"So then he starts ripping my $20 bill into a million pieces." "And I'm thinking, 'There's a store full of people." "'Why am I the one on line with the crazy magician?" "'" "I'll cut to the end." "He couldn't put it back together and had to pay me back in quarters." " Very good story." " You look tired." " I haven't been sleeping very well lately." " How come?" " I just have a lot on my mind." " Anything I can do?" " Flag down the coffee." " Arm going up now." "Honey, you gotta wake up." "Wanna play?" " One, two, three?" " I'll go first." "And one." " Pass." " Why?" "Because I'm not Anna Nicole Smith." "Next." " Two." " Pass." " Why?" " Because I'm not Mary Kay Letourneau." "Okay." " What are you looking for?" " My new husband." "She's already passed up two good prospects." " But I'm feeling good about number three." " Do I want to know?" "Luke came to the table." "Is he number three?" " No." " You don't know what we're doing." "The safest answer in anything involving both of you is no." "We're playing 'One, two, three, he's yours. '" " I didn't ask." " You can take the first guy that walks by." "Or if you to pass, assuming there's a better one, you can take the next guy." "If you don't take him, you're automatically stuck with the third guy." " Got it?" " I'm not playing." "Of course not." "It's still my turn." " Oh, no!" " Daddy." " Not Kirk." " Maybe he'll buy me a pony." "I wanna go back to the old guy." " Congratulations, man." " Thank you." " What?" " Nothing." "Okay, did someone put the 'kick me' sign on my back again?" "It wasn't funny last week and it's not funny now." "I have asthma." " Mom, look, he's leaving." " No, Kirk, come back, I love you." "Drat!" "All right, your turn." "I don't know." "You already got Kirk." "How's a girl to top that?" "You're right." "He's yours." "And one..." "Okay, so, we should order." "Yeah, ordering's good." " Independence Inn." "Michel speaking." " Yes, is Ms. Gilmore there?" "I'm sorry, she's busy." "How may I assist you?" "Actually, I need to talk to Ms. Gilmore." " Is this business or personal?" " Personal." "Is anybody there?" "Hello?" "Yes, hello?" "Hi?" " Lorelai?" " Max!" " Is this a bad time?" " No such thing." "Where are you?" "I am in the teachers' lounge." " What are you wearing?" " Nothing." " You must be very popular." " And chilly." " We had a chat date tonight." " I was thinking about something..." " and I wanted to run it by you." " Okay." " So..." " Make a gorilla sound." " Why?" " I wanna play Wild Kingdom." "I am not making a gorilla sound." "I'll tell you what color underwear I'm wearing." "Had you considering the gorilla sound, didn't I?" " Yep." " I'm good." "Okay, I need you to be serious now." "Says the man with no pants." "We have been having these very successful phone calls..." " for a couple of weeks now." " Yes, we have." "I think that all the talking has done us a lot of good." "Yes, it has." "So I was thinking that maybe this weekend, instead of a phone call... we should have a date." "Let's have dinner." " In the same restaurant?" " At the same table." " Interesting idea." " I think it's time." "You know what?" "So do I." " Saturday night?" "8:00?" " Okay." "Wear some pants." " I make no promises." " Bye." " Salt and vinegar." " Thank you." "Here's your gum, soda, New Yorker, and dental floss." " They didn't have the minty kind?" " They were out." "Well, this is good, too." " He wasn't in there." " What?" "Dean." "He wasn't in there." " In case you were wondering." " I wasn't." "I just thought you might be." "So I mentioned it." " Well, I'm not." " Okay." "I thought you'd like to note for future reference... that he's not in the store on Wednesdays." "You can mark it on that list you're hiding... that says where he is so you can avoid him at anytime." " I wasn't avoiding the market." " My mistake." " I wasn't." " Okay." "So, what are you doing tonight?" "Well, homework, and then homework... and if I get all that done in time, some homework." "You?" "I have to meet my science partner." " Fun." " Yes, science is fun." " I'll call you later?" " Okay." " Hey, Lane?" " Yeah?" " You sure he wasn't in there?" " I asked." " Hey." " Oh, hey." " Shopping?" " I had a couple of things to pick up." " At the Cat Club?" " Yeah." " At the Cat Club?" " Yeah, I did, okay?" "Okay." "I just never took you for a cat lover or a 97-year-old woman." " What'd you buy?" " Nothing." " But you got a bag there." " I know." "It's got a cat paw stamped on it and a catnip bow." "Wise man." " Wow, potholders." " Yes." "Little kitty potholders." " They meow." " It's a present." " For someone you hate?" " It's Rachel's birthday." "Don't say anything." "She doesn't want anyone to know." "She hates birthdays." " Not as much as she'll hate the potholders." " I don't know how to buy gifts." "I don't like to buy