A message from the old country
"I'm sorry I've judged you in the past for clipping coupons. I've gotta admit a piece of paper never brought me so much joy," Rory gushed, smiling at a bunch of handmade vouchers that guaranteed her useful favors from Stars Hollow's citizens.
"You should be happy. You got yourself way more than a discount to buy off-brand detergent, my friend. You have unlimited baby-sitting coupons covering everything from hair appointments and work emergencies to booty calls thanks to Miss Patty. That's the best gift you could get from a baby shower, considering Luke bought everything else months ago and our garage is filled with baby stuff." Lorelai cheered while they were walking back home.
"This town sure knows how to treat a lady," the girl continued and raised one of the handmade coupons with enthusiasm. "There's even a lifetime free slice of cake for rainy bad days. Awww!"
"Oh! Can any family member cash it in?"
"No, sorry. The cake rights are exclusive for Lorelai The second and her successors. There's a warning on the back. Weston's manager probably knows you would hire a Navajo tribe to do the rain ritual every day and come up with every sad story possible just to get free cake," Rory picked another coupon. "But the 10% percent discount on ice cream can be used by any person of the Gilmore clan."
"Now you're talking."
"You should've given me a heads up about the baby shower, mom. If I knew they were going to throw the party so early on, I'd have asked Logan to change his schedule so we could try the ultrasound again sooner to find out the sex of the baby."
"Sorry, the town wanted to be a surprise and they didn't want to wait. Lane said people got kinda traumatized by your graduation party. So now they were afraid you could get in labour early and ruin their plans. Long story short: they took a vote and the majority would rather go along with the mystery of Bennie's identity than risk waiting. You know normal is a word that is not in Stars Hollow's dictionary"
"True!" Rory chuckled. "Well, the cupcakes with the phrase 'Bennie for now' written on top will surely guarantee a lot of story to tell in the future."
"That's all on Sookie. It was her idea. Including the cake shaped as a question mark." Lorelai bragged.
"It was a nice touch too. I loved everything..." The young Gilmore paused for a sec and the smile on her face hesitated. "But grandma really bothered me."
"That's what I've been trying to tell you since you were Bennie's age. But you've never listened to me."
"I'm serious. Did you notice she spent almost the entire party with Mrs. Kim? Doesn't it seem fishy?
"Mom was a big fan of the antique shop. It was practically the only thing she ever praised about Stars Hollow. Maybe they were closing a deal."
"I don't know... I felt grandma was avoiding me and she knew Mrs. Kim would be the perfect human shield to keep me away. I think she is hiding something."
"If I didn't know Emily Gilmore, I was going to say you sound a bit paranoid. However the last time she behaved suspiciously, she was in cahoots with Christopher and trying to separate me from Luke. So, I get why you're worried about it. But what could she possibly do now?"
As soon as the question was casted at the universe, the answer apparently materialized. The girls got home and came across a man standing on the porch. He was wearing an expensive suit, just like Logan. But this unexpected visitor didn't have the same charm.
Rory immediately recognized Mitchum Huntzberger and paralised for a moment in sidewalk. His cold expression was matching the chilly weather in the beginning of March. Suddenly, even the house she always loved seemed beaten by the man's overbearing presence.
"Whoa! So that's what Harry Potter feels when he faces the dementors," Lorelai whispered, aware of the tension in the air.
"I think we made the wrong turn somewhere and ended up in Azkaban," Rory quipped, regaining control of her body to take the last steps towards the house. Lorelai followed her in silence.
Mitchum was the first one to speak when the duo reached the porch. "Good evening, Rory." The man greeted with a polite smile. "And this must be your mother, right?"
"Yes. Lorelai Gilmore. We haven't actually met, but I've heard a lot about you."
"Well, it's like the old saying goes: all publicity is good publicity," he replied with a sarcastic laugh.
Lorelai opened her mouth, ready to deliver a snarky comeback. But Rory intervened before she could say a word.
"Mom, could you give us a minute?"
"Sure," the older Gilmore nodded, swallowing her low opinion about the unwanted visitor. "I'll be inside if you need me."
Rory watched her mother disappear behind the door, still unsure about what to do next. The only idea she came up with was to ask a question she already knew the answer to. "So... What brings you to Connecticut, Mitchum?"
The man forced a smile and tried to sound casual. "Shira and I bumped into Emily at a social event a couple of weeks ago. She shared some big news."
Rory acquiesced with a small head gesture. Grandma. Now it all makes sense. The girl thought, trying to keep a straight face.
"I've gotta admit I underestimate you, Rory." Mitchum proceeded with a cordial tone. "I should have known. I can't believe Logan was so naive. This is the oldest trick of the book."
"Excuse me? You flew 5.000 miles to insult me and call me a gold digger?"
