Chapter 10

The Prodigal Sister Returns

Lorelai walked into her office to find her mother sitting at the small desk, the floor plan for tomorrow night's party spread out before her. "Morning, Mom," she greeted as she leaned against the wall just inside the door and took a sip of coffee from the steaming mug she held with both hands. She watched the markings that her mother made on the paper, skillfully rearranging the order of the tables and relocating the serving stations to a more appropriate location near the kitchen.

"Good morning," Emily replied, only briefly looking up from what she was doing.

"Everything okay there?" Lorelai asked.

"Do you know the latest guest count?" Emily questioned, carefully going over the plan.

"146 was the last number I had. No one seems to be cancelling," Lorelai replied, taking a step over and sinking down into the guest chair on the other side of the desk. There was barely enough room in the cramped office to cross her legs.

"Well, we'll just have to find a way to squeeze in three more twelve-tops in place of tens. It may get a bit crowded along the sides," Emily noted, still focused on the floor plan.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Mom. There were almost that many people at the Rosenblatt's party."

Emily lifted a pencil out of the cup on the desk top and erased the "10" in the middle of three circles on the diagram and neatly replaced them with the number "12."

"So listen, Mom. There's a bit of a tradition here at the Dragonfly that I'm not sure you're aware of," Lorelai announced. She was about to set her coffee cup down on the desk but thought better of it since almost the entire surface was covered with her mother's plans, the dining room, the lobby areas, everything mapped out precisely. It was way more structured than she'd handled things before but it did seem to make set-up much easier and about three times faster.

Emily leaned back in the chair and looked at her daughter. "And what is that?"

"We're very big on birthdays around here," Lorelai explained with a smile. "As a matter of fact, we're of the opinion that they should be holidays, so no working on your birthday."

"I don't know… there's a lot to do for this party tomorrow night. Your father made plans for lunch and I know he has something up his sleeve for the evening. I was thinking I'd just come in for a while in the morning," Emily stated, a bit disappointed at the idea of not seeing Lorelai on her birthday. "I thought I could help you with any last minute things that come up for the party."

Lorelai shook her head. "We've got it covered. Seriously, if anyone around here deserves a day off it's you. Everything'll be fine for the party. Most of the set up is going on this afternoon anyway."

"Are you sure?" Emily questioned warily.

"Yeah, sure," Lorelai replied offhandedly. "Take the day off. Sleep in. Go have a pedicure. Do something just for you."

"Okay," Emily agreed reluctantly.

"Well, that's one person taken care of," Lorelai mumbled taking another sip of her coffee.

"What?"

"Nothing," Lorelai replied flatly.

"What's the matter?" Emily asked more seriously this time.

"Oh, it's Luke. Anna's being a real witch with a B about Thanksgiving. She won't let April come visit."

"It's really too bad she had to move away just as Luke was getting to know his daughter," Emily replied sympathetically.

"I think the timing is just a little too good myself. She just has to move to New Mexico less than a year after Luke finds out he's April's father," Lorelai shook her head. "It's not right. I never once kept Christopher away from Rory if he wanted to see her. He's the one that moved all over the country. We stayed right here in Connecticut."

"She's not causing any problems about the wedding, is she?"

"Not yet anyway," Lorelai grumbled.

"It's only another month until Christmas and she'll have more time off from school, won't she?" At Lorelai's nod, Emily continued, "Perhaps Luke will be able to arrange a longer visit for her then since she isn't being allowed to come now."

"Maybe," Lorelai lifted her mug to her mouth. When she saw that it was empty, she stood up. "I'm going for more coffee. Can I get you a cup?"

Emily rose too. "I'll go with you."

Lorelai looked down at her cell phone. It was nearly noon. Hope's plane was scheduled to arrive just before one. Looking around cautiously, she moved her hand over the mouse and clicked on the internet icon. Quickly typing in the address of the airline, she pulled up the screen to check arrival times. Everything was on schedule. She made a mental note to remember Gate B3

Hearing her mother and Michel approaching, she quickly closed the browser and returned to the occupancy report she had been reading before. "Hey guys," she smiled nonchalantly as they both looked up at her. Moving from the computer so that Michel could resume his post, she circled around the desk to stand next to her mother.

