Officially Married - Chapter 4
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On the evening of November 30th, Lorelai was sitting on the couch watching a movie, and she instantly muted the television when she heard the front door open. She glanced toward the foyer and smiled warmly when she saw Luke walk in.
"Hey," she greeted him. "You doing okay?"
Luke nodded as he closed the door behind him. "Yeah, I'm okay."
It was his annual dark day, and she hadn't heard from him, expectedly, since he'd left the house early that morning. As was his usual routine, he'd gone off to spend the day alone, driving or fishing or doing whatever other solitary activities he decided to occupy himself with.
Luke hung up his coat, then walked over and sat next to her on the couch. She took off his hat and started gently stroking the back of his hair and neck. "Do you wanna talk about your day?" she asked softly.
"Eh, not much to tell. I did a lot of driving, visited the grave for awhile, grabbed a wrap from a deli in Woodbury for lunch, then went to that big pond we've gone to a few times... you know the one."
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty there."
"Yeah. I was there for an hour or two, just hanging out by the water."
"Did you do any fishing?" she asked, knowing he'd thrown his pole and supplies into his truck before he left that morning.
"No. I was going to, but then when I got there, I didn't feel like it. Just kind of wanted to sit and close my eyes and let my mind go blank."
Lorelai nodded understandingly, her fingers still gently stroking his hair.
Luke placed his hand on her knee and began rubbing his thumb against it. "Tell me about your day."
"Let's see... my day... nothing too exciting," she replied. "I texted with Rory, she's feeling okay. She's been working on the book, and said that she's making good progress."
"Good."
"And the inn's at full capacity, so all's good there," Lorelai replied. "Oh, but Michel thinks he's getting a cold, so…"
"So, he's acting like the world's coming to an end," Luke finished.
"Pretty much," she replied. "I started a Christmas list of people we need to buy for. I texted Liz to see what we can get for Doula, and she gave me a couple of suggestions."
"Okay, good."
"Did you eat dinner? There's leftover pizza and salad in the kitchen. Want me to make you a plate?"
"Maybe in a little bit."
Lorelai nodded. "Okay." She traced circles on his hand as it continued to caress her knee, and then remembered she had one more thing to discuss with him. "Oh, so… I got an email from my mom today. Do you feel like talking about Christmas in Nantucket?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. "Or you wanna save that for a day that's not already clouded in darkness?"
Luke smirked. "We can talk about it now."
Lorelai turned to face him on the couch, crisscrossing her legs in front of her. "Okay, well… she wants us there from Christmas Eve through New Year's Eve," she said, grimacing slightly as she quickly added, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."
"It's fine," he assured her. "It's a small price to pay for you to expand the inn. I know that's a big deal for you right now."
"The good news is that the house next door should be ready for us by then," Lorelai told him. "She's almost done redecorating it, and she's fencing in the back yard for Paul Anka."
"What about Rory?"
Lorelai nodded. "Sure, she can use the fenced-in yard if she wants."
Luke rolled his eyes. "I meant, is she gonna go for the week, too?"
"I doubt it," she replied. "Probably just for Christmas. A week is a long time to be under the watchful eye of Emily Gilmore and try to keep her secret."
"When is she gonna tell her?"
Lorelai shrugged with uncertainty. "I have no idea. She's being very selective with who she tells, and this is her news to share, so we just have to keep quiet for now."
Luke nodded understandingly. "I will. I haven't said a word to anyone. She's still writing at your parents' place?"
"Yeah, she said it's quiet and it inspires her," Lorelai said, and then added a confused shrug. "Which… I guess for her makes sense, she doesn't exactly have all the same memories that I have of that house. I don't know that I'd get the same inspiration there that she's getting."
"And you haven't seen any of what she's written yet?" Luke asked.
"Nope. We just have to hope that I come across as likeable, or your wife's going to have to go into hiding."
"What could she possibly say that would make you sound unlikeable? You've done everything in your power to give that girl an amazing life."
