Disclaimer: ASP and the WB
Author's note: Yes I know it's been a while, and I am very sorry again! This time I am even lacking a proper excuse… I guess lying in the sun to achieve the perfect tan doesn't count, does it? Did I mention that I am sorry? I made the chapter longer though… yes I am trying to bribe you, does it work? ;)
Dedication: To lilienprinzessin (who would have thought), Congrats on your finished paper! And to all those wonderful people out there, who always find the time to leave a review. I am so happy about those reviews! Thank you so much for that!
Two sides of the story
„Lorelai?" Luke yelled. He walked into the house through the back door and only barely managed to balance the seven bags of food he was carrying. "Lorelai, I am home and I am bringing food," he called out again, hoping to get some kind of reaction from his fiancée.
"Living room," he heard her call back. He set the bags down on the kitchen table and went to look for her. When he walked into the living room he was momentarily taken aback by the chaos that reigned there. There were magazines lying everywhere and the little space that wasn't covered by magazines was plastered with flower bouquets.
"Well, it's the Flodders all over again," Luke said while scratching his head. Lorelai had been lying on the floor studying one of the magazines, but now got up to greet her fiancé.
"Hey, I am planning our wedding," she explained before she pressed a gentle kiss onto his lips. She took his hand and pulled him over to the couch. She took one of the magazines and showed it to him. "You would look great in that tux," she said and grinned at him.
"Well, yes, maybe," he said while he looked at the elegant tuxedo.
"You said something of food?" Lorelai asked and went into the kitchen. Luke took another moment to look at the picture before he followed her.
"I've brought a sample of everything with me," he explained, but instantly noticed that he wouldn't have needed to. Lorelai was already happily munching on some fries and unpacked one of the burgers while doing so. He sat down next to her and took out a salad for himself. He had long ago given up trying to get her to eat something healthy.
"Isn't your mother going to be released from hospital tomorrow?" he asked carefully while studying Lorelai's face.
"Maybe," Lorelai answered and sounded as uninterested as she could. She heard Luke sigh, but decided to ignore it. She still hadn't fully told him what had happened between her and her mother a week earlier. She wanted to forget about it. Luke knew what Lorelai was trying to do and that the chaos in the living room was her way of trying to cope with the situation, but he wasn't ready to let it go just yet.
"Lorelai listen, do you really think you can keep this up? How often did you try to shut your mother out of your life? Five, six times? It won't work and you know it. Why don't you tell me what happened?" Luke asked gently. Lorelai put down her hamburger and looked at her future husband with an indescribable look on her face.
"It was the usual thing. I told her about the things that matter to me, my feelings and what is bothering me, but she just wouldn't listen to me. All she said was that I had no right to attack her and that none of the things I told her were my business," Lorelai explained quietly. "And I don't plan on ending the contact. It's up to her. I just won't return and apologize, it's her turn," Lorelai finished and returned to eating her hamburger.
"Fat chance," Luke replied dryly and smiled at Lorelai. He was glad when she smiled back at him. "You know, you could show me some of your ideas for the wedding later," he said simply, and was happy to see her face lightening up as she nodded excitedly.
"There's nothing left in the bathroom," Richard explained as he stepped out of the small bath room that was attached to his wife's hospital room.
"Good," Emily replied as she pulled the zipper of her Louis Vuitton bag closed. "I guess I am ready to go then," she said and took a last look around the room. Richard walked up to her and put an arm around her shoulder. She gently leaned her head onto his shoulder. "Do you want me to ask the nurse to wrap the flowers into some paper? They are easier to transport then," Richard said and stared at the still amazing number of bouquets and arrangements that had piled up in his wife's room.
"No, Richard really, don't you know that taking the flowers you got in hospital home with you brings bad luck?" Emily asked and smiled at her husband, who shrugged.
"Now, we don't want to risk that, do we?" he asked and placed a soft kiss on the top of his wife's head. There was a soft knock on the door and Emily looked at Richard in surprise. "Who could that be?" she asked.
"Maybe it's the nurses, who want to make sure that you really are leaving," Richard said teasingly.
"Yes, or it is Dr. Johanson, who wants to ask me to marry him," Emily shot back. "And if you go on teasing me, I might even consider it," Emily finished and then grinned at her husband, who smiled back.
"Come in," Emily finally called and couldn't have been more surprised by the person, who entered. "Rory!" Emily exclaimed happily and went to hug her granddaughter.
"Hey Grandma!" Rory greeted back and after hugging her grandmother went over to her grandfather to repeat the ritual.
"What are you doing here?" Richard asked and took the question right out of Emily's mouth.
