"Hello." Anna put the phone on speaker while she was making sushi.
"Hello, I have amazing news. Grandpa and I have gotten back together." Emily loved saying it. Since only her family knew about the separation she was happy she got another chance to relay the news.
Anna let out a scream of excitement. "Oh my god that is so great. I'm happy for you guys." She couldn't imagine them not being together.
"Yes, it is great. We are getting married again to celebrate it." She told her.
"Let me know when and I'll be there." She promises.
"You'll be more than there. You'll be the flower girl." She smiled when she got another excited scream.
"Thank you so much. I won't disappoint you." She didn't care that she was grown, she was going to live her childhood dream.
"I know you won't." She giggles.
"Mom, what color are you wearing to the wedding?" She was looking through a mom-and-daughter store. They specialized in matching outfits.
"Blue. Why? Aren't you going to be a bridesmaid? I got you the same dress in your size." She told her.
"No, I'm going to live my childhood dream of being a flower girl and to not look ridiculous Gigi will be joining me. Grandma said we need the same color and fabric. So what is it?" She asked.
"Is Christpher coming?" Her voice raised since she lied to Luke about drinking with him.
"I don't think so. I'm picking her up from her grandparents. He didn't say meet you there unless he thinks we're going together." She thought she understood the plans but now she wasn't sure.
"Could you find out for me?" She asked.
"Sure, I can but when are you going to tell Luke that you and Dad are friends?" She didn't see the need for the secret. When you get with a woman with kids, you should be prepared to deal with the baby daddy.
"I don't know. We're in a good place." She didn't want to ruin things.
"Alright… are you going to tell me about your dress or what?" She wanted to push her to tell him but her mind seemed to be made up.
"I already bought the dress so why don't I make Gigi's." She offers.
"Are you sure?" She knew her mom had a lot going on.
"Yeah, I can call your dad for the measurement and see if he's coming." She was happy for a reason to call him to ask.
"Okay. Thanks." She walked out of the store.
Anna, Rory, and Lorelai are preparing a feast of frozen waffles, pop tarts, and other junk foods. Naruto and Sasuke were at their feet ready to get anything that dropped. Rory's laptop is set up at the table and she is burning CDs so they would all have a copy without having to pay for three CDs. "I'm so glad you're here. I bought that box weeks ago and Rory wouldn't make them for me." She watches her youngest make the instant mashed potato.
"Hey! You want them, not me." Rory defends herself.
"My teacher would be mortified right now," She thought of Chef Ned listening to her mother whine about how hard instant mashed potatoes are. His head would explode when he heard her say that they were better than the real thing because they were always smooth.
"So, what did dad say?" Anna looked out the window where she could see Luke and Jess working on the boat.
"Grandma invited him but he doesn't know if he's going yet." She updated her.
"Ah, that gives you nothing." She sighs.
"Hey, do you want Arcade Fire?" Rory held up the CD.
"I don't know, do I?" Lorelia tilts her head.
"Yes." She put it on her laptop to make two copies.
There is a knock at the back door. "Who is it?" She sings.
"It's me," Luke shouted.
"Me who?" She smiles.
"Rory, can you just open the door?" She went to do so. "Do you have an extension cord I can use?"
"I'll go look." Anna leaves to look through the closet of junk. After finding it she went back to the kitchen to hold it out to Luke.
"Thank you. I'll let you get back to taking five years off your life." He looks in disgust at the table.
"Meh. They were the five where I would've been wearing fuschia lipstick way beyond my lip line, so I wouldn't want 'em anyhow." Lorelai kissed him before he went back to his boat. Anna put the pizza bites into the oven. She finished putting the white powder donuts on their appetizer platter. "Okay. First course ready. Let's Cop Rock." They head for the living room. The phone rings. Lorelai answers it while Anna and Rory set up the living room. Rory put the movie on. Anna put the platter down. She made the couch a comfy place with pillows and blankets. The animals jumped up to take their spots.
"No. Hello? Mom? But…." She screams into the phone only to hear the dial tone. "She's coming over."
"Why?" Rory whines.
"Because she won't buy her seamstress a puppy." She dropped down on the couch in defeat.
"Oh, sure." Anna scoffs. She loved her grandma but she would complain if she saw their plans for the night.
"Something about her dress. Crap, what are we going to do?" She looked down at the food she was excited for. "We can't eat all of this before she gets here."
"This we could but not the pizza, mash potatoes, and soda floats." Anna thought of the rest of their dinner plans.
