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mhalachaiA preface for my readers of the other fandoms -- Still not dead, just struck with the biggest case of writer's block since... well, since the writer's-block party of 2003. I do have a question for you all -- Would any one be up for an open thread on all my writing? I mean, a place to ask questions about the stories and stuff? Let me know.
So:
Life's No Dress Rehearsal
A Gilmore Girls story
by Mhalachai
Summary: She's working as hard as she can, but some days she doesn't see how she can get ahead.
Characters: Lorelai, twee!Rory, Mia
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls belong to the CW and Warner Bros. TV. No profit has been made from this fic.
Words: 1,360
Setting: Set pre-series. Lorelai is nineteen.
The Last Chance series:
One: Last Chance
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bone tired, Lorelai plastered a smile on her face as the guest walked past, then let her shoulders slump once he turned the corner. Normally, her job didn't get her down, but she was an inch away from tearing her hair out. The newly hired maid couldn't keep up, Jenny had called in sick again, and that left Lorelai to do almost twice her normal workload in the same amount of time. As it was, she'd missed a room and the desk manager had needed to call her to the room to fix it while the guests waited in the hallway, annoyed.
The day couldn't end soon enough, but the desk manager had told her in his sneering way the Mia wanted to talk to her about the "incident." Lorelai wasn't dragging her feet, not really, but she didn't know if she could bear being torn down by Mia. She'd always tried so hard to prove to Mia that she and Rory weren't a burden on the inn, that Mia had made the right decision in letting them stay.
At Mia's office door, Lorelai smoothed her apron. She hadn't been slacking off, or lazy, or any of those cutting words her own mother had thrown her way over the years. She simply hadn't been able to work any faster. She'd done a good job that day, and nothing could take that away from her.
She knocked.
"Come in," came Mia's voice through the door. Lorelai took a deep breath and turned the handle.
Mia wasn't alone in her office. Lorelai blinked as a tiny bundle of energy bounced up from the floor and ran over, latching on to her legs like a limpet. "Mommy!" Rory exclaimed, beaming up at Lorelai. "Mia and me are dwawing!"
Lorelai detached Rory from her legs and picked up her three-year-old daughter. "That sounds like fun," she said, kissing Rory on the cheek. The girl giggled and kicked her legs, hugging her mother tight.
"You've got quite the artist there," Mia said, standing up stiffly. "Sarah had to leave early, so I asked Rory if she'd keep me company in my office."
"Mommy, we had tea with milk!" Rory exclaimed, pointing at the desk. Sure enough, two china cups and a teapot sat on a silver tray. "And I had a sammich with green stuff!"
"Cucumber sandwich," Mia clarified.
"Yeah, 'tukumber sammich."
Lorelai kissed Rory's cheek again, holding her squirming, vibrant, alive daughter tight enough to remind herself of what she was doing here. She'd taken this job to raise Rory on her own, no help from anyone, and Rory was turning out so well, so perfect. If she needed to, Lorelai would swallow her pride, do anything to keep her daughter safe.
"Lorelai, why don't you sit down?" Mia gestured at the chair across from her desk.
Lorelai stayed where she was. "Should I get one of the gardeners to watch Rory?" she asked. She'd do anything for Rory, but that didn't mean Rory needed to see Lorelai's dressing down.
"That's not necessary," Mia said, sinking into her desk chair. "Why don't you tell me why Peter was in here earlier, bemoaning the inn's maids?"
Lorelai absently pulled her hair out of Rory's sticky fingers and settled into the chair with the girl on her lap. "We were short staffed," she said, telling herself sternly that Mia didn't want to hear whining, only facts. Lorelai wasn't going to be that girl, the one who gossiped and whined. She needed to set a better example for Rory.
Mia looked at Lorelai for a long minute. "What would you do to fix that?"
"What would I do?" Lorelai repeated. The injustice of the day burbled up in her chest, and she couldn't stop herself from blurting out, "I'd get a note from Jenny's doctor to see if she'd allergic to sunlight, as she's always mysteriously 'sick' when it's a sunny Friday."
"What else?"
Lorelai had no idea what Mia wanted her to say. Groping around in her head for something productive to say, to make up for her outburst, she said, "I'd have the new maid shadow someone with more experience. She's not keeping up, but I'm not sure if that's because she slow or she doesn't know what she's doing."
