I would like to think that I'm getting better at things. Story development. Adding more original content.
If you agree, let me know! I want to improve, and would appreciate the encouragement.
It was one of the things he liked about the diner. It was on a corner, with windows on both sides. There wasn't much that he missed when he was paying attention. He was used to having to multi-task, but he was always watching. Keeping an eye on the customers, making sure that they got refills if it looked like they were staying, getting their bill ready if not. And keeping an eye out for any potential customers on the approach.
Today was no exception. Luke stood behind the counter of the diner, glancing up from the receipts in front of him from time to time to check on his customers, which is how he noticed that Lorelai had parked across the street from the diner by Miss Patty's, and started walking towards the diner. When she entered and looked around clearly disappointed, he didn't have to guess who she was meeting.
"She's not here yet." He informed her.
"Alright, well you'll have to entertain me until she arrives." Lorelai sat down at the counter across from him and started to put her stuff down on the stool next to her. "Okay, burger boy, dance!"
Luke stood there with his order pad, looking at Lorelai, and the words were out of his mouth as soon as he thought them.
"You wanna go out sometime?"
As the reality that he had actually spoken those words sank in, he felt as if time had slowed around the pair of them. Lorelai had froze, staring at him, and her arms were stuck holding a department store garment bag mid-fold. He waited for what felt like several agonizingly slow minutes, but were truly only a few seconds. He tensed, unsure of what to do now that the words were out.
I didn't mean to say that yet. I was just looking to shut you up, I didn't mean it! I mean, I meant it, but not yet! You weren't supposed to take me seriously. Oh, jeez, you took me seriously.
Finally Lorelai blinked, and Luke felt time start to speed up again.
"L-like a date?" She asked, as if she wasn't quite sure of what she heard. Which was fitting, as Luke wasn't quite sure of what he'd said.
He tried to stammer out an explanation, but his head and his heart couldn't make up their minds what to say. "I- I just… W-was…"
"Luke?" Lorelai asked, apparently oblivious to his inner turmoil. "You just were… what?"
"Uh…" He now felt like his heart was actually going to beat out his chest, like a cartoon. He was surprised, shocked even, that she couldn't see it. "I- I was just thinking, that we- we should hang out sometime."
"We already do." Lorelai pointed out. "Here. At the diner."
"I meant, outside the diner." Luke said. He was happy that he finally said a complete sentence without stuttering, and the small victory compelled him to keep talking. "Something fun."
"So, like, a date?" She asked again.
"No!" Luke said quickly. Too quickly, he berated himself. "No, um, as friends."
"Oh." Lorelai looked down at the counter briefly. "Okay. That sounds fun."
Luke frowned. Had he imagined it, or had she seemed... disappointed?
No, no, no, don't make it seem like you're opposed to the idea of a date. God dammit!
"Well, I-I mean-" Great, with the stuttering again. "If- if you wanted to…"
Lorelai raised her head and looked at him, wide-eyed.
But before Luke could say anything else, the bell on the door of the diner rang, and they both looked to see Rory walking in, looking upset. Luke took the opportunity to make a swift exit, leaving a slightly bewildered Lorelai behind. He walked all the way back into the storeroom and leaned his head against the door, trying to collect himself.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Just ask her out, dumbass.
But it's Lorelai. My friend, Lorelai.
You were halfway there already and you chickened out.
My platonic, not-dating friend Lorelai.
Chicken.
What happens if I ask her out and she says no? I'll never see her again, she'll think I'm a creep.
She wouldn't say no, she likes you!
That's worse! Cause then, she's only saying yes because she feels like she has to, I'd feel like a creep. I would be a creep.
No, she likes you. She flirts with you all the time.
That's just Lorelai.
She wanted you to ask her out. What's the worst she could say, no?
No. The worst she could say is yes.
He sighed and peeked out the doorway. He had to go back out there, he still had customers. And Lorelai and Rory didn't have any coffee yet, so it was only a matter of time before Lorelai went behind his counter and got it herself.
But you don't actually mind her going behind your counter.
Shut up.
Luke went back to the counter, grabbed a couple mugs and a coffee pot and went over to Lorelai and Rory's table. "I got your coffee."
"Thanks." Lorelai said. He poured for both of them, but as he walked away, she called him back. "Hey Luke!"
He turned back around. "Yeah?"
"We're throwing Rory a birthday party on Saturday night, you wanna come?"
"Look, you don't have to-" He started to say.
"I want you to." Lorelai insisted. "Please?"
