Like Wildfire
By Ellie J.
Disclaimer: I do not own Lorelai, Rory, Luke, Richard, Emily or any other character associated with Gilmore Girls. I am just taking them out to play for a while and I promise to return them.
A/N: I'm glad that you guys enjoyed the Crazy Carrie chapter. I had to get in a really slutty frame of mind to write it. Complete opposite of the Lane chapter. Anyhoo, this is my Richard chapter. Every time I watch either Richard or Emily put down Luke I want Lorelai or Rory to defend him. Luke is pretty darn close to being perfect, in my opinion, and deserves to be defended! This chapter takes place the same day as the "Shut up!" heard 'round the world. Imagine that Richard is meeting Rory for a quasi-secret lunch with Richard after hanging up with her Lorelai. Richard does not yet know about Lorelai and Emily's confrontation. I assume that this will become AU as soon as the next episode airs.
Part 7: Richard
I glance at my watch as I walk to Rory's building. I'm running a bit late for our lunch together. Emily doesn't know about this lunch with Rory as she is still sensitive about the distance between them, but I feel that I can get quite a bit accomplished at this lunch. First of all, I want to do a little reconnaissance work to see if I can discover what exactly is going on between Lorelai and the diner owner. The second, but more important reason is that I miss being able to talk to Rory without the strain between her and Emily tainting everything. She was much more civilized this past Friday night dinner, but she still wasn't her usual self.
I want to talk to Rory about what her grandmother did. I hope to make her understand that Emily had Lorelai's best interest at heart. I'm sure that Rory is just reacting to her mother's anger, and, despite what Lorelai says, she feels that she has to be loyal to her mother in this. I want Rory to know that her mother is perfectly capable of fighting her own battles, and that she doesn't need to alienate her grandmother on her mother's behalf.
I finally reach Rory's door and knock. It's not long before she answers.
"Grandpa!" she says as she greets me with a smile and a hug.
"Are you ready to go?" I ask.
"Yes, just let me grab my coat," she says as she walks back to her room. We decide to forgo the dining hall in favor of a charming little pub not far from campus. I'm hoping that it will give us the privacy I want for our conversation. We order our food and talk about books that we've read recently. Time flies and before I know it, our lunch has arrived. Rory takes an enthusiastic bite of her cheeseburger but then looks a little disappointed as she swallows it.
"Is your food all right?" I ask her.
"Yes Grandpa. It's just not as good as Luke's cheeseburgers. I miss those cheeseburgers. I sometimes dream about swimming in them. I tried to have one when I was at home on spring break, but the break-up was seriously messing with his cooking ability. Now that he and Mom are back together, I may have to go home this weekend just to get one."
"Oh, so your mother and Luke got back together?" I ask as nonchalantly as possible, while trying to control my jolt of surprise.
"Yes, last week," she answers and she smiles into her glass as she takes a drink.
I take a sip of my own drink as I try to think of a way to tactfully ask the question that I want to ask. I notice Rory studying me as she eats her fries.
"Grandpa, do you have something on your mind?"
I pause for a moment to collect my thoughts. "Yes. I know that this is a sore subject, but I'm wondering why your mother still refuses to come to Friday night dinners if she is back with Luke. I don't know if you're aware of it, but your grandmother went to see him last week to tell him to get back together with your mother."
"She mentioned something about that, but Grandpa, you have to realize that Mom and Luke getting back together has nothing to do with getting Grandma's permission to date."
"I'm not sure that I understand."
"Luke has never done anything in his entire life just because someone told him to. In fact, he's much more likely not to do it just to be contrary. Luke was already close to the breaking point when Grandma showed up. He and Mom had a long talk that night and worked everything out. Thank Goodness. It was horrible watching both of them be so miserable." She smiles fondly and I realize, for the first time, that she really does care for Luke a great deal.
"Well, be that as it may, your grandmother has tried to put everything right. Shouldn't that count for something? Your mother is being deliberately hurtful ..."
"As opposed to what Grandma did?" Rory interrupts me, anger apparent in her voice.
"Rory …"
"No, Grandpa," she starts and then she pauses. I can see the distaste in her face, and I know that she hates fighting with me as much as I hate fighting with her, but she continues on. "Grandma plotted to break them up. She did something to deliberately hurt and embarrass Luke, and the only reason she told Luke to go back to Mom is because Mom won't have anything to do with Grandma. She's not really sorry, and both Mom and Luke know that she's not really sorry." Her voice gets quieter. "It's just incredibly sad to me that you guys don't fully realize the damage that Grandma did with her relationship with Mom."