"Okay, we'll have to do the evening in two parts. We'll watch one Cop Rock, eat this stuff here, she'll come over, I'll get her dress done as fast as I can, then we'll continue with our evening." Lorelai made a plan.
"Maybe we should put it off." Rory didn't want to rush this.
"No, we don't know when we'll all be in the same room again. She comes, I fix, she goes, we Rock. Now eat." She grabs a donut.
"It's not fun if it's a demand." Anna grabs a pop tart.
"Eat!" Her mom started the movie.
Emily knocks on the door. Lorelai answers it. "Mom, great. Come on in. Okay, so, is that the dress?"
"Yes, yes…" She came into the house.
"Okay, well, let me take a look here." She takes it from her.
"Hi, Grandma. Big day tomorrow, huh?" Rory greeted her from the couch.
"Hey," Anna waves to her.
"That wasn't your dinner, was it?" Emily grimaced at the platter that had the remains of the food.
"No, that was just the appetizer." She corrected.
"Oh, well that's a relief." She rolled her eyes.
Lorelai unzipped the dress and was surprised when she couldn't spot anything. "Mom, I don't see anything wrong."
"Lorelai, are you blind? Look!" She went to look over her shoulder.
"Where?" She narrowed her eyes.
"Right there. That bead and that bead and that bead, all loose." She pointed at the spots.
"Okay, I see it now. I don't know how I missed it. Well, this is going to take me no time at all, five minutes tops." She was happy that it was an easy fix.
"Well, don't rush it." She didn't want her to ruin the dress.
"No, no, no rush. It's an easy job. Three and a half minutes and you're on your way. You don't even need to sit down, because, by the time you do, that'll be done. You should have left the car running 'cause that's how quick this is going to be." She bolts up the stairs.
"So, how are you holding up, Grandma?" Anna asked.
"I'm a wreck, actually." She sat down between them on the couch.
"Why?" Rory wonders.
Before she could answer, Lorelai yelled from her room. "Two minutes and we're done!"
"I still can't decide exactly what to do with my hair, and I have absolutely zero faith that my wedding planner is going to be able to pull this off…" Emily was interrupted by her daughter again.
Lorelai returns with her sewing things. "Thirty seconds… Someone clock me." She stopped when she saw Emily taking off her coat. "What are you doing?"
"Do you have anything to drink?" She asked her host.
"No, no, Mom, why are you taking off your coat?" She didn't know why she was getting comfortable.
"Some wine, or some chilled vodka, perhaps?" She asked.
"Yeah, but you might want to hold off on having a drink, Mom, 'cause you're going to be driving in two shakes of a lamb's tail." She was fixing the first loose bead.
"Well, I could use a little something. Calm my nerves about this wedding planner I hired." She wanted everything to go perfectly tomorrow.
"I'm sure everything's going to be fine." She cut the string to move on to the next bead.
"I don't see how it can be, everything is so last minute, and I didn't even get a rehearsal!" She wished they had a practice run.
"Mom, I promise you, I have successfully walked in a straight line at least once before. I can get you the cop's name if you want to talk to him." She moved to the last bead.
"Oh, well, it's too late to do anything about it now." She gets up to go into the kitchen.
"No, no, Mom. Wait, I'm almost there, I'm almost there! I'm done, I'm done, I'm done!" She yelled in a panic. The phone rings.
"Stop her from getting a drink." She told her kids.
"I don't know. She is nervous and doesn't want to be alone. Maybe we can make a deal that if she stays she can't say anything judgmental about our night." Anna didn't have the heart to throw her out.
"That would be impossible… Hello?" She answered the phone. "I'm fine, Dad, how are you?".
They listened in on the one-sided conversation, not being able to tell what was going on. "Okay, so here's a fun twist for your viewing pleasure. My father thinks my mother is here for her bachelorette party." She updates them once she hangs up the phone.
"Ah, were you supposed to throw her a bachelorette party?" Anna looks at the maid of honor.
"I didn't think you had a bachelorette party when you hadn't been a bachelorette for forty years. Oh my God, she is going to hold this against me for the rest of my life." She looks at the kitchen doorway.
"So, what do we do?" Rory asked the room.
"I'm going to call Miss Patty. Mom calls Sookie." Anna pointed at her mom and then her sister. "You go over to Babettes. I'll run to the stores to get some supplies and liquor."
"Lots of liquor." Her mom yelled at her retreating form.
