Hope you're ready for a happy Christmas chapter in the middle of June!
This had possibly been the best Christmas ever.
Luke added one more log to the fire that had been burning for most of the day. He put a hand to the small of his back, rubbing a sore spot there, when he straightened up. He gave no credence to the folktales that expectant husbands shared symptoms with their pregnant wives. The fact that his own back began hurting at the same time that Lorelai started walking around with one hand permanently pressed against her tailbone was just a coincidence.
His eyes ran over all of the Christmas debris displayed on the mantel: cards and pictures, candles, wayward ornaments, all congregated around Desmond the duck. Desmond now sported a festive Santa hat in just his size and a bright red bow around his neck. As was his habit, Luke patted him on the head before heading back to crash on the couch, lazy with a Christmas hangover.
And the best part was he knew it wasn't quite over yet.
He settled down into a corner of the couch, his eyes half-closed, and thought about how completely different this Christmas was from the one he'd suffered through a year ago. Last year he was frozen in place, terrified of telling Lorelai about April, terrified of trying to be a dad, terrified that his whole world was about to come crashing down. And indeed it had, mostly due to his own stupidity. He could only shake his head and groan now at the mistakes he'd made.
But this Christmas…This Christmas was perfect.
His lips curled up, smiling involuntarily as his eyes closed, replaying the highlight reel in his mind.
Rory had come home on the 23rd, and Anna had dropped off April that evening, so that she could spend the night and they could have the entire Christmas Eve day together. Anna was apologetic that April couldn't stay longer, but she'd already made plans with her mother for Christmas Day. They assured her that was fine and they'd sent her back to Woodbridge with a box of Weston's sugar cookies, a sweet token that proved how well the whole April thing was now going.
Luke had made them stuffed French toast in the morning and then they sat down to watch "It's a Wonderful Life," something that Lorelai and Rory insisted was tradition in their household. Amid much grumbling, Luke left during the movie to go check on the diner, and the girls walked over to meet him there for lunch. Then they all came back to the house to open presents.
Luke sighed now, remembering the unbelievable amount of mess that had littered the living room floor within 20 minutes' time. He didn't want to see what happened next year when a toddler was added to the mayhem.
He'd held his breath when April opened her box from the Gilmore's. Her own breath caught in her throat and her eyes grew wide when she pulled out a monstrous book on astronomy and a few star charts. When she opened the book, already starting to shriek with joy, an envelope fell out onto her lap. Frowning, she opened it, and then sat immobile, until all three of them were starting to worry.
"This is…this is…this…" She gulped, unable to add more words. Helplessly she handed the piece of paper to Luke.
He read over the letter written in Richard's hand quickly. It seemed that Richard had been able to pull some strings―or more likely, Luke figured, had written a check―and had finagled a behind-the-scenes tour of the Yale planetarium for April, which he would be honored to escort her on after they returned from their holiday trip to St. Croix.
Rory had gotten a glass of water for April, then sat next to her and patted her shoulder, trying to calm her down. Luke and Lorelai exchanged a look. They'd found out only the week before that Richard and Emily had started a college fund for April. They'd both been worried that the Christmas gift was going to be something more over-the-top than the planetarium trip, because April had totally infiltrated the hearts of her new grandparents.
Once April had sufficiently recovered, Rory dragged over a huge box, her present to her new sister. Inside was all of Rory's old Harvard paraphernalia, plus anything that the Yale marketing people had managed to get their name on, and buried at the bottom, Princeton stuff. This made both girls weak with giggles, and when April at last pulled out what looked to be a ferret dressed in a Princeton t-shirt, both of them fell to the ground in hysterics.
Luke and Lorelai looked at each other mystified, but they were grinning, too. They loved that their girls had jokes and secrets between the two of them that didn't include the parents. They loved seeing that they were developing a relationship of their own.