"I was on my way to Stars Hollow when I remembered that grandma was being released from hospital today, so I thought I'd stop by," Rory said cheerfully and smiled at her grandparents. Emily returned the smile. She was touched by Rory's gesture, especially since she was sure that Lorelai had told her daughter all about the fight.
"Well that's lovely of you. We were just about to leave. Do you want to come home with us and have some coffee?" Emily asked.
"Uh no, I can't. Mum is expecting me for lunch," Rory replied apologetically.
"Of course, we don't want to keep you," Emily said and smiled at her granddaughter again. She was trying to think of what to say next, but decided to follow her feeling. "How is Lorelai?" Emily asked carefully, not sure what Rory's reaction was going to be.
"Oh she's great, busily planning her wedding. That's why I am driving home, I want to help her pick the dresses for the bride's maids," Rory replied cheerfully, while monitoring her grandmother's reaction to her answer. She was glad to see that her reply had the desired effect. Her grandmother's eyes clouded over for a brief moment, but long enough for Rory to notice it. Part of the reason why Rory had decided to stop by was that she hoped she could get her grandmother to take the first step towards reconciliation with Lorelai.
"Well that's good to hear," Richard replied and carefully watched his wife, but Emily quickly regained her composure.
"Yes well, tell her that pink is an awful colour," Emily said shortly and then smiled at her husband. "Shall we go then?" she asked and was glad when both Rory and Richard nodded.
When Richard opened the door to their house Emily realized that she was actually excited to come home again. Richard held the door open for her and she carefully walked into the house. She instantly noticed the fresh flowers that were everywhere. She stepped into the foyer and let her eyes wander around the room. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the familiar smell of her own home. It was a mixture of old leather, fresh flowers, Chanel No. 5 and Richard's aftershave. She loved the smell, it was so different to the sterile smell of the hospital. She heard Richard walking up behind her and smiled when he put his arms around her from behind.
"Welcome home," he whispered into her ear and Emily shivered softly. She put her head against his chest and closed her eyes. She simply wanted to enjoy the moment.
"Welcome home, Mrs. Gilmore," an unfamiliar voice suddenly said and Emily resentfully opened her eyes again. The maid standing in front of her smiled at her.
Emily was disappointed when Richard removed his arms again, but she quickly reminded herself that they still had time for that later.
"Thank you, Sabina," Emily answered. Quite contrary to popular believe she knew her maids, and was able to remember them, even years after they had left the Gilmore house. The maid nodded dutifully before she walked into the kitchen.
"I didn't fire her, because I thought you might like to do that," Richard said jokingly and visibly enjoyed it when Emily threw him one of her famous looks.
"Maybe we should keep her, she seems to have done a good job during the last weeks," Emily said, but ran a finger across the painting just to be sure that everything was as clean as she wanted it to be.
"If you say so," Richard replied, and quietly thought that he gave poor Sabina another two days before she joined her predecessors at the job agency. He followed his wife into the living room, where she sat down on one of the sofas.
"Are you tired?" Richard inquired and studied his wife's face.
"A little," Emily admitted and was able to stifle a yawn.
"You heard Dr. Johanson today, you are supposed to take it easy. I don't want you to overdo it," Richard lectured her.
"Yes Richard, this is the fifth time you're telling me that, the one time in the car not included," Emily answered and then smiled at her husband. "I know you mean well," she said benevolently.
"You can take a nap while I am at work," Richard suggested. He hated leaving her alone, but knew it was inevitable. He also knew that his wife would probably go crazy if he was around her all the time. He could vividly remember the problems they had had during his short period of retirement.
"Yes I'll do that," Emily agreed and got up to press a soft goodbye kiss onto her husband's lips.
"Well maybe I could stay home one more day," Richard said mischievously.
"Richard!" Emily said in mock indignation, but kissed him once again, before she accompanied him to the door.
"Go to bed," Richard ordered before he left and Emily nodded with a last exasperate sigh.
When he had left Emily returned to the living room, and even though she didn't want to, she knew that her body demanded a short nap. On her way to the stairs her eyes fell onto the giant family portrait that hung over the fire place. She looked at Lorelai's unnerved face for a moment, before she managed to avert her gaze again and began mounting the stairs.
"I am home!" Rory called out cheerfully as she entered her mother's house. When she wanted to walk into the living room she bumped into Sookie, who came from the kitchen.
"Ouch uh Sookie, I didn't see you," Rory laughed as she regained her balance.
"Hey kid, great to see you," Sookie said and hugged Rory briefly before she pulled her into the living room.
