Ready for Anything?

Chapter 39

Rory's POV

I took a deep breath, standing at the doorway of Emily Gilmore's Nantucket home, not knowing exactly which Emily to expect to come out when she found out the news - would it be society Emily who would be livid, or calm, serene Emily who lives and works at the beach? I had no idea, and frankly, I was terrified.

I finally got up the courage to knock on the door, but was interrupted when my cell phone rang. "Rory, are you in town yet? I'm just finishing up at the museum, and I was wondering if you might want to meet me here, so I could show you around? It's quite an amazing museum!" Her voice sounded, confidently.

"I was literally just about to knock on your front door, Grandma, but sure! I'd love to see where you work. How do I get there from here?" I asked, listening as she gave me directions. "Okay, grandma. I'll be right there" I told her, heading back to my car.

I arrived at the Nantucket Whaling Museum a few minutes later and took it all in from the outside first. It didn't look like much, and almost seemed small to me, in the sense of other museums I've been to, but it seemed very nice and inviting.

"Well what are you doing standing around out here, Rory? Come! Come inside and have a look. It's so interesting here!" Grandma said, greeting me in her own way, coming outside to pull me in.

She gave me the full tour, complete with hanging whale skeletons from the ceiling and old whaling ships on display, this was truly unlike anything I've ever seen before. "Wow, Grandma! This place is really great! I can see why you love it here so much!" I told her, looking around some more.

"This has definitely become my home away from home. I enjoy being here so much, that they have to remind me to go back to my house sometimes" she teased.

I laughed and looked at her beaming face. I haven't seen her this happy since before Grandpa passed away, and I was happy to see it now. "I'm glad you have this place, Grandma. It looks good on you" I told her with a smile.

"It's been an amazing distraction, that's for sure. I miss your grandfather very much, but I love my life right now. It's been an amazing journey, being on my own, but I do miss him, Rory" she told me.

"Of course you do, grandma! We all do. No one questions whether or not you miss him. He was an amazing man, and his presence isn't replaceable. But distractions can be good" I told her.

She smiled at me and put her hand on mine. "Thank you, Rory. It's just still hard to believe he's gone some days" she said, and then she stood up abruptly. "Well, what do you say we go get some lunch?" She asked, pulling herself back together.

"Of course, just lead the way, Grandma" I said with a smile.

* * *

After grandma and I got back to her beach home, we sat on the back deck, overlooking the beach, hearing the relaxing waves crashing against the shore and the rocks, and just soaking it all in.

Berta brought out some drinks for us, and I smelled it before drinking - alcoholic - I guess now was when I should tell her before it goes any further.

"Is something wrong with your drink?" Grandma asked in concern as I set it back on the table, untouched.

"No, I'm sure it's delicious, but you'll have to drink it for me, or save it for me for another few months" I teased, trying to ease into the topic.

"Why on earth would I save a drink for months?" She asked, clearly not understanding.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you, and I don't know how to say it, so I'm just going to say it" I said, looking up at her confused expression.

"Well, go on" she prompted.

"Grandma, what I've been wanting to tell you is, I'm pregnant" I told her.

"Pregnant?" She asked, as if confused by the word.

"Yes, and it's not just one baby, it's twins" I told her.

"But Rory, I wasn't even aware you were dating anyone, let alone serious enough to consider marriage and children!" She said, a little too happily, and I was about to burst her happy little bubble.

"I'm not, Grandma. I'm not dating anyone, and I'm not getting married to their father" I told her, immediately cringing as I watched the emotions flash across her face.

"You're not getting married to the father of your children? Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, this is unacceptable! Your mother's behavior didn't shock me, but this, young lady, is utter bullshit" she ranted angrily.

"Grandma!" I exclaimed, shocked at her use of profanity.

"Please, you're pregnant by some man who you're not even dating and you think you get to comment on my language? Think again!" Grandma huffed.

I sighed and dropped my head into my hands. At this point, I really wished Finn would have come with me. Maybe Grandma would have behaved better if he'd been here. I felt a few tears slide down my cheeks and closed my eyes for a minute.

"Grandma, I know that you're disappointed in me, and I know that this isn't optimal, but these babies will be loved and well taken care of by both myself and their father. I understand if you can't be happy for me right now, but I hope you'll get there at some point. I never wanted this or planned for it, but I'm actually really happy with my life right now. Sure, it was a shock to find out I was pregnant, but now that I've had a chance to process things I'm really excited. Despite what's going on, or rather not going on, between the dad and me, he's going to be an amazing dad to these two little ones. I just thought I owed it to you to tell you in person. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go lay down for a bit" I finished before walking off, tears now streaming down my face. I didn't want to let her see how badly I was hurt by her reaction.

I walked into the guest room and laid down on the bed. I couldn't stop myself from reliving Grandma's reaction over and over again in my head. I was jarred from my thoughts by the ringing of my phone, and I relaxed when I heard the ringtone. It was Finn.

"Hey" I answered quietly, still sniffling.

"Hey, Love. I was calling to see how it was going, but it sounds like you've been crying. Are you okay?" he asked. I could hear the concern in his voice.

I shook my head, even though he couldn't see me. "No, I'm really not. Unfortunately, Grandma was the old Emily Gilmore from Hartford when I told her the news. She reacted horribly - I don't know if I've ever seen her so angry. I couldn't listen anymore, so I came to the guest room to lay down" I replied quietly.

"I'm so sorry, Rory. I should have taken off today and gone with you" Finn replied.

"No, you had things that you had to take care of in the office today, and she might have still reacted just as badly" I insisted.

"Maybe, but at least I would have been there to take care of you" Finn said softly.

"I'll be okay - I've dealt with worse. It just sucks to know what a disappointment I am to her right now" I said as more tears fell from my face.

"You are not a disappointment, Love. You never could be. Listen, something really important came up that I need to tend to, but I'll talk to you again before you know it, okay?" Finn asked.

I couldn't help but be sad that he had to go already. "Yeah, sure. I'll talk to you later" I whispered.

"Before you know it, I promise" he said, echoing his previous words.

I just wished he could wrap his arms around me and tell me everything was going to be okay.