IT SHOULD'VE BEEN LORELAI
______☕️______
THERE was no such thing as a comfortable silence when Lorelai Gilmore was around and the morning walk to Luke's was no exception. If it wasn't a rant about her mother, men or decaf coffee, it was whatever niche subject that popped into her head, something Hayden always found amusing "—But my question is, how did that happen? How was it that suddenly everyone in the world was saying 'music has charms to soothe the savage beast' when it was written breast?"
"I don't know." Rory shrugged "At some point someone misspoke and it just caught on."
Their mother scoffed "How do things like that catch on?"
Hayden glanced over at her mother "How do you soothe savage breasts?"
"Well, if a man's good with his tongue he can su—"
"Mom, please." Rory cut her off "One, you're disgusting and two, you're driving me crazy."
Lorelai ignored her complaints "I mean, did some guy like say it at a big rally of some sort and everyone went home and started saying it that way and then it just spread from there?"
"Like when Bootsy stood up at the town meeting and said 'What doesn't kill us makes us stronger'?"
Rory shot her a look "That was Nietzsche."
"Bless you." Hayden rolled her eyes before leading her family into Luke's only to gasp dramatically at the sight of the empty diner "Did the world end? Is this the apocalypse? Are the dead walking?"
"No." Luke shot her a look from behind the counter as he wiped "Just one of those weird lulls, happens occasionally."
"Not when I'm on shift." Hayden mused before the sound of trudging footsteps had her look towards the staircase just as a grumbling and groaning tired Jess came down and she pointed in his direction "See, zombie."
Jess grunted an incoherent greeting, sending the three Gilmore girls a two fingered salute before leaving, jacket slung over his shoulder and book rolled up in his hand.
Luke glanced to Lorelai "She gets that from you you know?"
Her mother grinned proudly "I know."
"Can we sit wherever we like?" Rory questioned.
"Wherever you like." He confirmed.
Hayden whistled lowly "Wow."
"Such luxury I never dreamed of." Lorelai added.
Rory glanced between them "Where do you wanna sit?"
"I don't know." Lorelai hummed "Um, how about this table with it's unobstructed westward view of the wide cosmopolitan expansive Clump Street?"
"Tempting." Rory nodded "Do you know that on a clear day you can see all the way to the garbage cans behind Al's Pancake World?"
Lorelai grimaced "Hm. Or we could sit in the corner - you know, the Mafia table so that no one can come up behind you and whack you with a cannoli."
Rory's eyebrows furrowed "Whack you with a cannoli?"
"Because he left the gun and took the cannoli." Hayden informed her.
Lorelai tossed an arm around her shoulders "You are so my daughter."
Luke sighed "Just sit at a table."
"Oh, you're awfully rude for a guy who only has three paying customers." Lorelai raised an eyebrow as they took the table right in the middle but Luke merely sent her a sarcastic smile before grabbing the coffee pot.
"Okay, 3:30 on Friday - my debate at Chilton." Rory looked between them pointedly "Write it down."
Lorelai smiled "Already written."
Hayden nodded "I moved dance practice to Saturday afternoon which Madeline and Louise are losing their minds over because now they have to move their dates up to Friday night and it's gave them only 48 hours to get ready instead of 72. And I switched shifts with Jess so, you owe me one." She turned to her mother with a sheepish smile "And I'm gonna need you to get me out of Friday night dinner."
"We'll tell them you're sick." She declared "Only death or contagious diseases will soothe the savage breast that is Emily Gilmore."
"I do not need to think of Grandma's boobs." Hayden muttered in disgust as Rory pulled her into a side hug of thanks.
Lorelai smiled in amusement before looking to Rory "Are you prepared?"
"Please. Paris has us beyond prepared." Rory snorted "I now know more about doctor assisted suicide then I ever cared to."
"Me too." Hayden grumbled, having been forced to act as the opposing team alongside Louise on numerous occasions, not to mention the at least four daily phone calls.
Their mother grimaced "Cheery topic."
The phone suddenly rang and Luke sighed before answering "Luke's. Uh huh. Hold on a second." He looked to Rory "It's for you."
"What?" Rory frowned.
Luke sighed "Yup."
Hayden's eyebrows furrowed as Rory headed for the phone "But who knows we're here?"
Lorelai shook her head "This whole morning has been a little Twilight Zone-y."
"Or Outer Limits-y." Luke chimed in.
"What?"
Luke shrugged "Great show, just as eerie, same era, but no one ever references it."
Hayden gave him a sympathetic smile "There's a reason for that, Luke."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't speak geek." Lorelai added.
Luke sighed "Yup, stepped right in it."
______☕️______
WITH their feet up on the coffee table, Lorelai and Rory sat on either end of the couch, mindlessly staring at the television set as the elder of the two flicked through every channel. Rory sighed as they worked their way through the huge bowl of popcorn "There's nothing on."
"There's always something on." Lorelai argued before gasping "Uh! Struck gold!"
A groan escaped Rory "Not Two Fat Ladies again."
"Why not?" Her mother demanded "They're brilliant."
"Because it's a cooking show and you don't cook."
Lorelai scoffed "Hayden does"
Rory shot her a look "She's not watching tv."