Lorelai shrugged again. "I don't know. Maybe as she's writing about her life and analyzing things that have happened over the years, she's having this epiphany that the decisions I made weren't always the greatest and now she resents me for the way I raised her. Maybe she's not painting me out to be the super cool mom, maybe I'm some sort of villain."
"Lorelai." He said her name in that tone that told her that he thought she was being ridiculous. "You know that's not true… that girl loves you more than anything, she's not going to write anything bad about you. You're not the villain in her life, you're the hero."
Lorelai smiled. "That's sweet. I hope you're right."
"Trust me, I'm right." Luke patted her leg, then nodded toward her empty wine glass on the coffee table. "Want some more wine? I'm gonna go get a glass."
"Yeah. We need to start building up our daily alcohol tolerance. It'll make the Nantucket Christmas Vacation of 2016 easier to get through."
Luke smiled and grabbed her glass, and they headed to the kitchen together.
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It was early in the afternoon on Christmas Eve when Luke, Lorelai, and Rory arrived in Nantucket with Paul Anka. They stopped by to see Emily at her house, who took them over to the house next door and left them to get settled in before dinner.
The house was decorated for the holidays with lights and wreaths and multiple Christmas trees. Luke brought the suitcases to the bedrooms as Lorelai and Rory went to check out the kitchen.
Lorelai's eyes immediately landed on the coffee maker on the counter. "Oh, thank God."
As Lorelai started looking through the cabinets, Rory pulled open the refrigerator. "The fridge is stocked with food," Rory said.
"Cabinets are, too," Lorelai confirmed, then joined Rory at the fridge. "Mom asked for suggestions of food we'd want for the week… check the freezer, make sure she got the ice cream."
They pulled open the freezer, and Lorelai smiled at the two containers of ice cream. "Good. I might survive this week without you after all."
Rory smiled as she shut the freezer door. "You'll be fine."
"Are you sure you don't wanna stay a few extra days?" Lorelai asked.
"I really wanna get back to writing, and I'll be too distracted here," Rory said. "You'll have Luke with you the entire time, and you have a whole house of your own to hide in."
"Within walking distance, though," Lorelai reminded her. "There's no buffer zone."
Rory patted her on the shoulder and repeated, "You'll be fine."
Paul Anka was nudging his nose at the back door, and Lorelai openned it for him. "Go ahead... go mark your territory, bud." Paul Anka hesitantly walked outside, then turned his head to look back at her. "Okay, fine, I'll stand out there with you until you get used to the new space."
Lorelai and Rory followed Paul Anka out into the yard and watched him roam the grounds for a few minutes. When they came back in, Rory went to take a nap in her bedroom, and Lorelai headed up to the master bedroom where Luke had started unpacking the suitcases.
"I am happy to confirm that there's a coffee maker," she announced. "And the fridge and cabinets are stocked with food and wine and hard liquor."
"So we've got all the essentials, good," Luke replied, then handed her the bag of toiletries. "Can you throw this in the bathroom?"
Lorelai took the bag from him and carried it into the master bathroom, and Luke heard her gasp with delight. "Whoa! Did you see the tub in here? We can both fit at the same time!"
Luke was smiling as he walked into the bathroom. "Yes, and I knew you would say that."
Lorelai smiled. "What can I say, I love a tub built for two. Did you see that there are massaging jets?" she asked him excitedly.
"Yup."
"Okay, so, tonight after Christmas Eve dinner, you and me and a bottle of wine in a massaging bubble bath?" Lorelai suggested.
Luke smiled. "It's a date." He leaned in to kiss her, and then added, "Bath only… no funny business with Rory in the house, though."
Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. "Fine. We'll refrain from dirtiness until she heads home."
"Thank you." He kissed her again before they separated, then asked, "Where is she now?"
"She's taking a quick nap before dinner," Lorelai replied as she started to unpack the toiletries on the counter.
"She feeling okay?"
"Yeah, she's just tired," she replied. "A few hours of travel will do that to you."
"Right. But she's taking her vitamins and stuff, right?"
Lorelai glanced over at him, smiling at his concern, and she shrugged. "I would assume so."
"You haven't asked?"
