By Powder
Email: usagi@bellatlantic.net
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Gilmore Girls.
The only thing I own is the idea behind this story. If any made-up
characters should appear, they belong to me and should not be used
without permission. This story is for non-profit purposes and is
simply here to amuse and give people something to do with their
time.
Chapter 1: In the Blink of an Eye
Lorelai groaned loudly, muttering to herself as she stepped from
the Jeep, grasping at the door to keep her heels from slipping in the
gravel. Rory rolled her eyes and followed her mother to the door.
"You know, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you simply faced it
with a bright smile and a helpful attitude," she offered as both
Gilmores stood before the door, neither ringing the bell.
Lorelai made a face and turned to her daughter, "Rory, sweetie, do
you know what's going to happen when we go in there?"
"We'll have dinner?" she replied innocently.
"Yes! We'll have dinner. And, because we'll have dinner, we'll
have to talk. Meaning that the subject of college will surely come
up because my mother is simply all-knowing like that. Then, being
the sweet, sensitive soul that you are, you'll tell her of all the
colleges you were accepted to and then Dad will chime in because
you were accepted to his alma mater and insist that you go there
and then your decisions will be influenced because you simply
can't reguse—"
"Mom!" Lorelai stopped mid-rant at Rory's voice. "It won't be that bad. Let's just go in."
At that moment, the door was opened and Emily Gilmore appeared
on the other side, looking impeccably groomed as usual. "Lorelai!
Rory! I thought I heard you two out here."
"Hi, Grandma."
"Hi, Mom."
The girls chimed in a greeting together as they stepped across the
threshold, handing their jackets to the tiny maid waiting nearby.
"Well, come on, come on, let's get you two a drink." Emily
ushered both into the parlor where Richard was nose-deep in that
day's edition of the Wall Street Journal. "Rory, Lorelai." He
acknowledged their presence with a faint nod before diving back
in.
"Anything interesting, Grandpa?" Rory asked politely, taking a
soda from Emily and sitting down on the plush sofa behind her.
"Oh, don't bother, Rory," Emily dismissed the question with
an
imperious wave of her hand. "There were some problems in the
market today, and so your grandfather has eyes for nothing else."
Lorelai smirked into her drink, noticing Emily's clear lack of
tolerance.
"So, Rory, Lorelai, how has your week been?" She asked, sitting
next to Richard and attempting to move the night along.
Lorelai and Rory exchanged glances before Lorelai answered in an
offhanded tone. "Oh, you know…little of this, little of that…New
people, old people…you know how it is…" She trailed off and
flashed a smile at her mother, who gave her a quizzical look. "No,
Lorelai, I'm afraid you'll have to fill me in."
Rory glanced down at her lap and grinned secretly at her mother's
lack of comfort. "What Mom means is that she ran into Max the
other day." Emily's eyebrows shot up into her hairline and she
opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the timid maid
announcing dinner. "Well…uhm…yes, let's go to the dining
room…" She eyed her daughter, who squirmed under such close
scrutiny and escaped to the dining room, shooting Rory the glare of
death when she passed.
Richard followed the trio rather reluctantly, his eyes still focused
upon the newspaper. Rory watched her grandfather as he managed
to walk over to his chair and sit down without ever taking his eyes
from the article he was engrossed in.
"So, Lorelai, you saw that man? Max, was it? Were you actually
civil to him?" Emily asked her daughter these questions with an
imperious air while Rory looked on curiously and Richard stayed
within the safe confines of his paper.
Lorelai sunk down in her seat, suddenly feeling her cheeks begin to
burn. It was going to be a long night.
Halfway through the main course, it was finally time for the
inevitable.
"Rory, it's about that time…Have you heard from your colleges
yet?" Emily stared at Rory with a hunger in her eyes and Lorelai
nearly jumped in her seat. Brushing the dark, curly hair back from
her face she observed her daughter carefully as it was her turn to
squirm under the intensity of Emily Gilmore.
"Well…I did hear from a couple…"
"Oh?" Now Richard's interest was piqued as he looked up from his
food.
"Yeah…Umm…Harvard…" Emily nodded, encouraging Rory to
continue. "Vassar…" She looked nervously between Emily and
Lorelai as the big one came up. "Yale."
"Yale?" Richard asked, startled, the hint of a smile tugging at his
mouth.
"Yale?" Emily chimed in, a smile already bright on her face.