"It'll be fun." Rory convinced him. "Mom's famous for her blowouts."
Lorelai smiled as she recalled. "The best one was her eighth birthday."
Rory's face brightened at the memory as well. "Oh yeah, that was good."
"The cops shut us down." Lorelai added for his benefit.
He frowned. "The cops shut down an eight-year-old's birthday party?"
"And arrested the clown." Rory grinned.
He shook his head at them, trying to ignore all the concerned questions that bubbled up in his mind. "I don't want to hear anymore of this."
Luke turned to walk away.
"Seven o'clock, don't be late!" Lorelai shouted after him.
As he got back to work, he shook his head and smiled as realized something that he had before, but kept being reminded of. That his life was certainly never going to be boring, or lonely, as long as they were around.
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As Luke left the diner on the night of the party, he realized he'd forgotten to get Rory a present. While normally, it would have been at the top of his to do list, he'd spent nearly every minute that he was not working freaking out about his almost ask out. Gift shopping had completely slipped his mind.
He checked the time on his watch. Most of the stores in town would be closing right about now, and he didn't have time to drive anywhere to get a present.
Deciding that he couldn't show up to the party empty handed, he went over to Doose's. As he stared at the variety of chips, however, he was struck by the realization that even though he saw them everyday and knew what kind of food they liked, he had no idea what kind of chips they liked. He vaguely remembered an argument Lorelai and Rory had sometime ago about chips, but he'd more or less tuned them out at the time. Now he wished that he'd paid better attention.
He sighed and moved to look around the store for better ideas. Knowing them, there would already be more than enough junk food and soda there. And he could only imagine they pair of them ragging on him for buying and bringing the very foods he detested to a party. Or the mildly joking rant from Lorelai imitating him if he brought disposable paper plates or napkins, about landfills or recycling or something of that nature.
When he spotted the ice chest in the back of the store, he figured that was a safe bet. People always needed more ice at parties.
As an afterthought, he briefly looked through the greeting card display, quickly narrowing down the options. Given how well his gifts had been received in the past, he used them as guidelines on how to pick a card.
He picked up a card that read, "Happy Birthday, girl!" with a picture of golden retriever puppies wearing ribbons that had glitter added to them. However, it wasn't until he was checking out that he opened the card to write a message that he realized it read, "Happy 6th birthday!" on the inside. Luke briefly debated whether or not to go back and get another one, or whether to just write in "16th" in the card. Would they find it funny, or disappointing?
Knowing he was already late, he sighed, wrote in the correct age, and signed it with additional birthday wishes, hoping that they would find the correction in age funny. A few minutes later, he was struggling to open the door to Lorelai's house with full hands. Had he tried knocking, he knew that no one would hear him over the music and din of the party.
He finally managed to get the door open, and Lorelai met him at the door. Her face lit up as soon as she saw him. He could tell she'd had a few drinks, and looked absolutely incandescent as she grinned at him. In fact, her entire posture changed to express her pure joy at seeing him, and he couldn't help but smile back and feel his heart beat a little faster. He felt like he'd had a few too many drinks himself despite being stone cold sober.
"Oh my god! You're a vision!" Lorelai turned around and shouted back into the kitchen. "Sookie, we have ice!"
Luke saw Sookie's head pop around the corner. "Hallelujah," she said, and disappeared again.
Lorelai turned back to him, still smiling. "How did you know‽"
He shrugged awkwardly, still being burdened with two heavy bags of ice. "Well, a good rule of thumb is you never can have too much ice."
She grinned even wider, which he hadn't thought possible, and moved in to embrace him. "Ah, you're the best!"
She moved in for a hug. He hugged her the best he could without hitting her with the ice. They parted, but their eyes lingering on one another for a moment as they moved further into the house. It felt like it could have been a Moment, like the ones you see in movies. Like ones that he Lorelai had shared before.
Until Luke noticed a woman watching them, clearly appraising the interaction with a critical eye. Luke immediately felt sober once more.
Lorelai noticed too, and also became serious. "Oh, hi, mom. This is my friend Luke."
"How do you do?" He said politely.
Emily fixed him with a stare, her reply was cool, and overly polite. "Fine, thank you."
Luke felt the need to get out of there, a need for something to do. He turned to Lorelai and indicated the bags of ice. "Well, I better get these in the freezer before they melt."
"Well, not very likely in here." She told him in a stage whisper. He gave her a half smile and walked past Emily Gilmore to the kitchen. Lorelai followed him.
"Want a drink?" Lorelai offered.
