New Beginnings

Chapter 5

Victoria sits at the dinner table with her mother, sister, and grandmother.

"So where'd you say dad was?" Lorelai asks. "Away on business" Emily resplies.

"Location's top secret?" Victoria asks. "Oh, Germany" Emily tells her. "Germany, is dad's firm insuring nazis now?" Lorelai jokes.

"Your father doesn't know any nazis" Emily tells her.

"I know mom, I was just" Lorelai starts to say but stops. "What?" Emily asks.

"Joking, she was joking" Victoria tells her grandmother. "Oh, hard to tell" Emily replies. "Yeah, well..." Lorelai says.

"Oh, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Claudia died" Emily tells her family.

"Who?" Lorelai asks having no idea who Claudia is. "Claudia, your cousin Claudia" Emily tells her daughter.

"Claudia" Emily repeats when Lorelai still hasn't replied. "I'm hearing the name mom, I have no idea who that it" Lorelai tells her mother. "Claudia's your cousin, for all intents are purposes" Emily tells her.

"Oh, now we're gettin to it" Lorelai says.

"She was your father's grandmother's sister's girl,  so to you that would make her..." Emily tries to figure out. "Nothing?" Lorelai asks.

"Regardless, the funeral's on Thursday. I thought we'd all go together" Emily says looking at her daughter and granddaughters. "Whoa, whoa. Two problems, one it's impossible to get away from the inn on Thursday. Two I've never met this woman" Lorelai says. "You most certainly have" Emily denies.

"When?" Lorelai asks.

"Several times" Emily vaguely says. "I'll take one" Lorelai requests.

"We went to her house to see the first moon landing, she'd just gotten a new philco" Emily says. "I have no memory of this whatsoever" Lorelai says. "Girls, correct me if I'm wrong but men have walked on the moon regardless of whether your mother remembers it or not" Emily asks her granddaughters.

"That's the rumor" Rory says.

"I know that men have walked on the moon, I just don't know Claudia" Lorelai says. "So you're not going?" Emily asks.

"Not this time" Lorelai answers. "I don't think Claudia's planning to die a second time" Emily says. "Mom, I couldn't go if I wanted to" Lorelai says.

"Fine." Emily says.

"Oh, wait. Rudolph Gottfried" Emily says. "Another cousin?" Lorelai asks.

"No, a nazi that we knew. I'd forgotten, we stayed with him once in Munich. Nice old man, interesting stories" Emily says. "Mom, you socialized with a known nazi? That's despicable, that's heinous" Lorelai says. "No dear, that was a joke" Emily says earning laughs from both of her granddaughters.

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Lorelai and Victoria are sitting in the kitchen when Rory walks in.

"Hey, I have an idea for a new reality show. How bout everyone just looks out the fricken kitchen window for a change?" Lorelai says. "Ooh, she's cranky this morning" Rory says.

"Let's just say the world's got a formidable opponent" Lorelai says. "Wait, shouldn't you be baking?" Victoria asks. "I don't know, shouldn't you be knitting?" Lorelai asks.

"Mom, the Chilton bake sale is today!" Rory yells.

"I know, I got it covered" Lorelai says. "They expect things to be homemade" Victoria reminds her mother.