Blondes Have More Fun
Chapter Seven
Genre: Drama
Starring: Shane/Lindsay
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Shane, Lindsay, Rory, Dean, Logan, Clara, Finn and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended.
Thank you for tuning into the latest episode of "Blondes Have More Fun" and congratulations to Miguel51 for correctly guessing the next character appearing in the story. In the last episode, Logan finally crossed the line with Lindsay and she threw a glass of wine in his face and called Shane to come rescue her.
Shane showed up ten minutes later and Lindsay hopped into the truck. "Okay, Shane, I will wander around the aquarium with you. I don't think I am really dressed for this though."
Shane sensed Lindsay probably wasn't that concerned about the way she was dress and that it was more likely she just wasn't in the mood to wander around the aquarium, so she just replied, "Point well made, Linds, come on we'll just go home."
They drove silently out of Mystic through Ledyard and into Norwich. Shane could see that Lindsay was upset and figured she would give her the details in due time.
The falling drizzle of rain began to mix with snow, which was almost to be expected, since it was the type of precipitation that was so common to Southeastern Connecticut during this time of year. Shane turned on the wipers and all you could hear was the purr of the engine and the clip clop of the wipers. Shane looked over at Lindsay, surprised that she had not said anything yet, Lindsay had her eyes closed and a couple of tears stained her cheeks.
Shane pulled the truck over and put her hand on Lindsay's shoulder. "Did he do anything you have not told me about, Lindsay?" Shane asked with a worried tone to her voice.
"No, but I led him on for my own personal gain and even though nothing really happened, somehow I still feel dirty."
"But Lindsay, you just admitted nothing happened because you stopped him before he could really do anything."
"You should have seen him, Shane, he was looking at me like I was trapped animal and he was the lion. I could see him undressing me with his eyes. I don't think I've even encountered anything that sleazy at Pete's. I felt like a piece of meat whenever he stared at me for more than five seconds."
Shane was thinking as she drove. She spotted Pete's up ahead, and decided to pull in. Shane figured the both of them could use a couple of stiff drinks.
The two girls walked in and Ida looked at them with mock surprise, "Boy, are you two becoming the lushes of Norwich!"
"Yeah, yeah, something like that, Ida. Two Miller Lites, please."
Ida noticed that Lindsay was very quiet and not her happy self. She also remembered that the last time she came in here after, what Ida thought was a date, she was quite angry. Something was going on.
Ida returned with the beers, placed them on the bar and asked, "Lindsay, are you having boy troubles?"
Lindsay gave a short laugh, "Not really, just image and self worth problems."
Lindsay drank about half of her beer and said, "Shane, I am going home, you can stay if you want, I'll walk."
"I don't think so, Linds, it's your truck and I need the walk, so go ahead and I will see you back at the apartment."
Lindsay took one last sip of beer and gave Shane a small hug to thank her before she went out into the misty evening.
Ida watched Lindsay depart the tavern, waited a few minutes and then asked Shane, "Okay, I don't want to hear any bullshit. What's going on with Lindsay, Shane?"
"You have all night, Ida? Basically, there is this girl in Stars Hollow who stole her husband, and to make it even weirder, the same girl stole my boyfriend. A guy came in here who was hitting on her and later on we figured out that he was this girl's boyfriend. So Lindsay planned on stealing him away from the other girl so she'd know what Lindsay had gone through when she stole her husband. She went out a few dates with him, but he only had one thing on his mind whenever they got together. Lindsay's a good girl so she wasn't about to fall for his tricks, but he is such a slime ball, that just being around him started making her feel dirty. The last time they went out he propositioned her, so she threw her wine in his face and told him to get lost. I'm sure she'll get over it, but right now I think she's giving herself a needless guilt trip about the whole episode."
"Shane, I don't even know where to start on that story."
You know, Ida, I know you will come up with something, but she does not need to be alone tonight. How about having the kitchen cook me up a pizza and I will take it home. Have them make it with extra cheese mushrooms and sausage, please."
Shane walked the two blocks home, the rain had changed to snow and was starting to accumulate. Shane entered the apartment and took off her shoes and knocked them together to clear the snow. Lindsay had changed into her pj's and a robe and was stretched out on the couch watching TV. Shane placed the pizza on the coffee table, walked to the kitchen for some napkins, and when she came back she told Lindsay to move her fat ass over since she was hungry.
Lindsay shifted on the couch and smiled at her, "You wish you had an ass like mine."
Shane made a show of peering over her back, "Nah, you wish you had one like mine," which evoked a smile from Lindsay.
Shane opened the box and gave Lindsay some napkins. Both girls belonged to the school of thought that it's a sin to eat a pizza on a plate with a knife and a fork. Their proper way of eating a pizza was to take it from the box, fold it, use a napkin to catch the juice before it ran down their arms and if they were eating pizza outdoors, no napkin was needed.
Shane and Lindsay killed the pizza and washed it down with a couple of beers each. No one ever could ever accuse them of being delicate eaters.