Lorelai's smile widened. "She's 33, Luke, so no, I haven't asked if she's been taking her vitamins, but if you'd like to, go right ahead."
Luke considered it for a moment, then waved it off. "Nah, I guess we shouldn't baby her like that, right?"
"Probably not," Lorelai agreed, then she reached out and gently caressed his cheek. "But I love that you're always gonna think of her as our little girl, no matter how old she gets."
"Hard not to," he replied.
Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it."
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That night, everyone gathered at Emily's house for Christmas Eve dinner. As they sat around the dining room table eating their salads, Emily said, "So, Rory, I've gotten a couple of offers on the house, but I've been turning them down because I know you've been working on your writing project there."
"Oh, you don't have to do that, Grandma," Rory replied. "I didn't expect it to be on the market for long, it's a great house. You should take whichever offer you want, I'll get out of there as soon as you need me to."
"Do you have somewhere else to go?" Emily asked her. "I don't want to leave you stranded."
"She can stay with us if she needs to," Lorelai said. "Open invitation, she knows that."
"Or she could stay in my old apartment over the diner," Luke added.
"Yeah, there are options," Lorelai said. "We won't let her be homeless, we promise."
"I can just take the house off the market altogether and you can live there permanently," Emily offered. "I don't mind."
"Grandma, no, really, that's too much," Rory said, shaking her head. "I love the house, but I don't need something that big for myself."
"Well, if you want, you can come stay in the Sand Dollar," Emily said.
"The Sand Dollar?" Lorelai asked.
"That's what I named the house you're staying in," Emily replied. "And it'll be empty once you and Luke leave on the 1st, if Rory needs a place to stay." She smiled at Rory. "It would be nice to have you so close."
"Oh, yeah, well... that would be nice if we were, uh, neighbors, Grandma," Rory replied. "I'll keep that option in mind, thanks."
Luke's eyes widened. "You'd move all the way out here? But it's so far from everything… us, your friends, your doctor."
Rory and Lorelai froze as Emily looked at Luke confusingly. "Her doctor?" Emily asked, then turned to Rory. "Are you sick?"
"No, but if she does get sick, she should be close to her own doctor," Luke quickly tried to salvage his slip-up. "And what if she cracks a tooth or something? She'll need her dentist. Those are important people you'd want to have nearby."
"They have doctors and dentists here in Nantucket, too, Luke," Emily told him. "People move all the time, and they get new doctors and dentists. Not everyone stays in the town they were born in for the rest of their lives."
"Right, I know, but - " Luke started, and when Lorelai suddenly cleared her throat, he stopped talking mid-sentence.
"Let's let Rory think about where she wants to live and what she wants to do, and not put her on the spot at Christmas Eve dinner, okay?" Lorelai suggested, and Rory gave her an appreciative smile.
"I'll think about it and let you know, Grandma," Rory told Emily. "Thanks again for the offer."
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"I'm so sorry," Luke said to Rory the moment they were back at the guest house later that evening. "I didn't mean to say anything, it just slipped out."
"I know," Rory nodded understandingly. "It's okay, you recovered quickly."
"And Mom didn't seem too phased by it," Lorelai added.
"I still feel awful," Luke said with a sigh. "I just… the thought of you living all the way out here, that was kind of a shock, I'm sorry."
"You were just being polite, right?" Lorelai hesitantly asked Rory. "When you said you would think about it?"
"Yeah, I don't think I could live out here full time," Rory replied. "But it was nice of her to offer up this place."
"It was," Lorelai agreed. "And for her to offer up the Hartford house. Someone was in a giving mood tonight. Well, towards you anyway... not to Luke and I. She could've at least offered us a helicopter or something."
Rory took a deep breath and glanced back and forth between the two of them. "So… what do you think about me telling her the news tomorrow?"
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Really? I thought you were gonna try to keep it hush for a little longer."
"I know, I wasn't planning on doing it yet, but I realized that I don't know when I'll see her next, and this is something I should tell her in person. If I don't end up seeing her for a few months, then she'll get upset I waited so long to tell her, and..." Rory's voice trailed off and then she sighed. "I don't know, maybe it's better to just get it out of the way while I'm here. I don't know why I was waiting anyway."