"Yale." Lorelai and Rory concluded.
"Well, that's wonderful, Rory! Do you have more to hear from?"
Emily asked, barely able to contain her excitement as she began to
shift in her seat.
"Well, just a couple…I haven't made any plans yet…" Rory
crossed her arms over her chest, the rest of her cake suddenly
loosing its appeal. She stared down at her plate, unwilling to meet
the eager eyes of her grandparents, nor the defeated ones of her
mother. It was a long night indeed. Rory knew when she was
cornered. It wasn't easy trying to please everyone. The rest of the
meal was finished in silence and grunts on the part of Lorelai,
while Rory tried to avoid the prying question about the differences
between Harvard and Yale that her grandparents skillfully asked.
Rory was at a loss for words, but answered as best she could,
providing half-answers and evasive replies to ward off the
questions of her hungry grandparents.
Of course, the meal couldn't end without an outburst from Lorelai.
When the questions simply got to be too much for her, she burst
out with a "Okay, Mom, enough with the barrage already, can't you
see she's uncomfortable?"
Lorelai nearly wilted under the harsh stare of Emily, but managed
to hold onto her dignity with the last ounce of strength she had.
"Lorelai…we're simply asking our granddaughter where she wants
to go to college. Hopefully our conversation will inspire her and
provide her with some insight as to where she wants to eventually
end up." Emily's domineering tone left little room for discussion
and Rory blushed as she scented the beginning of a fight.
"Well, Mom, we haven't even really discussed it. I think Rory
wants to make up her own mind without the influence of others."
Emily looked taken aback and starred at her daughter with a small
glimmer of anger in her steely eyes. "Lorelai, you're being
unreasonable. We're simply asking—"
"No, Mom, you always do this!"
"Mom…" Rory began to interject in her soft voice and paled as
every eye in the room turned to her.
"Rory, honey, why don't you get our coats. We're going to leave
soon." Lorelai looked over to Emily as she said this, her own gaze
as stubborn as the other, leaving no room for negotiation. Rory
reluctantly stood up and walked from the room, leaving Lorelai
alone with her parents.
"Mom, please understand something. Rory is influenced very
easily by you two because she so wants to please you guys. But I
want her to figure this out on her own. I have not spoken with her
about which one she should or should not pick and I'm waiting
until she asks for my opinion on her own. Even then, I will try to
be as impartial as I can be. But you…She knows what you want
and what you would like to see her do. She loves you a lot and
really wants to please you. But I don't want her to sacrifice her
future happiness simply because she wants to please you."
"Oh, Lorelai, I think you're going overboard there!" Emily
declared slamming her napkin down on the table. "Rory will be
happy with whatever—"
"Yes, she will. But she will be happiest if she chooses on her own.
Please understand that." Lorelai stood up, leaving her parents in a
stunned silence. "I'll see you next week." She walked out of the
room and collected her coat from Rory who stood by the door.
When Lorelai and Rory were finally back inside the Jeep, Lorelai
groaned again and stared out at the wet pavement. Apparently it
had rained while they were inside. Very appropriate.
Rory looked down at her clasped hands, then at her mother. "Sorry
about that, Mom…" she apologized in a small voice while her doe-
like eyes settled on the form of her mother slumped over the
steering wheel.
"Ah…it's all right, Rory…Was bound to come out sooner or later.
At least it's over with now." She turned and flashed a half-hearted
smile at her offspring before starting the car and rolling out of the
gravel drive.
"So what are you gonna do?" Lorelai asked, glancing at Rory who
shrugged helplessly.
"I don't know…what are you gonna do?"
"I don't know."
Their conversation was light, tending toward harmless topics that
bore little meaning to either of them. When they entered the back
roads of Stars Hollow, Lorelai was laughing at something Rory
had said, the tension between them finally beginning to break,
when the Jeep's headlights fell upon the stunned form of a buck in
the center of the lane.
"Mom!" Rory screamed, her hand pointing to the deer caught in
the headlights.
Everything else seemed to happen in a single beat of the heart.
Lorelai gasped and slammed on the breaks, causing the car to slide
on the wet pavement toward the deer. Rory gripped the seat and
sucked in her breath, heart pounding in her chest. She turned to her
mother as the animal's body went down under the car and the Jeep
ran over it. The wheels skidded and turned and Rory felt her heart
and limbs tremble as the Jeep flipped over. Then everything went
black.
