, so I got stuck with this dinky one." Jess walks over and presses down on the big toaster, causing it to work again. "How did that happen" Luke asks him as he messes with the big toaster.

"You're gonna break that." Jess warns him.

"It was broken before."

"Well, it must've got better."

"Inanimate objects don't usually get better. Did you fix this?" Luke asks.

"Please." Jess scoffs.

"Jess?"

"I have no idea what you're babbling about. I don't fix things."

"But yesterday-"

"I've got school." Jess interrupts. He grabs his stuff and walks passed Luke, making eye contact with Rory as he walks out.