AN - Thanks guys, I'm so pleased you enjoyed it. I really wanted to do something to mark their special day even if it was a weird anniversary, but then weird is kind of them. We're now in post AYITL territory and also the beginning of the wind down to the end (there will be 46 chapters) so back to doing whatever I fancy (mwhahaha) I hope you like what I have left. Fair warning this one gets political (and takes a very particular stance, I'm sure you can guess which) so hopefully it's not too much but it's needed for a few things I have coming up. Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoy, let me know what you think x
Chapter 38 – Behold a Pale Horse
"What's the point? It's all horrible! Just shoot me! I mean, it would be better."
"Come on. It's not that bad."
Lorelai raised her head from the table and stared up at Luke incredulously. "Not that bad? Not that bad? Not only is my mother moving to Stars Hollow today but we are faced with that tango faced grifting b…"
"Lorelai," Luke cut her off pleadingly.
"He is, he's a crook. It's rigged. I demand a recount because how in the ever loving fu…"
"I get it, just cool it. There are kids around" Luke sank into the chair opposite her "I get you are mad about the results. At home, you can rage and swear and call him whatever the hell you want but here in the diner let's keep it civil OK. Also no swearing in front of the kids." He looked at her pleadingly. "Now take the donuts and the coffee and go help your Mom or at least distract the kids. They're more likely to do more harm than good."
Lorelai sighed heavily. "Fine. You know they are actually excited about Mom being close." Her head flopped forward. "I thought I was OK with this."
"You will be OK with this," Luke stood up and squeezed her shoulders. "I've put a pie aside for you."
"What kind?" Lorelai watched him move behind the counter. In the last week Luke had been exponentially patient with her. The glow of the wedding anniversary had been very quickly sledgehammered by the General Election results. Now the creeping dread in her stomach would not go away. She'd spent most of Wednesday in tears. Rory also. How could this have happened? How could 'that' be president? And to top it off Emily was now moved to Stars Hollow.
In truth she was OK with Emily being nearer. It cut down on gas for one and the kids could develop closer relationships with Emily by just being able to walk round to see her. It just felt wrong to be OK with it. She'd spent so long running from her mother that even though they were much closer now, she could help but feel those niggly doubts, she'd spent so long quashing, would come back.
There was every chance that she could just run into her Mom on the street. That was never the relationship they had. Everything was always a formal setting. Even for popping in. It was always at one of the houses, at a push, a restaurant. Never real world scenario. It was like tv, no one ever went to the bathroom, everyone always looked perfect, even if the world had ended or they just got out of bed. That was Emily. Emily didn't do real world things like buy groceries or go to the bathroom. Except she nearly almost definitely did and now there was a chance to see it, not literally with the bathroom because that was way too far across boundaries; that was the demilitarised zone. The status quo was off its axis and she kept looking over her shoulder for some more horseman.
"Lemon meringue," Luke told her patiently. "Now donuts." He set the bag on the counter. "Coffee," he pointed to the full sized take away cups. "Hot chocolate," he pointed at the half sized cups. "Anything else?"
"We're coming for lunch," Lorelai slowly got to her feet and crossed to the counter. "Save Big Red for us."
"Sure," Luke nodded, he tipped his head. "What?"
Lorelai extended her forearm and pointed at the signs pinned to the wall beside the coffee. As well as the no cellphone rule, there was rules about no man buns or taking pictures of food. "You need to update that."
"Why?" Luke asked carefully.
"No MAGA Hats." She snatched the bag of donuts in disgust. "I'll take the scissors to those."
Luke rolled his eyes. "We can attack questionable fashion choices together."
xXx
Emily looked away from her bookcase at the sound of Lorelai whirlwinding into the new house. Her daughter was at her most obnoxious; snapping and snarking. It had made moving even more tiresome. Everything was taking longer than it should because the children had come to 'help'. In reality she'd spent most of the morning following her grandchildren around ensuring they didn't break anything. The objects she had brought with her she had brought for a reason, all the things she wouldn't have minded being broken she had sold on. The proceeds going into what she hoped the children would like when it finally arrived.
She straightened her shoulders and moved over to Lorelai so that she could put some clothe over the coffee table and prevent ring marks on the surface. "Lorelai, use coasters please, I beg you."
"Alright Mom, I am." Lorelai slumped into the chair and slammed the coffee cups tray down with so much force Emily winced in expectation of a spill.
Emily rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Honestly Lorelai, you are behaving like a small child. I asked you if you had a problem with me moving to Stars Hollow."
