Calls, Rings and Geese

Thursday, December 28, 2000

Lorelai held her robe closed as she hugged herself tightly, hopping from foot to foot. As soon as she heard his voice followed by a sharp beep, her teeth stopped chattering and she began talking. "Luke, it's me. Listen, I think something is wrong with the water heater thingy. I got in the shower this morning, and the water was kind of tepid, and by the time I got out, there were icicles hanging off of places where no icicle should ever from. Can you help me?" she said in a rush. "I have to go to work, and I know you're busy, it's just that…" she paused and dropped her voice a little even though she was alone in the room. "It's just, Christmas, well, it set me back a little and things were already kind of tight," she rambled. "I have the first of the month bills coming up, and I don't think I can afford to get a plumber out here right now," she confessed to his machine. She caught sight of her new alarm clock and saw that it was already twenty minutes past seven. "Aw, man, you're already downstairs. Why did I call the apartment?" she wondered to his machine. "Must be the brain freeze. I'll try you on the diner line," she said, and then hung up quickly.

Lorelai disconnected and quickly redialed. When he barked, 'Luke's!' she prepared to start the whole spiel over; hopefully this time avoiding the embarrassing parts about being broke. "My water heater is broken," she said without preamble.

"Who is this?" he demanded, straining to hear over the clatter of cutlery on plates and morning conversation.

"It's Lorelai, the woman soon to be known as Nanook of the North," she said with exasperation. "My water heater is wonky, and I need to know if you can look at it for me."

"Now? I'm in the middle of the breakfast rush," he said as he tucked the phone under his chin and delivered plates to customers sitting at the counter. He nodded to acknowledge a signal for refill, and spun to grab the coffee pot, twisting himself up in the cord.

"Well, not right now, but maybe in a little while?" she asked hopefully. "I can leave a note for Rory to go to Sookie's to shower."

"I'll get there as soon as I can," Luke told her.

"Thanks, Luke, I really appreciate it," she said, releasing the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She heard a plate crash to the floor and winced as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Gotta go," he snarled. She heard him muttering and cussing softly and then a definitive click as he hung up on her.

After getting ready for work, Lorelai scribbled a quick note to Rory and left it on the coffee maker. She checked the clock one more time and saw that she was already late, so she grabbed her purse and keys, shrugged into her coat and trotted out the front door with her gloves clenched between her teeth.

**

Early that afternoon, she checked in with Rory only to hear that there was still no hot water in the house. Lorelai hung up and dialed the diner number again.

"Luke's," the man himself answered distractedly.

"Hi, Luke, it's me again," Lorelai said, trying to sound casual.

"I went by, your thermal coupler was out, I called around and the closest one for your heater is in Litchfield. I'm leaving in five minutes to go and get it," he said in an irritated tone.

Lorelai cringed and bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I know it's a pain. It's just that, uh, is it, um, is the part thingy expensive?" she finally managed to ask.

Luke stopped rushing around behind the counter and said, "Oh no. No, it's not that. Taylor was just in here and he was ticking me off," he explained. "The part is less than twenty bucks. I'll go get it and you can just pay me back whenever," he said slowly, knowing that she would never simply let him pay for it.

"Whenever? I'm not sure that I can make that. Can I pay you the day after whenever?" she teased, a relieved smile brightening her face.

"Sure, that's fine," he answered, ducking his head as he chuckled softly. "I'll go pick it up, and then I'll be over."

"Thanks, Luke. I'd offer you my first born, but I've gotten pretty attached to her."

Luke smirked. "That's okay, I'll take the second," he said unthinkingly.

Lorelai blinked in surprise, and for once, couldn't come up with a quick comeback. "Uh, okay then," she managed at last.

Luke squeezed his eyes shut as the way his lame joke sounded finally registered. "I meant, uh… I'll pick up that part," he stammered. "It'll be fixed before you get home," he assured her and then quickly hung up.

