8.38 PM
As Florence Gattenfield, president of the D.A.R., concluded her Fourth of July speech, Lorelai thought that if she had a nickel for every time the woman had mentioned a forefather, she could afford her own independence from this party. Another tempting option was to throw herself out of a window.
The Gilmore House was overflowing with her parents' guests. This year, they had surprisingly enough decided to throw a costume party – this was not a very common thing for them to do, it seemed likely that the fabulous costume party that Mrs. Camper threw last month had something to do with it. Lorelai was dressed as a pirate with a peg leg, and it was a little more fun than the usual ball gown, you gotta admit that.
But costume or not, none of her friends had come . Well, technically, they hadn't been invited because her parents wanted her to be without competition since who they did invite was many young men they considered suitable for Lorelai. Her mother somehow picked up that things were not well between her and Christopher at the moment and she probably wanted to make sure that Lorelai found a boy of good breed.
She'd been standing by the window fighting off one pedigree after another and when she thought she thought it couldn't get worse, she spotted Teddy at the entrance. He was dressed as uncle Sam, with a long white fake beard that flapped around his shoulders as he trotted against her, waving and smiling.
"Hi, oh, hi Lorelai!" Tail wagging, ears bouncing. He was way too happy to see her, it had been a stupid, stupid idea to talk to him in the cafeteria the other day.
"Quite the... uh, great speech, huh?"
"Thrilling. I was just about to draft my own declaration of boredom."
"Yeah, that's so right, I mean, the forefathers were cool and all, but I bet they never had to sit through a party like this, right?"
Lorelai thought that might have been the longest sentence she'd ever heard escape his mouth.
"Revolutionary insight, Teddy. You should share it with the group."
"Do you like it here tonight?"
"Do I look like a forefather and speeches kinda girl to you? I haven't even been able to lay my hands on something to drink."
"I- uh, I got this, if you wanna share?"
Teddy pulled out a surprisingly large flask from inside his jacket pocket and Lorelai's face lit up.
"Oh, now we're talking. Let's get out of here."
***
The pool house was dimly lit, quiet and calm when Lorelai and Teddy entered. Teddy threw himself on a sofa and sprawled his limbs over it.
"This is swell, Lorelai. Really swell."
"Sure, swell, cool, whatever, where's the booze? I have to get at least mentally out of here." He clumsily dug out the little flask from his jacket's pocket and gave it to her.
"So…" she took a swig from the flask, watching him, trying to find some common ground to thread, "what have you been up to lately?"
"Played a great game last week! Do you wanna know what happened in the final quarter?"
"Do I have a choice?"
He didn't listen.
"In the final quarter, I threw the most epic pass! Like this!" Teddy bounced off the couch to physically show Lorelai how he threw a football over the field. "It was like, the ball just knew where it needed to go, you know?
She watched him, eyes blinking.
"Fascinating. The ball had a mind of its own, then?"
"Exactly! You get it, you really get it! It's all about that connection with the game. Like, when I'm out there, I'm not just playing, I'm living," Teddy continued, waving his arms animated over his head. Lorelai took a specifically large gulp from the flask.
"Thrilling, indeed. I'll make sure to note that down when they rewrite the rules of excitement." Teddy startled a little.
"I, uh, I don't know what you mean, Lorelai?" he said, looking dumbfounded. Lorelai shook her head a little and shot him a patronizing look while putting her feet up on the coffee table and arms behind her neck. She leaned backwards at the couch's headrest.
"You know what would be a real blast, Teddy? If we graffitied the ceiling in here like the Star-Spangled Banner. Can you imagine the look on my mom's face? She'd go ballistic!
Teddy looked horrified.
"No, Lorelai, you can't be serious! That's... that's defacing property. And it's disrespectful, not just to your mom, but to the flag!"
"Oh, come on, Teddy boy, it's just a bit of fun."
"But there are rules, Lorelai. And respect. We should always show respect, especially to our parents. And the nation!"
Lorelai blinked.
"You're a real riot at parties, Teddy. I can see now why the football team is so lively."
Teddy didn't read anything into either her tone or comment. He smiled widely and scooted over.
"I think you look really pretty tonight," he said, patting her upper arm awkwardly. "Can I kiss you?"
Lorelai stared at him in disbelief. He really looked like a happy, stupid puppy. She took a large gulp from the bottle.
"Yeah, what the hell," she said eventually, "will shut you up anyway."
***
"Wow," Teddy said, an infatuated look on his sweaty, red face, "that was, that was… Lorelai, I…"
"Well, I guess I've had worse."