"So, everything seems fine here. I've got a few errands to run. I shouldn't be gone more than an hour or two," Lorelai announced.

"Where are you going?" Emily asked.

"To run errands," Lorelai repeated.

"Personal errands?" she questioned.

"Uh, Mom … that big, formal document that names me majority owner … that means I can go run personal errands if I need to do so."

"I'm not saying you can't do what you want, Lorelai. I'm only asking because we have that big party tomorrow and you've been so vague and given me such little information about it that I'm wondering if something happens while you are gone – what should we do? I can handle the floor plan and directing the set-up but I don't know much more about what is going on…"

"Michel can handle it all," Lorelai reassured her.

"You've given him all the details?" Emily asked suspiciously.

"He's been here for years. He knows how to take care of things if they come up at the last minute." Lorelai turned to look at Michel, who shot her a dirty look for involving him in her flimsy plan.

"Very well," Emily conceded. "I'll see you later, I suppose."

"Michel's got it covered, Mom," Lorelai promised before quickly making her way to her office to get her purse and get out of the Inn.

Emily smiled to herself as she found the Hammacher Schlemmer website on Google and clicked on the link. She was quite proud that she had remembered what Lorelai told her about using Google to find things. Now, if she could just find a gift for Richard. Yes Christmas was over a month away but by this point in the year she'd typically have had his presents hidden away for a month or more. This year she just couldn't seem to find the right thing. Maybe part of that was due to the fact that she was so much busier than other years, but she still didn't even have any good ideas.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Gilmore?" the short, brown-haired maid spoke quietly from the doorway.

"Yes, Heather," Emily replied looking up from the computer screen.

"Mrs. Wallace was asking about antique shops and I thought you might be able to suggest a few for her to visit this afternoon," she explained.

With a smile, Emily rose from behind the desk. "I'd be happy to."

Heather nodded and hurried off to finish her duties.

Striding toward the lobby, Emily smiled at Mrs. Wallace who stood near the foot of the stairs. "Enjoy your morning ride?" she asked.

"Oh yes, we had a great time," the tall blonde woman replied. "That Desdemona of yours is a doll and my daughter just fell in love with Clyde."

Emily's smile widened. "Yes, my daughter is fond of Clyde as well, though she claims not to have a favorite. I understand that you were interested in doing some antique shopping?"

"Well, Lorelai mentioned it yesterday, but when I tried speaking to your concierge about antique shops, well his accent seemed to get thicker and thicker – is that possible?" Mrs. Wallace asked tilting her head to the side quizzically.

Emily nodded, "Oh it's possible."

Mrs. Wallace shrugged. "Anyway, I asked Heather if she might know of anywhere to go and she suggested I speak to you."

"Well, you're in luck." Emily stepped behind the front counter and picked up a sheet of yellow paper. "We've recently compiled a list of the local shops. I'd suggest starting with the first three. They're all in Stars Hollow and you absolutely must go to Kim's Antiques if only for the experience. The woman that owns it is shrewd but if you know what you're doing and enjoy the process as much as I do, you're sure to get a fair deal. You'll find a map on the back," Emily explained turning the paper over and then handing it to her.

Mrs. Wallace's eyes gleamed. "It sounds like a challenge. I love a challenge."

Emily chuckled. "Well, you be sure to tell me how you faired when you get back."

"Absolutely," the woman answered with a conspiratorial grin.

Turning to go back to the office, Emily heard someone calling out to her. It was Joe, the young delivery boy from the linen and party rental service. "Hello, Joe. I didn't know your delivery was scheduled this afternoon."

He was a tall, strapping young man with deep brown hair and vivid blue eyes. His physical appearance as well as his proud carriage reminded her very much of a certain someone. He smiled down at her and removed a pen from the pocket of his deep blue coveralls. Yes he definitely had the same twinkle of mischief and intelligence in his eyes that she knew so well. "I think Lorelai wanted to make sure there weren't any problems and even if there were that there would be plenty of time to fix them before tomorrow. This must be a very important party you're having. Seems like there are more and more all the time."

"Well, you know the Dragonfly, one party after another," Emily quipped.

"Oh yeah, I know," he answered. "My girlfriend is jealous that I get to come out here all the time. She keeps threatening to hide in the van one of these days."

