Anna was working at Luke's while her mom and sister were at Miss Patty doing a costume fitting for the Christmas pageant. "I'm surprised you're not in the pageant." Caesar flips some burgers.
"Are you kidding? I avoid that pageant like the plague. The costumes only get washed once a year, right after the pageant. They are dusty and itch. Taylor doesn't want to replace anything because most of that stuff has been there since the first pageant. As you can imagine everything is falling apart. Every year baby Jesus's arm pops off and gets lost. The fitting is something that starts in the morning and doesn't end until nightfall." She explained why she always had an excuse on hand since she played an angel for the pageant in the fifth grade.
"What was your excuse this year?" Luke grabs a few orders.
"That I'm allergic to hay, so I can't be one of the wise men." She dropped a battered chicken into the fryer.
"You thought of everything." Caesar nodded in approval. Luke took the orders to their tables.
"Whenever I decide to get pregnant, this pageant will be taken into mind." She dropped some fries into the fryer too. Mary's part always went to a pregnant woman in town.
Lane and Anna were sitting at Luke's waiting for Rory. "I think she forgot about us." Anna looked down at her watch. It has been half an hour since the meet-up time.
"She always gets like this when she and your mom fight." Lane stood up. Anna follows suit as they walk out to look around town for Rory.
"Oh, there she is." Lane points to the gazebo. "Hey, I thought we were meeting at Luke's." They walk over to Rory.
"We were? Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I forgot." Rory apologized.
"I'll forgive you if you give me the rest of your coffee." Anna nods to the cup in her hand.
"Here," She passed it to her sister.
"Let me guess. You and Lorelai haven't made up yet?" Lane points a mitten cover finger at her.
"Nope, things are still Miracle Worker at my house. God, how did everything get so screwed up?" Rory took a seat on the bench in the gazebo. Lane and Anna sat down also.
"I think you staying out all night with Dean had something to do with it." Lane answers for her.
"And my grandmother being there to witness it didn't help." Rory knew it was the reason her mom freak out as much as she did.
"Never does." Anna took a sip of the coffee.
"It sucks. Things were good. School was good, Dean was good. Now my mother and I are barely speaking. Mom and Grandma are barely speaking. Dean's new name is narcolepsy boy." Rory shot her sister a glare.
"How's he taking it?" Lane asks.
"I don't know. I haven't talked to him since it happened." Rory told her.
"He doesn't like it now, but he'll find it funny later," Anna explains.
"You didn't?" Rory throws her a panic look. Lane looked at her amused.
"What, I was at Doose while he was working, was I not supposed to throw a playful gab?" She shrugs. Rory sighs, shaking her head.
"That was four days ago." Lane turns back to Rory.
"I know." She nods.
"Has he called?" Lane wonders.
"I told him not to," Rory said.
"And he listened?" Lane gasps.
"No," Anna answers for her. She was the one who had to answer the phone in case it was Dean and most of the time it was him.
"Good boy." Lane nods.
"Ok, I need to talk about something else now." Rory looks to be getting anxiety over her and Dean.
"You went shopping without me." Anna points to the bags by her feet.
"I went Christmas shopping. I got you and mom something. I got a mowing cow-shaped timer for Sookie, some cardio-salsa tapes for Michel, a book for Dean..." She explains.
"You got Dean a book?" Lane cut her off.
"Yeah, Metamorphosis," She nods.
"Metamorphosis," Lane repeats, not impressed.
"It's Kafta," Rory said, like that would clear everything up for Lane.
"Very romantic," She said sarcastically.
"I think it is romantic." Rory defends.
"Normally I would agree that a book isn't a romantic gift. But, this is Rory so it's kind of romantic." Anan defends her sister.
"I've always dreamed that someday a guy would get me a confusing Czechoslovakian novel." Lane points to herself with fake cheer.
"I think he'll appreciate it," Rory said. He always was interested in what she was reading.
"A book sends the wrong message," Lane told her.
"What are you talking about?" She was confused about why Lane was so concerned about her gift to Dean.
"You have to look at what a gift says to the other person, not to you. Remember two years ago, I got my mom that perfume?" Lane reminds them.
"Yeah," Anna nods her head. She remembers helping Lane pick it out.
