Chapter 10 Reconciliation and wedding
The nearby mountains cast shadows on the ground of the inn. Lorelai, who had gone back to the room and gotten fresh coffee, stood on the terrace, watching the forest being overtaken by the night.
The breeze carried the scent of his aftershave to her long before she was enveloped from behind by his warm arms; his body pressed comfortingly against her back.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself."
"Did you know your daughter is kinda smart?"
She smiled. "Well everybody except for one deranged publishing billionaire thinks so."
Luke squeezed her tighter. "Even billionaires can be stupid. Hey, do you know how to get a billion dollars?"
"Start with two billion?" she giggled.
Luke sighed. "I will never outsmart you, will I?" He rocked her back and forth, enjoying the softness and scent of her hair.
"Is that such a bad thing?"
"Nah, not really. As long as it doesn't affect my reputation, you can have all the brains in this family. You and Rory, that is."
Lorelai reached one arm up to caress Luke's cheek. "So how did my brilliant progeny amaze you now?"
He kissed her palm sweetly, feathering his lips across her hand. "She reminded me of something that you have that Rachel never had."
"A loud mouth, coffee addiction, and quite possibly ADHD?"
He chuckled.
"The ability to identify eight different hues of white tablecloths? To dance backwards in five inch heels? To eat four Thanksgiving dinners in one day?"
He rolled his eyes.
"I can go on forever, you know. We haven't even started on the names I've given to your possessions and, um, certain aspects of your body."
"OK, OK! I give!" He suddenly let go of her, opening his arms in a sign of defeat. Sighing, he walked over to one of the planters and pulled out a weed.
"Here," he said confidently, placing the plant in her hand.
"I've got a plant? Rachel never had a plant?" Puzzled, she decided to make the best of it and grinned, waving the weed under Luke's nose, who quickly swatted it away.
"Look Luke! I've got a plant! I bet Rachel never had one of those!"
"Lorelai," he growled. Both words and actions were failing him now.
Happy that he'd been warmed up to growling stage, Lorelai knew that he'd push to make his point, so she stood there smirking, watching him build a full head of steam.
"Roots, Lorelai, roots! You've got roots!" he burst out.
Batting her eyes innocently, she patted the part in her hair. "Luke. You're never supposed to tell a girl you can see her gray roots."
"What are you talking about?"
She grabbed him and hugged him hard. "Just kidding, sweetie. Explain it, preferably in more than 25 words."
Shaking his head to clear his mind, he began haltingly. "Well, Rory, you know, um, wanted to know if I like you."
"IF you like me? How can you marry me if you don't?"
He shook his head. "No, what I meant is what I like about you." He looked at her uncertainly. "Not if, but what."
"Ah, a very short list."
"Hey, no! It was a really long list. Rory was surprised. But it really comes down to roots."
He took the weed back from her, brushed off some of the dirt, and showed her the most delicate, finest roots they could still see in the near-darkness.
"See all these little things? It's the stuff that really keeps you grounded. You know, the big roots are you, and Rory …"
"And you," she reminded him gently.
"And me," came the gruff acknowledgement. "But all these little things, the ones that feel like hair, they're the ones that keep you here. Look. They're so tightly woven together it's impossible to tear them apart."
He heaved a breath. "It's the little things, like having Babette look out for you, and festivals, and volunteering, and knowing you can sweet talk your way into a quick dry cleaning at Pasquale's."
"You go to work every day in the town you live in. You built the inn, and, even though I feel like saying 'God help us' sometimes, it's beautiful, and profitable, and totally Lorelai. You breathe in and out and your heart beats with the same rhythm that the town does."
"Rory's gonna go out on her own someday, and she'll take a piece of her root with her. But she'll always have a piece of you and this town. Thinking of her moving somewhere else is what made me realize that, even if you work for the Durham Group, you will never leave Stars Hollow forever."
"So you do get it."
He grinned lopsidedly. "I hope so," he murmured as his hands took possession of her again, reaching underneath her shirt to feel her soft, heated skin.
Luke smiled lazily as a delightfully naked Lorelai came around the corner of the bed, then nudged herself into a spooning position.
Leaning up on her elbow, she opened a bottle of oxygenated water and handed it to Luke. "Did I ever tell you that I love that you are an antidisestablishmentarian?"