Lorelai enters the living room with Gypsy. Emily is laughing on the couch with Patty and Babette, drinking from plastic cups. "Look, everyone, it's Gypsy!" Lane and Kyon were sitting by the fireplace. Naruto was sitting by Lane, wagging his tail at all the pets he was getting. Sookie was half-conscious in the armchair.
"Gypsy! Gypsy's here! Everyone, Gypsy's here!" Emily slurs out a cheer. Anna laughs at her grandma falling under the spell of Miss Patty's punch.
"Gypsy, that's Emily." Lorelai introduces them.
"Come on, Gypsy, come over here and sit by me." She pointed at the spot that was taken. Babette picked up Sauske who was on her lap to move down. Gypsy sits next to Emily.
"I have to say, Lorelai, I love this drink. Have you ever had one of these, Gypsy?" Before the woman could answer Emily gave her a full cup.
"You know, you may look high-brow, Emily, but underneath, you're a broad." Babette knew under all that seriousness was a fun gal.
Rory walks in with a plate of tater tots. "Did you hear that, Gypsy, I'm a broad." Emily's laughter filled the room.
"Yeah, I always suspected," Gypsy said to the woman she met a few minutes ago.
"So, Emily, tell us about this party of yours tomorrow." Miss Patty turns to her.
"It's going to be fabulous. Isn't it, Lorelai?" She looks at her daughter.
"Ab fab, sweetie darling." She put on a British accent.
"Isn't she hilarious? I never have any idea what she's talking about, but she's so entertaining! Like a chimp. Isn't she like a chimp, Gypsy?" She turns to the only person besides the family whose name she remembers in the room.
"Please make your mother stop talking to me." She whispers to Lorelai.
"If only I had that power." She would have gotten rid of a lot of stress if she could.
"The party is going to be very, very big. Flowers are everywhere, and my dress is incredible. The woman who made it is a genius." Lorelai and her daughters shared a look before laughing at Emily complimenting the woman she was ready to sentence to death when she first came there.
"So where's it going to be?" Babette sips her punch.
"The Windsor Club." She brags.
"Ooh, fancy." Sookie sings.
"Well, that ain't no toilet bowl." Babette nods.
"No, it certainly is not. It is the perfect place to have my perfect wedding. And what I had to go through to get it, let me tell you." She goes to take a sip of her drink to find it empty. "The cup's empty!" Anna gets up to refill her drink. "It was booked up two years in advance, and the Sheldrakes had the Rose Room. They were having a retirement party or something like that, and they simply refused to let us have the room. They were stubborn and selfish, and now, after all the strings I pulled, they are across town at the Bluestone Club, with their piped-in music and their porn fountains." Anna put the drink into her hand.
"You go, Miss Gotti." Patty gave her a playful shove.
"I must say this is the best bachelorette party I ever had." She was having so much fun. She could see why Lorleai moved here.
"I feel like we should play games or something, or have naughty gifts like edible underwear or dirty-shaped pasta." Sookie perks up with all the positive energy.
"Yeah, too bad… oh, oh!" Lorelia gets up. "Just a sec."
"Where is she going? Gypsy, where is she going?" She turned to her left. Gypsy looks uncomfortable.
Lorelai ran out with a box of pasta that made Rory, Anna, and Sookie start giggling. "I want in on the joke," Babette complains.
"Mom, for you on your special night." She gives it to her mom.
"What's this? Oh my God! Oh my God!" She takes it to see the penis-shaped pasta in shock before laughing with Patty and Gypsy.
Anna was doing GiGi's hair when Emily and Rory came in. "Rory." Anna had to let go of the hair when the small girl ran to hug her sister.
"I just got her calm enough to sit for me to do her hair." She sighs.
"Sorry." Rory lied. She wanted to be sorry but she was excited that Gigi liked her. They only had one day together.
Lorelai came in holding up two necklaces. "Which one do you want?" She showed her mother.
She pointed to the right one. "That one, the other for my birthday."
"Look at that, it's so fancy." Rory gasps at the jewelry.
"Your grandfather has perfect taste in necklaces and earrings. It's very important to find a man who can pick out your jewelry." Emily went to hang up her dress.
"Can Jess pick out jewelry?" Gigi returned to sit in front of Anna.
"You saw his rings." Anna refers to his biker rings.
"No then." She found the rings to be scary.
Lorelai heads for the door. "Where are you going?" Her mother asked.
"Uh, to give Dad back the necklaces." She didn't want to hold onto the expensive jewelry for too long.