The next morning, Shane woke up to a winter wonderland, "Holy shit, where did this come from?" she asked out loud. She checked her cell phone and saw she had a message from school that all classes were canceled. Shane walked out to the kitchen and started the coffee and turned on the TV. The only thing she saw being broadcast on TV was about the freak fall snow storm that had crippled the northeast, and snow depths were expected to reach fourteen inches. She listened to the weather announcer explain how some freak Canadian high pressure system somehow went south and affected some sort of low pressure system, thus turning rain into snow. Shane banged on Lindsay's door and told her coffee was on, school was closed and to come on out and celebrate with her.
Lindsay left her room refreshed and feeling a lot better about herself. Shane could see the difference right away. "Hey, Linds, you look a lot better than you did last night."
"Amazing what a good pizza, beer, a good night's sleep and cancelled classes can do for one's recovery powers."
"Well, Linds, I guess since we are stuck here with all this snow, we could walk down to the bar, Lenny will find some way to open it."
"Shane, I have a four wheel drive, if we need to go anywhere it should not be a problem. Anyway they should get the roads clear sometime today."
They were watching the local news, and listening to all the reports about public transportation being stalled, along with the list of school and business closings. Then one item caught their interest and they listened intently while the news anchor announced that police had new information on the accident on state route 161. A witness had come forward and told police that the car local contractor, Dean Forester was riding in, was side swiped by a red Jaguar traveling at a high rate of speed. Forester was still in the hospital listed as serious, but stable and they noted that the impact had forced Forester's vehicle over the embankment.
"Oh wow, Lindsay, Dean made the news. Most likely because this is now a criminal investigation."
As the day wore on, Shane and Lindsay were getting restless. They nixed the idea of going to Pete's even though it was tempting. "Shane, let's go to Stars Hollow, it will be a blast driving over there in the four wheel drive through the snow."
"Linds, you're out of your mind."
"Come on, you have any better ideas than to sit around here or get drunk at Pete's?"
The trip was fairly uneventful, the truck did not have much trouble and it turned out they did not have to use the four wheel drive too often. Stars Hollow, being further from the coast, had received more snow than Norwich. This was one of the times the girls were glad they were from the unconventional town. The town that was so beautiful when it was covered in snow, that a picture post card would not do it justice. They decided to stop at Luke's for some coffee and to see what was going on.
As soon as they walked in, they heard a young voice call out, "Shane, Lindsay, over here!"
"Hey look, Linds, it's Clara with her parents." They waved and sat at the counter and ordered. For once, Luke really had nothing to flap his gums about; he just silently served up their coffee and tended to his other customers.
Shane felt something tugging on her sleeve and noticed that Clara had silently approached her. "Hi Clara," Shane responded affectionately and ruffled her hair.
"Shane, could you come to the hospital with us? We're going over in a few minutes."
"Hey Clara, no hi for me?" Lindsay asked, but she knew Clara felt funny around her.
Clara shyly said hi to Lindsay and turned her attention back to Shane. "Please come with us to see Dean."
"Go ahead, Shane, I think I want to go visit my parents and see if they have come to their senses yet. Call me when you want to get picked up."
Shane went over to where Mr. and Mrs. Forester were sitting and they assured her that they would be glad to take her over to see Dean.
Before they left, Mrs. Forester came over to Lindsay and asked to speak to her for a minute. "Lindsay, we really appreciate you coming to see Dean last week. I know there is no excuse in the world for what he did to you. I just hope you can find forgiveness in your heart. You're a beautiful, intelligent young woman. Move on from this and don't let it poison the rest of your life."
"Mrs. Forester, I won't, you and Mr. Forester were great to me. I am in the process of figuring a lot of things out and I think I'm going to be okay. Please tell Dean I said hello."
Lindsay watched them leave with Clara hanging on to Shane, talking very animatedly with her. Luke came over and asked Lindsay if she needed anything else. "Yeah give me another cup of coffee."
Luke poured the coffee and asked, "You waiting for somebody?"
Lindsay shook her head in resignation. "Luke what are you trying to imply? No, I'm not waiting for anybody, but you know what gets me? People can sit in here half a morning drinking coffee and you never say a word. Why do I get the third degree?"
"Look, Lindsay, I was just trying to make conversation, no reason to over react."
"You want conversation Luke, tell me how...Oh, forget it Luke, just please pour the coffee and give me the bill."
"Forget what? What were you going to ask me, Lindsay?"
"Nothing Luke, don't worry about it. It's all ancient history."
Lindsay left the money on the counter and walked out to her truck.
Ten minutes later, Lindsay arrived at her parents' house and finally felt like she was returning home as an adult and not the scared little girl that had been driven away by a mother who had tried to rule her with a constant barrage of guilt trips. She took a moment to glance around at her familiar surroundings and noticed that the walk and stoop were shoveled and her mother's car was in the driveway. When she rang the door bell, it felt strange ringing the bell to a house she'd grown up in. Her mother answered the door and coldly asked, "What do you want, Lindsay?"
"I would like to sit down and talk to you, Mom."
"Lindsay, I'll only talk to you if you agree you made a mistake and tell me you've decided to come back home."
"I'm only coming home for a visit. You're my mother so you owe me a conversation. What is wrong with you?"
"Very well, come in and talk if you must," Mrs. Lister said frostily. She led the way to the kitchen table where they sat. Lindsay noticed that she was not even offered a drink.
"Mom, what is your problem with me? Why are you freezing me out?"