Her mother pursed her lips before looking towards the kitchen where her youngest was dancing "Hayden, come watch tv!"
"I'm practising!" She called back, spinning around the linoleum floor.
"You're gonna practice yourself to death." At her own words, a frown grew on Lorelai's face "Do I need to be worried again?"
"No." Hayden assured as she switched off her music, grabbing her bottle of water and heading into the living-room. She felt guilty her mom even had to think that "I swear. There's gonna be scouts mom, this is my chance."
Lorelai gave her a soft smile "I know kid, but you gotta take a breather. Come watch Two Fat Ladies with us."
"But we've seen all of them like five times." Hayden pointed out Rory shuffled into the middle, allowing her to take the far end of the couch.
"They're all repeats." Rory added, gesturing to her sister emphatically.
Lorelai winced "Yeah, sadly because one of the fat ladies met her maker."
"Really?" Hayden was curious as she took a gulp of water "Which one?"
"The fat one."
Rory chuckled "Come on, which one? The one on the motorcycle or the one in the sidecar?"
"And did she meet her maker on the bike?" Hayden added.
Lorelai grinned "See, it's fun just talking about the Two Fat Ladies."
Hearing the doorbell ring, Hayden rolled her eyes when her mother and sister pointedly pretended not to hear it and hopped back to her feet to answer it. A knowing sigh escaped her as she opened the door to find the Gellar girl on the porch "Paris."
"Can I come in?"
"Always." Hayden assured, stepping back to allow her inside.
Paris shot her a look in passing "You couldn't possibly be wondering what I'm doing here."
"I'm not." Hayden chirped just as they reached the living room.
Rory frowned from the couch "I am."
"The debate's Friday and we need more preparation." Paris argued.
"More preparation? Paris -- no two people know more about assisted suicide than the two of us." Rory scoffed "Kevorkian called today for a couple of tips."
Paris rolled her eyes "I know we know the material but there's issues of presentation that need to be addressed."
"Presentation?"
"I was listening to the CD I burned of the cassettes I made of our mock debates against the make-believe team--" Hayden and Louis still felt rough after their brutal defeat "and I realised that you were not talking fast enough."
Rory blinked in surprise "What?"
"You're only doing 135 WPM."
"WPM?"
Hayden sighed silently "Words Per Minute."
"Of course." Rory muttered.
"That's slow." Paris accused.
Rory scoffed "That's not slow."
"It's Jimmy Bob slow."
"I talk normally." Rory grumbled, folding her arms across her chest.
"For the average Willie Nelson roadie, yes, but not for a winning debate team member." Paris raised an eyebrow "As a comparison, I speak an average of 178 WPM. Tell her, Hayden."
Hayden shrugged when her wide eyed sister and confused mother looked to her "It's true, I counted."
Rory shook her head "Okay, word speed isn't everything. Sometimes I will add a dramatic pause to prove a point, undercutting my WPM."
"Let's not harbor any Pinteresque fantasies here, Rory." Paris dismissed "We'll have scant minutes to make our arguments and we have to maximize our collective WPM."
"Okay, okay." Rory sighed in defeat and shuffled to her feet "Let's just get going."
"I'm going to get set up." Paris declared before heading towards the kitchen.
Hayden frowned as she followed after the girl "That's my room."
"I know." Paris turned to face her once they were inside "You'll be keeping track of our WPM so your comfort is crucial. Besides we haven't got time to waste frolicking upstairs, and as my friend I do believe we're expected to spend 'girl' time in one another's bedrooms. Feel free to email possible dates for you to come to my house and I'll get back to you."
Hayden opened her mouth to comment but thought better of it and merely closed her mouth and nodded just as Rory joined them, her debate prep in hand. Hayden plopped down on her bed, pulling out the stopwatch, tally counter and logbook Paris had provided her with previously from her drawer as Rory took a seat at her desk. The Gellar girl looked down upon her "Now, first we need to talk about dietary requirements."
"Dietary requirements?" Rory repeated with a frown "For a debate?"
"Yes, foods to avoid in order to preserve your vocal cords." Paris rolled her eyes "The last thing we need is your already slow voice to cramp up and embarrass me, the school and quite frankly, America. You may want to write this down." She waited for Rory to reluctantly grab her pen and notepad before beginning "First is processed sugar. Candy, juice, gummy bears, whatever gives your country bumpkin little veins a jolt in the afternoon, stay away unless of course you want to coat your vocal chords in phlegm and choke, metaphorically and literally."
"Sugar-- got it." Rory confirmed.
"Caffeine." Both twins heads shot up at that "Caffeine is a diuretic, meaning it makes you urinate more often and dehydrates you. It messes with your mucus production and it'll dries out your vocal folds. Your voice needs to stay lubricated in order to work well, so no sodas, teas or coffee."
Rory frowned "No coffee?"
"No coffee." Paris stressed and Rory groaned "Dairy's bad too because of the mucous. You haven't had any dairy in the last forty-eight hours, have you?"
Rory shared a sheepish glance with Hayden "In the cereal Hayden and I had this morning."
"Geez!" Paris sighed "Okay, well there's a solution of salt water and vinegar that can help cut that."
