before rory went off to school they would always get roped into their grandpa joe's chili making contest that he would have with a couple of his buddies, it was a tradition that their kids and grandkids would get to try it first to determine's who's chili was the best, and it came to no surprise that it was always grandpa joe's. swore that all he did was put enough love and spice to it, and rory had to believe that it was true. it had always been their favourite time of year when the seasons would start to change, how it was a game out of richie and rory to see who could get the best chili peppers from their grandpas vegetable garden out back. rory always won because they didn't care what it took to win and richie would always somehow end up having rory in a headlock but they are the kind of memories that rory misses the most now that richie is... gone.
they had thought that maybe foolishly richie would show up to surprise their grandpa in time for his chili cook off, the chili that they would bring to the flower dance that everyone loved but they never did. it was a quiet affair, the same people that always came were just a bit more quieter than usual. rory made their flower crown with one of the great-grandkids help and put an outfit together and would sit with their grandpa like they used to always do. it would be rory's first flower dance back since the last time they left and if they were honest, they were nervous. after all this would be the first time that greer carpentry was under rory's management and they didn't want to let their grandpa and richie down.