"Because it's easier to keep things from her than to field all the questions she'll have," Lorelai replied knowingly. "Trust me, I get it."
"Yeah, I guess just saying 'Grandma, I'm pregnant' without undergoing the third degree isn't an option here. She'll want details."
"I can think of one detail she'll want for sure," Lorelai said, then nervously nibbled on her bottom lip. "Are you gonna tell her who the father is?"
Rory covered her face with her hands and shook her head with uncertainty. "I have no idea," she muttered. "Maybe this isn't a good idea."
Luke reached out and comfortingly squeezed Rory's shoulder. "It'll be okay. We'll be there for support."
"Yes, we will," Lorelai agreed, and then added, "If you want us to be. But if you'd rather do it alone, we'll make ourselves scarce. It's up to you… whatever you want."
Rory exhaled a deep sigh and pondered for a moment. "I'll sleep on it and let you guys know."
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The next morning, Luke woke up before Lorelai, quietly got dressed, and went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee for her. He found Rory sitting at the kitchen table in her pajamas eating a bowl of cereal.
"Oh, hey," Luke greeted her. "Didn't think you'd be up yet."
"Morning, Luke," she replied. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," he replied, then sat down across from her. "You sleep okay?"
Rory shrugged a little. "Not really."
"Because you're not feeling well or because you've got things on your mind?" he asked her.
"Mind," Rory replied. "Always something on my mind. I would love to have a few minutes of not having something on my mind."
"I can imagine," Luke said. "You wanna talk?"
Rory distractedly stirred her spoon in her bowl of Lucky Charms. "I'm nervous about telling Grandma," she told him. "I'm worried that she's gonna be..." She paused a moment as she searched for the right word.
"Disappointed?" Luke supplied.
"Yeah. We know how she reacted to Mom getting pregnant."
"It's a very different situation," Luke pointed out. "You're an adult."
"An adult with no home and no income and no significant other, who got pregnant when she was knowingly being the other woman," Rory added, and then she winced a little, unsure if he actually was aware of that last detail. "Did you know that?"
"All your mom said is that Logan's the father, and that he's engaged to someone else," Luke replied.
Rory nodded. "Yeah. Well, let's just say, it wasn't a one-time thing. So, overall, this situation is probably way more disappointing than a teenager accidentally getting pregnant by her boyfriend." She shook her head slightly. "Ugh, I screwed up big time."
"Hey, what does your mom always say? Life is always gonna throw unexpected stuff at you, but it's how you deal with it that really matters." Luke reached across the table and patted her arm. "So, don't focus on the past... focus on how you're going to deal with things going forward."
"I'm trying."
"You'll figure it out." Luke gestured toward the fridge. "You want some juice?"
Rory nodded, and Luke poured two glasses of orange juice and sat back down at the table.
"Can I ask you a question?" Luke asked.
Rory nodded as she took a sip of her juice. "Yeah."
Luke felt a little weird bringing it up, but he couldn't help himself... he had to know. "Are you gonna tell Logan about the pregnancy?"
Rory inhaled a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "Wow, that's quite a question for early Christmas morning, Luke."
"I know, I'm sorry, you don't have to answer it," he quickly replied. "I've just been wondering what your plan for that was."
Rory shrugged. "I don't really have one yet."
Luke nodded understandingly. "Got it." He took a sip of his juice before adding, "Can I give you a little perspective on the topic? You know, from a guy's point of view?"
"Yeah, sure."
"So, the way I look at it, you have two examples of this type of situation right in front of you," Luke started. "You have your mom, who got pregnant and told your dad, and gave him the chance to decide how involved he wanted to be with you, even if he wasn't involved with her." Luke paused a moment before murmuring, "And we all know what his decision was."
"Yes, we do."
"And then we have April's mom, who found out she was pregnant after we broke up, decided not to tell me because she thought I didn't want kids, and didn't give me that option to decide if I wanted to be involved, if I wanted to see my kid grow up." Luke took a deep breath and shook his head slightly. "And I gotta tell you, Rory… I don't think I'll ever forgive her for that. It wasn't fair."