A knock on the doorway had the three look over to see Lorelai standing there, phone in hand "Girls, I'm sorry to interrupt vinegar hour, but it's your dad. He's coming to town."
Rory perked up "For Friday?"
"Yeah kid."
Rory grinned, rushing to take the phone off her mother as she headed out of Hayden's room "Dad, hi. You're coming to my debate?"
Lorelai looked after her before turning to Hayden who fiddled with the stop watch in her hand "Hey, you okay?"
She shrugged "Yeah, he's coming to see Rory, that's good."
"He's coming to see you too, kid." Lorelai assured and Hayden gave her a weak smile in return.
Paris's eyes narrowed at the woman "Did you give your children the cereal?"
Lorelai blinked slowly "Um, I'd rather not say."
Hayden watched her mother scurry off before sighing as she felt Paris' eyes on her "What?"
"We hate him, right? Your dad?"
Hayden shook her head, smiling a little at her immediate use of 'we' "No, we don't hate him. We just... don't have high expectations. He never shows up. At least not for me."
Paris nodded along "My parents never show up either. But Nanny does. I mean, shes paid to, but at least she's there."
"I'll show up." Hayden assured.
Paris met her gaze with a small, genuine smile "I'll show up for you, too."
______☕️______
LEADING her mother and Sookie into the auditorium, snacks in hand, Hayden scoured the room for any sign of her sister when she finally spotted the girl near the stage "There she is. Rory!"
The three approached the girl and her mother raised an eyebrow "Where were you? I thought we were gonna meet by the vending machines for a little, uh, pre-debate nondairy snack."
Rory sighed "Yeah, sorry, Paris wanted to do a sound check and she found some problems with the acoustics in the room."
The four looked over to see the girl in question scoffing from the stage, her wide eyed Nanny at her beck and call "It's the layout on this row of seats that's causing a bass problem. We've got to move this whole row over a foot. Esta! Just move these people out. Mueva esta gente, mueva, mueva!"
"Better find a seat before she moves them all." Rory advised.
"Have fun." Lorelai told her.
She smiled "Thanks. I'm glad you came."
"No you're not!" Sookie argued.
Her eyebrows furrowed "What?"
"I'm just getting you in the mood." Sookie beamed and Hayden snickered in amusement.
As Rory headed towards the stage, Mrs. O'Malley tapped on the microphone "If everybody could please take their seats, we'll begin. That includes all the members of the debate team."
Hayden shuffled Sookie and her mother into a row in the middle just as Rory took her own seat on stage. She settled down before looking up to see a family face as her opponent "Brad. Hi."
"Hi Rory." he greeted "I didn't think you'd remember me."
"Oh, of course I do. How's the new school?"
He beamed "I love it. It's way more mellow there and I made a ton of new friends."
"Good for you."
"Is Hayden here?" He questioned, eyes glinting.
Rory nodded slowly "Yeah, uh, she's sitting with my mom."
Brad caught sight of her and a shuddering breath escaped him much to Rory's horror before a looming presence stood behind him "Stop looking at Hayden."
Brad's eyes widened as he titled his head back to see the glaring Paris above him and whimpered "Oh, God."
As Paris took her seat with a smug smile, Mrs. O'Malley looked to the audience "All right, the topic for today's debate is doctor-assisted suicide."
Sookie glanced to Lorelai and Hayden wearily "That's pleasant."
"Let me introduce the debaters. On the Hillside Academy team, we have Brad Lankford and Nancy Waterford."
Nancy glanced to her teammate, taking in his pale parlour and clammy skin "You look sick."
His eyes drifted to Paris "I feel sick."
"And on the Chilton team, we have Rory Gilmore and Paris Gellar."
Hayden clapped only to wince as her mother and Sookie began to holler, cheering obnoxiously for the girls.
"Oww!"
"Whoo!"
"Oww!"
Realising everyone else was silent, Sookie frowned "Were we not supposed to do that?"
Lorelai shrugged "Maybe no one noticed."
"Everyone noticed." Hayden sighed as she spotted all eyes on their row.
"Each team will have three minutes for their openings, three minutes for rebuttals, and two minutes for their conclusions." Mrs. O'Malley continued "They will be judged on the basis of content, strategy, and style. I will be the judge, along with Mrs. Gladstone. We choose which team will take the pro or con side with the toss of a coin. A member of Hillside will make the call."
"Hayden--heads!" Brad corrected, tearing his eyes away from the frowning Gilmore girl in the audience "No, tails, I mean tails!"
"Uh, it's heads." Mrs. O'Malley cringed as she looks to the coin "Chilton will pick pro or con."
Paris grinned "Pro-assisted suicide."
"What a shock." Brad mumbled.
"All right. Whenever you're ready, you may commence."
"Thank you." Paris smiled at their teacher before straightening her expression as she turned to Rory "Keep it snappy."
As Rory took to the podium, beginning her argument, Hayden felt her mother lean towards her "Hey, do you see your dad anywhere?"
Peering around her, Hayden finally turned to look towards the back just in time to witness her father slip into a seat and she found herself pleasantly surprised, but the small smile that tugged at her lips dropped as Sherry joined him.
