That next morning, Lorelai asked to use the neighbor's phone and called a few adds in the paper hoping to find something she was good at. One add claimed they wanted a cashier at the local supermarket, Lorelai figured she'd be just as good a cashier as anyone, so she decided to give the supermarket a call.

"Hello, I was calling for your add in the paper." A pause. "Yes, I'm over 18." Lorelai smiled. "No, I've never had a job." Another paused. "Yes, sir, I'm a very quick learner." Pause. "Very friendly." Lorelai responded. "Great, thank you sir." Lorelai hung up the phone and walked back to her apartment. "Guess what Rory, Mommy has a job interview Monday."

Rory rose up from the bed. "Can I go?" Rory asked.

"I'm afraid not, sweetie, you'll be in school remember?"

Suddenly Rory's eyes lit up. She had forgotten that Monday was her first day of school. Lorelai was feeling confident about her job interview, and could finally have piece of mind for a while.

"Rory, do you remember your vowels?" Lorelai asked, testing her.

"A, E, I, O, U." Rory recited proudly.

Lorelai had been teaching Rory the basics ever since Rory was 3. By the time Rory was 3 and a half she was reading and writing. Now that Rory was 5, she could almost read all of her story books. Lorelai was impressed with how quickly Rory caught on.

"Okay, precious..." Lorelai began. "What's the capital of Tennessee?"

"Nashville." Rory answered.

"Good job." Lorelai humored. "What's your phone number?"

"615-393-9169" Rory replied.

"Correct again. You're going to be more than ready for your first day of school." Lorelai gleamed with pride.

Lorelai continued to ask Rory fairly easy questions, making sure she knew and understood the answers. Lorelai had faith that Rory would be an excellent student. Time passed, and Lorelai glanced over at the clock. It was almost 7:30 pm. Chris had been gone all afternoon. Lorelai figured he just needed some time to himself, so she tried not to worry too much about it. Another few hours passed, and now Lorelai couldn't help but worry. Rory had fallen asleep on their bed as she was watching cartoons. Lorelai was about to let her thoughts get the best of her when suddenly the door opened. Chris staggered in, it was obvious he had been drinking.

"Christopher! Do you know what time it is? Have you been drinking?" Lorelai asked very irritated.

"Baby, don't be mad at me." Chris slurred, " I've got great news. Look."

Chris held out his hand to reveal a very thick wad of 100 dollar bills.

"Oh my god! Chris where did you get this?" Lorelai asked with her eyes widened.

"I won it, baby." Chris replied.

"You won it?"

Chris walked on in, and sat down at the kitchen table. Lorelai followed him. "See..."Chris began letting his head hang heavy to one side. "I went down to the bar ... for a drink and I saw some of the fellows from work playing poker." Chris paused for a minute trying to recall the story. "Then, I sat down, and I started playing. And oh my god Lorelai... I was catching some great cards." Chris laughed wickedly. Lorelia hushed him. "So before I even knew it, I'd won like 1,000 dollars. I kept playing and after a couple hours I won 5,000 dollars." Chris paused. Lorelai stared at him silently. "Then I was going to quit, and come home." Chris looked up at the ceiling as if he was trying to think of something. "But then Joe, you remember Joe, he took me to a back room and showed me a slot machine. I only put in 5 dollars of my own money, Lorelai... but do you know how much I got out of it?" Chris smiled.

"How much?" Lorelai asked softly.

"Twenty ... Five ... Grand." Chris leaned in closer to Lorelai "We're moving out, baby."

Lorelai stood up from the table, placed her hand on her forehead and walked over to the window.

"What's the matter baby?" Chris asked.

"Chris, stop calling me baby."

"Why?"

"Cause you only call me baby when you're drunk."

"Oh, Lorelai, I'm not drunk." Chris tried to stand up, but didn't make it very far before he was right back down in his seat. "Sure, I've had a few beers, but ..." He never finished his sentence.

"You shouldn't have gambled with our money." Lorelai turned around and faced him.

"I know... But aren't you glad I did?" Chris laughed. "I didn't even have to pawn your ring." Chris reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the beautiful gold jewel piece, and handed it to Lorelai. "We can buy Rory all kinds of stuff now!" Chris exclaimed.

Lorelai knew Chris had the best of intentions, but she didn't agree with gambling. She felt it was wrong to willingly try to take someone else's money; however, 25 thousand dollars was a lot of money, money that they needed. Lorelai sighed, they would just use this to get started. She would have a job soon, and Chris would find something again, the 25 thousand would just be a stepping stone to get them off their feet. Lorelai looked over at Chris who had passed out on the kitchen table. She turned out the light to the kitchen and slipped into bed.

The next morning Chris woke up with a terrible cramp in his neck. He looked around a bit dazed at first; his head was thumping. Then his eyes landed on the big wad of cash laying on the table. He arose from the table and began to make a pot of coffee. Lorelai could smell coffee a mile away, but Chris never made it, so she wasn't used to waking up to the smell. Nevertheless, when the aroma reached her nose, her eyes opened and she inhaled deeply. She pulled the covers off her warm body and walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning." Chris smiled cheerfully.

"Good morning." Lorelai replied. "Chris, about the money..."

Chris wrapped his arms around Lorelai's waist. "Lorelai, we deserve it. It's ours. I know you don't agree with gambling, and I promise I'll never resort to it again." Chris leaned in and kissed Lorelai. It was the first passionate kiss they had shared in months. Chris pulled back for a moment and gazed into her eyes. "I love you, Lorelai."

"I love you too." Lorelai replied, forgetting about the money. "I called on a job yesterday. I have an interview tomorrow morning at 9:00."

Chris's eyes began to sparkle as he grinned, "That's great!" Chris exclaimed. "See Lore, things are finally starting to turn around for us."

Chris and Lorelai spent the rest of the day looking at adds in the paper for new places to live. They both agreed on a small little house, that was near the school where Rory would be attending. It was a well respected and safe neighborhood, and after Lorelai's interview Monday, they planned to check it out.