LITTLE WHITE LIES

Sometimes, the things you really think are different from the things you tell yourself.

Sometimes, you need to tell yourself some little white lies just to get make it through the day...

One- I'm So Happy

'I'm so happy,' Lorelai told herself as she walked hand-in-hand through the streets of Stars Hollow with her husband. 'So happy.' She smiled up at Christopher, snuggling against his arm. Even though she had heard -or rather, overheard- that Luke had mysteriously begun leaving town during the diner's afternoon lull, not returning until late in the evening, she still navigated them away from places she thought he might be, just in case. No diner, obviously, no Doose's, no post office. Yes to the dry cleaners, Le Chat Club and the beauty supply store.

It had not snowed yet, but the air was crisp. Lorelai insisted on wearing her new pink toque, along with the angora-lined leather gloves she had brought back from Paris. Lately she felt more chilled than usual, and being slightly over-bundled made her feel better.

"Ooh, here it is!" She stopped at the formerly vacant storefront. "Chocolate Charm!" she beamed at Chris. "Hey, hon, how about buying your lovely wife some fancy candy?"

As the couple walked into Stars Hollow's latest specialty shop -or rather, 'Shoppe'- new citizen Christopher seemed surprised and confused to see Kirk wave to them from behind the counter. Lorelai was completely unfazed; that is, until she heard the voice of the customer Kirk was serving. Then she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Why don't you just give me the damn raspberry truffles, Kirk?"

Shit.

"But Luke, you've bought the same chocolates three times this week. Women like variety."

"Yeah, well, Kirk, the woman I'm buying these for likes raspberry truffles."

"Well, my girlfriend, Lulu-"

"I know who your girlfriend is, Kirk. Raspberry truffles, now!"

"Lulu really likes these rum balls. I think they have an aphrodisiac quality to them, if you know what I mean."

"Now, Kirk!" Luke boomed.

"Okay, okay, here," Kirk practically cowered as he filled a small box with raspberry truffles. "Have a Chocolatey Charming day." As Luke snatched the box roughly and thrust some bills at him, Kirk seemingly sought the only revenge he could think of. "Welcome Lorelai, Christopher," he smiled smugly, "What can I get you?"

Luke spun around sharply, and indeed found himself face to face with the happy couple themselves. All three men looked around nervously, each trying to avoid eye contact. Kirk glanced at his fancy new cell phone, likely weighing the benefits vs. risks of an exclusive posting of the awkward moment on the new 'Stars Hollow Happenings' You Tube channel; Christopher examined the display of imported 85% Belgian chocolate-covered cherries, and Luke stared at his box of truffles.

Lorelai's gaze, however, remained fixed on Luke.

He looked tired to her. It was his eyes. They had bags and dark circles under them; the whites were tinged pink and the normally denim blue irises were more of a steely gray. All of which thankfully distracted her from his ridiculous lashes. Luke had long, dark lashes that perfectly accentuated his striking irises. Christopher had bland hazel eyes and practically non-existent lashes. So what? Christopher married you. Wanted to marry you. Loves you. And you love him. You do. You love Christopher. Your husband.

'I'm in love with Christopher,' Lorelai silently affirmed as she tried to take her eyes off Luke.

Luke definitely looked tired. Tired, but good. Tired, but well-dressed. He wore black pants, a deep burgundy dress shirt and a black leather jacket. The exact same ensemble as Christopher, actually, save for the fact that Christopher's shirt was peach colored instead of dark red. Well, that and the fact that Chris was accessorizing with a cashmere scarf and a silver-trimmed belt worth more than Luke's truck. Still, no wonder Lorelai didn't recognize Luke from the back when she walked in the store. He could have been any guy in a chocolate shop buying truffles for- Wait, what? Who has Luke been buying truffles for?! Did Kirk say three times this week?

'I don't care who he's buying truffles for,' Lorelai said to herself. "I don't care," she slipped, as Luke blew past them with a curt nod.

"You don't care about what?" Christopher asked in a suspicious tone, correctly guessing that she had not meant to say that thought out loud.