Downing half the bottle, he set it on the nightstand. "Not the Rory words. No brain power," he groaned exhaustedly. "Long words not good." Their last round, and he hoped the next to last round of premarital sex had been enthusiastic, fun, and draining.
"Well not technically antidisestablishmentarian," she continued, "That's just a word I learned in sixth grade that I can never get out of my head."
"Uh-huh."
"You don't like town stuff. You don't like Taylor's stupid laws."
"I like you." He smiled crookedly.
She dismissed his mumbling with a pat on his butt. "You don't believe in the bride and groom being apart the night before the wedding. For that thing especially, I thank you."
"Welcome." His gravelly voice hummed in her body as he pulled her close. The springtime fresh scent of her hair was lulling him to sleep. He breathed deeply and nuzzled her neck.
"I mean, some traditions are simply illogical," she said, sipping her water.
"Tradition is a trap." Luke tried to start one of Lorelai's favorite rants, but in the end he could muster nothing more than a tired arm lift and a "head in the sand" mumble as he buried his head in the pillow.
Sleep overtook them both until the Pippi Longstocking theme signaled the arrival of a new email in Lorelai's phone. Mike Armstrong.
She read and re-read the mail. "All other things in the contract remaining the same, we can surely accommodate your preference for short trips of no more than two weeks at a time." She almost clapped her hands from happiness.
Snuggling back into Luke's arms, she looked over the list of things the Durham Group wanted her to evaluate. Most things made sense, like location, décor and other things she'd given special attention to as she built the Dragonfly. She blinked twice when she read architecture and soundness of construction, and blinked three times when she read outdoor activities and wilderness areas.
"Hey, Luke," she said softly, knowing that if he were in his deep sleep, almost nothing could wake him.
"Mmm?" He rolled onto his back, his hand finding her hair on its own initiative. "What's up?" Not opening his eyes, he drew the sheet over the two of them.
"You like the wilderness, right? Like bears and rattlesnakes and poison ivy and Mountie hats and Bowie knives and fishing?"
Luke squinted. "Had poison ivy on my ass once. Running naked in the woods is a bad idea." He involuntarily scratched his butt, ready to sleep again.
Lorelai giggled. "We'll come back to that story sometime, hon. But you could go someplace and figure out if the wilderness is good, right?"
Pushing himself up until he leaned against the headboard, he asked, "Wilderness is wilderness. It's neither good nor bad. What's this about?"
"I was wondering if you'd come with me on my trips. You know, to give me advice on the buildings and outdoor recreation areas."
"Hire a building inspector."
"Mike will do that when they're actually making the deal. I'm the front woman, the one who susses out all the things they'll hide when the negotiations start."
"So knock on the walls and flush the toilets. That's probably enough."
"Luke!" Lorelai pouted. "I never did any of that for the Dragonfly. You're the one who came and looked at the building. You could do that again."
"I hate doing the same thing over and over again."
The coughing fit Lorelai began at that bare-faced lie was interspersed with accusations of 'compulsive liar!' and 'bullpuckey!'
She knew he only needed the right incentive. "By the way, the first three locations are Vermont, Colorado and Montana." Montana and its national parks had been at the top of Luke's list for possible honeymoon locations, and even though they'd never use a business trip for a honeymoon, having Montana as a business trip would open up other honeymoon possibilities.
"I can't be away for a long time," he grunted.
"You won't have to. You can come for a couple of days. We'll get the work out of the way and can explore on our own. Then you can fly back home and I'll finish all the inn research."
Luke warmed up to the idea of long weekends in those places he'd never taken the time to visit before, and was soon on board with that idea, and began getting some canoodling ideas of his own.
Canoodling was briefly interrupted by a waiter bringing the bride and groom to be a morning wake up greeting. Champagne, orange juice, danish and fruit fortified them until they could delay getting up no longer.
"Hey," said Luke as Lorelai used a razor to touch up the rough edges of his scruff. "You still thinking no more kids? 'Cause I can live with that, you know, the plants and everything."
"Hold still and stop talking or I might accidentally garrot you," she warned. Rinsing the razor and setting it down, she added, "I'm kinda undecided a little, but it's mostly a leaning toward no kids. But I saw you yesterday, and that kinda hit me right in the ovaries a little."