"Did you find him?" Lorelai questioned and followed her eye-line "Is he-- oh."
He'd brought his new girlfriend.
_______☕️_______
AS Paris and Rory wiped the floor with their debate, afterwards Hayden stood alongside her mother and Sookie as they waited around in the hallway for Rory when the St. James woman spotted Christopher and Sherry "Uh! There they are."
"I see them." Lorelai sighed "What do you think?"
"She's got good hair." Sookie mused.
The Gilmore woman nodded "Yeah."
"Plus she's been sitting for an hour and her dress is perfect. Not a wrinkle?" Sookie scoffed "How does she do that?"
"She must be a witch." Lorelai muttered.
Sookie frowned "And she's doing that no-hose thing."
Lorelai nodded in defeat "Yeah. She's a chic, good hair, wrinkle-free, no-hose-wearing witch."
"We're gonna have to talk to her, aren't we?" Hayden muttered.
"Yeah kid, we are." Lorelai sighed and put on a smile as they approached the couple "Hi there, you two."
Christopher perked up as he spotted his youngest daughter and quickly pulled her into a hug "Hey kid. Hayden this is Sherry, Sherry this is--"
"Hayden." She gushed "Oh, finally, finally, finally. I am so beyond thrilled, I can't tell you. All he does is talk about you. I couldn't wait to meet this amazing person."
Lorelai smiled awkwardly as Hayden blinked slowly "Well, she lives up to the hype, let me tell ya."
"This is Lorelai." Christopher introduced "Hey, Lore."
"Hey, Chris." When the woman to her right pointedly cleared her throat, Lorelai quickly snapped out of it "Hey, this is Sookie."
Sherry smiled "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you." Sookie returned it "You have a very smooth dress."
"Oh, well thank you." Sherry blinked "It's the fabric."
Sookie nodded slowly, sending Lorelai and Hayden a look "The fabric. Uh-huh."
Lorelai nudged her subtly "Hm. Uh, Chris, I've told you about Sookie."
"Yes you have, the famous Sookie." He confirmed, holding out his hand to shake.
She returned it "The famous Christopher."
"I hear you're the greatest chef after Alan Ducass."
"After Alan Ducass?" She stressed "Who who said after?"
Before Lorelai could point out he was only teasing, they were interrupted by an excited Rory rushing towards them "Hi Dad! You came."
"Of course I did."
"Sorry, I'm still getting used to it." She smiled sheepishly "I'm glad."
Lorelai glanced to Sherry "Honey, um, look who Dad brought."
Christopher smiled "This is Sherry. Sherry, this is Rory."
"Oh it's so good to meet you, too." She gushed 'I was just telling Hayden here how excited I am."
As Rory glanced to her sister with furrowed eyebrows, Lorelai was quick to grab each of the twins arms "Um, will you excuse us for a minute? Rory just wanted to show Hayden and me something around the corner here and we'll be right back."
As soon as their mother had them out of sight, Rory frowned "He brought Sherry."
"I know." Lorelai sighed.
"This is a little..."
Hayden nodded slowly "Yeah."
"Did you talk to her?" Rory questioned, looking between them "Is she nice?"
"She's a witch." Lorelai confirmed.
Hayden nodded "She's a chic, good hair, wrinkle-free, no-hose-wearing witch."
Rory smiled in amusement "Oh, good."
"So, what do we do?" Their mother sighed.
Hayden turned to her "What do you mean?"
"Come on, come on, come on. We gotta put on our hostessing hats and set a game plan here."
"Oh yeah, I guess it would be impolite if we didn't ask them to hang out with us." Rory mused and Hayden slumped in defeat.
Lorelai sighed "So what do we do? Hit the vending machines?"
"Invite them to Luke's?" Hayden suggested.
Her mother raised an eyebrow "Does she look like a diner chick to you?"
"Probably not." Hayden grumbled.
Lorelai frowned "I wish he had told me she was with him."
"Where else can we invite them?" Rory questioned.
"Al's Pancake World."
Hayden shook her head "No, it's Friday. He does his prix fixe menu on Fridays."
"Ugh." Lorelai groaned before sighing "Well, there's always our house."
"It's a mess." Rory protested.
Their mother could only shrug "Might be the safest?"
"Okay." the twins mumbled in defeat.
As they headed back towards the three, Lorelai frowned once again "Why didn't he mention that she was with him?"
Rory could only shrug "I don't know."
"--It's really just more of an impression than something I probably actually heard." Christopher shrugged and Hayden realised in amusement Sookie was still stuck on the Alan Ducass comment.
"But maybe someone implied that I was after him?"
Lorelai placed her hand on her friends back "Oh, Sookie?"
"Yeah?"
"You know what, you are the greatest chef in the world, bar none."
Sookie beamed "Thanks."
As Sherry and Christopher slumped in relief, Lorelai turned to them "So, um, are you guys doing anything now?"
"Not really." The girls father admitted.
"No, we're pretty free for the rest of the day." Sherry agreed.
Lorelai held back a sigh "Well, why don't you come back and see our place?"
Sherry perked up, glancing to her partner "Oh, that would be great."
"Yeah, Sherry would love that." Christopher nodded "Thanks Lore."
