A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update this story. Real Life has been busy. There's a lot going on in the final month of May so it will be at least two chapters. Enjoy!
Chapter 15
(May 2008)
As soon as Rory caught sight of her mother, standing just past the security area at the gates of the Hartford airport, she dashed towards her, screaming at the top of her lungs. Luke focused his gaze on the ground before him, pretending not to know them, embarrassed by the girls' noisy display After an intense hug, then grabbing hands and jumping up and down, Lorelai asked. "And where's my granddaughter?"
Logan had been moving at a slower pace, pushing the stroller up the corridor while shouldering a large carry-on bag.
Lorelai rushed towards them. "Nora!" She grabbed the baby from the stroller who immediately started screaming. Lorelai didn't care as she hugged the infant.
"I think she's a little over stimulated from the flight." Logan said, feeling embarrassed.
Looking into Nora's blue eyes, Lorelai said, "It's your Grandma. No, that doesn't sound right. It's Gammy."
She still hadn't figured out what she wanted to be called. She didn't feel old enough to be a grandmother.
"Look Nora, it's MawMaw." Rory cackled evilly. This was payback for all those horrid baby name suggestions. She'd even researched some more exotic choices that she planned to share over the course of the visit.
Lorelai frowned and stuck out her tongue in response, registering her disapproval.
The group retrieved the luggage, and then made their way towards Sookie's minivan which they'd borrowed in order to transport four adults, an infant in a car seat, a stroller and several suitcases. It was hard to travel light when an infant and formal attire were involved.
Pumped up on adrenaline and excitement, Rory and Lorelai talked non-stop at a rapid-fire pace, not allowing anyone else to get a word in edgewise. As the minivan headed down the interstate, they started making a list of all the movies they needed to watch and takeout they needed to consume while Rory was home.
"I hate to remind you-" Logan finally got a word in, peering into the back of the minivan where the two women and baby were seated.
"What's that?" Rory asked.
"We're here for a reason, remember? The weddings? There just might be a few things already going on."
"Oh, right."
Lorelai explained. "There's just the bachelorette party, the bachelor party, rehearsal dinner, final dress fittings, makeup and hair sessions. And the weddings. That's all.
"Mom was insisting on hosting a cocktail party for you tonight at her house, but I convinced her that you'd be tired and needed to rest. At least you're going to be staying with us until Thursday or Friday."
"Good call. How's Grandma dealing with the wedding stress?" Rory asked with a smirk, anticipating the answer.
Lorelai's eyes lit up. "How do you think?" Adopting a snooty tone, she said, "The flowers aren't the exact shade of rose. It should be a deeper pink not a blush."
Rory laughed. She'd expected nothing less. She'd put off turning on her cell phone after getting off the plane for that very reason. Her grandmother's updates were becoming more and more frequent. She was thankful that the woman wasn't yet comfortable with texting, especially since phone calls were much easier to dodge.
"No matter how nice the ceremony and reception turn out, she'll be complaining about something," Lorelai said.
Rory's eyes became teary as she looked out the window of the minivan and watched familiar sights pass by. Even Al's Pancake World elicited an emotional response. She'd never been away from Stars Hollow for this long. As they drove through town, she could barely look at Luke's dinner, Lane's antique store and family home, or the town gazebo for fear she'd burst out in tears.
It wasn't possible to fit all of the baby gear and luggage into Rory's old room, so some of it was shoved into the living room. Rory was surprised that instead of ordering Chinese takeout, that Luke already had a meal ready to heat and serve. The four adults sat about the kitchen table, talking and eating, taking turns passing a fussy Nora around.
"What is this, Luke? It's pretty good." Rory asked, digging her spoon into a bowl. She was enjoying being able to focus more on her meal, since others were helping with the baby. Typically, she was interrupted so many times, her food was cold by the time she got to it.
"Beef stew."
"And what's this stuff?" Rory joked, referring to the green salad in a wooden bowl. Not many of those had graced this table in the past years.