**

Luke managed to fix the water heater and escape the house without having to see Rory or Lorelai. He was still mortified by the way he couldn't seem to stop slipping up around her lately. He'd always been so careful to keep his feelings under wraps, knowing that they probably wouldn't get the reception that he craved, fearful that if he went too far he'd lose her entirely. By the time he closed the diner that night, the wave of relief he had felt earlier had given way to a vague melancholy. It was always like this on the days when he didn't get to see her. Even a quick drive by coffee hit seemed to make his day feel right. The days when they didn't cross paths seemed to drag.

He trudged up the stairs and into his apartment, blinking to let his eyes adjust to the dim light provided by the single fixture lit over the sink. He pulled a carton of orange juice from the fridge and poured himself a tall glass. Leaning back against the sink, he closed his eyes as he downed the juice in four large gulps. When the glass was drained, Luke turned to place it in the sink and caught sight of the red light on his answering machine blinking steadily. With a slight frown, he crossed the room and pressed the play button, expecting to hear yet another desperate plea from Liz. Instead, Lorelai's voice rushed from the speaker, bringing an instant smile to his face. When her voice dropped, and she started to speak in that husky conspiratorial tone, Luke felt a shiver run up his spine. He frowned as he heard Lorelai Gilmore confess to not being able to afford to call a plumber, and knew that money must be even tighter than she let on if she would go so far as to admit it. He thought about the seventeen dollars he had spent on the part for her heater, and the hour or so he had spent fixing it and checking to be sure it was working properly, and mentally calculated that a plumber would have easily charged closed to two hundred dollars for the same call. Luke could not suppress his smile when he heard her ramble on as she realized that he was probably already at work for the morning.

The machine beeped to let him know that the message had ended, and Luke tossed his blue cap onto the couch and ran his hand through his hair as he moved to look out the apartment window. He vaguely heard the time stamp on the next message, but was lost in thought as he stared down at the snowy square. Suddenly, her voice filled the room again.

"Luke? Hey," she said softly. "Listen, I just wanted to thank you, I really appreciate your help with the thing. As a matter of fact, I really appreciate all of your help. I know I rely on you a lot, and I know that maybe I don't always tell you how much I appreciate that, but I do. I really do. You are a knight in plaid flannel," she said with a quick laugh. There was a long pause that made Luke straighten and turn toward the machine. He stared at it wondering if she was about to say something more, and wondering if he was ready to hear it, whatever it was.

Finally, Lorelai said in a much brighter tone, "Anyway, I do. Sooo, thanks again, and I'll pay you back for the part when I get paid next week, if that's okay. I checked the calendar and that seems to be the day after whenever. Oh, and while I'm running a tab, if you wanted to throw some pancakes and a couple of burgers on there, you know I'm good for it, right?" Luke chuckled softly and shook his head as he tucked his chin to his chest, unable to hide the smile that creased his face. "Okay, well, I'm about to go and take an extremely steamy bubble bath, and I just wanted you to know that I would be thinking of you the whole time." Luke's eyebrows lifted as he looked up at the machine in surprise. "I mean, because of the hot water," Lorelai stammered. "You are the hot water guy. The guy who provides hot water, not the hot guy who has water. Well you are a hot guy and you do have water, but you know what I mean, crap, uh, thanks for the bath," Lorelai said at last, and the message ended with a long beep.

"My pleasure," Luke murmured with a small smile as he reached out to press the rewind button on the machine.

As her voice filled his empty apartment again, Luke sank down onto the couch rubbing his finger over his lips as he listened carefully. When the second message had played through again, Luke smiled and realized that while he may not have actually seen her that day, four phone calls from Lorelai Gilmore in one day was definitely a personal best. He slumped back against the cushions as he reached up to rewind the tape again.

Friday, December 29, 2000

"What are you doing here?" Luke asked as Lorelai slipped onto her usual stool the following evening.

"I come for the love," Lorelai said with a smirk.

"It's Friday night," Luke pointed out.

