Chapter 5

You Know Paul Anka?

"Hey, Buddy," Lorelai cooed, running her palm along Clyde's back as she stood next to him, looking over the newly completed stables. They were two weeks behind schedule and about ten thousand dollars over budget. However, all those worries were long gone and the stables were perfect. They already had more guests booked and the riding lessons that they had advertised were filled up well into the spring.

Hearing her phone ringing, she reached into her pocket and looked down at the caller ID. Not recognizing the number, she flipped the phone open and pressed it to her ear, still petting Clyde. "Hello?"

"Ms. Gilmore? This is Aubrey Van Patterson-Patten. You left me a message last week."

"Yes," Lorelai replied, taking a moment to place the name in her memory.

"The orchestra is available the weekend that you requested. However, we had another call that came in just after yours that wants the same weekend. We will give you preference but we are going to need confirmation today that you'll book that specific weekend."

"Oh…" Lorelai stammered, "well, I'm sure that's fine."

"Great," the woman chirped, "let me get some information from you and we'll set this up."

Hearing the door to the stables open, Lorelai's head snapped up at the sound of voices … familiar voices. She could hear her mother approaching, talking to someone whose voice she didn't recognize. Looking around Clyde's stall, she realized that she was trapped. Aubrey was going on about rates and packages and she couldn't get a word in to silence her. As Emily's voice grew louder, Lorelai did all she could think to do. Ducking down, she hid beneath the stall door. Hoping that her mother would just walk by without looking around too much, she pressed herself back against the door.

Cautiously watching as Clyde eyed her in apparent confusion, her eyes darted around the stall. She just hoped that he wouldn't get agitated or flustered by her uncommon behavior. The hay crunched beneath her feet as she hunched down lower and silently cursed herself for making a noise.

"What was that?" the unfamiliar voice asked.

"I don't know," Emily replied, looking around at the horses standing comfortably in their spacious stalls.

"It sounded like a sneeze," she woman noted.

"Yes, it did," Emily agreed.

"Can horses sneeze?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," Emily admitted. "But why don't we finish the tour? I'll show you the rest of the grounds."

Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the sound of the stable door closing. Standing up, she brushed the hay and dirt from her dress and smiled at Clyde, bending forward to kiss him on the nose as she held the phone to her ear. "Yeah, that sounds great. Just let me talk with my father and I'll get back to you … all right. Thank you. Good-bye."

Snapping her phone shut, she turned around, emitting a piercing scream as she stumbled backwards and dropped her phone. Clyde made a loud noise and moved back as Lorelai stumbled against him. "My God!" Lorelai exclaimed, holding her hands to her chest as she looked at her mother standing almost directly in front of her. She regained her balance though her legs still felt shaky.

"Why are you hiding in the stables?" Emily asked calmly, as if she hadn't noticed Lorelai's fright.

Still trying to catch her breath and return her heartbeat to a normal pulse, Lorelai stared incredulously at her mother. Finally able to speak, she bent down and picked up her phone as Clyde resettled himself.

"You haven't answered my question, Lorelai," Emily repeated, following behind Lorelai as she silently exited the stall and headed for the door.

"I wasn't hiding," she explained simply, her pulse still elevated. "Oh, my god," she sighed, exhaling loudly, still shaken up by the surprise.

"Oh really?" Emily's voice now held a distinct tone of disbelief.

"Nope." Her short, simple answers slightly annoyed Emily, prompting her to demand more.

"So, what would you call crouching down in a stall with a two thousand pound horse?"

"Clyde and I were bonding," Lorelai insisted.

"Bonding?" Emily asked suspiciously. "And since when does your definition of bonding include clutching a phone in your hands and whispering into it clandestinely?"

"Clyde doesn't like cell phones. That's all," she shrugged it off. "And I was not being clandestine, Mother," she added.

"Yet he didn't mind when you thought I was gone and stood up to finish your conversation. You were even petting him." Her comment wasn't exactly accusing yet it had that distinct tone that only Emily Gilmore had perfected, accusing without directly accusing.

"What is this, The Inquisition, Mom?" Lorelai continued to cross the grounds and walk toward the main building. "Besides, don't you have a guest waiting or something?"

"She needed to use the restroom," Emily brushed it off. "I simply want to know why you were hiding from me," she demanded, returning to the topic of conversation.

"I was not hiding!" Lorelai protested, spinning around to face her mother.