Luke's heart leapt with excitement. The discussion wasn't over yet. Maybe it would lead to kids, maybe it wouldn't. He did know one thing for sure - he could make it work either way. He WOULD make it work. His priority was his current family. Lorelai, Rory, Jess and Liz were here, and if it stayed that way, then fine.
Tucked away in a slightly secluded corner of the lobby, the pair watched the excitement at the front desk. There was shouting. Arms waving. Demands being made and refused. Papers were waved under the other person's nose.
Lorelai dashed into the room, stopping suddenly beside the alcove where Jess and Luke had taken up residence. She followed their gaze to the front desk. Glaring at them, she ran towards the arguing pair.
"Lorelai!" they called in unison. Corbett and Sookie pointed accusingly at each other.
"Don't even start!" commanded Lorelai. "Sookie, you swore on a stack of Dragonfly napkins that you would handle the Stars Hollow reception, without interference from anyone, and you would leave the wedding up to me and Corbett."
"Have you tasted his chef's lobster bisque? It's like ketchup!"
Lorelai the chef whisperer dodged and reinterpreted Sookie's complaints.
"Look, hon, this is a little pre-reception dinner. You're the main event, the one all of Stars Hollow is eagerly anticipating," she said, crossing her fingers inside her head, if heads even have fingers.
Since they'd eloped, no one in Stars Hollow was even aware of the event, much less had even started shopping for flannel and plaid wedding gifts. Acknowledging that Lorelai had saved the big show for her, Sookie repressed the desire to start a wedding registry at the nearest Target store and coaxed her friend to find Jackson and their room.
Corbett proved once again that he was a skilled inn manager by getting the wedding party in place and on time. His decorations were impeccable, the sun set on schedule; even the crickets muted their chirps as the music, managed by Lane, began.
Sookie led the march down the aisle, a slight waddle betraying her Matron of Honor and advanced pregnancy status. Rory stepped proudly to the end of the stone-paved path next, ready to fulfill her Maid of Honor role, when the wedding was crashed.
Just as Lorelai was ready to take center stage, the uproar began.
Popping out of the bushes to her right, a pair of ducks and their ducklings found their way onto the stone path. Quacking and bustling down the path, Lorelai burst into laughter as Rory screeched and began moving faster.
Luke's stoic nervous grimace cracked into a half smile at Rory's antics, bursting into the rarely seen Luke grin as Lorelai caught up to the last duckling, tagging behind the other. "Hello Jeremy, are you crashing my wedding?" She scooped it up and nestled it next to her flowers before gliding elegantly to the covered deck.
"Luke, it's a sign!" she crowed.
"A sign of what? Poor animal control?" Twinkling eyes belied his cantankerous statement.
"A blessing on our union, Lukey. Ducks mate for life, remember? We'll stay married for life."
"The blessing of the ducks," murmured Jess to Rory.
Lorelai tried to hand her bouquet to Rory, but was met with a squeak until she removed the duckling.
"Remember Swan Lake?" she murmured to Luke, glancing at Jess as she recalled Luke's story of Jess being 'beaked' by a swan. Luke gently lifted the duck from Lorelai's bouquet.
He nodded, grinned, then thrust the duckling into Jess' hands.
By that time, the concerned duck parents had realized one baby had gone astray, which they quickly discovered in Jess' hands.
The ducks attacked, wings outspread, quacking noisily, headed straight for the Best Man. His screech was on a par with Rory's, enhanced by his running away from the ducks until he realized he should put the baby down.
Unfortunately, the ducks had him cornered, since he had inadvertently run to exactly their favorite spot at the lake. It was either step into the water or face another beaking.
"There," said Rory pragmatically as she approached Jess and his downy attackers. "Sometimes the princess saves the prince." She waved her nosegay and drove off the parents, who gathered their brood and swam grumpily away.
"They were coming after me," he grumbled as he allowed himself to be put back into line.
Luke breathed in the fresh lake air, letting the ceremonial things that meant more to Lorelai than to him float over him. Instead, he memorized each movement she made, watching her enjoy each moment.