Later, April had carried a slim box over to Lorelai. She snuggled down against her stepmother's side and watched Lorelai eagerly tear off the wrapping paper in her trademarked style.
"Oh, April," Lorelai said, her voice strained, as she lifted the lid and caught a glimpse of what was inside.
April leaned over her and picked up the delicate braided bracelet, anxious to explain it to her. "See," she said, pointing to one of the three charms dangling from the silver chain, "this one is an opal, so that's for Rory. And this one's a diamond, so that's for me."
"We have a good month," Lorelai critically observed, but her voice still sounded choked.
"And this last one," April rushed on, "it's aquamarine, for the baby." She looked at Lorelai, suddenly appearing shy. "Mom helped me pick it out, but it was my idea."
"It was a great idea," Lorelai told her, barely holding on to her composure. She put out her wrist and motioned for April to help her put it on.
Rory came to Lorelai's other side for a better look, and as the girls leaned forward, both using Lorelai's expanding stomach as a makeshift ledge, Luke had managed to grab the camera and get a shot of the three of them.
Later they'd once again trekked to the diner for what Lorelai and Rory insisted was a traditional bowl of Christmas Eve chili. Luke helped shut the diner down, and then they all went outside to view the town's Christmas pageant in the square.
Afterwards they'd driven April home, the girls singing along loudly to the Christmas carols being played on the radio. Luke smiled a little now, his eyelids still closed. There may have been a male voice joining in during some of the choruses.
Today they'd slept late, eaten coffeecake for breakfast, opened more presents, and viewed the Christmas Day movie playlist: "The Muppets' Christmas Carol" and "While You Were Sleeping," They'd briefly left the house to take over presents to Davey and Martha, but other than that they were stuffed and content couch potatoes. The girls had even stayed in their pajamas all day.
Lorelai's pajamas suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision and Luke had to cut off his reminiscing. Over the last week or so she'd suddenly become Pregnant with a capital P. Not that she was huge; it was just suddenly glaringly obvious that she was very pregnant. She inched herself in front of the couch and Luke sat up and put his hands reassuringly on her hips, guiding her down to a landing on the couch. The baby's bulk was throwing off her center of gravity and making it hard for her to navigate.
"So how's it going in there?" he asked, motioning towards Rory's room. Tomorrow morning they were taking her to catch a flight to London, and Lorelai had been supposedly helping her to pack.
"Pretty good, I think," Lorelai sighed, instantly putting her feet up on the coffee table by Luke's. "She's gotten really skilled at fitting as much inside her carry-on as possible."
"I wonder how bad traffic will be," Luke worried, picturing the post-holiday crowd.
"Yeah, listen," Lorelai said urgently. She peeked back over her shoulder, then leaned in towards Luke. "I think maybe she's going to break up with him," she whispered.
"What?" Luke's feet came down off the coffee table.
"Shhh," Lorelai warned him. "I don't know for sure. It's just a feeling I'm getting from stuff she's said."
"Like what?"
"Just…" Lorelai shrugged her shoulders. "I think she's wondering if Logan is really the type of guy she wants to spend her life with. It sounds like he's maybe starting to hint at long-term, and I'm not sure she's ready for that. Anyway, I'm kind of thinking that this trip may swing her one way or the other."
"Wow," Luke murmured. "I didn't expect that."
"Well, I could be wrong," Lorelai pointed out. "But I think this has been brewing since Thanksgiving, when she talked to Jess for so long."
"Jess!" Luke's voice rose again, and Lorelai shushed him. "You can't be serious!" he said softer, but still vehemently. "You think that the two of them are still interested in each other?"
"Maybe not romantically," she hedged. "But I know she's really proud of what Jess has accomplished. And I think she's comparing his life to Logan's." She shrugged again. "And I could be misreading this whole thing, and she'll come back from London engaged."
"Don't say that," he growled.
"Well, it's always possible." Lorelai laid her head on his shoulder.