"Then who were you talking to?" Emily asked.

"Did you know that is it incorrect to end a sentence with a preposition? I didn't know that until Rory told me."

"Stop evading my question. You are acting as if you don't want to tell me the person that was on the phone," Emily pointed out.

"What?" She knew she couldn't dodge her mother but that wasn't going to stop her from trying.

"The person on the phone. You said that you'd need to speak to your father first."

"Uh … yeah," she stammered, "it was about an insurance matter regarding the stables. You know, Dad's my insurance guy, so I gotta talk to him first."

"I could speak to your father tonight, if you'd like. That way you don't have to do more work," Emily suggested, certain that her daughter was lying to her.

"That's okay," Mom," Lorelai replied, trying to find a way to extricate herself from the situation. "Besides, isn't Dad out of town? Seattle, right?"

"Yes but he calls me every night. So, if there's something you would like me to mention to him before he gets home…"

"Nope, I'm good," Lorelai answered with a forced smile. "But there is one thing you can ask him for me…"

"Yes?"

"Can he bring home some coffee? I hear they have the best coffee there but I've never been to Seattle and it isn't likely that I'll get to go any time soon… You know, planning and a wedding and a honeymoon and all," she replied casually.

Seeing her guest returning, Emily didn't respond but began to walk away.

"Let me know what Dad says about the coffee…" Lorelai called after her.

"Whatever you say, Lorelai," Emily conceded, walking away from her daughter. "But …" she stopped and turned back around for a moment, "the next time you are hiding from me, could you not do it in a stall with a two thousand pound horse? I would prefer not to have to explain to Rory and your father why you were trampled to death by our Clydesdale."

Lorelai shrugged her shoulders as Emily walked away.

"Thanks again for coming with me," Lorelai stated as they approached the address she'd written down. "I think this is it," she confirmed, looking down at the paper in her hands and back up at the number that was written on the plaque that hung by the front door.

"Well, it looks lovely," Emily noted, sitting deathly still in the passenger's seat. She was trying to hide her discomfort but the fact that there was a large red stain next to her right thigh was rather disheartening, as was the fact that there were empty cups of coffee in the console.

"Yeah, lovely," Lorelai agreed off-handedly, taking note of the fact that all the flowers in the front yard were all different shades of pink. She glanced over at her mother and smiled as Emily daintily tried to remove the seatbelt without actually having to touch it. "You need some help there, Mom?" she teased.

"I'm fine, Lorelai," Emily replied in her usual, unattached tone of voice as she succeeded in freeing herself from the seatbelt and cautiously lifted it away from her shoulder and let it slide back into place. Pushing the door open, the latch didn't disengage.

"You have to use your shoulder sometimes. The lock gets stuck," Lorelai informed her. Emily slowly turned her head to look at her daughter. "Here, I'll do it," she huffed, bending over and reaching across her mother. Grabbing the door handle in one hand and shoving on the door with the other, she grunted and pushed forcefully.

"Thank you," Emily replied uneasily, feeling a bit uncomfortable by the closeness of their contact and the fact that her daughter was literally stretched out across her lap.

They both exited the car and walked up the front porch. The wrought iron railings were lined with ivy and light pink flowers trellised across them, giving the effect of a living garland.

As Emily was about to knock on the door, it flew open and a tall, skinny man appeared before them. "You must be the Gilmores!" he declared, clapping his hands together in delight. "I'm Burton Laurentis." He extended his hand out to Lorelai. "You must be the blushing bride."

"I am indeed," she confirmed with an uneasy smile as he examined her.

"That face!" he declared. "I can just see it standing up at the altar surrounded by my flowers." He made a sound that resembled a squeal and then turned toward Emily. "Ah, Mrs. Gilmore, so nice to see you again."

Emily nodded and smiled politely. "Nice to see you again, Mr. Laurentis."

He laughed in a high-pitched tone. "Please, call me Burton. There's nothing gentlemanly about me," he teased. "I've been so excited about your visit. I think you are going to love the ideas I've come up with for the wedding!"

"I hope so," Lorelai agreed tentatively, glancing over at her mother, who didn't seem to be a bit bothered by the man's outgoing behavior.

"Now, where are my manners?" he chided himself. "Please come inside. As much as I love to show off my porch, I'm sure you've got better things to do than stand out here and admire my prize winning hydrangeas and orchids." He made a motion towards them before stepping aside to allow Lorelai and Emily to enter.