"Is there any left?" He opened the freezer door and squeezed in the two bags of ice.
"Absolutely, this is a party. There's beer in the fridge, help yourself."
He did, and reached for the bottle opener. "So that was your mom?"
"Yeah, you finally got to see the woman I've told you about all these years." Lorelai poured herself another drink. "Please don't hold anything she says tonight against me."
"I make no promises." He joked.
She shoved him playfully. "You're not funny."
He took a drink of his beer. "So is it just your mom here tonight?"
"No, my dad's around here somewhere too. He did that thing that guys do when they visit a house, checking out stuff, then he disappeared. Couldn't have gone far though."
"What do you mean, that thing that guys do?" Luke asked indignantly. "I don't do that."
"Oh, please." Lorelai scoffed. "It seems like you're here every other weekend, checking out something you "noticed last time". Like the water heater, or the porch railing, or the pluming. And you go and check it out and give me a bunch of advice that I usually ignore because- well frankly, it's usually you giving me the advice and then you're usually the one that ends up fixing whatever you think is wrong."
"I do not do that." He denied. "Guys do not do that."
Except for the loose screws on the porch swing. But that's a safety thing. That shouldn't count.
She looked at him pointedly, as if she could read his mind. "You've probably already seen something that you're thinking you wanna fix."
Luke's face flushed pink. "Am not."
"Right." Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Well, I better get back to the party. Come back and join us after you haven't checked out whatever it is you're not thinking about."
Luke didn't say anything as she left the kitchen. He waited until she was gone, then he slipped out the backdoor and made his way around to the side porch to look at the porch swing. Despite what Lorelai said, or how right she was, there was no point in wasting a trip.
On his way, however, he came across a man sitting alone on the porch, reading a magazine. He frowned for a moment, but realized that this must be the other Gilmore parent. The one whom Rory had inherited her penchant for reading.
Richard Gilmore.
Luke walked up to him, and took the initiative to introduce himself. "I'm Luke."
Richard regarded him with surprise for a moment, before recovering his manners and rising to shake Luke's hand. "Richard Gilmore."
"You must be Lorelai's dad."
"Yes, I am."
"Well, nice to meet you." Luke smiled politely. "What are you doing out here?"
"Well, Rory noticed that I had absented myself from the festivities and was kind enough to provide some reading material." Richard smiled and held up the magazine. "This isn't exactly the kind of party I'm used to, not that I'm a huge fan of parties in general."
"Yeah, me either." Luke agreed. "I'm only here cause Lorelai asked me to. Not that I wouldn't have wanted to come, I'm just not big on parties anyway."
"Eh, quite." Richard nodded, then seemed a loss for what to say next. "If you don't mind...?"
"Yeah?"
"How exactly do you know my daughter?"
"I run the diner in town, she's there a lot. I'm basically Lorelai's coffee dealer." Luke joked. Them kicked himself, not knowing if Richard would get the joke. He felt himself relax as Richard laughed.
"Yes, that's one thing that her and her mother have in common. I think there's a coffee plantation out there somewhere that is entirely dedicated to producing coffee beans solely for their consumption."
"Well, if you ever find it, let me know." Luke pretended to grouse. "My usual supplier might decide to cut me off some day, it'd be nice to have a backup."
"Well, if I stumble across it in my travels, I'll be sure to let you know." Richard said jovially. "So, did you come out here for a reason, or just wandering?"
"I actually came out here to look at the porch swing on the side of the house, just around the corner here." Luke jabbed a thumb behind him. "I noticed that some of the screws were working themselves loose the last time I was here, I was just going to check them out, see what I needed to fix it."
"Is this something you do a lot?" Richard asked. "Help Lorelai with repairs?"
"Fairly often, yeah. Mostly, it's preventative stuff, things that will save her money down the road. Keep people from getting hurt."
"Like, the swing." Richard filled in.
Luke nodded. "Exactly."
"Do you mind if I tag along?"
Luke wasn't prepared to expect this. "Uh, sure."
Luke lead the way to the side of the house, where the porch swing was. The music and conversation from the party was muffled but could still be heard. Luke went about testing the swing, checking screws, and mentally measuring. Richard watched him work.
After a while, he commented, "You enjoy this sort of work, don't you?"
Luke shrugged. "I don't know if "enjoy" is the right word. I'm used to it."
"But you like seeing a job done right." Richard guessed.
"Yeah, I guess I do." Luke smiled to himself. "My dad taught me everything I know about woodworking, carpentry. He used to own the hardware store in town here."
