Chapter 17- Loud
Friday afternoon, at the Gilmore house:
Rory is sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for Lorelai to be ready.
"Rory, have you seen my blue shirt?"
"What blue shirt?"
"The one with the thing."
"I now know exactly what you're talking about."
"The one with the thing that goes with my black skirt."
"What black skirt?"
"The one I want to wear to dinner tonight."
"Because I know what skirt you want to wear how?"
"This is pointless. Come upstairs and help mommy."
"We're going to be late if you don't get dressed soon."
"All the more reason to come here and help me."
"I'm coming!" She got off the couch and walked upstairs, where she found her mother rummaging desperately through her closet.
"Where did I put it?"
Rory picked up a shirt from the bed and held it out for her mother to see.
"This what you were looking for?"
"Ah...how did that get there?"
"It must be a miracle. Now get dressed before we're even more late."
"In a minute." Lorelai left the room and went in the bathroom, leaving the door slightly open.
"Why are you in such a hurry to get there anyway? I thought you were going to tell them about breaking up with Logan tonight."
"I am. That's why I don't want to be late and make them mad."
"Don't worry; they'll blame me for being late."
"You are to blame." Lorelai ignored her daughter and continued.
"Actually they're going to blame me for your break-up, for letting you back together with Jess, for not locking you in the house and brainwashing you and making you realize that you should get back with Logan…I'm dressed, let's go!" She got out of the bathroom and started walking down the stairs, followed closely by Rory. "So are you going to tell them about Jess?"
"I don't know. He asked me the same thing yesterday. I'll see how it goes with the break-up part and take it from there."
"Okay, sweets, just don't wait too long."
"Coming from the woman who waited for weeks until she told them she was engaged."
"And we both know how that turned out."
They girls got out of the house, entered the car and drove off.
"It's not like they can find out on their own."
"Um…Rory…remember Luke?"
"Yes, I remember the man that's been feeding me ever since I was twelve. What does he have to do with anything?"
"They found out I was dating him from Kirk."
"I forgot about that…do you think I should tell them tonight?"
"It's your choice but I still say the sooner the better. Do it in one swift move "Grandma, grandpa, I-broke-up-with-Logan-and-I'm-dating Jess". Like ripping off a band-aid."
"I'll think about it."
"So anything else new with you and lover-boy? You were sleeping last night when I came home."
"What time did you get home?"
"About eleven. The people from the convention were late and Michel started whining about missing his mani/pedi appointment so I had to wait for them. Did anything happen? Spare me the more intimate details."
"Actually yes. He's moving to New Haven."
"And what about his job in Philadelphia?"
"He found a better one here."
"Or he's on the run from the police."
"Mom, you said you'd give him a chance."
"I did, didn't I? Apparently I have to watch what I say from now on."
"I need you to do this for me. He really has changed."
"Fine. I'll try."
"You said that four times before."
"Maybe I need to repeat it…it could be my new mantra when I meditate."
"You don't meditate."
"Details. So he's moving to New Haven?"
"Yup. And he asked me to go to Philly with him when he goes for his stuff."
"Are you going?"
"I wanted to talk about it with you first."
"How nice of you…make mommy feel like she's important."
"You are important."
"You do what you want to do. After all it's only for a few days, right?"
"Right."
"Well, I think you should go. See, I'm getting so much better at this being supportive thing! And while you're there, see if you can find any embarrassing stories about him from his co-workers."
"So this is all part of your evil plan to find out things you can torture him with."
"Maybe…I'm not saying anymore without my lawyer present."
"You don't have a lawyer."
"Again…details."
"I guess I'll go then. But first I have to get through dinner and live."
They drove in silence for a while, lost in their thoughts, until they got to the mansion.
"We're here!"
"Great!"
"Now, now, little sailor…I'm sure it won't be that bad."
"I bet."
They got out of the car and walked to the front door, where they stopped.
"Ring the doorbell."
"You ring the doorbell."
"You're younger."
"You're closer."
"Rock-paper-scissors?"
"The grown-up way to do make decisions."
"You want me to flip a coin?"
"Fine…rock-paper-scissors. But only because it would take you at least half an hour to find a coin in that purse."
"On three?"
"On three."
"Ok…get ready! One…two…three!"
"Ha! Rock beats scissors! I win!"
"Fine…now ring the doorbell!"
"What? No! I won, you ring!"
"You won that means that you won the right to ring the doorbell!"
"Nuh-uh…you have to ring!"
"Let's play again, and this time whoever wins rings!"
"Forget it! I'll ring!" Rory rang the doorbell and the girls stood silent for a few seconds until the door opened and they saw Emily on the other side.