She began to look for her dress, lifting her head from beneath the blankets just as the door to the pool house swung open and there stood Richard. He stared at Lorelai and Teddy, sprawled on the sofa in unfortunate plain sight. For a brief moment, he was speechless, eyes wide with shock.
"Lorelai! Theodore! What on earth do you think you're doing?"
"It's the Fourth of July, Dad. We're celebrating independence. From, well, you."
"Inside, now, Lorelai. We will talk about the consequences of this behavior later."
"And as for you, young man, pull up your pants and I will discuss this with your father," Richard shouted. "Lorelai, get dressed!" She quickly pulled on her striped shirt and torn khaki shorts.
"Should I wear the eye patch, dad?"
Richard clearly wasn't in the mood for a joke, he just grabbed her arm stomping back into the main house, dragging Lorelai with him.
"Emily! Are you aware of our daughter's activities in the pool house? She lost her… well, she was… she was doing things! With a boy! On the couch! Emily! Where are you?"
***
After the last guests had gone home, Lorelai gently eased the backdoor of the Gilmore house open, ensuring it made no sound as she slipped out into the early dawn. The cool July morning brushed against her skin, the grass still holding onto the night's dew, wetting her Converse's as she walked over the lawn. The stupid neighborhood was actually serene, with only the occasional chirp of early birds breaking the silence.
She kicked little rocks on the pavement. Stupid Teddy, it was all his fault. No, stupid Jenny McKenna with her stupid little tits and reindeer eyes, if it wasn't for her Teddy would never even have been a problem.
When Lorelai reached Elizabeth Park, the soft glow of dawn painted the world in hues of gold and pink. She wandered aimlessly among the trees and flower beds. She considered climbing a tree for a better view of the sunrise, but then she noticed him. Chris. Sitting atop the little gazebo in the middle of the park, hugging his knees to his chest, smoking a cigarette. Her heart skipped a beat. She slowly walked closer, around the little house, until he could see her.
"Hey."
"Oh." He looked down at her, utterly surprised. "Hi."
He took a drag.
"Can I come up?"
He shrugged.
"Well, it's a free world."
She had to yank up her jeans skirt around her waist to be able to climb onto the gazebo, and he turned his head away from her when she settled next to him.
"The forefathers didn't make it easy to climb gazebos, that's one thing about them I don't like," she said. He didn't reply, and didn't look at her.
"Where's the jock?" he said, after a moment of silence.
"Teddy? Oh, he's probably still trying to figure out which way the fireworks go. You know, up."
She waited for a reaction, but Chris remained silent.
"Actually, spending time with Teddy is like watching paint dry. But if the paint was also giving a lecture on the history of watching paint dry."
He exhaled, smoke coming out of his mouth.
"How stupid of me. I thought football guys were all about excitement and adrenaline."
"If by excitement you mean a play-by-play of every game he's ever almost won, sure. It's like being trapped in a sports broadcast with no off switch."
Chris finally turned to face her.
"You tell me you didn't find his detailed analysis of grass stains on his uniform fascinating?"
This time she looked away.
"Look, Chris... It was a mistake. A huge mistake. Hanging out with him, I mean. I'm really, really sorry. I guess I was just... I don't know. You were with Jenny and then Teddy just kinda happened and I couldn't get rid of him. He was too stupid to understand when I tried to ditch him."
Chris raised his eyebrows.
"What? Jenny and I were never a thing."
"Oh, please. You two were practically attached at the lips during Charlie's party."
"Attached? It was a little peck that lasted less than a second. And she attacked me!" His eyes widened. "Don't tell me that's why you took a detour in jock county?"
"Well, from where I was standing, it looked like you were auditioning for a romantic lead."
Chris shook his head in disbelief.
"I'm sorry! It was nothing, really, she just kinda tried to kiss me and I turned her down and then I didn't realize there was a mix-up to clarify until you were suddenly cheerleader-adjacent." He leaned in closer, looking her deep in the eyes.
"When I saw you with Teddy, it felt like I had lost my chance before I even got one." His voice trembled a little. Lorelai reached out and touched his hand.
"Hey. You didn't lose your chance. Here we are, right?"
Chris smiled at her and took her hand between his.
"Yeah. Here we are." He paused. "So, no more field trips to jock county?"
"Consider me retired from cheerleading."
"Good." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
"So, we're back to our regularly scheduled programming then? You, me, and my favorite blend of Gilmore mayhem on the rocks?"
"Sounds like it."
Chris kissed her forehead.
"Lorelai Gilmore, I'll never let you go again."