Finding Home

Chapter 45

"Good surprise, Sweets?" Lorelai asked as she saw her daughter standing there in shock.

Rory nodded and covered her mouth with her hands as she cried. She ran into her mom's waiting arms and hugged her tightly. "It's just a good thing I haven't done my makeup yet," she said with a laugh. "I had just told Finn on the plane ride here that I wished I would have had you come for the wedding. I realized how badly I wanted you to be here, but it was too late to do anything about it."

"You'd made several comments while we were making wedding arrangements that made me think you would regret it if your mom wasn't here to see you get married, so we took a chance and called and invited her out," Amelia said softly.

Rory turned and embraced her soon-to-be mother-in-law. "Thank you so much. I'm so lucky that you guys are going to be my in-laws. I love you guys," Rory whispered.

"We love you too, Rory. We're so happy that you're marrying Finn - we couldn't have chosen better ourselves," Amelia replied emotionally.

They broke apart a moment later and Rory looked at Amelia and her mom. "Alright, let's get me ready to get married!"

Rory changed into a blue silk robe and walked over to the dressing area that had been set up.

"Want me to do your hair, Ror?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, I thought some soft curls - just simple and pretty," Rory replied.

Lorelai went to work on Rory's hair, curling and spraying, while Amelia brought her a cup of coffee and showed the photographer and videographer into the room. They wanted to ensure that they got pictures of the entire day from start to finish.

"Amelia, would you mind unzipping my dress bag so Mom can see my wedding dress?" Rory asked as Lorelai continued work on her hair.

"Of course, dear," Amelia said. She walked over to the dress bag and unzipped it, carefully taking the gorgeous Vera Wang dress out.

"Oh, Kiddo. That's stunning," Lorelai exclaimed when she saw the dress.

"Just wait until you see it on. It's unreal - classy but sexy," Rory replied as she stared at the dress.

"Finn is going to die when he sees you in that," Lorelai assured her. "Alright, your hair's all finished. What do you think?"

Rory looked in the mirror and smiled. "It looks perfect, Mom." Her side-swept bangs were straight, but the rest of her hair was in loose curls down her back.

Rory stood and moved closer to the mirror to begin applying her makeup as her mom and Amelia sat and talked. She still wanted to look natural, so she applied just a bit more makeup than normal and then stood back and looked at herself. "Alright, it's time for the dress," Rory said as she looked at the clock.

Amelia and Lorelai helped Rory into her dress. Lorelai zipped her up and gasped as Rory turned around.

"What do you think, Mom?" Rory asked as she twirled around.

"I think you look incredible, Sweets. Let's finish getting you ready," Lorelai said through tears.

Amelia and Lorelai helped Rory into her shoes and and then Amelia pulled two blue Tiffany's boxes out. "These are for you, dear. These are from Finn," she said as she handed Rory two of the boxes.

Rory took the two boxes and opened the larger of the two. It was a beautiful white gold Tiffany bow cuff. "Oh wow, it's gorgeous," Rory exclaimed as she slipped it on her wrist. She picked up the second box and her jaw dropped as she opened it. "It's...it's stunning," she whispered. She took the Tiffany Circlet Double Drop Necklace out of the box and turned for her mom to fasten it around her neck. "I can't even believe it - they're perfect with my dress. He's so good to me," Rory whispered as she touched the necklace and choked back tears.

"And these are from Finnegan and me. We know you two aren't traditional, but we thought you might like something blue anyway," Amelia offered. She handed Rory the last Tiffany box and Rory opened it gingerly. Inside were a pair of Soleste earrings with a round aquamarine stone surrounded by brilliant cut diamonds.

"Oh wow, thank you so much!" Rory said as she hugged Amelia again. "They're gorgeous."

"We thought you might like them," Amelia said.

"Did you get anything for Finn, Ror?" Lorelai asked.

Rory smiled and nodded. "I did - I already gave it to Finnegan. I got him a Tiffany CT60 Chronograph watch. His old watch quit working, and he kept forgetting to buy a new one."

"I'm sure he'll love it," replied Amelia.

"Alright, one more box for you and then it's time to get you hitched, Kiddo. This is your something old."

Rory opened the small box and found a beautiful diamond-encrusted hair comb.

"My mom wore it when she and Dad got married, and she gave it to me. I thought you might like to use it to secure your veil today," Lorelai said quietly.

"Of course! Thank you so much, Mom," Rory said as she once again tried to hold back tears.

She bent for Lorelai to secure her veil with the family heirloom and then looked into the full-length mirror. "I'm ready to get married," she whispered.

Rory picked up her bouquet. It was a beautiful arrangement of light pink, dark pink and yellow roses - simple, but elegant. She took one last look in the mirror and then turned back to her mom and Amelia. "Can we get some pictures first?" Rory asked quietly.

"Of course, dear," Amelia replied warmly.

The photographer took photos of Rory by herself, with Lorelai, with Amelia, and the three of them together. After a seemingly endless number of shots, the three ladies walked to the door. It was time.

"Hey, Mom? Will you give me away?" Rory asked.

"I'd love nothing more, Ror."