4 – No touching of the stomach
Lorelai had decided that she would just keep going after telling her parents. She knew that she would have to tell everyone, meaning the town, pretty soon, but there were a few people that she wanted to tell in person.
Over the past month, Lorelai and Liz had gotten pretty close. At first, Lorelai would call every other day to ask if Liz had talked to Luke, and after a week or so, Liz had suggested that they make a standing coffee date so Lorelai wouldn't have to call all the time.
Lorelai had been happy that Liz wanted to hang out with her, but it had been hard not to reveal her pregnancy over the past three weeks, considering Liz very seldom changed the subject from her and T.J.'s baby, who was due in December. But today, Lorelai was going to tell her. How she was going to do it, she hadn't really figured out yet, but she hoped it would come to her.
As soon as she got up, which was at ten thirty since it was Saturday, Lorelai dialled Liz's number from memory.
"Hello?"
"Liz, hey, it's Lorelai." Lorelai was twirling the phone cord around her finger as she spoke. Realizing what she was doing, she stopped abruptly. She was apparently more nervous than she thought.
"Oh, hi Lorelai, I was just about to call you." Liz replied. "Hey, maybe we're telepathic or something?"
"Then we wouldn't need phones, would we?" Lorelai joked.
"I guess not. It'd be cool, though, wouldn't it?"
"Sure would." Lorelai agreed, wanting to get on with the conversation. "Listen, I was actually calling to see if you're free for lunch?"
"Lunch would be great, T.J. just left for Boston." Liz said.
"Boston? What's he doing there?" Lorelai asked.
"Some convention thing, I didn't want to know more." Liz replied.
"Probably a good decision."
"So, anyway, one good for you?" Liz suggested.
"One is fine with me." Lorelai said.
"OK, you wanna eat at the diner, or maybe Westons?" Liz asked.
"I was actually thinking we could go into Hartford." Lorelai replied. She knew they would be overheard wherever they went in Stars Hollow, and she didn't want the town to know just yet. "Maybe go to the mall, and do some shopping later?"
"That sounds good, I need to get some stuff anyway." Liz agreed.
"OK, so I'll pick you up at one then?" Lorelai said, knowing T.J. had probably taken the car.
"See you then. Bye."
"Bye." Lorelai hung up. Looking at the clock, she found that she had a little over two hours before she needed to leave. Deciding she needed a movie to calm her nerves down a little, she went into the living room.
xxxxx
"So the doctor was sure it's a girl?" Lorelai asked as she and Liz sat down at a table in the food court.
"As sure as he could be." Liz replied. She had had a sonogram the previous day to determine the sex of the baby. "Of course, they can't be a hundred percent positive, but I've thought it was a girl ever since I found out."
"Yeah, I had the same feeling with Rory." Lorelai agreed. "So, how're you holding up? It's pretty hot for August." Liz was only five months along, but already had a cosiderable bump.
"I tell you, if it wasn't for the air conditioner, I don't think I would make it." Liz admitted. "I just hope it gets cooler soon."
"Yeah, summer pregnancy isn't too pleasant." Lorelai remembered how horrible it had been being pregnant with Rory those last couple of months. That summer had been extremely hot. "I'm just glad I managed to time it a little better this time." She continued, not realizing what she was saying until it was too late.
Liz looked up from her food, her eyes wide.
"What did you say?" She asked, a baffled look on her face.
"Oh, God, I didn't mean for it to come out like that." Lorelai said, cursing herself on the inside.
"You mean... you're pregnant?" Lorelai nodded her response. "That's great!" Liz continued. "Now we can be pregnancy buddies, and our kids will grow up together and be best friends and cousins."
"Yeah, great." Lorelai agreed, not sounding too convinced.
"So that's why you've been trying to get a hold of him, huh?" Liz put two and two together.
"Yeah." Lorelai nodded. "I didn't find out until after he left."
"Do you want me to... tell him?" Liz asked, but Lorelai shook her head.