"Ok, to me that said, 'Hey mom, you work hard, you deserve something fancy'. Now to my mother, it said 'Hey mom, here's some smelly sex juice, the kind I use to lure boys with' and resulted in me being sent to Bible camp all summer." Lane explains to them, making Anna giggle. Mrs. Kim never failed to amuse her.
"Yeah but…" Rory was about to point out that this was different but Lane beat her to the punch.
"Just imagine that you gave Dean something romantic, and he gave you a football. Your hypothetical romantic present is saying that you like him. And his present is saying, hey man, let's just be friends." Lane gave her another example.
"And you're saying that this book is..." Rory looks down at the bag that had the book in it.
"Is a Czechoslovakian football, yes," Lane nods.
"So then what do I get him?" Rory asks, now that she was at a loss.
"What you should do is find out what he's getting you and gauge your gift accordingly," Lane told her.
"But doesn't that kind of take the fun out of it?" Rory wanted to be surprised.
"Gift-giving is a serious business. If you don't believe me try spending a month at Korean Bible camp." Lane told her.
"I'm stressed now." She leaned back.
"At least you know Dean has a budget. I made Tristan promise a max of 40 dollars, but you know he's not sticking to that. So, it doesn't matter what I get him, it's going to look cheap next to his." Anna whines.
"We can all go shopping together," Lane suggested.
"Yeah," The sibling nods.
Anna walks down the stairs to go to her Grandma Christmas party. "What the hell are you wearing?" Lorelai laughs from her spot on the couch.
"What? It's a Christmas party." She looked down at her red high low dress that had a black belt around the middle and white fur around the collar. She had on her gingerbread house high heels, red ornament earrings, and a Christmas charm bracelet. She straightens her hair. She put on silver and white eyeshadow, rosy blush, and pink lipstick.
"Yeah, but it's a Grandma Christmas party." Rory looks at her outfit from the kitchen.
"Then I'll be the talk of that boring party." She shrugs.
"Yes, everyone will say she must have the crazy Lorelai gene. Poor Emily and Richard have to suffer so much." Lorelai put her hand over her heart as if she was soothing it.
"Well, let's get going." Rory carried the wrapped gift they got for their grandparents into the living room.
"You're not coming?" Anna asks her mom. She knows her Grandma uninvited her, but it was Christmas.
"No, she wants to act immature." Rory put the gift down on the table next to Tristan wrapped gift to put on her coat.
"I'm not acting." She uses the remote to change the channel.
"Well, what about the apple tarts? You wait all year for those apple tarts." Anna tried to convince her.
"I can live without the apple tarts." She got up to walk over to them.
"You've made up a song after eating five of them with lyrics that contradict that last statement." Rory reminds her.
Anna took a deep breath to sing the song, but Lorelai shoves her coat into her hands, "Oh you know what? You have to go, you're late." Anna sighs in defeat as she puts on her black trench coat.
"You really won't come?" Rory asks one last time.
"What, I'm sorry, is somebody speaking? Couldn't be Rory, she's already halfway to Hartford." She hands her the car keys.
"Fine, we're going." The girls grab a gift and walk out the door.
"Drive carefully. Watch out for ice…. And bring me back one of those…" Anna closed the door before she could finish that sentence.
Rory rang the doorbell and as usual, they only had to wait a few seconds before Emily opened the door. "Hi Grandma," They greet her.
"Rory, Anna comes in. You look lovely." She let them in. Anna was hoping she still felt the same way when she took her coat off.
"This is from us and mom." Rory hands her the gift.
"Well, aren't you thoughtful? I'll just put it under the tree." She took the present and put in underneath the Christmas tree that was by the entrance to the living room.
"You know mom picked it out," Rory told her.
"That gift?" Emily points to the present in Anna's hands.
"It's Tristan's." She told her.
"Oh, your boyfriend, he's been anxiously waiting for you. It's quite cute." She turns to call for him. "Tristan, Anna's here."
He rushes to her side. When she looked into the living room she knew why it was him and a bunch of her grandparent's friends. "Merry Christmas," He kissed her cheek.
"Rory, do you know Holland Prescott?" Emily pulls Rory into the living room.
"Merry Christmas," She held his gift out.
"Thanks, your gift is under the tree." He took the gift.
"Open it." She nods to the gift in his hands.
"Right, now? Christmas isn't until two weeks." He asks.
"Yeah, there's something in there that I don't want everyone to see." She told him.