"Used to?" Richaed enquired. "Is he retired?"
Luke stood up, not quite sure what to say. "No. He's... He passed away. It'll be eleven years, the end of next month."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Richard said solemnly. "I didn't mean-"
"It's fine." Luke said quickly. "I just don't talk about it much."
Richard nodded, understanding. "So, do you still run his store?"
Luke shook his head. "No, he left me the store, but I turned it into a diner."
"Did you now?"
"He wanted me to sell it, get rid of it. But I just... I couldn't." Luke found himself saying. "I left all his stuff on the walls. Even the sign. Still says William's Hardware."
"Sometimes, it's the smallest things that you hold onto, that hold the biggest memories." Richard said quietly.
Luke looked over at him. Richard was watching through the window, and Luke had to turn around to see what he was looking at. It was Lorelai and Rory, sitting on the couch in the living room, chatting with their friends.
Luke looked at the elder Gilmore. Had Richard Gilmore been a different sort of man, he probably would have shed at least a few tears, Luke thought. Though he was a stoic, Luke could tell that he was hurting, and felt compelled to say something, to assure him.
"I'll look out for them, sir." Luke said. "I always have."
Richard turned to him. He was silent for a moment, but when he did speak his voice was thick with emotion. "You're a good man, Mr. Danes."
"Mr. Danes was my father." Luke attempted to joke. "Just call me Luke."
"Luke." Richard repeated, in a more normal tone. "I believe that my daughter and granddaughter have mentioned you before."
"Yeah?" Luke went back to work.
"They seem, eh... quite fond of you." Richard commented.
"Well, I'm quite fond of them." Luke said.
"So it would seem." Richard remarked quietly.
Luke was sure that he wanted to say more, but the elder Gilmore excused himself.
"Well, you seem to be busy. I'm going to go back to my magazine." Richard said. "Oh, and in case Lorelai doesn't mention it, if you could make sure she sees to the chimney. I'm not entirely sure that it's structurally sound."
"I'll add it to the list." Luke said.
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Inside, the party had started to wind down. People started going home, and a group of them ended up in the living room, including Lorelai, Rory, and Emily. While Patty and Babette reminisced about young Rory, Lorelai noticed her mother slip away from the party and go upstairs. An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. Lord knows what Emily would think of her bedroom. When she arrived at her bedroom door, however, she found that Emily had been captivated by the quilt she had made, so many years ago before they'd moved to that house. She leaned against to the door jam for a moment before speaking.
"I made that."
Emily looked up at her in surprise. "Really?"
Lorelai walked into the room. "From Rory's old baby clothes."
"How nice." Emily said softly. "I hope you washed them first."
Lorelai snapped her fingers. "Rats. I knew I forgot something."
Lorelai and Emily exchanged small smiles before Lorelai sat on the bed, facing her mother.
"It's quite an assortment of characters you've assembled down there." Emily commented. Lorelai knew what she must be thinking and not saying. She was grateful.
"They're great people." Lorelai told her.
"This Patricia-"
"Miss Patty."
"She teaches dance?"
"Among other things."
Lorelai grinned, knowing that it would drive her mother crazy imagining what kind of other thing Patty could quite possibly be teaching. Her mother, frustratingly, seemed to take this statement fairly easily.
"And this man with the ice?"
"Luke." Lorelai supplied.
Emily gave her daughter a knowing smile. "How long have you been seeing him?"
"Luke?" Lorelai forced a laugh. Why did it seem like dating Luke was starting to become a recurring theme in her life? "I'm- I'm not dating Luke, mom."
"Mhmm." Emily said, clearly not believing her daughter.
"Mom." Lorelai stated. "There's... there's nothing is going on there."
"He seems to like you."
Lorelai couldn't help but smile, at the same time trying to dismiss the subject. "What are you talking about, mother?"
"Lorelai, you must have seen the way he looked at you."
"Which was how, exactly?"
Emily smirked a little. "Like you were about to give him a lap dance."
Lorelai's cheeks started to redden as unbidden images appeared in her mind. She looked away, laughing nervously. "He did not."
"You're pleased." Emily pointed out.
"No, I'm not." Lorelai said, though her bright red cheeks betrayed her.
"You certainly look pleased." Emily smiled smugly. "You like the idea that the ice man looked at you like a porterhouse steak."
"I do not. And he did not." She insisted.
"You can't even stop smiling when you're talking about him."
