Lorelai furrowed her brows and leaned to the side to get a good look at the man calling her mother's name.

"You know that guy?"

Turning back around, Emily smoothed down any wrinkles on her shirt and bumped the ends of hair. "I know of him, yes."

Matt came over to the table and with no warning, bent down and pressed a kiss to Emily's cheek.

"Fancy meeting you here."

"Yes," Emily said before clearing her throat, "Fancy that."

"Did you get my letter?"

"Yes."

"And the flowers? Did you like them?" Matt flipped a lock of salt and pepper hair out of his eyes, "I'm no flower expert, I just picked the one that looked the nicest."

"Lucky for you, you're talking to the woman with the greenest thumb in all the East coast. We meet again," Lorelai said, sticking her hand in Matt's face for a handshake, "Lorelai Gilmore, owner of this lovely Inn you're currently inhabiting and the daughter of the woman you're apparently writing letters and sending flowers to."

Matt shook Lorelai's hands before snapping his fingers, "Gilmore! I don't know why I didn't figure it out before. My room's great, by the way."

"You're staying here?" Emily blurted out. "Why aren't you staying with Darby or at the Hartford Marriott?"

"Gee mom, thanks for the support. Why don't I leave you two alone to catch up? I'm sure somewhere some towels need to be folded."

Lorelai hopped out of her chair and let Matt take her place.

"To answer your question, I can't stay in that house. Darby keeps asking me what my ex and I did to conceive since my father told her that Belinda was around her age when we had the twins."

"Conceive? She and your father are trying to have a child?" Emily blinked, forgetting herself, "Well, they'll be in my prayers."

Matt chuckled, "You've got better manners than the nuns at the Catholic school my father shipped me off too when I was a kid."

"I like to think I was raised well."

"You and Lorelai. One of Belinda's friends recommended this place. Steps above the Marriott."

Emily didn't believe that but she commended Matt on his efforts to compliment Lorelai.

"Yes, Lorelai's done very well for herself."

Emily thanked the waiter who dropped her meal in front of her. Matt tapped her hand. "Do you mind if I have lunch with you? It's getting boring trying to figure out Instagram and eat at the same time."

"I suppose it's a bit sad to watch a grown man eating by himself," she replied.

"A smile! Does that mean that I'm out of the doghouse?"

Emily's smile faltered.

"Because I meant what I said in my letter, sorry, wrote in my letter. I overstepped."

"Wildly."

"And I'm sorry. Am I forgiven?"

Hiding another smile behind a sip of water, Emily shrugged. "I don't know. One of my dear friends warned me about you."

"Warned you? About me? I feel dastardly. Damn, I should've grown out my mustache so I could twirl it. What'd they say?"

"It's inappropriate to gossip, Amato."

"C'mon, don't tease," Matt pleaded.

"If you must know, you are calling for the disestablishment of the upper class and support the rise of socialism."

Matt laughed so hard that a tear crawled down the side of his face. Emily couldn't help but join in.

The afternoon was spent laughing between drinks and mouthfuls of food. Emily couldn't recall the last time she'd had such a carefree day. Matt's phone vibrated on the table.

"Damn," he said, "Time to take my blood pressure pills. Left them back in my room."

"I won't keep you then," Emily said. She pulled her purse into her lap and pulled out her wallet.

"Ooh! Too slow Emily." Matt said as he placed a few bills on the table. "Now you have to let me be a gentleman and let you run off and make all your friends jealous at your very fancy soiree tonight."

Tonight? Emily looked out of the window. The sun was on its way to set. Matt offered his arm to Emily and helped her out of her seat.

"You still have my number, right?" Matt asked, leaning in close to Emily. "Maybe we could get lunch again. Not to brag but I have an in with the best restaurants on the East coast. Whaddaya say?"

"Just lunch?" Emily asked, trying not to enjoy the way his breath fanned against her ear.

"Lunch between friends."

She smiled. "I'll think about it. Now, run along and take your medication before you drop dead in front of me."

"If your face was the last thing I saw before I go, it would've have been worth it."

Emily had to tighten her grip on her purse to stop from bludgeoning Matt with it. Matt shrugged with a laugh. "Too cheesy?"

"A touch."

Matt lifted Emily's arm before pressing a kiss to her hand. He waved and jogged to the stairs and disappeared. Emily watched him until she couldn't see him any longer before sitting down in one of the chairs in the lobby and calling for her driver. The harpist filled the room with sweet music, Emily would have to find out how to hire her for one of her summer soirees.

"Have a nice lunch?" Lorelai asked out of thin air, giving her a fright.

"For goodness sake Lorelai, don't pop out like that. You'll send me to an early grave," Emily said as she pressed her hand to her racing heart.

"I can pop out from wherever dark shadows I please. My place of business, remember? Anyway. You have a nice lunch with whatshisname?"

"Matt."

"Ah yes, Matt. You guys were chit-chatting for quite a while. When did you become such a chatterbox?"

"Matt is a very interesting man. We had plenty to talk about."

"Okay mom, you can drop the act," Lorelai said with a laugh.

"Excuse me?"

"You just happened to take a ride down to see the flowers you ordered and he just happens to be staying here and just happened upon you eating lunch so you could spend a few hours talking? I'm not eight years old."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Emily replied, standing up.

"Give it up, already! You're not even wearing your wedding ring. You and that Matt guy are totally using the Firefly as your creepy little love nest. Blegh."

Emily looked down at her left hand. It was bare except for the pale strip of skin on her ring finger. She had taken it off to wash her face that morning and then…

"I have to say, mom, this Matt guys looks a little young for you. Were you planning on driving around the block and then climbing up into his room like a naughty girl? I would advise against it, he's on, like, the 3rd floor and I'm not sure if your hip could handle it."

"How dare you!" Emily hissed, clutching her purse to her stomach. "How could think that I would defile your father's memory like that? That I–I would cheapen my marriage like that. Is that what you think of me? That I'm some kind of whore?"

Lorelai flinched back, "I didn't say that. Mom–"

"You didn't have to! I would never do that. How dare you. How dare you."

Emily pushed passed Lorelai and walked out the front door of the Inn. She wobbled across the pavement and curled herself into the back of the car.

That wasn't what she was doing.

It wasn't.