Pretty & Perfect

Chapter Eight

I was running late to drinks and dinner at Emily's and Richard so I was jogging in my heels over to the pool house where mom, Rory and Richard were waiting for me. I smiled in apology as I threw myself down on the seat on the terrace.

"I smell meat, is that meat?" I asked curiously after I greeted everyone.

"Why, yes, miss, it is meat." The valet, Robert answered my question. He was standing over a mini barbeque, wearing an apron.

"Oh, he called me miss. There's meat and a miss, I'm happy." I announced with a dreamy sigh.

"What's the occasion?" Rory asked Richard as she sipped her coke.

"Well, I thought we might like some appetizers with our cocktails tonight." Richard told the three of us.

"Would we ever." Mom said happily.

"The first batch is ready, sir." Robert said as he pulled them of the barbeque.

"Wonderful, on the table please." Richard told the valet.

"Mm, God it smells good." Mom muttered as she grabbed a stick from the tray on the table.

"I love a good steak on a stick." Rory added as she bit into one and I nodded as I also took one.

"Me, too." Richard agreed.

"We should form a club." I said with a gasp.

"Steak-On-A-Stick club." Mom agreed with a nod.

"We could have t-shirts made up." Richard supplied and I grinned from ear to ear at his joking because it was so out of character.

"Ooh! If we're taking orders, I want a size small in pink." I exclaimed happily.

"Grandpa, I've never seen you wear a t-shirt." Rory argued but she was smiling as well.

"Well, I've just never found a proper occasion."

"Hmm. To the proper occasion." Mom toasted and we all held up our glasses.

"I'll drink to that." Richard agreed with a smile. I laughed as I clinked my glass with Richard, mom, Rory's glasses.

"I knew I smelled something, you're barbecuing!" a very angry Emily Gilmore screeched from behind me as she came storming up to the pool house terrace.

"So what?" Richard asked her, unfazed by the interruption. Emily face was thunderous and I leaned away from her and into mom's side.

"So what? The agreement was the girls have drinks with you and dinners with me!"

"We are having drinks. Drinks and appetizers."

"Those are not appetizers! Those are skewers!"

"Little skewers." Mom interrupted their arguing, trying to put an end to it.

"Little tiny skewers." Rory and I agreed in unison.

"This is not tiny!" Emily exclaimed as she ripped the skewer out of my hand as I was about to bite it. I gasped as it was ripped away from me.

"Grandma, that's mine!" I pointed out to her with a pout.

"This is a main course and a cheap way of cheating me out of my dinner." Emily said to Richard, ignoring me. I sighed and sneaked another skewer from the tray on the table. Mom and Rory each took a skewer of meat as well and then we sat back and watched the elder Gilmore's arguing.

"You are the most paranoid woman I've ever met." Richard told her with an amused smirk.

"I highly doubt that."