"I was hoping we'd get a chance to see where Hayden and Rory's live and their rooms." Sherry admitted.
Rory frowned "Oh, our room's are really no big deal."
"Oh, and the books and the dance trophies!" Sherry continued "I've heard all about the books and trophies. I can't wait to see the books and the trophies."
Lorelai planted a smile on her face "Well, let's go and see the books and trophies."
As the adults went ahead, Hayden and Rory followed behind and the former kept her voice low as she questioned "I want to hit her over the head with the books and trophies."
"Hayden." Rory scolded "Not the books."
______☕️______
AFTER coming to a quick halt in the driveway, the Gilmore girls rushed from the jeep and into their house with Lorelai barking out orders "Rory, you get the living room, Hayden get the kitchen and I'll do upstairs."
"Company is stressful." Rory mused as she began to clear the couch of popcorn kernels.
Lorelai began her journey upstairs only to pause and backtrack "Ugh, don't forget about your rooms."
Hayden poked her head out, takeout boxes in hand "What?"
"Your room!" Lorelai called back as she began to stuff dirty laundry strewn across the landing into the closet "She wants to see the books! And the trophies!"
"Well, I'll hit it next." Rory declared as she swiped the magazines strewn across the coffee table under the couch cushions.
Hayden paused in the kitchen "Ugh, they're probably gonna want something to eat and drink."
"Well, company usually does." Rory admitted.
Hayden peered into the refrigerator "We have nothing!"
"We must have something."
"Not unless Divine Providence has placed a miracle brie and cracker plate in the fridge." Lorelai rebuffed as she jogged back downstairs.
Hayden hesitated as she spotted the pumpkin decorated bowl on the counter "We have leftover Halloween candy."
Lorelai groaned "Aw, waste that on company?"
"Well, having company is about making sacrifices." Rory pointed out as Hayden walked into the room, bowl in hand.
Their mother raised an eyebrow "Martha Stewart?"
"I paraphrased Proust."
"I should've known. Fine." She sighed in defeat and Hayden set the bowl on the coffee table.
Christopher's voice suddenly came from the front door "Hello?"
"Hi Dad!" Rory called back as she grabbed the last of the clothing strewn around and stuffed it in the hall closet.
"You guys need some more time to clean up?"
Lorelai sighed "He knows us too well."
"Come on in." Rory greeted them "How'd you know we were cleaning?"
"Uh, well, when you cut us off in the parking lot and sped off doing sixty, I figured you were trying to beat us home for a reason." Their father chuckled as they took off their coats, Lorelai hanging Sherry's up.
Sherry smiled "I hope we're not completely ruining your day."
"Well--"
"Oh no, we love company." Lorelai lied as she nudged Hayden "Please come in."
Sherry looked around "Your house is great."
"Thanks, we like it." Lorelai gestured towards the couch "Have a seat."
As Sherry did as told, patting the space beside her for the twins, Christopher took a seat on the armchair, smiling to himself as he spotted the magazines sticking out from under the cushions. Hayden shoved Rory ahead, placing her between herself and Sherry as Lorelai took a seat on the arm of the couch just as Sherry smiled "Rory, you were wonderful in the debate today."
"Thanks."
"Uh, that Paris was a little intense." Christopher mused.
Hayden glanced to him with a furrow to her brow "She's not intense. She's passionate."
After a slight awkward silence at Hayden defensiveness, Sherry smiled at her sister "Well, you were very poised up there, very sure of yourself, just like your dad."
"And your mom." He smiled at Lorelai.
"Aw shucks, Pa."
Sherry looked between the twins "And your uniform is darling, really. I love the blue. Of course, I'm sure you both look good in anything."
"Oh yeah, you should see them in chaps." Lorelai joked.
"Really?"
At Sherry's question, Hayden smiled awkwardly "No... that was just our mom being funny."
"Oh."
"Yeah, it comes and goes." Lorelai added "You'll learn to notice the signs."
Christopher snickered "The waves get really still, the animals start to act funny."
"You know, I went to private school too." Sherry began.
"Really?" Rory questioned.
Sherry nodded "Except that our colors were white and bright red. I looked hideous."
"Oh, she's being self-deprecating." Christopher waved her off before smiling "You looked cute in that outfit."
"No no, I looked like a peppermint stick. I swear, that's where my addiction to clothes comes from. Trying to make up for all the years of having to wear the same thing everyday."
Rory nodded "Yeah, I can understand that."
"Well, we should go shopping sometime for clothes or whatever." Sherry suggested.
Rory nodded "Yeah, we could do that."
Hayden looked thought her head "We could?"
"Soon, okay?" Sherry smiled, glancing between them.
Hayden nodded with a groan as she felt Rory's elbow in her stomach "Sure."
"Hey, drinks." Lorelai hopped to her feet "Who wants something to drink? I've got water, soda--"
"Vodka?" Hayden muttered hopefully.
Seeing Sherry's wide eyes, Lorelai smiled tightly "She's kidding."
"Uh, just water for me." Christopher requested.
Sherry nodded "Me too."
