A/N: Thank you all for your comments; they mean the world to me!

ProFfeSser: I know about Lorelai burning her baby pictures, but I was acting on the premise that Emily might have had one or two in her room somewhere, like on her vanity perhaps, that Lorelai didn't get hold of. I did reference the Great Photo Bonfire in Chapter Two.

The evening sun slanted down onto the small potting shed, where Lorelai and Rory sat in cheap plastic lawn chairs and listened to the soft ballads that drifted across the pond from the ivory-colored marquee. Rory had plucked a daisy and was very carefully removing the petals with an expression of immense concentration. Lorelai gazed across the water and watched the wedding guests dance gracefully, like figures in a music box.

If all had gone according to plan, today would be Lorelai's high school graduation day. She would be wearing a deep red robe and a mortar board on her head, possibly with the yellow valedictorian or salutatorian sash around her neck. She would walk across the stage, take the diploma from the headmaster, smile at her parents' photographer, and sit down again. That night she would have put on some ugly dress and gone downstairs for an incredibly boring dinner with fifty of her parents' closest friends before sneaking out a window and onto the back of Christopher's motorcycle.

And if all had gone according to plan, she would not have Rory. Whenever she began to have even the smallest regrets, whenever she began to think about graduating high school and going to Harvard, far away from Richard and Emily, and breaking the mold by becoming an independent and professional woman instead of a trophy wife, she would think of Rory.

Rory would graduate high school. Rory would go to Harvard. Rory would set the world on fire, and Lorelai would help her do it.

Rory reached for their latest Dr. Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat, and waved it at her mother. "Cat in hat!" she insisted. "Cat in hat!"

Lorelai stifled a groan and pulled Rory into her lap and opened the book. Rory loved hearing stories, and was often found sitting in front of an open book, muttering nonsense words to herself as she pretended to read. As they read through the book, Rory enthusiastically pointed to the illustrations whenever Lorelai said a word that she recognized. "Cat" made Rory squeal with excitement and tap the picture several times with her finger. "Hat" produced the same effect. When they had read through the book, Rory awkwardly climbed down from her mother's lap and ran into the house, probably to get another book. Lorelai followed her, but stopped just inside the door, looking around.

The shed was too small. Not always, but right now she was feeling claustrophobic. Nervously she reached out and took Corduroy away from Rory. "Rory, let's go for a walk," she said gently.

Rory nodded. "Can Mia come?"

"Mia has to work, sweets. Let's just walk around a little bit."

"Okay." Rory grabbed Lorelai's hand and they walked out of the house.

Somehow, Lorelai wasn't sure how, they'd ended up walking past Stars Hollow High, where a sea of kids in red and white graduation robes were tossing their mortar boards in the air, cheering.

"Perfect," Lorelai muttered. "Just what I need to make me feel better." The crowd on the field broke apart and scattered, and Lorelai and Rory were about to walk away when Lorelai heard her name.

"Lorelai! What are you doing out here?"

"Hey, Sookie," Lorelai said to the radiant red-head who had sailed up to her in white polyester. Sookie St. James regularly popped up in the kitchen at the inn, asking Jason about this spice or that sauce, and generally causing chaos wherever she went. "Congratulations. I didn't know graduation was today. What's next for you?"

"Culinary school," Sookie said with an excited giggle. "I'm hoping I can get a job at the Independence Inn."

"Oh, wow," Lorelai said, impressed. "Making those dreams come true, right?"

"Yep! It's so exciting."

"We were just heading home…so…"

"Hey, do you want to come to my graduation party? I know you don't get out much, and there'll be lots of people our age there. My mom could probably watch out for Rory for a little while."

Lorelai paused. "Well…I…"

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun!"

"Well, okay," Lorelai finally relented, trying not to remember how long it had been since she'd hung out with people her own age.

Excited graduates were teeming in the St. James's front yard, where Sookie's father – renowned in Stars Hollow for his barbecues – manned a grill full of hot dogs and hamburgers. Sookie steered Lorelai inside, introduced her to Mrs. St. James, who was immediately struck by Rory's charms, and then took her back out front and pointed her toward the cooler of sodas. Lorelai unearthed a Coke and opened it, looking around at the swarm of teenagers.

She felt much older than everyone around her. Whenever she happened to casually join a group she found herself either annoyed and bored, or restless and jealous. Some of them talked about the latest gossip, others about their future plans, until she wanted to scream. She sipped at her Coke and wandered around the yard, occasionally nodding at someone who happened to look in her direction. When she found an empty bench, she sat and watched the crowd, hoping she didn't look too out of place. A young man sauntered over and sat next to her.

