Sarah Gilmore is everything Richard and Emily Gilmore ever wanted in a daughter. She is as addicted to coffee as her big sister Lorelai, and maybe a little bit smarter than her Niece Rory. She is the apple of her parents' eye. Will that change when...
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Sarah sits on the hard white chair as she stares at the casket before her, her two week old baby in her arms. It had all happened, so suddenly, Richard had a heart attack and died in his sleep only two days after meeting his grandson. Emily was distraught. The woman who Sarah had worked with so hard to become softer and more caring had become a hard shell of herself once again.
Sarah holds Lorelai's hand through the service, and when Benjamin starts to cry, she excuses herself. She wanders to the car where she has some privacy and feeds Ben, tears rolling down her face as she stares at the perfect baby - thinking about how much Richard is going to miss. How much Ben is going to miss out on by not having Richard in his life.
She jumps when Lorelai knocks on the window.
"Hey," she says as Sarah rolls down the window. "You doing okay?"
"As okay as I can, I guess," Sarah says, wiping her eyes. "Come sit with me."
Lorelai wanders round to the passenger side of the car and climbs in, rubbing her sisters leg. "It's going to be okay."
"I know, it was just so sudden, and I never expected this to happen," she sniffles. "I never expected to have a baby and lose my dad in the same week."
They look out the window and watch Emily standing by the casket as they lower it into the ground. "This sucks."
***
Two more weeks have passed, and the house is chaotic. Emily has hired new staff, and they have brought their entire extended families with them. There are people everywhere you turn.
"Lorelai?" Sarah says into the phone. "You have to come and talk some sense into mom."
"What's happening?" Lorelai asks.
"You know Berta? You've met Berta, right? She's brought her whole family. There are maybe sixty people here, and mom is getting rid of everything."
"What do you want me to do? She hates me," Lorelai says.
"I know you've not been on good terms since the funeral, but sis, I need your help. One of them keeps coming into my room and pretending he doesn't speak English when I scream at him. I'm scared. Mom thinks I'm overreacting."
"Okay, wow. I'll be there soon, but I don't think she will listen to me," Lorelai says, hanging up the phone.
Lorelai manages to break through the Emily Gilmore ice wall with just a glass of scotch. Once she managed to get her to stop and look around at the chaos of everything, Emily realised what was going on. She sent Berta and her whole family away and told them they need not come back again. She felt bad doing it, but it was for the best.
"Thank goodness," Sarah says, coming downstairs once everything has subsided. "I told you you could do it."
"You were right. The smart little Gilmore is always right," Lorelai smiles, taking Benjamin off her sister and cuddling him. Sarah watches as Emily stares at the baby, smiling at him.
"Do you want to hold him, mom? It's been a while. He misses his grandma."
"Oh no, Lorelai is enjoying his cuddles," Emily says, sipping her scotch.
"You should hold him," Lorelai says seriously, passing him over. Emily takes the fragile baby in her arms and sways him, her eyes filling with tears.
"Your Grandpa loved you very much," she tells the baby as she embraces him. "I'm sorry he had to leave us so soon."
"Oh mom," Sarah sighs, watching her mother break down. It was hard to watch, but it was clearly needed. She held Ben and cried for ages, feeling cathartic afterwards.
"I'm sorry I've been so shut down," Emily says after a while. "I'm going to do better, I promise."
"I believe you," Sarah smiles, watching them. She feels happy for the first time since Richard died. She feels a sense of calmness wash over the house again.
"No more inviting families to live here, please," Sarah says. "That perv really freaked me out."
"I'm sorry," Emily says. "Back to normal," she tells Ben as she kisses his chubby little face. "Everything is going to be okay."
***
"Mom!" Sarah calls from her bedroom. "Do you want to come to the store with me? Benji needs some bigger clothes."
"Already?" Emily gasps, walking in and picking up the baby. "You need to stop growing, mister."
"Right? He's growing too fast," Sarah smiles as she folds his tiny baby clothes. "I can't believe he's nearly three months old."
"What store are we going to?" Emily asks, bouncing with Ben.
"One with baby clothes, wherever you want to go," Sarah smiles. "You ready?"
"I am ready. Are you ready?" She asks Ben, and he just stares at her, making her giggle.
Sarah drives them, and they end up at the fancier side of the local mall, Emily deems it acceptable.
"So, where's the baby clothes shop?" Sarah asks, pushing the pram.
"Over here," Emily points, making a beeline for Bloomingdales. They walk inside, and Sarah immediately recognises someone she wishes she hadn't.
"Sarah?" The familiar voice calls as she tries to hide behind her mother.
"Matthew," Sarah says calmly, looking him up and down. The stupid twat is wearing a suit while he shops, with his little tart attached to his arm. Or not so little tart, she looks to be about five months pregnant. "Wow," Sarah says, looking at the young girl.
"Matthew," Emily says. "What are you doing here?"
"Well we are shopping for baby clothes," he says, his hand on her belly, a smug smile on her face.
"I see, are you going to abandon this baby too?" She asks, her brow raised. "Come on Sarah, we don't have time to speak with these people."
Sarah tries not to laugh as Emily barges past him, nearly knocking him over. She follows, her eyes on her son as she pushes the pram. "Thank you, mom," she grins, linking her arm with her mother. "That was the best part of my day."