"What?" Lorelai looked up at her blankly.
"This attitude, hardly exactly welcoming."
"What?" Lorelai repeated. She shook her head after a moment "My bad mood has nothing to do with you Mom. It's the election. The total tragedy of the election."
"Oh really! All this just because your candidate didn't win!" Emily rolled her eyes again.
"It's not that my candidate didn't win Mom, it's who beat her. I mean had someone with similar credentials and kind of similar experience to Hillary I would be annoyed but not inconsolable. It's that that won. That grifting lying…"
"Mom!" Rory called from her position on the floor carefully emptying a box of ornaments. "Getting angry won't change it. We just have to hope for impeachment. He's bound to screw up."
"Oh for goodness sake!" Emily turned to go back to the bookcase bouncing back in surprise as she found April stood right behind her. The expression on April's face was hard to read, angry yet upset but with a resolution that made Emily fear for whomever it was directed at. "April?"
"We don't want him impeached because then we get the bottom of the ticket," April's voice was hard as nails. "Pence is worse than Trump. Look what he did as governor, the health crisis he caused because he thought his religious beliefs were more important than other people's right to contraception."
"They're politicians. They are all as bad as each other. It doesn't matter what party they are they are all self-serving and as bad as each other," Emily held her hands up to placate the room. She blanched at the look of fury that April gave her.
April shook her head. "No Grandma, most politicians don't hate me because of what I am. Pence hates me because I am a woman and I'm queer. If he had his way I wouldn't exist. We have every right to be angry and we should call these men out for what they are. They'll stomp on our rights and kill us just the same. We're just dross to them. They'd happily throw me out in the trash."
"April," Emily reached to touch her granddaughter's forearm. "I'm sorry you're feeling like that but I'm sure it's just the media riling everything up."
April scoffed and then shrugged out of her grip. "I need to go for a walk." She turned and almost ran from the room disappearing out the front door before Lorelai had a chance to stand.
Emily turned back to look at her daughter.
"You're right Mom I'll tone it down. As bad as it is for us I didn't think about April. But I'm still pouting though," Lorelai attempted a smile but it came short.
"She needs some space," Emily told her sensing that Lorelai was about to go out in search of April, Berta entered the new living room with the children in tow. While the girls scrambled over to table to get their donut and drink Sam hesitated. "Have your elevenses and try and be pleasant," she shooed Lorelai back to the couch.
Sam walked up to Emily and slid his hand into hers. "Is Mommy 'plaining about the shouty orange man with the gold toilet again?"
"I am Little Man." Lorelai smiled apologetically. "Mommy's sorry, I'll do less 'plaining."
"Ok, good. I don't like talking about him, it makes everyone mad," Sam sighed. "Except I don't mind talking about the toilet."
"The toilet?" Emily stared down at her grandson. Trust a little boy to be fascinated with toilets.
"Yeah, I mean it's weird. Gold is like really fancy and expensive. Why would you want to use fancy and expensive on poop?" He shrugged in confusion. "It's very strange. Unless you have a gold toilet Grandma in which case it's not."
Emily creased her brow. "Why would you think I would have a gold toilet?"
"You like fancy and expensive," Sam shrugged again, "and sometime I don't get why you have the things you do. But it might be because I'm a kid and you're a Grandma."
Lorelai snorted in amusement and patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, grab a donut, then we can make all Grandma's trinkets nice and sticky for her."
"They will wash their hands after donuts," Emily winced at the thought of sticky residue on her belongings. "I have hand sanitiser also."
"Get used to it Mom," Lorelai chuckled, "they are going to be around a lot more, and Jam hands are going to be everywhere."
xXx
Luke sighed as Lorelai wriggled yet again. "You OK?" he asked sleepily. It could be any number of things causing her inability to sleep. To try and guess was pointless. He was so tired and he needed to sleep but he knew that her moving around like this was going to prevent him from actually doing so.
Lorelai sighed dramatically and thumped her arms down on top of the covers. "You're sure April was OK?"
"She was fine, got back home safe." Luke mumbled, desperate to give in to the pull of sleep.
"I don't mean the drive. I mean in herself. She said some stuff at Mom's, stuff I'd not considered and me with my big mouth put my foot in it." She rolled towards him.
Luke reluctantly opened his eyes. "She was fine."
"She was so upset Luke."
Luke blinked a few times in an attempt to clear the sleep from his eyes. He studied her face, it was creased with concern. With a faint grumble he rolled over and turned the light on. "She was OK."
