Love Me Softly - Gilmore Girls -

Chapter Eighteen

At long last, I have finally written something. My apologies for taking so long, I really appreciate y'all being so patient with me. Now....Are we ready for the drama????

Alice's POV:

The tension is there as we begin our trek back to town, we are careful to look out for Lorelai as we do so.

"So," Rory breaks the silence, "before you called your mom, or I guess my step-mom, you were going to tell me about the best lawyer you know?"

I grin, "I was! The best lawyer I know is mom, I don't think she's ever lost a case."

Her eyes widen and a grin spreads across her face to mimic mine, "Really?"

I nod, a giggle escaping as I answer, "That includes cases in court and cases with Dad and I. Just don't tell Dad, he thinks he's at least won once or twice."

Laughter follows as we hook arms walking closer and closer to the center of town. The town is dark now with shop lights and street lamps lighting our way, our giggling echoes across the courtyard as the sign for Luke's gets closer.

"Ready?" we ask one another in unison, the worry hitting us now that we are much closer to where at least my mom sits waiting for us.

With a deep breath, we steady ourselves before crossing the street and entering the diner.

The first person to notice us walk through the door is Luke, the owner we saw earlier in the day before our adventure brought us back here. The second is my Mom, who immediately scans me from head to toe with her eyes, no doubt checking for injuries or signs of pain. I smile her way to reassure her that I'm okay and nudge Rory who hasn't blinked since Mom looked our way. Mom then does the same scan to Rory before smiling and meeting us halfway.

Rory, becoming infinitely more shy since we entered, softly greets Mom, "Hi again, Mrs. Hayden."

Mom is barely containing her grin at how shy and polite Rory is behaving, "Hi to you as well, Rory."

Rory glances in my direction and I send a smile her way with a nod to Mom, gesturing that she can ask her what we talked about.

"Mrs. Hayden, do you want me to still call you that?"

Mom quirks her perfectly manicured brow, "Call me what, sweetheart?"

"Call you Mrs. Hayden," Rory begins to fidget with her hands and I fight the urge to speak for her so she's not so uncomfortable, "you know, now that I know you're more than just Alice's mom?"

The lightbulb seems to go off in Mom's head as she reaches forward to grab Rory's still fidgety hands, "Oh Rory, you don't need to feel pressured to call me anything. Whatever you're most comfortable with, okay?"

She nods, her hands now holding onto Mom's with a bright smile adorning her face.

"I told you she would be okay with whatever," I tease at Rory. She responds by turning her head with her tongue sticking out as Mom releases her hands. Mom leads us to the small table by the window and motions for me to hand over the purple scrapbook still tucked under my right arm. I oblige, sitting it in between the three of us.

"Rory, sweetheart," Mom is in her responsible parent mode, terrifying when you're in trouble and calming when you're not, "have you called or messaged your mom about where you are?"

Rory looks down so I can't tell if she's angry or ready to cry, a muttered "no" is all we hear.

Sighing Mom responds, "You need to call her, or at least message her so she knows you're okay. Your Dad called me worried since no one had heard from either of you until Alice called me earlier."