Rory frowned sympathetically. "I know."
"I felt angry and frustrated and resentful and confused, and it was awful realizing what I'd missed out on. I just think that even if you and him aren't together, even if you don't want anything from him at all, even if you think he doesn't want to be involved and you think you're doing him some sort of favor by not telling him, he still deserves to know what's going on," Luke told her. "He deserves the chance to decide how involved he wants to be. You realize that's the right thing to do, I know you do."
Rory nodded. "I do, I get it."
Luke stared at her for a moment, noticing she still looked torn. "But…?"
"But it's different," Rory said with a sigh. "He's with someone else, he lives in London, he has a whole other life going on… I don't want to turn it upside down, especially if I don't want anything from him or need him to be involved."
"You're not turning it upside down," Luke replied.
"When you found out about April, it turned your life upside down," Rory reminded him. "You and Mom broke up, remember?"
Luke sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, I remember. But that's because it wasn't handled right. We both didn't communicate about the situation very well... I pushed her away, she kept her feelings inside... we both share the blame for how it all played out. "
"And it wasn't even like you cheated on Mom and had a kid with someone else, it was something that had happened twelve years before," Rory pointed out. "But if Logan tells his fiancée about it, she'll know he cheated, and it will turn his life upside down. There's no way around that."
Luke sighed. "Okay, yeah, I mean, it might turn it a little upside down, but that's up to him to decide. You're just giving him information and he decides what to do with it. Maybe he won't want to be involved at all… maybe his life won't change one bit, who knows? Or maybe he'll tell her and she'll understand and forgive him, and it won't be an issue. Or maybe he wants his life to be different, and this will be the motivation for him to wake up and change it. You have no idea how it might play out, but it's a conversation you should at least have with him."
Rory contemplatively stared down into her cereal bowl, pushing the cereal around with her spoon.
Luke took a sip of his juice, then cleared his throat. "I guess, the basic gist is that you were both involved in the cause, I think you should both know about the effect. I don't want him to find out in a year, or five years, or ten years, and then resent you for the rest of your life. It's just better to be honest about things up front."
Rory looked up from her bowl and nodded. "I know, I see your point, I just… I need to think about it some more, okay?"
Luke nodded understandingly. "Got it, end of discussion. I just wanted to put my thoughts on it out there, that's all. I wanted you to hear from someone who's been there."
"Thank you, it's good to have that insight," Rory said sincerely. "I appreciate it."
Luke nodded. "Sure."
"Merry Christmas," Lorelai's voice cheerfully greeted them as she walked into the kitchen with Paul Anka.
Luke was startled and he turned around to look at her. "Merry Christmas." He stood up to greet her with a kiss.
"Hey, Mom… Merry Christmas," Rory said.
"You guys been up long?" Lorelai asked.
"Not really," Rory replied. "Twenty minutes or so."
"Oh, shoot, I meant to put a pot of coffee on for you," Luke said as he walked over to the counter. "I'll do it now."
"Thanks, hon," Lorelai replied. She opened the back door to let Paul Anka into the back yard.
"I'm gonna go shower," Rory said as she stood up from the table. "What time are we going over to Grandma's?"
"Eleven," Lorelai replied.
"Okay." Rory placed her dishes in the sink, and then walked out of the kitchen.
When she was gone, Lorelai walked over to Luke at the coffee maker and lightly swatted him on the arm. "I can't believe you!" she whispered.
Surprised, Luke turned to look at her. "What?"
"I overheard the end of that conversation… really, Christmas morning?" Lorelai hissed. "You thought that would be a good topic to randomly bring up on Christmas morning?"
"It wasn't out of the blue, we were talking about her telling your mom, and then I asked if she was going to tell Logan."
"Luke, come on," Lorelai said with a sigh. "You know she's already stressed out about telling my mother. Just let her focus on one traumatic reveal at a time, okay?"
"Okay, sorry," Luke told her. "I said what I wanted to say, I gave her my perspective, I won't bring it up again."
