There was another Friday night dinner, but Richard had gone to Germany for business. Richard had promised to bring Elsie back a snow globe for her collection. Every time he traveled to some place, he would bring her back a snow globe from where he visited.

Now, Elsie had to sit next to Rory and act like Rory didn't embarass her by screaming at Elsie in front of their whole class. Granted, Elsie felt a little guilty for telling Rory that they weren't sisters. So, Rory stayed out of Elsie's way while Elsie stayed out of Rory's way, which was working perfectly fine for them.

Lorelai asked, "So, where'd you say Dad was?"

"Away on business," Emily said.

Lorelai asked, "Location's top secret?"

"Oh, Germany," Emily replied.

"Germany," Lorelai said. "Is Dad's firm insuring Nazis now?"

"Your father doesn't know any Nazis," Emily told her.

"I know, Mom," Lorelai said. "I was just—"

"What?" prompted Emily.

"Joking," Rory cut in. "She was joking."

"Oh." Emily replied, "Hard to tell."

Elsie nodded, because she still didn't get Lorelai's sense of humor.

"Yeah, well..." Lorelai started.

"Oh, I'm afraid I have some bad news," Emily said. "Claudia died."

Lorelai asked, "Who?"

"Claudia," Emily said. "Your cousin Claudia." Lorelai stared at Emily, who repeated, "Claudia!"

"Oh," Elsie said. She vaguely remembered Claudia. She baby-sat Elsie when Emily and Richard had things to attend too and they couldn't bring a four-year-old with them.

"I'm hearing the name, Mom," Lorelai said. "I have no idea who that is."

"Claudia's your cousin, for all intents and purposes," Emily said. "She baby-sat Elsie a few times."

"Oh, now we're getting to it," Lorelai said.

"She was your father's grandmother's sister's girl," Emily explained. "So to you, that would make her—"

"Nothing?" offered Lorelai.

"First cousin twice removed for you, but three times removed for me and Rory," Elsie stated.

"Yes, well...the funeral's on Thursday. I thought we'd all go together," Emily stated.

"Ooh, whoa," Lorelai said. "Two problems: impossible to get away from the inn on Thursday. Two, I've never met this woman."

"You most certainly have," Emily told her.

Lorelai asked, "When?"

"Several times," Emily told her.

"I'll take one," Lorelai said.

Emily explained, "We went to her house in Groton to see the first moon landing. She'd just gotten a new Philco."

"I have no memory of this whatsoever," Lorelai stated.

Elsie wished she had no memory of the Red Wedding in A Storm of Swords.

Emily looked at Elsie and said, "Elsie, correct me if I'm wrong, but men have walked on the moon regardless of whether your mother remembers it or not."

"I've heard rumors of it happening," Elsie stated and took a drink of her Coke.

"I know men have walked on the moon," Lorelai said. "I just don't know Claudia."

Emily asked, "So, you're not going?"

"Not this time," Lorelai replied.

"I don't think Claudia's planning to die a second time," Emily stated.

Elsie giggled at that.

"Mom, I couldn't go if I wanted to," Lorelai said.

"Fine," Emily said. She set her wine down and pointed at Elsie, "Oh, wait. Do you remember Rudolph Gottfried?"

Lorelai asked, "Another cousin?"

"No, but he's a Nazi that we knew," Elsie joked, enjoying the look of shock on Lorelai's face.

"I'd forgotten him 'til now. We stayed with him once in Munich," Emily added. "Nice old man. He told Elsie a lot of interesting stories."

Lorelai looked disgusted, "Mom, you socialized with a known Nazi? That's despicable! That's heinous! And you let Eloise talk to this man?"

"No, Mother. That was a joke," Elsie stated and Emily nodded.

Rory started laughing.

"Oh, Jenny is making food for the school bake sale," Emily told Elsie on Monday morning while Elsie made herself some coffee. Apparently Emily still thought Suzie's name was Jenny.

Elsie had a nightmare of Rory turning into some large green fuzzy monster and literally biting Elsie's head off. So, she ended up sleeping terribly and she needed to make coffee to get through the day.

"What is she going to make?" Elsie asked as she set her 16oz mint colored travel mug in the coffee maker. 

Emily handed a plate that had granola crusted tarts with yogurt filling and topped with mixed berries to Elsie as she explained, "She's going to make scones, tarts, and pies for it."

Elsie nodded as she grabbed a tart to eat and looked at the coffee maker. It was still pouring coffee into the mug.

"Don't worry, dear," Emily said. "I'll be there at the bake sale with you."

Elsie nodded, "Thanks, Grandmother."

Students and parents were setting up the tables when Elsie got to Chilton. Emily and Suzie were setting up a table; more like Emily was overseeing the table and adjusting the dishes while Suzie set it up. 

"You go on, dear," Emily told Elsie. "We got this."

Elsie walked away and Anthony came up to her. He asked, "What you got there?"

"Coffee," Elsie replied. "I made it. Want a drink?"

"No, because I don't have a death wish," Anthony replied.

"That's because you're a lightweight, just like Cass," Elsie teased him.

"I am so close to smacking you," Anthony said.

Elsie turned her face, "Here. Do it on my good side."

Anthony looked a little baffled, "You have a good side?"

"And a bad side," Elsie said, winking at him.

"The farthest you ever got with a guy was him over the shirt grabbing your boob, when you made out with him. And that was just embarrassing for everyone around," Anthony stated.

Elsie glared at him, but yeah, he had a point. She spotted a woman who was setting out some delicious looking cakes. "I'll be right back."

"Yeah, I gotta go see what my parents are up to," Anthony replied.

They walked away in opposite directions and Elsie went to the woman. She wore a nice denim jacket.