"No, I think he should hear it from me." She explained.
"I get that." Liz agreed. "I will, however, give him a big push in the direction of the phone next time I talk to him."
"Thanks." Lorelai said, taking a bite of her cheesburger.
"This is so exciting, now we can go baby shopping together and everything!"
xxxxx
"Hello?" Liz said into the phone.
"Hey, Liz."
"Hey, big brother, what's up?" Liz asked, in her mind trying to figure out the best way to get Luke to call Lorelai.
"Just calling to check in." Luke replied. "How's everything in the Hollow?"
"Everything's good." Liz told him. "We found out that the baby is a girl yesterday."
"Really? That's great, I know you've always wanted a daughter." Luke remembered.
"Yeah. We're excited. So, how're you? Where are you?"
"Liz, please, I don't..."
"OK, dropping the subject." Liz surrendered. Luke hadn't wanted to tell her where he was before, but she thought that maybe he'd decided to come out of hiding. "So, is everything OK?"
"Everything's fine, I just wanted to check up on my baby sister."
"You know who else you might want to check up on?" Liz said, steering the conversation to Lorelai.
"Liz, just drop it." Luke replied in a warning tone.
"I don't understand why you can't just call her." Liz insisted.
"Because I don't want to talk to her, that's why."
"Why not?" Liz carried on.
"We have nothing to say to each other." He said.
"Even if I tell you that you will, without a doubt, regret that you haven't called her later?" Liz said. She knew Lorelai didn't want her to tell Luke, but she could at least hint a little.
"I'm pretty sure I won't regret it." Luke replied.
"Just call her!"
"No!"
"Fine." Liz surrendered for the moment. "But don't think for a second that I'm done with you."
"I wouldn't dream of it." Liz could practically hear Luke rolling his eyes.
"Bye, big brother."
"Bye, Liz, I'll talk to you in a couple of days."
xxxxx
"Mom? You home?" Rory called, entering the house.
"Kitchen, babe!" Lorelai called back, and Rory made her way through the living room.
"Hey." She said, getting herself a cup of coffee before joining her mother at the kitchen table.
"How's Lane?" Lorelai asked, patting Paul Anka who was sitting under the table, his head in Lorelai's lap.
"She's fine." Rory replied, more interested in hearing about her mother's 'lunch date'. "So how'd Liz take the big news?"
"She was thrilled, ecstatic even." Lorelai replied.
"And you're not happy about that because..."
"I don't know, I am, it's just, it reminded me that... you know, no matter how many people I have that are there for me, I'm still doing this alone." Lorelai said.
"You're not alone, you have me." Rory argued.
"Oh, I know honey, but it's... not the same." Lorelai explained.
"I know that, but I'm still here." Rory gave her mother a hug before walking into her room to drop her backpack. "Hey, did you call Tom yet?" She yelled into the kitchen.
"No, I thought I'd wait until the secret was out." Lorelai said.
"I guess that makes sense." Rory came back into the kitchen. "And have you called..."
"Not yet." Lorelai cut her off. She knew who Rory was talking about. The person she'd been dreading to call for the past month, and had promised herself not to contact unless it was her very last resort. Which it appeared to be.
"You still want to tell Anna in person?" Rory asked. "You know I'd be happy to do it. Or you can do it over the phone. A letter would probably do just fine, too."
She had offered to do that ever since Lorelai had revealed that she wanted to tell Anna about the baby, to give her the possibility to decided whether or not she wanted April to know her little brother or sister.
"I think I need to do it myself." Lorelai now said. She wasn't sure why she wanted to, but she felt that somehow she and Anna had unfinished business. It still hurt her to remember what Anna had said to her when they had met.
"OK." Rory said, not questioning her mother's decision. "So, are you going to call her?"
"Yes, I just need to work up some courage first." Lorelai said.
"And what have you been doing for the past couple of hours, staring at the wall?"