Luke grinned in response. "I just think we could all eat a little healthier. Logan, tell us more about your promotion."
"It's a pay raise and an increase in responsibilities. We'd have to move, which would be a pain, but I think we'll be able to afford a better place to live." Logan explained.
"How does this impact your job prospects, Rory?" Lorelai asked.
"It might make researching a little more challenging. We might have to invest in a second car – public transportation is pretty limited out there. We've been lucky with our current place."
Rory didn't want to mention the possibility that her precious Rosa might not be able to come with them. It was too painful to contemplate. She'd deal with that issue only when forced.
"Do you have to travel?" Luke asked.
"There's some." Logan explained. "But I told them up front I'd only go for a day or two a month. With Nora being so young, it would be hard on Rory for me to be gone for longer periods of time."
"What do you think, Nonni?" Rory grinned.
Lorelai gave her the thumbs down signal and made a razzberry sound to convey her thoughts about the name. Nora giggled, liking the silly sound. "Seems like a good opportunity."
Lorelai's nose wrinkled. "Smells like somebody needs a diaper change." She rose and insisted that Luke join her, to assist.
Alone in the kitchen with Logan, Rory said, 'That's odd."
"What?" He was finishing his stew and not following her train of thought.
"Why should Luke care about changing diapers? And since when do we eat salads?"
He shrugged. "No clue. Maybe your mom just wants company." Then, feeling his phone vibrating in his pocket, he reached for it. Checking the number, he said with some concern, "It's my parents."
That always caused Rory's heart rate to accelerate.
"Should I answer it?"
Her gut reaction was to say no. But with the upcoming wedding, it would be lovely if everyone could just get along.
"Sure."
Logan answered the phone and walked outside onto the porch to speak privately.
Rory started cleaning up the table and stacking the bowls and plates in the sink. Luke soon joined her, so the task went by quickly.
When Logan returned, everyone was gathered in the living room. Lorelai was lying on the couch, with a sleepy Nora, cuddled in her arms. Both were already falling asleep.
"Well?" Rory asked Logan, nervously.
"They want to have us over for dinner this week."
"Oh. How do you feel about that?" Rory questioned their timing. There was already so much crammed into this week. But then again, they were Logan's parents. She should be grateful they were putting some effort into maintaining a relationship with their son.
"Ok, I guess. They want to see their granddaughter. That's good, right? And if they get out of line, we can just leave. We've done it before," Logan said.
"Sounds like a plan."
XXXXX
When Logan and Rory woke up, they were stunned to be greeted by sunlight streaming through the window into their room. Usually, the baby was awake well before the sun rose.
Nora had a rough night. Between new places, different people, and teething, she was awake every two hours. Rory and Logan had taken turns walking with Nora in the living room until eventually Lorelai had stumbled downstairs, taken the baby and then sent the two of them back to bed.
"What time is it?" Rory yawned.
Logan checked his phone. "Nine am."
Rory panicked when she saw that the portable crib was empty. "Where's the baby?"
Both Rory and Logan sprang out of bed, tripping over items on the floor in the crowded room.
Rory raced to the bottom of the stairs to call to her mother, when Logan gently grabbed her arm and motioned towards the living room. Luke was asleep, sprawled out on a chair, with Nora buddled up in his arms. Someone had covered them with a plaid blanket.
"Aw! They look so sweet." Rory whispered. First her grandfather, now Luke. It seemed like Nora was attracted to older men.
"They do. We don't have to wake them. We could go back to bed." Logan suggested.
"Sleep sounds wonderful." Then she caught her husband's expression. "Other stuff sounds good too." She playfully grabbed his hand and led him back to the bedroom.
XXXXX
The day went by quickly. They spent a lazy morning drinking coffee while lingering in pajamas, then had friends stop by to visit. Rory kept a dress fitting appointment. And suddenly it was five o'clock and time to get ready for the bachelorette party. Rory and Lorelai were in her mother's room, blasting the B52s and deciding on outfits for the occasion. Lorelai's bed was littered with tops, skirts, jeans, and other accessories.