"Thank you." Lorelai glanced back toward the doorway to make sure they were still alone, then back to Luke. "Well, so, how did she respond?"
Luke shrugged. "She seems to know what she should do, but I'm still not sure which way she's leaning."
Lorelai nodded. "Okay, well… it's up to her to decide."
"I know."
"I'm serious, you can't get into some big argument with her about this and then she hates us both and decides to move to Nantucket with my mother," Lorelai told her. "I know you have strong feelings about this particular topic, but we have to tiptoe around it."
"I get it," Luke told her firmly. "I'm not going to press it with her. And there was no arguing, it was just a friendly chat."
Lorelai sighed and let her head fall forward. "Sorry, I'm just… I'm nervous about her telling Mom today, too."
Luke pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "It'll be okay."
Lorelai lay her head against his chest as she hugged him. "My mom's gonna blame me."
"For what, Lorelai? For your daughter getting pregnant in not-ideal circumstances?" Luke asked. "You mean, like that time her daughter got pregnant in not-ideal circumstances? If she throws this in your face, you throw it right back at her. In fact, I'll throw it back at her myself if she tries to attack you for this."
Lorelai lifted her head to look at him, a small smile on her lips. "Nothing like a full-fledged family battle on Christmas morning to really get in the holiday spirit."
Luke smiled. "We'll be on the defensive only… we won't strike unless provoked." Lorelai nodded in agreement, and he kissed her. "Sit down, I'll make you some pancakes."
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A few hours later at Emily's house, presents had been exchanged, lunch had been eaten, and the girls were sitting around the dining room table finishing dessert. Luke had just excused himself to go check on Paul Anka next door, and during a lull in the conversation, Rory decided it was time to share her news with Emily.
"So, Grandma…" Rory started, and then gave Lorelai a quick look indicating she was about to do it. Lorelai placed her fork down and sat up straight in her chair as her heart started racing nervously.
"Yes, Rory?" Emily replied.
"Um, I just wanted you to know that… I'm pregnant," Rory said quickly, deciding to do it fast like ripping off a BandAid. She gritted her teeth and braced herself for Emily's reaction.
Emily looked from Rory to Lorelai, then back to Rory before she calmly replied, "I know."
Lorelai's and Rory's eyes simultaneously widened with surprise.
"You… you know?" Rory stammered. "How did you know?"
"How could you possibly have known?" Lorelai asked.
"You girls think I don't pay any attention, that just because I don't point something out, I don't see it," Emily replied. "I noticed Rory kept turning down drinks and coffee at the wedding last month, and the few times I've seen her since then, she always had an excuse as to why she didn't want a drink… I put two and two together."
"Maybe she was deciding to be sober for her health, Mom," Lorelai said. "Ever think of that?"
"Then she would've said that and not made up generic excuses," Emily replied, then looked at Rory. "I was waiting to see how long it would take you to tell me yourself. When are you due?"
"July," Rory replied.
"Does this mean you'll be settling down with that boyfriend of yours?" Emily asked. "What's his name, Paul?"
Rory's eyes widened a little. "Whoa, you know his name? No one knows his name."
"Mom's just full of surprises today," Lorelai commented.
"And, uh, no, won't be settling down with Paul," Rory told her. "We actually… broke up."
"You broke up," Emily repeated. "Does he know about the baby?"
"He does not," Rory replied, and after a pause, she hesitantly added, "Because it's not his."
There was a moment of silence in the room as the girls stared at Emily at the head of the table. She put her fork down, picked up her napkin, wiped her lips, then placed it on the table beside her plate.
"So, you were in a relationship with this man Paul for several years, broke up with him, and now you're pregnant with another man's baby?"
Rory nodded. "Pretty much."
"Berta, more wine in here, please," Emily called toward the kitchen. "Immediately."
"Mom, before you say anything, just remember that Rory is an adult," Lorelai said. "And you should treat her as an adult, and not like you're her mother and she's a pregnant teenager, which is probably the instinct that you're having right now."
Berta entered the dining room and refilled the wine glasses, then disappeared back into the kitchen.
