Saturday March 5, 2005 - Continued

It was only an hour into the party, everyone was there, the hors d'oeuvre were being eaten, drinks were getting drunk, most people had still avoided Patty's punch so far (so no one was too crazy). Everyone was having so much fun that they didn't notice that Luke, Lorelai, Rory, Jess and Sookie had slipped away.

Luke had pulled Jess into Buddy's office.

"Hey I need a small favour," Luke started to ask.

"Sure man, what's up? You need me to toss someone from the party?"

Luke chuckled, "No. Nothing like that. How would you feel about being my best man?

Jess shuffled on his feet for a few moments and then made eye contact, "Me? Why me?"

"Oh, hey look, you can say no," Luke stammered. "I was just asking because you know we did get kinda close when you lived with me and I appreciate you calling every now and then like you are, keeping in touch. I'm not saying you're my kid, but you know I love ya and -"

"You know I do too, right?"

They were both quiet for a minute. Then Jess exhaled and, "Of course if you want me I'll be your best man. Do you guys have any idea when you're having the wedding?"

XoXoXoXoXo

Richard was enjoying his evening more than he expected to. He definitely was having a better time here in Lorelai's world than he did at his usual social gatherings. He was impressed at how the food was delicious if not elegant or exotic. The bar had a decent selection and the small town folks were more educated and interesting than he had expected. He supposed that with all the times that he called his wife a snob, maybe he was one as well. He hoped that by them coming to this party and seeming to fit in so well that maybe Lorelai would be more inclined to invite them more often. For a moment, he envied the small town life, and wondered if retiring in a community like this would make him happy. Before he got too lost in the idea of looking into real estate he heard someone say his name and felt a tap on the shoulder. He turned to see a woman not much younger than him with blonde short hair and warm green eyes looking up at him. She was dressed as if she was stuck in the middle of Richard's and Lorelai's worlds wearing a simple peach coloured blouse and a pencil skirt that was peach at the waist with an ombre effect fading to yellow, over it was a long, flowing, dark green cardigan, it seemed like it shouldn't go together but it looked really sharp. She had delicate jewellery, long, layered necklaces and a pair of chandelier earrings. Her makeup gave her a natural look, with a focus on glowing skin and a pop of colour on her lips. The few times Richard was here he never remembered meeting this smart yet laid back woman.

"Mr. Gilmore," she smiled. "I think we're long overdue for a meeting."

It instantly dawned on him who this woman must be Mia Holloway, the woman who made it possible for Lorelai to keep Rory away from them.

"Ms Holloway I presume," Richard nodded.

The two shook hands and Mia smiled, "Well your wife had the chance to say a small piece to me a few years back. I suppose I owe it to you to give you the same chance. Oh, and please, call me Mia."

"Mia, I know my daughter a lot better than she thinks or gives me credit for. I knew that it was just a matter of time before Lorelai would move out. Emily fought it tooth and nail and perhaps I should have intervened more. I will say that I'm not happy about how drastically she cut us off and that she didn't feel safe with us. And I do wish that you had reached out to you, to let you know my daughter and granddaughter were safe and happy. But I know that they were safe and happy and that you were a big part of that. I know that as much as Emily was upset with you, she also should have thanked you."

Mia had tears in her eyes and was trying to keep it together. "Emily was right to be upset, you both should be. Lorelai was simply so articulate and mature that I didn't question her story or think of your side of things. But I was a parent then, I should have known there was a chance a teenage girl was not seeing the full picture. I truly am sorry Mr. Gilmore."

"I appreciate that Mia. And please call me Richard. I hope Emily sent you a thank you card for the box of pictures you sent, they're all so precious."

The two smiled at each other.

XoXoXoXoXo

Lorelai and Rory had managed to grab a quiet moment together in Luke and Lorelai's booth. They were sipping Maisy's famous lemonade.

"You promise that you're good with all of this?" Lorelai asked Rory.

"Me? Of course! Wait, are you okay?"

Lorelai took a deep breath, "It's all happening so fast. A year ago this week Gran died and I was still dating Jason. Now I've been with Luke for ten months, minus the weeks we were apart. And I'm three months pregnant."

Rory looked shocked, "Mom, come on. You may have only been sleeping and officially dating Luke, you two have been important to each other for almost a decade. The fact that this part is going fast is fine. The time it took to get to dating took SO LONG!"

"Ha ha!"

"Seriously Mom, are you okay? This is what you want, right?"

Lorelai took a deep breath, when she exhaled her face lit up and she had a contented smile, "I want this more than I ever imagined I would. Wanting someone the way I want him around, the fact that my entire mood is altered if I go more than twenty-four hours without seeing him, watching his face when he talks about you, all of these things. It's all the stuff I used to make fun of when we would watch romcoms and now they all seem to make sense to me. I'm living the dream, kid. I'm actually going to marry my best friend."

Rory was grinning like a kid in a candy store. She hugged her Mom.

Luke sat down beside Lorelai, "So can we go home now?"

"Oh my Dear," Lorelai giggled. "The night is just beginning."

A few seconds later, the lights went out and the room collectively gasped.