"What exactly are we doing again?" Rory asked as she held up a flowered blouse. "That way I'll be dressed appropriately."
Lorelai grinned. "Nice try. You know it's a surprise."
"No fair. It's your bachelorette party too – and you know what's going on."
Lorelai held firm. "Nope. I'm not gonna ruin it. You'll find out." She taunted her.
Feeling annoyed, Rory said, "Okay, bubee."
"What am I? Some old Jewish lady?" Lorelai laughed.
Rory examined two tops lying on the bed. One was lower cut with gold sequins, the other was more casual with blue and white stripes.
"That's it!" her mother cried.
"Which one?"
"The sequins."
"So, we're going out on the town?" Rory concluded. Not that hanging out in someone's basement rec room wouldn't have been acceptable. She was thrilled just to be here. Eating take-out and watching movies in sweats would've been fine with her.
"Maybe." Lorelai's eyes twinkled mischievously. "My black leather skirt would look really cute with that." She dug around the pile on the bed, searching for it.
"Are we meeting others?" Rory kept trying to pump her mother for more information.
Lorelai grinned but didn't say a word.
"C'mon, at least tell me who's going to be there!"
Since many of Rory's friends lived out of town or state or had started new jobs, they wouldn't be able to attend the bachelorette party. Most were able to attend the wedding, and many would be at the rehearsal dinner which promised to be a lavish production. She was looking forward to seeing everyone.
Having no luck sifting through the contents on the bed, Lorelai shifted her attention to the depths of her closet. A moment later, she emerged with the black skirt and black leather boots.
"I love it." Rory said.
It was fun to be dressing up and spending time with friends. She wouldn't dare wear such an outfit in San Francisco in fear of the baby ruining it by spitting up on it.
Luke shouted up the stairs. "Some one's here for you."
The girls selected a low-cut bright red top, black leather pants with matching red pumps for Lorelai then hurried to finish dressing and touching up their hair and makeup.
They paused in the living room to give last minute baby instructions to Luke and Logan. Their separate bachelor parties were being held tomorrow night. Logan was reconnecting with Finn, Colin and Josh, who wanted to treat him to a night on the town, cruising the bars. Luke's night out would be more sedate. He was reluctantly going to a sports bar with TJ, Jackson and Jess. Most likely Kirk and Taylor would be joining them too.
After kissing Nora goodbye, the girls stepped out onto the porch. A white stretch limousine was parked on the side of the road. Logan's sister, Honor, was standing on the seat, peering through the limo's open sunroof. At least six glowing neon chemical lights were looped about her neck.
"It's about time, Gilmore! Let's get this party started!"
As the girls climbed into the limo, flutes of champagne were thrust into their hands and glowing assorted colored neon chemical light necklaces were placed about their necks. Honor pinned a silver tiara on Rory's head.
"For the woman of honor. Even though you're technically already married!"
Logan had refrained from asking Honor and Josh to participate in the wedding, not wanting to cause additional friction between them and his parents. Honor had been very vocal about her father cutting Logan off, resulting in many arguments. Rory hadn't been fully on board with his decision, thinking their feelings would be hurt. She liked Honor and Josh and wanted them to be part of their celebration. However, since it was Logan's family, she allowed him to make the final decision.
Crammed in the seat beside her, Lorelai whispered into Rory's ear. "You know, even though I'm your maid of honor, Honor insisted on being in charge of this evening. And she's paying for everything."
"How sweet of her." Rory was touched by such a kind gesture and pleased that his sister hadn't been offended by Logan's decision.
Honor started blasting Bon Jovi and screaming the lyrics to "You Give Love a Bad Name" while standing on the seat and peering out of the sunroof.
Rory glanced about the limo, seeing the glowing faces of Lane, Sookie, Miss Patty and Babette.