"Girls, you're finally here!"
"Hey, grandma, sorry we're late but…"
"The traffic was absolutely awful!" Lorelai cut her off and Rory shot her an evil look.
"Yes, I heard something about that on the radio. Now, come on, don't just stand there."
The girls went inside and Emily started walking towards the living room. Lorelai looked at Rory and whispered:
"What's wrong with her? She didn't even yell at us!"
Rory just shrugged and walked to the living room, followed closely by her mother. They sat down on the couch while Emily poured the drinks.
"Where's dad tonight, mom?"
"He had a meeting to attend so it's going to be just us girls tonight." She handed each girl a glass of champagne before sitting down on the chair with a glass of her own in hand.
"Champagne, mom? That's fancy! Are we celebrating something?"
"Well, I thought that a small celebration was in order seeing as Rory finished her second year of college. How did your last finals go, Rory?"
"Pretty good."
"I'm sure you did great. So, do you have any plans for this summer? Maybe go somewhere with Logan?"
She took a deep breath and looked at her grandmother, her hand clutching the glass in her hand. "Actually, grandma, I'm not with Logan anymore."
"What? Why?"
"It's a long story…"
"But you two were perfect for each other."
Lorelai looked at Rory and muttered under her breath… "3,2,1…and…"
"Lorelai, this is all your fault!"
"We have liftoff!" She whispered before turning her attention to her mother "How is this my fault, mom?"
"If you weren't so passionate about not wanting Rory to have anything to do with us and our friends, she wouldn't have broken-up with that boy! But, no, Rory can't possibly date someone that's good for her and that comes from a respectable family!"
"Oh, yes, what a terrific family that boy has. I had nothing to do with this! Rory's isn't a brainless kid that needs me to make decisions for her! If she broke up with him then she must have had a good reason and that reason has nothing to do with me!"
"Then I want to know the reason!"
Rory looked up from the spot on the carpet that she had been staring at for the last minutes and put her glass on the table.
"Grandma, Logan and I just weren't meant to be. It's got nothing to do with mom or anyone else!"
"Nonsense. He was a very suitable young man, not to mention the best boyfriend you've ever had. Oh, please tell me you're not back together with that awful boy that you dated before him!"
"No, grandma, I'm not back with Dean."
"Good. That means there's still a chance for you two to get back together."
"I don't think there any chance of that ever happening."
"Why is that? Are you seeing someone else?"
"This has nothing to do with anyone else, as I said before! Logan and I weren't right for each other and that's the end of this discussion!" Lorelai looked at her daughter and put her hand over hers, trying to calm her down.
"Don't take that tone, with me, young lady! This is certainly not the end of this discussion because I just asked a question and I expect an answer!"
"As a matter of fact, I am!"
"Who?"
"Jess! I'm with Jess and I love him and nothing you say will change that fact!"
"Jess? The boy who broke your hand and then left you? You're back with that hoodlum? How could you let this happen, Lorelai? If you weren't dating that diner man Rory would know that that boy certainly isn't appropriate for her!"
"Don't turn this on me, mom! I dated proper young men all the time when I was a teenager and I still got pregnant! Rory can date whomever she wants!"
"She's young; she doesn't know what she wants!"
"Don't talk about me like I'm not in the room! I can make my own decisions and I decided that I want to be with Jess, not Logan! And you want to talk about Logan, fine, let's talk about him! He doesn't care about school, or the paper! He puts our editor through Hell's fire every time he asks him to submit an article! The only thing he does is party! And that amazing family of his that you mentioned earlier? They attacked me when I went to dinner at their house; they told me I'm not good enough to date their precious son! And Mitchum, he told me I don't have what it takes to be a journalist! If Jess hadn't been there for me I would have done something immensely stupid. So, I'm sorry if I spoiled your perfect plans but I'd rather be with someone who loves me and respects me then with some rich playboy that doesn't give a crap! Now please excuse me, but I'm not hungry anymore!" She stormed out of the room and the house, followed by Lorelai, after she muttered a quick goodbye to her mother and they got in to the car.
"That was…interesting."
"It sure was."
"Are you okay, kid?" She caressed her daughter's head, smiling sympathetically.
"I will be."
"Home?"
"Luke's. I need coffee."
"Whatever you want…"
A/N: Sorry for the long wait but real life if bugging me lately. This chapter is longer then usual so I hope you'll forgive me. I hope no one is too OOC. It might take me a while until I update again because I have a big test in a few days and my birthday is next week so I apologize in advance. Thank you for all the reviews and a special thanks to Cat for the BETA.