gifts." "I don't like getting gifts." "This whole gift-giving-and-getting process is completely insane." " The rant begins." " Suddenly, on a certain date... the level of my affection for a person... isn't measured by the way I treat them or what we share." "Just because I didn't buy her furry slippers or a giant shoetree..." " all of a sudden, I suck." " Luke, stop." "You know, you cannot give her these potholders." "I know." " Go to the mall, walk around a little." " No malls." "I hate malls." "Rant number two." "They underpay employees and overprice merchandise." "They contribute to urban sprawl." "They encourage materialism." "The parking's a horror." "You drive in, you pay a buck." " Even if you're only there for five..." " Okay, Emma Goldman, I'll tell you what." " I'll go for you." " You're gonna shop for me?" "I have the day off tomorrow." "I was gonna go anyway." " You're serious?" " I'll get a bunch of stuff, all returnable." "I'll bring it, you pick what you want, and the rest I'll return." "I'll do the work." "All you have to do is point." " One finger." "Preferably, your index." " I don't know." "It's the first special occasion you both have shared since she's been back." " Don't you wanna give something nice?" " I am taking her out to dinner." "Yeah, I know." "I gotta get her something nice." "So then let me help." " All right." "Thank you." " You're welcome." "Nothing too 'out there,' okay?" "She's not into all that trendy stuff." "She likes simple, clean nature." "Elephants, candles, okay?" "If you can find a candle shaped like an elephant..." "Okay, you know what?" "I've got it all under control." " Okay, thanks." " Get rid of these." "Hello?" "Lane, are you here?" "Jeez!" "Who are you?" "Why you call Lane?" "How you know Lane?" "You date her?" " You try to?" " No." "Then why are you here?" "Empty your pockets." " Okay, I'm gonna go now." " Dean, wait." " Who's Dean?" " I'm Dean." " How you know him?" " We go to school together." " You do?" " Yeah, we're science partners." " You don't talk!" " Sorry." "Science partners?" " Yes, I invited him over to work." " Work?" " On our science project." " Reproduction?" "Spores, molds, and fungus." " Science project?" " Yes." " For school?" " Yes." " You're not dating?" " No." "Okay." "Follow me." "You, sit here!" "You, sit here!" "I'm going over there." "When I come back, these chairs will be in same place." " No moving." "You understand?" " Yes, Mamma." " Not you, him." " Yes, I understand." "I see all." " So that's your mom?" " That's my mom." " Has she seen Patton?" " She gets uptight about boys." " I sensed that." " It's nothing personal." "I'm sure once she gets to know me, she'll..." "No, she'll hate you forever." "It's just nothing personal." "We should probably get started." " Chapter 12?" " Sounds good." " Is this weird for you?" " A little." "Me, too." "I didn't know if Rory told you to hate me or something." " That's not Rory." " Yeah, I know." " How is she?" " Good." "Goodish." "Less 'good' than 'ish. '" "Yeah?" "How much less?" " We're breaking our agreement." " What agreement?" "Our agreement not to talk about Rory." "We didn't have an agreement not to talk about Rory." "It was an unspoken agreement." "It was really unspoken 'cause nobody spoke it." "If we have to study together, it would be better if we didn't discuss Rory." "Fine." " She can't go in to the market." " Why not?" " Because you're there." " Not on Wednesdays." "Already noted." "Can I ask you a really personal question?" "You can ask." "I might not answer." "Do you think you and Rory will ever get back together?" "I vote we go back to the 'no talking about Rory' agreement." "Look, I'm just saying that I..." "I should have called." "I'm sorry." " I'm sorry I didn't tell you." " It doesn't matter." " I didn't think you'd want to know." " I got it." "Rory, stop." "Okay, that's the opposite of 'stop. '" "Forget it." "You didn't tell me." "Now I know." "Life goes on." " Don't be mad." " I'm fine." "I have to go." "Time to get up." "Hey, I have a huge dilemma that I need your opinion on." "What?" "Am I more beautiful today than I was yesterday?" "Oh, boy." "I'm not sure." "At first I looked in the mirror and thought:" "'Well, yes." "Definitely a huge improvement. '" "Can I have my pillow back?" "But then I thought maybe it's not that I'm more beautiful today." "Maybe I was as beautiful yesterday." "Only, I lacked the self-esteem to recognize it." "I'm gonna take a shower." " Hurry up and I'll drive you to school." " No, thanks." "Why so charming this morning?" "I had an annoying visit from the Stars Hollow wake-up fairy." " Where's my tie?" " In your drawer." " I'm looking in the drawer." " Check the living room." "Why would it be in the living room?" "Because it's been seeing the doily on the coffee table." "Sorry, I did