"Oh, making it easy, I love it." Lorelai moved to head towards the kitchen only for Sherry to get up and offer her help "Oh, no, uh, well, okay. Sherry, you don't have to help me."
"No, I want to."
Lorelai sighed silently "Great."
As the pair headed into the kitchen, Christopher smiled, looking between his daughters "She's great, right?"
"Yeah, she's... something." Rory smiled tightly.
"I'm really glad you guys are meeting her." he admitted "It means a lot to me."
Hayden felt a pinch inside her chest as her father met her gaze and looked away as Sherry returned, two glasses in hand.
Christopher smiled "Everything okay?"
"Yup, she found apple juice."
As the phone rang, Hayden hopped to answer it, eager to get away from the suffocating atmosphere in the living-room but Rory had beat her to it "Sit, I'll get it."
Hayden glared at her retreating back before reluctantly sitting down just as Sherry rejoined her on the couch.
"Hello?" Rory questioned.
"Hi, it's me."
Rory sighed silently at the sound of her mothers whispered voice and looked towards the kitchen to see her peaking out her head, cellphone in hand "Oh, hi."
"I'm still in the kitchen. Um, listen, I just wanted to tell you that Sherry just asked me if she could go out with you and Hayden tonight, just the three of you, and she sort of trapped me into saying that I could get you out of the Friday night dinner, which she knew all about. But I told her she had to run it past you first, so I can still get you out of it. Although, it might be a good idea to get a Sherry night out of the way because it seems kind of inevitable. So if you're okay going with her, just say, um, 'Sorry Leonard, we've got company, I have to call you back.'"
Rory sighed "Sorry Leonard, we've got company, I'll have to call you back."
"Oh, okay. Bye." Lorelai frowned, wishing Hayden would've answered. She knew she'd want to get out of it. Shaking it off she made her way into the living-room with three more glasses "Okay, here's your drink. Who was that?"
"Um, that was Leonard." Rory shot an inconspicuous look and Hayden's eyes narrowed. They didn't know a Leonard.
Lorelai put on a smile "Oh, did you tell him we have company?"
"Yeah."
Christopher looked between them "Uh, who's Leonard?"
"Oh, just a friend." Rory waved him off.
"A friend of yours or a friend of Lorelai's?"
Lorelai smiled tightly at his knowing gaze "A mutual friend."
"Yeah, it's pretty much equal." Rory added.
"A mutual Leonard?" Christopher questioned before eyeing Hayden "And is this Leonard mutually yours too?"
Hayden shrugged "I'd argued he liked me the best."
"Yeah, we're constantly fighting over him." Lorelai added, shooting her youngest a grateful glance for playing along.
Sherry cleared her throat "Rory, Hayden, can I run something by you?"
"Oh sure." Rory told her and Hayden bit the inside of her cheek.
"Your dad and I are around for another night, and he's totally sick of me."
Christopher scoffed "Not true."
"Anyhow, I was wondering if you wanted to do something with me tonight, just the three of us." Sherry proposed and Hayden felt her stomach drop.
"Oh, sure, that would be nice."
Hayden's gaze snapped to her sisters and her eyes narrowed as she realised Rory wasn't surprised by the invite. Sherry perked up "Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, um, if it's okay with my mom because we do have a Grandma/Grandpa dinner tonight." Rory gave her mother a look.
Lorelai sighed in defeat. Rory wanted this "It's fine by me."
Sherry smiled before looking to the youngest twin hopefully "Hayden?"
"I have work tonight." She excused "Stock check after dinner."
"Come on kid, you can miss one shift can't you?" Christopher met her gaze "It would mean a lot to me."
Hayden suddenly felt on the spot, at everyones awaiting gaze and her mother reached down to place a hand on her back "If she has to work, then--"
"Come on, Hayden." Christopher ducked his head down to catch her eye once more "I'm counting on you."
Lorelai frowned at the man but before she could protest, Hayden's resolve had crumbled "Okay. I'll call Luke."
"Great." Sherry beamed, clapping her hands together before she glanced to Christopher with a frown "Oh, of course this does leave you a sad little orphan."
"Oh, that's okay. I'll have one of my patented White Castle bachelor dinners."
Lorelai shrugged "Or you can come with me tonight. Uh, if you want."
"To your parents?"
"Yeah, 'cause with the girls not there I might need a hostage."
Sherry smiled "Oh, yes, do it."
"Okay, it's good grub." he agreed "You sure they won't be mad?"
She scoffed "Hi, they like you."
"True."
"Great. Well, we should go get cleaned up for tonight then." Sherry got to her feet and Christopher followed "Thanks for having us over like this."
Lorelai smiled slightly "Any time."
Sherry looked towards the twins "So we'll swing by around six?"
"Oh, sounds good." Rory nodded.
"Okay."
Christopher waved goodbye to the girls before giving Lorelai a small smirk "Bye Leonard."
______☕️______
THE following day, Hayden was wiping down a table beside her mothers when Rory finally arrived. Rory looked to the woman as she took a seat across from her "You order?"
"Oh, just coffee." Lorelai admitted as Hayden reached over to fill up her cup, passing Rory one of her own "God, I must've been sound asleep when you got home last night."
Hayden nodded "You were snoring like a buzz saw."
