"You know," she said, "there used to be a Wonder Woman universe where they were all lesbians."

Rory frowned. "There did not."

"Too."

"I know you just made that up, because you wouldn't know if it had happened. You don't read comics."

"It did, though."

"You don't need to talk about lesbians anymore."

"Am I not allowed to?"

"It's just a bit— Let's do something."

"Let's see the Matrix again. Hey, we should see it in Europe too. It'll probably be dubbed there and Keanu hardly speaks English anyway, so—"

"About that."

"The Matrix? You want to see something else?"

"No. Europe. I was, uh, thinking that I wasn't going to go."

"You're—"

"Well, see, Paris said I could go with her when she—"

"Oh, I see. Fine."

"Mom."

"No, it's fine. I mean, it's not like— I'll still see you."

"Of course you will, Mom. I just want—"

"I know. I'd do the same thing in your place."

"You didn't really want to spend the whole summer with me anyway."

"Oh, no. Why on earth would I?"

"Just what I said to myself. And you don't want to spend the whole summer away from your friends."

"God forbid I deny them access to my scintillating self."

"Dad's going to Florida soon. You should go with."

"Eh."

"Why not? You'd love it."

"Florida, possibly."

"But not Dad?"

"It's not that I don't love him, it's that my stress level does not love the time I spend with him."

Rory rolled her eyes. "He's not stressful. How is he stressful?"

"I don't know. And he's not stressful for you, sure."

"Actually, you know, he really can be. But not now."

"Now being the present. You have to look at the past and remember that there's a future."

"Exactly. You have to remember that. Just think about it, okay? You need a holiday."

Lorelai agreed to think about it, and Rory left her alone, satisfied.

Summer rolled into town, and Lorelai hadn't expected it to look this way. Rory was going away with Paris, and Lorelai wasn't getting her last summer after all, because people change while your back is turned and Rory had grown up already. Chris settled in Hartford, something she'd given up hope of a long time ago, and a baby around. Chris being around for Rory, something that had never happened before, ever.

And then there were the things that hadn't changed. Chris was still too careless for words, to careless for safety, for comfort; and he still wanted to marry her. He'd always wanted to marry her, but she'd never been ready. These were things that might never change.

She'd always known that. She'd always known what Chris was like, how things were. She'd just never been able to accept it. She'd never been able to forgive him for being everything she loved without being everything she wanted. And he was right; she had to.

A week after Rory graduated, Chris came over to pick Rory and Paris up. He was dropping Gwen back to Sherry and then taking them down to Vermont. He'd be gone for three days. Lorelai didn't have to remind herself that he'd be back.