Chapter Five
Gravel crunched beneath rubber tires as Rory pulled into the drive. The Crap Shack glowed invitingly, welcoming her with its warm radiance. It stood as a shining beacon against the dull morning light. Every thing seemed the same from before. The vines still trailed across the top of the porch and the flagstone path to the front steps was nestled in muddy overlong grass. She knew if she turned the corner to the back porch, she would find several water bottles waiting to be used and, probably, Lorelai's keys stuck in the back door. There had never been a more convincing lie in her life. Or, a more blatant one. Nothing was right in Whoville, that much was certain. The chuppah that stood to the side of the house varnished against the passed winter's chill and neatly trimmed vines arching over it gave away her mother's deceit. A properly grieving woman would have tried to remove it, to make a Luke Box to store all the memories and emotions. But the chuppah stood beside the house as a reminder of a man's undying love and friendship-now dead and turned to bitterness—to symbolize a woman's enduring love to another man—now passed forgotten, his things finding there own cardboard apartment in the attic.
"Good morning, Sunshine," Lorelai's voice rang clear and beautiful through the crisp March air.
Rory beamed as the scent of her sweet nectar tickled her nose. "Is that coffee in your hands or are you just glad to see me?"
"Well I figured that a night like yours needed coffee." She pointedly looked at her daughter over her steaming cup. "Pretty eventful night, hunh?" Lorelai stuck out a cup towards her daughter.
"You heard about that?" Rory grinned sheepishly as she accepted the offered mug of life-giving bitter liquid.
"Well I assumed something went down when Miss Patty said she saw your car parked over at Luke's." Lorelai took a deep sip of her coffee. "Then, I get another call from you father accusing me of turning you against him."
"That man is not my father."
"Well, babe, he had a very significant role in your creation." She set her cup aside and looked up at her daughter. "So, he's definitely something. You want to talk about it?"
"He wanted me to make you forgive him," she sighed and sat beside her mother, resting her head on the older woman's shoulder. "He's just so self-absorbed. He only thinks about what he wants and when it's convenient for him to get it."
"That is the definition of being 'self absorbed'. It'd be pretty bad if he were selfless and philanthropic."
"Oooh, big word."
"Hey, until I was 16 I was top of my class at a genius school, too."
"But, a joke? You joke? About this? You joke about this?"
"Just trying to calm you down." She rubbed the small of Rory's back comfortingly. "Tell me what brought this on."
"Were you there at the wedding?"
"Yes I was. And, that was a rotten thing they pulled. And, as happy as I am about the solidarity…"
"Ya-Ya!" Rory threw her arms in the air as she yelled.
"That's my line." Lorelai pouted and gently thumped her daughter's shoulder. "Anyway, as happy as I am, I don't want you to lose your father or grandparents." She wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders in a sisterly embrace. "I'm done with all of them. You don't' have to be."
"What he and Grandma did to Luke was horrible!"
"Oh I agree. That was classic Emily at her greatest."
"So, why are you defending him?"
"I'm not, I'm just…" Lorelai groaned and leaned into her daughter. "Chris and I were over the minute the strip turned pink. I realized it when he proposed, and I gave up any hope of us three being a family when he went back to Sherry." For some reason, she found Rory's car extremely fascinating. "I loved him at least, I thought it was love. He was… fun, disillusioned like I was, and completely bored with his life. He and I had a blast. He went along with all my crazy schemes and he came up with a few of his own. The backpacking across Europe? His idea."
"Oh," Rory looked down at her feet as anger boiled inside her that he had tainted a precious experience of hers.
"But that's just it. He thought. He dreamed. He never did anything or meant anything. It's hard to respect someone like that. But you, and I, we do things. We mean things." It was important for her daughter to understand her twisted history with this man. "He never backpacked across Europe, or graduated from college, or had any adventures. He has accidents that become something more. His whole life is bouncing from one mistake to another, and somehow coming out on top at the end. But, he needs someone to guide him through those accidents and show him what to be or what he wants."
"Chai lattes."
"Chai lattes."
"So you're not mad at Christopher?"
"Oh, I'm furious. But I'm more disappointed in him." Lorelai squeezed her daughter's shoulders again. "He's too lost in the idea of us to know how to move on. That's why I don't want you to hate him. He's too…"
"Pathetic."
"Pathetic to hate. And, I don't want you to hate your grandparents." A strong wind blew and stirred the bare branches to life. "Your grandparents love you very much, and you shouldn't turn your back on them for my sake."
"Hey, solidarity, sister!"
"Ya-Ya!" Lorelai threw her arms in the air and called out to the morning sky. An action she nearly regretted as she tipped her cup of coffee on to the porch, narrowly missing her legs.
"Happy now?" Rory grinned at her mom and entered the house.
"I'm getting there." Her voice was barley above a whisper as she curled her knees under her chin and hugged them close to her chest. She smiled softly to herself as she thought about it. Yes, she would be fine. She had Rory; she never needed anything other than her daughter before and she did not need anything else now. The Dragonfly was a resounding success and Rory was kicking major butt at Yale. Not bad for an unwed teenage runaway mother. She had started out with nothing. Everything had been taken from her by a not so smooth combination of scotch, gin, and vodka and a very smooth smile that emboldened her to invite her boyfriend to her balcony. Yet, she had persevered. She had found a house and a job and got her daughter into the best school in the state. Lorelai was great at getting stuff.
Keeping it, however, was another matter.
Her eyes drifted back chuppah. Yes, keeping things was always a problem for her.
Lorelai whimpered as she stood and surveyed the yard, although her eyes remained riveted to the chuppah. "Why couldn't I keep you?"