Champagne Problems | Gilmore Girls

Changes

"The wedding's off."
Serena  paused at her sister's words, but at the same time, she wasn't surprised. She had been expecting it since her conversation with her mom the day before. "Is Mom ok?"
"Yeah, she's just... I think it was a big decision." Rory told her. "We're going to go on a road trip, want to come with us?"
"No." Serena decided. "If there's no wedding then I'm going to go to Boston a couple days early. I wouldn't mind having some time to settle in before school started."
"Ok." Rory told her, though Serena  could tell she was disappointed.
"Have Mom call me later." Serena  instructed.
"I will." Rory promised and then hung up.
So the wedding was off. On one hand, it was too bad, Serena  liked Max and thought he'd make a nice step-father, but at the same time, she was glad her mother had realized how she felt before she'd gone through with the wedding.
After a moment, Serena dialed her father's number.
"Hey, Princess, what's up?"
"The wedding's off." Serena told him. "Mom decided not to go through with it. She and Rory are taking off on a road trip and I figured I'd head to Boston in the morning."
"The wedding's off?" Christopher repeated. "What brought that on?"
"I don't know." Serena  said honestly. "I think Mom decided it wasn't right. Max is a great guy, but I'm not sure if he and Mom really fit, you know?"
Christopher was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, I guess I do." He cleared his throat. "I can't wait to see you. I was going to do some work this weekend, but I'll put in a few hours of extra time tonight so that I'm all yours."
"I can't wait." Serena  said sincerely. "I'll drive up first thing in the morning."
"Call me before you leave." Christopher instructed.
"I will." Serena  promised and hung up the phone. Talking to her dad made it official, she'd be leaving Connecticut the next day and putting a close to this chapter of her life. On one hand, she was ready. She and her dad were a team and Serena  was looking forward to go back to their normal, but at the same time it was bittersweet. This year had been a big change for her. She had formed a deeper relationships, complete with some challenges, with Rory and grown closer to her mom and she had a new appreciation for Straub and Francine, plus she had met the best friends she'd ever had.
These last few months had changed her life and while she was ready to go back to her old life, with her dad, she was grateful for this time. But it was over and she was eager to see what life in Boston would be like.
She'd liked life in California, but hated being so far away from her mom and Rory and her grandparents. She'd loved Connecticut, but had hated not being with her dad. Boston would be the best of both worlds. She would be back with her dad, but close enough to see everyone else whenever she wanted. It would be perfect.
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"We're going to miss you." Francine said the next morning as Serena packed up her car.
Straub had already said his goodbyes before leaving to play golf. He had been down-right affectionate for Straub, telling her he'd enjoyed having her there. He'd also given her an envelope with a very generous cheque to help her 'settle in in Boston' plus he'd promised to keep paying her credit card bill, though Serena didn't know how that would go over with her father.
"I'll miss you too." Serena said honestly. She'd always had a good relationship with her grandparents, but living with them had brought them even closer. They were stuffy and boring and very rigid in how they looked at the world, but she knew they loved her and she'd actually really enjoyed living with them.
"You can come visit whenever you want," Francine assured her, "Our door is always open to you."
Serena  had half-expected her grandparents to ask her to stay, but they didn't. Maybe they knew she would say no or maybe they didn't feel like it was their place. After all Christopher was her father and he did have legal custody of her. This arrangement had always been temporary.
"I'll take you up on that," Serena  assured them, "I plan on spending a lot of time in Connecticut." And as much as she loved her mom and Rory, their house was tiny and constantly sharing Rory's room was not her idea of fun, so the Hayden house would be her base of operations.
"I do have one request," Francine said quietly.
"Yes?" Serena asked warily.
"I want to present you to society," Francine told her, "It's a rite of passage for young women of a certain social standing. I'm sure that your female friends have either already come out or will soon. We used to talk about it when you were a little girl and it's something I want to share with you"
Serena nodded. She knew this was coming up, Stephanie and Juliet had come out the previous year and apparently the after-party had been epic, plus she remembered seeing all the debs when she was little and wanting to be one, it was about the time when she asked her grandfather where Princesss go to college and he said Princeton because the princes went there but still she could do it for her grandparents and the little girl inside of her
"Sure," Serena said with a smile. It was a pretty easy request. She had expected to have to debut at some point. "Whatever you want. Just tell me what I have to do."
Francine beamed. "Wonderful. I'll provide the dress, you'll just have to come for fittings and you'll need an escort. I assume you can find someone suitable."
Serena  figured that she knew enough socially appropriate young men that she could get someone to agree to escort her. Maybe Robert. After all, she acted as a suitable escort for him often enough, she was sure he'd be willing to return the favor. "Yeah, I'll find someone."
"I was thinking that the Daughters of the American Revolution Debutante ball would be the appropriate choice," Francine continued, "It's a ball near and dear to Emily's heart and I'm sure she would be thrilled"
Serena knew her name was already on the list and probably had been for a while, at least she had some time to prepare. She also found it weird that the Haydens were on good terms with the Gilmores, but wanted nothing to do with Lorelai or Rory. However, if it was one thing she'd learnt growing up among Connecticut wasps, rich people were odd.
"Sounds great," Serena  told her, because really she didn't care about the ball. She would put on the dress and play the proper debutante for the day because it would make her grandmother happy and because, it was part of the life she lived. She had accepted her role as a society brat and that meant private school, boring parties and a debutante ball and later it would mean an Ivy League college education and then marriage to a suitable man. It had been her mother's idea of Hell, but Serena  was resigned to the idea.
"I should hit the road," she said after a moment. She leaned over and gave her grandmother a hug. "Thank you for everything, Grandma."
"It was our pleasure," Francine told her, "It was wonderful having you with us Serena and as I said, come back anytime."
Serena  nodded and then got in her car and a moment later she was pulling out of the Hayden's driveway, ready to embark on the next chapter of her life.