The Other Gilmore

A Special Visitor

Frankie and Rory hadn't had a real conversation since the day of the Chilton party. When Frankie had been dropped off by Richard the following morning, she had walked into the house only to see Lorelai consoling Rory, who had taken up residency on the couch. They didn't notice her arrival, or if they did, they didn't seem to care, so Frankie locked herself in her room. She didn't interact with her mother or sister, only Ms. Patty, Kayla, and Lane.

Friday night dinner one week was dominated by conversation of Richard's mother, Lorelai, and her impending visit to Connecticut from London. Emily began having a panic attack and excused herself from the table, leaving the twins, their mother, and grandfather in the dining room to discuss the visit and the woman of the hour. On the drive back to Stars Hollow, Rory asked a lot of questions, but their mother didn't have a whole lot of answers, so the subject was eventually dropped.

The week leading up to Lorelai the first's arrival was uneventful for Frankie. Aside from the seemingly endless calls from Tristin, and the not speaking to Rory or her mother, Frankie had her routine; she went to Luke's, then school, then Ms. Patty's, then home only to sleep. By the time Friday night came around, Frankie was ready for a little bit of excitement.

The dramatics began immediately when the twins and their mother had to bring a large coat rack into the house. Emily was frantic about where it stood, which made Frankie chuckle. This is going to be entertaining, she thought as they made their way to the living room.

The next bit of entertainment came in the form of Richard's pet name for his mother: Trix. Frankie had to contain a snort, her laughter threatening to come out as a cackle. She was not prepared for anything that was happening at the Gilmore mansion that evening, and she was loving every second of the weird night already.

Richard introduced the twins to his mother, each of them saying polite greetings to their great-grandmother. She ushered them over to her, examining them, making all three feel like they were under a microscope.

"So, you're Rory," Lorelai the first said, pointing to the oldest twin, "and you're Frankie."

"Yes, ma'am," the twins replied in unison, taking a seat on the couch opposite the elderly woman.

"My son speaks of you two constantly. He seems very fond of you."

"Well, we're very fond of him, too," Rory said with a smile.

"This little girl is as smart as a whip, mom. And Frankie, she's an excellent dancer."

Emily came back into the living room with a cheese plate, much to Lorelai the first's displeasure. The conversation moved on, and the twins stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt. Their great-grandmother was a very intimidating woman. She made Emily look like a teddy bear.

Dinner was quiet. No one wanted to call attention to themselves. It was only when Rory had praised the meal that the conversation picked back up again.

"Let's talk about your education. Where are you two attending school?" the eldest Lorelai asked the twins.

"Rory is going to Chilton, but I'm at Stars Hollow High," Frankie answered, turning her attention to her great-grandmother.

"Rory is in the top 10% of her class," Richard gushed to his mother.

"We're very proud of our Rory. She's going to Harvard," Emily chimed in.

As the conversation drifted to Rory and her academic future, Frankie leaned back in her seat, not wanting to interrupt. She had nothing to add to the conversation, so she didn't want to be involved.

The following evening, Frankie was alone at Ms. Patty's. She had been dancing for hours, trying to get her mind to focus when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She turned around to see Tristin standing by the door, hands in his pockets, a small smile on his face.

"Hi," he greeted quietly.

"Hi." Frankie walked by him and over to the speaker. She was not happy to see him, but she knew that this conversation needed to happen. She turned off the machine, then spun around and faced the guilty looking boy.

"I've tried to call you," he said, taking a seat on the bench by the back door.

"I know."

"You haven't called me back."

"Nope." Frankie stood with her arms crossed over her chest, staring at Tristin.

He sighed and looked down, fiddling with his fingers in his lap. "I'm really sorry, Frankie."

"For what?" she asked, not amused.

"You know what," he responded, still not looking up at her.

"I do, but I want to hear you say it."

Tristin finally turned his gaze to her face, his eyes glassy. "I'm sorry for not coming to the Founders Festival, and I'm sorry for kissing Rory."

Frankie nodded, contorting her mouth as she looked away from Tristin. She swallowed, forcing back the lump in her throat. She was determined to not cry in front of him. "Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

"All of it. Why didn't you call to tell me you weren't coming? And why did you kiss my sister?"

Tristin took in a breath and stood up, pacing around the studio. There was a long silence while he collected his thoughts. "I got scared," he finally answered, turning his body to face Frankie. "You and I...It all started to feel too real to me."

"So you go and kiss my sister?"

"It's not an excuse, I know. But I got scared, and when I get scared, I get stupid. Flaking on our date for the festival was the first stupid thing I did. Not calling you after that was the second. But the worst thing I did, by far, and the thing I regret most, was kissing Rory." Tristin walked over to Frankie, reaching out and taking one of her hands in his. "I'm so truly, incredibly, sorry."

She nodded, looking down at the floor, and took her hand out of his grasp. "There's a lot of things I can forgive, Tristin. But you kissing my sister is not one of them."

The boy nodded, turning around and heading for the door. "I hope one day we can at least be friends, Frankie. I really don't want to lose you from my life."

"I hope so, too. Just not now."

Tristin nodded sadly, then walked out of the studio and into the night air. Frankie let out a shaky breath, turning around so passersby couldn't see the tears that were flowing from her eyes. Composing herself, Frankie turned back on the speaker and danced late into the night, hoping to dance through the pain and make it all go away.