Chapter 4 – June 3rd, 2005: Welcome to the Heartbreak Hotel

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Their first day in New York turned out pretty similar to their first day in Martha's Vineyard. Luke was cranky and complained about everything, from the smell of the streets, to the concierge at the hotel. He thought the towels were too scratchy, and the surroundings too noisy. Lorelai started to get worried that things might not go as well as she hoped, but she tried to keep her spirits up.

The morning of June 3rd dawned bright and sunny. Lorelai excitedly got up – it was time for her big surprise. She called the city hall the day before and scheduled a 4 pm wedding for one Luke Danes and one Lorelai Gilmore. She wanted to see his reaction when she told him the big news.

She looked around. Where was he? He wasn't in their bed, and he wasn't at the bathroom either. It took her a second to realize that Luke was nowhere in their hotel room at all. She put on a robe and opened the door to see if he was at the hallway.

He was on his cell phone, talking to someone. He nodded to Lorelai and gestured to the door, subtly asking her to go back to their room. She did, with a sinking heart.

He came in after a few minutes, shifting uncomfortably. "Listen, Lorelai, I need to go."

Lorelai was taken aback. "Why?"

"I have to go to Woodbridge. Seems like a pipe burst in Anna's house, and she needs some help."

Lorelai was quiet for a moment. "Can't she call a plumber?"

"Why should she get someone to do it when I can do it myself for free?"

"But we're in New York… It would take hours. Won't it be better to get someone now?"

"It's still early. Traffic won't be too bad. I can be there in no time."

Lorelai was silent for a moment. "Can I… Can I come with you?" she asked in a small voice.

Luke appeared shocked at the suggestion. "What? Oh, no, no… That would be… I mean April would be there… Uh, I'll just drive you back to Stars Hollow first."

Lorelai turned away. "Never mind, Luke. I understand." She paused for a few minutes, trying to keep her voice even. "You, uh, you go ahead. I think I'll stay here for another day."

"What? Alone?"

"I'll call Rory. I'm sure she'll come. I mean, I already paid for one more night in this hotel room anyway, so I might as well use it. It would give me and Rory time to catch up and do some shopping too."

Luke felt strangely relieved. "You sure?"

"Yeah. Drive safe," she said without another glance at him, walking to the bathroom and locking the door. "I'll pack our things. Don't worry about it. Just go."

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After Luke left, she didn't call Rory right away. Rory would never tell her I told you so, but she would feel the shame all the same. I should have listened to Rory, she thought sadly. This was such a bad idea.

She started raiding the hotel's mini bar and drank all the alcohol she could find. There wasn't much, so she went out and bought a bottle of tequila. She hadn't had a proper breakfast yet except for one pop tart, so she got drunk fairly quickly. She didn't even remember drunk dialing Rory around 11 in the morning to tell her the wedding was not happening.

Rory, who was on standby that day, rushed to drive all the way from Yale to New York to take care of her mom. When she knocked at the hotel door, a voice slurred out, "Who is it?"

"Mom? It's me. Open up."

Rory heard the sound of someone getting up slowly and walking to the door. Suddenly, she heard a crash. "Mom? Are you okay?"

She heard some muttered curses. "Yes, sorry hon. Give me a sec, will you?"

After several minutes, the door opened. Rory was stunned at the sight of her mom wearing the blush-colored wedding dress she bought a few months ago. She was holding a bottle of tequila with one hand and holding up the other hand nonchalantly, watching trickles of blood flowing through her fingers.

"What happened, Mom? Are you okay?" she asked in panic.

Lorelai waved her bleeding hand erratically over her head. "Everything's fine, sweetie. I'm fine. Luke's fine. April's fine. Anna's fine. Everything is fine except for Anna's stupid, freaking pipes."

"Pipes?" Rory asked, fully confused.

"Stupid, freaking pipes." She muttered to herself.

"Mom, you're not making any sense. Where's Luke?"

"Mr. Fix-It had to go to Woodbridge to fix some pipe for Anna."

"And he left you like this?"

"No, of course not. When he left, I was still my sleepy yet dazzling self."

"And what time did you start drinking?"

"Right after he left. Thought it would be fun," she grinned. "Hey! What are you doing here Rory? The wedding's not happening, sorry you had to go all the way here to find out."

"Mom, you called me," she reminded Lorelai.

"I did not!"

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"Did too," Rory answered. "Anyway, what happened to your hand?"

"Your knock surprised me, I dropped something. I tried to pick it up but I guess I cut my hand. No biggie," she said nonchalantly.

"Let me look at it."

Lorelai walked closer and Rory got a sniff of the alcohol in her mom's breath. "There should be a first aid kit in this room, right?"

"At the bathroom, sweetie," Lorelai said, collapsing on the bed.

"Okay, I'm gonna clean up your hand and put a bandage on. It's a small cut, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Sure," Lorelai slurred out, about to pass out.

Rory grabbed a bottle of water and some aspirin. "Here mom, take this first before you sleep."

Lorelai was about to protest that she wasn't drunk, but didn't have energy to fight. She took the aspirin and gulped some water.

