Life and Death

By blackbirdfree


Chapter Six

The weekend approached sooner than Rory would have liked it to. Rory entered the black town car that Henry, the Gilmore family driver, used whenever Rory needed to be driven somewhere.

Rory had a small rolling suitcase with her. She also had another bag filled with make-up and other girl-y things. Finally, she brought her bookbag. Rory knew that she wouldn't be able to escape her homework even on a weekend away at her parent's new home.

And wasn't that an odd concept to think about? Rory never lived near her mother and father before… let alone both her mother and father together. Rory wondered what the weekend held for her.

It took around an hour for Rory to reach the town named Stars Hollow. The town looked just like its name suggested… quaint and homey.

There was a gazebo in the middle of the town square. Flowers grew around the perimeter of the gazebo. There were various business establishments around the square. Rory spied a strange store that was named, "Luke's Hardware." There were people walking in-and-out of the store holding paper coffee cups. Rory wondered why there were so many people walking out of a hardware store with said cups. She put away that thought for later.

Finally, Rory reached her mom and dad's new home. It was a colonial house with a wrap-around porch. Lorelai greeted Rory when she slipped out of the car. Christopher was no where to be seen.

"Hey, there, kid," said Lorelai with a bright smile.

Rory rolled-her-eyes. "I'm not really a kid anymore, Lorelai. I'm a freshman in high-school," she said plainly.

Lorelai didn't let that comment affect her. "All right. I'll stick to 'Rory,'" she said. "Anyway, come inside. I have a lot to show you."

Rory wheeled her luggage forward and she lifted it up when she reached the steps that led up to the wrap-around porch. Soon, Rory was inside.

The home was a cluttered mess. Boxes were everywhere. The furniture that was around seemed to be from different places. Some of the furniture looked like it was from an antique store… while other furniture looked like it came straight out of an Ikea catalogue.

"Here's where you'll be staying," said Lorelai. Rory's mother led Rory to the kitchen. There was a spare room that connected to the kitchen. There was nothing inside the bedroom but a bed, fresh sheets, and pillows.

How was Rory going to survive this weekend?

"Is your television in the living room?" questioned Rory.

"No. We haven't had time to get one yet. Don't worry. Christopher and I will be around. We'll make sure to keep you entertained."

Rory sighed. "Whatever," she said in a glum tone-of-voice.


Rory spent the rest of the evening doing her homework on the dining room table. She would have rather done anything else except that, but without any television or a computer Rory was stuck in Christopher and Lorelai's home without anything to do.

Rory used her homework as an excuse to avoid her parents. Lorelai did seem like she wanted to spend time with Rory. However, Rory wanted to keep those moments to a minimum.

Lorelai and Christopher interrupted Rory's homework marathon when it was time for dinner.

"We ordered Chinese," said Lorelai.

"Great," grumbled Rory. Truth-be-told, this was the first time in the entire evening that Rory wasn't irritated by her mother.

The truth was Rory liked Chinese food. She rarely had it because Emily Gilmore would rather drink kolaid rather than eat Chinese food. She would rather walk on glass than—heaven forbid—serve Chinese food, too.

The food arrived in minutes. Rory, Lorelai, and Christopher sat at the kitchen table and passed around the take-out containers. They used paper plates and plastic forks to eat. Lorelai and Christopher chatted happily about whatever random thoughts entered the two's mind. Rory wasn't really listening.

"So, I thought we could go antiquing tomorrow," said Lorelai.

Rory blinked in surprise. Her mother was directing the conversation toward her for the first time that evening.

"Oh," she said. "I didn't know there was anywhere to do that here."

"There's a place called Kim's Antiques nearby. You'll love it. It has tons of stuff. A lot of it is hit-or-miss… but there's always something hidden away that's worth something."

"So, you've gone there a lot?" questioned Rory. She glanced around the house.

"No. She's never been," said Christopher with a smile. "She's heard all about it though. That's almost as good."

Rory tried to smile. "Sure."

"Then, I figured we could go have lunch at Luke's."

"Luke's?" asked Rory. "You mean the hardware store?"

"Nah," said Christopher. "It's not a hardware store anymore. The previous owner died and left the building to his son. His son converted it to a diner."

"Diner food," said Rory carefully. She didn't know what she thought of that. "All right I guess. I'm up to try anything once."

Lorelai looked a little relieved. "Then, in the evening we can check-out the movie theater," she continued. "It's very 'We Were Liars'-esque."

Rory grimaced. "I don't think that's a word, Lorelai," she said.

Lorelai waved her hand as if pushing Rory's words away. "Tomato, to-mah-to," she said simply.

Rory was getting a headache. She forgot that this was what it was like to spend time with her mother for more than an hour. "Actually, I have plans tomorrow evening," lied Rory easily.

"Oh?" said Lorelai. Christopher looked on at her with surprise.

"Someone from my school lives in town. I said we'd meet-up."

"Oh," said Lorelai. She scowled.

"Sorry," said Rory. She pushed around her lo mein on her plate.

"That's all right," said Christopher. It seemed like he was trying to salvage the conversation. "We can spend tomorrow morning and afternoon together. You can go out after that."

Rory felt relieved. "Neat," she said.

Now all she needed to do was to call Jess Mariano to set-up the date that was not yet a reality.