The Legend - A Gilmore Girls Fan Fiction

Chapter 91

Odette, Emma and I walked in from the cold, blustery wind and into the bridal boutique; we going dress shopping for Steph and Colin's wedding.  Rosemary saw us, and waved us over to join the group: Stephanie, Rosemary and Juliet were all already seated there waiting for us.  "Hey guys!" I said happily as I helped Emma take her big, puffy winter coat off and she also handed me her hat and gloves. 

"It's so much warmer in here, Mommy!" Emma said with a big smile and rosy red cheeks.

I smiled back at her as a consultant came to us, offering each of us a fluted glass from a tray – sparkling wine for Odette and I, and sparkling grape juice for Emma.

"So, are you ready to play dress up, Emma?" Odette asked her.

Emma's face lit up and she nodded enthusiastically.  "Yes!  Mommy says I get to try on all kinds of pretty white dresses!" she said, taking a sip of her juice.

"You sure do, Em!  We've already got lots picked out for you to try!  Why don't you and your mommy go get started and we'll all vote on our favorites!" Steph said and Emma looked like she was about to bubble over with excitement.

"Come on, Kiddo.  There's a room that has your name outside right here - literally" I told her with a laugh, leading her over to a mirrored door with a heart-shaped dry-erase board with 'Emma' written on it in fancy cursive letters.

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"Hey, how are you doing, Ror?" Stephanie asked me, sitting down beside me as Odette went in and helped Emma with some other dresses.  "I hate so much that things didn't work out between you and Finn.  I thought for sure you guys were going to really stick.  You guys seemed so perfect for each other" she said.

I nodded and shrugged.  "It was all just a big chain of misunderstandings that led us to our destruction" I said softly.

"I just wish there was something I could do to fix it.  I want you guys back together so bad" she said.

I laughed uneasily.  "Thanks" I said, suddenly feeling awkward.

"I feel so bad for her.  You know, I heard that Finn already has another girlfriend" Rosemary whispered to Juliet, trying to be discreet, but we overheard.

"Yeah, well, it's been like six months since they broke up, and he's changed, so it makes sense that he would want another steady girlfriend, rather than going back to his old whorish ways" Juliet said lightheartedly, and then they both looked up, noticing Stephanie and I looking at them.

"Oh no" Rosemary said, covering her mouth with her hand.

"I'm so sorry, Rory, I didn't mean to sound so insensitive" Juliet said, worried I might get upset, but I just shrugged.

"It's okay you guys.  I've already known about her for a while now" I told them softly.

"You have!?  And you're okay!?" Stephanie exclaimed.

"I mean, I'm not sure that you could say that I'm happy about him moving on, but if he's happy, then I'm happy for him.  Yeah, it's hard to wrap my head around some days, but I'm okay with it.  Like you said, he's changed – I'm just happy he didn't revert back to the old Finn and sleep around with a million girls after we broke up" I admitted. 

"Wow, you're so much more understanding than I would be, Rory.  I always knew you were such a cool girl" Rosemary said.

"Mommy?" Emma asked, standing behind me.

"Yeah, sweetheart?" I replied, turning around and seeing the expression on hers and Emma's faces.

"Does Uncle Finn really have a new girlfriend?" she asked sadly, clearly overhearing the conversation.

I sighed and took in a deep shaky breath.  I had been hoping I'd be able to avoid having to have this talk with her, but I didn't have any such luck.  "Yes.  I've heard he really has a girlfriend, honey, but it's okay.  I promise" I told her.

"No, it's not okay, Mommy!  He lied to me!  He told me he wouldn't ever have time for another girlfriend, because he was going to work too hard on getting you back!  Now you guys will never get back together if he has another girlfriend, Mommy!  He was supposed to win you back!  That was our secret!" she said, heartbroken and on the verge of tears.

"Emma honey, nothing's going to change for you, sweetheart.  Nothing!  Everything's staying the same as it's been" I promised her.

"Does that mean we have to stop spending the night at Uncle Finn's house on our Friday nights?" she asked, which caused some raised eyebrows from the others – it wasn't an arrangement we outwardly talked about.  "I don't want to lose our Friday nights, Mommy, I love spending time with Uncle Finn!"

"Em, Uncle Finn asked us to stay there on those days, because he wanted to spend time with you and that hasn't changed.  He already told me that those days are yours, and he's not going to take them away from you.  He loves you, Em, you know that!" I said, trying to make her more comfortable with the situation.

"So you're really okay with all this, Rory?" Odette asked cautiously.

"Really, I'm okay.  I mean, I just have to be okay with it, don't I?   I don't really have much choice – I mean, there's really nothing I can do to change how Finn and his girlfriend feel about each other.  Yes, I still love him so much, but I'm not going to be that girl who stands in the way of their happiness" I said. 

"You know that Finn's also in the wedding, right?  And he's going to be allowed a plus one...  I didn't want to give him a plus one, but Colin insisted that I stay out of it" Steph said.

"Really, you should.  It's all okay, I'll be fine.  I love him with all my heart, but I can live without him you guys.  I don't need him to make me happy, I'm already happy with my life" I told them. 

"Okay, well if you're absolutely sure, I think we should take advantage of the fact that we're all here together and talk about the bachelorette party – as Emma friendly as possible, that is.  Is everyone able to go to lunch?" Steph asked.

"Yeah, I think we can go, right Odette?  And yes, please keep the raunchy comments to a minimum" I said with a laugh, playing with Emma's hair.

"Alright, let's head out then.  Let's go to that Chinese place down the street" Steph said.  I laughed softly because Stephanie has always had a guilty pleasure for cheap Chinese food, and she couldn't resist it, even though she was trying to shrink dress sizes before the big day.  We all agreed to meet there, and we walked to our cars, bundled up for the harsh winter cold.

Odette fastened her seatbelt, and then turned to me.  "Hey, I know I'm not a very likely friend, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I just want you to know I'm here – and I promise I won't just run back and tell whatever you say.  To be honest, you're like my only real friend here in the states.  I can never tell if anyone else I know is super fake or actually being sincere" she said.

I smiled at her and nodded.  "Thank you, that means a lot.  And just a piece of advice, if they're society, they're always fake, and never sincere" I told her, and she nodded.

"Thanks for not being one of those crazy baby mama drama people" she teased, causing me to laugh.

"Thank you for not being some crazy, neurotic, jealous woman who thinks I want Logan back just because we have a kid together.  You can have him" I teased back with a laugh.