Disclaimer: ...glares pointedly... You're really going to make me say I don't own them... AGAIN?...walks off, slamming door to room...
Chapter 16
"Richard," Emily said, now forcing a smile as Lorelai, Luke, Rory, and Dean took their seats, "look who Rory decided to bring."
Richard looked up from his book, obviously a bit more intrigued with it than the thought of another Gilmore Dinner. His eyes rested on the tall, dark-haired man sitting extremely close to Rory, clutching her hand in his, and shifting his feet around a bit uncomfortably. He looked to Emily for the sign of her joke, only to realize by the forced smiles on everyone's faces that it wasn't a joke. He returned his gaze to the young man by Rory's side, gave a nod and forced a smile, saying, "Dean."
"Mom, Dad, it was really nice for you to invite us all here," Lorelai said, adding firmly, "as guests."
Emily sent Lorelai a pointed look before she headed to the drink cart. "What can I get everyone to drink? Dean?"
Dean looked a little apprehensive at the sudden question directed to him. Lorelai sent him a reassuring nod, and Rory squeezed his hand to calm him down. He let out a long-held breath, and replied politely, "Just a soda, thanks."
"I'll take a soda, too, Grandma," Rory said.
Emily poured them their sodas and handed them each a glass. She turned to Luke and Lorelai. "Scotch, Lorelai?"
"You know me all too well, mother."
"Luke?"
"Uh, soda's fine with me," Luke replied, feeling the same awkwardness that Dean felt and sharing a look with the young man across from him.
Emily handed both Lorelai and Luke their drinks and then poured herself and Richard drinks. After handing Richard his glass, she took a seat next to Lorelai and Luke on the sofa. She forced a smile and looked over to her granddaughter. There was something different about her, and not the human ornament attached to her arm.
"So, when did you two get back together?" Emily asked.
"Wow, Mom, jump right into the interrogation questions," Lorelai replied.
Emily turned to give her a disapproving glare. "Well, excuse me for wanting to be a little more informed on the happenings in my granddaughter's life."
"A while ago, Grandma," Rory supplied quickly. It was too early in the evening for her mother and grandmother to get into a heated argument. No, there'd be plenty of time for that later. "I ran into Dean in Hartford and we started talking again."
"Oh," Emily said. "And what have you been up to recently, Dean?"
The ultimate question. Dean could feel Richard's stare cutting through him. In fact, everyone had turned their attention to him. He forced a smile and replied, "I've been taking classes at Hartford Community College. Other than that, I work with a man named Tom down in Stars Hollow doing construction and carpentry."
"Construction and carpentry? Did you hear that, Emily? The boy does construction and carpentry now," Richard said, a little amused at the thought.
"He's really good, Dad," Lorelai commented. "He did most of the work for the Dragonfly."
"Yeah," Dean replied. Why is it Emily and Richard made him so nervous? Maybe because deep down he felt like Rory held their opinions of him in high respect. Or perhaps because every time he came to this house and met with these two people, they somehow sabotaged the relationship he and Rory had going. It seemed all too familiar, sitting in this room with those vultures, discussing his future.
"What ever happened to that girl you married?" Emily asked.
"Way to be blunt, Mom," Lorelai retorted.
"Grandma," Rory pleaded.
Dean squeezed Rory's hand to signal that he was okay with it. He turned to Emily and met her cold stare dead on. "Lindsay and I got divorced due to irreconcilable differences."
"Oh really?"
"She never did anything," Rory said with a little too much force.
Emily sent her a surprised look. Obviously she'd hit a sensitive nerve on her granddaughter.
"They had bills to pay, and Lindsay never went to work or school. She just sat there waiting for Dean all day," Rory continued. "He couldn't go to school, only work. Work, work, work. He ran himself into the ground for Lindsay."
Everyone noticed the conviction in Rory's tone. Lorelai looked proud to be called her mother, Luke looked a little uncomfortable and indifferent to being left out of the brewing argument, and Dean looked a little ashamed and embarrassed. Of course, he was proud that Rory had defended him as such, but hearing her state out loud the disrespect Lindsay had showed to him and their marriage made him realize how much of a mistake he'd made. He didn't want to make the same mistake again.
Emily and Richard both looked a little taken aback.
"It's time for dinner," Emily announced, standing and abandoning all means of the conversation that had just taken place. She felt a little offended that Rory had sent such a condescending and critical look at her with her statement.
The six adults gathered in the dinning room to eat. Richard and Emily sat at either end of the table with Luke and Lorelai to one side, and Rory and Dean to the other side. Three maids brought out the dishes of salads, and Lorelai groaned in distaste. She and Rory shared sympathetic looks as Dean, Luke, Emily, and Richard went ahead and started eating. There was much silence through the salads. The interrogation of Dean seemed to have soured the mood for the evening. There were a few questions directed to Rory about Yale, then a few directed to Lorelai about the late wedding invitations.
"Oh, well, I've been running a little late on them," Lorelai lied. She had forgotten all about telling her mother about the postponement. She glanced over at Rory, who looked grateful at the prospect of keeping her pregnancy secret.