"Fine, I'll call her." Lorelai surrendered. "Might as well get it over with." She reached for the phone, dialling the number to the directory enquiries, since she didn't have Anna's phone number. "Yes, I'd like to have the number for Anna Nardini in Woodbridge, Connecticut." She told the operator, who connected the call.
"Hello?" A voice came over the line.
"Anna? This is Lorelai Gilmore."
"Oh." Lorelai could tell that Anna had not been expecting her to call. And she didn't sound too happy, either. "What can I do for you?"
"Actually, I was wondering if we could get together, maybe have lunch or something?" Lorelai suggested. She did not want to do this over the phone.
"Why?" Anna asked, and Lorelai couldn't blame her. In Anna's eyes, there was no reason for the two of them to have anything to do with each other, especially now that Lorelai and Luke weren't together anymore, which Lorelai suspected Anna was well aware of.
"There's something I want to talk to you about, and I want to do it face to face." Lorelai explained, hoping Anna would settle for that.
"I guess I could meet you for lunch on Monday." Anna said, and Lorelai let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it." She said.
"Sure, no problem." Anna replied. "Do you want to come here, or should we meet somewhere in Stars Hollow?"
"How about I come to the store and we'll go somewhere close by?" Lorelai suggested.
"That's fine, there are a couple of good restaurants in the area." Anna said.
"OK, so I will see you Monday around noon then?"
"Monday it is." Anna agreed.
"Bye." Lorelai hung up the phone, and put it on the table. "Step number one completed." She announced.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rory asked, for the thousandth time. "I mean, you have no obligation to Anna or April, not really."
"Would you have liked it if your dad hadn't told you about GiGi?" Lorelai asked, trying to get Rory to see her point.
"Well, no, but that was different." Rory argued. "Do you think that Sherry would have told me if she and dad weren't together anymore and he wasn't involved?"
"I'd like to think that she would, because I think it would be wrong to keep it from you."
"And if Anna doesn't want April to know?" Rory asked.
"Then at least it's her decision, and I've done the best I can."
If she was to be honest with herself, Lorelai didn't know whether she wanted Anna to let April know or not. But she knew she had to do this, or she'd regret it later on.
"OK, let's go over the plan one more time." She said, and Rory nodded.
"While you're in Woodbridge talking to Anna, I am going to tell Babette and Patty, who will no doubt spread the news faster than a forest fire in July." Rory started. "I will also tell them that you will not answer any questions about the 'L' word, so there's no point in even asking."
"Good, good." Lorelai agreed. "And what else?"
Rory thought for a moment.
"Oh, right, no touching of the stomach whatsoever." She remembered.
"Damn right." Lorelai said. "I do not understand why my stomach would be public property just cause I'm pregnant."
"I'm with you on that one." Rory agreed.
"I mean, it doesn't even feel that different." Lorelai kept rambling. "Just when the baby moves, and then I will choose who will be allowed to touch it."
"OK, mom, we've been over this and I get it." Rory intervened. "You don't have to convince me."
"Sorry, got a little carried away." Lorelai smiled at her daughter. "Hey, did youget the frame?"
"Yeah, I got it." Rory went into her room and returned with a plastic bag. She pulled out a photo frame decorated with little hearts in all different colors and handed it to Lorelai.
"Perfect." Lorelai announced, going into one of the kitchen drawers, and retrieving a picture before returning to the table.
"I think Grandma will love it." Rory said.
"I hope so." Lorelai replied, looking at the photo she had just put in the frame. It was a black and white picture from the ultrasound she had had the previous week. Another copy of it was pinned to the fridge. She had also gotten a third copy, which was the first picture in a 'baby book' she was putting together, that she hoped she would be able to give to Luke when he came back. If he came back. Hastilly, she pushed the thought aside. She didn't need to think about it right now.
"Hey, you still with me?" Rory asked, waving her hand in front of Lorelai's face.
"I'm here, just thinking." Lorelai replied, putting the picture frame with the photo back in the bag.
"Wanna talk about it?" Rory wondered, knowing the answer.
"Not really." Lorelai confirmed.