He bent his head to rest against hers, and for several minutes they sat quietly, enjoying the fire and the Christmas lights. He played with the silver bracelet that had yet to be removed from her wrist.
"You know, I'm kind of hurt," he said to her gently, squeezing her shoulder.
Her head jerked up and she looked at him. "Hurt? Why?"
"Well, you've always told me what an evolved sense of gift-tracking you've been blessed with. Yet you've left one of your gifts over there. It makes me think you don't want it, and that hurts my feelings."
She turned to look at him more fully, and he had to force himself not to laugh at the face she was making, half-concerned and half-suspicious.
"There are no more presents over there," she insisted, although she glanced over towards the tree doubtfully.
Luke gave a shrug and rested back against the couch. "If you say so."
"Luke!" She pushed herself to the edge of the couch and turned to study his smug face. "You know Rory scoured the gift-giving area under the tree with my supervision. There are no more presents!"
"Whatever." He spread his arms along the top of the couch, giving her an injured look. "If you don't want it, you don't want it."
She growled, starting to leverage herself off the couch. He leaned forward to help, pushing against her back. She took a few steps, then turned back to glare at him. "I swear, if this is some sick joke, just to get the pregnant woman to waddle across the room again…"
"Hey, it's up to you," he said innocently. "If you want the present, you'll have to go look."
She made another growl of protest but walked over to the tree. She walked around the three accessible sides, peering under it as closely as she could.
"There's nothing here!" He smiled at her irritation. "Rory made sure she pulled everything out this morning!" But still she looked.
"Luke!" she protested again. She studied him, and the look on his face told her plainly that she was missing something. In a huff she turned back to the tree. "You're not seriously going to make me get down on the floor, are you?"
"Look straight ahead," he told her gently.
She did, and right in front of her face was a tiny white box, tied to a branch with a red ribbon.
"Oh," she said, feeling foolish and pleased at the same time. She untied it and came back to sit next to him on the couch.
Once again he helped her to sit and then he scooted forward, wanting to have a better view of her face when she opened the small box.
She smiled at him, holding her breath in anticipation. She slid off the ribbon and eased off the top of the box. For someone who was known for her stellar unwrapping skills, she was taking her time with this present.
The lid popped off and Lorelai stared down into the soft white cotton batting cradling her engagement ring. Three fingers of her left hand came up to press against her lips and she looked at Luke with huge, liquid eyes.
That was his cue, and he slid down to his knees in front of her. He put his hands on her knees, rubbing them gently. He never took his eyes away from hers.
"Lorelai, I was wondering if you'd marry me."
He watched her struggle for an answer, knowing that she was debating going with sappy or lighthearted.
She took away her fingers and cleared her throat. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but I'm already married."
He nodded, taking her hands in his. "When we got married, we did it because we had to." He saw something that looked like regret flash through her eyes and he hastened to explain. "It had nothing to do with the baby. I admit that's what I thought at the time, but I was wrong. We had to get married then to save ourselves. It was the only thing we could do to stop the pain we were in. It was killing me to be without you, and I know it was killing you, too. Getting married was what we had to do, don't you see?"
She nodded, too. "Yeah," she said, quietly.
"But now we're…we're healed," he said. "And I'm…I'm so happy. You've made me so happy," he whispered to her "All of that stuff we went through, all of that bad stuff, I don't even think about it anymore. It's past and done with. But lately I keep remembering what you said to me the night before we got married, about how you hated yourself and how I should always remember that when I look at you. I don't want to think that ever, Lorelai. I don't want you to hate yourself. It's over. It's done. It's past. I want you to let it go. I don't want that dark spot to still be there between us. I want us to move on from here. I want us to get married this time because we're happy. So, will you marry me?" he asked her again.
She stroked his face and his hair, studying him. "Are you saying that you forgive me?" she finally asked, haltingly.
