"Callie! Callie! Where are you!?" I hear my mom and sister shout from inside the house.
I lean against the side of the house and slip my backpack on. I woke up super early and left without them knowing. They've been trying to make up since last night. I ignored them, but I suppose they decided to try again this morning.
I walk quickly across the front lawn and to Weston's bakery. I order a few doughnuts and a cup of coffee, of course. A while later, Lane comes in.
She sits down across from me. "Hey."
"Hey." I mumble.
"Still bad?" she asks.
I nod. "They keep trying to make up but, I don't wanna hear it."
"I understand." she says.
I take a sip of my coffee.
"I know why Rory lied." she tells me.
I look her straight in her eyes. "Why?"
She hesitates. "I can't--"
"Lane!"
She sighs. "Fine,"
I wait for her to start.
"It's Dean. The boy who was staring at her in front of school. She doesn't want to leave Stars Hollow High because she wants to..I don't be with him. Or see him, or talk to him." she explains. "Sorry."
"Don't be. If she wants to stay that's fine. I don't care. Dean over Chilton?!" I scoff and pick up one of my doughnuts.
"C'mon. It's Rory. She doesn't care about guys, y'know that. So, if she's making a big decision like this because of him, it's pretty serious." Lane tells me.
I sigh. "I know."
"So??"
I roll my eyes. "I'll talk to her." Lane squeals. "Just to hear her side, okay?"
She nods multiple times. "Yeah!" she gives me a hug. "Well, I gotta go but you promise to talk to her?"
"Yeah, I promise."
She smiles. "Bye."
I go back to eating my doughnuts. I pull out a notebook and start to brainstorm what I'm going to say to Rory. When I'm mad, I tend to get mixed up. Like, I'll forget why I was even mad in the first place. Or I'll accidentally say something I don't mean, which causes more problems. This happens to Sookie all the time.
* * *
Ring ring ring ring ring
I walk over to the phone and groan. I know who it's going to be and I really don't want to talk to them. But, I answer anyway.
Me: (tight voice) "Hello."
Mom: (honeyed voice) "Hi, it's me."
Me: (sighs) "I know."
Mom: "Okay, well, I just said it in case you didn't know. So I didn't go blabbing about something and you didn't know who was even talking, let alone what they were saying."
Me: (sighs louder) "Well I know who you are! I saw the number and you're the only who would even bother calling me."
Mom: "Fine. Rory's coming home, she was just at the Inn and be ready 'cause dinner's at 7. We have to leave around 6:20. 'Kay?"
Me: "Yeah, I got it."
Mom: "Good."
Me: "Great."
Mom: "Bye."
Me: "Bye!"
I hang up, then roll over the side of the couch, put a pillow to my face and scream. After that I go over what I'm saying to Rory in my room. About 10 minutes to 6, Rory finally comes home.
She shuts the front door. "Hello?!"
"Yeah?!" I shout.
She sounds surprised. "Callie?"
"Yeah." I say.
It's silent for a while, until Rory appears in front of the bedroom door.
"Hey." she says quietly.
"Hi." I reply.
"So.." she fidgets.
"I need to talk to you." I tell her.
"I know. And I need to explain." she plops down on my bed.
I sit beside her. "So? Why'd you do it?"
"Uh," she looks down. "I actually don't know. I would have never done that before. I don't know why I did it."
"Now explain to me what exactly we are talking about here."
"Chilton. And the lie." she says. "I love Chilton and I really want to go!"
"Why wouldn't you go?"
"Well," she breathes nervously.
I put a hand on her shoulder. "Rory, I'm your sister. Forget sister, I'm your best friend! You can tell me."
She smiles gratefully. "It was Dean. I just..I don't know. We met and started talking. I didn't want that to change."
I shake my head. "It doesn't have to. You can still be...whatever you are." When I say that she blushes. "You can still go to Chilton."
She nods. "I know. And I will!"
"Good."
"I didn't lie about the library. We walked past a cake shop and then we went to the library." she tells me.
"Well, you didn't mention the company." I grin.
She stares down.
"Thanks for telling me."
She looks up. "So...fight over?"
"Fight over." I agree. We hug and then I start teasing her about how they met. But then Mom comes home, and we're both silent.