"Lorelai, that is simply just rude. June 3rd is approaching at an alarming rate," Emily retorted. "I was under the opinion that your father and I weren't being invited any longer."
Lorelai forced a smile as the maids took away the plates of salads. "Of course you're invited, Mom," she said, all the while thinking, 'In another dimension, half way across the universe, over my dead, lifeless body.'
The maids brought out the plates of food - turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, ham, fruit salad (which Lorelai avoided just because it had the word salad in it), and other typical Easter dishes.
"Lorelai, is there something you're not telling me?" Emily asked suddenly.
Four pairs of eyes shared anxious looks with each other before Lorelai inquired, "Excuse me?"
Emily looked at them. There was something fishy with the way they all kept exchanging glances through the silences. It was as though they were using a new form of communication to keep Emily from knowing something that they all obviously knew. "You're keeping something from me."
"No, Grandma, it's just - " Rory started.
" - the food is looking delicious, Mom," Lorelai cut in. "You've really out done yourself tonight."
"Why thank you, but that's not it," Emily said tersely. "I know that face, Lorelai, I birthed it."
Lorelai dropped her fork and wiped her hands on her napkin, mumbling, "Now I'm done eating." The thought of Emily suffering through labor with her wasn't something she wanted to picture in her head as she tried to down the jiggly-jello thing on her plate.
"Dean," Richard began yet again. He'd watched the boy all through the night, even though the discussion had veered far off topic of him.
"And here comes the encore," Lorelai muttered. Luke was the only one who caught that, and he sent her a reproachful look for joking at a time like this.
Richard, however, hit the Gilmore Girls with something they weren't expecting. He pursed his lips and said with the hint of a proud smile, "It's good to hear you've continued your education." Rory and Lorelai shared another look (a lot of those through the evening, huh?). Richard was being civil with Dean… yippee! Time to celebrate!
Or so they thought.
"However, I believe you recall the last conversation we had about your future plans," Richard continued.
"Yes, sir, I do," Dean replied. His face and voice had lost their timidness toward the Gilmores. Now, he knew exactly where this evening was going, and he was not going to back down or let Rory go without a fight. Not again.
"And I believe you recall me stating that Rory has high aspirations and dreams. She wants to travel and report and write. She's going to graduate from Yale, become a journalist."
"Yes, sir, I know all that. Rory's told me."
"Mom, what on earth is this jello thing?" Lorelai asked, trying to de-fuel the fire that had already been started.
"And do you recall how I stated that this family has lofty ambitions of maintaining sound structure and integrity? We Gilmores are respected and envied," Richard continued.
"By who, Dad?" Lorelai scoffed, trying to stall the inevitable yet again.
"Yes, sir, I do," Dean stressed.
"Well, perhaps I never quite made myself clear, seeing as you have managed to, yet again, somehow fascinate and attract my granddaughter into being with you."
"Grandpa, you don't understand - " Rory tried again. She had the buildup of tears pooling at the edges of her eyes. How would she ever make them see things her way? She wished she still had the courage she'd had in the car, but that had been a fluke. Her emotions were getting the best of her.
"With all due respect, Mr. Gilmore," Dean stated. He was being unusually civil and compliant with the Gilmores. "I love Rory. She has the most indomitable goals and dreams, and I know that she'll achieve them. That's one of the reasons why I do love her so much."
"But you were married to another woman," Emily pointed out.
"I didn't love her," Dean said, beginning to lose his courtesy now. "I've always loved Rory. I was just young and stupid, and I thought Rory didn't love me."
"And what happens when you think that again? Are you going to dump her and run off to marry another unfit woman?" Emily asked.
"Grandma!"
"Mom!"
"Mrs. Gilmore, why is it that you hate me so much?" Dean asked brusquely.
"I don't hate you," Emily replied, shaking the notion off with a false laugh.
"You've hated me since the day you met me," Dean said. "I've done nothing but provide your granddaughter with love and support in her aspirations, unlike the other loser boyfriends she's brought to your house." Rory let the boyfriend bit slip; she was more concerned with the anger etched across Dean's face.
"Admit it," Dean went on, "you've had it out for me the moment you found out that I wasn't a hoity-toity, arrogant, stuck-up with money and a prestigious family background."
Emily looked utterly aghast and unable to speak. Richard, however, wasn't. "It's that simple, Dean," he said. "You and Rory are part of two completely different worlds. You will always be that safe haven in the small town for her to turn to, but that's never going to be enough for her. You can't provide for her."
The words rang a bell in Luke's head. They were strangely familiar to the advice Dean had given him once about dating the Gilmore Girls.
"Grandpa, I love him," Rory declared defiantly, her tears falling freely now.
"Rory, he's a contractor; a carpenter. He'll never amount to anything; never be able to provide you with your dreams and desires," Richard stated more forcefully.
"Hey!" Luke cut in, standing from his seat, anger on his face. As much he and Dean didn't get along, Dean wasn't that bad a guy, especially if Rory said so. "What makes you think you're so much better than him? Just because you live in a nice, big house, with a few green backs in your wallet and a nice, fat bank account? That says nothing about the person you are, and Dean's twice the man you'll ever be with that attitude!"