not want you to find out this way." "Don't take this personally, but get out." "Okay, you're crabby." "Do you know what the perfect cure for crabbiness is?" "A fabulous trip to the mall." "What do you say?" "You can blow off school and come with me." "We can shop, go to the movies, maybe talk a little." " No, thanks." " Come on, it might make you feel better." "I feel fine, and I don't wanna shop." "I know you've been in a funk over Dean, but you have to try not to dwell on it." "I'm gonna be late for school." "Okay." "Then just meet me in town around 4:00." "We'll get some Indian food and spoil our dinner." " Whatever." " Hey, love the enthusiasm." "Does Up With People know about you?" "Luke's." "Yeah, hang on." "Okay, yeah, cheeseburger, fries, well..." "Vanilla shake, coke." "Yes, we have salad." "One salad with blue cheese, one with ranch." "Got it. 20 minutes." "What the hell is this?" "The results of my shopping trip, all done in two hours." " Impossible." " I'm a savant." " Everything's returnable?" " Yes, now sit down and relax." " I'll show you what I got." " Can I have my credit card?" "Fine." " Looks tired." " Where's Rachel?" " She's out running some errands." " Good." "Last week, we were talking about Meryl Streep and the accent thing." "Rachel said she loved Out of Africa, but she never read the book, remember?" " No." " Okay, so I was like:" "'Are you crazy?" "Isak Dinesen is amazing." "I love her'... which is crap 'cause I never read the book either." "But Rory told me it was amazing." "So I felt pretty confident in my recommendation of:" " Out of Africa." " You bought her a book?" "No, you bought her a book, to be put in her brand-new..." " camera bag." " She's got a camera bag." " It's nylon." " So?" "This one's leather." "Beautiful leather." "Feel it." "Smell it." "I'm not gonna smell that bag." "Don't smell it." "But trust me, she's gonna love it." "Her old bag is falling apart, so she was gonna get a new one." "Now you'll have beaten her to it." " So it's practical." " And pretty." " That seems right." " You like?" " Yeah, thanks." " Good." " What's all this?" " Well, Luke..." " timing is a beautiful thing." " It is?" "It is." "So I'm at the mall and already found Rachel's gifts." "I've had two sugar-cinnamon pretzels." "I'm buzzed on the sugar and jazzed with the purchases." "I take a victory lap through Bloomingdale's... and it just so happens there was an amazing sale in the men's department." "I mean, gorgeous stuff." "Look at this." "40% off!" "I got three different colors." " For who?" " For you." " For me?" " Yeah." "Then, of course, beautiful pants, so soft." "I don't know what this fabric is, but I wanna have its baby." " Hold on a minute." " Also, I got this fabulous belt... to go with the sweater and pants." "Simple." "Black." " But look at the buckle." " I don't need a belt." " Great buckle. 60% off." "Can you believe it?" " I can't." "Look..." "Also, I picked up a couple of shirty shirts... if you didn't have a nice one to go with your suit." "What suit?" " This one!" " Did no one at the mall notice... you were going through a psychotic episode?" "This suit, 175% off." "You're not supposed to be shopping for me." "I thought you'd like something new to wear when you take Rachel out." "Thank you, but take it back." " Just try them on." " No way." " You might like how you look." " I'm fine with my clothes." "Okay, see this blazer?" "It was 175,000% off." " Why the sudden need to dress me?" " I thought you might look nice..." " and since they were 600,000% off..." " No." "Come on, Luke!" "Just try something on." " How about this sweater?" " No." " How about the pants?" "Pretty pants!" " I'm not trying anything on." "The lumberjack look will never go out." "Won't it be nice not to be dressed... like an extra in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers?" " Take it back." " Come on, just the jacket." "Just once, be too sexy for your shirt and do a dance on the catwalk." "Get away from me, you mental patient!" "If we read his works in order, we can see his progression... from a narrative of clear simplicity to one of rich complexity." "Now, this is not homework." "But I strongly urge you... if you have not already read The Art of Fiction, read it." "It's a remarkable manifesto that contains basic truths... that still apply to fiction in any form." "All right." "So, Henry James, the man of the moment." "Pick your book, read it carefully." "A full report on my desk one week from today." "Any questions?" "Ms. Gilmore, any questions?" " Ms. Gilmore?" " Yes?" " Did you hear the assignment?" " No, I'm sorry." "Henry James." "Pick your novel." "A report on my desk in one week." "You got it?" " Yes, I got it." " See you tomorrow." "You didn't take one note." "You resorting to the osmosis theory of learning?" " Why do