"What do you mean?"
She doesn't say anything for a moment and then she quietly begins, "Did you know that in most of the fights you've had with Mom over the past few years, I've been on your side?"
I'm too surprised to respond and she continues. "I was always telling Mom that she needed to share her life with the two of you. I encouraged her to talk to you and Grandma about the people she was seeing and the things that were going on in her life, but she always resisted. She was afraid that if she let you guys in too much that one of you would find a way to destroy her happiness." Rory looks down at her plate and takes another bite of her cheeseburger, as if to give herself time to put her thoughts into words. "I always thought that she was just being paranoid, but Grandma's actions just proved that Mom has been right all along. Mom was finally opening up with the two of you. She wanted to include you guys in her life. She let her guard down, and Grandma swooped in and almost destroyed the best relationship Mom's ever been in."
I speak up to defend Emily at this unfair statement. "Your Grandmother just wanted to make sure that your mother was aware of all of her options before she got too serious with Luke."
"Grandpa, you don't understand," she gestures with her hand to emphasize her point. "The very fact that she is willing to date Luke shows how serious she is. Luke has been a part of our everyday lives for almost as long as I can remember. Mom doesn't date people that aren't easily excised from her life if things go wrong. Even Max left our lives without too much fuss after she ended the engagement. Mom knew up front that wouldn't be possible with Luke. She knew that if things went badly it would be bad for everyone, but she felt that he was worth the risk." Her voice is rising again in anger as she goes on. "The fact that Mom brought him to a family function should have been another major clue that she was already serious about him. When was the last time that Mom willingly brought a date to a Gilmore family function?"
I have to admit to myself that I can't remember it happening in recent history. Rory is quiet for a moment as I reflect on everything that she's told me.
"Grandpa, I guess I just don't understand why the two of you have it in for Luke," she begins again quietly. "He is the kindest, sweetest guy I know. And he loves Mom so much. And I know that he loves me too. He has always taken care of both of us …" she pauses and I'm appalled to see tears forming in her eyes.
"We just … your grandmother and I just don't think that he can provide the kind of life that your mother deserves."
"You mean your kind of life," she says without rancor. "No offense Grandpa, but has there been anytime during the last four years no anytime in Mom's entire life that she has ever given you the impression that she wants your kind of life."
I am stunned into silence, and a stray memory of Lorelai at the age of ten pops into my head. She was fighting her mother on wearing a very expensive dress to the birthday party of an important client's little girl. She had been screaming about hating the dress and hating going to these birthday parties where she never had any fun. I then remember another time when Emily was attempting to teach Lorelai the proper way to serve tea. Lorelai had been supremely disinterested and would make little towers with the teacups whenever her mother's back was turned. Emily and I have always thought that Lorelai was just rebellious from a very young age and had never grown out of it. I don't think the thought has ever entered into either one of our heads that Lorelai's behavior is much more than simple rebellion.
Rory begins to talk again, drawing my thoughts back to the present. "She has the life that she wants with the man that she wants. Luke doesn't need to own a bunch of diners to make Mom happy. In fact, she would probably hate it if he franchised because that would mean that he would have less time to spend with her."
I remember all of the times that I spent away from my family because of business trips and meetings.
"Luke is happy with his life the way things are," Rory continues. "He'll deny it to the bitter end, but he loves spending time with the people who come into his diner. He loves cooking greasy food that he himself would never eat. But as much as Luke loves running the diner, helping his friends and family always comes first. Did you know that he drove Mom to the hospital that night you got sick at the Christmas party? He closed up the diner and told everyone the food was on the house just so that he could help Mom when she needed him. He hates hospitals, but he stayed there until we knew that you were going to be okay, and then he made sure that I got home safely. That's the kind of man that he is."
I'm surprised by Rory's impassioned defense of Luke. I knew that Lorelai and Luke were friends before they had started dating, but I didn't fully realize the important part he played in the lives of my girls. Suddenly, I want to know what Rory sees when she sees Luke.
"Tell me more about him," I ask her.
