"Sweetheart, the car crash that you was in..." Lorelai stopped. "Well, you wasn't the only one in the car." Lorelai took in a deep breath. "Dean was driving the night of the accident."
Rory suddenly felt nauseous. She was hoping her mother would tell her anything but that Dean hadn't survived the wreck. She stood nervously, awaiting her mother's reply.
"He didn't make it, baby." Lorelai finally broke through. "He died a few hours after it happened."
Rory's heart began to race and the room began spinning out of control. Surely, she was headed for the floor when Lorelai's arms reached out and caught her. Lorelai helped her daughter over to her bed and laid her down. Rory closed her eyes as she tried furiously to regain focus and control.
"Rory, are you okay?" Lorelai asked concerned as she sat down beside her daughter. Rory shook her head yes. "Do you want some water?"
"No." Rory replied faintly.
"Something to eat?" Lorelai offered again.
"No." Rory replied a little more aggravated.
"Well, come on, let's get you out of these clothes and into some pajamas." Lorelai stood from the bed and walked over to her daughter's dresser.
What was Lorelai doing? Rory couldn't believe that she was just going to skip over the subject like this. Rory would not let something like the death of her boyfriend be swept under the rug. Rory felt guilty for not remembering she had a boyfriend, but she felt even more guilty for the fact that she survived the car crash and he didn't. Lorelai came back over with a blue pair of pants and a shirt.
"Here we go." Lorelai replied. "Your favorite sleep clothes."
Rory gazed out the outfit. She didn't find it very appealing at all. There were frogs all over the pants and the shirt had a green care bare painted on it. These must have been from like 4th grade. Rory thought to herself. Then she noticed her mother's sleep ware which was a rolling stones t-shirt and matching pants. Well, at least Lorelai's was a little better.
"How did we wreck?" Rory asked as she scooted up from her bed. She was still a little dizzy from earlier.
"A car was coming." Lorelai answered. "He lost control of the car and you went off the road." she spat it out so shortly not even looking Rory in the eye as she spoke. It was becoming apparent she didn't desire to have this conversation.
"Was anyone else hurt?"
"Uhhh, no, not that I know of." Lorelai reached over to lift up Rory's shirt.
Rory forced her mother's hands away from her body. "I can undress myself." She whispered.
This whole situation was taking a turn for the worse. "Sorry." Lorelai apologized. "I'm just..." she didn't finish. "I'll wait outside." Lorelai stood from the bed.
Rory sighed as her mother shut the door. She would let the conversation slip away for the rest of the night, but she wasn't going to just forget about it. She had to know what happened. She had to know what things were like before the wreck. She wished so desperately now that she could remember anything at all, but her mind was still let blank.
After changing into the childish pj's, Rory opened her door and walked into the living room. Lorelai was fiddling around with the VCR. Rory was certain she heard her mother mumble a curse word or two before finally getting the contraption to function. Suddenly, she felt sorry for her mother. Lorelai had been trying so hard to make Rory feel better and keep her happy ever since she woke up from the coma. It wasn't right of Rory to be mad at her over Dean. Certainly, Lorelai didn't intend on never telling Rory. She would tell her when she was ready. Rory found it hard to stay angry with someone who was as sweet and caring as Lorelai was. She found their relationship truly amazing.
"Mom." Rory spoke softly.
Lorelai turned around quickly. "Hey." She smiled.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" Lorelai asked innocently.
Rory knew her mother was playing dumb, but nevertheless she played along with her. "For the undressing thing." Rory added. "I didn't mean to sound so hateful."
"Hey, it's perfectly okay. You have every right to dress and undress yourself." Lorelai replied as she popped in the Willy Wonka tape.
"I know, but you were just trying to help me." Rory took a seat on the couch. "I'm just a little tired this evening."
"If you'd rather no watch a movie..."
"No, no!" Rory objected. "I want to watch it. Please."
Lorelai smiled. "Alright." She walked over and sat down on the couch beside her daughter. She removed the blanket from behind the couch and spread it across both of them. "Shoot!" Lorelai exclaimed. "I forgot the popcorn. I'll be right back." A couple minutes later Lorelai returned with a huge bowl of pop corn and a plate of rice crispy treats. She found Rory peacefully asleep on the couch. "Good night, kid." Lorelai whispered as she turned off the lamp and tv and gently kissed her daughter on the head.
The next morning, Lorelai walked outside to check the mail. She expected the usual bills and Chilton News Letter but today something more interesting caught her eye. Lorelai opened a light blue envelope and pulled out a dinner invitation. She groaned annoyingly as she hurried back inside and picked up her phone.
"Hello?"
"Mom, what are you doing?"
"Well, I was in the middle of breakfast, Lorelai."
"A diner party, mom?"
"Oh, you got my invitation." Emily sounded delighted.
"Yeah." Lorelai replied. She began to read the invitation. "7;00 pm Friday, December, 25" she paused.
"Yes, that's the correct date."
"Mom, you know that Rory and I always spend Christmas day together. We visit you on Christmas Eve. It's been that way for 16 years, how could you forget that?"
"I haven't forgotten, Lorelai." Emily answered. "Richard and I decided to have a dinner in celebration of Rory awaking from the coma. Once we got started, we figured we'd make it on Christmas Day."
"Who on earth is going to come to a party on Christmas Day?" Lorelai asked. "I'm sure the DAR members have their own families."
"I didn't invite the DAR members."
"Well, who did you invite." Lorelai asked suspiciously.
"You'll see when you get here Friday."
"Um. No." Lorelai shot back.
"No?" Emily echoed.
"Rory and I are spending Christmas day together, mom. If you still want us to stop by on Christmas eve that's fine, but Christmas day is out of the question."
"Lorelai, I promised Rory a dinner."
"Well, we had a great dinner last night."
"I have already invited all the guests and hired the caterers. Now, I hardly see a difference between you spending Christmas eve with Rory and spending Christmas day. We'll simply reverse the two days and everything will be fine."
"Why didn't you just make the party the 24th?" Lorelai angrily questioned.
"Lorelai, Richard and I would like to spend Christmas day celebrating the fact that our granddaughter is alive and healthy. We have very high spirits and expectations about this party. I only ask you to overcome your selfishness and think of Rory. Good bye, Lorelai."