"You left the house to go live in Norwich with that girl Shane, a girl with questionable morals. You belong here. How can you and Dean reconcile if you are living in another town, doing God knows what?"
Lindsay felt like someone hit her with a hammer, "What do you mean reconcile? I did not do anything wrong, I was a good wife. I don't want him back."
"What do you mean you don't want him back? He is your husband."
"No, Mom - he is my ex-husband, I divorced him."
"Lindsay, it isn't just about Dean. You need to be here so your father and I can protect you from people who prey on you like Shane. We kept you pure till marriage. It was perfect you married a nice boy."
"Are you for real? No, I'll tell you what you did for me with all your protection and sheltering. I was seventeen and got asked out by a very good looking boy and fell hopelessly in love with him and..."
"We know, Lindsay, we approved of Dean. Aren't you glad that we kept you away from all the boys who wanted to take advantage of you?"
"You know, Mom, I wonder how much you and Dad pressured Dean to have him ask me to marry him? You know, maybe if I had a little more experience and self confidence I would have realized that I was involved with a man on the rebound - a man who was still in love with his former girlfriend. You know if you two did not push and we had waited, maybe he would have fallen in love with me, and maybe we would still be married. Thank you very much. I realize now Dean and I never had a chance. I still think he is a decent man in spite of what he did to me."
Lindsay stood up and tried to control her voice as she continued. "Do you realize that you sent me out to the slaughter? I never had a chance, we never had a chance. That is why I had to get away from you. I needed to grow up. I needed to learn how to make my own decisions."
"Lindsay, I just don't understand what you are talking about."
"Mom, I know, and you don't want to understand it. I need to go, I'll let myself out."
Lindsay drove around town aimlessly. A content peace came over her. She finally voiced the inner nagging feelings she had. Basically, due to her naiveté, she was blinded by Dean's good looks and married a man who was in love with another woman. A sudden realization came over her that Dean wanted to get caught. What other married man would leave a letter written by his mistress where his wife would find it? She then recalled the total arrogance of Rory Gilmore writing about their affair and sending it to Dean. Lindsay laughed at the total absurdity of the whole sordid incident. She was finally free from the demons that had haunted her. She knew now it was time to move on with her life because of all the epiphanies that had come over her in a single afternoon.
She found herself by Shane's house, so she stopped to see Allison and let her know that they were in town. Another absurdity hit her, she had the house key to Shane's house but not her own.
Allison opened the door. "Boy, you look like the cat that swallowed the canary."
Shane actually was enjoying her visit to Dean. She watched how his parents made a fuss over him and was also amused by Clara's not so subtle attempts at hooking her up with her brother. Dean was still very banged up and in some pain. There was a persistent infection that worried the doctors. Shane explained to Mr. and Mrs. Forester that her and Dean were friendly throughout high school, and once got jointly dumped at the same time by Rory and Jess.
Mrs. Forester asked Shane, "You are a nice girl, why did you go out with Jess?" He was a surly, miserable individual from what she had heard.
Shane laughed, "You know, it's funny you say that, Mrs. Forester, he was the only boyfriend I ever had that my mother told me she was disappointed in me for dating. She never said a word against any other one and trust me, I dated some ding dongs."
"Shane," Mrs. Forester asked, "how come you and Dean never dated? It seems like the two of you really get along."
"Well, Dean was definitely a tempting prospect as far as guys go to date, but seems like he started dating Rory Gilmore the minute he got to Stars Hollow High and after they broke up, he started seeing Lindsay almost immediately after that, but at least he and I got to be friends because of our mutually miserable experience of being used by Jess and Rory when they dumped us so they could be together."
Dean interjected, "Has everyone forgotten I'm here and that I'm not in a coma so I can hear everything being discussed? It's a little embarrassing to hear myself being talked about like I'm this week's featured guest on the The Bachelor program."
As if on cue, Clara asked, "Shane, are you going to go out with my brother when he gets out of here?"
Shane blushed, not knowing how to answer, "We'll see, Clara."
Clara looked over at her brother, "You are going to ask her, aren't you?"
Mr. Forester piped in, "Leave it be Clara, I'm sure they will figure it out."
"Figure out what, Dad? He is my brother and Shane is my friend, they should go out on a date."
They all laughed at her logic.
The Foresters had to go and they asked Shane if she needed a lift. "Nope, Lindsay will come by and pick me up when I call her." Shane said her goodbyes and promised Clara she would take her shopping if her parents had no problem with it.
After they left, Shane called Lindsay, "I'm ready to leave, Linds, come get me, let's get a beer and then go see my mom."
Lindsay laughed, "I already saw your mom. I am out getting some stuff for her, so give me about a half hour and I will be there. A beer sounds great."
Shane sat in a chair near the bed, and turned to Dean, "How are you doing?"
"Okay, but I guess it hurts more than it did this morning. Clara can really put you on the spot, can't she?"
"It's okay, Dean, she is a great kid, I don't mind."
Shane and Dean were making small talk, and she noticed that his pain was getting worse and that that he was starting to sweat. "Dean, I am going to get a nurse." Dean grimaced and nodded his head.
