After driving for hours they found an inn on the outskirts of a small town much like Star's Hollow, the inn itself was surrounded by a large lake. Lorelai spent most afternoons sitting on the embankment watching as the current flowed downstream, she thought a lot about what Max had said to her.
Rory suggested a pro/con list but they were too many pros and absolutely no cons. Sure Luke was annoying and he grumbled a lot, but Lorelai knew it just gave him character. But this was different, he was her friend. She had never sustained platonic friendships with men before.
Lorelai reached into her coat pocket and retrieved her cell, dialing quickly to check the message on her machine. Folding her legs she sat cross legged closing her coat tighter around her body, the breeze from the lake gently blowing her hair across her face.
As usual her mother's voice pierced over the machine declaring her distaste how Lorelai could just up and go for a vacation, just like her mother to point out the obvious. Finally her machine was obviously too tired to listen to the monotone voice of her mother and cut her off mid-sentence.
She scoffed and laughed down the phone, until she heard the beep of the next message. She had heard his voice numerous times on her machine, but this time it was different just the way he spoke her name.
"Lorelai its Luke, which I'm sure you know. I hope everything's alright, Babette came running in saying something about you and Max. I'm here if you need to talk."
Lowering the phone she sighed and held it in her hands, she knew she had to call him but not yet.
She stood up and slowly walked up the small hill and back to the inn, she decided not to drive in her car. She needed to clear her head and take a stroll through the town to the library; she found Rory some twenty minutes later her head buried deep in an old book.
Tapping her on the shoulder Rory lifted her head and grinned, her eyes lit up excitement escaping from every surface.
"Look at this book it's an original copy of Lord Byron's Vision of Judgment, loom at the date on this page."
"Rory..."
"Wait just look at this passage." She handed the book towards her and even with a stern look of determination she grabbed the book from her hands and read.
The angels all were singing out of tune, And hoarse with having little else to do, Excepting to wind up the sun and moon, Or curb a runaway young star or two, Or wild colt of a comet, which too soon Broke out of bounds oer th ethereal blue, Splitting some planet with its playful tail, As boats are sometimes by a wanton whale
"Cool huh?" Lorelai passed the book back to her.
"Show me Justin Timberlake in a tank top now that is the epitome of coolness."
"Obviously after Nsync."
'Of course." Lorelai smiled and then rested her head on the table, Rory looked up from her book and frowned.
"What's wrong?"
"My love life sucks."
"Okay I think maybe we should go get some coffee."
They found a diner a couple of minutes later, ordering coffee and burgers. Lorelai's nose creased in distaste but she sipped from her cup nonetheless.
"Alright I'm assuming this has something to do with the Max/Luke triangle."
"It's not a triangle he removed himself from the equation, I mean why the hell am I even stressing over this."
Rory set her cup down and pushed her chair closer to her mother, touching her arm.
"I think the whole thing with Max as much as I wanted to see you happy was a smokescreen and I'm thinking his words have opened your mind to the possibilities that were always there."
"Maybe." Lorelai grumbled against the rim of her cup and closed her eyes.
"Not maybe mom, you remember when you asked me what I thought of Luke. You were thinking of him even then, have you even spoken to him yet?"
She just stared at her daughter wondering where she had the sudden love insight she herself was lacking, she raised her eyebrows and nodded her head.
"No I haven't but I will."'
"When?"
"Soon, god your bossy." She smiled as she lifted her cup.
Lorelai sat on the edge of her bed and picked up her cell phone, dialing the diner's number she waited for it to ring. Hearing the dial tone she cancelled the call, squeezing her eyes shut. She hoped he remembered their signal she dialed the number again and let the phone ring.
Luke grabbed the rag from his shoulder and began to wipe down the counter, today was a slow day only a few customers scattered around the diner. The phone rang and he turned to pick it up, only to have the ringing stop. Shrugging his shoulders he turned back towards the counter to finish wiping it down.
The phone rang again and he waited a moment after the second ring he picked up the receiver.
"Lukes."
Lorelai opened her mouth to talk only her voice box had different ideas, she honestly didn't know what she was going to say. She had only been away for three days and already it felt like three weeks, just hearing his gruff voice made her smile.
"Hello ….look as much as I love to listen to crank calls I have a business to run, so why don't you call Doose's market and have some fun." Luke grumbled into the phone, rolling his eyes he moved the slam the receiver down.
He thought for a moment recalling something Lorelai said once.
"It will be like our signal, I'll ring once and then I'll call again but I won't speak I'll just wait."
"And what happens if I think it's a crank call"
"You won't you're too smart for that."
Switching the receiver to his other shoulder he threw the rag down on the counter.
"Lorelai?"
Silence.
