Jumping Back In

7

Rory drove her Prius up to the front of Richard and Emily Gilmore's home. Her mother's Jeep was in the driveway.

She nearly skipped over to the grand front door. Rory's excitement continued to bubble up inside her as she waited at the entrance. Suddenly, the front door opened.

"Hello darling, its been ages." Emily grinned as she enveloped Rory in a hug. Rory handed her coat off to a terrified maid.

"Lorelai, there is someone from the DAR that I want you to meet. I think you'll love her." Emily announced mischievously.

"What I would love is a refill" Lorelai mumbled to herself as she stared into her empty glass.

Rory could see her mother, cradling a martini glass. Emily grabbed Lorelai's glass and took it over to the bar cart, bringing Lorelai's attention to the "DAR visitor."

"Loinfruit!" Lorelai squealed excitedly.

Emily's head snapped up, "Lorelai!"

Her whole demeanor had changed, "Mom! You tricked me!"

The oldest Gilmore woman smirked, "Rory and I decided to surprise you. I do know how to have fun."

Lorelai was still bouncing with excitement, "I thought you were coming back tomorrow morning!"

"I finished my article early. Grandma- where's Grandpa?" Rory looked around for her beloved grandfather.

"He'll be down soon, he just returned from San Diego."

The mention of the California city reminded Rory of Logan. She couldn't help but wonder what he was up to on his trip.

***

Rory stared down at her raspberry sorbet. "Grandma? What can you tell me about Logan Huntzberger?"

Lorelai's eyes widened as she attempted to give every silent warning signal she could possibly conjure.Despite her mother doing all but send smoke signals from the other side of the table, Rory waited for her grandmother's response.

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Well, you know more about him than I do. You did almost marry him."

"They didn't almost marry, they were almost engaged" Lorelai corrected her mother.

"No thanks to you" Richard sighed passive aggressively.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lorelai was clearly getting angry.

Emily rolled her eyes, "We all know how great of a match that was. It was your job to steer Rory in the right direction."

"Grandma. It was my decision. I needed to be independent at that time. Thank you for caring so much but it isn't mom's fault that I didn't marry Logan. The time wasn't right." Rory took a deep breath. "Anyway, I just wanted to know what he's been up to in the past couple of years."

"Well. You know Mitchum finally got a divorce. Married that pineapple princess and-"

"Pineapple princess?" Lorelai interrupted.

Richard chuckled, "He married a Hawaiian woman. Her father apparently has a monopoly over the pineapple industry."

"Mitchum Huntzberger went exotic, who would've thought." Lorelai joked.

"They met in the hospital." Richard added.

Rory frowned "Oh no, did something happen?"

Emily was shocked, "I didn't tell you?"

"Clearly Rory and I are missing some pieces here"

"Well pretty soon after you and Logan broke up, Mitchum found out his kidneys were failing. So, he began to get dialysis treatments three times a week. Meanwhile, he befriended another dialysis patient: Pineapple King" Emily explained.

"I just need to clarify, is there actually a royal pineapple family? Does each fruit have a royal family? Ooh! Can I be the Coffee Khaleesi?"

Richard frowned at his daughter, "Lorelai, we do not joke about a man's health."

Rory was still trying to process everything she just learned, she couldn't believe Logan had not told her any of this. "So is Mitchum okay?"

Emily sensed the her granddaughter's concern, "Rory you're so sweet to worry about him. He is fine now. Logan was quick to donate a kidney and now Mitchum splits time between New York and Hawaii. After the whole terrible ordeal he handed most of his business holdings off to Logan." She sighed, "Richard, we could be lounging in Hawaii if you ever decided to retire..."

Rory was still speechless. She finally understood why Logan had made so many changes in his life. He had to take on take on the family business, and lose a kidney.

"Why the sudden interest in the Huntzbergers?" Richard questioned.

Lorelai shot one last warning look at Rory, knowing she could be opening a whole new can of worms with the Gilmores.

"I actually ran into him the other day, and we have been hanging out."