"Grandma, I'll tell you who the father is," Rory told her. "But I need you to promise that you won't repeat the information to anyone else."
Emily looked at her with confusion. "What? What kind of request is that? Who would I tell?"
"Anyone in your social circle," Rory replied. "You can't tell any of your friends or it may get back to the father."
"My social circle?" Emily asked. "The father is in my social circle?"
"Yes. You know him."
"I know him?" Emily asked, her eyes narrowing. "Who is it?"
Rory glanced at Lorelai, and then down at her plate of pie. "Um… Logan Huntzberger."
Emily's face was blank for a moment, and then a small tinge of a smile appeared on her lips. "Well, I'll be. I had no idea you two had gotten back together. Last I'd heard, he was engaged to a French woman."
"We're not actually… together, Grandma," Rory told her. "It was… we were… we had a… it was just a…"
"It was a brief encounter," Lorelai supplied. "But they're not a couple. He's, um… back with the French woman now."
Emily's face tightened and she shook her head in disgust. "Typical Huntzberger, flocking from one woman to the next without any concern for their feelings."
"Well, Grandma, that's not - " Rory started.
"I don't think we really need to talk about all the details," Lorelai interrupted, giving Rory a look to convey that she'd given Emily enough information. "But the point is, Rory is still figuring things out and hasn't had a chance to tell him, so it's important that you don't say anything."
"Well, of course I won't say anything," Emily replied.
"Thanks, Grandma," Rory said.
"Thank you for finally telling me," Emily told her. "So, I guess this makes figuring out your living situation a little more urgent. I mean, you certainly can't continue jumping from house to house with a baby in tow. You need something permanent."
"Yeah, I know, I'll find something," Rory said.
"She'll get there, Mom," Lorelai said. "Give her time."
"Well, you know if you need any help with money, you can ask me," Emily said to Rory.
"I know, thank you," Rory said sincerely. "I'll let you know."
There was silence for a few moments as they picked at their desserts. Luke walked into the dining room and sat back down at the table next to Lorelai.
"How is he?" Lorelai asked.
"Good. He went out, I fed him, filled up his water bowl," Luke replied. "He's still wearing the Santa hat."
Lorelai smiled. "My boy loves dressing up, what can I say?"
"What'd I miss here?" Luke asked.
"A Christmas carol singalong and an assortment of reindeer games," Lorelai replied. "Oh, and Rory told Mom her big news."
Luke's eyes widened. "Really?" He glanced nervously from Lorelai to Rory to Emily. "And everything's…"
"Good, everything's good," Lorelai said.
Emily was leaning back in her chair holding her wine glass, staring straight ahead, deep in thought.
Luke leaned closer to Lorelai and whispered, "She knows about the pregnancy?"
"Yes, she knows," Lorelai whispered back.
"Why does she look so calm?" Luke whispered.
Lorelai shrugged. "I have no idea."
Luke glanced across the table at Rory and nodded toward Emily.
Rory gave a confused shrug, then asked, "Everything okay, Grandma?"
Emily snapped out of the daze she was in, set her glass down on the table, and folded her hands in her lap. "Well, I can't move to Nantucket now," she declared. "Not full time, anyway."
"What?" Lorelai asked.
"If I'm going to have a great grandchild, I'm going to need to keep a home in Connecticut for when I visit," Emily said. "I certainly can't expect you to trek out here with a baby every time I want to see it."
"So… you're not gonna sell your house now?" Rory asked her.
"No, I'll still sell the house, but I'll see if I can find something smaller nearby," Emily said. "Maybe even closer to Stars Hollow, if you think you'll be around that area."
"Oh, I don't know for sure where I'll be yet," Rory said. "But I'll let you know when I figure that out."
"All right." Emily stood up from the table. "I'll be right back. Anyone want some more pie?" Without waiting for an answer, she raised her voice and called, "Berta, more pie out here, please!"
As Emily walked out of the room, Lorelai cringed and whispered, "Closer to Stars Hollow! No buffer!"
"She's only gonna do that if I'm near there, so the baby would be your buffer," Rory told her. "Grandma's gonna be focused on that and not you."