"Hey."

Lorelai looked up with a smile. "Hi."

"Great party," he said, gesturing at the crowd.

"Oh, yeah, great," she answered.

"You from around here?"

"Oh, I've only lived here a couple of years. I'm actually from Hartford."

"Hartford, huh? Cool place."

"Yup." Lorelai held in a sigh.

"Hey, some of us are driving up to Hartford. Supposed to be some wild parties going on tonight. You, uh, want to come along?"

"Oh, I don't know," she demurred. "That's a long way out."

"You sure?" He inched closer and put a hand on her knee. "I'd make it worth your while."

Lorelai glanced down at his hand, carefully uncrossing her legs and moving away. "I don't think my daughter would want me to be gone that long."

Mr. Feel-Good blinked in surprise. "Your daughter?"

"That's right. Rory. My two-year-old. She doesn't really like it when I leave, but hey, if you're going to make sure I have a good time, I'm sure I could hire a baby-sitter. I'd have to be back early, though."

"Oh…well…don't, uh…don't upset her," Mr. Feel-Good stammered. "I shouldn't be selfish."

"You want to run away," Lorelai observed with a smile. "Please, feel free."

"Well, uh…bye," he muttered, walking away quickly.

Lorelai shook her head, stared into her Coke can for a few minutes, and then went back into the house to collect Rory.

Christopher had taken to calling every Wednesday. More or less. Rory recognized his voice and beamed whenever he could spare them a day or two out of his busy schedule. But Lorelai had never quite forgiven him for refusing to grow up and help her raise their daughter. As the months went by, the phone calls from Christopher grew short and perfunctory, and Lorelai would often just turn the receiver over to Rory, even though the little girl could only greet her father, answer his questions, and giggle. One day, however, when Lorelai answered and offered to put Rory on, he said,

"Just a second, Lore. I need to talk to you."

"What's going on?"

"Well…I'm moving."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows, even though he couldn't see her. "Moving? To where?"

"I have a job offer in San Jose."

"San Jose? Why do I get the feeling that's not in Connecticut? Or New England, for that matter."

"Because San Jose is in California."

Lorelai sat down hard on the bed. "California. You're moving to California."

"Yeah. In about a week."

"And…when do you plan on visiting your daughter? That's a longer drive than Hartford, y'know."

"Lore, I have to get out of here. I can hardly breathe in Hartford. The parentals are leaning on me to be everything Dad is, and I can't take it anymore."

"So you're running away."

"You're not exactly one to talk."

"Our situations are totally different and you know it," Lorelai snapped, getting up from her bed. "I left because I was trying to do the best thing for Rory."

"And you've got everything under control there, right? You don't need me."
"I don't. Rory does."

"Look, Lorelai, just give the phone to her. I called to let you know and I have. You can't change my mind."

"Fine. Here." She handed the receiver to her daughter. "Sweets, your daddy wants to talk to you."

Rory took the phone with a smile. "Daddy!"

Lorelai walked outside and stared at the setting sun, crossing her arms over her chest and hoping that wherever Christopher was at the moment, he could feel her glare.

As soon as Rory had hung with Christopher, the phone rang again. Lorelai swept it up, feeling distinctly disgruntled. "Hello?"

"Lorelai."

"Mother."

"I haven't heard from you for awhile."

"Well, Mom, I'm busy. I have a job and a kid to raise. Anything I can help you with?"

"You needn't be so disrespectful, Lorelai. I was only wondering how Rory was doing."

"Rory's doing great. Why wouldn't she be great? She has me, doesn't she? What more could she possibly need?"

Emily frowned into the phone. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong," Lorelai huffed. "Christopher just called and told me that he's moving all the way across the country and now his contact with his daughter will be cut down to a phone call a week if that…"

"Wait, what do you mean that Christopher is moving?"

"He's going out to California, Mom. To live."

"Oh, my goodness," Emily said, momentarily at a loss for words. "And he just told you this?"

"Yup. Just a few minutes ago. Hey, it was advance notice for Christopher. After all, he doesn't leave for a week."

"Lorelai…"

"I'm sorry, Mom, I have to go. I have to think about this and try to figure out a way to not be so crabby. I'll call you tomorrow, okay? Goodbye."

TBC

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