A/N: I know I've been slow updating this story lately, and I have a myriad of explanations that I'm sure you don't care about. I'm sorry, and I will try to get them up faster.

Just Can't Help It

Chapter 37

The next morning, Richard and Emily were sitting at the dining room table eating breakfast silently. Emily was staring at her plate and picking at her food rather than eating it. Richard was also picking at his food and sipping his morning coffee while reading the finance section of the Hartford newspaper. Emily sighed, and Richard peered over his paper. He saw her playing with her food (horrible manners!), folded his paper, and set it down beside his plate. Emily noticed him staring at her, set down her fork and pursed her lips. "What, Richard?" She asked flinching at the sound of her own voice. She had a bit of a hangover, but she had forgotten it because of all the silence.

He spoke quietly. "Nothing… I talked to Lorelai last night."

"Oh?"

"Yes. She told me everything… You told her she and Rory had an obligation to go?"

"I might have…"

"Emily, I told you to leave that girl alone. You're pushing her further away each time you bother her about things, Emily. Can't you see that?"

"What am I supposed to do, Richard? I have to talk to her some time. I don't see why she just can't forget it and move on!"

"Emily! Do you even remember what you accused her of?"

"Yes, Richard… It's not that big a deal. She's just too stubborn to realize it."

"Not that big a deal? Emily, you told her that she let Christopher attack her. You told her that you thought they were just covering for Luke. You think she's stubborn? She gets that from you, you know."

"She does not! I'm am in no way stubborn!"

"Are you even listening to what you're saying, Emily? She is not even half as stubborn as you are! She gets that tenaciousness from you, Emily, and you know it. This argument proves it! You are so self-absorbed that you can't even realize how much you are hurting your daughter's feelings!"

"Oh please! Richard, if anyone is hurting anyone's feelings, it's her! She doesn't listen to me. She doesn't talk to me… I'm just trying to give her a good life, Richard. I'm trying to give her what she needs!"

"Emily, you know very well that if she really needed our help, she would ask for it. Do you have any idea how hard it was for her to ask for money for Chilton?"

"You were no help with that yourself, Richard!"

"You know what? The last time she tried to tell you something was probably when she told you she and Max were getting married."

Emily scoffed. "Which never happened!"

"That's not the point, Emily. The point is you didn't support her at all. All you could do was yell at her because Sookie told you before Lorelai did! You were jealous of Lorelai's best friend. You were jealous of someone you fell is of lesser status than you. Let me tell you something, Emily. Lorelai doesn't care about money and family businesses and all of that crap! She cares about loyalty, love, and having fun."

"That's another problem! She's been having a bit too much fun and hasn't been working nearly enough! What kind of example is she setting for Rory? You know Rory adores Lorelai! God knows why, but she does."

"Lorelai works very hard, Emily! She owns an inn, for crying out loud! Sure she's had a few boyfriends and dropped out of school. She still got her GED. She is doing something she loves and something she's good at. Do you know how many people get to do that, Emily? Not a lot! She's certainly done more than you have!"

Emily's mouth dropped. "The only reason I did not get a job after college is because I married you, and you mad enough money for both of us."

"I didn't at first. Remember, we had to borrow money from Trix?"

"Yes, you did, but you paid her back a few months after."

"We could have paid her back faster if you were working too."

"I don't have to take this from you, Richard!" She stood up and scurried out of the dining room. Richard sighed, picked up his paper, and began to read it again.

"Rory, coffee!" Lorelai yelled as she walked down the stairs. She had just woken up and was in dire need of her beloved java. She walked into the kitchen and saw Rory's door wide open. She looked inside and saw that she wasn't there. "What? …Oh right… Lane's." She sighed and began to make herself a pot of coffee. Ring! The phone rang and made her jump, spilling steaming coffee on her hand and the counter and floor. "Gah!" The phone rang again. "I'm coming. I'm coming, jeez!" She picked up the phone, pressed the talk button and placed it between her ear and shoulder. "Hello?" She said as she started cleaning up her mess.

"Hey."

She smiled. "Hey, Luke. What's up?"

"Not too much… you?"

"Um… I spilled my delicate, delicious coffee all over me, the counter, and the floor when the phone rang."

Luke gasped. "Really? You weren't able to save your liquid death in time?"

"No I wasn't, and it's all your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yeah! You're the one who called me making the phone ring and scare me."

"Oh… I guess you're right. I'm sorry… I could go."

"No! …It's too late now. The damage has already been done. Besides, I can just make another pot."

He smiled. "Okay. So, uh… I talked to Jess a bit last night."

"Oh yeah?" She said, searching through the cupboards looking for more coffee. "What did he say?"

"Well, he asked about you and me."

"Oh really?"

"Yep. I told him we are together and doing great."

"Good, good… Gah!"

Luke flinched and pulled the phone away from his ear. "What the heck was that?"

"Oh. Sorry… I can't find any more coffee."

"It's about time."

"Oh hush! …So uh… back to Jess."

"Right. So then, I asked him if he's had any girlfriends since Stars Hollow."

"Uh huh."

"He said he hasn't. He's been to busy working and going to school."

"I see. Is he still working at Wal-mart?"

Luke laughed. "I asked him that same question… He said he has two jobs. He works at a book store during the day and a record store at night."

"Wow. Keeping busy. That's good."

"Yeah it is… He said he's living in a new apartment too. I'm proud of him. I never thought I'd hear myself say that, but I am."

"That's great, Luke. But you know, you helped him get that far, so you should be proud of him and yourself."

"Yeah?" He smiled.

"Yeah."

"I uh… I told him about all the appalling things that have been happening with you, Chris and your mom…"

"Wow, that sounded dirty, which is extremely gross."

He chortled into the receiver. "Sorry… Anyway, I just figured I might as well tell him before the rest of the town did. He seemed surprised. He said Rory always told him good things about Chris."

"Yeah, well, she mainly only knew the good parts."

"Right…"

"So, he's good?"

"Yeah. He's good… Have you told Rory about him being here yet? She just walked in with Lane."

"Oh yeah. I called her last night."

"Okay. Good. He probably won't be up for another couple of hours, but I wanted to make sure, just in case."

"Thanks, Luke."

"Uh huh. I guess I should go take care of the costumers. Are you going to stop by?"

"Luke, that is a very stupid question. I have no coffee; of course I'm going to come… Why? Do ya miss me?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Lorelai, that is a very stupid question." He said, mocking her. "I still have food in the diner and no money. Of course I miss you."

She laughed. "Gee, thanks."

He laughed. "I'll see you in a little bit."

"Okay. Bye!" She hung up the phone and went upstairs to take a shower and got ready to go to Luke's.

A/N: For those of you who may not know, chortle is the same thing as chuckle or giggle. I was going to say tittered, but chortle sounds manlier… Review please! I liked it. I hope you did too. I should be able to update Saturday and Sunday! …I hope… As I said in the A/N before the chapter, sorry about the lack of updates! Stay posted!