Chapter Four

Sorry it took so long to update this was a harder chapter for me to write because I didn't know how much to put into it and how much to leave out for later in the story but I hope you like the chapter and don't mind where I left off.

"This is it," Rory states motioning to Sookie St. James' bakery and coffee shop. "Sookie's, um, a great cook, she used to work at the Independence Inn but it closed down because of poor management, no one really cared enough to keep it going...But Sookie got her own place so I guess in the end it all worked out...and I'm sorry I'm babbling I tend to do this when I'm nervous."

Lorelai smiles at Rory, "so do I. So what's good here?"

"The banana-berry..."

"Oh my God," Sookie comes out of kitchen just as Rory and Lorelai walk up to the register. "Oh my God."

Lorelai's eyes dart back and forth between Rory and the strange woman, "um, hi."

"Oh my God, I mean if you just walked in from the street alone I totally would have known, oh my God..." With her words Sookie locks a death grip around Lorelai, "it's really great to meet you."

"Um Sook," Rory interrupts, "you may want to let her go."

"Oh," Sookie pulls away, "right. Sorry about that, I get a little over excited sometimes."

"That's okay," Lorelai nods still looking slightly confused, "I'm Lorelai Gilmore-Hayden."

"Of course you are," Sookie nods. "I'm Sookie St. James."

"Oh so you own this place," Lorelai comments.

"Yup," Sookie nods.

"It's really nice," Lorelai states.

"Thanks. I'm really glad I got a chance to meet you...we were all waiting for you at the dinner, the town is really nosey and wanted to meet you but I'm glad I got a chance to meet you..."

"Uh, yeah..." Lorelai is thrown off by how outwardly kind this woman is.

"Sookie was like a surrogate mother for me growing up," Rory explains. "After my parents got divorced."

Instead of responding to Rory's comment Sookie exclaims, "those are my roll," as the scent of something burning comes through the half open kitchen door. "It was great meeting you, anything you order is on the house."

"She's nice," Lorelai observes once Rory and she have settled into a small table in a back corner with their coffee and muffins.

"Yeah," Rory nods sipping her coffee. "Sookie really helped me dad out to raise me, sometimes I don't think he could have done everything, running the restaurant and stuff without Sookie's help. Dad even offered her a job as the cook at Luke's but she didn't wanted it, said she preferred the inn and when she had the idea to open up the bakery Dad helped her out a lot. When I was little I thought they'd get married but now that I'm older I know that'll never happened..."

"How long have your parents been divorced?" Lorelai looks crestfallen.

"Forever," Rory responds but then offers more details. "When I was 18-months-old my mo..." Rory stops and bites her lip trying to judge Lorelai's reaction.

"Your mom," Lorelai urges.

Rory nods, "my mom got a job offer in to do some photography work in Australia and that's when my dad and mom realized that they were way to different to be married. Mom wanted to see the world and Dad wanted to stay in Stars Hollow and run Luke's in the end they couldn't come to an agreement and they separated."

"I'm sorry."

Rory shrugs, "I'm not, I got to live in a town I love and spend summer with my mom in whatever country she happens to be in. I've been all over the world, Korea, Australia, Africa most of the major countries in Europe, and I have two parents who love me even if they couldn't be together."

"Divorce is hard, but you seem very well adjusted." Lorelai comments.

"Are your parents divorced?" Rory questions.

Lorelai can't help but laugh out loud and but then she apologizes quickly, hoping she hasn't offended Rory, "sorry. Um no, they aren't, Richard and Emily Gilmore will live forever and be married for all their lives because how can they double team people and coerce them into things if they aren't married?"

"Oh." Rory responds simply, staring into her cup not knowing what else to talk about, what else she has to say to this near stranger.

"But I'm actually going through a divorce," Lorelai blurts out, unable to stand the silence that has descended around them for 30 seconds. "Chris, that's your father...biological father that is...just couldn't make it work either although we've tried for as long as we could."

"Oh." Rory doesn't know what else to say.

"You have a sister and brother in case you were wondering," Lorelai states. "Sydney is 15 and Pierce is 13, maybe you can meet them sometime."

With those words the thought hits Rory, Sydney was only three years younger that Rory was how big of a difference could three years have made? "Why'd you give me up for adoption?" The words are out of Rory's mouth before she can even think about them.

"I..." Lorelai sighs, she hadn't thought she'd have to handle this question so early in their conversation. "It's complicated."

"I don't have anything to do."

"I was 16," Lorelai begins, "and our parents wanted us to get married."

"But you got married anyway." Rory points out, anger she didn't even know existed was bubbling inside her.

"Yes," Lorelai nods. "And we were going to keep you and raise you and get married and start our family early but then we thought about what your life would be like. Money wouldn't be a problem, all Chris had to do was pick who's father's business he would rather work in and he would have a great job but Chris and I knew what our friends and parents' friends would be like. Your entire life, no matter what you did, would always be about how you were the daughter of teenage parents. You could go on to discover the cure for AIDS and people would still whisper about how your mother got knocked up by that Hayden boy...we didn't want your life to about us we wanted you to live a life with a family who loved you. And so you could be your own person without your parents' mishap hanging over you for the rest of your life. When we found out I was pregnant Chris and I realized that we were never going to get out of being the people our parents wanted us to be so we didn't the best thing we thought we could do for you. We hated our lives but we knew we'd never be able to escape them but by giving you up for adoption we knew we were saving you from a life you were bound to hate anyway."