"No, I'm smiling because you're crazy and that's what you do to crazy people to keep them calm." Lorelai shot back, but she was too flustered to put much of a sting in her words. Emily gave her daughter a final knowing look, but said no more. She was soon distracted with a picture of Lorelai with a broken leg, and Lorelai hoped that that would be the end of Emily's inquiries on her love life, or lack thereof.
Much to Lorelai's relief, her parents soon decided to depart. Not that it was entirely unpleasant, she thought, and likely to be repeated, in the far far distant future. Luke, too, it seemed had decided to leave, and Lorelai caught him on his way out the door after seeing her parents to their car.
"Hey, Rory, go back on in there, I'll just be a second." Lorelai said.
"Oh, wait a second." Luke said to Rory, and retrieved a now slightly dented card from his coat pocket. "Sorry, it looked better earlier."
"That's okay." She assured him and went inside to read her card, leaving Luke and Lorelai alone on the porch.
"So, thanks for coming." Lorelai said. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah, it's a really great party. And the cops didn't show up, so I count that as a plus." He joked.
"Hey, the party isn't over yet." She grinned, then grew serious. "Can I just… Can we talk?"
Luke nodded. "Sure."
"The other day, at the diner," Lorelai started. "Were... were you gonna ask me…"
Luke began to grow nervous as he realized what she was talking about, and fidgeted with the cuff of his shirt. "Ask you what?"
Lorelai looked like she was going to say something, but shook her head and smiled at him. "Never mind. Have a nice night."
"Yeah, you too." Luke said. He turned to walk away, and Lorelai started to go back into the house. Luke was berating himself as he walked down the porch steps.
This is your shot! Ask her out!
But-
Do you really want her?
Well...
Then ask, dumbass!
"Hey, Lorelai?" Luke stopped on the lawn and turned around.
Lorelai turned around when she heard him, and stood framed in the doorway. Luke almost held his breath.
"Yeah?"
"I- Do you wanna... hang out sometime?"
Okay, not quite asking her out on a date, but you're making progress.
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Uh, sure. Got anything in mind?"
"Uh…" He swallowed nervously. "Not right now, but I can think of something."
"Okay." She nodded slowly. "Well, uh, let me know and we'll… we'll hang out."
"Good." Luke smiled. "Good."
"Good." Lorelai echoed, and smiled back at him weirdly. "Looking forward to it."
"Good." He said again. "Me too."
They stood there awkwardly for several more minutes before either of them said anything.
"I- I'd better-" Luke gestured to the road.
"Yeahyeahyeah, me too." Lorelai smiled at him again. "See ya."
"See ya."
"Luke, wait!" Rory came flying out of the house, across the porch and the lawn, and hugged Luke tightly. "Thank you!"
"It's just a card." Luke said, feeling embarrassed by the hug.
"It's what you put in the card." Rory said emphatically. "Thank you."
He smiled at her warmly. "Well, I meant it."
Rory smiled back at him and went back inside the house. Lorelai had watched the whole scene with much confused joy.
"What was that about?" Lorelai grinned. "You stuff it full of twenties or something?"
"I, uh, wrote something in her birthday card." He said, somewhat awkwardly. "She'll probably show you."
"She better, that sounds like some card." Lorelai waved him off. "See ya, Luke."
"Night, Lorelai," He said, and turned and walked back to the diner.
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Meanwhile, the elder Gilmores were preparing to depart. Richard looked over at his wife as he buckled his seatbelt, and frowned at her saddened expression.
"Emily?" He said.
She looked at him sadly. "She's right, Richard. I hardly know my daughter at all."
She turned to reach her seatbelt, but stopped. And stared. And after a moment, Richard turned to look too. Luke and Rory were standing on the lawn talking, and smiling, Lorelai looking on happily. There was an openness, a warmth about how the three of them interacted, even at a distance. Emily and Richard watched until Rory went inside and Luke started to walk away, leaving Lorelai with a strange happy smile on her face. Then Emily turned back to the windshield, quietly buckling her seatbelt.
"Let's go." Emily said softly. "Traffic."
Richard started the car and drove away without a word. Paradoxically, it appeared as if they knew their daughter and their granddaughter altogether too well, and too little, at the same time.
Luke's birthday message -
Only four short years ago, a twelve year old I barely knew came into the diner, and invited me to a memorial service for a caterpillar that you had tried to save. I hope that same love and compassion for your fellow creatures grows just as your knowledge and wisdom surely will, and helps shape you into the beautiful, kind young woman I know you will become.
Happy 16th birthday, Rory