Luke was wiping down the counter when he heard the tinkle of bells from above the door. He looked up, ready to tell off whoever was entering the diner at quarter of eleven. But his snarl dissipated when he saw it was Rory at the door.
"You closing up?" she asked.
"Oh no, well…" Luke would never turn Rory away even after hours, but with the chairs up on the tables, floors swept, and donut case emptied of the day's leftovers, it was hard to deny he was about to turn out the lights and call it a night. He let the sentence trail off and turned to the final pot of the day (which he absolutely did not leave to last in his closing-up routine, in case a certain other caffeine crazed woman should stop by at the end of the night). "Coffee?"
"Actually, I'm feeling pretty wired. I've been on a pretty steady caffeine drip all day, studying for exams and preparing graduation, and dealing everything else…." Rory trailed off, a lost look coming over her face. Luke suspected he knew what (or rather, who) the 'everything else' referred to, but Rory didn't elaborate, her face quickly brightening again. "But I'll take some pie if you have it?"
"Cherry OK?"
"Cherry's perfect." Luke popped back into the kitchen and took the leftover slice of cherry pie out of the fridge and began to reheat it. "Ice cream?" he called.
"Oh," said Rory from her stool at the counter, "sure, thanks."
Luke returned from the kitchen and placed the pie in front of Rory.
"So. You freaking out?"
"Just a little bit," she said with a weary smirk, digging into the pie.
"I remember my graduation. Chuck Dalton, guy in front of me, was either hung-over, or still drunk from the night before. Tripped on his robe walking up the stairs, and threw up all over the principal when it was his turn to receive his diploma."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
Silence. Rory and Luke were usually comfortable to sit quietly in each other's company. Unlike Lorelai, neither felt compelled to fill every moment with chatter. But tonight Luke felt uneasy. He knew why she had come. After he told Lorelai yesterday he knew it was only a matter of time before he'd have to face Rory. Still, it didn't make it any easier. He hated when Rory was sad. Hated the guilt he'd been feeling since he'd come home to find Jess's side of the room empty.
"I'm sorry!" he burst out.
"What—" Rory began.
"It's my fault he's gone. I mean, yes, we had a deal, but still, kicking him out like that—I should have talked to him more. I didn't even think about you and how—"
"Luke, no," Rory interrupted, her face turning red. "This is not your fault. He could have repeated senior year, or at least told me that he was leaving, or he could have actually gone to school like he was supposed to, or any number of things," Rory rattled off, her voice sounding tired and resigned more than heartbroken.
"Yeah. Well… I'm sorry anyway."
"Thanks. Me too," Rory said. No matter how angry and disappointed he was in Jess, Rory knew Luke had been hurt too that he had just taken off. "So um, I actually came here to ask you something…"
Here it was. Should he give her Jimmy's address? Would it be better to pretend he didn't know where Jess had gone? Better for her to make a clean break? No, that wouldn't work. He had already told Lorelai he had a hunch where Jess went. Maybe he could—
"My graduation is on Wednesday. Sookie and Jackson are coming, and my grandparents, and Mom, of course. And um, I have an extra ticket…"
Oh. So her question wasn't about Jess. Wait, an extra ticket? To her high school graduation? Luke recounted the attendees she had just listed.
One person was glaringly absent.
The familiar anger that often accompanied thought or mention of Christopher filled Luke's chest. How could he miss his own daughter's graduation? Of all the milestones he'd missed – birthdays, holidays, first lost tooth, first day of school, first date – this somehow seemed like the worst. Didn't he know how important this was? How hard it was for Rory to get in to Chilton in the first place? How nervous she had been? And how she had triumphed, succeeding at that hoighty-toighty Hartford prep school, making everyone in this town, him included, so incredibly proud?
Maybe he had a good reason. An unmissable business trip to China; surgery to reattach the limb Luke was considering ripping off him. Maybe he had a real excuse this time. But Luke doubted it. And the look on Rory's face- so unsure, and again that look of defeated resignation (god, he wanted to punch these men who kept disappointing her, his nephew included)—confirmed his suspicion.
"I'll be there." He said firmly.
Rory continued to ramble. "I mean, really, only if you want to. It's going to be typical graduation ceremony, pretty boring. But we only have 80 kids in our graduating class, so hopefully it won't last too long. And um I get to make a speech? A sort of, valedictorian thing? So that will b—"
"Rory, I'd love to go." Did she just say she was the valedictorian for christsake? Make that surgery to reattach two limbs.
"Really?" Rory asked, a smile beginning to appear on her face.
"If you can promise I won't step in a puddle of vomit, I'll be there."
"I'll do my best," Rory's smile was full bloom now. "It's Wednesday at four."
Rory finished her last bite of pie and slid off the stool. When she reached the door she turned around. Luke was already tidying up her plate, wiping down the counter again. She watched him for a moment. It was such a familiar sight, but more than that, this feeling—calmness, like a small weight had been lifted—was also so familiar when it came to Luke. This man who had been a constant presence in her life since she was ten. Who had bandaged scrapes, made mashed potatoes, attended caterpillars' funerals, and who had been overly protective when she grew up and started dating. This man who she knew loved her mother the way she deserved to be loved, but who never made her feel like he was just being nice to her to get to her mom. When she pictured her family sitting in the audience, watching her graduate, it made perfect sense that this man was right there beside them.
"Hey, Luke?" she called. He looked up, a little startled to find her still here. How could she tell him? How could she put into words how grateful she was to have him in her life, as a father figure, as a friend?
"Thanks."
The look in his eyes, the small smile as folded his arms and leaned against the back counter told her he understood perfectly. "You got it, kid."