"Lorelai if it's you just tell me you're alright." Placing the phone carefully against her ear she sighed.
"I'm okay." Luke leaned back against the wall in relief.
"Good….I'm surprised your this quiet usually I can't shut you up." She smiled and looked out of the window.
"I think it's the lack of your coffee."
"Well it's still here waiting for you."
"Well times are a changing if your offering me your coffee, usually it comes with a hazard warning. Listen I called you because I think you've probably heard the news."
"Yeah, I'm sorry."
"Luke, I know this sounds un-conventional you know I'm a talker and I prefer to say things face to face, but today I posted you a letter that explains some things and why I had to get away, so you should receive it in a couple of days."
"Okay, but you're coming back in a few days?"
"I'm not sure I arranged cover for a couple of weeks, anyway Rory's signaling me to I have to go so um bye." She ended the call abruptly and threw herself back onto the bed.
Luke stared into the phone the dial tone ringing in his ear, wondering what she needed to write to him about.
Two days later and in the middle of the breakfast rush, he was handed the letter. Staring at the envelope held tightly in his hand, his eyes scanned over Lorelai's writing on the front.
He was sure he could smell her light perfume in the air, he closed his eyes and shoved the letter in his back pocket. After a few hours the letter seemed to burn a hole in his back pocket, he was curious to find out what she had wrote.
He closed the diner early and went upstairs to his apartment, grabbing a beer from the fridge he removed the letter from his back pocket and placed it on the table. Luke leaned against the sink his eyes never leaving the envelope that was now mocking him from its place on the table.
Lifting the bottle to his lips he swallowed half the bottle before placing it on the table next to the letter, picking up the envelope he opened it and unfolded the letter.
Dear Luke,
I never thought I would be writing a letter to you.
As you know I'm a woman of many words and I do have a tendency to ramble when I'm coffee induced. But today I find myself not able to form any words, as shocking as that may seem to you I feel nervous.
Rory very eloquently told me that it might make things easier if I write what I want to say to you in a letter, so I here I am.
Firstly I treasure the friendship we have; I've never had a close friendship with a guy before. But things have changed I guess if I was honest it's always been there right from the beginning. And as usual Lorelai is too blind or too stubborn to notice, it took an engagement to a really nice guy to realize it. Max knew it of course, I mean of course he would know he's a teacher and it's his job to watch people.
We had argued the night before I left, he told me that I would never look at him the way I look at you.
So what I'm trying to tell you is that I like you not as a friend for something more, this is where you get really shocked and throw away this letter and we never speak of it again.
O, if this is not a shock to you, then that's okay too.
I've wrote my cell number on the other side of this letter just in case you feel the need to shout at me and rant how wrong this new information freaks you out. But what I don't want is to lose your friendship Luke.
Lorelai
Luke held the letter in his hand and sat in the chair stunned, for five years he had been waiting for her to get a clue. And now that she admitted to something other than just friendship, he felt elation trying to bubble forth. He turned the letter over to see the cell phone number, taking a deep breath he picked up his phone. Something was going to shift because there was no way he wanted just friendship.
Lorelai parked her car in front of the inn, Rory got out of the car first collecting the bags from the back of the jeep. Closing the driver's door she heard her cell and looked in her bag, suddenly finding it she laughed at the cell that mocked her from the bottom of the bag.
"Hello."
"Hey It's Luke, I…uh got your letter." Lorelai exhaled loudly and leaned against the car.
"Oh… okay." She panicked and dropped her bag on the ground, squeezing her eyes shut.
"So I think we should talk, you know face to face."
"Yeah alright we can do that. Luke I don't to lose your friendship."
"You won't."
"So what do you think about the contents of the letter?" Lorelai bit her bottom lip and watched as Rory stood there her fingers crossed.
"The letter confirms what I've been waiting to hear for a long time."
She felt giddy she tried not to squeal down the phone, her cheeks were flushed with excitement.
"This is good news, this is very good news. So this doesn't come as a shock to you?"
"I think you've always known I liked you, I don't have a habit of parading my intentions around town."
"Since when did you show me your intentions?"
"I could take that as a dirty comment."
Lorelai blushed and dipped her head shyly, pressing her lips tightly together.
"When are you coming back?"
"Soon. I'm craving your coffee."
'Well it's here waiting for you to come back."
"Aw does it miss me?"
"It does." Lorelai nodded her head and let out a slow breath.
"Bye Luke."
"Bye Lorelai."
Lorelai ended the call and picked up her bag a sudden bounce in her step, it took Rory twenty minutes to find out why her mother was like an excitable child.
"So does this mean were going home?"
"Yes were leaving tomorrow morning."
"Thank god." Rory sighed happily and grabbed her bag and began to pack.