"Oh, which chocolates you buy me, as long as they're, you know, chocolate flavored," Lorelai placated. That turned out, of course, not to be the case, as she spent a good ten minutes mulling over the various options before finally leaving the store with a pretty pink box full of rich, overpriced treats.

The pair continued their stroll around the square. Lorelai could see the old green truck pulling away, and she knew Chris could too. She also knew that he was watching to see if her demeanor would change now. She delighted in her chocolates, even removing the glove from her right hand to thoroughly enjoy them. Never had anyone been so engrossed in a simple box of chocolates. They strolled right by Patty and Babette, who were sitting on a bench with their backs to the meandering pathway, also watching the green truck head out of town, and clearly immersed in conversation about said truck's occupant.

"…well, dear, he leaves right after lunch each day looking quite dapper and returns very, very late each night looking worn and disheveled. You do the math."

"Doesn't sound like it's math he's doing!" Babette guffawed proudly as she quite literally turned her lame joke into a knee-slapper.

"Oh, I bet he's crunching a few numbers," Patty drawled as she drew deeply on her cigarette holder.

"Ha! Well, good for him. It's about time, don'tcha think?"

"He certainly doesn't need to head out of town. I know of plenty of women in Stars Hollow who would be happy to calculate 23 times three with him any day of…"

Lorelai knew Chris was listening, and watching her listen. As they passed the town yentas, she once again took her gloved left hand into his right, tightening just enough so that the coolness of the wedding band housed inside sent a physical jolt reminding her that she didn't care anymore. What Luke did. Where Luke went. Looking really nice. Oh, stop. Lorelai gripped Christopher's hand tighter while they walked together through the square. But her thoughts kept drifting back to Luke. Dating Luke. He was in his dating gear. She picked out that jacket. She recognized the pants, and of course, the Rachel belt. But the shirt was new. She tried to picture Luke shopping for dress clothes without her. Where did he go to buy it? To the mall? She scoffed. Well, maybe April dragged him. But April wasn't a mall kind of girl. Or was she? You wouldn't know, would you?

"Interesting choice. Out of character." Christopher's voice brought her back to reality. Or from it. Either way, Lorelai was jolted.

"Hmm?" she glanced up at him, pretending her distraction was coming from deep concentration on her chocolate treats. "What, babe?"

"Fruit-filled? You chose fruit-filled chocolate? What's that about? That's practically health food."

"Well, you know, peach to match my husband's peach shirt," Lorelai quickly got back on track.

"I told you before, don't mock the shirt," Christopher mused, recalling their earlier conversation.

"And I told you, I'm not mocking the shirt, I'm mocking the wearer of the shirt."

"Lor," Chris made a feeble attempt to stop the Lorelai steam engine. "We've been through this already."

"The chooser of the 'I look good in peach' shirt, the buyer of the 'peach is so my color' shirt," she chugged on.

Christopher sighed. "I recognize that tree."

"Oh, you mean that peach tree?"

Christopher rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. "Just eat your chocolates," -Crazy Lady- "Lor."

Luke's shirt was a beautiful, rich, manly color. It looked very nice on him. Truffle girl is lucky. Gah, stop it! Lorelai's mind drifted to thoughts of what a chameleon Luke was. He could look right at home in a suit, a tight dress shirt, sweats or loose flannel. Luke could be any number of different men at any given time. Lorelai looked over at Christopher in his pretty peach shirt and cashmere scarf and tried for a minute to picture him in plaid flannel and a backwards baseball hat. She giggled aloud at the visual.

"What's so funny, Lor?"

"Just happy," Lorelai smiled at her husband. She squeezed his hand tighter and felt the ring dig into her finger. "I love you, Chris," she gushed.

'I am in love with Christopher,' she reaffirmed silently for good measure. 'This is just how things were meant to be. I'm so happy.'

TBC...

Disclaimer: My authentic Luke's mug from the WB store broke today. Now I really don't own anything officially Gilmore girls.