"Sit down, kid, you're mum will be down in a minute," Sookie said and pushed some magazines off the couch.
"What is she doing?" Rory asked, allowing her eyes to wander around the living room. Pictures of brides and grooms were pinned to every square metre of the wall, and the floor was covered with magazines.
"She's trying on wedding dresses," Sookie explained and couldn't help grinning from one ear to the next.
"What! I thought she already had one," Rory said in confusion.
"Yes, but unfortunately it has been sold in the mean time," Sookie explained.
"Why didn't you wait for me? I wanted to see the dresses as well," Rory said and wasn't able to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
"We wanted to, but then you took so long, and we got so excited," Sookie said and smiled at Rory, who was visible trying not to show her sadness.
"Don't worry! This is the first one," Sookie finally admitted and slapped Rory playfully.
"Mean!" was all Rory shot back.
"SOOOOKIE?" Lorelai's cry could suddenly be heard from upstairs.
"What is it?" Sookie yelled back.
"I think I am stuck…. Uh wait I am not… What kind of system is this?" Lorelai could be heard ranting from upstairs again and both Rory and Sookie couldn't help giggling.
"Who's down there?" Lorelai yelled down again while she continued her fight with her dress.
"Your own flesh and blood," Rory called back. "Get down here, we want to see you."
"Coming," Lorelai yelled even though she was already standing on top of the stairs. Rory and Sookie watched as Lorelai descended the stairs slowly. Rory had to smile softly as she watched her mother. Apart from the breathtaking dress she was wearing, she seemed to glow with happiness. When Rory heard sniffling, she wordlessly handed Sookie a tissue.
"Hey kiddo, when did you sneak in here?" Lorelai asked, pretending to not notice that both Rory and Sookie seemed to love the dress.
"Five minutes ago… You look stunning, Mum," Rory said and couldn't tear her eyes away from her mother.
"Yes you do," Sookie added tearfully, and blew her nose again loudly.
"Really?" Lorelai asked, even though she loved the dress as well. She twirled around to show both Sookie and her daughter how beautifully the dress swung around.
"Don't you think it might be a little too much?" Lorelai asked insecurely. She looked down at herself. Even though the dress was simple it looked very elegant. It was a sleeveless white corsage dress with a wide flowing skirt. The top had small pearls applied to it, and Lorelai wore long matching gloves.
"Yeah maybe you shouldn't wear it," Rory suddenly said and watched her mother's face fall.
"Why not?" Sookie asked flabbergasted.
"We don't want Luke to drop dead at the altar, do we?" Rory asked and then quickly joined her mother's laughing.
Lorelai walked over to the couch and carefully sat down. She patted the space next to her and Sookie and Rory followed her invitation.
"What took you so long to get here?" Lorelai asked as she tried to decide whether she would drink some of the coffee that stood on the table or not. She finally decided against it, the risk of spilling some of the coffee onto the dress was just too high.
"I stopped by at the hospital," Rory answered plainly, waiting for her mother's reaction.
"Oh… well… how are my parents?" Lorelai finally asked back. She should have known that Rory would try to interfere.
"They're great. They finally released grandma. I guess it was either that or hiring new nurses, because the old ones would have quit tomorrow," Rory joked. Sookie politely laughed at Rory's comment, but continued to watch Lorelai carefully.
"How nice," Lorelai said. Rory sighed mentally, this was going to be hard work. Even though she herself had only recently started to heal her relationship with her grandmother she knew how important it was for her mother that Emily was at the wedding. Lorelai would never admit it, but she needed her parents.
Usually Rory would let them solve this problem of their own, because she knew that they would do so eventually, but time was running out this time. If Emily missed the wedding, it could very well destroy all hopes of a closer relationship between mother and daughter. Rory thought that she had seen her grandmother's resistance diminishing today, now she only had to make sure that her mother was ready for any kind of gesture that might come from Emily.
"Okay, this was dress number one, now we only have five more to go," Lorelai suddenly called out and broke into Rory's thoughts. She decided to let the problems between her mother and grandmother rest for the moment.
The next morning Emily woke up to the soft smell of breakfast. When she opened her eyes she saw Richard standing in front of her bed, carrying a tray with food and fresh coffee.
"Good morning sleepy head," he said gently and placed the tray on her bedside table.
"You should stop spoiling me like that or I might get used to it," Emily replied and smiled at him softly.
"I think I'll risk that," Richard said and sat down next to her on the bed. "I have to go to work now, but I'll try to come home as soon as possible. Do you have anything planned for today?"