"Was he like this when you met him at the wedding or do you think he's been sniffing the flowers one too many times?" she whispered as Emily followed closed behind her.

"Lorelai, behave," her mother hissed.

"Right this way," he waved his hand, leading them into a room near the back of the house.

As Burton led them down the hallway, Lorelai got a better look at what he was wearing. His blue paisley oxford shirt was tucked perfectly into his tight-fitting dark-wash jeans. A crisp white belt sat perfectly at his waist.

"Oh what a lovely room," Emily declared the moment they rounded the corner.

"Thank you," he smiled, turning around and motioning for Emily and Lorelai to take a seat at a round table that sat in the middle of the room. "I was inspired by Vera's Wang's wedding collection from last year. She had this shade of mother-of-pearl that I just fell in love with. I knew I had to find a way to build a whole room around it."

"Well, it's lovely," Emily repeated.

Burton took a seat across from them and reached for a large folder in the middle of the table. "I know you aren't yet entirely certain on a color scheme, so I figured I'd give you a couple of choices." He laughed before continuing. "But when I give myself choices, I just tend to go crazy and come up with all sorts of ideas. That's how this happened," he chuckled, patting the thick binder. "Why don't I just let the two of you go through that for a few minutes." He slid it over to them. "Would either of you like some tea? I just put a kettle on the stove."

"That would be wonderful," Emily smiled.

"Mango-apricot all right with you?" he asked.

"That's fine," Emily confirmed, hoping that the tea tasted better than its name suggested.

Lorelai looked up, realizing that Burton was staring at her expectantly. "I'm good, but thanks."

"I'll be right back!" he chirped, nearly bouncing out of the room.

"Seriously, Mom," Lorelai began as soon as the coast was clear, "where the hell do you find these people?"

"He seems like a very nice man," Emily commented, opening the binder.

"Yeah, a nice man who decorated an entire room in mother-of-pearl," she commented.

"We're here to look at flowers, not at his home, Lorelai," Emily chided, patting her hand on the book. "Here, look at these. They're all stunning."

Lorelai turned her attention to the binder, finding herself pleasantly surprised by what she saw. As she turned the pages and flipped through them, she somehow liked each new design more than the previous.

"So," Burton spoke, announcing his reentry as he brought a dainty teacup to Emily.

"Thank you," she smiled, sitting it down before her.

"So, what did I miss while I was gone?" he asked, resuming his seat across from Lorelai and holding Emily, his teacup in his hands as he took a dainty sip of it.

"I … I don't…" Lorelai stammered, still flipping back and forth through the pages.

"I think my daughter is having a difficult time deciding on what she likes best," Emily finished.

"Deciding on what I like best?" Lorelai scoffed. "I can't even decide what I like least. They're all perfect."

Burton smiled proudly. "You said this wedding is New Year's Eve, right?" Lorelai nodded. "Well, I like to have my orders submitted at least six weeks in advance. So, you do have a limited amount of time."

"Yeah," Lorelai sighed.

"Why don't you take that book home with you and perhaps discuss it with your fiancé," he suggested.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I think I'd have better luck laying out the photos and letting Paul Anka decide."

"You know Paul Anka?" Burton asked, his interest clearly piqued.

"That's her dog," Emily clarified.

"You named a dog after a 1960s teen idol?"

"Out of respect, of course," she confirmed.

"Ah," Burton smiled. "Preston and I just love him."

As Lorelai looked up at Burton, she suddenly noticed a grouping of photographs hanging behind him and an idea began to ferment in her mind. She was only snapped out of her thoughts by her mother's voice calling her name.

"Lorelai!" Emily declared.

"Huh? What? Sorry," she covered. "I was just looking at the pictures you've got on the wall."

Burton turned around slightly to see what she was referring to. "Oh, yes, those," he smiled. "The Montreal Ballroom Dance Competition. Five-time winner," he boasted. "The Canadian competition photos are in another room. Sadly," he sighed, "I only won that one four times."

"That's very impressive," Emily commented.

"So, you're a dancer?" Lorelai probed.

"Only since I was four," he informed her. "I stole my sister's tap shoes and … well, I never took them off."

"Do you still dance?" she asked eagerly.

"I retired after winning the International competition for the third time. I felt that it was only fair to let another team have their chance at the title," he explained.