"I believe that's defined as a superfluous comment." She rebuffed.
"Yes, you were sound asleep." Rory confirmed.
Lorelai looked between them "So, I'm dying to hear about your night with Sherry. How was it? Give it to me, A to Z, beginning to end, soup to nuts."
"Well, she is what she seems." Rory began.
"Details please." Lorelai begged.
Rory sighed "She's a very cautious driver. She doesn't roll through stop signs, doesn't speed, she always signals before she turns."
"Hm. Commendable, but not the person I want driving our getaway car." Their mother declared.
Hayden raised an eyebrow "What are we robbing?"
"Sephora." She shrugged "We had it all planned out."
"Slipped my mind." She apologised in amusement.
Lorelai sighed "What's her music taste?"
"Big Bruce Springsteen fan." Rory told her "Seen him like twenty times."
Their mother's eyes narrowed curiously "Blue collar roots or is she just slumming?"
"Her father owned a shoe store and her mom taught kindergarten." Hayden sighed.
"Wow, you guys really got into some details." Lorelai mused.
Rory nodded "She was definitely in bonding mode."
"What else, what else?" Lorelai demanded.
"She's very touchy-feely." Hayden grumbled.
Rory nodded "Hand on the shoulder, lots of hugs."
"She didn't try to get fresh, did she?" Their mother questioned.
"Gross!" They scoffed, noses scrunched identically in disgust.
Lorelai waved them on "Go on."
Rory sighed "Um, she's had one prior serious relationship in her life."
"Finally, the juicy stuff." Lorelai sat forward excitedly.
"And it lasted eleven years." Hayden added.
Lorelai frowned "Eleven years? And she never got married?"
Hayden sighed "She said she never thought about it with her career and all, but now she's thinking about it more and more."
"Tick tock, tick tock." Lorelai urged them on.
"And the past couple of years she hasn't even dated anyone unless she thought that for sure it could be a lasting relationship, and she's got some specific goals now concerning children." Rory added.
"Oh, here we go."
Hayden glanced to her sister before continuing "She wants at least two, and before she met Dad she was seriously considering single parenthood."
Lorelai let out a low whistle "That's wanting kids."
"That's about it." Rory shrugged.
"Yeah?"
"Oh, she works for L'Oreal." Hayden snapped her fingers "Promised us discount."
Their mother nodded "Hm, I heard that."
"We're tapped." Rory raised an eyebrow "How was your night?"
"Oh, well, fine. Just took Mom a whole five minutes before she self-combusted and left the room in tears."
Hayden frowned "What? Why?"
"She freaked out that you were with Sherry, can you believe that?"
"She freaked?" Rory questioned.
Their mother scoffed "Totally. She kept calling her 'that woman'."
"Well, what did she think, that you were gonna come home and find a rabbit boiling on the stove?" Hayden questioned.
"No, it had to do with her and Christopher and... anyway, eventually she came down and had a pouty dinner."
Rory was hopeful "So it ended up okay?"
"For the most part."
"Is she mad at us?" Rory questioned.
Lorelai shook her head "At you two? Never. So, um, I wanna ask you something."
Hayden nodded "Ask."
"When you've thought about me and your dad what have you been thinking all these years?"
Hayden froze at the question while Rory frowned "Um, what do you mean?"
She looked between them "I mean, did you ever picture us potentially together, like we are family' together?"
"Well, not really."
"But sort of, it crossed your mind?" Lorelai pressed at Rory's words.
Rory blinked "I feel like I'm on the Ricki Lake show."
"Go Rory, go Rory." Lorelai attempted to lighten the mood.
She wet her lips before continuing "Well, I'll admit that I have pictured the four of us living together at various times, but in the way that all kids picture their estranged parents living together or the way they should be together, but it's stupid."
"It's not stupid." Lorelai denied.
Rory nodded almost shyly "Yeah, I've pictured it."
"Hm."
"But I also pictured you with Pee-Wee Herman."
Their mother scoffed "Wow."
"Yeah." Rory smiled "We lived in his playhouse and we'd be talking to Chairy and Captain Carl would be walking by."
Lorelai let out a laugh "Fun!"
"Yeah. Oh, and later I pictured you marrying Matthew Broderick, and we lived in New York in this great apartment in the village and we would talk about his Ferris Bueller days."
"Just think how easy Producers tickets would be to get."
Rory nodded emphatically "Oh, it would be fourth row center every night."
"I'm sorry that Matthew and I couldn't work it out, honey."
"I'll try to get over it."
Lorelai hesitated "So should it have been me?"
"Huh?" Rory was distracted as her gaze drifted out the window before she was perking up, getting to her feet "There's dad! Be right back."
Lorelai watched Rory rushed out the door to greet Christopher and Sherry before she was looking to Hayden who'd been silent, stewing, her gaze stuck on the trio outside "What about you kid?" She questioned softly "You ever thought it should be me and your dad?"
"No." She admitted in the same tone as her eyes moved back to her mother and Lorelai frowned "I never let myself believe in you and dad."
Lorelai's heart broke at not only her words but the truth in her expression "Why not?"
Hayden could only shrug "Because he'd have to pick us."