"Well, bring her along. She's welcome anytime," Emily offered. "You know what, bring her out for dinner."

Joe looked away and blushed shifting back and forth on the balls of his feet. "No. No, I don't think we could do that, but maybe I will bring her out just to look around sometime, if that's okay."

"Nonsense, I insist," Emily argued. "I want you both to be our guests for dinner. You just call and make a reservation anytime you like."

"Wow, that's so nice of you, Mrs. Gilmore," he said excitedly, "Lori will freak."

Emily smiled indulgently and reached for his clipboard. "Did you need me to sign something?"

"Oh yeah, the delivery slip," he said looking down at the clipboard in his hand as though he forgot he was even holding it. He quickly handed her the clipboard and his pen.

"Has someone checked this for you yet?" she asked.

"No, ma'am. I couldn't find anyone but you," he answered.

"Well, if I'd known you were coming now…" Emily rolled her eyes and then looked around the lobby. Michel was supposed to be in charge of the party preparations and yet he was nowhere to be found. "Excuse me a moment." She started to walk towards the dining room then paused as an idea struck. She turned back to Joe. "Come with me. Let's get you a glass of iced tea or coffee or something. Perhaps Michel is in the kitchen."

Leading Joe into the kitchen and asking Manny to get him a snack while he waited, Emily then turned to Michel, who was indeed in the kitchen. She stood watching as he opened an envelope of powder and poured it into his bottled water and replaced the cap. He shook the bottle somehow shaking his entire body in the process, looking as though he were having some sort of spasm.

Examining the now electric pink colored liquid in the water bottle, Emily asked in disgust, "What on earth is that?"

"Ah this?" he asked holding up the bottle with a flourish. "This is my strawberry-flavored energy-boosting Crystal Light beverage. It is my afternoon pick-me-up. I have it every afternoon at precisely three o'clock."

"That's nice," Emily said in a flat voice, "but it's only one o'clock. Why are you having it now, and more importantly, why are you not overseeing the deliveries for the party which I didn't even know we were expecting this afternoon? Lorelai specifically told me that you were to be handling this."

Michel squared his shoulders and looked up at her, "Well I was tres fatigué so I thought perhaps my afternoon pick-me-up would help."

"What would help is if you would handle the deliveries for the Fritzen-Heimer party since you are the one who knows when they are scheduled." She held the clipboard out to him, "starting with the linens and tableware."

Michel took the clipboard and turned with a huff muttering as he walked out of the room. "Just takes off. Leaves me here to deal with delivery people, guests, stupid parties for people who don't even appreciate…"

With a smile she turned back to Joe, "I'm sorry; we seem to be a bit out of sorts today."

Joe held up his hand and smiled. "Hey, I'm getting paid to eat brownies right now. I'm good, and Dad won't mind if I'm a little late getting back seeing as how the Dragonfly is our best customer."

"Well, you just be sure you call for that reservation and I want to meet this Lori of yours. She's a very lucky young woman."

"Mrs. Gilmore," Chef Andy said stepping towards her, "You don't happen to know about the meat delivery do you? Lorelai never told me when to expect it."

She tried to smile politely, it wasn't his fault. "Well, join the club. I'm in the dark too. I suggest you ask Michel. He's supposed to know what's going on and when. I do know at one point it was to arrive at five o'clock, but everything else seems to be arriving earlier than usual so I'm not sure."

"Michel?" Chef Andy questioned clearly hoping he had heard wrong. Fortunately in his job he was the boss in the kitchen and that had little to do with the concierge's responsibilities.

"Yes, Lorelai has left him in charge of deliveries and party preparations," Emily explained.

Suddenly Andy remembered that this really was her party and she still didn't know. Deciding it best not to risk giving away the secret at this point, he realized he'd just have to figure out the times of his deliveries himself. "I'm sure you have more important things to do, Mrs. Gilmore. I'll just check with Michel."

"Thank you Andrew," Emily replied allowing him to walk her to the door of the kitchen when she realized that she didn't really have anything to do. With a shrug she headed back to the office to see if she could find any ideas for Richard's Christmas presents."