A familiar voice near Lorelai said, "Guess some one's had a little too much champagne."
Lorelai stiffened and turned to greet Emily Gilmore.
"Mother, what a surprise." She tried to mask her displeasure.
"What? Was this a mistake?" Emily asked, sharply. She primly turned her knees to the side, trying to make more room for the other women who were crammed into the limo. As expected, she was dressed more formally than the others, in a conservative beige skirt with a coordinating jacket. "Was I not officially on your invitation list, Lorelai?"
"Of course, you're invited, Mom." It took effort for Lorelai to make that sound sincere. Glancing towards the back of the limo, she caught Sookie's gaze and gave her the stink eye, suspecting it was she who had issued the invitation.
Yet, Lorelai needed to be fair. This was far outside of Emily's comfort zone. She needed to acknowledge that she appreciated her mother's efforts. Sometime. Not necessarily now. Whenever she had the chance. Whenever that happened to be.
After finishing the song, Honor rejoined the others, sinking onto her seat.
Rory asked. "What's the plan?"
"Dinner at this great Cuban place in Hartford. Disco dancing at the all-ABBA night club. And then karaoke at the fabulous Las Palabras!"
Miss Patty refilled everyone's champagne glasses to the brim, and they toasted to a night of merriment.
Rory felt pathetic that she hoped she could stay awake that long. She was usually asleep by nine pm.
XXXX
As expected, Las Palabras was a high-class karaoke club. Which made sense because everything Honor did was high-class. The older brick building featured high ceilings and authentic oak woodwork. Ornate crystal chandeliers added to the festive atmosphere. The waitresses wore over-sized sunglasses and brightly colored sequined minidresses. Many of the regular performers came in full regalia, dressed as Madonna, Michael Jackson or Marilyn Monroe, to perform their favorite songs. There were even several men artfully dressed as women, clad in fancy sequined outfits with skillfully applied makeup.
Once the girls were seated, Honor immediately ordered pitchers of strawberry margaritas for both ends of the table. Babette and Miss Patty signed up for several rounds of karaoke while others more thoughtfully contemplated their song choices.
Lorelai sat next to her mother who was examining the extensive song list. "What do you think Mom? What song are you signing up for?"
"I don't need to sing." Unlike the rest of the group, Emily was relatively sober, she'd carefully nursed one drink at each stop.
Sookie and Lorelai accepted the challenge. "Of course, you do. They have all sorts of music. We know you can sing, Mom."
Lorelai scanned the list. "Look, there's 'My Way'. I'm sure you can find something you like."
"How about 'You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman'?" Sookie suggested.
Emily wrinkled her nose critically. "I don't know about this."
Lorelai thought her mother needed to drink more of her strawberry margarita. She pushed a filled glass towards her. "Let me put it to you this way. If you don't pick a song, Sookie and I will pick one for you." She grinned evilly.
Emily studied the choices more intently.
Rory squealed with delight. "I found the perfect song, Mom! For you me, and Grandma." She rushed over to show it to Lorelai who nodded vigorously.
"It's perfect!"
The girls cheered each other on as members of their party performed. As the night progressed and more alcohol was ingested, they screamed louder and louder. When Miss Patty belted out, "I Will Survive", they screamed, yelled and whistled. Babette killed the audience with her version of "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?", complete with suggestive dancing, followed by Lorelai's touching rendition of the Bangel's "Eternal Flame". Even Emily surprised them, singing a rousing version of "Love Will Keep Us Together".
Then the women topped off their glasses, chatting at the table as they waited for more of their karaoke time slots to come up.
Sookie pulled her chair closer to Lorelai.
"So? Is it right this time?" Sookie asked.
Her friend had a colorful history when it came to romance. Leaving Max right before their wedding. Dumping Luke when the relationship got complicated. Eloping with Christopher after formally dating for a few months, only to divorce him months later.
"Absolutely!"
