Ch 19: Telling The Parents
"Mom, I'm home!" Rory called out as she came through the front door of her mother's house.
Luke was just emerging from the kitchen.
"Hey Rory, she's been sleeping for over an hour. We were supposed to leave for your grandparent's house fifteen minutes ago. Maybe you will have more luck waking her up than I have had. I swear, she sleeps like a rock. Hey, what are you doing home, anyway? Doesn't your vacation start tomorrow?"
"My last class was canceled, so I decided to head over early. I still need to go back tomorrow to pack my stuff though. I'm glad you haven't left yet. I was hoping to catch a ride to Hartford with you. I figured you would need some back-up getting mom ready. Trust me, she isn't sleeping - she is just trying to avoid the inevitable event of telling her parents about you, and the baby of course. I'll go get her for you."
"Uh - thanks..." Luke stood in the living room as Rory rushed up the stairs in an attempt to get Lorelai ready for dinner.
"Mom?" Rory knocked on Lorelai's bedroom door.
Lorelai opened the door quickly and pulled her daughter inside, quickly and quietly.
"What the...what's going on here? Luke said you were supposed to be on the road already! He thinks you are sleeping! Seriously, you've only been pregnant for two weeks. You can't use the pregnant and tired excuse yet!"
"Rory, I can't do this - It's happening all over again, the nausea, the headaches - what am I supposed to tell them? How am I going to do this again?" Lorelai sat back on her bed ... "And Luke is no help at all. You'd think he'd have learned by now after spending any amount of time with my parents but, well, apparently he just wants to get it over with. He doesn't understand! He just doesn't understand!" Lorelai covered her face with her hands.
Rory went over to sit next to her mother on her bed.
"Geez, if this is what pregnancy does to you, I am never going to go through this!"
Lorelai looked up at her daughter.
"Never say never, because you are your mother's daughter and the Gilmore's have a tendency to be pretty fertile, even when they're not even trying."
Luke poked his head in just then and saw Lorelai's tear streamed face. Lorelai tried to look away but to no avail. Luke came into the room and sitting beside Lorelai put an arm over her shoulder.
"I really don't deserve you, you know that?" Lorelai looked up at Luke. "I mean, for the past hour you have been trying everything you can to get me out the door and look at me. I am not even dressed. I am tired and irritable and pregnant for goodness sake! And this is the night we choose to tell my parents everything? This is going to be a disaster - I know it. I just know it."
Luke: "Okay. We don't have to go." He tried to say consolingly.
Lorelai: "What, are you kidding me? Yes, we do. I've already talked to her, committed to this ridiculous dinner which you encouraged by the way. We have to go."
Luke: "Well, in that case, I will leave you to get ready and I will meet you downstairs in exactly five minutes." Luke got up and walked out the door and down the stairs.
Lorelai just stared after him.
Lorelai: "Can you believe him? He comes in and looks all concerned and then he just walks out."
Rory: "Mom, come on. Get up. Let's get you ready to go now."
An Hour Later...In Hartford...At Last...
Standing in front of the door to her parent's house with Luke on one side of her and Rory on the other Lorelai took a deep breath before ringing the bell. This is it, she thought. We're a family now. Just then Luke slipped his hand into hers and squeezed tightly. Yes, everything is going to be okay.
Emily opened the door just then to see Luke, Lorelai and Rory standing there.
"Come in, you're late," she greeted, never missing for one instant Luke's hand in Lorelai's.
"Sorry we're late, Grandma, how are you?" Rory gave her grandmother a hug.
"Rory! This is a nice surprise. I didn't expect to see you until next week."
"Well, my last class was canceled so I decided to tag along here," Rory smiled, knowing that there was more than one reason to have gotten here tonight. She glanced at her mom just then with a knowing and reassuring smile that, yes, everything would be okay.
"Well, let's get some drinks since dinner is being held now," Emily started rushing them into the living room.