He shook his head, looking briefly down at the floor as he drew in a sharp breath. He squeezed her hands when he looked up at her again. "I forgave you so long ago I don't even know when it was," he told her. "Probably the same night we started this," he said, lightly rubbing her belly. "What's important now is that you forgive yourself."
Her face contracted as she tried to hold back tears. "That's hard," she said, brokenly.
"I know," he agreed. He pushed up on his knees to embrace her. "But you're strong," he whispered into her ear. "And I'm here to help you."
He pulled back to look at her. "Are you going to make me beg?"
A laugh burst out of her, breaking her pensive mood. "I wouldn't turn it down."
"Please," he teased. He leaned forward, wrapping her in his arms again. "Please, please, please." The last 'please' was whispered against her ear, followed by a kiss. "Please."
She sighed contentedly against him. "Do you mean you want to do like a vow re―"
He squished his hand over her mouth. "Don't use that term," he said firmly.
"Sorry," she winced. "Are you saying that you really want us to have another wedding? Is that even legal?"
"I don't know, but I don't why it'd be a problem. We're not trying to marry anyone else."
She shook her head. "This is so unlike you. You hate crowds and being in front of people and being the center of attention. You really want to do this?"
"I really want to do this. I'd stand in front of the whole town every day and repeat those vows to you, Lorelai. We didn't get to share it before, and I want to celebrate with April, and your parents, and Jess. With everyone. I'm happy. That's something I never really thought I'd be, but I am. I think that deserves a party."
She laughed at his earnestness. "OK. When should we schedule Wedding Number 2?"
He was ready with the answer, having giving it a great deal of thought. "June 3rd."
Her laughing stopped. "Seriously? June 3rd?" she asked, grimly. "Why not just wait until June 30th, and make it our first anniversary party?"
He shook his head. "June 3rd is our first anniversary. It should have been our wedding day. Instead, it turned out to be the start of our reconciliation. This way, we'll remember it as a good day."
"June 3rd," she mumbled, doubtfully.
"June 3rd," he stated, with determination. "The baby will be here. And you'll probably be able to wear your perfect dress by then, if that's what you want. Or we'll get you another one. I want you to plan the day exactly the way you want." Luke placed his hand on her stomach and got kicked for his try at tenderness.
She leaned forward and kissed him again. "Come on up here. Your knees have got to be killing you by now."
"You haven't said yes yet," he pointed out.
Her eyes danced. "What was the question again?"
He pretended to sigh. "So much work," he grumbled. "OK." Another huge sigh. "Lorelai." He kissed her. "Will." Another kiss. "You." Kiss. "Marry." Kiss again. "Me?"
"Yes," she sighed against him, blissfully.
"Thank God." He pulled himself back up onto the couch with a groan. "Give me your hand," he said, picking the ring up out of the box.
But instead she pulled her hand away, her eyes suddenly shifting away nervously.
"Don't," he ordered, reaching for her hand. "Don't go back there. Don't remember the night you took it off. Just look at me, Lorelai. Remember this," and he slipped the ring back onto her finger.
"Oh!" She gazed at it rapturously. "It's so pretty! Look, Luke! Isn't it pretty? It looks like it was meant to go with this wedding ring."
"It's pretty," he agreed, soberly. "But I'm sorry, Lorelai. I should have given it back to you a long time ago."
"No regrets," she reminded him. "And this was perfect, the way you gave it to me tonight. This makes this Christmas even more special."
They sat and cuddled for a long time, feeling the baby kick and discussing wedding plans.
Suddenly Lorelai sat up. "Does Rory know?"
"Nope," he said, proud that he'd managed to keep a secret in this house.
She threw her arms around his neck, gave him a quick kiss, and then struggled to her feet.
"Rory!" she demanded loudly, heading across the room. "Come see Mommy's last present!"
Luke leaned back against the couch, letting his eyes close again, preparing his ears for the shrieks that were sure to come.
No doubt about it. It was the best Christmas ever.