Touch of Hellfire (Pocket's Version)

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"Laryngitis!" Rory piped up. "M?"

"Mumps," Mom answered the question and looked at me. "N?"

"Narcolepsy!" I began to laugh. "O?"

We were currently trying to determine who has to clean out the fridge. "Osteoporosis," Rory answered me. "P?"

"Puppies!" Mom ran across the street, startling the two of us. "Oh, boy," Rory groaned and we both ran after her. "Buttercup was found cold and wet by a hydrangea bush on Highway 26," Mom pouted. "Poor pup," I murmured.

"Buttercup reacts badly to blonde girls, brunette boys, children, other animals, red clothes, cabbage or anyone in uniform," Rory pointed out, reading the sign.

"It's the dog version of Luke," Mom laughed as Luke walked over. "Do not let these three anywhere near dogs," he warned the owner.

"We don't want Skippy 2.0," I pointed out. Mom gasped and held a hand over her heart. "EVIL! We do not bring up Skippy."

"Skippy was Hezzy's hamster," Rory explained to Luke. "Skippy always bit Mom and apparently laughed at her and eventually she had enough."

"Of being laughed at by a hamster?" Luke raised his eyebrows. "She stopped cleaning Skippy's cage and kept stuffing Kleenex in there until it was just Kleenex that twitched and took the cage back to where Skippy was bought and left him there. Once Hezzy found out about Skippy, she didn't talk to Mom for weeks."

"Skippy was a good hamster!" I whined. "You raised Skippy to be evil, like you," Mom grumbled.

***

"Where you off to?" Rory and I spoke in unison, making Mom jump. "It's one in the morning we were worried sick," I did my best impression of Grandma. Mom shuddered at my impression. "It was a good date," Rory told me.

"We were grading Heather's paper," Mom teased me and I jumped up. "WHAT?!"

Mom burst out laughing as did Rory. "I'm going to bed, night," I hugged Mom goodnight and headed up the stairs. I smiled to myself, knowing that Mom was happy made me smile.

School has been chaotic, since everyone knew about Paris' problems at home, making her bitchier than usual. Her parents' divorce got published in the newsletter and some stuff about her mom too.

And the newsletter is the perfect way to start off this week's Friday Night Dinner. "How's the squab?" Grandma asked us. "It's an odd bird," Mom commented. "But nice."

"I'm glad," Grandma smiled. "Why are you smiling?" Mom tilted her head, suspiciously. "It's not your 'I'm happy' smile, it's your 'I know something that Lorelai doesn't' smile."

"Rory, Heather, your mother is delusional," Grandma rolled her eyes. "Tell me about school."

"French final went well," Rory told her. "And I got an A plus on my English paper," I grinned. "What about Parent's Day?" Grandma asked us.

"Huh?" Mom looked up like a meerkat. "Next Wednesday? Parents are supposed attend classes with their children...."

"Oh, the damn newsletter!" Mom exclaimed. "That's what the smile was about!"

"Lorelai, you're being ridiculous," Grandma rolled her eyes. "Are you going?"

"To what?" Mom frowned. "Parent's Day," Grandma told her. "We can talk about it on Friday, after I read the newsletter," Mom tried to get out of it.

"It's on Wednesday," Grandma pointed out. "You don't have to..." I began to speak but Mom cut me off. "I won't miss it," she piped up. "I'm being there for both of my daughters."