"OK. You know I'm here if you do?"
"Course, babe." Lorelai managed a small smile. "So, you in the mood for a movie night?"
"Always!"
xxxxx
Lorelai sat in the car, tapping her fingers against the wheel. She had been parked on the small Woodbridge street for fifteen minutes, and if she didn't get out of the car soon, Anna might wonder where she was. Or not. It wasn't like the other woman was thrilled about the lunch or anything.
Taking one last breath, Lorelai opened the car door and got out of the car, locking the door before she had a chance to change her mind. She didn't even know why she was nervous. If Anna didn't want to tell April, then that was fine, and if she did, that was OK too.
"Just get a grip." Lorelai mumbled to herself as she reached out to open the door to Anna's store. The jingle of the bell announcing a customer made Lorelai flinch, as it reminded her of another bell and the innumerable times she'd walked through the door it hung above.
"I'm closing for lunch in a moment." Anna said from the counter, not looking up.
"Yeah, it might be a good idea not to let the customers wander around unattended." Lorelai tried to joke, and Anna looked up.
"Lorelai, it's you." She said, a look Lorelai could notinterpret on her face. "I was just about to close up, so we can go." She locked the cash register and put the key in her pocket before walking ahead of Lorelai out of the store. After she had locked the door they continued down the street, exchanging meaningless pleasantries. A couple of minutes later, they were at a table in a small diner.
"I'm guessing you're wondering what I'm doing here." Lorelai said after they ordered their food.
"Is it that obvious?" Anna asked.
"No, not really, but I know I would be curious if it was me." Lorelai replied. "I assume Luke told you what happened?"
"That you guys broke up? Yeah, he did." Anna confirmed. "He didn't go into any details, though, just said it was over."
"So you saw him before he left town?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah, he came over pretty late, wanting to see April since he was going to be gone for a while." Anna nodded.
"You don't know where he is now, do you?" Lorelai wasn't sure if Anna would tell her the truth, but she had to ask.
"No, I don't. He calls to talk to April every night, but he never tells her where he is or leaves a number."
"And would you tell me if you did know?" Lorelai wondered. Anna thought for a while.
"I'm not sure." She answered truthfully.
"Well, that's better than 'no'." Lorelai said.
"Did you just come here to ask about Luke, or is there something else?" Anna asked.
"There is something else." Lorelai admitted. "I'm not telling you this to put any pressure on you, or anything like that, I just want you to have the option of letting April know, OK?"
"OK." Anna said, not sure what she was accepting.
"So, here's the thing." Lorelai continued. "I'm pregnant. And I know that you probably couldn't care less, but I want April to be able to know her brother or sister. If you want that, of course." Lorelai leaned back in the booth, all energy had run off her.
Anna didn't say anything for a few moments, as the waitress brought their food.
"Thank you." She finally said, and Lorelai almost dropped her fork.
"What?" She asked, not sure she'd heard right.
"I said thank you." Anna repeated.
"OK. I had a lot of different scenarios in mind, but this, right here, was not one of them." Lorelai knew she sounded surprised, maybe even shocked. "What exactly are you thanking me for?"
"For telling me this, and for letting me decide if I want April to know or not." Anna explained. "You could have gone straight to her."
"I just wanted it to be your decision, I didn't want to put you in an awkward position." Lorelai said.
"And you culd have just not told me." Anna continued.
"That was never an option." Lorelai shook her head.
"Even after the way I talked to you last time?" Anna asked. "I know that I was being way too hard on you, and I realized that almost before I talked to you, but then Luke told me about you two breaking up, and I got to feel like I had done the right thing."
"I get why you were worried, I'm the same with Rory." Lorelai revealed. "Back upa couple of years ago, her dad got engaged and they had a daughter, and I remember wishing that Rory would hate her stepmom, because I was afraid of losing her. So I get it."
"I didn't know that." Anna replied.
"Yeah." Lorelai nodded. "So, how do you want to do this? Or do you even want to? I just got the impression..."