"Hang your dress up first." She pointed to where the hooks were.
"Someone wants to sneak off to see their boyfriend." Anna teased when she walked by them to get a hair tug from Lorelai.
"I'm going to change." Rory went into the changing room.
"Great. Come back as Thora Birch." Her mother requested.
Emily sits down at the vanity. "Oh, Lord, look at that. Pierre has his work cut out for him today."
"Stop it, grandma, you look gorgeous." Anna finished with Gigi's hair.
"Lorelai, why am I doing this?" In reply, Lorelai holds up the necklace. "Oh, yes. It is pretty, isn't it?" She smiled at her husband knowing her so well.
"It's pretty freaking awesome is what it is." She put it in her pocket.
"Oh my God, I'm so nervous, I haven't eaten anything all day." She put a hand over her stomach. Gigi grabs her ziplock of goldfish cheese crackers and walks over to hold it up to Emily. "Oh, thank you." She took one to appease the child.
"Do you want me to whip up a little pasta for you, Mom?" She winks.
"Stop that. Maybe I should take a seconal." She wonders.
"Excellent idea, Judy. Alright, my dress is hung." She needs to check on Luke.
"Make sure you hurry back. Lisette will be here to do your hair any minute." She let her know that they had a schedule to keep.
"My hair is already done." She had done her hair and makeup before they left. It was the reason they were late.
"Don't worry. She can fix it." Emily reassured her. Lorelai gives her a look. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I'm so nervous, I can't think."
"Why are you nervous?" Lorelai didn't see how today would change her life.
"I'm getting married!" She thought it was obvious.
"For the second time. Mom, it's a pretend wedding. has them all the time!" She reminds her.
"Well, it certainly feels like a real wedding. After all, we've been separated for months. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to have a man around the house. Oh, God, I missed him. It's a wonderful thing to have a husband, a partner, somebody who's always there. Oh, Lorelai, don't you think you'll ever want to be married?" A smile grew on the older woman's face as she thought of her husband. Anna smiles hoping she feels the same about Jess after so many years.
"Well, um…." She smiles. "I do."
Emily stares in shock before saying, "Well, that's nice."
Rory coming out of the dressing room in her tux. "Best man in the house!" She put her hands up like she was raising the roof.
Anna let out a whistle for Gigi to copy her. "Oh, my goodness, Rory, you look adorable!" Emily stood up to circle her.
"Say, aren't you the culture queer eye guy?" Lorelia giggles.
"You look like one of those pretty anime guys." Anna meant it as a compliment.
"Like Haku." Gigi nods along.
"Ignore them, you look dashing." Emily grabs her arm.
"Yeah, now go buy me some earrings." She playfully pushes her shoulder.
"I like it." She walks over to check the mirror.
"Hey, it's not fair that she gets to dress like that." She points at her daughter.
"Your dress is beautiful." Emily glares.
"Yeah, but she gets to wear, like, a costume. Can't I dress like your maid? It'll be whimsical and I can wear flats." She perks up. Anna laughs at the mental image.
"Go give the necklaces back to your father." She sat down in front of the vanity.
"You like her better." She leaves the room.
A string quartet plays as the congregation waits for the ceremony to begin. Jess was sitting on the last seat in the front row with two empty seats next to him. Luke was sitting in the chair after that. "So, tell me, Luke, have you ever considered being a gardener?" Marilyn, who made a woman move over so she could sit next to Luke, rubs his arm.
"Uh, I'm not very good at growing things." He found the question odd.
"Oh, Luke. That's the least important part of being a gardener." She giggles. Jess had to hold back a gag.
The judge, Richard, and Rory enter from a side door and take their places at the front. The congregation turns around to watch for the women to come in. Anna and Gigi walk down the stairs and the aisle while throwing white rose petals on the ground. Gigi waves at Jess when she sees him while Anna beams. Despite himself, Jess grows a large smile making Luke have one as well. They sit by him when Lorelai walks down the stairs and the aisle, winking at Luke before she takes her place. Rory notices Logan and smiles happily. The congregation rises to welcome Emily, who smiles as she takes Richard's hand at the front.
"May you all be seated, please." They sit. As the judge talks, Rory notices the girl next to Logan lean over and whisper in his ear. Logan laughs. She feels jealous. "I have known Richard and Emily Gilmore for twenty years now. I know them to be two of the most formidable opponents the world has ever seen. They complement each other. They defend each other. They were made for each other. And today, in front of friends and family, Richard and Emily have chosen once again to say to each other, I choose you. How many of us in a lifetime even get chosen once for something we want?" Anna grabs Jess's hand for him to squeeze hers. "Richard and Emily, will you please face each other? Please repeat after me. I, Richard Gilmore."