She smiles brightly. "He's the best," she begins. "He's always there for us. Even before he and Mom were dating. I don't think there is one square inch in our house that he hasn't worked on in some way. He built most of my bookcases." She laughs a bit to herself, as she seems to remember something else. "I got the chicken pox right when they first became friends, and I was so miserable. I was covered with blisters, and I was really grumpy with Mom because she would not let me scratch myself. I got really picky about food and refused to eat anything that she prepared. I love Mom to death, but she cannot cook to save her life. I guess she talked to Luke about it because he came over to our house and asked me what I wanted to eat. I had blisters in my mouth and it was hard for me to eat anything solid, so I said mashed potatoes. And wouldn't you know that he brought me fresh mashed potatoes three times a day for a week while I was recuperating." She smiles and there is a hint of wonder in her voice as if she still can't believe that he would do that for her. "He would deliver them himself, and he would always bring me a little present during the lunchtime delivery: puzzle books, Mad Libs, joke books. Anything to help keep my mind off of the fact that I was sick."
I have to admit that this information fascinates me. I don't really know that much about Rory's life before she started Chilton. She looks at me to see if I want her to continue, and I gesture for her to do so.
"I've never doubted that Luke cares about me. The first week of my senior year Luke asked me if he could come to my graduation. He asked me for the date months in advance so that he could make sure that the diner was covered."
She looks down and plays with her remaining food for a moment and I know that she's thinking about Christopher and how he was unable to attend. "Dad didn't even know when my graduation was until about three weeks beforehand, and then he told me that he had an important business trip that he couldn't get out of." She stares off into space for a moment and then takes a deep breath before continuing. "I understand. I do, but it still hurts that he wasn't there."
The waitress comes with the check and I hand her my credit card. Rory and I are silent as we leave the pub. We're almost to the car when Rory stops and turns to me.
"I don't think it's too late for you and Grandma to have a relationship with Mom. I know she doesn't always act like it, and I'll be the first to admit that she likes shocking the two of you, but deep down Mom really wants your approval. She's just not willing to sacrifice who she is in order to get it. If you and Grandma really want a relationship with her, you're going to have to accept her for who she is, and stop putting her down for not choosing the life that you wanted her to choose."
I think back to Lorelai's smile when I complimented her on the Dragonfly last week, and then I look at this wonderful young lady in front of me that Lorelai brought up under extremely difficult circumstances. But then memories of all of the pain and embarrassment that Lorelai has caused both Emily and myself enter my thoughts. I remember the looks I got from business associates as word of her pregnancy and refusal to marry Christopher spread. I remember Emily refusing to leave our bed for a month after Lorelai had runaway with Rory. I remember lying to my friends about her whereabouts because I couldn't stand to tell them that she'd rather be a maid than live with us. As always, when it concerns my daughter my emotions battle with one another.
"We are proud of her," I tell Rory quietly. "It's just difficult for us to forget everything that's happened."
"Grandpa, if you and Grandma want to be a part of Mom's life, you're going to need to forgive her for hurting you and realize that she's not your wild teenage daughter anymore. She's an adult who is very capable of making her own decisions. You have every right to be proud of her. She's an amazing person." Rory's pride in her mother is obvious.
"Mom is the strongest person that I know, and she deserves to be in a relationship that makes her happy, and Luke makes her happier than I've ever seen her. Happier than she was with Max, happier than she was with Jason, and way happier than she ever was with Dad." Rory pauses for a moment and then continues on, "Dad's a good guy, but Mom needs someone that she can lean on in times of trouble. Dad has never been that person. I used to wish that he was, but I know now that he's not strong enough to be the kind of partner that she needs. Luke is."
She continues toward the car, and I open the door for her so that she can get in. Rory has certainly given me lots of food for thought about Lorelai. I even want to re-re-meet Luke, so that I can look for all the things that Lorelai and Rory obviously see in him beneathhis slovenly appearance. I want to go home to talk about these new insights with Emily. I honestly don't know if it will be possible to put all of the hurt behind us, but I've both lived with and without a relationship with my daughter, and I have to admit that as difficult as Lorelai is at times, I much prefer having her in my life.
A/N2: Wow, I had a lot to say to Richard. I want to say that I am not happy with the way that they've written Richard and Emily this season. Not that I've ever thought that they'd win parents of the year, but they used to be multi-layered characters. Now they are just one-dimensionally evil. The first season Emily loved her daughter. She didn't know when to shut up, but she loved her daughter. Now it's just all about control and the ruining of lives. (I used to think that their worst parenting moment was when Lorelai told them that Sherri was pregnant and instead of noticing that their daughter was in agony over this and comforting her, they started fighting about whether or not Christopher should be with his new family or old one. I really wanted to smack them then. But they surpassed themselves this season). Next up: Christopher
A/N3: Does not like dashes? I uploaded my document and all of the dashes (not that there were that many) disappeared. I tried to find them all and change them to ... But if you see any lack of puctuation, that may be why.