"So, you were like a professional dancer?" she inquired, her face lit up. This was perfect. Oh so perfect.

"Technically, I'm not actually retired. But my partner hurt her knee a few years back and we haven't done anything since. Though, I do still practice daily. You know, it's become my routine for so many years."

"Of course," Lorelai agreed. This was just getting better by the second. Not only was he a professional dancer but his partner was out of the picture.

"Perhaps we should-" Emily attempted to interrupt, but Lorelai quickly cut her off.

"You know, the town of Stars Hollow has this annual dance. I always compete in it. It is a small town gig but you might just enjoy it," Lorelai suggested. "And they give a trophy to the last couple still standing at the end," she added.

"It sounds fabulous," he declared, crossing his arms and leaning forward. "Tell me more."

"It lasts twenty-four hours and the last couple standing gets a trophy," she smiled. "A big trophy," she emphasized, her grin growing larger.

"I love big trophies," Burton declared.

"Me too." They both laughed.

"Where do I sign up? You called this town Stars Hollow?"

"Yep," she confirmed. It couldn't get more perfect than this. Finally, she'd found the ideal dancing partner. There was no way she'd lose again this year. Kirk would finally go down.

"Preston is going to be so excited," Burton declared. "This could be just what he needs to inspire him to get back out there and dance again. I've been telling him for years that he needs to just get back up on the horse!"

"Oh, does he dance too?" Lorelai asked not quite following the connection.

"Oh, he loves it. He still has trouble with his back but that's just when he does the Meringue or the Lindy Hop, but I doubt anyone gets quite that fancy at a little local competition."

"No," Lorelai confirmed.

"This is going to be fantastic," Burton gushed excitedly.

"Yep, fantastic!" Lorelai agreed happily. "Does Preston have a partner?"

Burton giggled and brought his hand up to his mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry," he continued to giggle and wave his hands about. Finally getting control, he continued. "Preston and I have been dancing together for several years now. In fact that's how we met. GMBDC, The Gay Men's Ballroom Dance Club."

"Oh. OH!" Lorelai nodded, her face turning pink with embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I should have put that together."

Burton shrugged off her embarrassment. "You simply must get me the entry forms," he insisted.

"Sure," she stated, her dejection going over Burton's head in his excitement.

"I have to go call Preston right away," he announced. "Why don't you take that binder with you and let me know what you've decided in a couple days?"

"That's fine," she agreed. As she and Emily rose from their seats, Burton was nearly bouncing with excitement.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" he exclaimed.

A few minutes later both Lorelai and Emily were seated in the jeep on the way back to Stars Hollow.

"This is going to be a first for Star's Hollow, that's for sure," Lorelai sighed, devastated that yet another plan had fallen through. It had seemed so perfect, too.

"Lorelai, your behavior was beyond inappropriate," Emily chided her. "We went there to discuss flowers for your wedding. You turned the entire hour into a discussion about ballroom dancing."

"I didn't hear Mr. Happy Feet complaining about it," she defended, still upset. "The only fun part about this will be watching Taylor's expression when they take to the floor. He might just implode."

"And how on earth could you possibly not understand that his dance partner would be hispartner?" Emily asked.

"Well excuse me for not immediately thinking of two men ballroom dancing together. You certainly can't tell me you knew about the Gay Men's Ballroom Dance Club?"

"Of course not, Lorelai. If you keep this up, you are going to have to walk down the aisle with a bouquet of grocery store daisies."

"Yeah," Lorelai moped, "especially now that Burton is going to be busy training for the Stars Hollow Dance-A-Thon."

"That's what this is about, isn't it?" Emily asked. "That stupid dance competition."

Lorelai gasped. "It isn't a stupid competition. It is there premiere event in Stars Hollow's social calendar. It gives two people bragging rights for the entire year."

"It sounds ridiculous," Emily declared. "I mean, who wants to dance for twenty-four hours straight."

"You wouldn't understand," Lorelai insisted.

"I understand perfectly," Emily stated. "I just do not see how anyone could possibly enjoy it. Your father is an excellent dancer and we've become rather in tune after forty years but even I wouldn't want to spend twenty-four hours clinging to him on a dance floor."

"You think Dad would want to enter the marathon?" Lorelai asked, her interest piqued and her mood suddenly brighter.

"No, Lorelai," Emily confirmed.

"Why don't we let Dad decide for himself?"