"Then why are you falling asleep?" Sookie could tell her friend was having trouble keeping her eyes open.
"I've just been so busy with the inn and getting ready for the visit and the weddings. We were also up late last night with Nora." Lorelai explained. Anticipating Sookie's objections, she stated, "No, I wanted to help. That's what being a grandmother is all about.
"Sookie, it's just been so weird these past months not having Rory around. I miss her. I wish Rory and Logan lived closer to us. Nora's so adorable. And she's already changed so much since I last saw her. I'm afraid she's never going have a real relationship with me if I only see her two or three times a year. That I'll never get the chance to really get to know her. I want to be a bigger part of her life."
Sookie took a sip of her margarita and made a face. "This doesn't taste right."
Lorelai grabbed the glass protectively. "It's mine."
"What's wrong with it?"
"I just wanted something different, that's all."
Sookie shrugged. "Okay." Finding her own glass, then cautiously sipping from it, she returned to their original conversation. "Don't be silly about Nora. You and Rory are still close, right? You call each other all the time. The distance hasn't affected that. And as Nora gets older, you'll be able to make that work. I know you will."
Lorelai rose.
"Where are you off to?" Sookie asked.
Taking her phone out, she said, "Just gonna check in with the boys and see how they're doing. Be right back."
"You better, you don't wanna miss your song."
XXX
Rory wavered a little as she stumbled towards the chaise lounge in the lady's room. She was tired and not used to drinking so much alcohol. It was hitting her harder than she expected. She was thankful she had help with the baby and the possible option of catching up with sleep tomorrow. Lane crashed on to the couch beside her.
"You okay?" Lane asked, words slightly slurred.
"Just a little tired. This is fun but it's more than I'm used to." Rory put an arm about Lane's shoulder, hugging her.
"Me too. Not that I'm complaining but it's weird to be out of the house without an entourage and carrying a massive diaper bag stuffed with clothing and snacks," Lane said.
That immediately brought up a familiar concern for Rory. Perhaps the alcohol had intensified these doubts. "What's wrong with me, Lane? I don't even miss my baby. I feel like an inmate that's gotten a Get-Out-Jail-Free pass. That's not right."
"Motherhood is pretty constant. And that's draining."
"But you're managing. And you have twins." Rory shuddered at the thought. Taking care of one child was hard enough. And she had a nanny.
What was her problem?
Lane insisted. "Don't compare the two of us. We're dealing with very different issues. Since Zach and Brian have been doing the studio musician work from nine to five, they're around more than Logan can be. And my mom is right down the street. I don't know how I'd do anything without her.
"You're pretty much on your own. And even though you have a nanny, you're trying to get your career going, which, for your area, would be hard even if you weren't a parent. The guys and I are working on some kids' songs to record but it'll happen when it happens. And we can get some highly discounted recording time through the studio, once we're ready. It's not the same pressure.
"Cut yourself a break, you're going through a lot." She squeezed Rory's shoulder.
"I just want to have the same relationship with her that Mom and I have."
"And you will. Give it some time. Speaking of time-" Lane checked the clock. "Your song is coming up."
The girls stumbled to their feet to return to the bar. Hearing the opening notes of their song, Rory rushed to the stage to join her mother and grandmother. She smirked, noticing that Lorelai had finally managed to convince Emily to wear her glowing chemical necklaces that looked terribly out of place with her conservative ensemble. Grabbing mikes, Lorelai started them out, singing the opening lines of the Sister Sledge classic.
"We are family. I got all my sisters with me. We are family. Get up everybody and sing."
Lorelai took the first verse, Rory the second and then they insisted that Emily take the last verse. She was a little shaky at first but came into her own during the chorus. Lorelai put her arms around her mother and Rory, swaying as they sang. When the final chorus came along, the entire bridal party jumped onto the stage to dance and sing. When the music stopped, the girls continued singing the chorus. Miss Patty and Babette leapt from the stage, grabbing random men to dance with them
TBC