Lorelai grinned and said, "Yes, I know."

"You usually have the dinner thing with your parents on Fridays."

"You are so observant! I never would have guessed that about you," Lorelai teased.

"Hard to miss when you come in here and beat your head against my counter every Friday night," Luke answered with a smirk.

"Once! I did that once," Lorelai protested.

"Left an impression," Luke said slowly. "Both on me, and on your head, I'd imagine."

"Look who's a comedian tonight," Lorelai mocked.

"So, no dinner?" Luke asked as he poured her mug of coffee.

"Nope. My parents are on their annually post-holiday jaunt to the sunny Caribbean, and I am footloose and fancy free," Lorelai said with a pleased smile.

"Where's Rory?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes and said, "Dean just got back from visiting his grandmother in Chicago, so I imagine that they are staring at each other like this right about now." Lorelai wove her fingers together and rested her chin on them as she looked up at him and batted her eyelashes furiously.

"That's sickening," Luke muttered as he turned to put the coffee pot back on the burner.

"Yes, well, it was a sadly accurate representation, I'm afraid," Lorelai said as she lifted the mug to her lips.

"Burger?" Luke asked with a sympathetic smile.

"Please, with fries," Lorelai answered with a smile. Luke turned toward the kitchen, and Lorelai reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his flannel to stop him. When he turned back, Lorelai glanced over her shoulder nervously and then whispered, "Are we okay with the tab thing?"

Luke rolled his eyes and asked, "You want cheese?"

"Yes. Both on the burger and the fries," Lorelai said with a relieved smile.

"Back in a minute," he said before disappearing into the kitchen.

Lorelai sat at the counter, occasionally glancing around the crowded diner as she waited. She waved to Babette and Morey, who were sharing what appeared to be a turkey club sandwich. She saw Babette hold a ketchup-drenched French fry up to Morey's lips and watched as he took it without question. With a tiny sigh Lorelai looked away in time to see Luke deliver an armload of plates to a neighboring table. She watched him, cocking her head to the side as he moved with a fluid grace that seemed incongruous in a guy so solid.

Luke spun on his heel to head back to the kitchen and caught her staring. He rolled his eyes and growled, "Its coming," as he passed the end of the counter.

Lorelai's blushed and stared down into her mug, vowing to keep her eyes to herself for the rest of her visit. She passed a few minutes by rearranging the sugar and sweetener packets so that they alternated colors in the small container in front of her. "Don't do that," Luke admonished gruffly as he slid her plate to the counter in front of her.

"It's prettier," Lorelai insisted as she pushed the sugar selection away.

"It confuses people. The next thing you know, some diabetic is dosing their coffee with the real stuff and I've got a case of hyperglycemia on my hands," Luke said as he placed a plate of fries and another plate with a handful of onion rings in front of her.

"Color blind diabetics?" Lorelai asked as she looked up at him with an amused smile.

"With glaucoma. They knitted those sweaters your mom gave you," Luke said with a nod.

"Nice," Lorelai answered with a devilish grin. She pointed to the onion rings and asked, "Did I order those?"

"Made too many for someone else's order, figured you wouldn't mind taking them off of my hands," Luke said with a shrug as he began to undo her careful arrangement of the packets.

Lorelai bit into a fry and asked, "Are there only so many rings in an order? Do you count them out?"

"No," Luke snorted.

"Well, how do I know, this could be a matter of strict inventory control." Lorelai eyed the rings again and asked, "How many is too many?"

"They didn't fit on the plate."

"I see," Lorelai said as she chewed thoughtfully. "So these five onion rings would have put the whole thing over the top? Caused a tragic onion ring avalanche?" she teased.

"Do you not want them?" Luke asked as he blew out an exasperated breath.

"Oh no, I'll take them," Lorelai said as she wrapped her arm around the plate and drew it closer to her protectively. "Look at how pretty they are. Almost perfectly matched," she said as she gazed at them adoringly.