Shane returned with the nurse, who inspected Dean's various wounds. She turned to Shane and said, "We need to get a doctor in here." The nurse left to find the on call doctor and Shane pulled her chair next to the bed and took Dean's good hand into her hands and reassured him everything would be all right. She spoke softly and occasionally stroked his forehead.
Lindsay was standing in the doorway watching Shane and Dean. To her amazement, it felt right. Shane was so tender toward the sick man. Lindsay was still standing in the doorway when the doctor arrived. Shane looked up and saw that Lindsay had been watching her with Dean.
The doctor examined Dean and said, "Okay, I see the problem, it is an easy fix. All I need is permission to do a small invasive procedure. He looked to Dean who was out now from the pain killers. "Nurse, can you get his parents? This is a simple fix, but it needs to be done now. "
As if in a trance, Lindsay walked over to the doctor and said, "I am his wife, I give you permission."
The room was cleared and Shane and Lindsay took a seat in the waiting area. "Lindsay, are you crazy? You're divorced from him."
"They don't know that. My driver's license still says Forester."
Fifteen minutes later, Dean's parents returned to the hospital and Lindsay informed them that the doctor had needed permission to administer an emergency medical procedure. She explained that since they weren't there to give the doctor their permission, she'd gone ahead and told the doctor she was Dean's wife to expedite the procedure in their absence.
Shane held her breath, not knowing how Dean's parents were going to react to Lindsay pretending to be Dean's wife or if they were going to get angry because she hadn't waited for them to return to give their permission on behalf of their son, but to her relief, Mrs. Forester embraced Lindsay to express her gratitude. "Thank you so much, sweetie. We truly appreciate what you did for Dean in our absence. "
After they left the hospital, Shane and Lindsay stopped off at the Log Cabin Pub. Their two pool shooting buddies were not around. Shane was making small talk with Rose and Lindsay was just sitting there quietly smiling. Lindsay tapped Shane on the shoulder and said, "I called your mom and told her we stopped off here and she said it was no problem, but I think I have dinner in the truck."
"Don't worry, Mom is cool, she will figure something out or just make me cook it when I get home".
"Shane, I need to talk to you about something," Lindsay announced, suddenly growing serious.
"I think I know what this is about. Lindsay you're my best friend. I am not going to date Dean."
"Shane, I saw how you were with him. I watched you for a while. You like him, and you care about him. If you want to go out with him, you have my blessing. I will always want to see you happy."
Shane looked at Lindsay, and quietly said, "Thank you, I'll see how it goes. Anyway, Linds, we have a catering date this Saturday, so let's talk about that."
Late Saturday afternoon, Shane and Lindsay arrived at Yale, parked the truck and walked around back as instructed and looked for the delivery entrance. "You know Linds, I hate it every time I have to go through the back door. Must be my Irish heritage, you know keep a chip on my shoulder."
"Come on, Shane, we're here to make some money, not a political statement." They walked in and saw about 20 other people milling around, and an older, tall gaunt man running frantically trying to get order amidst the chaos.
"That must be Lenny's friend, he looks exactly like Lenny described him."
"He sure does, Linds, and he acts just as nutty as Ida described him. Let's go see what he wants us to do."
Finally he got everyone's attention, and started reading off names he had on a list. "I see we are all here, my name is Ralph Moore, Ralph will work just fine. Okay, the uniforms will be black slacks or skirt with white shirt and a black bow tie. I know some of you are already dressed that way, so you people don't worry about the uniforms, the rest of you go to the table at the back of the room and select what you need. When you're changed, come back here."
After fifteen minutes, everyone was in the proper attire. "Okay, this is how we are going to do this. You have the main bar, two satellite bars and one in the VIP room. Those of you who are going to wait the tables, half of you will circulate with finger foods and the other half will be responsible for drinks. The bartenders, of course, make the drinks."
Ralph spotted Marty and said, "Okay, Marty, you have been doing this for a while, so I will give you the VIP room. Any preference for a wait person?"
Marty shrugged his shoulders and said, "Makes no difference to me."
Ralph looked around and his eyes settled on Lindsay. "Hey, aren't you one of the girls Lenny recommended?"
"How did you know?"
"Easy, he calls you and your partner Mutt and Jeff, he told me to look out for a short blonde and a tall blonde with great legs, so it must be you. You go with Marty to the VIP room and you…" he said, pointing to Shane, "will be the head bartender at the main bar, Lenny spoke very highly of you."
Shane and Lindsay bumped fists, "See you after the party, Linds."
Marty walked over to Lindsay and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Marty, and what is your name?"
Lindsay stuck out her hand for a shake and said, "Lindsay."
"Okay, Lindsay, let's go to the VIP room and get this thing set up."
Marty showed Lindsay exactly how he wanted it set up. Lindsay liked his firm, no nonsense manner of direction. If she did not know how to do something, he was patient with her and showed her how to do it in a nice way without acting overbearing or condescending.
"Lindsay, I can see your a great waitress, I have done these things for over five years here and I know what is going to happen."
"No problem, Marty, I can see what you are doing will make this more efficient. So where do you work as a bartender?"
Marty laughed, "I am not really a bartender, but it is how I am putting myself through college."
"Oh, cool where do you go, Marty?"
"Here at Yale, I'm a graduate student."
Lindsay looked at him, shocked, "You go to Yale and you tend bar?"
