Glitter Years

Happy Birthday, Baby

Anna was in the kitchen learning from Richard how to make a family recipe. She had a notepad to document it. Emily had yelled for them to hurry up. Richard assured her there was no reason to rush perfection. "Now, we are ready." He put on two mittens to carry it out. Anna had a basket of rolls. Richard walks in carrying a casserole dish. "Here we are, a treat for the masses." He put it down.

"Smells good." Rory sniffs.

"Oh, this is my favorite thing to eat as a boy. My gran used to make this for me whenever I was feeling a little sad. You know, if my cricket team lost or a girl I fancied turned up her nose at me." He put a large serving onto Rory's plate.

"Well, then load me up because there was this cute chick at the pharmacy today. I used my best material on her and nothing." Lorelai hands her plate over.

"Richard, at least let Pina serve it." Emily didn't know why she was paying the woman tonight.

"No comment on my lesbian hilarity. My, how far we've come." She pouts at her joke being ignored.

Richard had already finished plating. "Pina will serve tiny, proper servings. Johnny Machete needs to be presented in a heap." He took a seat after handing the plates out.

"Johnny Machete?" Rory asks

"Cool name, right? I think I'll do that when I open up my place. Give my dishes names like Bruce Hammer." Anna sat down after putting down the rolls.

Rory took a bite to comment. "It's delicious."

"It's not bad." Lorelai agrees.

"It's twelve different colors." Emily pushed her fork around to get a better look at what was inside this dish.

"Come on, Mom, eat it." Lorelai thought it was a nice gesture that Richard wanted to share something from his childhood with them.

"It looks like someone already did." She did that when she dissected it.

"Emily," Richard warns her that he is starting to feel insulted.

"I'm sorry. I'm happy you're happy, and to prove it, I will take exactly three bites of this before I throw it out." She took her first bite like she was on Fear Factor.

"So, good food, good company. Now, let's move on to good conversations. Rory, Anna, what is new in your life?" He looked at his grandchildren.

"Well, funny you should mention it. . ." Rory shares a look with her sister.

"Now?" She asked.

"Why not?" She shrugged.

"Okay, I got into Gillespie's Culinary Art School." She announced.

"Congratulations honey, you got a talent you can't waste." Emily got up to give her a hug

"Amazing, you can bring Johnny Machete with you now." Richard copies his wife's actions.

"Don't, they'll kick you out," Emily whispers. They sat down to continue eating.

"Rory, say your news." She taps her sister's shoulder.

"I got my college acceptance letters back." She told them.

"Harvard, Princeton, and Yale." Lorelai listed.

"And after giving it a lot of thought, I have decided. I'm going to Yale." She yelled out the college's name.

Her grandparent looks up from their plate before going back to eating. "Did you hear that... Yale!" Anna cheers.

"I'm going to Yale!" Rory said it again so they knew they weren't hearing things.

"That's where you went, Dad." Lorelai pointed at him.