In the morning, Lori awoke feeling almost cleansed, even before she took her shower. She caught herself smiling in the bathroom mirror and grimaced at herself. "You're disgustingly perky," she told her reflection, who just grinned back. "You know, you've got to make some tough decisions today," she continued to talk to herself. "You've got to decide if you want to tell your mother that she is your mother, or if you are going to continue to ignore her. And you have to tell her that she's going to be a grandmother soon." That made the smile falter a little, but it was still there.
"Ugh, there's just no hope," she said, disgusted, and went downstairs for breakfast.
"You're looking better this morning," Luke greeted her.
"I'll take that as a compliment," she told him, sliding onto her stool. "I'll have the French toast with your delicious strawberry syrup, coffee, hash browns and toast."
Luke sighed heavily, but wrote down her order. She had just opened her book when she saw someone sit onto the next stool, facing her. An older man, probably in his sixties, with a beard sat there. "Excuse me, Miss," he said respectfully. "Are you Lorelai Collins?" She nodded. "I'm Taylor Doose," the man said. She smiled and turned to shake his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Doose. Please, call me Lori." That was the first time she'd said that, and it sounded nice.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, too," he said. "Now, I heard that you've filled out an application for one of the apartments in a building I own." She nearly laughed, but managed to stifle it in time.
"I actually filled out a couple of applications," she said, "just to cover my bases. Which is your building?"
"The furnished apartment was mine," he said.
"I was hoping I'd get that one," she said, smiling winsomely at him. "It's perfect for me."
He looked flattered and straightened on his stool. She thought for a moment he was going to preen his mustache. "Well," he said. "Then it's my pleasure to inform you that I've accepted your application."
She gasped, feeling elated. "Really?" she asked, then stopped. "But, there's something–"
"Oh," he said, leaning forward conspiratorially. "Patty already told me about your …special circumstances. It happens every day, young lady, and you're handling a difficult situation with maturity. Both you and that young man. Patty told me you're working at the Inn, and you've expressly forbidden him from dropping out of high school. A very good move on both counts."
She blushed, and coughed. "Does, um, everyone in town know about my…special circumstances?" she asked, glancing around the diner.
"This is a small town," he said. "And I'm not one to gossip, but some people are prone to do so." He looked superior, puffed up like a bantam rooster. "And I'm not one to turn away information. Don't you worry," he added, and patted her hand resting on the countertop. "This town takes care of its own."
"Lori," Luke said pointedly. "Is this guy bothering you?"
"No, Luke," she said, still smiling and blushing. "In fact, Mr. Doose has just informed me that I've been accepted for an apartment. The furnished one I was hoping to get." She turned back to Taylor as Luke set down plates in front of her and refilled her coffee. "Thank you again, so much, Mr. Doose," she said. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, and you'll never regret it."
She noticed he was frowning, and he said, "I hope that's decaffeinated, young lady. Caffeine is very bad for fetuses."
"You really think I would let her drink anything but decaf, Taylor?" Luke demanded, affronted.
"Luke and Jess have both been making sure I eat right," she informed the older man. "They've been taking very good care of me."
"Glad to hear it," Taylor said, then glanced down at his watch. "Well, I really must get back to the store. How about I talk to you tonight, Ms. Collins, and we can get the paperwork started?"
"That would be wonderful," she said, smiling at him as he left.
"I thought Jess warned you about applying for one of that nut's apartments," Luke said as she dug into her meal. She had just enough time to eat her breakfast and get to work.
"He did," she said. "I didn't know that was one of his. But I like that apartment, Luke."
"You sure? 'Cause he really is a nut. He measures his lawn three times before he cuts it to make sure it's the right length."
She laughed slightly. "At least it'll be entertaining," she said.
He sighed heavily and went back to work.
She was nervous as she approached the Inn that morning, but she didn't see the other Lorelai all day.
Jess was waiting with a mug of freshly brewed coffee when she came into the diner that afternoon. "So how'd it go today?" he asked her after she'd drained half the cup.
She shook her head. "I didn't see her at all. I guess the owner of a business doesn't interact much with the maid staff."
"But what are you going to do when you do see each other?" he asked her.
She made a vague noise. "I could always wing it," she said, and held her mug out for a refill. Jess made a face at her, and she shrugged. "I could. I don't think I'd do it well, but I think I don't have any other option. Jess," she said when he was going to protest. "There's too many what-ifs. Like what if she doesn't want to find me?"
"Why wouldn't she?" he asked her.
"There's lots of reasons, Jess," she said. She shook her head. "This is too much. I don't want to deal with it. Maybe it can wait until after the baby's born."
Jess sighed and hung his head for a moment. "Fine," he said as he raised it again. " What about this doctor's appointment tomorrow?"