"I have to pay the bills somehow; I don't have a rich family. I received a partial scholarship and the rest I have to earn."
"So, are you going to bar tend for some of your classmates?
"Yes, I have to, sometimes I feel like doing something horrible to their drinks. Especially the idiots in the so called Life and Death Brigade."
"What is that, Marty"? Lindsay was racking her brain, thinking she had heard the term somewhere before.
"A bunch of rich morons that should be removed from the human gene pool. So where do you work, Lindsay?"
At a local tavern called Pete's in Norwich, plus I go to school there at Three Rivers Community College."
"So you're a Norwich girl?
Lindsay smiled, "Not really, both my friend and I are from Stars Hollow."
Marty stiffened. "Stars Hollow? I know someone from Stars Hollow."
"You do? Then I should know the person. The place isn't that big. Is this person a friend of yours?
"'I don't know what category I could put her under. It's a long story."
Lindsay wondered if it could be Rory, since she went to Yale also, Marty did not seem like he wanted to continue that conversation, so Lindsay dropped it.
Everything was set up and they were waiting the start of the event. "Marty, I am going to go see my friend Shane for a few minutes, I will be right back."
Marty waved his hand, "Take your time."
Lindsay walked over to Shane, who was in conversation with Ralph and he spotted her coming over. "So now I have both halves of the dynamic duo together. Sorry I split you two up."
"No problem, Ralph, I know you have to spread our hotness around."
Ralph chuckled, "That is one way of putting it, Shane. I'll talk to you later."
"So Linds, who is the cute guy Ralph stuck you off in a private room with?"
"He's a nice guy Shane. His name is Marty. Believe it or not, he is a grad student here at Yale."
"You're kidding, Linds, and he works as a bar tender?"
"No I am not, and he knows someone from Stars Hollow, but he did not seem to want to talk about it."
"Linds, I would assume it would be Rory as she goes to school here."
"I would also, but I did not want to push him, by the way he is a cutie. I kind of like how he does things."
Shane gave Lindsay the look. "You know, this is the first time I have ever heard you use the word 'cutie' in a sentence to describe the way a guy looks, are you interested in him?"
"Shane, give me a break, anyway the place is starting to fill up," she remarked to avoid answering Shane's question. "I'll see you after the event."
Shane watched Lindsay walk away through the rapidly filling room. A "cutie" she said out loud, reflecting on Lindsay's assessment of Marty's looks. I wonder where this might lead to? Shane thought with hopeful curiosity. She was happy to see that Lindsay was coming out of her shell and realized that she had finally stopped blaming herself for the collapse of her marriage. Shane turned to Ralph, who had returned, and said, "Ralph, some guy is going to get his world rocked soon."
Ralph gave Shane a puzzled look, "What do you mean, Shane?"
"I think Lindsay might like a certain bartender here," she replied, smiling brightly."
"Well, the guy she is paired up with has no girlfriend, but he has been walking around pining for this one girl for years."
That's a shame Ralph. Did the girl know it?"
"Yeah, she knew it, I can't say she used him, but she should have done something about it. It was like she enjoyed stringing him along. Basically, Marty was used as a filler when her idiot boyfriend was off on one of his inane wanderings. What got me was that the group she hung out with would make fun of Marty. They made sure he knew his place in life. They were born to wealth. It was incredible the way they talked down to him."
"Will they be here tonight? I'd like to see who they are."
"I think so, one of the groups coming tonight are students from Australia, so I know at least one of them is invited to this function. You know, I cater too many of these events. I know just about who is going to show up and what they are like. It is amazing what alcohol will bring out in people's personalities. Time for us to get back to work, Shane," Ralph said abruptly, then walked off.
Lindsay could see that Marty was one hell of a bartender. No wasted motion, never at a loss for words. She really liked his dry sense of humor. Marty started calling her Daddy Long Legs, which he shortened to "Legs." Every time she came back to the bar to place an order, he had something funny to say to her. He would point to some guy and say, "Legs, you really should have heard what he said about you."
At first Lindsay fell into the trap, then she realized that Marty was making things up. It was hilarious. Lindsay was having fun, one time she laughed so loudly, people turned to see where the noise came from. Lindsay also noticed that he was tall enough so she could wear heels when they went out. Then the thought hit her, Why did I even think that? Lindsay then realized that she was starting to fall for Marty and wanted to see him again.
Lindsay was returning to the bar when she almost dropped her tray. Standing at the bar in a conversation with Marty was Rory Gilmore. Lindsay also recognized the man she assumed Rory was with as the guy who hung out with Logan and remembered his name was Finn. She couldn't help notice that he also had a bad bruise on his cheek. This sucks, she thought when she spotted them together, wishing she could escape. "Marty, I need three beers and one Scotch on the rocks," Lindsay said quickly, trying to ignore Rory and Finn for as long as she could.
Rory and Finn turned and looked at her and Marty, not knowing any better, introduced them to each other, "Rory, meet my partner in crime. This is Lindsay, also known as Legs."
Marty expected a handshake or 'hi, how are you,' but what he saw instead were two pissed off females glaring at each other. Finn, on the other hand was very happy to see Lindsay. "Lindsay, why are you here?" Then he blurted out, "Don't you have a hug for me?"
