Jun 16, 2007

Changes

Chapter One

Lorelai stood impatiently outside of Stars Hollow Junior High School, a to-go cup of coffee from Weston's Bakery in each hand. She tried looking at her watch, but it was almost impossible to do without pouring out Rory's coffee. And try as she wanted to wait until Rory came out to share the coffee, Lorelai kept sipping on hers.

 Finally the bell rang. And again she waited, and waited.

 "Come on, Rory," Lorelai said out loud, her impatience growing with each second that passed. "You don't have to interrogate every teacher."

Rory was now in the seventh grade, and for the first time had six teachers rather than one. And she always went back to each one after school just to make sure she had the homework assignments right.

At last she saw Rory coming out of the door, and Lane was with her. They stopped to talk, then they laughed together. Lorelai's impatience diminished just a bit. She was so glad Rory had such a good friend as Lane. Her news could wait a little longer.

The two girls started walking again and then Rory spied Lorelai.

"Mom!" she yelled out, a slightly worried tone in her voice.

Lorelai walked to meet them.

"Hey, Babe. Hey, Lane."

"What are you doing here? Is everything all right?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't it be?" Lorelai asked as she handed the cup to Rory.

"Because you've never met me here after school. Why aren't you at work?"

"I have something to show you."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you. You have to see this for yourself."

"See what?"

"You'll see," Lorelai replied with a mysterious smile on her face.

"I better get home," Lane said. "If I know Mrs. Kim, she is staring at her stop watch."

"You're kidding, of course," Lorelai said to her.

 "She really isn't," Rory answered. "She's got twenty minutes to get home."

 "That gives me a ten-minute grace period," Lane explained.

"Well, then we won't hold you up."

 " 'Bye," Rory said to the departing Lane. "See you tomorrow."

 " 'Bye, Rory." Lane said over her shoulder. " 'Bye, Lorelai."

 "Okay," Rory said, turning to Lorelai. "What is it you want to show me?"

 "Follow me," was all Lorelai said.

 After a fifteen minute walk, they ended up in front of a large two story house with a porch that seemed to run around the entire house.

 "Who lives here?" Rory asked, but Lorelai ignored her.

 To keep the mystery going a bit longer, Lorelai led Rory around to the back yard and up the stairs to the back door.

 Lorelai opened it slowly, and peeked in as if to see if anyone was home.

 "Mom!" Rory whispered, "What are you doing?"

 Lorelai walked into the kitchen with Rory nervously following.

 The kitchen was empty except for the stove and refrigerator. Their voices echoed throughout the house.

 "You want to show me an empty house?"

 "In here," Lorelai said as she walked into the room just off the kitchen.

 They walked to the center of the room, and Lorelai said, "Look around."

 Rory made a circle then looked back at Lorelai.

 "What am I looking at?"

 "Your new bedroom."

 "My what?"

 "Your new bedroom, unless you'd rather sleep on the back porch."

 "Mom, what are you taking about?"

 Lorelai could no longer hold it in.

 "This is our new house!" she all but shouted out. "I bought it today! Mia and I went down to the bank and took out a home loan. And then we went to the real estate office and I signed all the papers. This is OUR house, Babe! Yours and mine!"

 Rory was speechless.

 "Well, say something. Don't you like it?"

 Rory looked around one more time.

 "Mom, we can't afford this house! We don't even own a car!"

 "Well, there's more to the story."

 Chapter Two

 Lorelai took a deep breath.

 "You are now looking at the brand spanking new General Manager of the Independence Inn of Stars Hollow, Connecticut!"

 "What? General Manager? But how? When?"

 "Today! Mia brought me over here, to this very house. Told me – well asked me, if I'd run the inn for her so she could retire.  We have money now, Rory! Mia said I'd be making about four times what I was making as a maid. We can get a car, and we can buy clothes and shoes and . . . . "

 "And furniture! We'll need furniture! And a new TV! And more books. Oh my god, I'll need a bookshelf, maybe two of them! And a bed."

 As it began to sink in, Rory was becoming just as excited as Lorelai.

 They looked at each other for a second then both squealed and hugged each other, dancing around in circles and laughing.

 "I can't believe it!" Rory said as they calmed down. "We always dreamed this day would come. I just never expected it to happen so soon!"

 "Do you like the house?"

 "Are you kidding? I love it! I want to see all of it!"

 "No Pro-Con list?"

 "Heck no! What would be the point? There would be nothing on the Con side of the page!"

 For the next thirty minutes they explored every room, discussing what kind of furniture and wall decorations each would get, and how everything would be arranged. They climbed up and down the stairs a half dozen times.

 After they were satisfied with the inside, they walked out on the front porch to look around the yard.

 "Hey!" someone yelled at them from the house next door. "Hey, Lorelai!"

 "Hey, Babette!" Lorelai yelled back. "I didn't know you lived here!"

 "Are ya' lookin' at the house?"

 "We just bought it -- today. We'll be moving in this weekend!"

 "Oh, that's so great! You'll just love here! It's a great house!"

 "We know!" Lorelai yelled back.