"But?"
"Lorelai she was OK."
"I guess. But what she was saying. What if that happens?" Lorelai stared up at him nervously.
"It won't."
"But it could."
"It won't. We won't let it. And I think you know if anyone comes after my kids, any of my kids, I'll rip them apart." He gave her a pointed look, hoping that she would let the subject lie and he could finally sleep.
"So if the religious nuts outlaw being qu…"
"I'll be out there protesting with them. I'll take tear gas, I'll take whatever they try and throw at her for her instead. I'll protect her. I'll do whatever it takes." He sighed heavily. "It's not going to happen Lorelai. April is going to be OK. All you girls are."
"I guess. No wearing red for them," Lorelai rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.
Luke answered her by making a noise of agreement, not sure what she was talking about but knowing better than to ask. He turned the light off and collapsed back onto the mattress. As soon as he was down Lorelai rolled into him, her arm clung to him tightly and she pressed herself into him. It was uncomfortable but he wrapped his arms around her, knowing he hadn't quelled whatever was whirring around in her head. But he knew he was right, that April would be fine. And if anyone tried to hurt her, he'd destroy them without prejudice. No one was hurting his kids. Ever.
xXx
Emily exited the post office and shivered against the cold. The temperature in Stars Hollow seemed to be a few degrees colder than Hartford, perhaps relating to the Hollow part of its name. She resented having to go out when it was so icy, but moving house necessitated a certain amount of paperwork that she could not pass over to Berta. She rounded the corner and pulled her black wool coat around her, pulling her neck into the fur collar.
"Emily!"
She turned to look in the direction of the raspy cry. She smiled amiably at the two women. Their names eluded her despite the fact she had met them numerous times. There was just too much going around her head. She hated it when she forgot names it was such bad etiquette. She was getting so out of practise not going to functions as she used to.
"Come join us." the dark haired woman waved jovially at her.
Emily changed her course and walked tentatively across the pavement towards them. "Hello."
"Hi there. Grab yourself a toddy. Patty makes a mean one," the short blonde woman told Emily gleefully. She brandished a small silver coloured plastic cup and sloshed a good measure of dark coffee.
"It's Kahlua and a little something extra," Patty told her with a wink.
Emily took a tentative sip of the warm drink she had been offered, the coffee did little to overpower the smell of alcohol. Tentatively she took a sip. She coughed as the liquid hit her throat and she felt like half her taste buds died. "My goodness," she stared at the cup on fascination while her throat continued to burn "and I'm well versed in spirits."
Beside her Patty let out a throaty chuckle and elbowed her in the ribs. "Oh I know you are. Now Babette and I were just discussing the goings on…"
"Well I won't keep you," Emily cut her off holding out the still half full cup to Babette.
"Nah, you ain't," Babette took the cup and glugged it back. "It's just gossip. You know what they say about gossip."
"I can imagine," Emily smiled nervously.
"Babette and I meet most days," Patty told her.
"She needs to fill me in. Even after all that work they did on the phonelines, she still gets to listen in on people's calls." Babette shot an admiring look Patty "Lucky. Lucky for all of us, how else would we have known that Jackie Gregory's little boy Donovan had pink eye and she still planned on sending him to school. It could have been a disaster."
"Someone was going to send their child to school with pink eye?" Emily stared at Babette in disgust.
"Some people have no decency. I mean the chicken pox parties I kind of understand, that's a service, getting chicken pox when you're older ain't no fun at all. But anything else. No way. It's just bad parenting."
Emily studied Babette and shook her head. "Quite."
"Did you used to dance?"
"Pardon" Emily looked at Patty in surprise, confused by the sudden topic shift.
"Your posture is wonderful, I can tell you've had training, ballet obviously."
"I did Ballet before I went to college, once I married Richard partner dancing," Emily self-consciously checked her posture.
"I do senior dance classes. Ballet, tap, partner dance, but we lack men and Kirk is handsy," Patty shook her head. "Also pole tease."
"That ain't as sexy as it sounds," Babette rolled her eyes. "Too much time trying not to fall off and smash your face on the floor."
"I told you Babette you're not supposed to mount the pole."
"I gotta practice for Morey."
Despite herself Emily chuckled. Discussing pole dancing on a street corner while drinking alcohol in the afternoon was not something she would have ever have considered seemly but in the presence of these two women she found she didn't care one bit. "Do you have a schedule?" She asked Patty softly, perhaps dancing would be a good way to exercise and meet more people in town. "Not for the pole fitness but the others."