Lindsay looked over at Finn, "Get over yourself, not happening."
Marty was now totally confused. Lindsay's voice snapped him back to reality, "The order, Marty."
Marty filled the order and Lindsay walked off.
"How do you two know her?" Marty asked.
Then Rory turned to Finn, "How do you know her?"
"Rory, she is just some waitress that works in a bar in Norwich that we stop at."
Rory's eyes narrowed, "What are you guys doing in Norwich?"
"There's a drinking hole there that we stop at sometimes on our way home from Foxwood Casino. It's a quaint little pub called Pete's Tavern. We like to go there to break up the long ride home and also to check out the foxy sheilas they have working there."Finn turned to Marty and asked, "So you fancy Lindsay, do you mate?" Without waiting for an answer from Marty, he continued on, "Don't bother, she is out of your league. Besides, I am thinking about asking her out myself. I need a little diversion."
"Finn, you're an asshole. Why do you even associate with him?" Marty asked Rory incredulously. "And how do you know Lindsay, Rory?"
"Watch your mouth, Marty or I will have your job."
"Be quiet, Finn," Rory ordered, "let me talk to Marty."
Rory sighed, "Marty, Lindsay is from Stars Hollow. We are not friends, besides I think she was after my Logan."
Lindsay returned to the bar. She sensed some sort of conflict happened in her absence.
Rory turned to her. "Lindsay, may I speak to you for a moment?"
As the two girls walked away, Finn turned to Marty and said, "I am definitely going to nail your waitress, you ought to see her in a short dress."
"Finn, you are the most obnoxious individual to ever set foot on this planet. I take that back, your buddy Logan is."
"Hey mate, don't run him down when he is not here to defend himself. By the way, he gave Rory his fraternity pin last week, so we'll probably be hearing wedding bells before you know it. "
That news startled Marty. He shook his head. He could never understand it. The Rory he had a crush on for years was mostly a kind, sweet considerate individual. She, however, did think she was the center of the universe, and it seemed that Logan brought out the worst in her. He could never understand the attraction she had for that bastard. His unrequited feelings for her had mostly abated, but Marty still felt a friendly affection for Rory.
Lindsay and Rory stepped out onto a terrace off the private room. It was cold and there were brief flurries of snow driven by the chilly wind.
"Lindsay, I want to apologize for calling you a slut, that was uncalled for, but I was so mad at you for flirting with Logan."
Lindsay was amazed, "Rory, you're mad at me for flirting with Logan, and you slept with my husband and broke up my marriage and you're mad at me for flirting, are you for real?"
"You never should have married him Lindsay, he was my Dean."
"Your Dean?" Lindsay said loudly, "then why are you here and not with him at the hospital?"
"Because Logan pinned me and I'm waiting for our relationship to go to the next level, if you know what I mean."
Lindsay started to realize that Rory was so spoiled that she had a total disconnect with reality.
Rory let me ask you a question. "Let's say Dean gets married again, is he still your Dean?
Rory looked confused." Look, Lindsay, I came out here to apologize to you for what I said, also could you pass it on to Shane when you see her."
"Rory, you're a trip. You know..." Lindsay stopped herself abruptly, she was about to tell Rory about Logan and realized it was not the time or place and that there was probably no need to, since Operation Princess Downsize had already been scrubbed in her mind, and just said, "I am freezing and I need to get back to work." Then she turned and went back into the VIP room immediately and noticed the room was full of thirsty students, who were already barraging Marty at the bar even though she'd only been gone for five minutes.
The rest of the evening went smoothly, but Marty was now quiet, and the funny quips were gone.
The event ended and they turned to the task of cleaning the rooms up. Ralph came by and checked to see if everything was okay, and if everyone wanted to grab a beer when they were done to relax.
Marty grabbed two beers and pointed to a table and told Lindsay, "Let's have a beer relax and split up the tips."
"Marty, I did not realize you knew Rory Gilmore."
Marty took a long sip of his beer before he answered Lindsay. "I did not realize you knew her either, what a small world. By the way, I sensed tension between you two. What gives?"
Lindsay liked Marty and did not want to scare him away with her tale of woe. She knew it was not worth getting into it with Marty and decided to switch the tables on him instead. "Well, it might have looked like there was some tension, but there's really nothing to tell. I did sense that you had a thing for her or did at one time. Your whole personality changed when she came to the bar."
Marty turned red. "Is it that obvious? You're right, but I am over it. I like her as a friend now, but at one time she sent me a lot of mixed signals that I misread. I don't know, I thought I was going to be with her. You know, she is a sweet girl, I cannot understand why she is with Logan and his bunch of idiots, they bring out the worst in her. I think Logan is going to destroy that fairy tale life she lives in."
"Marty, you are over her, right?"
"Yeah, I am. Lindsay, let's go see Ralph and get our pay. I am over this place."
They walked to the main entrance and Lindsay spotted Shane. "Excuse me, Marty, that is my friend Shane, I'll see you in a minute."
"Hey, Linds, I was wondering what you two were doing back there. We're the last ones left."
"Shane, Rory Gilmore was here tonight. She was with that Finn asshole that comes into Pete's."
"I thought I saw her."