"Lorelai," she repeated sternly.

"Fine," she huffed. "I'll just add this to the list of reasons why I need therapy."

"Well, considering that it must be a rather long list by now, I'll probably be dead by the time you get to it."

"Very funny," she pouted.

"Lorelai, it is just a dance marathon," Emily tried to make her feel better.

"It isn't just a dance marathon, Mom. Stars Hollow is my town. I've got to win just one time! Kirk has beaten me over and over. Kirk! You remember Kirk, don't you?"

"Yes, I remember Kirk," Emily confirmed.

"Yeah, well … I've got to win this year."

"You're a very resourceful woman. I'm sure you'll figure something out," Emily smiled, patting her daughter's leg supportively.

"You're just saying that because you're my mother," she pouted.

"Well, you can discuss that too with your therapist."

"Hello?" Emily spoke, pressing the cordless phone to her ear as she made some notes on a piece of paper attached to the clipboard that rested on her lap. The bed sheet and blanket were pulled up to her waist, keeping her legs warm as she worked.

"Hello, Dear," came the familiar voice.

"Richard," she smiled, "I was wondering when you were going to call. It's already past nine o'clock."

"Well, my dinner ran a bit later than expected," he explained.

"I tried to call you all day," Emily noted, replacing the cap on her pen.

"It was a busy day but we accomplished a lot." Emily could hear a shuffling sound in the background and assumed that Richard was just now getting back to his hotel room. A few seconds later the sound of a door closing confirmed her speculations.

"That's good," Emily noted. "I was just missing you."

"Well, I tried to call you last night but you weren't home," Richard informed her, taking a seat on the bed.

"Oh yes, I was out with Lorelai," Emily explained.

"I see," he nodded.

"We had an appointment with a florist. You remember the man who did Dinny Scott's daughter's wedding, right?"

"Yes," he confirmed, loosening his bow tie before kicking off his shoes.

"Well, Lorelai managed to get an appointment with him last night. Though, I don't know how productive it was. She spent the entire time trying to get him to be her dance partner."

"Her dance partner?" Richard asked, the confusion evident in his voice.

"Yes, that stupid Stars Hollow dance marathon she enters every year."

"I don't remember that," Richard insisted.

"Well, she enters every year," Emily continued. "She never wins."

"What does this have to do with you not answering the phone?" he asked.

"I was just trying to explain why I wasn't home yet," she defended.

"Well, saying that you were out with Lorelai was enough to convey the message."

"Oh," she stopped, trying to determine if she'd heard a tone of annoyance in his voice. "Is everything all right, Richard?" she asked.

"Yes, everything is fine," he insisted.

"I really didn't mean to miss your call last night. Lorelai had to take me back to the Inn to get my car. And then we of course got pulled into some confusion that was going on with the kitchen staff."

"I really don't need the explanation, Emily," he stated simply.

"Why are you acting like this?" she asked. "I'm just trying to tell you about my day."

"I'm tired, Emily. It has been a very long day here," Richard sighed.

"Then why don't you go to bed?" she suggested, her own annoyance rising.

"I intend to do that once we are finished," he confirmed. They were both silent for a few moments. "Are we finished?" he asked.

"I suppose we are," Emily noted.

"All right, then. I'll call you tomorrow."

"You do that," she stated coldly.

Hearing what sounded like a click, Emily pulled the phone from her ear and looked down at it. He didn't even say good-night or that he loved her. Placing the phone back in its place with a little more force than necessary, she pushed herself up and angrily flipped on the television.

Richard dropped his cell phone onto the bed. It was always Lorelai and work. That was all that Emily had time for lately. He knew that she was enjoying her time with Lorelai and he was glad that things were going well between them. Yet he didn't understand why she couldn't see how much time she was spending away from home. On the weekends if she didn't have an event booked at the Inn, she was attending a luncheon or a fundraiser for one of the numerous charities in which she was still a full participant. In fact, she still made time for all of the activities she'd been involved with before she began working at the Inn, especially the DAR. The only thing she wasn't making time for was him.

Notes: Thanks to Aleta II Anon, Sandra, lilienprinzessin, Ann Y. Mous, LorLukealways, Mary, Riska, swimmerluver, B Alex Milligan, and DieHardJavaJunkie14for the reviews!

Also, we will be on holiday for the weekend. Chapter 6 will be posted on Monday.