"Sure," Patty nodded. "Come by the studio, I'll give you one. Right now we were going to go to Weston's get a cake."
"Yeah, you gotta come," Babette seized Emily's arm a little roughly. "You ain't an official member of town until you've had something from Weston's."
xXx
"Lorelai!"
"Michel!" Lorelai turned away from the inn front door that she had so almost escaped from. Today had been a long day, even though technically it was only 2.45 but annoying guests, trying to tie down last minute details for Thanksgiving, getting the final orders in for Christmas which in turn led to ornery suppliers had made her five hour day seem like twenty five. "I need to go pick up the kids."
"I shall walk with you."
"You will what?" Lorelai stared after Michel as he vanished into the office and returned moments later with his elegant black wool coat. She watched him fuss with his scarf and leather gloves and then headed out into the cold November afternoon. How was it possible that it was already getting dark. She sniffed hopefully. No snow, not quite yet. She kind of hoped it waited now. Thanksgiving was only a few days away and the first snow always brought a level of chaos that she could really do without. "I'm going the back way," Lorelai informed Michel with a wry smile. "Those shoes will get ruined."
"They will not," Michel looked down at his feet. Hesitating for a moment before following her across the garden towards the path that lead into town. "Lorelai!"
"Michel!"
"Let me speak for pithy's sake."
"For who's sake?"
"Lorelai!"
"Michel!"
"No!" Michel stopped and stomped his foot against the frozen ground. "Do not start a loop. I have important things I must discuss with you. Do not mock or make silly fun. This is serious."
"Ok," Lorelai looked at him curiously. Serious with Michel could be anything, it could be the most trivial thing in the world or it could be the most serious thing in the universe. She groaned inwardly, what if he had changed his mind about being partners in the Inn, or what if he was going to try and muscle in on the spa. She liked managing the spa on her own. It was nice to be the boss boss and not have anyone to have to consult with.
"As you known, Frederick and I are trying to adopt a small person."
"A child."
"A child, yes." Michel nodded. "It is very tiresome. We must provide so many documents and they must talk to all people in our lives and have vouchers."
Lorelai looked at Michel out of the corner of her eye, waiting for him to explain further, she had an inkling we're he was going with this line of conversation but he could be about to ask for a month of leave.
"They have interviewed our family, and even with Frederick's brother they have allowed the process to continue. Now they want to get character witnesses from not family. I must provide a number and we are asking all of our close personal friends."
"I'm a close personal friend. Does this mean I can borrow money, or your car?" Lorelai teased. Michel wrinkled his nose in annoyance and Lorelai held her hand out to show she was relenting. "Michel. I would be honoured to provide a character witness for your adoption process."
"Thank you. Good." Michel nodded once more. A beat passed and he looked at her. "You must be serious. No jokes. No trying to be smart. No telling horrible stories that you think are funny…"
"Michel, I won't. I know this is important. I would never do anything to jeopardise this process for you." They reached the back gate and she went through. She looked back at Michel expecting him to follow but he stayed on the Inn side of the wooden gate, a large smile on his face. "Send me the details of what I need to do and where I need to send it."
"I shall. Thank you Lorelai."
"My pleasure," Lorelai gave him a wide smile. "And think this time next year, we could be doing the school run together."
"Not possible," Michel scoffed, rolling his eyes at the thought, "my child will not go to filthy public school. They are to be privately educated."
"So I can put snob in this character witness then?" Michel opened his mouth to protest. Lorelai waved her hand shooing him back towards the inn. "Don't worry. I'll word it differently."
"Why do you enjoy teasing me?" Michel pouted at her. He looked down at his shoes and gave a dramatic huff.
"Oh little boy, wait till you have kids, it is they end of nice things. Sticky hands and all manners of bodily fluids," Lorelai teased. "But all completely worth it. And as for teasing you. You make it easy and that is what best friends do."
xXx
"Hi Mom," Lorelai smiled at Emily as she opened the green front door to her new house.
"Come in, Come in." Emily took an excited step back ushering the children in to the warm front hallway.
"New rug?" Lorelai asked as she stepped in. Her parents had always been a fan of rugs, often some traditional overly patterned thing. The rug in the centre of the hallway was unlike she'd ever seen them own, riotous in its stripy colours. She peered a little closer gasping as she realised it was a rag rug. Emily Gilmore owned a rag rug; the very thought!
"Yes, isn't it delightful? A designer from New York, he has his assistants stitch all the left over scraps of fabric into these beautiful rugs. The fabrics in it are to die for," Emily gushed. "Now I want to give you a tour."
