Gilmore Girls: More in the Life

Chapter 108

Emily sat in her apartment, content to have some time to herself. She absolutely didn't mind being at Luke and Lorelai's every day but she, too, needed a break. After talking to her daughter, she decided to take the night to be home in the peace and quiet her sanctuary offered.

For the last couple weeks, Emily had been trying to drudge from her memory the thing that was eluding her about the Harper Group. She didn't recall ever attending a function that was hosted or sponsored by them. She knew of no one with any sort of connection to that type of company.

Richard. For some reason, he popped into her head. Emily felt as if the memory was tied to him somehow.

Now what is it?

*****

Luke sighed, one that welled from deep in his chest. The twins were both asleep and it was already quickly closing in on midnight. Lorelai had been in bed for several hours herself, after he told her to go take time for herself.

There were days he wondered what he and Lorelai had been thinking.

There were other days he felt the same fears creep in when he had considered bailing.

But, more often than not, Luke felt the sun rose and set by the beautiful babies his wife had blessed him with.

It infuriated him that Anna had withheld April from him, that he missed so much of her life simply because he hadn't liked kids when they had been together. Who was she to decide whether he would be in his daughter's life?

Even after all these years, he struggled to let that anger go. He had had to reign in his feelings on numerous occasions when issues cropped up between he and Anna, such as disagreements about parenting or her belief that Luke should fund April's every whim.

April was his flesh and blood and he loved her dearly.

But the relationship he felt forming between him and Gabby and Eli was so different. It was a deeply rooted bond that he knew would never fade.

No matter what, Luke would ensure that Gabby and Eli knew how important they were to him and that he'd move heaven and earth to give them a childhood worthy of them.

This time, he knew Lorelai wouldn't shove him aside or disregard his wishes because she felt her opinion was superior. No, they were a team and their children would be able to recognize the strength of their marriage.

Luke hoped the twins would aspire to each have a marriage like theirs one day.

One day.

*****

Logan felt like Rory had been walking on eggshells around him lately. What he didn't know was why. Something in him said it had something to do with how jumpy she had been when he went into her office several days earlier.

Looking at his watch, he saw that Rory wouldn't be home from the Gazette for a few more hours. Part of him wanted to sneak into her office to see if he could figure out what she was doing or working on in the hopes it would explain her reaction. The other part wanted to not spy on his fiancée.

After much internal debating, the sneaky part won.

Making his way back to Rory's office, Logan entered and found the laptop sitting on the corner of the desk. He took a seat and opened the computer, watching as the screen lit up. There wasn't a password so he was able to get right on with no waiting.

He browsed through open documents and saw nothing alarming.

Once he opened the internet, though, he saw that Rory hadn't closed out of the session she had been in. His gut said that's what she was trying to do when he appeared in her doorway.

Before his eyes was an article about his engagement to Odette, complete with a photograph of the two of them that had been taken about a week after the news broke that he had proposed.

A quick scan of the history also showed about a dozen other articles about him and Odette.

Why would she be torturing herself with that?

Suddenly, the answer hit him.

Rory was afraid that Logan only walked away from Odette because of Lora.

With absolute certainty, he knew he had to talk to Rory. And soon.

*****

Emily's eyes flew open as she awoke from a dream about Richard. The dream was about a conversation she had with him years before after Lorelai opened the Dragonfly. Richard told her about a man named Mike Anderson who bought small inns but kept staff employed to run it.

That's what had been eluding her.

Richard had tried to connect Lorelai with this man because he was interested in purchasing the inn.

Something Emily suspected the Harper Group likely also did.

Was Lorelai considering selling the Dragonfly?

*****

Makenna sat in between Jess and Natalie as they Sarah discussed more observations she had made while interacting with the little girl.

Keeping her eyes downcast, Makenna listened as the nice woman talked.

"I know we previously went over some of the things you've witnessed but after watching her more, I fully believe that Makenna has Reactive Attachment Disorder, or RAD for short. RAD can manifest itself when a child fails to receive the nurture and love most parents offer. Based on the information provided by you and by Makenna's caseworker, it seems the biological mother failed to provide the necessary bond for her to be able to mimic it with caregivers."

Makenna felt Jess' arm move around her shoulder. Involuntarily, she leaned over toward him.

Sarah saw the actions.

"In Makenna's case, her anguish stems from treatment of her mother. Notes made by the OCFS depict a very poor home life. I see that Jess may be able to reach her in a way that Natalie cannot at this time. Use that to your advantage, to gain her trust."

Sighing, Makenna began picking at her fingers. It was easy for them to sit her and talk about things she dealt with her mean mother. But none of them lived through it. None of them had been hurt by their mothers in the way she had.

This is why she felt that anyone acting as her mother was the enemy.

The last few months, she had been so scared to open up to Natalie. She seemed and looked nice and had tried hard to make her feel welcome. But there were times her mother was nice too. She could remember when she had gotten to pick out new shoes and was taken to play at a fast food restaurant's playground. The thing was, her mother's mean side always inevitably came out.

It was only a matter of time until that side of Natalie showed up.