"Oh, by the way, she apologized to me for calling us sluts."
Shane looked up in amazement. "You're kidding?"
"No, and there is a lot more. I will fill you in on the ride to Stars Hollow."
"Well, did the cutie ask you out?"
Lindsay shrugged, "No he did not, but you know he did or still does have a crush on Gilmore."
"You're not serious, are you? You know that is a shame. He did have real big hands."
Lindsay turned scarlet, "Oh my God Shane, where do you come up this stuff?"
Shane was laughing "Let's get out of here."
They found Ralph, got their pay and thanked him for the job.
"Shane, I'd like to use you and Lindsay again, you guys were a big help and Lenny was right about you two."
On the ride back to Stars hollow, Lindsay told Shane about her encounter with Rory and Finn.
"You know, Linds, Rory does have a disconnect from reality. Her dingbat mother and her grandparents have on this pinnacle. Her whole life she has been told she's special. You know she refers to her men as 'my Logan,' and she still calls Dean, 'my Dean.' She even told me I never should have married Dean, because he still belonged to her."
"'My Dean', my ass. If she comes near him, I will kick her ass."
"Are we getting a bit possessive, Shane?"
"Linds, just pay attention to your driving."
They turned down Maple Terrace to Shane's house. It was quiet, but the lights were on. Allison heard them pull up and greeted them at the door. "So how did it go?"
"Pretty good, Mom, they told us that they would like to use us again, and guess what? Rory Gilmore was there."
"Well, she does go to Yale or did go to Yale, I am not sure what her status is. There is left over meat loaf and mashed potatoes in the fridge, help yourself. Don't drink all the beer, your father is coming home tomorrow. See you two in the morning.
On Sunday afternoon…
"Let's go Linds, time to go to work."
Lindsay walked out of her room and stretched, "You know the money was good, but I did miss my Saturday off."
"You're just still bummed out that you were not asked out by Marty."
Lindsay walked over to Shane and put her hands on her shoulders and looked down at her. "Shane what is the matter with me? I was sure he was going to ask me out. His whole demeanor changed after Gilmore showed up."
"Look, Linds, if it was meant to be it will happen.
Pete's was jumping when the girls got there to start their shift. The New York Jets were playing the New England Patriots. You could hardly hear yourself think. The crowd was evenly divided between the two teams. Shane got behind the bar and promptly tended to three harried waitresses. Lindsay had a short conversation with Tiffany and they divided up the tables, which were all full. Lindsay was slightly baffled at how efficiently she and Tiffany worked together, considering they really did not get along very well under any other circumstances.
Shane looked at the clock, it was eight thirty and the crowd was still going strong. Usually it thinned out by now. It didn't appear they were going to get out of here early tonight. Shane swore every time she looked at Lenny she could see dollar signs in eyes. Shane noticed a guy at the corner of the bar standing in the last six inches of available space. She went down to get his order. He looked familiar. It was that Marty guy that Lindsay worked with. She spotted Tiffany and waved her over. "Ask Lindsay to come over and see me please."
A few moments later Lindsay appeared, "What's up?"
Shane pointed to the corner of the bar, "See the guy standing there with his back to the bar, go say 'hi' to him."
"Why?"
"Just do it, Linds."
Lindsay shrugged her shoulders and walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.
Marty turned and grinned at her, "You finally realized I was here."
Lindsay felt a little jolt of pleasure. "What are you doing here, Marty?"
"I forgot to ask you something. I wanted your phone number."
Lindsay was smiling. Then Marty added, "We worked so well together, I figured I would call you the next time I had a catering job."
Lindsay's mouth dropped open, "You want my number for work?"
"Yeah, like I said, we worked well together."
Lindsay shook her head and walked off without a word. I must have the word 'loser' tattooed to my forehead, she thought unhappily.
The crowd was thinning out and Lindsay noticed that Marty was still at the bar. She shook her head, disbelievingly. "Hey, Tiff let's divide up the tips and we can go back to disliking each other," Lindsay quipped sarcastically because Marty's clueless business proposal had launched her into a very foul mood.
Tiffany looked at her strangely and simply replied, "Whatever," unable to think of a more clever comeback for Lindsay because she was usually the one that dished out the sarcastic remarks at the bar and she wasn't used to being the one being blindsided by them.
Marty took advantage of the quiet and beckoned Shane over. "Hey, you were at the Yale thing Saturday with Lindsay?"
"Yes and you're Marty, aren't you?"
"Yep, I asked Lindsay for her phone number so I could call her to work some more events with me. She just walked away from me, though. I thought we got along well the other night."
"You wanted her number for work?"
"Yes, I just said that."
"You're an idiot."
Marty's jaw dropped, "An idiot? Why am I an idiot?"
"You really don't know, do you?"
"Know what? I made a perfectly reasonable request, and now I'm an idiot?"
Lenny came over and joined the conversation. "Yes, you are an idiot."
Marty stood up, "Would someone please tell me why I'm an idiot?"
Lenny shook his head, "Look dude, Lindsay expected you to ask her out on a date, not an offer of employment."
Now it was Marty's turn to be amazed. "No, you're the idiots. She belongs on the cover of Vogue. If I couldn't get a girl like Rory Gilmore to like me, how would I ever expect someone like Lindsay to go out with me?"