 Then Babette yelled over her shoulder, "MOREY! It's Lorelai and Rory! They're movin' in! We got new neighbors!"

 Morey stuck his head out of the front door.

 "Welcome," he said as he waved, then went back inside.

 By now Babette had walked to the property line and Lorelai and Rory met her there.

 "Morey's watchin' Cinnamon. She's our cat, you know. She's got hair balls the size of your fist! We gave her medicine and we don't want her throwin' up all over the house, so we gotta watch her."

 "Well, you go keep an eye on Cinnamon and we'll see you later."

 "Okay. It's gonna be so great with you two livin' here!"

 After Babette went back inside, Lorelai and Rory headed back to the inn.

 "Look, hon, as far as I know, no one knows about this promotion. Mia's going to have a staff meeting at five. So, just don't say anything right now, okay?"

 "Sookie doesn't know? You didn't even tell her?"

 "I haven't been back to the inn. Right after everything was dotted and signed I went to Weston's and then I met you."

 "This is big, isn't it?"

 "The biggest. I just hope everyone's okay with it."

 "I'm sure they will be. Everybody likes you. Why wouldn't they be okay with it?"

 "Well, I know Sookie will be happy for me. And Tobin. And most of the staff, I guess, but I’m not so sure about Michel."

 "Well, who cares about ol' Michel, anyway?"

 "Now, Rory, we all need to get along. If there are problems between Michel and me, it could affect everyone."

 "Then it will be his problem. Mia gave you the job so she knows what she's doing."

 "Well, we'll find out soon enough."

 Chapter Three

 When they got back to the inn, they went right to the potting shed. On the door was an envelope from Mia. Inside was a note asking Lorelai to stay out of sight until the meeting. And then to not let herself be seen until the announcement.

 For the next hour and a half Lorelai and Rory stayed in the shed. It gave Rory a chance to do some of her homework between her and Lorelai making plans for the big move on Saturday.

 "Mia said we could use the inn's van to move our stuff, and until I can get us a car. She has a bed for you that we can have. The power and the water are both on, and both the hot water heater and the refrigerator work so we don't have to worry about that."

 "What about the stove?"

 "What about it?"

 "Does it work?"

 "Do we care? It’s not like we actually cook."

 "Well, we might, now that the inn's kitchen will be more than a sixty-second walk away."

 "I’m sure it does."

 At five o'clock Lorelai and Rory left to go to the staff meeting.

 Inside everyone was gathered in the dining room waiting for Mia.

 "Has anyone seen Lorelai?" Sookie asked no one in particular.

 "Not since she and Mia left this afternoon," Donna answered. "You don't think Mia fired her, do you?"

 "No! why would she do that? Lorelai's been here too long and Mia likes her too much. I just wonder where she is? I wonder if she's in the shed, asleep. Maybe I should go look."

 Before Sookie could leave to check on her, Mia walked in. All the whispering and rustling stopped.

 "Hi, everyone. I know some of you should be going home now, and some of you night people are in early, and I appreciate you all staying late and coming in early. What I have to say won't take long, but I think it's important that you hear it together."

 Mia looked around and saw Lorelai and Rory waiting out of sight from the others.

 "I'm well aware of the rumor going around that I may be thinking about retiring, and I have to say the rumor is true, since I started it. I've come to the point in my life that I would like to slow down. There are places I want to visit, and things I'd like to see before I'm too old to enjoy them. So, Monday morning I will be coming in for the last time. And no, I didn't sell the inn."

 Mia gave them a smile.

 "This place makes me too much money, which I'll need to do all the traveling I'm planning on. But it does mean there will be someone else running things around here."

 Mia waited a half a minute to let the news sink in, and for the whispers to die down.

 "I'm sure you're all wondering who the new day manger will be. Well, it won't be some outsider. I firmly believe in promoting from within the family, and I have made my choice. But this person will be more that just the day manager. I've decided to make him, or her, the General Manager. Which means he, or she, will be responsible for both the day shift and the night shift."

Mia quickly cut her eyes to Lorelai to see how she was holding up. Lorelai gave her a weak, insecure smile.

"This is a tremendous responsibility. And it's not a job to be taken lightly. But I have every confidence in the person I have chosen. And I expect everyone of you to give her all the respect and all the support you have given me all these years."

At the word "her" the whispers started up again. Everyone was trying to guess who it was. Everyone but Michel, who had a decidedly unhappy look on his face.

Mia gave a little cough and everyone quieted down.

"So, without further ado, I give you the Independence's new General Manager – Lorelai Gilmore."

Lorelai hesitated a fraction of a second, and was given a little shove by Rory.

Lorelai walked to Mia's side.

"Hi, everyone," she said nervously.

But before she could say anything more, Sookie and Tobin were on their feet, clapping loudly. Almost immediately the rest of the staff was standing and applauding, everyone except a very unhappy Michel.

Mia squeezed Lorelai's hand, and whispered loud enough for Lorelai to hear over the din, "See? And you were worried."

Fighting back the tears, Lorelai looked over to Rory and signaled for her to join them. Rory rushed out to stand beside them. She could not have been any prouder of her mother than at this moment.

