Episode 1: Of course I'm happy
The only time Lorelai gardened was to visit Paul Anka.
She sat with her legs out across the lawn as she troweled weeds away from the fancy marble marker for her old dog. That marker, grey and white just like him, was one of the few times she splurged like her mother, but Paul Anka deserved it.
Paul Anka had deserved everything, even if Lorelai had to see to it herself that he had a whole garden around him. That said a lot because she hated dirt and worms and almost everything that lived in dirt with the worms.
"I hate school," a voice announced to the world as feet stomped over grass.
Lorelai heard a backpack drop to the ground, buckles clacking, followed by shoes being kicked off and hurled with thuds onto the porch steps.
Already laughing, she turned and wiped a hair off her cheek.
"Lora, how much homework do you have today?" she asked her granddaughter who gave up walking entirely to plop first on her butt, then fell to her back with arms spread out.
She was so dramatic, like a regular Vivian Leigh.
"I'm never going back," Lora said to the sky.
"Yes you are," Lorelai said sing-songy, getting up only to plop snow-angel style next to her.
Lora looked at her with big brown eyes, eerily like Emily's, which her mother loved. About time someone got my eyes, she said when she first saw her at the hospital. Brown eyes are beautiful, too.
"What happened?" Lorelai asked, blowing hair out of her mouth now.
Lora rolled over with these pleading eyes, huge like buckets of chocolate.
"Besides still being called Richard," Lora droned.
Lorelai winced at that. Rory named her Richard Lorelai Gilmore, because why shouldn't a girl be named after her beloved dead grandpa and why shouldn't there be another Lorelai in the family?
Rory settled on calling her Lora after the drugs wore off.
"Yes, besides that," Lorelai said.
"They want me to read two chapters, do math homework, and write a short story," Lora complained, her brunette hair spilling around her rosy cheeks like chocolate being poured out of a bowl. Everything about her granddaughter made Lorelai think of chocolate. Her skin was silky smooth like white chocolate, her fanned out lashes like chocolate cotton candy, if there was such a thing. There should be. There really should be.
"You love to read," Lorelai started.
"Only what I like to read, not what other people tell me to read," Lora interjected with one fast breath.
"Math is easy for you," Lorelai continued, counting off on her gloved fingers now, which she saw had dirt on them.
"And your mom is one of the most famous authors in the world," Lorelai said. "Writing comes easy for you."
Lora was silent at that, which broke Lorelai's heart.
"You're right, I should just go get started on this stuff." Lora was quiet when she said that, quiet when she shoved to her feet, chocolate hair spinning out behind her.
Lorelai shoved to her feet too, though much slower, and bounced in front of her to wipe dirt on her nose.
"Better wash your face first," she laughed, then reached out again to wipe dirt on her forehead. "Why do you come home so dirty?"
"Grandma!" Lora laughed and ran from her, arms over her head.
"Better make some tater tots," Lorelai called after her. "We need comfort food now!"
Lora disappeared into the house, her laughter echoing around inside just like Rory's used to when she was her same age, sixteen.
Rory. She hadn't been home in almost ten months now, off on some world tour of the movie Gilmore Girls. Her book had done well, maybe too well. She was only ever around for the holidays, but even missed a lot of those because people liked to have her around for readings and talk show appearances when snow was on the ground.
Meanwhile, Lorelai and Luke raised Lora, which was kinda nice because they always wanted a kid together. At the same time, never did she think Rory be more like Christopher than herself when it came to parenting.
It broke her heart, really.
You should just gilt her into being around more, Emily said early on, when Lora was still small. A mother needs to be around for her daughter.
Feeling that guilt herself, that maybe she failed pressuring Rory to come home, she filled her cheeks with air and huffed. She pulled her gloves off and dug her cellphone from her pocket.
Rory answered on the second ring and all Lorelai heard on the other end was drunken singing.
"Hang on," Rory said over and over until the slurred words faded. "This after party is really out of hand."
"Tater tots are cooking!" Lora called out the living room window.
"Just a minute!" Lorelai waved at her.
"You called me," Rory said.
"I know, I know, I wasn't talking to you." Lorelai walked over to Paul Anka and stared at his headstone. "How is it that the after party for your movie premier is still raging? Wasn't that three days ago?"
"Yes and everyone is having too much fun to stop, apparently," Rory laughed.
"Are you having too much fun to stop?"
"What?"
"Well, when are you coming home? I think all of your house plants are dead. Lora and I haven't really been over there in a while."
"Oh, who cares. I'm not really a house plant kind of person."
"Then why did you have them?"
"I went through a house plant phase."
"Well, did you go through a 'maybe-I'll-try-out-a-kid' phase?" Lorelai shoved hand under her elbow holding up the phone, toeing dirt around.
"What does that mean?" Rory sounded offended.
"Lora hasn't seen you in almost a year, hun," Lorelai softened her tone. "She has barely seen you ever."
"When this book stuff calms down, I'll be home fulltime," Rory said, full-on defensive. "You know that."
"Yes, I know, but the book stuff hasn't calmed down since it got big when Lora was what … three?" Lorelai looked at Paul Anka's headstone for help in remembering, like a block of marble could remember anything and like Paul Anka would have been able to tell her a number anyway.
"She's fine, I call her every week," Rory said.
"Is she fine? Are you sure?"
"Listen, I was going to call you anyway. I'll be back in Stars Hollow in a few days because the publisher wants a sequel. People know I have a kid and they want book two, they want to know what happens next, so I'm going to give that to them."
Lorelai snorted.
"What, you aren't happy for me?"
"Of course I'm happy for you, that's great news. It's just…."
"Just what?"
"What's Lora going to think of it?"
"She'll be happy. She loves the first book."
"Then what will your fans think when they realize you haven't been raising her?"
"That's not fair."
Lorelai was quiet. She blinked up at the late August sun.
"I'll see you soon." Rory hung up.
From inside, Lorelai heard Funny Face tune up and popcorn popping. Usually she loved those sounds, but rubbed her chest because it hurt. It hurt a lot lately.
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