Fool for Love

by

javakamp
Chapter 25: Puppy Dog Tales.

Saturday morning when Lorelai walked into the kitchen wearing her comfortable blue robe over a pair of sweat pants and tee shirt, she found Rory dressed in jeans and a sweater, reading a book with a cup of coffee and a half of a pop-tart sitting next to her. "Good morning mom," Rory said, glancing up from her book.

"I doubt it," Lorelai said sounding a little cranky. The elder Gilmore opened the cabinet over the coffee maker and removed a cup, which she filled from the coffee pot. After a small sip, she walked across the kitchen where the pop-tart box sat next to the toaster. She took a quick peek in the box, before her mouth fell open and she said, "You didn't?"

Rory looked up and innocently asked, "Didn't what?"

Lorelai picked up the box, and then tipped it upside down. When nothing fell out she said, "You ate the last pop-tart."

"So?"

"So we have no other food in the house."

"So?"

"So I need something to eat."

"So?"

"I said we have nothing else in the house to eat."

Rory picked up the pop tart, took a bite, and then said, "Hmmm. I guess you'll have to go out won't you."

"No, please don't make me do that," Lorelai pleaded.

"Mom."

"Look, I can give you some money, and you can go and get us some breakfast." Lorelai said as she sat down in a chair next to Rory.

"Nope."

"Rory. Please?" Lorelai said with her pitiful face.

"Nope, not gonna happen."

"Rory?!

"Mom!!"

Lorelai sat back in her chair so she could bring her knees up to her chest, sitting her feet on the chair. She wrapped her arms around her legs, rested her chin on her knees, and said, "I can't go out there."

Rory shook her head and replied, "Mom, for the last week you hardly left the house except to go straight to work and back."

"If I go out there everyone will start talking about me."

"They're already talking about you," Rory countered.

Lorelai looked at Rory and said, "Well that's real comforting."

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, but if I go out there, I have to see them looking at me, and talking about me, and pointing at me." Lorelai look up at Rory then continued, "Or even worse I have to watch people see me them not talk about me."

"Not talk about you?"

"Yeah. They see me coming so they don't talk about me or point at me, even though they want to point and talk at me, and I know that they want to point and talk about me, but they don't." Lorelai put her chin back on her knees, and then said, "And I hate it when people do that."

Rory stood up and replied, "You hate it when people don't point at you, and they don't laugh at you?"

"Well, yeah."

"That's it," Rory said grabbing her mothers arm and beginning to pull, "You're going out for breakfast this morning."

Lorelai held onto her legs tightly and said, "No I don't want to."

"You have to go out there sometime."

"Yeah, but not today."

"Then when?"

"I don't know. I thought maybe in one or two years."

Rory pulled on her mom's arm nearly causing Lorelai to topple from her chair. Lorelai was forced to release her legs to use them in order to avoid a hasty trip onto the floor. Rory continued to pull until her mother was up from the chair, and standing. Rory looked at Lorelai who had a huge pout on her face. Unfazed Rory gave her mom a gentle push towards the stairs, and said, "Now I want you to go upstairs, brush your hair, put on some clothes, and maybe a little gloss.

"But…"

Giving Lorelai another push resulting in a couple of hesitant steps in the desired direction, Rory said, "It'll be fun. I promise."

"You promise?" Lorelai asked as she started to shuffle towards the stairs.

"Yes I promise."

"Are you lying?"

"Of course."

"But…"

As they reached the bottom of the steps, Rory said, "Look if you'll be real good, we can talk about getting a pet."

"We can?" Lorelai said brightening, as she began to ascend the steps.

"Yes we can."

"We can really get a pet? Maybe a puppy?"

As Rory continued to push her mother up the steps, she said, "I didn't say we would get a pet. I said we would talk about it."

"But…"

No more buts. Let's go."

"But…"