One Tree Love

Cinnamon's Wake

Rory and Lola sat next to each other across their mother at another Friday night dinner, the only difference was that the twins grandfather, Richard Gilmore, was not sitting across from their grandmother on the other side of the table. "So where'd you say Dad was?" Lorelai asked after she swallowed her food. 

"Away on business." Emily stated before taking a sip of her wine. "Location's top secret?" Lola asked playfully, sending a wink towards her mother who grinned at her oldest. "Oh, Germany." The twins grandmother stated, Lola cursed in her head, she knew her mother, so she knew the woman couldn't resist a comment like "Germany. Is Dad's firm insuring nazi's now?" Yup, there it was.

"Your father doesn't know any nazi's." Emily scolded seriously, looking at her only child in confusion. "I know, Mom. I was just --" Lorelai tried to explain while her mother gave her a stern look. "What?" Emily asked narrowing her eyes at the mother of two who looked flustered. "Joking. She was joking." Rory jumped in to defend her mother while her sister watched everything with an amused smiled.

"Oh. Hard to tell." Emily said glancing at the twins before taking another sip, Lola laughed softly, shaking her head before taking a sip of her sweet tea, a new staple at the house after realizing how much the older twin drank it at nights instead of coffee. 

"Yeah, well." Lorelai shrugged off her mothers comment, an action she was keenly used to. "Oh, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Claudia died." Emily said changing the subject quickly, Lola frowned despite having no clue who Claudia was, anything involving death was upsetting. "Who?" Lorelai asked in confusion, like her daughter she didn't know who that was either. "Claudia. Your cousin Claudia." Emily continued, Lorelai just stared at her mother, still having no clue who she was talking about. "Claudia."

"I'm hearing the name, Mom. I have no idea who that is." Lorelai protested with a soft head shake. "Claudia's your cousin, for all intents and purposes." Emily explained, Lorelai perked up, glancing at the twins. "Oh, now we're getting to it." Lorelai stated sarcastically, although her mother didn't notice.

"She was your father's grandmother's sister's girl. So to you, that would make her --" Both Lorelai and Lola raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Nothing?" Lorelai answered, because there was no other explanation for the relation for them. "Regardless the funeral's on Thursday. I thought we'd all go together." Emily explained, the twins shared a confused look with one another. 

"Ooh, whoa. Two problems. Impossible to get away from the inn Thursday. Two, I've never met this woman." Lorelai shot down quickly making her oldest wince. Here was the start of a quick argument that would end just as quickly. "You most certainly have." Emily protested just as quickly, never one to back down from an argument. 

"When?" Lorelai questioned, the twins set down their forks watching the two woman like they were watching a ping pong game. "Several times." Emily shot back, Lola began eating again knowing that the two could go at it for a while. "I'll take one." Lorelai offered pleasantly staring at her mother in confusion. 

" We went to her house in Groton to see the first moon landing. She'd just gotten a new Philco." Emily explained pointing her glass in her daughters direction. "I have no memory of this whatsoever." Lorelai protested shaking her head at her mother. "Lola, Rory, correct me if I'm wrong, but men have walked on the moon regardless of whether your mother remembers it or not." Emily asked turning to her granddaughters who shared another amused look with each other. 

"That's the rumor." The twins nodded at the same tie, Lorelai sent her daughters a fake glare. "I know men have walked on the moon. I just don't know Claudia." The twins mother continued her disapproval.  "So you're not going?" Emily asked despite already knowing the answer. "Not this time." Lorelai agreed mildly, just happy for the entire thing to be done.