"So you want to talk about it, Mom?"

"Not really," she replied. "Hey, can you help me take off this stupid dress? I want to go to sleep."

Rory helped unzip the dress. "This really is a beautiful dress, Mom. Should I pack it for you?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I don't… I don't really want to see it again. This is it, sweets. I don't think it's gonna happen. I think I'll just donate this to Goodwill or something. What do you think?"

"What's not gonna happen?"

"The wedding. Me and Luke. Looks like it's gonna be over."

"Did he say that?"

"Not in so many words, but he's more of an action guy anyway. He always says he lets his actions speak."

"Maybe you should still keep this dress, Mom," Rory argued. "It's really pretty. And it looks good on you."

"Yeah, but if I'm never getting married anyway, there's no use holding on to it." Lorelai plopped down unceremoniously on the bed, wearing a tank top and shorts. "Anyway, just forget it, hon. I don't need to be married to be happy, you know. As long as I have you, I'm good."

Rory looked at her mother with pity in her eyes. She was obviously trying to convince someone that she was okay. Whether she was trying to convince her daughter or herself, Rory wasn't sure. She stroked her mother's forehead. "Shhh Mom, just go to sleep. When you wake up, I'll take you shopping."

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Luke knocked. When Anna opened the door, she had a slightly amused expression on her face. "Traffic in the Hollow, Luke?" she asked, with a smile.

Luke looked at his watch. "Hey, I didn't take that long."

"I was just kidding."

"Sorry for the wait, though," he said, walking into the house. "I actually came from New York."

"New York?" Anna said, surprised. "I had no idea you were out of town! Why didn't you tell me? I could have gotten a plumber from around here."

"That's not necessary," Luke replied. "So where's the pipe?"

"This way," Anna gestured towards the laundry area. Luke followed her with the toolbox in his hand. Thank goodness it was in his truck that day, saving him a trip back to Stars Hollow to get it. He crouched down to inspect the pipe – there was a leak, and it was dripping all over the floor, but it wasn't as serious as he thought. He began to wonder if he made the right decision in coming out here and leaving Lorelai alone in New York after all.

"So what were you doing in New York?" Anna asked conversationally.

"I, uh, I was with Lorelai."

Anna was surprised. "You left her there? By herself? She must be pissed."

"No, she was very understanding. She said her daughter will drop by so she won't be alone anyway."

"How old is her daughter by the way? Should the girl even be travelling by herself?"

"Oh, she's in Yale. She's twenty-one. I'm sure April told you about her."

"Yeah, but it doesn't seem to make sense. How old was your girlfriend when she had her daughter?"

Luke was uncomfortable, but he had to answer. "Sixteen." He never even bothered to correct the term girlfriend to remind Anna that Lorelai was not just a girlfriend, but his fiancée. He was trying hard to keep in Anna's good graces so he could see April as often as he wanted.

"Sixteen, huh? And how old is your daughter now, Luke?"

"What the hell are you asking me for?" Luke said, annoyed. "We both know April's thirteen."

"This is just another reason why I don't want April spending time with your girlfriend," she said evenly. "What if Lorelai tells her how good her life is even though she got pregnant at sixteen?"

"That's not gonna happen."

"What if April asks Lorelai if she regrets having her daughter at such a young age. What would Lorelai say?"

Luke remembered Lorelai's talk at Stars Hollow High when she was ambushed by all the questions from the students. Of course, she never regretted having Rory. She regretted having her so young, but Rory was her life. He didn't know what to say and gave Anna a dirty look.

"And what if April decides in three years, hey, I can go get pregnant and things won't be so bad. Look at Lorelai!"

"April isn't stupid, Anna."

"So you're saying Lorelai was stupid for getting pregnant at sixteen?"

Luke got angry. "I did not say that." He felt like he should say more, maybe tell her how Lorelai was a great mom, how she sacrificed everything for her daughter, how selfless and kind she was, how she built a life for herself and Rory despite her young age. But he didn't know what to say and kept silent.

Anna waited for him to defend his girlfriend but when he didn't, she smirked. "Anyway, thanks for helping out Luke. I'll get you a cup of tea and call April to keep you company."

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Luke was done with the repair in less than an hour. He wondered if he should go back to the hotel to surprise Lorelai, but to be honest, Anna's comments about Lorelai's teen pregnancy shook him. As her friend and her fiancé, it never bothered him that she got pregnant at sixteen. She made a mistake. Everybody does. She did well for herself and never let it define her. But as a father of a teenage girl himself – he had to wonder if she might become a bad influence to April, as Anna suggested.

Somehow in all his thoughts, he conveniently forgot that Anna wasn't such a great role model for April either. He forgot how angry he was that she never even told him – the ex-boyfriend, not just some random one-night stand, and the father, the father! of her baby – that she was pregnant. She raised April alone, telling her that she had a deadbeat father who never wanted her.

In Luke's confusion, he decided to head back to the diner. Lane and Cesar was surprised to see him back, but he made some incoherent excuse and went up to his apartment and got a beer.

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