With dirty thoughts running through his mind, he rips the wrapper off and opens the box. "It's a satchel. I mean it is nice… amazing satchel. I'll wear it on Monday." He fumbles with his words when he realizes how ungrateful he sounded.
Anna giggles, never hearing him stumble with words. "Look inside the satchel."
He opens it and sees three things. He threw the satchel strap over his shoulder before grabbing the book. He opens it to see photos of them from their dates in it. He put it back in and pulled out a Christmas coupon book, he flipped through it to see things that intrigue him like you win this fight or you can pick the movie but again it wasn't anything he would have to hide. He grabbed the last thing that was an awkward shape. He pulled it out to find it was a light bulb that had little roll-up paper inside and a tag on it that said Turn Me On. "What is this?" He asks.
"It's a sexy game. You pull a paper out and whatever it says we'll do." She explains to him.
"Oh, is my bobcat in heat?" He wiggled his eyebrows. Anna grabs the bulb from him and shoves it into the satchel and closes it when she sees her Grandpa rush past them. He was muttering something about entitled toddlers.
Grandma and Rory walked to the beverage cart that was right next to them. "Anna, Tristan, do you want a drink?" Emily made her friends drinks.
"Spike eggnog." Anna requested to get a look from her grandma.
"Oh, that's a lovely satchel." She looked at the bag he had on.
"Thank you, Anna gave it to me. Thank you by the way." He told his girlfriend when he realized he didn't say that yet. "I'm going to put this in the car, so I don't forget it. Be right back." He walks towards the door.
"I want to apologize for the other night," Rory said when the door shut behind him.
"Rory please, this is a party," Emily told her.
"I messed up, it's my fault." She explains.
"This is not the time or place to discuss this. Your mother should have taught you that." She scolds her.
"Please don't be mad at her." She pleads.
"I'm not mad at anyone. Now go back in and join the party." She lied with a sweet smile on her face.
"But..." Rory wants to truly solve the issue.
"And take this to GiGi on your way back." She hands her two drinks. Rory sighs before going back into the living room.
"Oh Anna, let me take your coat." Emily helps her out of her coat. "Oh, well aren't you the embodiment of the Christmas spirit." She had a forceful smile on her face when she saw her granddaughter's dress.
"I try." She shrugs.
"Here's your eggnog. Try to join the party soon." She passes her the glass and walks back into the living room.
Tristan came back into the house and stopped in his tracks when he saw her. "Whoa, Mrs. Claus, so, how does it work with you? Do I sit on your lap or do you sit on mine?" He winks as he walks over to her.
She rolls her eyes, choosing to ignore his comment. "Which gift is yours?" She looked down at the tree.
"This one," He picks up a blue gift bag that has snowflakes all over it and hands it to her.
She opens it to see the cutest plush bobcat. "Aw, thank you. It's so cute and you stayed on budget." She held it close to her chest then she felt something hard hit her arm. She looked down to see a bracelet around its neck. "You didn't stay on the budget." She gasped. It was a Pandora charm bracelet with silver and gold charms that were mostly hearts.
"I did, the bobcat is for Christmas and the bracelet is just because." He took the bracelet off the stuffed animal and put it on her wrist.
"Thank you." She grabbed his face to kiss him.
"Come on love birds, the party is in here," Rory told them. At this point, she was used to seeing them kiss and having to pull them apart.
They walk back into the living room. "Oh, he got you a stuffed animal." Emily looked at the toy in her granddaughter's hands.
"And this," She held out her wrist that had the bracelet on it. All the ladies gather around her to look at them.
"Oh, a lot of hearts," Holland shot Tristan a smile before looking back at the bracelet.
"A man with good taste in jewelry is one to keep." Emily smiles at her granddaughter.
"You know those charms run around 50 dollars each," Alan hummed in approval.
Anna looked down at her bracelet and counted 12 charms that would be around 600 dollars, that wasn't counting the bracelet. She looks over at Tristan in disbelief. "Don't worry about it." He kisses her forehead making the older women swoon.
The party moves to the dining room table. "Emily, you've outdone yourself yet again." Holland compliments.
"Yes, I can't imagine the hours you spent slaving over a hot stove." Alan cut a piece of his turkey.
"You're teasing me, Alan." Emily gave him a playful glare.
"It's delicious Emily." He put the turkey into his mouth.