"There is a special DAR meeting this afternoon, which I'd like to attend," she said and grinned at Richard. He knew just as well as she did that this was a meeting they held in her honour, and he knew that she loved it.
"Well as long as you don't celebrate too much, I don't have anything against it," he said.
"How nice of you," Emily replied.
"I know. Listen, I had Mercedes bring you a new car. It's the same model as the last one and you'll find it in your garage," Richard explained.
"Thank you," Emily said and turned her attention to the breakfast.
"Yes well, I'll be going then," Richard said and got up. He bent down and kissed Emily softly. With a last smile at her he was out of the door.
Emily spent a lazy morning, and then slowly began to get ready for the meeting at two o'clock. She wanted to look fabulous. Ever since Sweetie had died she hadn't really been able to find a friend like her again. The women at the DAR were nice ladies, but Emily knew that they wouldn't hesitate to abandon her and follow someone else. She enjoyed the admiration and respect she got, but also knew that she had to work hard to keep it. She had to look stunning this afternoon, because that would definitely silence everyone, who thought she might not be fit enough to stay the president of the DAR.
She enjoyed a long shower and then carefully did her hair and picked out her outfit. A simple, but elegant black Chanel suit would do the trick. She eyed herself in the mirror and was satisfied with what she saw.
"Sabina, I am leaving now. Please take the calls and don't forget to take notes!" Emily instructed the maid.
"Of course Mrs. Gilmore, I whish you a pleasant afternoon," Sabina answered, relieved to have the house to herself again. As civil as her boss was treating her, Sabina preferred working without having someone glancing over her shoulder every other minute.
Emily walked up to her garage and watched how the electronic gate lifted and revealed her brand new, shining Mercedes. She looked at it for a short moment before she took a deep breath and walked up to the car. She was proud of herself that she wasn't even shaking when she unlocked the car and sat down inside of it. She checked the interior of the car and then proceeded to start the engine. She listened to the familiar roar of the motor, and carefully moved the gear to D. Just as she wanted to bring her foot down on the gas, her right foot started shaking uncontrollably. She put her foot down again, and leaned back in her seat. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 'Get your act together Emily' she scolded herself. She kept her eyes closed and took another deep breath, but that didn't help her. She suddenly felt the car spinning again and heard Lorelai's scared scream ringing in her ears. Emily opened her eyes again with a start and hurried out of the car. She felt dizzy, and sweat was building on her forehead. She tumbled out of the garage and back to the main house.
As she opened the door she was met by the maid, who looked at her with concern on her face.
"Mrs. Gilmore, aren't you feeling well?" Sabina asked and quietly cursed herself for not having paid attention in her first aid course.
"No…no I am fine, I just need a moment," Emily stammered, desperately trying to regain control over herself.
"Maybe I should call your husband, he told me to call him if something was wrong," Sabina said helplessly.
"No! You will not call my husband, do you hear me? I am going upstairs now, I'll let you know if I need something," Emily replied and was proud of her firm voice. She didn't look at the maid as she hurried upstairs.
Emily was glad when she had reached her bedroom and was able to close the door behind her. She sat down on her bed and closed her eyes again, she did no longer hear her heart drumming inside her chest and her breathing eased again.
Dr. Johanson had mentioned that something like this could happen and had advised seeing a psychiatrist just to be sure, but of course Emily had protested vehemently. She slowly removed her shoes and then lay down on her bed.
She must have fallen asleep, because she only woke up again when she heard a soft knocking on her door. She sleepily lifted her head, and then got up. It was Sabina standing on the other side, holding the telephone out to her. Emily took it with a curt nod. It was Margaret Livingston inquiring whether something had happened, because they were waiting for her.
"Oh Margaret I am incredibly sorry, I had this unforeseen check up today, but everything is just fine. Send my love to everyone, I can't wait to take part in the meeting next week," Emily fluted. She hung up with a sad sigh and placed the phone on her bedside table before she wandered over to the window. She took a look outside. The snow had started melting two weeks ago and nothing reminded of the chaos that had reigned on the streets only weeks ago. She watched a little bird flying around, busily collecting little pieces of wood to build his nest. Her thoughts wandered back to her daughter, and the last conversation they've had. Lorelai had been wrong to assume that her words didn't have any affect on Emily. She had been thinking about them a lot, she just didn't like to admit that. Emily sighed heavily as she realized that she had never really given Lorelai the chance to understand her. Things weren't as easy and black and white as Lorelai would have liked them to be.
Okay that's it for today, but chapter 11 is already half done, so I promise (and this time I'll keep it) that I am going to update soon. Let me know what you think of chapter 10, please!