The final installment of 'The New Guy'

December 13, 2040

26 year old Laura Cashen ran out of a large brick building in the heart of Hartford and dashed to a waiting car. Her dark curly hair flew out behind her.

"Did you get it?" Her twin brother, Danny, asked eagerly as she slid in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, I got 11. Fresh off the press." Laura said, holding up a stack of books. She held one up and showed him the cover, which was a picture of Lorelai, Luke, Rory, Jinx, Meg, and Jack taken candidly at Rory's wedding. Rory rested on Luke's lap in her fancy gown, and Lorelai, Jinx, Jack, and Meg were seated next to them. They were all laughing. It was truly a Kodak moment. Written above in curly writing, was "Growing up 'Lorelai' by Rory Cashen".

Danny's blue eyes lit up and he threw his head back and laughed. His dark curls shook as he eagerly picked up a book and began to flip through it.

"This is perfect!" Laura murmured, her green eyes shining like emeralds as she looked at the pages. "Mom's gonna flip!"

"We're outta here!"

Meanwhile...

"Steven, have you seen my manuscript? I wanted to send it off to some publishers today." Rory said, walking into Steven's home office.

"No. I know Hayden was looking through it, did you ask him?" Steven asked.

"No, not yet." Rory left the room and climbed the stairs to her youngest child's room. "Hey there, birthday boy, did you take my manuscript?" Rory asked.

Hayden looked up from the book he was reading and shook his dark head. "Nope. I haven't seen it since like 2 months ago. You said it was finished, so I decided to have another look." He brushed a curl off his face and his eyebrows drew close. "You don't have it?"

"No." Rory said, shaking her head. "I'll find it though. It's around here somewhere, Hayd."

Suddenly, Rory heard a loud commotion downstairs. She glanced questioningly at Hayden and then hurried down the hall, followed by her tall son.

Steven had met Laura in the foyer and Danny, Leah, and Hannah crowded in the door behind her. Laura held a stack of books, and each other person held one.

"What's going on?" Rory questioned when she reached the bottom of the steps.

Laura turned excitedly and green met blue. Rory felt electricity shoot up her spine and she knew her daughter had exciting news.

"You did it, Mom." Laura said, holding up one of the books. As Rory looked closely, she recognized all the faces in the picture and as her eyes traveled upward, she recognized the title and name of the author.

"Growing up Lorelai, by Rory Cashen..." Rory's voice trailed off. "Oh my...is this...is this my book?" Rory felt her knees getting rubbery as she flipped open the book.

Prologue

Lorelai Gilmore. To you, she's probably no one, just another name in the phone book. If you live in the Connecticut area, one day you may read about how she opened her own inn or how she won the coffee drinking contest at the Stars Hollow Winter Carnival or eventually, her obituary. To you, Lorelai Gilmore is just another woman in the world. To me, she is so much more than that. She's my best friend, my pal, my buddy, my companion, mi amiga, my confidante, the woman who had a baby at 16 and raised that baby in her image, the woman who hiked across Europe with me and stayed up all night studying with me when I was 16. She let me cry on her shoulder whenever I needed to and she gave me advice on my first boyfriend. She's the person I went to whenever I needed a good dose of fashion or the perfect shoes to match my new dress because she had 64 pairs. She's the woman who constantly stayed up with me watching Willy Wonka and eating crazy amounts of chocolate. And most importantly, she is the woman I shaped my life, my existence, around, the incredible woman with whom I share my name and so much more, my mom.

Chapter 1

It appeared to be a normal day for the eccentric residents of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. The town was starting to wake up and businesses were beginning to open. Young and old lazily walked down the sidewalk and someone passing through would label Stars Hollow as 'quaint' yet 'boring'. That is until this person saw the bubbly brunettes walking down the sidewalk towards the corner building, which appeared to be a diner, but was labeled 'William's Hardware'.

Rory continued to flip through, seeing her book exactly as she had planned it. That is, until she came to the back off the book.

Growing up Rory

"Growing up Lorelai" was written by Rory Cashen, with excerpts by her sisters, Jinx Dugray and Meghan Ocean, and her brother, Jack Danes. The book is a tribute to her mother, Lorelai Danes, and the awesome job she did in raising her four children. Now, Rory's children, family, and friends are taking the opportunity to tell her readers how great a mom and person she is.

Lorelai Leigh Gilmore Cashen. More commonly known as Rory, she spent the first year of her life in Hartford, Connecticut, with her mom, Lorelai, and grandparents, Richard and Emily. When Lorelai flew the coop, taking young Rory with her, their lives started in the quaint Connecticut town of Stars Hollow.

Rory continued to read the tribute from her children and friends. She reached a page full of quotes.

"Rory worked her ass off at Chilton." Luke Danes, Rory's step-father and owner of the local diner comments. "It showed. She was valedictorian and Harvard, Princeton, and Yale were fighting for her. She graduated from Yale with honors and a degree in journalism, and went back for her masters. She did all this while staying fun, energetic, and sane. How many people can you say that about?"

"Rory's been an angel all of her life. She didn't cry, she didn't whine, she didn't get dirty. Like her mother, she read, she laughed, she talked, she drank coffee---basically, it was what we thought a young Lorelai would be like-well minus the no crying and whining part." Sookie St. James, Lorelai's best friend says of Rory.

"Rory's always been an awesome friend. We've been best friends since kindergarten, we stayed friends while she went to Chilton and Yale and New York and after I got married and after she got married and after I had kids and after she had kids. Over 50 years, Rory and I have basically done it all." Says Lane Rygalski, Rory's best friend.

"She could dance. Boy could that girl dance." Miss Patty LaCosta, may she rest in peace, often said of Rory's childhood dance lessons.

Rory scanned the pages filled with more quotes and information. She looked up at Laura, the image of herself, and said in shock with tears clouding her blue eyes, "You did this?"

"Well, I had a lot of help, but I am the only other journalist in this house." Laura said with a smile. "Everyone was in on it except Grams. It's a surprise for both of you."

"Laura, this is the best gift I could ever be given. Thank you, hon." Rory said, wrapping her arms around Laura.

"You deserve it, Mom." Laura said.

Rory pulled back. "Thanks, guys. This is spectacular." Rory said to her children. They all hugged her.

"Let's go show Grams!" Hannah called.

"Yeah!" Danny said excitedly. "Mom? You really should do the honors."

"Sure. Let's go show Lorelai." Rory said with a smile. The Cashen kids hurried out the door and Rory and Steven, arms around each other, followed.

"I can't believe them, Steven. Our kids never cease to amaze me." Rory said, walking down the street towards the diner.

"They put a lot of thought and work into this, Ror. Ever since you finished working on the book, they have been running to publishers with it. It didn't take long to find one who wanted the book." Steven said.

"Saved me a lot of trouble." Rory said with a laugh. The couple lapsed into silence.

"We're lucky, Steven. Very lucky. It's not often a couple has five children and all of them turn out normal."

"No drugs, no...well no excessive alcohol." Steven laughed, remembering the time Danny got drunk at a party when he was 17 and Laura had to sneak him in the back door. "Good friends, good grades, good sibling relations. It's all good."

"It's all good." Rory sighed happily.

"Mom! Come on! Grams is here!" Leah was waving at them from down the street at the diner.

"Well, let's go." Rory said with a grin.

"Happy book publishing, babe." Steven said, stopping her and turning her to face him.

"Thanks, Steven. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Sure you could have."

"Well it wouldn't have been as fun." Rory said playfully.

"That's for sure." He grinned.

"Happy 27th Anniversary, Steve. I love you."

THE ENDDDDD

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