After considering that for a moment, Lorelai relaxed and nodded in agreement. "True. She's gonna be all over you. You're the one that's gonna need the buffer."
"Gee, thanks for the comforting words," Rory said with an eyeroll.
"Any time."
. . . . .
. . . . .
Early the next day, Rory left to head back to Hartford and Luke took Paul Anka for a walk while Lorelai was in the tub. Emily had invited them to join her at the whaling museum later in the morning.
Lorelai had just gotten out of the tub when Luke and Paul Anka arrived back at the house. As Luke jumped into the shower, Lorelai started to get dressed, but then reconsidered that decision. Instead, she slipped back into her robe and got comfortable on the bed.
When she heard the shower turn off, she untied the front of the robe and pulled it open to reveal her bare body. When Luke finally wandered out of the bathroom with his towel wrapped around his waist, he stopped abruptly when he saw her.
Lorelai propped herself up on her elbow and seductively flipped her hair. "Hello," she breathily greeted him.
"Uh… hi." His eyes roamed her body and his lips curved into a smile. "What are you up to?"
"Oh, nothing," Lorelai replied with a casual shrug.
"This doesn't look like nothing."
Lorelai smoothed her hands along the mattress on either side of her. "I thought we could christen the bed, now that we have the house all to ourselves."
Luke took a few steps toward the bed. "Oh, you did, did you?"
"Mmhmm." Lorelai pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her robe and beckoned him toward her.
Luke gestured to his body. "I'm a little wet."
Lorelai smirked as she raised an eyebrow. "Well, that makes two of us."
Luke dropped the towel from around his waist and joined her on the bed. His lips met hers and his hand immediately began caressing her breasts. Lorelai threaded her fingers through his damp hair as they kissed, moaning softly against his lips as her arousal grew.
Their hands and mouths explored each other's bodies for awhile before Luke guided himself to her opening, and Lorelai let out a long moan of approval as he started moving inside of her. There were soft groans and tender kisses and shared smiles as their bodies moved together sensually. He fell into a pattern of slow, shallow thrusts, every so often surprising her with a deeper one that would make her yelp with pleasure.
As they relaxed together on the bed afterwards, Lorelai ran her hand over his chest. "I'm gonna write so many dirty limericks about that in my diary. 'There was a husband and wife in Nantucket, and the husband, he really loved to -'"
"Okay, okay," Luke quickly cut her off with a laugh. "I got it. Save it for the diary."
Lorelai smiled, and then glanced over at the clock. "We have to meet my mom soon."
"Already?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, well, you know the saying… time flies in Nantucket when you're so busy- "
"Lorelai," Luke cut her off, smiling amusedly at her. He rubbed her arm as he let out a deep sigh. "So, I guess we should go get ready, huh?"
Lorelai gave him a sympathetic frown. "You know, you don't have to go if you don't want to. I can tell her you weren't feeling well," she offered.
Luke narrowed his eyes curiously. "Do you not want me to go?"
"Of course I do, but I feel bad that you're getting roped into all this stuff because I agreed to the Nantucket visits."
"I'm actually looking forward to the museum, I think it'll be interesting," Luke said.
"Really?" Lorelai asked, surprised. "Because that's not the same opinion your sigh just had."
"That wasn't an 'I don't wanna go to the museum' sigh," Luke told her. "That was an 'I'm currently naked in bed with my wife and I don't want to leave this spot' sigh."
Lorelai smiled and nodded understandingly. "I see." She sat up next to him on the bed. "Well, listen, if Mom invites us to do something and you really don't feel like it, tell me, okay? I don't want you to be miserable this whole week."
Luke sat up next to her and rubbed her thigh. "I'm gonna be fine going out and doing things if you're there, too." He leaned in to kiss her, then added, "But if she invites me to do something alone…"
Lorelai smiled. "Then you may be getting immediate food poisoning and will be unable to leave the bed?"
"Yup."
"Got it." She patted his arm. "Okay. Let's get ready to go learn about whales."
. . . . .
. . . . .
To be continued...