"We saw the house the other day," Lorelai frowned in confusion. She winced as Emily's expression faltered ever so slightly. "I mean unless you've done anything sp…" she didn't get the rest of her sentence out as the door opened behind her and she turned to see April walking in the front door, stowing her keys in her pocket. "You have a key?"
"Yeah?" April stared at her in confusion.
"How come April gets a key and you don't tell her off for using it?" Lorelai looked at Emily in shock.
"I have a key for you also," Emily inclined her head towards the side table and a small bowl. "And April has permission to use it, because she only recently moved out of home."
"You are so the favourite," Lorelai muttered to April cheekily.
"I know." April poked her tongue out at her. "So Grandma did you take the kids on the tour of thei…"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Emily waved her hands insistently. There was a momentary pause and then the children rushed at Emily excitedly asking questions if what April said meant they had bedrooms. "And there April goes ruining the surprise. Would you like to see?" The children answered in a cacophony of squeals and yeses. Emily seized Grace and Willow's hands. "Up we go," she started towards the stairs, pausing to look over her shoulder at Lorelai. "Aren't you coming?"
"You enjoy the moment with them Mom. They can show me later," Lorelai smiled at the joyful expression that Emily gave her and watched the five of them ascend the stairs. "How'd she fit them all in? I thought she was turning one of the bedrooms into her closet?"
April snorted in amusement. "She is. Sam and Grace get the smaller bedrooms upstairs and then the attic room has two storage areas, big enough to put a bed and a chest of drawers in."
"The twins' bedrooms are cupboards?"
"Pretty much, but the attic space is huge and they'll have plenty of space to hang out in there and there is a day bed in there that I can use or whoever," April shrugged. "She wanted them to have their own bedrooms. Something they've never had."
Lorelai shook her head. "She still fills up the house." She turned her attention to April. The young woman looked tired, dark smudges under her eyes. "How are you?"
"OK. Better." April turned to hang her coat in the closet by the front door. "You?"
"Better. I've stopped crying for now, but that might be down to the whole hormone drought I've got going on." Lorelai waited for April to turn back around and when she did held her arms out. April gave her a soft smile and then stepped into her arms. They hugged for a minute, Lorelai applying the perfect level of pressure to deliver her best, most comforting Mom hug. "I'm sorry if me being my dramatic self made it worse."
"It didn't because I don't think it could be worse," April sighed. She took a step back but kept her arm around Lorelai's waist. Together they walked into Emily's new sitting room, which probably only a third of the size of the Hartford House's living room still had the same feel with the pink and gold couches and roaring fire. "There are plans afoot and we'll just do everything we can to keep everyone safe."
"You know me and your Dad, we'll do whatever we need to," Lorelai told her waiting for April to sit. She joined her step daughter on the couch and then placed her hand on her knee. "We've got you no matter what, ok?"
"I know," April nodded. "And it's not just me we've got to fight for it's the environment, he'll strip it down for parts. I mean he's the coal president. Which is the most..." she shook her head. "I have no words for how stupid it is. You need to start using a reusable coffee mug. Stop using the single use cups. I'm going to get Dad to sell them, limit single use plastic. I've found some great cardboard containers he can use instead of the Styrofoam. Now Grandma's moved it's better from a gas consumption point of view for you guys, the minivan is a huge gas guzzler."
"I'm with Her," Lorelai cheekily bumped her elbow into April's side. April stared at her blankly confused by the use of the now defunct slogan. "Mother Nature," Lorelai said carefully.
"Oh!" April's eyes lit up. "I love that!"
"Thank you very much I'm here all week," Lorelai smiled. She looked back as she heard the sound of feet on the stairs. "We got incoming."
"We always do," April grinned. "It's good she's here, she seems happier."
"Mom?" Lorelai looked towards the mantle and the picture above it. It was a large photograph of her and her kids. It was the candid one. Done at a modern studio with white background, so unlike the stuffy staidness of so many of the photoshoots that Emily had had set up over the years. This one taken a few years ago with Grace just out of toddlerhood and the twins looking still like little girls, summed up what she wanted to remember her family. Her in the middle, Rory on oneside, April on the other and the kids half collapsed on them, a cacophony of love was the only way she could describe it. That Emily had chosen to put that over the mantle told her so much. She had no doubt that there were images of her father around the house but this picture and the rug in the foyer told her her Mother was facing this new chapter in her own inimitable style. "I think she is."