"A compliment for my chef is a compliment for me, thank you, Alan," Emily said before eating some turkey herself.
"I for one would like to know where Henry is at this hour. Probably gallivanting around London like a bull out to stud." Richard grumbles about the new hotshot at his insurance company.
"Richard pleases," Emily pleads with him to let it go.
"Well, how is he supposed to negotiate the contract tomorrow morning if he's been out at all hours with some cheap tramp," Richard looked over at his friend.
"Knowing Henry, she wasn't cheap." Alan laughs.
"This is a wildly inappropriate dinner conversation especially in front of young ladies." Emily points to her grandchildren.
"Grandma doesn't know you well," Tristan whispers in Anna's ear making her step on his foot.
"Is it unbearably hot in here?" Richard pulls on his bowtie.
"Richard, don't loosen your tie at the table." Emily scolds her husband.
"So kids, what are your plans for the Christmas holidays?" Jessica, Alan's wife asked them.
"I'll probably just be hanging out with my mom," Rory told her.
"Oh it's such a shame she couldn't come, she's always such a kick," Holland said.
"Lorelai wasn't feeling well so I suggested she stay home." Emily lied. Anna and Rory shot each other unimpressed looks.
"It is hot in here. I'm going to lower the thermostat." Richard stood up and walked out of the room.
"Poor thing, what's wrong with her?" Jessica asked.
"She has a touch of the flu. Richard forgets the thermostat!" Emily calls out for her husband.
"I thought you said she was working?" Holland turns to ask Rory.
Rory looks over at her grandmother for messing up the cover story she made. "Well she was supposed to work but then she caught the flu so one way or another she couldn't have made it," Emily said quickly.
"Tell her we missed her," Holland told Rory.
"I will." She nods.
"Richard! For heaven's sake, Richard!" Emily got up to get him.
"What about you guys?" Jessica asks the young couple at the table.
"Probably just hanging out with her," Tristan put an arm on the back of Anna's chair.
"Oh, young love." Holland put a hand over her heart.
"AW MY GOD, RICHARD!" Emily screams making them run to see what was wrong.
Anna and Rory froze when they saw their grandfather lying limp on the floor. "I'll call for an ambulance." Alan took his cell phone out of his pocket.
Tristan, Rory, and Anna were sitting in the waiting room. "Oh, Grandma finishes talking to the nurse. I'll go see if she found out anything." Rory got up to walk over to her.
"How are you feeling?" Tristan asks Anna.
"He can't die. I just started getting to know him. I know that's a selfish reason but I don't care." She put her head in her hands.
"Hey, he's not going to die." He rubs her back.
A man sat down next to her, she looked over to see Luke. "Luke?" She squints wondering why he was here.
Rory walks over to us with a bunch of newspapers in her hand. "Luke?" She looks at him in the same manner as her sister.
"I gave your mom a ride. We weren't on a date." He told them.
"Oh, okay. That makes me think you were on a date but whatever." Anna shrugs.
"She and your grandmother just went back to see if they can find a doctor." Luke points down the hall. Anna wonders how she could have missed them.
"Did they find out anything else about Grandpa?" Rory took the seat next to Luke.
"I don't think so, but give your mom a couple of minutes back there. I bet she finds something out." He told them.
"Thanks for bringing her." Rory nods.
"You're welcome. Hey, you okay?" He asks her.
"I don't want him to die." She admits.
"Well, you tell him that when you see him ok? People like to hear that." Luke told her.
Lorelai came through the door making her daughters run over to her to hug her. "Mom!"
"Hey, you! Hi." She smiles at them.
"It was horrible! It happened so fast." Rory held her hand.
"I never saw him look so helpless before." Anna couldn't get the image of him lying on the floor out of her head.
"They're about to bring him out of the test room any minute so just hang in there," Lorelai told them.
"Where's Grandma?" Rory looks at the doors.
"Kicking some patients out of the room with a good view," She told them.
"Really?" Anna tilts her head, with the way her grandma was yelling at the nurse she wasn't sure if her mother was joking or not.
"I hope they get him unhooked fast, otherwise he's going without the life support machine." She faked a concerned face.
"So how long before they bring him back?" Anna asks.
"Very soon," She nods.
"I'd like to do something." Rory held the newspapers close to her chest.
"Like rollerblades?" Lorelai wondered what she could want to do.