Forever etched in his heart was the moment when Lorelai turned to give Rory her bouquet. Mother and daughter closed ranks, heads touching. Truly his family now.
The moment arrived for the pair to exchange their personal vows.
Luke shuffled his feet, finally planting them as firmly as the roots of a plant as he took both of Lorelai's hands in his.
"Lorelai, it used to be, I wouldn't do things. I wouldn't say things. I wouldn't commit. From the time we became friends, you didn't let me get away with that anymore. Sometimes you dragged me kicking and screaming into stuff, but the fact is, I don't ever want to not be there to pour your coffee and to help you when you need me. Lorelai, the best moment every day is when we wake up and I see that you still love me."
A quack from one of the parents brought Luke's glorious smile to his face.
"If it takes a duck to prove to you I'll always be there for you, then bring on the damn ducks!"
Lorelai pulled both of Luke's hands to her mouth and kissed them tenderly before swallowing her tears and looking him directly in the eye.
"Angel. Friend. Lover. Duck wrangler. You are all of these things to me."
She sucked in a nervous breath. Squeezing Luke's hands, she continued with a shaky laugh.
"And sneaky, too. You drew me in with the world's best coffee, and handyman skills beyond compare; even my kid took a shine to you early on. As we slowly became friends, you were the only one who both believed in me and called me out when I needed it, mostly because I was acting like an over caffeinated Chihuahua."
"One day I woke from a night with the zucchini, and a prince clambered out of his green Chevy steed and stood before me with a nervous smile and feet big enough to make all the girls jealous. He pulled a magic straw from my hair and asked me out on a date."
"Here we stand, my Luke, after a bumpy ride, but I'm thrilled and overjoyed to have you be my partner for the rest of the journey."
"Do it again! Do it again!" cried Sookie. The rest of the wedding party thumped their forks on the table to encourage Luke, more than a little tipsy and breathing hard from too many repetitions of "Gorgeous Petey! Gorgeous Petey!"
"No, I'm done," he said, "Give Petey a rest." Wrapping his arm around his equally tipsy wife and nuzzling her hair as he gazed out over the lake, now shadowed in darkness except for the candlelit skiff decorated with flowers that the happy couple had launched with good wishes written by those in attendance at the wedding.
Finally Luke finally felt safe. Since the deaths of his parents and Liz' descent into drugs, he'd felt unsafe in what was perhaps the safest town on the planet. Everyone he was close to left him, in one way or another. He fought back with a brusque personality and kept everyone at arm's length.
His yo-yo relationship with Rachel occasionally pushed him off-balance. The only thing he could rely on with her was that she would leave, and she would come back.
Every time he began to feel like they were on track, that maybe it didn't really matter that the toilet seat was always down and the milk curiously ended up in the vegetable crisper while her film took priority space on the shelf, she changed it up. A phone call and she suddenly had to tidy up her camera bag, then the announcement. "I can't pass this job up."
After several cycles of this, Luke didn't even listen anymore. It was in Kazakhstan or some Eastern European country he'd never heard of. It didn't matter anyway, because she wouldn't stay in touch. They were free agents. The way she wanted it.
Luke snorted as he recalled the baby and Durham Group arguments with Lorelai, happy that they knew how to work through these things and both were committed to their relationship first. After all they'd been through, from friendship to love, they'd spun a cocoon of themselves and Rory. They had already weathered the worst Emily Gilmore could throw at them. Now married, they were finally truly safe.
"Luke, honey, are you asleep?" Lorelai turned her head to speak softly in his ear.
"Not asleep. Holding you up so you don't fall over in a dead drunk." Better to say that than to admit that he couldn't let go of her, that he was as perfectly happy and he'd ever dreamed he could be.
"You're not going to finish that, right?" She speared the leftover chunk of prime Angus beef filet and put it on her plate. "Surf and turf is the most perfect wedding meal ever!" She crowed as she carefully stacked a morsel of butter-drenched lobster onto a bit of steak and savored her new first food love. "We are going to eat this every day, OK?" she urged.
Luke wasn't going to refuse her anything at this moment. "Sure."
Lorelai winked at Rory. "How about a closet for my shoes?"
He grinned and nodded, taking another sip of brandy.
"My very own cheesecake?"
"You've already had that," he grunted.