you care?" " I don't." "Just making an observation." "Great." "We'll build a dome over you and jam a telescope in your head." " Can I talk to you for a minute?" " Okay." " Toodles." " Ta!" "I'll get working on that dome." " So how are you?" " Fine." "You seemed a little distracted today." "I didn't sleep well last night." "You've seemed to be distracted for quite a while now." " My grades are fine." " I'm not concerned about grades." "I'm concerned about you." "Look, Rory, I know you've been going through kind of a tough time lately... and I just want you to know, if you want to talk, I'm here." " Tough time?" " Breakups are really hard." "We've all been there." " How do you know about that?" " Your mom told me." " She what?" " Please, don't be upset at her." "It came out in one of our conversations." "She's very concerned, frustrated..." " You've been talking to my mom?" " Yes." " Since when?" " It's been three weeks now, I guess." " Are you dating?" " No, not really." "I mean, we were talking about possibly this weekend, having dinner..." "You didn't know anything about this, did you?" "Then the look on your face makes perfect sense now." "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to spring this on you like this." "It's fine." "Don't worry." " I'm sure she was gonna tell you soon." " I'm sure, too." "Okay." "So..." " Bus." " Excuse me?" " Lf I don't go, I'm gonna miss it." " Go ahead." " Thanks for the talk." " Any time." " Come on!" " I hate you very much." "Save the sweet talk for Rachel." "Get out here!" "Excuse me, sir, do you know where Luke is?" " Very funny." " My God, Luke, is that you?" "I feel ridiculous." "That's because you don't have the belt on." "Here." " What are you doing?" " It's called accessorizing." " I can put a belt on myself, thank you." " Okay, sorry." " What?" " I just..." "I just have exceptional taste, is all." " Turn around." " What?" "I just want to make sure it all fits." "Turn around." "Fabio, I need the ketchup." " Can you get that guy some ketchup?" " Why me?" "If I spill stuff on this, I won't be able to return it." " You are not returning those clothes." " Yes, I am." "Try on the suit again." " I tried it on twice." " I wanna see it with the black shirt." "I'm not wearing a black suit with a black shirt." " Regis does." " Okay, you've won me over now." "At least try on the jacket again." "Is this how you like your guys, all GQ'd up?" "Not GQ'd up." "Just a little less casual." " And you don't like casual." " I like casual fine." " Just not on me." " No, it just adds variety." "It's not'let's make a new Luke. ' It's'let's see another side of the old one. '" "You missed a loop." "Come here." "What did you do?" " Oh, hi." " Oh, hi." " This is not what it looks like." " It looks like you're dressing him." " Then this is exactly what it looks like." " There was a sale at Bloomingdale's..." " Six trillion percent off." " How can you walk away from that?" "I'm gonna change now." "Good." "I'm gonna get Rory, and just enjoy the clothes." " I will." " Okay, good." "See you later, Rachel." " Bye." " Bye." " I'm gonna change." " Okay." " Hi." " Hi." "I thought you might like some coffee, since you always do." "Thanks." "So this feels very awkward." "I'm a big girl, Lane." "I don't need you to protect me from things." "I didn't want to make you any sadder than you are." "How is telling me Dean is your study partner gonna make me sadder?" "I don't wanna bring up his name around you." " That's crazy." " Have you seen your face..." " when you mention Dean?" " My face is fine." "It's not." "Your face is far from fine." " I'll get over it." " You're not over it yet." "Maybe I'd get over it quicker if everyone weren't so busy... trying to protect me from all the bad, scary things in the world." " Fine, I won't protect you anymore." " Great." "Glad to hear it." "Next time we walk down the street and you're about to walk into traffic..." " I'll give you a push." " Exactly what I'm talking about." "In the spirit of not protecting you..." "I was gonna tell you I couldn't study'cause I had Bible class." "But that's not true." "I have to meet Dean." " Thanks for the honesty." " I'll have to see him again..." " 'cause the project's due Monday." " I don't care." "I'll see you when I see you." " Fine!" " Fine." "Bye." " Where's Lane going?" " Away." "Okay, you've been in this mood for a week now... and while I love the ups and downs of motherhood..." "I gotta say, I'm tired of Goofus, and I'd like my Gallant back." "You can't say a normal sentence, right?" "Just 'hey, let's talk' is too dull for you." " Hey, let's talk." " About what?" "Wait, I know." "How about you and Mr. Medina?" " What?" " I heard you've gotten back together again." "Did you talk to Max?" "He had me stay after class to talk about my breakup situation." "We