Mia uncapped her pen and made a few notes on a piece of paper. "What if I have to fire Jenny?"
Lorelai inwardly cringed at the thought of having to pick up Jenny's rooms, every day of the week. "Can't we find someone on call? To come in a couple of days a week? Aren't there a few retired ladies in town who were asking about that a while ago?"
For no reason Lorelai could see, Mia smiled. "Lorelai," she said, laying down her pen, "I think the time has come. I don't want you to be a maid any longer."
Lorelai's heart skipped a beat. Mia was kicking her out? What would she do with Rory? How could she buy food for Rory? Where would they live?
On her lap, Rory squirmed. "Mommy, too-tight bear hug!" she exclaimed.
"I want you to be the inn's head of housekeeping," Mia continued quickly. "And I'm not taking no for an answer."
Lorelai loosened her grip on Rory, but all she could do was stare at Mia.
"It would mean longer hours, but you know this place, you know the staff, and you know what needs to be done." Mia sat back. "What do you say?"
"But I missed a room," Lorelai blurted out. "Peter..."
"Lorelai, you had to do more than a double shift and the only thing you missed was one room. You're the fastest maid I have, and I'd be a fool to fail to recognize how valuable you are to my inn."
Lorelai's brain was still stuck in a loop. "But Peter..."
Mia waved her hand. "Peter is an unmitigated--" She stopped and looked at Rory. "Donkey's rear end. He doesn't like anyone."
"Head of housekeeping?" How many nights had Lorelai lain awake, wishing she was in charge of the maids, to move around the schedules to make things work more efficiently, to experiment with new patterns, new hours? "Really? But I'm only nineteen!"
"It will mean a raise," Mia added quietly.
With the mention of money, Lorelai's brain started working again. Rory was growing so fast, she needed new clothes and shoes almost every month. If Lorelai made more money, maybe she could afford to take Rory out for some fun, to the circus, or the water park, or buy her a new doll for her birthday. Or she could save up for a second-hand car so she and Rory didn't have to go everywhere by bus.
"How much of a raise?"
"Your hourly pay would go up by five dollars an hour."
"Mommy gets five dollars?" Rory interrupted.
The girl's interjection broke the tension in the room. Lorelai laughed, hugging Rory tight. "We share that five dollars, babe. What do you say? Do you think I can be head of housekeeping?"
Rory frowned. "You don't have a big head, Mommy!"
Mia smiled. "You're outnumbered, Lorelai. You can't say no."
Lorelai smoothed her hand over Rory's hair. She wanted desperately to say yes. "This isn't... I mean, this isn't charity?"
"I took you in because you and Rory needed it, Lorelai," Mia said, her face growing serious. "I kept you here because I needed someone who worked as hard as you do. You earned this."
"Mommy, say yes!" Rory twisted around and got to her knees, so she was on eye level with Lorelai. "You get five dollars and a big head!"
Lorelai tickled Rory's belly, causing the girl to curl up like a potato bug, laughing the whole time. Over Rory, Lorelai looked at Mia. "I won't let you down," she said. She wasn't sure if she was talking to Mia or to Rory, or both, but it didn't matter.
She'd prove to everyone that she could make her way, provide for her daughter on her own. This was her life and Rory's life, and they'd make it on their own.
end
So:
A Gilmore Girls story
by Mhalachai
Summary: She's working as hard as she can, but some days she doesn't see how she can get ahead.
Characters: Lorelai, twee!Rory, Mia
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls belong to the CW and Warner Bros. TV. No profit has been made from this fic.
Words: 1,360
Setting: Set pre-series. Lorelai is nineteen.
The Last Chance series:
One: Last Chance
Bone tired, Lorelai plastered a smile on her face as the guest walked past, then let her shoulders slump once he turned the corner. Normally, her job didn't get her down, but she was an inch away from tearing her hair out. The newly hired maid couldn't keep up, Jenny had called in sick again, and that left Lorelai to do almost twice her normal workload in the same amount of time. As it was, she'd missed a room and the desk manager had needed to call her to the room to fix it while the guests waited in the hallway, annoyed.
