Chapter Six

Lorelai turned on her heel and bounced into the house. When life handed you a bunch of lemons, just ignore them and eventually they will go away. Lorelai was very good at ignoring things.

"So how you doing?" Unfortunately, her daughter had not inherited her talent.

"How're things with Logan?" Redirection was always the best tactic when dealing with Rory. It worked for Sun Tzu, is should work on her daughter.

"So how you doing?" Art of War, hah! Obviously, ancient Chinese warlords knew nothing about matching wits with a Gilmore Girl. Perhaps, a change of tactics altogether would be advisable. "I'm dong as well as can be expected." Yes! Perfect! A little bit of truth to cover the lie! She would use the 'I did not inhale' ploy! "Work is swamped, which is good because a busy inn is a money-making inn. Sookie's pregnant again, which is making things even crazier than they should be…"

"Oh yeah, how's that going? Did she decide on a name yet?"

Lorelai grinned in triumph as her daughter's eyes lit up with interest. She was a worthy opponent, this Rory Gilmore, better than most, but not good enough to best the Master. "Sookie's great. Little Turnip or Parsley seems perfectly healthy for being a group of cells about the size of a peanut." She looked at her daughter over the rim of her coffee mug, willing her to follow the new topic. She needed Rory to ignore her problems right now. She needed to ignore her problems.

"Turnip? What happened to Colgate?"

"Copyrighted."

"Of course. Continue, please."

"Besides, Jackson grows vegetables, and Sookie cooks them. Food names seemed to be appropriate."

"Oh sure." Rory looked around the house as they talked. "So, how are you?"

Mother stared at daughter as the clock counted the minutes going by. Neither spoke nor looked away. This was a battle of wills between two friends bound by blood and hardship. "I'm fine." It was not complete lie.

"You haven't wallowed."

"What do you think I did that first month I spent in bed?" She set her cup on the table and studied her hands. "Look, I wallowed. I cried. I moped. And, now, I've moved on. I'm fine, now. Rory. Really." Lorelai forced a syrupy smile. "See? All smiles here."

"You sure?"

"Rose colored glasses, babe."

"It's just he misses you so much, Mom, and I know you do too."

"Yeah, I miss him, Rory. But, it's done and over with."

"It doesn't have to be. You can go make up with him, like you guys always do after a fight."

"This isn't just some fight, we broke up. You don't make up after that."

"You and Max did. Dean and I did."

"Yeah, and look how well those both turned out."

"Hey!"

"God, Rory, enough!" Lorelai felt the salty sting burn at her eyes. Try as she did, she could not hold them back.

"You're both miserable! His food sucks. It actually sucks. The only one who can eat it is Kirk. That's how sad he is. And you…"

The treacherous salt leaked from her eyes freely. She cursed every one of them, and her daughter, for making her feel again. "Stop!"

"You don't even have a Luke Box. Everything he's touched or made or used is still here."

"This whole house is a Luke Box, Rory! He's fixed or touched, or given me everything that's here." She laid her head on the table in defeat and let the salt flow. "I can't box up the chuppah; I can't box up the shelves in your room, or the socket by the tub, or the garbage disposal. Even the Dragonfly reminds me of him." Rory eased the grieving woman form the table and onto the couch. She grabbed the phone on her way back to the kitchen to get there coffee cups. "Hey, Pete?" she whispered into the phone. "Can I get two extra larges with everything?" And, could you get Joe to pickup four tubs of ice cream?" She looked back into the living room and sighed. "Thanks." Her mother had curled into a tiny ball in one corner of the couch.

"Rory, I'm not through wallowing yet."

"I know, Mom." She walked over to her mother and wrapped a blanket around her after setting the cups on the table. "Why aren't you at work?"

"Sookie kicked me out yesterday."

"What?"

"They ganged up on me. It was like that time when the Japanese Stock Exchange rioted, only with less pleasant after effects."

"The Nikkei."

"What?"

"The Japanese Stock Exchange is called the Nikkei."

"Oh, well, anyway, it was bad. Michel even threatened to tell Taylor that I wanted to volunteer to help organize the four town functions!"

"That's just cruel!"

"I know! Taylor would either believe him and talk my head off about every inane detail of each function or, worse, he wouldn't believe me, and he's spend an equal amount of time telling me how important the town functions are and how I shouldn't mock them."

"Either way, a fate worse than death."

"So I came here." She looked around the room, her own private Luke Box, and sighed. "They took away the thing that kept me sane."

"Well, pizza and ice cream are on there way, ands we have plenty of junk food to eat here. So, let's get down to serious wallowing." Yes, wallowing was good. For both of them.

"Can we watch An Affair to Remember?"

"Sure."

"Ooh! And Gone With the Wind!"

"A wallowing must."

"And Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Ghost, and Kate and Leopold."

"Kate and Leopold?" Rory made a face. What was her mother thinking?

"Mockability, my friend. Plus, Hugh's hot."

"True, that. Ok, I allow the Kate and Leopold, but I'm including Titanic."

"Ugh!" Lorelai threw her hand back dramatically and bent over the back of the couch. "I'll never let go, Jack. I'll never let go! Plop!"

"Fine, an Officer and a Gentleman."

"Ooh! Richard! Goody!" Lorelai clapped her hands in joy. "And we'll end with Casablanca!" She was fairly bouncing her seat now.

"What would a night of wallowing be without it?" They curled up together on the couch and listened to the opening theme of Gone with the Wind. "Things are going to be fine, Mom."

"I know, babe. I know."