Luke guided Lorelai into the living room and together they sat down on the sofa.
"Lorelai? White wine as usual?" Emily asked while already pouring the drink.
"No thanks, Mom. I think I'll just have a water. Lots of running around today, you know, and no time to eat or drink." Lorelai added this quickly to try to fend off any suspicion of her drink choice.
Emily raised her eyebrow though as she completed pouring the drink and offered it to Rory instead.
Richard walked into the room just then, as Emily was handing Lorelai her water. "Luke? What can I get for you? A beer, as usual? Or are you planning on imbibing in the water as well?" Emily questioned, glancing at her daughter suspiciously.
"Sure Emily, a beer sounds fine," Luke answered quickly.
As Emily took her seat with her drink she eyed the couple across from her on the couch and noted that they hadn't let go of each other's hands since they had walked in the house. Rory stood near the drink cart watching the scene, wondering if her mother's announcement would really be able to wait until they were seated at the dining room table. Sure enough, Emily spoke up just then.
"So, what is it that you two have to tell us?"
With a quick glance at Luke and seeing the support she needed she decided that this was it. She might as well get it all over with ... and quickly. So she blurted out suddenly:
"Mom, Dad, we thought you should know - Luke asked me to marry him recently and I have accepted and ...."
Lorelai couldn't finish thought because her mother was suddenly speaking...
"That's fabulous! This is it right? I won't get any last minute phone calls after making perfect arrangements for my daughter's biggest day, right?"
Luke laughed slightly. "I sure hope not...," but seeing the look on Lorelai's face he thought better of his choice of words and squeezed her hand again.
"This is it, Mom, I promise, um...there's more news..." Lorelai started again. For some reason telling her parents she was pregnant again seemed harder. She didn't know why. It's not as if she was 16 anymore.
"Well, what is it Lorelai?" Emily asked, interrupting Lorelai's long nervous pause.
"Well, there's only one way to say it." Looking at both her parents she blurted out, "You're going to be grandparents...again."
Emily and Richard just looked at her.
"What?" Emily was aghast.
"Mom, I am pregnant," glancing at Luke for support (Luke squeezed her hand in response) - "I mean, Luke and I ... well ... we are having a baby."
Emily was trying to process everything she had just heard. She wished her daughter would at least be married first before she had her next child but Lorelai would be Lorelai and she was going to have to adapt quickly to this news.
"That's wonderful news then. At least there is a wedding planned this time. So, when is it going to be?" Emily planted a smile on her face.
"Well, mom, we haven't exactly set a date just yet. We'd like Rory to be back home from her semester abroad and it would be nice to be able to fit into a decent size dress so probably next fall but then again we haven't discussed the details yet," glancing again at Luke.
"You haven't discussed the details yet?" Emily asked amazed. "You are about to have a child together. Don't you think this time you ought to be married when the child arrives into the world? Why don't you get married over New Years? You won't have much pregnancy weight yet and it's such a wonderful time of the year, don't you think Richard?" Emily continued.
As Richard hadn't yet said anything to this new piece of news, he looked up, surprised his wife would bring him into her thinking patterns.
"Well, yes, now I think that a New Years wedding would be lovely. Rory, you will still be around, won't you? Or were you leaving for Europe right after Christmas? Richard looked over at his grand-daughter suddenly.
"Well, I think I could wait until after the New Year to go over. I'd have to change my plane reservations though. Classes don't officially start until mid-January." Rory glanced over at her mom to see how she was taking all this in...
Lorelai just sat there stunned. Now they were planning her wedding for New Years? And they brought Rory into it too? Ever since Rory had gone off to Yale it is like there isn't any buffer any more at these dinners. She had turned into pleasing her grand-parents every step of the way. Thank god for Luke though, she stole the millionth glance at him that night for support and just shrugged her shoulders. She was saved just then though because the maid walked in to announce that dinner was ready....To be continued....