"No, no, no. Of course not." He raised his hands in defense. "I know this is not about money. Richard definitely left you and your mother covered in that aspect. But there's so much money can do, right miss Gilmore?! It is not enough to open the doors you want in your career. And you've always been an ambitious young woman. So just name it. Any place you want. You will have a prestigious permanent position as soon as you're ready to start working again. I'll make it happen... In exchange, you'll call Logan, tell him you had a miscarriage and disappear. You can do whatever you want with the child. Keep the baby or don't. It's your call. I don't care. Just stay away.
"You gotta be kidding. How dare yo..."
"Please, let's not beat around the bush," Mitchum interrupted her, dropping the previous friendly tone. "Logan finally turned into a man. He finally stepped up and he is at the top of his game. He is ready to be in charge of our entire business and take us to the next level. And then you come back..." He gave her a sharp look. "We both know that you don't want to be a part of our world. It was fun to play there for a while. But you don't like the rigid rules of upper class society. You clearly never enjoyed the strings attached to that lifestyle. You have your own path and I truly respect that. But your path is really getting in the way now. Because I can't have Logan being again delusional about walking away from everything he's built. He's worked so hard to get to this point..."
"Have you even talked to your son, Mitchum, before coming all the way here?" Rory inquired, putting an end to his monologue. She observed him and noticed a glimpse of hesitation in the man's face. "Oh, my God. You haven't. This is unbelievable... Now you listen to me. Everything that needs to be arranged already was discussed between Logan and me. He wants to participate in this child's life as a parent so he will. This has nothing to do with your empire. This kid is not even going to carry your family name. It's all settled. If you want the details about Logan's decision, then stop trying to manipulate your son's life and have a conversation with him. I'm getting tired to show you how to be a father, Mitchum." The words were flowing easily. It was like Rory had the whole speech rehearsed in her head and finally got the courage to say it out loud. It was relieving and she was enjoying the rush. "I let you walk over me in the past. But that's not happening again. I don't owe you anything and I don't have to prove myself to you. To be honest, right now, I don't even need to be polite to you. I'm not in your house, I'm not in one of your newspapers or in one of your restaurants. In fact, you are in my house and this is my town. So get all your money, your prestige, your social status, shove it where the sun doesn't shine and go back to hell where you came from."
Gasping, Rory firmly stared at Mitchum and waited for a raged response. Instead, the man averted his eyes from the young Gilmore and shifted on his feet uncomfortably. After what seemed to be an eternity, he cleared his throat, straightened his expensive jacket suit and walked away, heading directly to the car.
The engine had just been started when Lorelai appeared on Rory's side again.
"What a jerk. Are you okay?" She asked, gently touching the girl's shoulder to show support. They quietly watched the car begin to move.
All of the sudden, Lorelai jumped by the sound of Rory's laughter. The young Gilmore was literally squealing with joy.
"Wheee! It was so satisfying to stand up for this man. It felt so good that I'm not even sure I'm mad at him now," Rory bit her lip with excitement and exhaled happily. "Do you think he can still see us?"
"Probably not." She saw the car turning the corner. "Why?"
"Because now I need to sit down. That was too much drama for a day. I think my blood pressure dropped," Rory leaned on her mother and claimed with determination. "But no way I'm giving that guy the satisfaction of seeing me down ever again."
A/N: This chapter drained me. No wonder it took so much time to update. I already knew Mitchum would make an appearance in this story because I wanted to give Rory a chance to stand up to him. But it was important for me to give the right tone to this conversation. I even rewatched Rory and Mitchum's scenes to remember their previous interaction. What do you think of Mitchum? Does anyone like him? Were you rooting for Rory to finally face him? Please, please, please... Don't forget to review and tell me what you think, okay?!
I know many people think Mitchum would disown Logan because of the baby. I disagree. Logan is a 35-year-old powerful man in the XXI century, not a princess forced to live in a castle. Plus, the one thing Mitchum wanted was to see his son, the heir of the Huntzberger clan, stepping up and embracing his position as the leader of the empire - which he did. So, in my opinion, it would be illogical if he tried to kick Logan out now. That's why I think Mitchum would see Rory as a threat and try to get rid of her. As seen in the original show, he never made an effort to communicate with Logan. Then it wasn't hard to imagine he wouldn't talk to Logan after Emily's outburst.
Lastly, I believe this is an important moment for Rory's journey. She allowed Mitchum to defeat her, a feeling that was still there in the revival. To be honest, I hated it when she asked him for a favor with Conde Nast. I could have understood if it was her last resource. But it wasn't. Sandee Says was there begging for a meeting. I swear when Rory grabbed her phone in that episode, I thought she was going to call Sandee to nail that job (not only Lorelai, but Logan himself encouraged her to do so). She could pitch something brilliant, get the job and continue pursuing a big opportunity in a major magazine/paper. Unfortunately, as I said in previous author's notes, Rory became a spoiled entitled brat. Doing so, I think she allowed Mitchum to defeat her again. That's why this moment here is so important... and also brings a lot of drama to the new co-parenting situation.