are not dating." "We've been talking, and we now decided to start dating." "Why didn't you tell me you've been talking?" "Because it was so much like the Todd and Nevena Cutler thing." " What?" " When I was in junior high..." "I had a boyfriend, Todd something or other." "Not a soul mate." "But I was crazy about him, and he dumped me." "I was completely crushed and could only lie around and cry... and listen to Air Supply." "A very low point in my life." "Two days later, my best friend, Nevena Cutler... got back with her boyfriend, Randy something... who dumped her days before Todd dumped me." "She was so happy and gloaty... and kept talking how great it was to have her boyfriend back..." " that it made me feel horrible." " The end." "Let's go." "Look, I didn't want to be Nevena Cutler, okay?" "You were so miserable about Dean." "What was I supposed to do?" "Say, 'Sorry about you and Dean." "But I got Max back and are we happy. '" " Would that be good?" " That would be great." "I was going to tell you, okay?" "I just wanted to give you some space and a chance to come up for air." "I was trying to protect you." "That's all." "It doesn't matter if you tell me about Max or not." "You'll break up again anyway." " Excuse me." " That's what you do best." "Stop right there." "You'll break up, cry, get back together, break up." "It doesn't really matter." "I'd rather not have to keep track." "So tell me when you're down to the final inning." "That is way too snotty a thing even for alternate-universe Rory to say." " I'd like an apology." " Fine, I apologize." "Let's go home." "Yeah." "Let's go home and try that apology again." " What are you doing?" " We need light bulbs." " We're fine." " We're in the dark." "It'll take a minute." " I assume you won't come in." " Is it Wednesday?" " No." " Then I can't, can I?" "What does Wednesday have to do with this?" "Nothing." "I'll meet you at home." "Rory, I'm back for round two." "I got some Silly String in case things get really ugly." "Where are you?" "Answer, please." "This is the fourth ridiculous gathering you've dragged me to this week." "I'm the president of the board." "I have to be there." "Saving the Bowringenee pansy." "Who's heard of such a thing?" "It's a rare flower that's disappearing from the face of this earth." "Who cares?" "As President of the Horticultural Society, I have to care." "The last thing I need is to spend four hours being bored out of my skull... by the same people I'll be bored by tomorrow at the Symphony Fundraiser." "We need to get your tux back from the cleaners tomorrow." "No, I'll be dead tomorrow." "I plan on flinging myself off the roof tonight... right in the middle of Pitty Salenger's opening speech." "Pitty is a dear friend, and you will be nice to her." "She is a dipsomaniac." "I'm going to bring my newspaper." "You will do no such thing, Richard." "Do you hear me?" " Rory." " Hi, Grandma." " Is everything okay?" " Everything's fine." " Richard, pay the cab." " Cab?" "Who took a cab?" " Rory did." " What's Rory doing here?" " Hello, Rory." " Hi." "I don't know what she's doing here." "Pay the man, and I'll find out." "For Pete's sake." "Come inside." "Now, tell me, what is going on?" "I had a fight with Mom." " You had a fight with your mother?" " I just couldn't take it anymore." " I had to get out of there." " Out of your house?" "Out of that house, that town, everything." "I just had to go." "He tacked on an extra $5 just for waiting." "I feel like I'm back in Prague." " Do you want a cocktail?" " No, thanks." " Richard!" " Sorry." " I'm just a little confused here." " You're all dressed up." "You were going out." "I'm so sorry." " Please, don't be." " It doesn't matter, Rory." "Sorry." "Please go out." "I didn't mean to ruin your evening." " I didn't think." "I should've called." " You calm down, right now." "You don't need to call before you come here." "You are welcome any time." "Tonight especially." " You want to talk about what happened?" " Emily, don't pry." " I'm not prying." " The girl obviously needs some peace." " How do you know that?" " I can tell." "You're a mind reader now." "How nice." "We'll get you a turban and a booth by the train station." "Would it be okay if I stay here tonight?" " Of course." " You can stay as long as you want." " Thanks." " Would you like some dinner?" "I can get Rosa to make you something." " No, I'd just like to go to bed if that's okay." " Of course." "Whatever you like." "Your room's all ready." "There are pajamas and a new toothbrush in the bathroom." "It's pink, with sparkles." " I thought you'd like it." " Thanks." " Good night, Grandpa." " Good night, Rory." "Everything's going to be fine." "Richard, say something encouraging." "Rory, I'm sorry you're upset... but I applaud your timing." "See you tomorrow." "Emily, what