* * *
Me, Rory and Mom are standing in front of my grandparents' house. It's huge! I've never been here before because my mom never told her parents about me until about 3 years ago, but by then it was too late for them to do anything.
Rory and Mom go over for Christmas dinner and Thanksgiving. I never got to go because Mom said her mother would cause a fight and I would be hurt. For some reason she let me come this time. I'm not sure why, but I know it's not a holiday thing. I'm just wondering how they'll react.
"So, do we go in or do we just stand here re-enacting The Little Match Girl?" Rory asks.
Mom turns to us so I pretend to examine the house. "Look, I know you guys aren't too pleased with me right now, I'm not very fond of you either."
"Thanks for the reassurance." I mutter.
"I just want you to be nice through dinner, afterwards, you can..let me have it." she smiles a bit.
"Can't wait." I cross my arms.
"Fine." Rory says. She faces the house and waits for my final response.
"Callie?" Mom calls.
"Whatever!" I groan. I rush to the door and ring the doorbell.
"Callie," Mom starts again. "I wanted to tell you to be nice but also understanding. They didn't know about you until a few years ago, so they may take this dinner very hard. I just don't want anything they say, to affect you in a bad way."
"Mhm." I nod and look down at my feet. "You should ring the doorbell, they probably didn't hear it." I back away from the door and stand behind Rory."
Rory glances at me. "They don't bite." she whispers.
"You never know." I whisper back. "They don't like Mom. Who's to say they don't like me as well?"
She smiles sadly.
Mom rings the doorbell again. A woman in a maid outfit opens the door. "Hello!" she greets us.
"Hi." Mom says. "I'm the daughter, these are the granddaughters. Emily's expecting us." she explains. The woman nods and lets us in.
"Emily will be waiting for you in the living room for drinks." she informs us.
We all step in and I take in the foyer.
"May I take your coats?" the woman puts her hands out. Mom takes off her black coat and hands it to the woman. As does Rory. So, I take off my red coat and give it to her.
Mom walks into the living room and sits on a couch. I tap Rory on the shoulder as she is about to follow Mom. "Is she a maid?!" I gasp.
Rory stares at me. "Well, yeah! She was wearing the uniform, didn't you see?"
"Yeah, but I thought it was a joke."
Rory shakes her head. "Nothing is a joke when it comes to Emily Gilmore." she continues into the living room and sits on a couch across from Mom.
I sigh and go in as well. Before Mom can motion me to sit beside her, I take the seat next to Rory. We all sit in silence as we wait for Emily to show up.
Finally she arrives from a flight of stairs. She looks very elegant and regal. Almost like a queen. She's wearing a dark purple blouse with a matching skirt. Also a black thick, jeweled belt and black heels. Her hair is a faded red and is kinda frizzy, but not messy. I also notice a really pretty emerald ring on her finger.
She walks over to the where Mom is sitting. "Hello Lorelai."
"Hi Mom."
"So! You're starting Chilton Rory! Are you excited? I want to hear all about it!" Emily exclaims.
"Well, I haven't started yet. I start on Monday." Rory tells her.
Emily smiles at her but when she sees me, her smile fades. "...You must be Callie."
I nod. "Yes, I am." I'm at a loss for words. She's so beautiful and she's my grandmother! I don't want to say the wrong thing to her. I don't want her to hate me.I want to impress her but not in an obsessive way where it's weird.
"I love your house!" I blurt out. "It's huge but in a good way. I love it. A lot." I feel my cheeks heating up, so I immediately look down at my hands.
"I'm glad you like it so much." she replies. "Maybe you could live here?"
That gets my attention. "I'm sorry? Live here?"
"Yes. Not now obviously. But if you're going to a university and it's near by, you could save a lot of money by living here." she tells me.
Mom rolls her eyes. "She doesn't know where she's going yet."
"Well, it's just an idea." Emily looks down.
"It's a terrific idea. When I find a university, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you Emily."
She stares at me. "You can call me Grandma."
I slowly start to smile. "Okay. Grandma. I'll keep that in mind too."
She smiles too. "I'm glad." she turns to a drinking cart. "So, who would like a drink?"
Mom and Rory tell her what they want but I sit here and think about universities I should attend. Some that are close by. Like, Yale...