Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story idea.
A/N: The reviews are really keeping me motivated, so thank you to everyone who's been writing them. And, as always, thank you to Jade-Tessier. She's awesome. It's as simple as that.
~~
Lorelai stared into her mug and waited for Luke to say something. She'd come straight to the diner from work that evening and she was exhausted. It was much later than she would have normally come home, but with Sookie on maternity leave and the Dragonfly still just barely underway as a fully operational inn, there was just so much to do every day.
Finally, she looked up from her coffee and said, "Well, what do you think?"
The diner was empty, it being close to nine, and Luke was leaning against the counter staring at Lorelai. "It's completely up to you," he replied after a moment.
"That's helpful," she snorted.
"What do you want me to say?" he asked lightly, topping her off. "I can't make up your mind for you."
"Again," she noted, "so helpful."
Luke rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"
"I want to hear your thoughts."
"I haven't got any," he said. "Well," he added after a moment, "maybe one. Speaking as someone with practically no family left, I think it's nice that they're making an effort. Didn't you say that they always do something really swanky for the holidays? It sounds like this year they're completely forgoing it in order to make you happy."
"I know," she said, nodding. "I've thought about that. She made it perfectly clear that that's why they're doing it this way this year. I'm torn. I can't decide if this is one small step for Lorelai Gilmore, one giant leap for Gilmore Relations, or if it's just a trick and she's setting me up a huge fall."
Lorelai stared thoughtfully out the window into the dark night and took another gulp of coffee as Luke wiped down the counter.
"I guess," continued Lorelai slowly, "accepting the invitation would be the right thing to do."
"I think so," agreed Luke.
"You know," continued Lorelai, "I feel so stupid saying this, but until you just said it, I hadn't given much thought to the fact that you really don't have a whole lot of family left." She touched his hand lightly.
"It is what it is," he replied, shrugging.
"How many pieces of family do you have these days?"
"Just Jess," he replied simply.
"Wow," she said incredulously. "Just Jess?"
"Yep. Honestly, I think that's why I kept giving him chances and letting him get away with God-knows what. I just didn't want to lose him like I lost Liz."
Neither spoke the words they were each thinking, that is, that it hadn't mattered how much Luke had let Jess get away with, Jess had still left him.
"You were really good for him. You brought discipline and stability into his life. He couldn't have gotten a better sending off into the world that the life you gave him."
"Thanks," he said with a rueful smile. "So we're spending Thanksgiving with the Gilmores, then?"
"I think so," she replied. "I'll call her tomorrow and let her know."
Luke nodded his approval and said, "Ask her if we can bring anything."
"Bring anything," repeated Lorelai. "What do you mean?"
"Dessert or a side dish or something like that," prompted Luke. "It is customary to bring something to contribute when you're invited to dinner, is it not?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Beats me."
Luke tilted his head to one side and gave her the stink eye. "Yeah, yeah," she replied. "I'll ask. You're such a slave driver."
"You love it," he deadpanned.
"You know it," she smiled back.
~~
The next morning, Lorelai sat in her office at the Dragonfly and picked up her phone. As she dialed the numbers the little robot in the back of her head went off again shouting, Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! Ignoring it, she listened to the phone ring twice before her mother answered.
"Hello," said Emily brightly.
"Hey, Mom, it's me, uh, Lorelai," she said quickly.
"Lorelai, how nice to hear from you. I expected the annual avoidance routine."
"Excuse me?" asked Lorelai, immediately offended.
"Oh, you know," continued Emily breezily. "It's the dance we do. I invite you over for things and you avoid me. It's very nice to hear your voice so soon after I invited you for Thanksgiving."
Lorelai was stymied. This was exactly the kind of thing she'd been afraid of, but she was so shocked at how quickly it had come that she was momentarily speechless. Luckily, Emily didn't seem to notice.
"I assume you're calling to let me know whether or not the three of you will be able to make it," Emily added. "I do hope you will, we've been looking forward to seeing Luke again."
"You have?" asked Lorelai incredulously.
"Well, of course, Lorelai, why wouldn't we?" asked Emily.
"You are unbelievable. This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about the night of the Halloween Party. You invite me for things and then make me feel like an ass. 'It's the dance we do,'" Lorelai repeated sarcastically. "Are we not going to bring up your…" she fumbled for words, "dance steps?"
Now it was Lorelai's turn to listen to a stony silence. "Exactly which dance steps are we talking about," Emily asked finally.
"How about the steps that go, 'Hmm, Mom invited me to dinner, I wonder what she's going to say that'll make me want to stab myself in the eye with a fork?'" Lorelai was practically shouting now.
"The dramatics, Lorelai, are getting a bit old," replied Emily coldly. "Let me assure you that I had no intention of upsetting you with my comments."
"Fine," said Lorelai after some consideration. At this point, she just wanted get off the phone. "I talked to Luke and he hasn't made plans. I can't speak for Rory, but Luke and I'll be there. Oh, and he wants to know if we can bring anything."
"What a nice idea," said Emily, softening again and sounding genuinely pleased. "We usually have everything covered, but this year, you and Luke may bring the pumpkin pie. How does that sound?"
"Delightful," replied Lorelai dryly.
"Then it's all settled," said Emily happily. "I'll call Rory and let her know, unless you'd like to."
"No, that's all right, you can," Lorelai sighed.
"Is everything all right?" asked Emily picking up on the vibe right away.
"Everything is fine," Lorelai assured her.
"Everything doesn't sound fine," prodded Emily.
"We're in a little bit of a fight," admitted Lorelai.
"Over what?" cried Emily.
"The party," Lorelai said without thinking. "When you guys came not in costumes, she had promised me that you'd be in costumes and I yelled a little bit."
"I see," said Emily.
"Anyway, it's not big deal, we talked at the hospital and she seemed fine, but I think she's still mad," said Lorelai
"So why don't you talk to her?" asked Emily.
"Because I'm still mad, too," replied Lorelai
"Over what? Costumes? Besides, you're the adult." Emily reminded her.
"Well, technically, we're both adults now," replied Lorelai lightly.
"You know what I mean," said Emily sternly.
"I know, I just…with her in Yale and doing so great, there are times when I look around at what I've done with my life and feel like a bit of a screw-up." Lorelai waited for Emily to disagree and wasn't surprised when it didn't happen. "Anyway," she continued on, "it makes me feel like an even bigger screw-up when my kid tries to fix my life." Lorelai paused and then realized she'd just opened herself up to Emily Gilmore. The hell?
Before she could take it all back and hang up, her mother finally surprised her. "I think I understand what you're saying." As Lorelai was collecting her jaw off the floor, Emily said, "It makes perfect sense. But she'll understand this, I think. Don't underestimate the connection you two have," cautioned Emily. "Keep the lines of communication open."
Lorelai tried and couldn't think of anything to say to that, so she just allowed, "Okay, I will. Thanks, Mom."
They hung up and Lorelai sat in her chair for a few moments savoring the idea that she and her mother had just exchanged a few pleasant words.