Elsie looked over the table and asked, "Is that crème brûlée?"

"Yes," the woman said, turning to look at her. She seemed to freeze, "You look like two people I know."

Elsie looked at her confused, "Who?"

"My best friend Lorelai and her daughter Rory," the woman said.

Daughter. As in singular. As in one. As in, Rory was Lorelai's only daughter.

Elsie would've preferred if the woman actually punched her in the gut for that one.

Sookie didn't seem to notice as she set a cake on the table. "What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't," Elsie replied. "I'm Eloise Gilmore. You can call me Elsie."

Sookie asked, "Any relation to Lorelai and Rory Gilmore?"

"Yeah, Lorelai is my mother and Rory is my sister," Elsie replied. "I was left behind in Hartford when they left."

Speak of the devil and she shall appear.

The woman, Sookie, looked at Lorelai and Rory, who came up to her. Lorelai's mouth dropped open and Rory was beaming.

Sookie set a cake on the table. "Okay, we've got our French fantasies, our American treats and our Italian taste sensations. Well, what do you think?"

"Amazing," Rory said.

"Oh! Incredible," Lorelai replied.

Elsie moved on because she was clearly not needed at the table. She stopped by her table, where Suzie was. "Hey, Suzie, where did my grandmother go?"

"She said that she spotted Bitty and went to go talk to her," Suzie replied.

Skye came up to Elsie, "All right, Buttercup, what got you down?"

"Apparently not even my mom's best friend knew I existed," Elsie told her.

"Why are you hard up on being a family with them? They want nothing to do with you, so why bother trying to have something with them?" Skye said, "Screw them. I'll be your family. Hell, I would even be your mother."

It did get Elsie to laugh.

After school, Emily had Elsie change so they can go shopping for a dress for Elsie's upcoming sixteenth birthday. Emily had scowled at Elsie's combat boots since they weren't lady-like, but Elsie didn't care.

"Jenny's table did remarkable well," Emily told Elsie.

"That's good," Elsie replied. She was messing with her locket, thinking about Sookie's words. Lorelai mentioned Rory, but not Elsie. How was it possible for a woman to never bring up her other child? Did Lorelai never really want her? Does Lorelai not really love her? How can a parent favor one over the other?

"We're here," Emily told Elsie, shaking her out of her thoughts.

They went inside the clothing shop. Elsie had many fond memories of the shop since she practically grew up in it. She remembered hiding in the racks to jump out at her grandparents.

Elsie went to look at the dresses that they had, while Emily and the owner/cashier of the store, Tara, caught up with each other. There were a few that looked too revealing; one was puke green, and one that seemed to catch her eye. It was a nice blue color and lacey.

She set that one aside to look around some more.

Tara said, "Your daughter is looking more and more beautiful every day."

"Yes, yes, she is," Emily replied. "Elsie, dear, please find a dress for Claudia's funeral on Thursday."

"Okay," Elsie replied.

The next day on a Tuesday evening, Emily held a tea party; however a few of Emily's friends brought their daughters, who were future debutantes, over with them. 

She wore a nice dress for it.

So, Elsie was made to gossip with three other girls who Elsie saw at school, but never talked to outside of her grandmother's tea parties.

"I heard June's dad's drug company was founded on blood money," a Black girl, Maria, said.

"Ooh," a Chinese-Mexican biracial girl, Lian, said. She took a sip of her tea.

"I heard that too," a white-Colombian biracial girl, Catalina, said. "He's been having an affair and I think June's mother, Lucy, is going to—" she snapped and took a cucumber sandwich. "He bought her another diamond ring. She's not an idiot. I don't know why he thinks Lucy is."

Lian nodded, "Yeah. Rumor has it that Dakota wants to find her biological dad who had ditched her."

"I wouldn't be surprised if June's father killed him years ago," Catalina stated.

Elsie nodded. While Emily and her friends talked about extra-martial affairs and the like, these future debutante girls had the real dirt.

Elsie asked, "Have you heard that Kelsey's parents are going to have to sell their summer house in Prague because their company is failing?"

"That's not news," Maria told her apologetically.

"Oh, silly me," Elsie replied. "I also overheard that Tony's dad's friend is going to get arrested because a murder has been traced back to her."

Catalina asked, "Who?"

"A little birdie had told me that he overheard Anthony telling Cassian to ask a girl out already," Maria said, looking at her mother and smiled.

Maria's mother smiled back at her and moved on from the macaroons to the ladyfingers.

Elsie took a sip of her Earl Grey tea.

"Which one of your 'little birdies' told you that?" Lian asked, "Thursday, Tuesday or Saturday?"

No one really knew Maria's guys' names. She had three guys who slept with her on those days. Some would probably call her a slut or whore, but the three knew about it. They weren't technically in a relationship with her so it wasn't slutty. At least, Elsie thought so.

"Doesn't matter," Catalina said. "I'm glad that he'll finally ask Elsie out though."

"Whatever, now back to the real stuff," Lian said. "I've heard a rumor brewing that Lucy got pregnant now those two feuding businesses can put their shitty Romeo and Juliet feud aside."

"I hope she gives birth after she graduates," Elsie said and Maria nodded.

"I don't know how they kept their relationship a secret from their parents," Catalina said. "It was very obvious." She waved her hand around, "Especially when my locker is right next to the goddamn janitor's closet." She shuddered, "The things I heard from there."

Elsie made a face at the thought, "Better than the bushes."

"Those bushes rustling wasn't from the wind," Lian joked with a smirk.

"He definitely was rustling a bush but not the actual bush," Catalina stated.

Elsie tried not to laugh at that statement.