"Like get some coffee or make phone calls or do something that isn't standing here waiting." The only time that Rory felt almost normal was when she was getting the newspapers.
"Okay, got it. Well as partial as I am to the phone, I'm voting for the get coffee idea." Lorelai said.
"Okay, good. Luke, tea? Tristan, coffee?" She turns to them, already knowing what her sister and mother would get.
"Ah, peppermint preferably," Luke requested.
"Coffee with cream is fine," Tristan told her.
"I'll be right back." She nods to them. Anna took her seat between Tristan and Luke. Lorelai ran to talk to Rory one more time before she went on her coffee/tea run. They spoke for a minute before Lorelai took the seat next to Luke.
A nurse walked over to stop in front of Anna. "Hello," She smiles down at her.
"Do you have news on my grandpa?" She asks, making everyone around her lean in to listen.
"No…. um... I know this might be too much to ask, but our volunteer to read Christmas tales to the kids had to call out. You're dressed the most festive here. If you don't want to, that's fine, one of us nurses can do it." She points at her gingerbread heels. Anna stared at her for a moment as she processed what she said, with everything going on it was taking her longer than it normally would. "Sorry, forget I asked." The nurse waved her hand and turned to walk away.
"Do you have books, because I don't know any off the top of my head?" Anna asks.
"Yeah, we do." The nurse nodded eagerly.
"If you get more information, you can call Tristan's phone." She told her mother.
"Will do," She gave a thumb up.
"Come on," Anna nodded for her boyfriend to come along. He got up and the nurse led them to the room the children were waiting in.
"He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle. And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight, Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night." Anna read the last page of Twas the Night before Christmas attributed by Clement C. Moore.
The children clapped as the nurse who asked her to read came into the room. "Alright, kids it's time to get back to bed." They awed in response to her. "I know, but it's getting late and Miss. Gilmore has to check on her grandpa. Now, tell her thank you and goodbye." She told them.
There were echoes of those words as they exited the room. A child named Hailey who was in a wheelchair and was connected to an oxygen tank stopped in front of her. "Thank you for coming to read to us. I love your earring. I hope your grandpa gets better."
"Thank you. You like my earrings, you can have them." She took her red ornament earring off.
"Really?" She asks. Anna nodded and dropped the earring into her hands. The little girl stared down at them like they were gold. "Thank you. Look, Mrs. Grimes, Miss. Gilmore gave me her earring." She shows the nurse that was pushing her.
"That's nice. You'll look great in them." She smiled down at the child. "Thank you for reading to them. Your Grandpa is in room 202. He's in stable condition." She told her.
"You don't need to thank me. It was a pleasure reading to them." Anna stood up and walked with Hailey to her room. Tristan trails behind her.
"Merry Christmas, Hailey." She waved to the little girl when they got to her room.
"Merry Christmas, Miss. Gilmore." She waves back before going into her room.
"That was sweet of you," Tristan said as they walked to the elevator.
"They were only five dollars, it was nothing." She pushes the button. "It's so sad seeing all of them. They look so small and sick. Most of them are in wheelchairs with IVs and oxygen tanks attached to them." She stepped into the open elevator doors with him.
"Yeah, life is unfair." He pushed the second-floor button.
"They're also inspiring because even though they've been dealt such a crappy hand, they're still smiling. They don't let the problem with their health stop them from getting all the enjoyment they can out of life. I have a bad hair day and I'm grumpy." She thought her day couldn't give her any more mixed emotions, but she was wrong. "Thank you for being here with me." She said as the elevator doors opened.
"Nowhere else I'd rather be than with you." He grabs her hand and walks with her to her grandpa's room. "I'll wait here." He sat by Luke who was staring at his shoes.
She walked into the room. "Hey Grandpa, how are you feeling?" She sat in the chair next to his bed. Her grandma was on the other side talking on the phone to someone about sheets.
"Hello Anna, I'm feeling alright. I heard you read to some kids." He said.
"I read The Elves and the Shoemaker, Velveteen Rabbit, and Twas the Night before Christmas." She told him.
"What happened to your earring?" Emily asks after hanging up the phone.
"A little girl liked them, so I gave them to her." She explains.
"That was kind of you." Richard reached over to squeeze her hand that was resting on the bed railing.
"It was nothing. Life put things into perspective for you." She shrugs.
"I'm glad some good came out of all this." He smiles.