is all this about?" "She had a fight with Lorelai." "And she came here." "Mrs. Kim, it's Lorelai." "Is Lane there?" "Do you know where she is?" "That's unbelievable." "You always know where she is." "The one time I need you to be crazy prison guard lady... you're all, 'Hey, man, whatever. '" "You know what?" "I'll never be able to explain that to your satisfaction." "So could you ask Lane to call me when she gets back?" "I'm looking for Rory." "No, I don't know where she is." "Don't 'ha' me." "You don't know where Lane is, either." "Anything?" "Patty hasn't seen her but she's been working all day." "She's not at the library or at Luke's." "Where is she?" "Why didn't she leave a note?" " Damn it!" " Honey, calm down." "But Rory doesn't take off." "She knows it'll make me crazy." "She knows it would make me worry." "I'm crossing over into panic now." "No, don't cross." "Come back." " You find her?" " No, nothing." "No one's seen her." "Okay." " What about that old boyfriend of hers?" " Dean." "I'm on my way." "Good suggestion." "You get crisis points." " Max, I'm freaking out." " It's gonna be okay." "Sookie's here, I'm here." "We will find her." "Rory?" "I just want you to know that Rory is here with us." " What?" " She arrived a few minutes ago." " She's there?" "Is she okay?" " She's fine." "She asked to spend the night." "Okay, she's there with you." "So how did she get there?" " She took a cab." " Let me talk to her." "She seems quite upset." "She said you'd had a fight." " We had a disagreement." " She said fight." "Will you put her on the phone, please, Mom?" "I think we should give her time to collect herself." "Thank you for your input." "Can I please talk to my daughter?" " She went to her room, Lorelai." " Her room is here." "Mom, I'm standing here looking at her room, and she's not in it." "Lorelai, I did not come to your house and kidnap this child." "She ran from you, and she came here." "She's tired, and she's upset." "I think we should just let her sleep... and in the morning, we can argue about how to best handle the situation." "Maybe some time away from each other will do you both good." "I'll pick her up in the morning." "She has school tomorrow, and her school's 10 minutes from here." "I'll pick her up after school." "Why don't you call tomorrow when she gets back from school?" "Make sure she wants to go." "You don't want to haul her back home..." " just to have her jump in a cab again." " I'll talk to you tomorrow." "Goodnight, Lorelai." "So?" " She's with my parents in Hartford." " Good." " Good?" " Bad?" " Bad." "Very bad." " She's safe." "She's with my mother." "No one is safe with my mother." " She needed some space." " No, that house is not safe." "It's like The Amityville Horror without all the good times." " Lf it's that bad, you should go get her." " No, she wanted to get away from me." "She wants to be alone." "Let's give her her space." "You okay?" "I can't believe she left me to go there." "We used to always be able to work this out." "What did you two fight about?" " You?" " Me?" "It started with you and that I didn't tell her we were talking again... but that was only part of it because she's been in such a bad place... with this whole Dean thing." "So I guess it was coming." "I just wish she hadn't run away." "She will be back, and you two will work everything out." " You're good at the comforting thing." " Thank you." " Do you want some coffee?" " Sure." " Can I ask you a question?" " I think you've earned it." "Why didn't you tell Rory about us?" "She was so upset about Dean..." "I didn't think it was the best time to give her my happy news." "Okay." "But you've told other people?" " What other people?" " I don't know, friends, Sookie?" "No, actually, I haven't." "Any reason?" "It just hasn't come up." " It hasn't?" " No." "You're not avoiding talking about it, are you?" "No, Max, come on." " It just seems a little strange to me." " Why is it strange?" "We've been talking for at least two weeks." "I thought at some point it would've come up." "You don't say to people out of the blue, 'Max and I are talking again. '" "I was just waiting for it to come up naturally." "Somehow, for me, it managed to come up naturally within two days three times." "You're obviously a better people-person than I am." "If there's a reason why you don't want people to know..." " then we must talk about that." " There's no reason." " Are you sure?" " Yes." " Okay." " Do you believe me?" "If you said there's no reason, there's no reason." " So you said." " So I mean." " Okay." " All right." "That's fine." "I should page Sookie and tell her that Rory's okay." "That's a good idea." " Good morning." " Rory, good morning." "Grandma, any thoughts on where my skirt might be?" "I gave it to Rosa to press." "Sit down." "Have some breakfast." "Your