"Marty, you are so unbelievably blind that you're gonna force me to play cupid because you haven't got the sense to realize Lindsay is crazy about you. What are you, a man or a little boy?" Lenny groused. "Lindsay… come over here," he ordered.
Lindsay walked over, "What do you need, Lenny?"
"Okay dude, ask her," Lenny demanded.
"Lindsay, err…umm…I don't know how to say this and I don't blame you if you get mad, but they all seem to think you want me to ask you out. Look I don't want to put you on the spot..."
"Marty, do you want to ask me out or do you just enjoy working with me?" Lindsay asked expectantly.
"Well, both, I had a blast working with you, but I never dreamed someone like you would even considering dating me. So..uh..would you like to go out sometime?" he asked nervously, still convinced Finn was right, that Lindsay was way out of his league.
Lindsay walked over to Marty and took his face in her hands and kissed him, saying, "There's your answer. I'm not big on 'someday' or 'sometime,' by the way, so please let me know when you want to go out before you leave."
"I've never been a big one for uncertainty, either, Lindsay," Marty replied frankly. "I'd love to take you to dinner this week, but I don't know your work schedule. You name the night and the place you'd like to eat at and I'll be more than happy to go when and wherever you want to go to."
"Well…there's a cute little place to eat here in town I like, called the Old Tymes Restaurant and I'm not working on Tuesday night," Lindsay replied, purposely choosing this restaurant because the food was not only good, but their prices were very reasonable. She knew Marty was on a tight budget and she also wanted a completely opposite experience from the one she'd just had with Logan. All that expensive wining and dining had just soured her stomach because Logan's slimy motives of spending lots of money on her just to try and get her in the sack had made her sick and all the American Express gold cards in the world couldn't erase that.
"Okay, Old Tymes Restaurant on Tuesday it is. I can pick you up here or at your apartment at 7:00," Marty replied.
"You can pick me up here, that's fine," Lindsay replied. She liked Marty a lot, but she still wanted to get to know him better before she let him know where she lived. "Well, I need to start cleaning up; I'll come back and join you at the bar when I'm through."
Marty sat back down, wearing a silly grin on his face. Lenny poured him a shot of bourbon. "It's on me, you need it."
When Lindsay finished her cleaning tasks, she joined Marty and was quietly talking to him at the bar. Lenny changed the channel on the TV to the eleven clock news and Shane turned to watch it. There was the usual brief rundown of the national news and then the endless weather. They broke away from the newscast for a station break and showed the mandatory commercial for buying cars and yet another one of those irritating commercials for the GEICO cavemen. After the announcement said, "So Easy a Caveman Can Do It," the news commentator returned and informed viewers, "We have some breaking news," he said, pausing purposely to draw more attention to himself. "An arrest has been made in the hit and run accident that seriously injured local contractor Dean Forester. Logan Huntzburger, the heir to a publishing empire which includes three newspapers in Connecticut, has been arrested. The red Jaguar involved in the accident is registered to him. The car was taken to a body shop and the owner of the shop recognized the car from the description given by the police. Huntzburger was taken into custody and was released on one hundred thousand dollars bail."
Shane walked over to Lindsay, "You hear that? Logan got himself busted."
Marty turned to Shane and said, "I just don't see what Rory sees in that jerk."
"There's no telling," Lindsay answered for Shane and then excused herself to go to the ladies room to digest this latest bombshell in the hit and run saga. Something didn't quite seem right about this, especially since Logan had always squired her around in a black Porsche and not a red Jag, but she reasoned that maybe with his family's wealth that it was conceivable he very well might have two very expensive cars.
Shane took advantage of Lindsay's absence and corned Marty to make sure he wasn't still harboring feelings for Rory, "I am going to ask you this once and you better tell me the truth. Are you sure you're over Gilmore?"
"Yes I am. Why?"
"Marty, do you know what your 'sweet' little friend Rory did to Lindsay?"
Marty was getting confused and a little nervous, "Uh...no, I'm not quite sure that I do."
"Marty, Lindsay was married to Rory's ex-boyfriend, Dean Forester, and when Rory got dumped by my ex-boyfriend, Jess, who she stole away from me, she decided she wanted Dean back and slept with him and broke up Lindsay's marriage. I know Rory well enough to know she's going to be rooting around, trying to dig up one of her old boyfriends if Logan goes away to the clink and I need to know you aren't going to be sucked in again by her inexplicable charms. Lindsay is just starting to recover from what happened to her and if you decide to stab her in the back to be with Rory, she will absolutely be devastated and then I will absolutely destroy you. "
"Why wouldn't she just try to get Dean back again if that's her pattern?"
"Oh, trust me…she's definitely not going to make that mistake again," Shane replied confidently, recalling the incident at the hospital and knowing if there was even the remotest possibility that her and Dean were going out that there was no way Rory was going to succeed in stealing another boyfriend from her.
"Look, Shane, I like Lindsay. I am not going to say we are going to live happily ever after, we may fizzle out after one date, but it would not be on account of Rory Gilmore. I still can't believe Lindsay wants to go out with me."
"That's fair enough, Marty," Shane replied, satisfied that he was being sincere about his intentions.
To be continued...