"I am going to tell April." Anna cut her off. "And then, maybe we should take things a little slow at first? Have dinner together, all of us, or something?"
"That sounds good." Lorelai replied, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders.
"And then, after you and April get to know each other a little better, maybe she'd like to spend the weekend with you and... Rory, that's your daughter's name, right?"
"Yeah, Rory. That would be great, I think Rory and April would get along really well." Lorelai said.
"I'm sure they will, April wouldn't stop talking about Rory for weeks after the field trip to Philadelphia." Anna revealed. "She even said she wanted to go to Yale, just like her."
"Really?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah." Anna nodded. "I think this will work out really good. I know April will be thrilled about having a sibling."
"She'll practically get two for the price of one." Lorelai joked.
"It's not often you get a big sister when you're thirteen." Anna agreed.
"No, it's not." Lorelai replied. "Just one more thing. I think that Luke should hear about this from me, so if you could not say anything, and ask April not to mention it either?"
"I wouldn't dream of it." Anna assured her. "And I'll explain the situation to April, make sure she knows not to say anything. Do you want me to tell him to call you?"
"I don't think it would do any good, but sure, if you want to."
"I'll get April to nag him, too." Anna promised.
"Thanks." Lorelai smiled, and received a smile in return.
xxxxx
"April, hon?" Anna called as she entered the house later that night.
"Kitchen, homework." April replied, and Anna made her way into the kitchen where April was bent over a math book.
"You have a good day at school?" Anna asked, giving April a kiss on the head.
"Mmhmm." April was completely engrossed in the math problem in front of her.
"So, I had lunch with a friend today." Anna said, grabbing a bottle of water before sitting down at the table.
"Really?" April said, looking up and frowning.
"Oh, not a guy friend or anything." Anna hurriedly added.
"Oh. OK." April turned back to the book.
"It was actually with Lorelai." Anna revealed, which got her April's attention.
"Lorelai? You mean Luke's Lorelai?"
"Well, you know she's not really Luke's Lorelai anymore, but yeah." Anna confirmed.
"Why?" April asked, another frown forming on her face.
"Why not?" Anna replied, trying to sound casual.
"I just didn't think you liked her." April shrugged.
"Why would you think that?" Anna was surprised. She hadn't discussed Lorelai or her potential relationship with her daughter with April.
"I just heard when you and Luke were talking one day, and you said something about not wanting me to see her, so I just figured." April explained.
"You heard that?" April nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie, I never meant for you to hear."
"I know, it's no biggie." April shrugged again. "It's not like I'll ever see her again, not now."
"But you'd like to, wouldn't you?" Anna assumed. "You liked her, right?"
"I guess." April tried to not sound too excited. "I mean, she's nice, and funny, and easy to talk to."
"What if I told you that she'd like to see you again, get to know you better?" Anna asked. "And Rory too."
"Really?" A smile was slowly spreading on April's face. "But why? I mean, Luke's not here, so she doesn't have to."
"She wants to." Anna said. "And also because she's having a baby, your dad's baby, which would make you a big sister."
"Seriously?" April looked like she could hardly believe what her mom was saying. "I'm going to have a little brother or sister?"
"Not only that, you're going to have a big sister, too, kind of. You and Rory will be sort of like step sisters now."
"This is so exciting!" April threw her arms around her mother in a tight hug.
"I'm glad you think so." Anna smiled at her daughter's reaction. She had made the right decision by telling her.
"Hey mom?" April pulled back. "How come Luke left if they're having a baby?"
"Well, the thing is, Lorelai didn't find out about the baby until after he left, so Luke doesn't know." Anna revealed. "Which also means that you can not mention it when you talk to him, got it? Lorelai really wants to tell him herself."
"Of course, I won't say anything." April promised.
"Good." Anna nodded. "So, I thought that in order for both of us to get to know Lorelai and Rory better, we could have them over here for dinner on Sunday, how does that sound to you?"
"Great, I can't wait!"