Notes: Thank you for those lovely happy birthdays, they were
much appreciated! And thank you to my faithful reviewers, your
comments are great!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lorelai's House
Rory walks in the door of the house, slamming it behind her. Lorleai glances up at her. She and Chris are snuggled on the couch. "Hey hun, we were waiting for you to go to Friday Night Dinner," Lorelai calls. Rory walks in her room and slams the door. Lorelai and Chris share a look. "Rory!" Lorelai untangles herself from Chris and walks into Rory's room. "Hun, what's going on?"
"I'm not going. I went last week. I've gone every week," Rory says. Lorelai nods, not really understanding.
"Okay, okay." Lorelai takes Rory's arm, leading her to the bed where they sit. "Hun, what's going on?" Rory looks down at the ground.
"Nothing. I'm just still mad at them about Yale last week. I mean, what were they thinking?" Rory says, flustered. Lorelai nods. She glances up at Chris, who's standing in the doorway.
"Okay," Lorelai agrees, rubbing Rory's leg. "Okay you don't have to." She stands and walks out the door, pushing Chris in front of her. "I'll leave some money for Luke's with you on the table," Lorelai tells Rory before closing Rory's door.
Lorelai and Chris walk into the living room. Lorelai paces, hands on hips. "Okay, so she won't go. I'll go."
"Why are you going to go?"
"Because," Lorelai says, by way of explanation. She sighs. "They're paying for Chilton so I have to go. One of us has to go. And I'm giving her first dibs. You can go or you can stay, it's up to you." She pauses, rubbing her head. Chris doesn't say anything. "Are you going to move?"
"What?" Chris asks, confused at the sudden change in topic.
"When we get married. I mean we never talked about it. Are you going to move here?" Lorelai asks.
"No, well, I never thought about it Lor. I guess I thought you would just move to Boston since Rory will be there for school anyways," Chris says. Lorelai purses her lips, tapping her foot.
"But I can't leave. I have the inn and my house and the gazebo and the dance studio and Weston's and Luke's and the festivals and Al's and the movie theater and the Dragonfly, which isn't even mine, and Kim's antiques and the town meetings. I can't leave," Lorelai insists. Chris raises an eyebrow. "Where would I go in Boston?"
"Where everybody knows your name?" Lorelai's mouth drops open, but she doesn't respond. Chris smiles softly. He walks over to Lorelai, grasping her shoulders lightly. "Lorelai, we haven't discussed this yet, I know. We're not getting married until spring."
"You want me to move to Boston?" Lorelai asks, staring up at Chris. He sighs, running his hands up and down her arms comfortingly.
"Yeah, Lor, I do. We would be a family, you, me, Rory." Lorelai runs her tongue over her top teeth, thinking.
"You should stay here with Rory," Lorelai says, unintentionally cold. She shakes Chris's hands off of her. "I have to go to dinner. It's supposed to snow, so it might take me a little longer to get home."
"Are you mad?" Chris asks. Lorelai shakes her head, but her face is betraying her, as she turns red.
"Just, check on Rory for me," Lorelai says. She grabs her coat and walks out the door.
-----------------------------------------------
Gilmore Mansion
Lorelai rings the doorbell. She stretches her neck out and shakes her arms, dancing from one foot to another, like an athlete preparing for a race, mostly trying to prepare herself. She stares at the door for a moment and when it doesn't open, she hesitantly begins to turn away from the door. Suddenly it opens, revealing the maid.
"Hello," Lorelai says, smiling. She hands the maid her coat. "Are they in the living room?" The maid nods timidly. "Is Emily already driving you crazy?" The maid nods again. Lorelai nods and the maid walks away. "It's going to be a long night," Lorelai mumbles under her breath.
Lorelai wanders into the living room. "Where's Rory?" Emily asks as Lorelai walks up next to her at the bar.
"Well hello to you Mom." Lorelai shakes her head. Emily hands her a glass of wine. "Thank you." Lorelai walks over and settles herself on the couch. Emily turns and stares at her.
"Lorelai, where is Rory?" Emily asks snidely. Lorelai rolls her eyes.
"Well, I was going to lie and say she's sick, but since you're acting like Jessica Fletcher, I'm just going to tell you the truth. She didn't want to come. She was upset at Dad for what happened at Yale and I can't blame her. So she asked for the night off and I agreed," Lorelai explains. Emily takes her martini over to the chair next to Lorelai.
"We have a deal, Lorelai."
"Yes, we have a deal. And I'm here."
"The deal was for both of you to come," Emily insists.
"Well, if you didn't want me to come, I could just leave." Lorelai stands. Emily stands as well.
"No, come on, we'll eat," Emily snaps. Lorelai follows her into the dining room.
"Is Dad coming?"
"No, he offered to stay an extra day in Hungary since Rory still refuses to return his phone calls," Emily answers pointedly. She sits down at the table and the maid brings over their salads. "Christopher didn't want to come tonight?" Lorelai sighs, stabbing at the lettuce. "Lorelai?"
"He decided to stay with Rory," Lorelai says flatly. She doesn't look up at Emily as she plays with the tomatoes.
"He decided to stay with Rory instead of spending time with you?" Emily asks in disbelief. "Did you two have a fight?" Lorelai doesn't answer, still playing with the tomatoes. "Are you still getting married?" Lorelai groans.
"Yes, Mom, we're still getting married!" Lorelai shakes her head, thoroughly frustrated.
"Well, what happened?" Emily asks.
"We just – we had a disagreement. Chris thinks that when we get married I should sell my house in Stars Hallow and move to Boston."
"And you don't want to do that," Emily says knowingly. Lorelai shoots a glance over at Emily, setting her fork down. "You don't want to do that, even though if Rory goes to Harvard-"
"When Rory goes to Harvard…" Lorelai reminds her. Emily gives Lorelai a look but relents.
"When Rory goes to Harvard, the three of you will finally be a family."
"I know, but I don't want to leave Stars Hallow. Rory grew up there. I grew up there." Emily opens her mouth to say something, but thinks better of it and closes her mouth. The maid comes in and takes the salad dishes. Lorelai and Emily sit in silence. The maid comes back with dinner, setting a plate in front of each of them.
"How long are you going to hold this against us?" Emily asks.
"I don't know. How long are you and Dick Cheney going to try to run our lives?" Lorelai responds.
"We're not trying to run Rory's life and we gave up on you awhile ago. We just want what's best for her or for her to at least see the options before she decides. You want to run her life. You want her to do what you want her to do. Go to Harvard. Live in Stars Hallow. I'm not the one trying to run her life." Lorelai flings her fork down on the table.
"I knew you were going to do this. I knew it. I'm not you Mom. I want Rory to be happy. That's all I expect from her. If she wants to go to Yale instead of Harvard, that's up to her. I'm not pushing her. I don't need you pushing me. I don't need you taking Chris's side!" Lorelai shouts. She stands. "You know what, I came, I ate, I can't stay." She grabs her purse and leaves the house, taking her coat from the maid on the way. Emily shakes her head and goes back to eating.
Lorelai runs to her car and tries to get it to start, but it doesn't. "No!" She tries again. "Dammit!" She bangs on the steering wheel in frustration. She huffs, the falling snow surprisingly not helping her mood. Getting out her cell phone, she stares at it, trying to decide who to call. Finally she presses the numbers.
"Luke's," Luke answers the phone. Lorelai breathes a sigh of relief.
"Hi, it's me," she says softly.
"Me, who?" Luke turns around to write down an order.
"It's Lucy Ricardo. Can you come pick me up?" Realizing who's on the phone, Luke looks up.