The day couldn't end soon enough, but the desk manager had told her in his sneering way the Mia wanted to talk to her about the "incident." Lorelai wasn't dragging her feet, not really, but she didn't know if she could bear being torn down by Mia. She'd always tried so hard to prove to Mia that she and Rory weren't a burden on the inn, that Mia had made the right decision in letting them stay.
At Mia's office door, Lorelai smoothed her apron. She hadn't been slacking off, or lazy, or any of those cutting words her own mother had thrown her way over the years. She simply hadn't been able to work any faster. She'd done a good job that day, and nothing could take that away from her.
She knocked.
"Come in," came Mia's voice through the door. Lorelai took a deep breath and turned the handle.
Mia wasn't alone in her office. Lorelai blinked as a tiny bundle of energy bounced up from the floor and ran over, latching on to her legs like a limpet. "Mommy!" Rory exclaimed, beaming up at Lorelai. "Mia and me are dwawing!"
Lorelai detached Rory from her legs and picked up her three-year-old daughter. "That sounds like fun," she said, kissing Rory on the cheek. The girl giggled and kicked her legs, hugging her mother tight.
"You've got quite the artist there," Mia said, standing up stiffly. "Sarah had to leave early, so I asked Rory if she'd keep me company in my office."
"Mommy, we had tea with milk!" Rory exclaimed, pointing at the desk. Sure enough, two china cups and a teapot sat on a silver tray. "And I had a sammich with green stuff!"
"Cucumber sandwich," Mia clarified.
"Yeah, 'tukumber sammich."
Lorelai kissed Rory's cheek again, holding her squirming, vibrant, alive daughter tight enough to remind herself of what she was doing here. She'd taken this job to raise Rory on her own, no help from anyone, and Rory was turning out so well, so perfect. If she needed to, Lorelai would swallow her pride, do anything to keep her daughter safe.
"Lorelai, why don't you sit down?" Mia gestured at the chair across from her desk.
Lorelai stayed where she was. "Should I get one of the gardeners to watch Rory?" she asked. She'd do anything for Rory, but that didn't mean Rory needed to see Lorelai's dressing down.
"That's not necessary," Mia said, sinking into her desk chair. "Why don't you tell me why Peter was in here earlier, bemoaning the inn's maids?"
Lorelai absently pulled her hair out of Rory's sticky fingers and settled into the chair with the girl on her lap. "We were short staffed," she said, telling herself sternly that Mia didn't want to hear whining, only facts. Lorelai wasn't going to be that girl, the one who gossiped and whined. She needed to set a better example for Rory.
Mia looked at Lorelai for a long minute. "What would you do to fix that?"
"What would I do?" Lorelai repeated. The injustice of the day burbled up in her chest, and she couldn't stop herself from blurting out, "I'd get a note from Jenny's doctor to see if she'd allergic to sunlight, as she's always mysteriously 'sick' when it's a sunny Friday."
"What else?"
Lorelai had no idea what Mia wanted her to say. Groping around in her head for something productive to say, to make up for her outburst, she said, "I'd have the new maid shadow someone with more experience. She's not keeping up, but I'm not sure if that's because she slow or she doesn't know what she's doing."
Mia uncapped her pen and made a few notes on a piece of paper. "What if I have to fire Jenny?"
Lorelai inwardly cringed at the thought of having to pick up Jenny's rooms, every day of the week. "Can't we find someone on call? To come in a couple of days a week? Aren't there a few retired ladies in town who were asking about that a while ago?"
For no reason Lorelai could see, Mia smiled. "Lorelai," she said, laying down her pen, "I think the time has come. I don't want you to be a maid any longer."
Lorelai's heart skipped a beat. Mia was kicking her out? What would she do with Rory? How could she buy food for Rory? Where would they live?
On her lap, Rory squirmed. "Mommy, too-tight bear hug!" she exclaimed.
"I want you to be the inn's head of housekeeping," Mia continued quickly. "And I'm not taking no for an answer."
Lorelai loosened her grip on Rory, but all she could do was stare at Mia.
"It would mean longer hours, but you know this place, you know the staff, and you know what needs to be done." Mia sat back. "What do you say?"
"But I missed a room," Lorelai blurted out. "Peter..."
"Lorelai, you had to do more than a double shift and the only thing you missed was one room. You're the fastest maid I have, and I'd be a fool to fail to recognize how valuable you are to my inn."