"Well, three desserts and wedding cake will have to do. " She smirked. "How about a puppy?"
"Lorelai."
Before they could reach eye-roll levels of sappiness, a cell phone rang. Between the dancing, and candlelit boat christening and sendoff, and all of the alcohol imbibed that evening, evening wraps, bags and shoes were strewn about in mixed piles. Everyone more or less capable of standing began searching for the ringing cell.
Like a drunken game of Twister, Jess, Rory, Lane and Jackson scrambled on the ground until finally Jess retrieved the ringing phone. He answered it, blinked a few times, then silently handed it to Lorelai.
Putting the phone to her ear, she listened for a moment, then grimaced. "Mom?" said Lorelai, squeezing her eyes shut hoping to make the phone completely disappear.
Luke groaned. "I kinda hate that woman," he said involuntarily and a little too loudly. The others snickered.
"Yes mom, uh huh. No, not coming back to dinner." She widened her eyes as she glanced at Luke.
"Nope. Got other things to do. "
"Got to send cards, change my driver's license and my bank accounts. "
"Well, sure that takes time. And I've reserved Friday nights for that work."
"No, I'm not moving, mom. There are other reasons to change a driver's license."
"Nope, not petitioning the court to get rid of the Gilmore name. Found an easier way to do that."
Jess poured Luke another brandy, which he downed all at once.
"Right first time, mom! You win... you win..." She spied the fruit bowl and grabbed a piece and adding triumphantly, "You win a banana!"
Lorelai sighed after Emily had prattled on for a bit. "Of course it's Luke, mom. Who else could it be? Surely you remember the guy I've been living in sin with, don't you? Wait! Don't answer that. Luke? Luke, honey, say 'Hi, mom.'"
"Hi, mom" he echoed dutifully, holding his brandy glass ready to self-anesthetize.
Lorelai put the phone back to her ear, then moved it away again. Emily was shouting. She looked at the wedding party and took another sip of champagne. "Just letting her get it out of her system."
When Emily's voice grew softer, Lorelai listened again.
"Yes, it's real. I really did it. I'm married, mom, just like you always wanted me to be. Call me Sadie. "
"No, mom, I didn't change my first name, just my last one. Pause. Because Danes is easier to spell. It takes so long to write out G...I...l...m...o...r.."
She stomped her foot. "You didn't let me finish, mom. E. G-I-L-M-O-R-E. See what I mean? That takes so long! Even you can't wait."
Trying to provide comfort, Rory snuggled up to her mom, Luke supporting Lorelai on her other side.
"You know what mom, I gotta go. Still having my wedding dinner, then afterwards there's all the married sex. Got to have that. Maybe we'll make you another grand baby."
"Seriously? Until this moment you thought I was sober? Do you not understand how much alcohol it takes to converse with Emily Gilmore? I mean, there's a reason dad has all the good whiskey and brandy in his study. Can't have a Gilmore family evening on less than a double."
"I can't besmirch the Gilmore name anymore, mom. I've got to spend the next few years besmirching the Danes family name. Maybe Rory will step up and become the reigning Lorelai Gilmore. I'm keeping the title reigning Lorelai, but she can be the reigning Gilmore. I bestow my crown and title on her. "
Lorelai placed the table's flower wreath on Rory's head. Rory sat up straight and began the royal wave.
"Bye, mom. Gotta go, I think the reigning Lorelai Leigh Gilmore is staging a coup to take the reigning Lorelai crown."
She ended the call and slid the phone across the table.
"Well, my mother knows we're married," she said regretfully. "I was hoping to keep that a secret for another decade or two."
When the phone began to ring again, Lorelai and Rory did rock-paper-scissors. Loser answered the phone.
Lorelai sighed. "Dad? Hi. Uh huh. Uh huh. Really? Thanks. "
Turning in her seat, she stage whispered to Luke, "He actually congratulated us!"
"Oh, really, Dad? You heard that with your own ears? Not gonna happen."
"Oh. Interesting. Well, that is an incentive, I suppose." She looked at Rory.
That's the only string? One time only? But just the way mom wants it? She glanced at Luke, sizing him up, wondering if he could handle her dad's proposal.
She sighed. "Deal."