"Aw, geez," Luke groaned.

Lorelai rearranged the rings on the plate and then grinned as she said, "Hey look, it's the Olympic rings! Quick, hum the theme song," she commanded.

Luke rolled his eyes and walked away. He snagged the coffee pot as he passed and started to make a round of refills. Lorelai chuckled as she picked up her burger, glancing down at the plate of onion rings as she prepared to take a bite. She paused; her hands froze with the burger poised at her lips. "Five golden rings," she murmured to herself. She turned her head and dared a quick peek at Luke as he listened patiently to Babette go on about something. Lorelai quick turned back to the counter and took a huge bite out of her burger, shaking her head as she dismissed the thought from her mind.

Saturday, December 30, 2000

"Luke's!" Luke said as he tucked the receiver under his chin.

"Hey, do you have one of those vacuums that sucks up anything?" Lorelai asked.

"What?"

"You know, the ones you're supposed to use to suck up rusty nails and spills and stuff. The kind that doesn't get all clogged up?" Lorelai asked in a rush.

"A shop vac?" Luke asked as he finally caught up.

"Yeah! Do you have one?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?" Luke said suspiciously.

"I need it."

"What do you need a shop vac for?"

"Goose feathers," Lorelai answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Of course," Luke mumbled.

"Can you bring it over? We've already gummed up one vacuum and I can't risk the other," she explained.

"You want me to bring my shop vac over so that you can suck up goose feathers?" Luke asked slowly.

"Yes. Room six," she added.

Luke blinked as he tried and failed to process the information she had given him. With a slight shrug he said, "Be there in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks, Luke," Lorelai said with a sigh of relief and then hung up.

Luke let the receiver slide from his ear and caught it in his hand. He stared at it blankly for a moment, and then put it on the cradle as he called, "Caesar? I'm going out for a while!"

**

Twenty minutes later, Luke stood in the hall with his enormous shop vac by his side, and tapped on the door to room number six. When the door swung open, his jaw dropped. "What the…" he breathed.

"The Coleman kids stayed in this room," Lorelai said in a defeated tone. "Apparently they thought it would be funny to slit the feather pillows and shove them back into the cases."

"Kids did this?" Luke asked as he gestured to the room. "It looks like the Rolling Stones were bunking with The Who for the night, and the guys from Led Zeppelin stopped by."

"I know, and we're booked solid this week. I have to get this room cleaned up because we have guests arriving in approximately, oh, two hours," she said snidely as she glared at the bedside clock, which had been smeared with what appeared to be ketchup.

"Where were their parents?" Luke asked as he rolled the shop vac into the room.

"Oh, they were a snuggled up in room five. Left it neat as a pin," Lorelai said, a hysterical laugh bubbling up.

Luke turned to look at her and said calmly, "It's just a mess. We'll get it cleaned up."

"I have two maids out sick. Poor Kim is trying to get six more rooms turned over. I was helping, and then we came in here," she said panic creeping into her voice.

Luke nodded as he surveyed the goose feathers and down that blanketed the bed and carpet. He turned to look at Lorelai and without thinking, plucked a tiny feather from her hair. He held it up for her to see, and then let it fall to the floor with the others. "So, when the pillowcases came off?"

"Yep, winter wonderland," Lorelai said with a nod.

Luke took a deep breath and unwound the power cord. As he plugged it into the wall he asked, "How old were these kids?"

"Ugh, early teens," Lorelai said as she grabbed a bottle spray cleanser and attacked the clock with a wad of paper towels. She glanced over and spotted the small smile that curved Luke's lips and gasped, "You think it's funny?"

Luke gestured to the discarded pillowcases and the remains of the pillows themselves on the bed and said, "Oh, come on, you have to admit that was pretty slick for a couple of kids."

"Yes, they're evil geniuses," Lorelai said in a low threatening voice.

"Sorry, I'm on it," Luke said quickly. He hit the power button and the shop vac roared to life.

tbc