Lorelai's brain was still stuck in a loop. "But Peter..."
Mia waved her hand. "Peter is an unmitigated--" She stopped and looked at Rory. "Donkey's rear end. He doesn't like anyone."
"Head of housekeeping?" How many nights had Lorelai lain awake, wishing she was in charge of the maids, to move around the schedules to make things work more efficiently, to experiment with new patterns, new hours? "Really? But I'm only nineteen!"
"It will mean a raise," Mia added quietly.
With the mention of money, Lorelai's brain started working again. Rory was growing so fast, she needed new clothes and shoes almost every month. If Lorelai made more money, maybe she could afford to take Rory out for some fun, to the circus, or the water park, or buy her a new doll for her birthday. Or she could save up for a second-hand car so she and Rory didn't have to go everywhere by bus.
"How much of a raise?"
"Your hourly pay would go up by five dollars an hour."
"Mommy gets five dollars?" Rory interrupted.
The girl's interjection broke the tension in the room. Lorelai laughed, hugging Rory tight. "We share that five dollars, babe. What do you say? Do you think I can be head of housekeeping?"
Rory frowned. "You don't have a big head, Mommy!"
Mia smiled. "You're outnumbered, Lorelai. You can't say no."
Lorelai smoothed her hand over Rory's hair. She wanted desperately to say yes. "This isn't... I mean, this isn't charity?"
"I took you in because you and Rory needed it, Lorelai," Mia said, her face growing serious. "I kept you here because I needed someone who worked as hard as you do. You earned this."
"Mommy, say yes!" Rory twisted around and got to her knees, so she was on eye level with Lorelai. "You get five dollars and a big head!"
Lorelai tickled Rory's belly, causing the girl to curl up like a potato bug, laughing the whole time. Over Rory, Lorelai looked at Mia. "I won't let you down," she said. She wasn't sure if she was talking to Mia or to Rory, or both, but it didn't matter.
She'd prove to everyone that she could make her way, provide for her daughter on her own. This was her life and Rory's life, and they'd make it on their own.
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no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 02:00 am (UTC)thats a great idea. although i get the feeling some of the questions asked you wouldnt want to answer. you cant give the endings away to your unfinished fics, as much as we may want you to. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 06:50 am (UTC)But I won't :)
no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 02:09 am (UTC)this is so awesome and sweet and cute.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 06:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-09 03:11 am (UTC)Glad you liked this one :)
no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 02:52 am (UTC)open thread
Date: 2007-05-08 05:19 am (UTC)Re: open thread
Date: 2007-05-09 05:42 am (UTC)Just curious, is there a story in particular that has sparked your interest?
Re: open thread
Date: 2007-05-10 10:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 05:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 06:05 am (UTC)And that's a good point about the writer's block :D I'll look into it.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 06:51 am (UTC)Always happy to help on the writer's block front.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 01:28 pm (UTC)I think this is my favorite era to read about in fanfic - Teen!Lorelai with Toddler!Rory. You did a great job of bringing me inside Lorelai's head.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 04:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 05:26 pm (UTC)That's just lovely. LOVELY and sweet and hopeful and nice and I'm so glad to read it.
*is full of love*
Also, open threads are full of love.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 10:46 pm (UTC)I also think the idea of an open thread would be an interesting idea. Plus it would give me an excuse to go and re-read all of you WIPs in order to have some intelligent questions to ask! Although, if you do decide to do it, and do it next week, I won't be able to participate. Going on vacation and will be out of internet-touch. *sniffles* But yeah, totally a great idea, and I agree with
no subject
Date: 2007-05-09 04:48 pm (UTC)And I'm not feeling like much of a writer these days either. The words are not my friends. (I've got quite the pity party going on, don't I?)
no subject
Date: 2007-05-09 07:17 am (UTC)Who is that (actress? model?) woman in your icon? She's like my sister-in-law's Witch Mountain twin. It's spooky. ^_^
no subject
Date: 2007-05-09 03:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-10 04:57 am (UTC)You know, your talent at writing makes these Gilmore Girls look very appealing. *sulks* I have a feeling I'm about to acquire another fandom. *sigh*
^___^
no subject
Date: 2007-05-11 10:45 pm (UTC)You did a great job. I'm new in the fandom and in written gg fics. m:)))
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:49 am (UTC)