"Give us a few days first. Two weeks is great, Dad." Lorelai smiled weakly as she ended the call and turned to her loved ones.
She shrugged adorably. "Oops. It looks like we're going to have a Hartford reception as well."
"What?" asked Luke.
"I agreed to let my mother throw us a wedding reception. She'll come to Stars Hollow in two weeks to show us the plan."
Rory gasped. "Mom! What did you do?"
Bought you a free ride, loin fruit. At least my first loin fruit, probably. Maybe. She patted Luke's knee.
Luke's eyes widened as he absorbed her words. Maybe? Baby?
Rory's eyes narrowed. "You're going to play dress-up doll for Grandma?"
"Yep. With my beautiful Luke doll by my side. Tuxedo or morning coat, I'll let you know what Emily decides, hon." She patted Luke's hand sweetly as he groaned.
"Mom, why are you doing this?"
"Because your grandfather just offered to fully pay for Yale. Your loan deal with him is over. Kaputt. You are no longer an indentured grandchild."
"But you are, mom. I didn't want that. You know how grandma will be with this reception."
"Oh, I know. But it's one night, sugar. Plus a fitting. Or ten. And a few party planning meetings. Ok, it's a lot. But it will be over soon, and you can continue at Yale, not having to worry about paying them back."
"But mom, I'm not going back to Yale."
"Tell that to your grandfather. Oh! Do it in Stars Hollow so I can see his face."
Lorelai giggled. "Even if you don't go back right now, it still means that your first two years are already paid for. And when you do decide to go back to school, it's also paid for."
Jess pushed away some dirty dishes and laid out the last of the liquor and champagne bottles.
"Now," he said, "Who gets the privilege of sitting next to Emily Gilmore?"
"Kirk!" called out Sookie.
"TJ," added Luke, earning a thumbs-up from Jess.
"Well aren't we lucky," chortled Lorelai. "She just happens to have two sides at the table. The seating chart has been started! Now, how about Richard?"
Some hours later, after copious amounts of marital sex:
Luke was still so stoked by Lorelai's 'Maybe baby' declaration that he couldn't sleep. He caressed Lorelai's arm, smiling. "You changed your mind?
Her eyes twinkled mischievously but he cut her off before Lorelai could tease him. "I mean about kids. You changed your mind about kids?"
She nodded. "It was two things. I looked at Rory and saw how great she is, and began to imagine what our kids would be like. They will be just as amazing."
She fingered the sheets, still thoughtful.
"Then I remembered my pregnancy. It was awful. If I wasn't being told I was eating the wrong thing, or doing the wrong thing, Emily was reminding me how I'd ruined their good name. Every single day."
Turning trusting eyes to Luke, "Just once, I'd like to be pregnant and enjoy it. Having people around me who are happy for me, and not calling me a failure. Having a baby shower. Being able to argue over names with you. Lucas is on the list, by the way."
"Take it off the list," he growled.
"Having you and Rory there to take care of me, and to dream about the family we're building. And the family we will be after the baby is born. I thought I'd kind of enjoy that."
"Me, too," he replied, then kissed her lovingly.
An incoming email alert sounded on Lorelai's phone. She opened it, read it, and shut the phone off completely.
"And one more item checked off the To Do list."
She pushed Luke back on the bed and straddled him.
"Who was that?" he asked, sliding down into their "perfect fit" position, pressing up gently, signaling his readiness.
"Mike Armstrong. He was getting really pushy, reminding me that the job with the Durham Group is contingent on me selling him my controlling share of the Dragonfly."
"And?"
"I'm not giving up my Dragonfly. My vision. My creation. Anyway I'll be too busy enjoying my family."
"Yes you will," he agreed.
And they proceeded to enjoy once again.
A/N:
Shoutout to Trogdor19 for the secret room metaphor in her oneshot Ghosts of Love's Future. Even though a direct use of the metaphor got lost in editing, it was the inspiration for this story.
Ghosts of Love's Future is probably the most tender, loving response any Lorelai has ever had to her and Luke's date at Sniffy's.
This was a long time in process. It started when I was still in a chemo fog, and took all year to finish. Everything's clear on the cancer front. There are lots of places I'd like to go with elements of this story, especially with Rory's unfinished storyline, but don't count on anything.
FIN