Disclaimer: The same applies.
*
Cheers
Chapter 20: Telling Rory
"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?"
"We are."
"What if we're wrong?"
"We're not, Dean. Now shut up and ring the doorbell already."
It was a beautiful morning, and the three men were standing on the front porch of the Gilmore home, each of them looking guilty in the face of what they were about to do. Thus chastised by Jess, Dean shrugged and did as he was told. All three stepped back at the same moment, listening to the rush of footsteps inside the house. A few seconds later, the front door was thrown open and there stood Lorelai Gilmore, beaming widely as she looked at the young men in front of her.
"Well, hello," Lorelai grinned as she ushered them in. "And to what do we owe this honour?"
"Hey Lorelai," Tristan greeted her, his salutation echoed by Jess and Dean. "Hope we're not interrupting anything."
"No, not at all! We're just about to have breakfast, actually. Chris! Rory!" Lorelai turned around and called out. "Company!"
"Hey guys," Rory smiled at them as she emerged from the kitchen, her father bringing up the rear.
Christopher Hayden grinned as he walked over to the young men, clapping each of them heartily on the shoulder. "What's up?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Dean said, looking highly embarrassed, but Jess cut him off with a sharp glance.
"We actually needed to talk to you," Tristan confessed, exchanging glances with the other two. "Do you have a moment?"
"For you guys? Of course," Lorelai gaily led the way to the living room, the others in tow. "What's on your mind?"
"It's about Robert," Dean began, and he launched straight into the trio's shared suspicions with a volubility no one had expected of him. Once he'd paused to catch his breath, Tristan and Jess took it in turns to fill the amazed Gilmore family in on the details they'd collected about Rory's fiancé – everything about the possible business merger, about the secrecy surrounding Robert Matheson's past, and of their lingering doubts that Robert was only interested in marrying Rory for the wrong reasons. It wasn't quite the calm, reasonable scenario Dean had hoped for, but the end result was pretty much what he'd envisioned. By the time the trio had finished their spiel, the Gilmores were frozen in their seats, looking dumbfounded from the sheer force of all they'd been told.
Rory looked at Jess, Tristan and Dean, her gaze a little unsteady. When she spoke at last, her voice quivered. "Is this true?"
Jess was the first to answer her, reluctant to be the one to confirm her fears. "Yes it is."
"We didn't want to be the ones to tell you," Tristan said quietly. "But you had to know before–"
"No!" Rory blurted out, the strength of her voice and the terrible expression on her face more than enough to silence Tristan and take everyone present by surprise. "No, it's not true! You're making this up!"
"It's true, Rory," Dean told her gently. "It's all true. It's bad, we know, but–"
"No! That's enough! I'm not going to listen to any more of this!" Without another word, Rory jumped up and ran out of the room, ignoring her parents' pleads to calm down. They heard the ferocious slamming of a door, and a deathly calm crept over the group, filling the previously cheerful room with a rolling poison cloud of guilt. In the wake of Rory's hasty departure, Tristan couldn't help wondering: had they really done the right thing after all?
"Well," Christopher broke the silence, shaking his head ruefully. "That was certainly…interesting." He looked at Dean, Tristan and Jess. "Are you sure about all this?"
Dean squared his jaw. "Yes, we are."
"You're not making any of this up to wreck the wedding?" Lorelai further pressed, her otherwise merry eyes filled with apprehension.
Tristan's voice was almost inaudible. "We're not."
"Look," Jess spoke up heatedly, impatiently. "We're not exactly crazy about Robert, and we don't want Rory to make a choice she'll regret later, but that doesn't mean we'd just come up with all sorts of lies to try and get her to change her mind. We're not like that."
"I know," Lorelai sighed heavily, looking tired all of a sudden. She exchanged glances with Chris. "What now?"
He shrugged, looking every bit as perplexed as she felt. "We'll just have to wait and see, I guess. There's nothing else we can do."
Lorelai gazed at the three uncomfortable-looking young men seated on her living room couch, and she couldn't help feeling sorry for them. It was quite a decision they'd chosen to undertake, but it was an admirable one nevertheless. It was obvious that all three of them cared deeply for her daughter, and it clearly hadn't been easy for them to do what they did. For that reason, Lorelai felt her affection deepen for each of them.
"Don't worry, guys," she leaned forward, wanting to lessen the remorse they were evidently feeling. "You've done the right thing in telling us. It's better we know now instead of finding out way too late."
"Well, I think it's about time we left," Jess got up, glancing pointedly at his two friends. "Sorry for dropping all this on you."
"No, no, we appreciate it," Lorelai assured him, hugging each of them in turn. "Thank you." She and Chris watched as the young men shuffled out of the front door, and once they'd left, Lorelai sagged against her husband, resting her head on his shoulder. "Golly, that was something, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, it sure was," Chris rubbed her shoulders gently. He smiled. "You know something, Lor? Our daughter's one lucky girl."
Lorelai looked up at him curiously. "Why?"
"Because she's got three guys looking out for her." He wrapped his arms around her, dropping a kiss on her forehead. Turning as one, the couple walked back into the kitchen to resume their breakfast.
Sitting down at the table, Lorelai furrowed her brow. "You think they're still in love with her?"
Chris poured himself another cup of coffee before replying. "I'm not sure about that, but I do know they care about her."
They both glanced in the direction of their daughter's bedroom. The door was closed, and music was blasting from within, a sure sign Rory was angry and wouldn't calm down for at least another couple of hours. Lorelai shook her head. "I'm really worried about her, Chris. What should we do?"
Leaning over, Chris clasped her hands reassuringly. "Give her time. She'll come around eventually."
*
To Be Continued…