"I, Richard Gilmore…" He repeats.
Anna, Jess, and Gigi walk into the reception area to meet up with Christopher. "I'm glad you decided to show up." She smiled at her dad.
"Yeah, it's not often all my daughters are in one place." He smiles.
Gigi tugs on Jess's hand and points to the dance floor. "She remembers your promise," Anna snickers.
"Oh come on, I only said that so she would keep still during the ceremony." He whines.
"A promise is a promise." Gigi did the same whining tone.
"Fine." He let her pull him to the floor.
"Oh crap, Aunt Totsy here." Anna cringes.
"I don't want to smell like that weird perfume, mothballs, and alcohol." Chris could already smell her by looking at her.
"Just going to keep moving." Anna went to join Jess and Gigi. They danced until Emily and Richard came in to take center stage.
"Come on, we got to sit." Jess took Gigi over to Chris before they sat at their table.
Richard takes the microphone. Emily takes a seat facing him. "Thank you. On behalf of myself and my second wife, Emily, I would like to thank you all for coming here to help us celebrate. You are good friends, and we are very, very lucky. Now, in planning our traditional first dance, I gave a lot of thought to the song that would represent the next phase in our marriage. The best phase in our marriage, I believe." Emily blows him a kiss. "I went over all the greats: Bennett, Sinatra, Chuck Berry, and a story popped into my head. Now, most of you know my daughter, Lorelai. When Lorelai was three, she went through a period of having chronic ear infections. It was terrible. Screaming all night long, we couldn't keep a nanny longer than a week."
"Yeah, that was the terrible part. The searing pain was just a side note." She jokes to the table.
"And so, it fell to Emily to sit with her all night long. She tried everything to calm her down. Finally, she found a song that seemed to soothe her. It was a popular song on the radio and it soon became Emily's favorite. Of course, it drove me crazy. A woman complained about how she wanted to marry a man named Bill. Not exactly Cole Porter. Emily would tease me, saying, 'If only your name was Bill, then this could be our song.' Well, Emily, for tonight, and tonight only, my name is Bill, and this is our song. Hit the button, Johnny." He pulls her to her feet. "Your hand, madam."
Anna put her hand over her heart as she leaned against Jess. Richard and Emily slowly dance. Chris stares over at Lorelai and Luke and orders another drink. Rory stares at Logan and the blonde. "At this time, if you're in love, I invite you to join Emily and Richard on the dance floor," Johnny announced.
Anna pulls Jess up to dance with her. "Our song could be Jess's girl." She giggles.
"Or, Oh Susanna." He snorted.
Anna and Jess were sitting on a couch with a sleeping Gigi. "Fucking drunk," Jess mutters under his breath. Chris had stumbled back into the party. "How the hell is he even going to get home?"
"His mom's driver. I already called him." She couldn't believe how drunk he let himself get.
Marilyn came to them in a hurry. "Anna come, we have to get a picture in front of the cake so we can eat it."
Anna goes to stand with the wedding party. "We're done. Me and you are done." Lorelai whispers to Emily as the camera flashes. It got a shocked look from Emily and a confused look from Anna.
"I'm happy that we weren't involved in tonight's mess." Jess was tugging off his tie. Lorelai and Rory update them on their nights. Rory and Logan were making out when Lorelai, Luke, and Chris caught them and things got crazy with Lorelai having to pull them out of the room. Emily had convinced Chris that he had to win Lorelai back. Chris spilled everything, making Luke leave without them, so they had to squeeze in Anna's car.
"Yeah, I feel bad for them." She was wiping off her makeup. He strips down to boxers.
"Bad for them? We had to watch a child in a formal setting with a hundred rich snobs." He could feel the judgment anytime she had a loud outburst even when it was laughing.
"Please, you had fun. I saw you smiling at her." She rolled her eyes. She let her dress drop to put on a sports bra.
"She is chaotic and loud but she reminds me of you." He could see a little Anna.
She turns around to smile at Jess. She loved that he was sweet without even trying. It wasn't forced or thought about, it was natural. "I'm so lucky to have you." She thought of her mom and sister's situation.
"Stop trying to seduce me, I'm tired." As proof, he closed his eyes to drift off to sleep. She giggles at seeing him in her childhood bed.