"Whoa, Paul Anka, Mommy'll make sure there's no Vice-Presidents with guns lurking behind the trees," Lorelai reassured her still-skittish dog. Poor Paul Anka had recently been thoroughly traumatized when Lorelai'd accidentally left the news on one night. Although she repeatedly assured him that he bore no resemblance to a bird, she could tell he was worried.
As it was, tonight was already a departure from the norm. Lorelai was home early from Friday Night Dinner. The new arrangement, now without financial strings, meant that she could walk out without consequence if, make that when, things turned nasty. And once again, her parents had blamed her for the postponed engagement, the "embarrassment" that rescinding all the "save the date" cards was going to cause her mother. So Lorelai came home early, and at a loss for what to do until she could go see Luke, had decided to take Paul Anka out for an extra little stroll. The poor dog got barely any exercise as it was, given who his owner was, she laughingly thought.
Of course, taking a walk with Paul Anka was tricky business. First, after getting him on the leash and then out the door, then helping him overcome his news-induced fears, she also had to plan what she now referred to as 'The Route'. 'The Route' involved intricate planning skills on nights such as tonight. Friday nights were extended April nights, and Luke had his daughter until after nine PM. Lorelai really didn't have a problem with this, as she herself was spending Friday nights with family. But there still was the issue of meeting April and her mother. Luke, even weeks after his heartfelt declaration on Martha's Vineyard, was still inside his head, ignoring her when it came to the subject of his daughter. It hurt Lorelai to know that every other resident of Stars Hollow was permitted to be around Luke and April in the diner, but she had to stay away, to give him space. Maybe she should just show up at the diner one night and introduce herself as 'Mimi', she wryly thought.
So this walk was no different from any other. Lorelai quickly plotted 'The Route' in her mind and took off on a leisurely walk that avoided crossing in front of the diner. Paul Anka happily plodded along; the Town Square was a special favorite of his. Lorelai liked to think that this was because they'd first met there. Walking along the side of the square furthest from the diner, Lorelai thought the town's center seemed unusually quiet for a Friday night. High school was still in session, so at a minimum, kids should be hanging out in the square.
Crossing the street, Lorelai noticed that one of the only lights was coming from Miss Patty's. Inwardly, she smiled--she loved the little kid productions Miss Patty's kids put on. But it was rather late for younger kids, she thought. A feeling of unease came over her as she recalled the secret town meeting that had been held four years before: a secret meeting to discuss a "special issue that the business community had to deal with"; a meeting to which she and Luke had not been invited. That meeting, of course, was convened to discuss the issue of Luke's nephew Jess.
Paul Anka suddenly seemed reticent as they neared Miss Patty's. Hmm. Crowds scared him; solitude usually did not. Lorelai stopped and ruffled his fur, giving him a quick hug and kiss to reassure him. At the same time, she longingly looked in the direction of Luke's. She could see April (she presumed) at the counter, and Luke moving about the diner. The sight of Luke literally tugged at her heart; she felt as if there was a string connecting her heart to his, and she was being tugged away from him when that string should have been drawn taut.
But she was not that kind of girl. She would be the girl who would stand by her man and give him what he needed. She only hoped there was enough of both of them left went it was over.
With a jerk, Lorelai suddenly found herself pulled upward by Paul Anka in the direction of Miss Patty's. She could hear voices, animated and angry, coming from within the building. Among the indistinguishable mass of sound was Taylor's unmistakable high pitch.
"Well I'll be damned, they really are having some sort of secret town meeting," Lorelai swore under her breath. "Shh, Paul Anka, we're gonna get to the bottom of this. Help mommy out by being very quiet, OK?"
Lorelai, picking up Paul Anka, inched closer to the building, toward the side door, which was slightly ajar.
"Order!" Lorelai heard Taylor Doose shout at the assembled townspeople. "People, people, we need to discuss this rationally."
'Oh my god', Lorelai thought, 'he's using the damn megaphone.'
"Miss Patty here," Taylor continued, "agrees with me that we need to put an end to this situation."
"What situation would that be?" Lorelai heard Kirk say.
"Luke Danes and his unlicensed child care center."
Lorelai's jaw, which had certainly had its share of opportunities to drop over the past year, dropped open further than it had ever done.
"Luke has a daycare?" Kirk inquired.
"Yes, and it has been going on for way too long. Months, by my count," Taylor continued. "At the very least, it needs to be licensed. And inspected."
"Oh come on," Lorelai heard Jackson's distinct whine, "The man's kid comes over every day after school. That's hardly a daycare."
Jackson's remark caused the whole assembly to burst into conversation. Lorelai could not make sense of any of the sounds she heard. Lorelai was not worried, however, because she knew that Taylor would take over the meeting as soon as possible.
True to form, the megaphone burst out with "People, order! I demand this town meeting come to order."
The megaphone frightened Paul Anka, so Lorelai put him down on the ground and petted him.
Taylor continued. "I recognize Miss Patty."
"So Taylor, you're saying because the Nardini kid comes to the diner every day after school, that Luke needs to get a license…"
"Yes. I have here Connecticut revised statute number…" Taylor droned on, reciting the law to the crowd.
Andrew piped up. "But that's state law. This is a town…"
"Ah," Taylor replied, "this is why I now propose Stars Hollow ordinance #43252, the Child Care Regulatory Act of 2006…"
"I wrote it!" Kirk piped up, "I used the wording from my doggie day care license…"
"Shut up Kirk," Babette insisted, "Taylor, you said there was also another issue…"
"The marriage issue…" Andrew added.
"Yes. The fact that Lorelai and Luke cannot set a date is causing problems in the business community," Taylor intoned.
Lorelai froze. She loved Stars Hollow, but this was eerily reminiscent of the ribbon incident. Surely, Luke knew nothing of this…he'd implode.
"Isn't that their business?" she heard Jackson defend them.
At least she and Luke had one friend at this clandestine town meeting.
The megaphone was once again needed, as Jackson's comment spurred another town-wide discussion.
"It is a business problem when two prominent businesspeople have a disagreement like this…" Taylor continued. "People, remember what happened the last time these two didn't get along. The town was sued by several of the diner customers who suffered bodily injury, and word quickly got out about…"
Lorelai didn't get a chance to hear more. Paul Anka, in probably the biggest burst of physical energy of his life, took off, straight into the assembled town meeting. Lorelai, holding onto the leash, was half-dragged along, and found herself at the front of the room, a panting Paul Anka plopping his posterior down on the floor.
Lorelai stood in front of the town, the very definition of a deer caught in the headlights.
TBC
Next: Lorelai faces the town, and Paul Anka alerts Luke.