As the applause began to die down, Mia said in Lorelai's ear, "You say a few words. I need to talk to Michel."

Lorelai nodded, then took a deep breath as everyone sat back down. Mia walked past Michel, said something to him that no one could hear, and he got up to follow her. Rory started to take his seat, but Lorelai grabbed her hand to keep her next to her, for support.

"I really don't know what to say, except thank you for that," Lorelai began. "It does makes it easier to know that all of you seem to think that Mia made the right decision. I just wish I had as much confidence in myself as you seem to."

"You'll do just fine," Tobin said. "And we're all here for you."

"Thanks. That means a lot. I just want all of you to know things won't be so different. We all have our duties, and we all know how to do them, so as long as you all keep doing the wonderful jobs you have been doing, then there shouldn't be any problems."

"Unless your name is Michel!" someone yelled out. Everyone laughed.

"Now, none of that. We have to be sensitive to each other's feelings. There IS going to be a transitional period, and we all will have to do our parts not to step on anyone's toes."

"Unless your name is Michel!" someone else yelled out. They all laughed again.

Chapter Four

 While Lorelai was giving her thank you/orientation speech, Mia led Michel into her office and shut the door.

 "It isn't fair!" Michel exclaimed. "It should be MY job! Now Lorelai will fire me and I will have to stand in the unemployment line like the common riff-raff."

 "No one is firing anyone. Lorelai and I already talked about this. She knows how important your job is."

 "But I should be manager. I have the experience, and the education."

 "I don't dispute your qualifications. That's why I hired you in the first place. But I hired you to be our concierge. Running an inn takes more than just education or on the job training. And let's face it, Michel, sometimes you can be – what's the word I'm looking for? – brusque. Or maybe discourteous would be a better word. Your people skills are often lacking. You don't act like you  particularly like people. . . ."

 "Yes, I very much dislike the ignorant and stupid people that often come here. But can I help that?"

 "But don't you see, even though sometimes our guests are just that, you have to know when to bite your tongue and smile. Lorelai knows how to talk to them, and she doesn't let herself get upset at their stupidity."

 "She will find an excuse to let me go. I just know it."

 "No, she won't. Not unless you say or do something to make her have to. If you and I can work together, then there's no reason why you and Lorelai can't."

 Mia got up from her chair and opened the door, signaling to Michel their meeting was over. At the same time everyone was filing out of the dining room.

 "How did it go?" Mia asked Lorelai.

 "Good. I think it went very good. No one seemed upset or resentful. Well, almost no one."

 "I don't think you'll have to worry about Michel. Just give him a little space the next couple of weeks. I think he'll come around."

 "I hope so. It's going to be tough enough without you here to keep things on an even keel."

 "I think you're worrying too much. Just keep on doing just like you have been and things will be fine."

 Then Mia turned to Rory.

 "And what about you, Rory? What do you think about all of this?"

 "I can't hardly believe it. It’s just so amazing – Mom's new job and the new house. But I’m going to miss living here, I know. And I'm going to miss you so much! I can't imagine you not being around."

 "I'll still be here for a while, until I finalize any travel plans. But for right now, would you girls like to join me for supper? I'm pretty sure Sookie has made more than enough clam chowder."

 "Oh, I'm sure she has," Lorelai agreed. "If there's one thing Sookie believes in making plenty of when it's cold, it's clam chowder."

 After supper, Lorelai and Rory went back to their small home. Rory had homework to finish and Lorelai wanted to start packing up some of their non-essentials.

 "Mia told me I could take tomorrow off, so I should have everything packed up by the time you get home from school. We'll load up the van before it gets dark, and the first thing Saturday morning we can drive over to the house and unload it. Two trips ought to do it."

   ...................,

Lorelai heard the alarm clock click just before it went off, and her hand was there to turn it off a half second after it started ringing. She looked over at Rory, asleep next to her in their double bed. She was still sleeping.

 It was Saturday morning and Lorelai had reset the alarm for seven. They stayed up past midnight and she was still a bit sleepy. But she wanted to see the sun rise one more time from this small, one room shed that had been their home for so long. For the moment, her excitement of the new house was overshadowed by the sadness of leaving.

 Lorelai threw on her terrycloth robe, then she turned on the small electric heater to warm up the place while she went after coffee and muffins. As she did, she realized it would be for the last time. Their new house had a furnace with central heating. And if they wanted it, air conditioning could be added later on.

 "What's the matter?" Sookie asked. "You don't seem very excited. This is a big day – THE big day."

 As Lorelai poured the two cups of coffee, she was realizing that it would also be the last time she would do this. Mia had given Lorelai the coffee maker she kept in her office to take with them to the new house. She always thought Sookie's coffee was too weak.

 "I know. It's just that everything was going along so – regularly, and then all of a sudden, it changed. It's just kind of sad, leaving after living here for so long."

 Back in the potting shed Lorelai smiled down at the still-sleeping Rory. And for the last time in the small, but cozy shed they both loved so much, Lorelai woke her up.

  "Hey, Sleepyhead, time to get up. It's moving day."