"It's at eleven," she said. "Can we get Luke to drive us, or can we borrow the truck, or what?"
"You can borrow the truck," Luke said, moving to stand next to his nephew. "As long as you drive carefully. And you," he added, turning to Lorelai, "don't drive." She made a protesting noise, and he said, "If you're in an accident the seatbelt's going to be a danger enough without the steering wheel."
At the mere thought of it she put her hands protectively over her stomach.
"And we should be home around two," she said. "They've got to have enough time to run tests and stuff. And don't let me forget about the insurance information," she told Jess. He nodded, and she made a few more arrangements before heading up to the apartment for some downtime.
They came home with new sonogram photos and no word yet on what sex the baby was. "I just don't know if I want to know, Jess," Lori said. "But that doesn't mean you can't find out. They know by now."
"It's fine," he assured her. "I wouldn't be able to keep that a secret from you anyway. We'll either find out when you're ready, or when the baby comes."
"You're sure?" she asked, and sighed with relief when he nodded.
"And you got those vitamins the doctor told you to take?" he asked, and in response she held up the bottle and rattled it. "Good."
They spent the rest of the weekend relaxing from their week and doing the homework assigned to Jess.
Monday morning, Lori confessed to Luke that she was nervous. "I just don't see how much longer I can work there if we don't confront this thing. If I don't confront this thing…because she doesn't know…does she?"
"I didn't tell her," Luke said defensively.
Lori dug into her food. "What if she doesn't want to find me?"
"Why wouldn't she?"
She shrugged. "There's lots of reasons. She could be ashamed, angry, anything."
Luke felt torn, but had vowed not to get more involved than he already was. "I don't think she would object to finding you," was all he said. Then he moved to wait on some customers that had just come in.
Lori worked through the morning, and was enjoying her lunch break in the kitchen when, again, Lorelai came in. Her mother Lorelai. She froze, and almost choked on the bite of fish Sookie had shoved at her when she found out she wasn't allergic.
She felt herself beginning to hyperventilate when Lorelai began making her way through the crowded and busy kitchen towards her.
"Hello," she said cheerfully. "I hear you're our newest employee. I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you last week, but it was so busy." She stuck her hand out, and Lori shook it, biting her lip. "Anyway, I'm Lorelai Gilmore. I just bought the Inn, and I'm really glad you could come work for me." She waited a long moment before saying, "You're Jess' girlfriend, right?"
Finally, she could speak again, and nodded as she said, "Um, yeah. My name is Lore—Lori."
"Nice to finally meet you, Lori," Lorelai said. "I've heard a lot about you from Luke, but he never really mentioned your name." She thought about that for a moment. "Oh, well. I guess he was still mad about the surprise. But I heard you're doing great with that. Congratulations, by the way."
"Thank you," Lori replied, and blushed.
"Okay," Lorelai said. "So, I guess I'll let you get back to work. I just like to meet all my employees."
"Nice to meet you," Lori said, slightly numb as she watched her mother walk away. Brilliant handling of the situation, she chastised herself, and thought about what she could have said for the rest of the working day, and was still angry at herself when she entered the diner that afternoon.
"Coffee, please," she nearly growled at Luke as she plunked herself onto the stool.
"What's wrong?" Luke demanded.
"I'm mad at myself," she said. "She comes over and talks to me to say, and the longest sentence I manage to get out is four words. Four words! That's all I can say!" She took a drink of her coffee and managed to scald herself. As she muttered a four letter word, Jess comes up behind her.
He kissed the top of her head, and murmured, "Bad day?"
"I just feel stupid," she said, and to her horror she was pouting. Jess sat on the stool next to her to listen to her describe the conversation with Lorelai. "I'm going to talk to her tonight," she said determinedly.
Jess and Luke both froze and turned to stare at her. "What?" Jess finally managed to say.
"I'm going to talk to her tonight when she comes in for dinner. You said she always comes here for dinner because she can't cook." Lori took a deep breath and let it out. "Well, I'm going to go over and sit with her. See if I can't approach the subject gradually."
"How do you propose to approach this kind of subject gradually?" Jess demanded.
"I don't know! Why are you jumping on me?"
"Lori," he said, wincing. "You're stressed enough as it is without adding to it."
"Oh, so it's better for me to just wait around for her to notice the resemblance? No, I want to get it out of the way and out in the open. If I have to leave the Independence Inn, I need to start looking for a job someplace else."
"Wait a minute," Luke said, butting in. "No matter how upset Lorelai is, she isn't going to fire you."
"Maybe not," Lori said. "But I might quit. If she doesn't want to know about me, how am I going to work there? It would be just horrible. I would have to quit, rather than risk seeing her."
Luke bit his lip and refrained from confessing about his conversation with Lorelai. He decided to wait for the explosion that could be coming, and prepare for it as best he could.