Lorelai stood at the arrivals gate, looking through the crowd of people that kept flowing through the main portal. She hadn't seen her aunt in a few years and hoped that they'd still recognize each other – though it surely wouldn't be hard to pick out a woman that looked almost exactly like her mother, yet not quite so severe and intimidating.

Within a few seconds, her face lit up as she locked eyes with her aunt. Rushing forward, the two women embraced joyfully.

"Oh my, Lorelai, let me look at you," Hope exclaimed, pulling back to take a better look at her niece. "You're so tall. You and your father just entirely eclipse your poor mother."

"I look the same as I always have," Lorelai insisted, "but look at you! I think I need to move to France!"

"Oh now," Hope shrugged, a little embarrassed by the attention.

"Seriously, how do you and Mom do it? The two of you never age!" Lorelai looked down at her aunt. She was a few inches shorter than her mother but she had the same face. Her blonde hair was swept back, held in place by a large clip; however, the sunlight that flooded in from the skylights made the brownish undertones of her hair color more readily apparent. She wore just a hint of make-up to cover the fine lines on her face.

The biggest difference between Hope and Emily was the way they dressed. Hope was much more of a free spirit. She was dressed in a dark-colored pair of jeans, a three-quarter length white oxford shirt that was unbuttoned partway down the neckline, and a red sweater was nonchalantly thrown over her shoulders. Her ballet flats were black with a red buckle across the toe, the perfect complement to her casual outfit.

"Stop making me self conscious and get me out of this airport," Hope insisted, taking Lorelai's arm and linking it with her own. "So, where are we going?" she asked.

"Well, I thought you might be hungry," Lorelai suggested. "Baggage claim is this way," she noted, leading her aunt around a corner.

"I'm starving. That food they feed you on the plane is just horrid," she sighed.

"And here I thought that they treated you like royalty up in first class," Lorelai teased.

"I didn't fly first class," Hope informed her. "When I changed flights to come out earlier, the only seat left was in coach."

"How horrid," Lorelai feigned. "My mother would be scandalized that her sister rode in coach."

"First class is overrated," Hope laughed. "Besides, if your mother knew some of the planes that I've flown on, she'd be surprised to know I'm still alive. When you work for UNICEF, they don't exactly have the money to fly you into a regional airport … let alone do they even have airports in some parts of sub-Saharan African."

"It is so cool that you and Uncle Gerard spent all those years in Africa," Lorelai gushed.

"Yes," Hope agreed. "Though I am glad we spent our final years together back in France."

"Well, we've got tons of time; you can tell me all about Africa and France tonight." Stopping at the conveyor belt to wait for Hope's bags, they gathered her things and headed out of the airport and to Stars Hollow.

"I just can't believe you live in this town," Hope exclaimed, unbuckling her seatbelt as the car came to a stop in front of the diner.

"It is a pretty cool place. I'll give you a tour tonight once we know Mom isn't in the area," Lorelai promised.

"That would be wonderful." Hope got out of the car and walked around it, looking up at the building in front of her. "This whole town just feels like something out of a fairy tale," she commented, taking in her surroundings.

"Yeah, well, just wait until you meet the people who live here," Lorelai noted with a laugh. Opening the door to the diner, Lorelai held it so that Hope could walk inside.

"Where should we sit?" Hope asked, looking around. The place was small but quaint. It felt like she'd been here a million times before and certainly not as if it were her first visit.

"How about here?" Lorelai suggested, motioning toward an empty table. "We can see out the window and watch the town as we eat."

"Perfect," Hope smiled.

As they sat down, Luke walked over with two menus in hand. "I wasn't sure if you'd want one, too, so I brought you both a menu," he explained to Lorelai. "Wouldn't want you to feel left out or anything."

Lorelai smiled up at him and then looked back at her aunt who was watching their exchange. "Aunt Hope, this is my fiancé Luke Danes," she introduced them. "Luke, this is my mother's sister Hope."

"It's very nice to meet you," Luke smiled. "Lorelai's been talking about your visit for days now. She said you worked for the United Nations and then you and your husband were both artists living in Paris. It sounds great."

"It's been a wonderful life," Hope confirmed. Leaning towards Lorelai, she grinned, "I like this man."

Lorelai smiled and looked up at Luke. "I'm kinda fond of him myself. I just don't tell him that too often or he'll get a big head and think that I'm with him for more than just the free coffee."

