THE NIGHT OF the dreaded dinner had finally rolled around. Dreaded was a strong word, for only being dreaded by two of seven attendees, but dreaded by them very deeply.
Charlie Gilmore had attempted to get out of it, asking her mother ten times over if she could eat at Emma's, but this attempt went down the drain before it spilled from her lips. The night of, the girl had chosen to bury her nose in a faded copy of 'To The Lighthouse', attempting to ignore the chaos going on around her.
The other dreading came from a teen standing on the porch fo the Crap Shack, beside his uncle he'd rather not be with.
"Charlie, hello," Lorelai dragged out, dipping her head down as she walked by to intercept her field of vision, "Luke's been at the door for like, five minutes."
"Oops," Charlie mumbled, not dragging her vision away from the words.
"If you don't open the door or answer the phone, what did I have you for?"
"You needed someone to paint the nails on your left hand and sing the high notes in Cyndi Lauper songs."
Lorelai smiled, touching her index finger to her nose as she left Charlie to answer the front door. Charlie sunk down into the couch, blocking out the faint conversation happening in the foyer.
"Hey, Connecticut."
"You sound like you're on FM radio," Charlie mumbled, looking up to meet Jess' eyes. He smirked, wandering over to the mantle and picking up a picture of the Gilmore twins. "Yeah, make yourself at home."
"Hey, guys, wanna come on in the kitchen?" Lorelai asked, leaning slightly as she spoke to the teens.
Charlie tucked a take out menu in her book to mark her page, standing as Jess followed Lorelai out of the living room.
"Hey, Pea," Luke greeted with an unsure smile.
"Hey," Charlie sighed, giving the man a quick side hug.
"Do you eat cheese?"
Charlie cracked a smile as she and Luke entered the kitchen— she'd never had a close relationship with Sookie St. James, but this didn't mean she didn't like her. Charlie found humor in every movement and word from Sookie— she liked her mother's choice of a best friend.
