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It was a typical Friday night for the Gilmores, which meant one thing: dinner at the grandparents' house in Hartford. Rory seemed to genuinely enjoy these evenings, growing closer to Emily and Richard. Lorelai endured them with the enthusiasm of someone awaiting a root canal. Ronnie? She was somewhere in the middle—curious about her grandparents but skeptical about fitting into their world.
While Rory soaked up the experience like a diligent anthropologist, Ronnie couldn't help but feel like an alien among the polished silverware and endless anecdotes about stock portfolios.
"Ronnie, how's Chilton going?" Richard asked between sips of scotch.
"It's...going," Ronnie replied vaguely, stabbing at her salad.
"She's being modest," Emily cut in. "The headmaster mentioned she and Rory were adjusting well."
Ronnie forced a smile. Adjusting well? Sure, if by "adjusting," you meant trudging through an endless maze of Latin declensions, pop quizzes, and insufferable classmates.
Lorelai glanced at her younger daughter, who was uncharacteristically quiet, barely touching her food. She sighed. Ronnie's spark had dimmed since the switch to Chilton, and Lorelai couldn't help but wonder: Had she made a mistake? Was she doing to Ronnie what she'd always criticized her parents for—pushing her into a life she didn't want?
As dinner wrapped up, Emily announced her plans for the twins' upcoming birthday.
"We'll host a party here, of course," Emily declared, her tone brooking no argument.
"A party?" Lorelai echoed, horrified. "No offense, Mom, but do you think the girls would want to celebrate their sweet sixteen surrounded by...well, the entire DAR?"
Emily sniffed. "Nonsense. They'll love it."
Ronnie and Rory exchanged a look that said, We're doomed.
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It was the week of the Gilmore twins' 16th birthday, and excitement buzzed through Stars Hollow. Of course, there were two parties planned—one at the Gilmore grandparents' Hartford mansion and the other right in Stars Hollow, where almost everyone adored the twins. The latter was shaping up to be the party of the year, organized with input from all their quirky town friends.
Matt Thompson, Ronnie's best friend, was on a mission to find the perfect birthday gift for her. He wanted Ronnie's gift to be perfect—something that would stand out. After a lot of brainstorming (and rejecting Dean's suggestion of "just get her a gift card"), Matt landed on an idea. A knitted beanie.It was a callback to the scarf Ronnie had made for him on his birthday last year. But there was one minor problem: Matt had no clue how to knit.
Late one night, Matt was hunched over in his room, clumsily looping yarn with increasingly tangled results. His little brother, Charlie, walked in, rubbing his eyes.
