New Beginnings

Act 5 ch 6

"I smell meat, is that meat?" Victoria asks walking over to her grandfather's pool house.

"Why, yes, miss, it is meat" the valet confirms. "Oh, he called me miss. There's meat and a miss, I'm happy" Victoria smiles.

"What's the occasion?" Rory asks. "Well, I thought we might like some appetizers with our cocktails tonight" Richard explains. "Would we ever" Lorelai replies.

"The first batch is ready, sir" Richard's valet tells him.

"Wonderful, on the table please" Richard replies. "Mm, God it smells good. I love a good steak on a stick" Victoria says.

"Me, too" Richard agrees. "We should form a club" Rory chimes in. "Steak-On-A-Stick club" Lorleai says.

"We could have t-shirts made up" Richard suggests.

"Grandpa, I've never seen you wear a t-shirt" Victoria points out. "Well, I've just never found a proper occasion" Richard explains.

"Hmm. To the proper occasion" Victoria says. "I'll drink to that" Richard says as they toast. "I knew I smelled something, you're barbecuing" Emily storms over.

"So what?" Richard asks.

"So what? The agreement was the girls have drinks with you and dinners with me" Emily reminds him. "We are having drinks. Drinks and appetizers" Richard defends himself.

"Those are not appetizers! Those are skewers" Emily insists. "Little skewers" Lorelai says. "Little tiny skewers" Rory adds.

"This is not tiny" Emily rips a skewer from Victoria's hand as she's about to bite.

"Grandma" Victoria says. "This is a main course and a cheap way of cheating me out of my dinner" Emily yells at Richard.

"You are the most paranoid woman I've ever met" he replies. "I highly doubt that" Emily scoffs. "You were the one who designated the drinks portion of the evening to me" Richard reminds her.

"You love drinks" Emily points out.

"Drinks last one hour at most. Then you get the dinner portion, which can last several hours" Richard breaks it down. "Especially the way you structure things. You get more time" he complains.

"I should at least be able to serve appetizers with my drinks" Richard finalizes. "Fine. I'll leave" Emily says. "Have you drinks and your appetizers, but you better be hungry when you get inside, or else" she points to her daughter and granddaughters.

"Or else" Lorelai gasps.

"Sounds serious. So, one more?" Victoria asks. "Well, two more at the most" Rory says.

"Yeah, 'cause she was really mad" Lorelai grabs another kabob. "Mm-hmm" Victoria takes a bite.

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"Something wrong?" Emily asks as the girls sit in silence at dinner.

"No, why?" Victoria asks. "You're not eating" Emily points out.

"I am eating" Victoria insists. "You've taken two bites" Emily tells her. "Two really big bites" Victoria defends herself.

"Rory's taken none" Emily brings Rory into this.

"I did, you just missed it" Rory tells her. "You're full" Emily accuses.

"No" Lorelai denies. "He can't stick to a simple agreement! He makes deals all the time in business, but drinks there, dinner here, somehow that's too difficult for him to manage" Emily consoling. "He was just-" Victoria tries.

"He was trying to upstage me. He was trying to make his part of the evening the fun part" Emily interrupts.

"He's a child. A spoiled four-year-old" she keeps going. "I should take his dump truck away and send him to bed without supper. Or, as he calls it, appetizers" Emily mocks.