skirt will be done by the time you're finished." "Now, we have eggs, fruit, toast..." " pancakes, and blintzes." " Anything would be fine." " What do you usually eat?" " Mostly I just grab a Pop-Tart." "That sounds delicious." "I'll have Rosa whip one up for you." " No, eggs would be great." " I'll go tell her." "So, Grandpa, what's new in the world today?" "As usual, it's going to hell in a handbasket." "It's nice to have something you can always count on." "It is, at that." " Would you like part of the paper?" " Please." " Your eggs will be right out." " Thanks." " So, did you sleep well?" " The bed was very comfortable." "But you didn't sleep well?" " No, I did." "I just..." " I talked to your mother last night." "I told her you'd stay here." "She said she'd call this afternoon." "Was she mad?" "She was concerned." "So, do you get your lunch at school, or do you bring it with you?" "Because Rosa made a fabulous leg of lamb yesterday." " I bet it'd make a wonderful sandwich." " Take her up on that." "It is good." " And demand a slice of strudel." " Okay." " I demand some strudel." " Good." "So, what's going on at school today?" " I have a test in Spanish." " Are you prepared?" "Yeah." "I like Spanish." "Biology, on the other hand..." "I'm still waiting for the day... when my knowledge of the inner workings of a frog's intestinal system... can be applied to my work in the insurance industry." "Perhaps if you were insuring the frog." "Thank you." " This looks great." " Good." " Thanks again for letting me stay." " It's nice having you here." "You got Grandpa to put down his newspaper at breakfast." "That's a first." " Now, Emily." " Well, it is." "Jeez, what happened to you?" " A happy how-do-you-do to you, too." " Sorry." "You look bad." " I didn't get much sleep last night." " Why not?" " Rory and I had a fight, and she ran away." " What?" "Where?" "Did you..." "She's fine." "She's at my mother's." "God!" "Throw that in with the first part." "You'll scare a person to death." "Sorry." "You know, I got in my car three times to go get her." "I drove halfway there and drove back." "I actually ran out of gas driving halfway there and back." " She'll cool off and come home." " I know." "This breaking up with Dean has been so hard on her." "I just hate that she's going through this." "She's such a good kid." "She's so nice to everyone, she cares about everyone... and she's walking around in this unbelievable pain." "There's nothing I can do about it." "She won't talk to me, or tell me what happened." "I'll tell you what happened." "Dean's a jerk..." " and he let her know it." " I wish I could pinch his head off." " I'll help." " I warned him when I first met him... if he hurt her..." "Maybe I could key his car." "Or better, you can key Taylor's car and say Dean did it." " That'd be good." " Then key Taylor's car, tell him Dean did it." "Also tell him that Dean littered and walks his dog without a leash." " He'll run him out of town." " Good." "All right, I should go." "Rory's probably out of school by now... and I want to be home in case she decides to call." " Coffee's on the house." " Thanks." " Is that the belt I bought you?" " Yeah, the old one broke." "Lucky you happened to have a spare." "She'll be home soon." " Got a minute?" " Actually..." "I just want to tell you that I think you are scum." "Gee, thanks." "You'll be hard-pressed to find another girl as fantastic as Rory." "You know that?" "She is beautiful and smart and did not deserve to be treated that way by you." " Treated what way?" " I thought you were a good guy." "I thought you were going to make her happy." "I'm an idiot to have thought you were a good pick." "But I was wrong, and I hate to be wrong." "I am sick and tired of everyone blaming this thing on me." "I mean, you and this stupid town looking at me like I'm a criminal." "I say, 'I love you,' and she just sits there, and I'm the jerk?" "I'm the bad guy?" " What?" " You know what?" "Think what you want." "I don't care." "Just leave me alone." " Where is she?" " I thought you were gonna call." "Where is she, Mom?" "I haven't had any time to prepare her for this." " Mom, where is she?" " Upstairs in her room." "She got home from school, but just went right upstairs." "She didn't want a snack, but I had Rosa make one." "I haven't checked if she's eaten it." "She had a decent breakfast this morning, but seemed tired." "When I went to her bathroom, the aspirin bottle was out." "I assume she had a headache." "I don't know if it was last..." "Excuse me, Mr. Cosell, I appreciate the play-by-play... but I want to talk to my daughter now." " Do you want me to go in there with you?" " More than anything." " Try and be nice." " Thanks for the tip." " Hey." " Mom." "Okay, so, I thought when you said, 'I'll see you at home'..." " you meant our