New Beginnings

Act 4 ch 20

Lorelai places a pizza on a candy-filled coffee table as her daughters walk in the front door.

"Hello" Victoria walks in. "Did you bring the Nutter Butters?" Lorelai asks.

"Well, I'm fine, Mother. I missed you, too" Rory says handing her the nutter butters. "Ah, we have achieved culinary perfection" Lorelai says. "What's with the carrots?" Victoria asks her.

"I was afraid you weren't eating right at school" Lorelai explains.

"Ah" Victoria nods. "Marshmallow?" Lorelai offers.

"Thank you" Victoria takes them. "Oh, man, I've missed Al's Chinese night" Rory says. "Oh, he's got a new thing now-chicken chow mein sandwich" Lorelai tells her.

"Oh, Al" Victoria says.

"Oh, Al" Lorelai repeats. "So what exactly was Grandma's excuse for canceling Friday night dinner?" Rory asks.

"That Dad was traveling and she had a function" Lorelai answers. "It was that generic?" Victoria asks disappointed. "She put no thought into it, and it was muffled, but at the end of the call, I do believe I heard a knock and someone yelling, turndown service" Lorelai tells them.

"Living in a hotel" Rory says.

"And hiding it, poor Grandma. We should talk to them" Victoria suggests. "We?" Lorelai asks.

"Well, you. You're better at conflict than I am" Victoria clarifies. "Talking is not my parents' thing. It would humiliate them if they knew that we knew that they are...whatever they are" Lorelai insists. "So, we do nothing?" Rory asks.

"I guess we wait until one of them cracks" Victoria shrugs.

"Okay. Man, how many tapes are we watching tonight?" Rory asks. "Well, every time I started watching something that I thought you would like, I stopped watching it and I saved it for when we could watch it together, so I watched the first 10 minutes of 12 movies" Lorelai explains.

"So which one are we gonna watch?" Victoria asks her. "Mmm...the absolute funniest movie known to man-Fatso" Lorelai picks. "I'm loving the title" Rory smiles.

"Anne Bancroft wrote and directed it" Lorelai tells them.

"Well, Annie Sullivan, look at you go. So how's everything at the inn coming along?" Victoria asks. "Everyone's freaking out because I got a million things to do, but we finally got the pictures up, and the beds were delivered today. Oh, I forgot-a little bit of gossip" Lorelai says.

"Oh. What?" Rory asks intrigued. "No, it's not fun gossip" Lorelai replies. "What? What?" Victoria asks curious.

"Well, Sookie and I overheard Dean and Lindsay having a major fight. It was ugly" Lorelai starts.

"Really? About what?" Rory asks. "Well, she was mad because he was working late when he didn't have to and that he never spends time with her and it got heated and vicious, and the whole thing ended with a whatever, Dean" Lorelai explains.

"That sounds bad" Victoria says. "It wasn't good" Lorelai confirms. "Maybe they'll make up" Rory says not knowing what to say.

"I hope so" Victoria says genuinely.

"Yeah, me too" Rory lies.

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"So I have a proposition. And it might sound a little impulsive but it's not, I actually put a lot of thought into this" Tristan says sitting at dinner with Victoria.

"Oh? Should I be nervous?" Victoria asks. "Well nothing has to happen for a while. I was thinking we should do it after summer break, right before the next school year starts" Tristan tells her.