"Oh, I'm sure you pay for the coffee in one way or another," Hope teased, picking up her menu and opening it.

"I like her," Luke confirmed. "I'll come back for your orders in a few –" He looked out the window, suddenly stopping mid-sentence. "You've got to get her out of here," he demanded, grabbing the menu from Hope and pulling her from the chair by the elbow.

"Luke … what … Luke!" Lorelai exclaimed, confused by Luke's behavior.

"Your mother is about ten seconds away from walking in the diner," he informed them, still holding onto Hope's arm as they all looked to the window.

"What? No!" Lorelai sighed, her heart begging to beat faster.

"Come on," Luke insisted, leading Hope with him over to the counter. Her feet scrambled beneath her as she tried to keep up with his rapid pace. "Go up the stairs. Emily's never been up there before," he ordered, pushing her to the staircase, which she quickly ascended.

"She can't see me either," Lorelai realized, rushing across the room behind her aunt. Hope quickly climbed the stairs, Lorelai close behind her as Emily opened the door to the diner.

"Emily!" Luke exclaimed, "what are you doing here?"

"Well, hello to you, too," Emily greeted him flatly.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm just not used to you coming in the diner. You know … it hasn't always been on the best terms."

"Yes," Emily agreed, "however, this time I come only with the most noble of intentions."

"What can I do for you?" Luke asked with a forced smile. The woman still intimidated him and scared him a little too much for his own comfort level, especially with Lorelai not present.

"Could we talk for a moment?" she asked.

"Aren't we talking now?"

"In private?" Emily added.

"Uh … there isn't much private room here…" he stammered.

"Very well," Emily huffed. "I just wanted to let you know that Richard I are planning our annual Christmas party for the middle of December, the weekend before Christmas."

"All right," Luke spoke tentatively.

"As Lorelai's fiancé, you're obviously invited."

"Okay…"

"However, I just wanted to make sure that you knew April is also invited. Seeing as you are marrying my daughter, that means April will also be joining our family. So, if she's in town that weekend, Richard and I would very much like for her to attend dinner with you and Lorelai."

"Her travel plans aren't yet certain but I'll be sure to remember that," he smiled, a bit taken aback by her uncommon behavior.

"Good. Richard seems to be quite taken with her," Emily smiled. "Well, I should be getting back to the Inn. I don't know where Lorelai's gotten off to this afternoon. She's been acting so strangely for the past few days," Emily commented. "Have you noticed anything unusual?"

"Uh… doesn't she always act strangely?" he covered.

Emily laughed lightly, "I suppose you're right. Good bye, Luke."

"Goodbye, Mrs. Gilmore," he repeated, watching as she turned and walked out the door.

A few seconds later, Lorelai's head popped out from around the corner. "Is the coast clear?"

"Yep," Luke confirmed.

Retreating down the stairs, Hope and Lorelai both breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close," Lorelai breathed, crossing the diner. "And thanks for the strange comment," she added, looking at Luke. "Glad to know what you and my mother talk about behind my back."

"We weren't talking behind your back. You were listening from the stairs," Luke reminded her.

"You knew that but Mom didn't," she pouted playfully.

"You should get back to work," Hope insisted. "She's getting suspicious. And if I know my sister, she's not going to let it go."

"I can't just leave you here," Lorelai insisted.

"I can take her back to your place, if you want," Luke piped up. "Cesar's about to come in for the afternoon shift and things are pretty light around here until dinner. I don't mind taking her by the house."

"You're sure?" she looked to Luke for confirmation.

"Yeah," he shrugged.

"And that's okay with you?" she asked, turning to her aunt.

"Oh yes," Hope smiled, content with the opportunity to get to spend a little more time with her niece's future husband.

"Great!" Lorelai smiled at both of them. "I'll get back to work and hopefully rescue my mother and Andy from Michel's little power trip. He gets carried away when I leave him in charge," she added, reaching into her pocket for her keys. "See you guys later!" she exclaimed before hurrying out the door.

Thanks to GilmoreFan, Ann Y. Mous, RiskaSG, Lillienprinzessin, Mary, LorLukealways, DieHardJavaJunkie14, and B. Alex Milligan for the reviews!!