home." "My mistake." " I'm so sorry." "It's okay." " All of those things..." " I know." " And then..." " It's no big deal." " I'm just so..." " I know, I know." "The last time I saw you, you were headed home." "Wanna fill in the blanks?" "I don't know." "I just snapped... and I got sick of everything." "I wanted to go anywhere." "So you picked hell?" " It was the first place that came to mind." " I respect that." "The need to run is a feeling I am well acquainted with." "But we have to be able to talk, always." "No matter how mad or upset we get with each other... our particular special thing only works if we agree to that, get it?" " I get it." " Good." "Rory, tell me what happened with you and Dean." " I don't want to talk about it." " I do." " Why?" " Because I had a little chat with him today." "What?" "Why?" "Because I was upset and in the mood to do a little yelling." " You didn't." " I did." " No." " There he was, stacking cookies... and I'm railing on him about what a great kid you are... and how it sucked that he dumped you, and then he said he told you he loved you." " And I started feeling a little stupid." " He did tell me." " And you didn't say anything?" " No." " It must've been rough on him." " He looked so hurt." "I didn't know what to do." "I didn't want to hurt him." " I just got scared and I sat there." " I understand." "You know, I'm still learning this stuff, too." "Since I'm still learning..." "I think I haven't thought enough about what I'm supposed to be teaching you." "What are you talking about?" "I'm talking about my own personal lack of commitment skills." "I mean, look, I love that you have my eyes and my coffee addiction... and my taste in music and movies." "But when it comes to love and relationships..." "I don't necessarily want you to be like me." "I'd hate to think that I raised a kid who couldn't say 'I love you. '" " Mom." " I'm not talking specifically about Dean." "I mean, just generally in life." "For example, say you're dating Taylor Hanson." " Why am I dating Taylor Hanson?" " It's a hypothetical scenario." "Go with it." "So you and Taylor are seeing each other regularly." " How did I meet Taylor Hanson?" " You went to his concert." "You got backstage." "Your eyes met across the crowd and you're seeing each other." " Hanson's still together?" " They're the new Bee Gees." "Why would you not stop me from going to a Hanson concert?" " Someone's trying to make a point here." " Sorry." "Go ahead." "So you and Taylor have been dating for a while and things are great... and you're happy." "You feel all those crazy mushy things that people feel when they're in love." "I want you to be able to say to him:" "'Taylor, I love you. '" "Can we pick a new hypothetical, 'cause this one's wigging me out?" "My point is that it's scary to be in love." "That much I know." "But it's also wonderful and special." "And if you can't say it or fully express it... then you're never gonna be able to experience it." "I want you to experience everything that's great because you're so great." " Are you hearing me?" " Yeah, I'm hearing you." "I'm not saying you say 'I love you' at the drop of a hat." "It has to be right and real... and it has to take a lot of thought." "But someday, with someone, it will be right." "I want you to be ready for that moment when it happens." "Are you ready for that moment when it happens?" "I'm working on it." "I do, however, know what dress I'll be wearing." " Thank you guys so much." " It was our pleasure." " What do I owe you for the cab?" " Don't worry about that." " Thanks for sharing your paper." " Any time." " And thank you, Mom." " Of course." "She's our granddaughter." " All right." "We'll see you tomorrow night." " 7:00." " Really, is it 7:00, 'cause I wasn't..." " Goodbye, Lorelai." "Looks like it's just the two of us again." "I guess so." "I was almost tempted to see if she could make a Pop-Tart." "Wow, home-cooked breakfast, homemade lunch." "I'm trying to remember why I left there." "Yeah, my parents." "Funny, funny girl." " Let me out here." " Okay." " I'll meet you back at the house." " Excuse me?" " I'll show up this time." " I'll have the pizza waiting." "Hello?" "Now, I'm starting with the'A's,' so first up is Richie Andrews." "He's either a second cousin on my mother's side... or the guy who re-grouted the bathroom." "Either way, I think he's gonna be thrilled to hear about us." "After I've called everyone in here..." "I'm gonna spread the word at the Inn." "I thought I'd put little notices in everyone's rooms..." "'Welcome to the Independence Inn." "Max and Lorelai are back together. '" "Can I see you after your dinner tomorrow night?" "I don't know." "I have a lot of phone calls to make." "The Internet." "Let's go global!" " Good night, Lorelai." " Good night." "Richie?" "It's Lorelai."