"Hey kid, how are you and my favorite grandbabies doing today?" Lorelai asked after I answered the door and she was standing there on the other side.
I laughed at the sight of her. "We're fine, but you know I've told you over and over that you can just walk in" I reminded her for the thousandth time.
"I know, I know, but I can't help it. Even though the inside looks completely different, from the outside, it's still very much Richard and Emily Gilmore's house, and for that I will probably never feel comfortable just walking in" she said, and I laughed again.
"So what you're saying is I need to make changes to the outside to make you feel more comfortable?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes! Exactly!" she said, hanging her purse on the coat rack by the door and making her way inside. "So where are my two favorite grandbabies, anyway?" she asked.
"You are aware that they're your only grandbabies, right?" I reminded her.
"Meh, minor details" she said waving my comment away.
"They're napping, they only just laid down about thirty minutes ago, so no you can't go wake them up" I said sternly, cutting her off at the pass and she pouted.
"Spoilsport" she grumbled.
I laughed and walked to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. "So what's up? Just in the neighborhood?" I asked her, getting two mugs out of the cabinet.
"Actually, I just wanted to come by and visit. It's a special day, you know! Can you believe it's been a year already since you told us their genders!? It's so hard to believe that they're already six months old!" she said reminiscing back on all of the milestones over the last year.
"I know, and that they've already had their first Christmas!" I said happily.
"And that you and Finn have officially been together for over a year" she reminded me and I nodded with a smile.
"Yeah, it's been a whirlwind of a year, but it's been the best year of my life" I said wistfully with a smile.
She smiled back and nodded. Finn and I decided the best way to make sure we got to spend the holidays with both our families was to invite my mom, Luke and Grandma to Australia with us, that way we could spend time with everyone all at once. We also made arrangements to spend the whole day before we left with my dad, so that he wasn't excluded.
"I still can't believe it's been a whole year since we had a party, right here in this very room, announcing that I was going to have one of each" Lorelai said and I laughed.
"That you were going to have one of each, huh?" I teased.
She laughed. "You know what I mean. In some ways though, it feels like it should be way more than a year. It feels like they've always been a part of our lives, it's hard to imagine life before them now" she said.
I smiled and nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. "I still can't believe you tackled Finn when he played that joke on everyone" I told her.
"You can't scare a person with triplets and get away with it!" she blurted out, and we both laughed.
Finn had brought out a third box after the first two boxes had been opened, and my mom about had a heart attack. When it was opened, though, the balloon said "Just kidding! There's only two!" and she tackled him and was hitting him and really laying it on him, Luke had to pull her off.
"That was a fun party. Just think, next we'll be having a wedding here!" I said.
"I still don't understand why you're getting married here of all places" she said.
"I don't know, it's symbolic, and important to both of us. We have a lot of emotional memories tied to this house, and I want the day to be more about that than the wedding itself. I want it to be about family, and the marriage. I just don't want to get all caught up in the details and lose sight of what's really important" I reminded her. Something else I'd told her for the thousandth time.
"There are just so many places we could make look incredible for you. And I can take care of everything, you don't have to get swept up in the details" she said.
"Mom, this is important to me. I want small, close family and friends only, in our home. That would mean more to me than any big fancy party you could come up with" I promised.
She nodded, disappointedly, but she didn't rebut. "As long as it's perfect for you, that's what's important to me" she said with a big smile.
"Thanks, mom" I said with a big smile of my own.
"So is there anything at all that I can do to help?" she asked.
"Actually, I've got the perfect job for you... And Kirk" I said with a laugh at the expression on her face.
** ** **
"Hey, baby. How was your day? I missed you" Finn said, walking in the door that evening and setting his messenger bag on the kitchen bar stool and took off his coat and scarf. It wasn't unusual that Finn would have to go into the office, but he had meetings scheduled all day, so it was an uncharacteristically long day away from home for him.
"My day wasn't bad, the babies were fairly easy today and my mom came over for a little while. We talked about the babies, and the wedding, although she's not happy that I'm making her team up with Kirk" I said in amusement.
He chuckled and kissed the top of my head with an arm wrapped around my waist. "I imagine she wouldn't be too thrilled about it" he said. He looked at the time on his phone and I could tell by the expression on his face that he was disappointed. "They're already in bed for the night, aren't they?" he asked.
"Yeah, they only just laid down about twenty minutes ago. I tried to keep them up for you, but they were getting really tired and cranky" I said.
He nodded. "It's okay, babe. I'm just happy I have you to keep me company. Have you already eaten?" he asked.
"No, not yet. I was waiting to have dinner with you" I said, taking the meal from the fridge. I'd gotten a lot better at cooking these days. Usually we prepare dinner together, but I wanted to surprise him with something special tonight.
"What's this?" he asked, impressed.
"Dinner" I said with a shrug. I'd made lasagna earlier, because I wanted something easy to heat up later. I popped the platter into the oven and shut the door. "It's already done, it just needs to heat back up" I said.
"Thank you, baby" he said, kissing the top of my head, before going to the cupboard to get a pair of wine glasses, and then went to the wine cooler to select my favorite moscato. "Come on, let's go relax" he said, leading me over to the couch as we waited for dinner to finish cooking.
"Finn, can I ask you something...?" I asked.
"Yeah, of course" he said, putting his arm along the back of the couch and I leaned into his side.
"Do you think we're crazy? For wanting to get married here, I mean? My mom seems to think it's a terrible idea" I said.
"We should get married wherever you feel would be the most perfect for you, for us. It doesn't really matter where your mum thinks we should get married, or Emily... And personally, I don't care if it's here, a park, a church, or at a landfill. I just want to marry you, Rory" he said with a smile as he kissed me. I smiled back and kissed him, too.
"You know just what to say to bring me back to reality" I whispered.
"Do I know what to say, or do I know what to do?" he asked, kissing me again. I laughed and nodded.
"Do I have to choose?" I asked sweetly, kissing him again, wrapping my arms around his neck. He shook his head and smiled.
"Don't be daft. Of course you don't" he whispered, I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder as he flipped on the TV. "You are going to be the most beautiful bride in the world, Rory Gilmore. I can promise you that" he whispered, wrapping his arm around me.
"You know, I never would've thought in a million years that we'd end up here, together, but you know? I wouldn't have it any other way." I promised.
He smiled and nodded. "I love you so much, Rory" he whispered.
"I love you too, Finn" I whispered back, with my own smile from ear to ear.