Lorelai watched her youngest head behind the counter with a heaviness in her shoulders before the bell jingling overhead had her look up to see Christopher joining her as "Hey. Where's Sherry?"
"Rory's giving her a brief tour of Stars Hollow." He sighed "So, quaint evening of theater last night."
"Ah yes, the Gilmore family players rival the Barrymores for their sophisticated, dramatic productions."
Christopher frowned "I never thought she'd freak over Rory and Hayden not being there like that. I never wanted to put you in that position."
"Oh, you couldn't have known." She waved him off.
"I mean, they've missed the occasional dinner before."
Lorelai nodded "Yeah, well, this was compounded by other things."
"What other things?"
"You should know as well as I that when it comes to Emily Gilmore, it's never simple."
"Got it." Christopher nodded "You know, Sherry had a really good time last night. I hope the girls did too"
Lorelai nodded with a tight smile "Yeah, they seemed to."
"Good, good."
"So Chris, before you go, um, I have something I wanna say to you." She began nervously.
Christopher sighed "Uh oh."
"It's not an uh oh."
"Okay, what?"
Lorelai hesitated, taking a deep breath before she continued "Well, I, um, I kind of realized something with you and Sherry visiting and God help me, because of something my mother said to me."
"Wow, inspiration can come from the unlikeliest sources." He was bemused.
"I was just thinking, you know, all these years, no matter what my relationship status has been, whether I've been dating or hibernating or whatever, I think I've always had you in the back of my mind - you know, the prospect of us being together. But this prospect was sort of indefinitely on hold while you, you know, found yourself and, uh, got your personal life together so that you could really be there for me and especially for Hayden and Rory. But you and I have been so linked in my mind that I think I have unconsciously sabotaged every decent relationship I've had, including the one with Max, because I was waiting for you, and I shouldn't have been. And now that I see that, and I see you settling down with Sherry, I think I can move beyond it."
Christopher nodded slowly as Lorelai held her breath "Good, I'm really glad this is good for you Lorelai."
"It is." She smiled wearily at his stoic expression "Chris?"
His eyes narrowed "How dare you put that on me?"
She blinked in surprise, cut off by his sharp tone "I-I'm just thanking you."
"Well, don't."
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" He demanded loudly and Lorelai glanced around as eyes drifted to them, including Luke from behind the counter "Dammit Lorelai, you're dumping fifteen years of unhappiness on me? Fifteen years of not having healthy, lasting relationships on me? You're blaming me for breaking up with Max and not marrying him? That's all my fault?"
She frowned "No, I just--"
"I did nothing to deserve that."
"I-I'm not saying that you did--"
He scoffed, cutting her off "You're as good as saying it."
Lorelai shook her head "No, I'm not."
"Then what did you expect to come from this divine revelation that you've been so kind to share with me? Did you want me to apologize to you for ruining your life or comfort you and say there, there, everything's gonna be all right' so you can feel okay? Forget it!"
Lorelai stammered, opening and closing her mouth in shock before a family voice gritted out "Get out."
The pair looked up in surprise to see Hayden standing there, hands curled into fists at her side and Christopher frowned "Hayden--"
"You don't get to come here and shout at mom because of your issues." She denied "You're lucky you get to come here at all. Because you don't show up, not for me. You come for Rory's debates but not my dancing."
"I had to work." He defended.
"And so did I!" She snapped, a break in her voice that broke his heart "But I put you first... You've never put me first. But mom, she does. So get out."
Her father frowned taking step toward her "Sweetie, you can't--"
"Actually, I can." She was stoic, taking a step back as she gestured to the sign displayed by the register "See this? We refuse the right to service. And I refuse you. So get out."
When Christopher went to protest, Luke appeared behind the girl "You heard her."
Jess smirked as he held open the door, watching the man shoot one last look at Hayden before stalking out and let it go "Don't let it hit you on the way out, man."
As soon as her father was out of sight, Hayden's knees gave out and she slumped into her sister's old seat and Lorelai looked across the table tearfully. She knew she could count on her.
Lorelai reached across and grabbed her hand "Hey." she waited until Hayden lifted her gaze to meet hers and she smiled sadly at the tears reflected in her eyes "I love you, you know that, right?"
"I know." She murmured softly, squeezing her mothers hand "I love you, too."
💭
So... I finally updated... sorry it's been so long. I'm trying to work around everything going on and some books are just easier to update than others. This book and pretty much all of the old school shows I'm doing have super long chapters with lots and lots of dialogue so they take time.
But, on another note, this book has over over 10.5K votes... wow, thank you all so much. It really is so encouraging for writers!
Also I've seen quite a lot of comments over the course of this book about Lorelai's 'favouritism' of Rory and honestly that was in no way my intention.
I just don't think that would be realistic either, Lorelai would love all her kids equally.
Yes, Hayden doesn't always get the benefit of the doubt but that's because she makes teenage mistakes, the same ones Lorelai would've made and therefore scare the crap out of her and her grandparents. Rory hasn't gotten there yet, but we all know she does! So I'm sorry if it's come across that Rory is the favourite, she really isn't in my eyes at least.
(She is however Luke's favourite, but don't tell anyone) 👀👀👀