Richard and Emily looked downright shell-shocked and offended beyond belief. Lorelai had on a proud look because her fiancee had finally stood up to the Great Gilmores and left them speechless, all the while defending Dean, the man he supposedly hated. Rory and Dean both had benevolent looks on their faces as well.
"I refuse to be spoken to like that under my own roof," Richard finally snapped.
"See, Lorelai," Emily asked, turning to her daughter. "See how barbaricly outrageous these two act towards us? It's uncalled for!"
"Mom, for once, sit down and be quiet," Lorelai supplied with a level tone.
Emily looked affronted again, but recovered and turned toward Rory. "Rory, darling, you can't be serious about all this. You can't love a man who obviously hates your family and comes as an invited guest to their house and berates them and falsely accuses them."
"But I do love him, Grandma," Rory stated. "And I'm going to marry him and be with him for the rest of my life, and you have to accept that."
Dean looked over at Rory, astonishment on his face. Had he heard that bit correctly?
"But why? You've just gotten back together," Emily retorted.
"Rory, he doesn't belong in our world," Richard said again, his voice low and his tone sharp.
"You can't keep telling me that anymore," Rory exclaimed, jumping to her feet and staring both her grandparents down. "Dean and I are together. We love each other, and we're going to have a baby together. And if you can't accept that, then that's your decision. We're going to be a family, me, Dean, and the baby, and there's nothing you can do that will change that!" Without waiting for a reaction or reply, Rory threw her napkin down and ran from the room, the front door slamming shut moments later.
Rory's outburst had thrown the room into a stock-still silence. Dean, who's features showed all the evident surprise from the outburst to the pride of Rory standing up against her grandparents, offered an apologetic glance toward Lorelai and Luke, and made his way down the path Rory had just taken.
Emily and Richard both looked utterly dumbfounded at the sudden news thrust into their faces. Their oh-so perfect granddaughter - the promising journalist, attending Ivy-League Yale University - had thrown it all away to be like her mother - a young mother with no high aspirations or goals other than when the next sale at Outlet 'R Us would take place so she could buy the family new clothes. Or at least that's the picture the Gilmores envisioned in their head, and it had them utterly horrified. They couldn't let this happen again. First with Lorelai, and now with Rory? They had given her the opportunities to open all of the doors in her life, and she was choosing this one? With Dean? The bagboy who'd married young, divorced young, became a contractor and studied at a community college? It was completely unacceptable for a Gilmore.
Lorelai was a bit shell-shocked, but proud all the same. She had watched her parents try to manipulate and control her daughter's life the same way they had done with hers, and Rory had finally had enough. She had stood her ground, and that was something Lorelai could brag about. Rory was her mother's daughter.
The anger had managed to fade from Luke's face. It was replaced by a bit of surprise like everyone else's faces, but also held a bit of pride like Lorelai's. He knew it was hard for Lorelai and Rory to stand up to Emily and Richard. The two did not make it easy in the least. He was now ready to leave for the night, though. Especially with the uncomfortable thought Rory had decided to leave them with.
Apparently, the anger that Luke had carried seemed to seep off of him and into Emily. She whipped around to face Lorelai. "This is all your fault," she exclaimed, throwing out her finger accusingly.
"How?" Lorelai asked. Deep down she had known that Emily was going to blame her as soon as the news had gotten out. In Emily's eyes, it was always Lorelai's fault. The picture of sixteen year old Lorelai in labor would be forever burned in Emily's mind as the day her daughter besmirched all the good in the Gilmore name. And the accusations would always be thrust toward Lorelai as a form of punishment for dashing her parents hopes and dreams of their only daughter.
"You should have taught her better! If you had let us into your lives, Rory would never have met that man, and she would never have thrown her life away like you! She had a future, Lorelai; a bright and glorious future! And she threw it away to be with that… that… that construction worker! The dirty bagboy from the market! The divorcee!" Emily shouted in distraught disbelief.
Warm and angry tears had formed in Lorelai's eyes. She stood and threw her napkin down, painfully in the same manner as Rory. Luke followed, seeing it as a sign for them to escape the night. Lorelai shook her head and glared at her mother.
"I'm sorry I'm not the daughter you always wanted, Mom," she spit out venemously. "But I'm not sorry that I spared Rory from this life. And I'm not sorry that she met Dean and fell in love with him, or that she got pregnant, or that she is finally happy with how her life is going. She's going to finish school and she's going to become a great journalist, and I know all that because I know Dean, Mom. He'll help her achieve her goals and dreams, because he always has."
Emily just stared at her. Lorelai took the silence as a good enough reply, and stormed out of the room with Luke by her side. The Great Gilmores had finally been knocked off their pedastal.
AN: Okay, now I'm desperate for reviews! This is really my first big time, drama-filled chapter with the Great Gilmores, and I need to know how well I did or didn't do. I know some of it is a little off character (I think), but this sorta helps build on to the story's different relationships. Anyway, please, please, please Read&Review!