Sorry, I know this update took forever but I'm back to updating now and hope to update regularly from now on. I hope you enjoy!
"Because you wanted the minivan."
Lorelai all but scoffed when Luke, once again, went into a similar spiel the car salesman gave earlier today when they decided to dive right into new vehicle shopping. It had only been a few days since Luke's freakout and they had made up their minds to try and get the bigger things out of the way as soon as possible so it wasn't left open ended by the time their baby arrived. However, her pregnancy hormones were working overtime today and their vehicle shopping turned into argument after argument over what would be right for their growing family until it reached the point where they stopped speaking to one another and headed home where they parted ways, both going to their respective businesses until they had to meet again to head to dinner.
On the way to Friday Night dinner, they mutually agreed to put the conversation turned argument behind them for the time being in order to stave off argument that she did not want to have in front of her parents. But since Rory wasn't there to enthrall everyone with tales of Yale, the conversation soon turned to the unborn child and whether or not parents of said unborn child were prepared. The seemingly innocent minivan question was brought up by her mother who expressed her own concerns over the safety of her soon-to-be-born grandchild and the vehicle he would ride around in.
Frustrated, Lorelai stabbed at a carrot on her plate and waved the speared carrot in the direction of her husband as she spoke. "I know that we need a roomier vehicle, something safer for our baby Luke. But what we don't need is a minivan. They're not stylish. We're not minivan people."
"Who are these minivan people that you keep mentioning?"
Emily cut in before Lorelai could answer the question directed at her. "I have to agree with Lorelai. Something safe is needed, God knows a newborn doesn't need to ride around in either of your vehicles, but a minivan is not the way to go."
Lorelai looked across the table to her husband who occupied Rory's usual seat due to her dinner absence. She popped the stabbed piece of carrot in her mouth and a closed smile crossed her face. That was followed by a lift of her eyebrow as she chewed because she had someone on her side and it didn't matter at the moment that it was her mother. Her tone was accusatory but her eyes playful.
"Now look what you did, you made my mother agree with me."
Emily cut her eyes to her daughter. The expression was one that Lorelai had seen plenty of in her lifetime, one that was rife with the lack of amusement she found in some of her daughter's quips. "I don't see why you think it's so preposterous that I could agree with you once in a while."
"It's not preposterous," Lorelai reiterated. "I'm just trying to get over the initial shock that you actually agreed with me on something. Weird feeling and baby agrees."
"How wonderful," Emily replied dryly.
"But," she drew out determinedly, fixing her eyes back on Luke. "If it makes you feel better, I will use that as a selling point to say that we don't need a minivan. Minivan, no. Something equal parts roomier and safe and a tad bit stylish, yes."
Luke blew out a heavy breath through his nose. Earlier, she was right. They were not going to argue in front of her parents. Well Emily since Richard wasn't currently at the table. "You don't buy a vehicle because it's stylish."
"Nuh-uh, you don't buy a vehicle because it's stylish," Lorelai corrected. A finger jab in his direction emphasized her words.
"Ah, what did I miss?"
Lorelai stopped the forkful of chicken that was traveling to her mouth when her father re-entered the room after excusing himself to take what he deemed an 'important business call that couldn't wait until after dinner,' though Emily highly suggested the call not be taken while they are eating. Her father may have not noticed the glare from his wife that had the threat of boring a hole into his back, but Lorelai did. To her it seemed that whatever was going on between her parents and had been going on for a few months now hadn't improved at all. In fact, it may have even worsened since the last time she tried to get her mother to open up to her.
Emily cleared her throat, garnering her husband's attention as he made his way around the dining room table and found his seat. "I was just going to offer that we buy Lorelai and Luke a new car."
Richard lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "You were?" His gaze drifted from Emily to Luke and then settled on Lorelai. "You and Luke are looking to buy a new vehicle?"
"Well yeah," Lorelai answered, giving a slight nod of her head as she did so. "When the baby comes we'll need something with a little more room."
"And something a little safer," Luke tacked on to Lorelai's response.
Emily had to throw her response in as well. "God knows neither of their vehicles are safe for a baby."
"Which is why we were looking for something knew." Lorelai stated the obvious then directed her next comment at her mother. "But you don't have to offer to buy us a new car. Luke and I went to look today and we have an idea of what we don't want," she said definitely. "We can do this for ourselves."
Luke spoke up at that moment, making it clear that he thought Lorelai was right but they did also appreciate the offer.
"Are you in a place where you can buy a new vehicle?" Richard asked, drawing the attention of everyone at the table. "Financially, I mean."
"Well..." Lorelai started and then drifted off as she tried to find a way to word this in the best way possible.
Images of the Inn's budget and her and Luke's personal finances flew through her mind and threatened to bring back the headache from the day before when she surrounded herself with spreadsheets and various other forms of paperwork for the Dragonfly as she tried to work around the budget they had originally set and then changed not long into the remodeling process. Yet another aspect of the Inn that fell solely to her since Sookie complained that she was never good with numbers unless it involved baking. Personally they weren't on the verge of falling into deep financial trouble that they wouldn't be able to crawl out of but if the latest figures were correct, it would mean pouring more money into the remodeling process in order for the Inn to actually open and not sit unfinished for years. With that, their own personal budget became a headscratcher as to how a new vehicle would fit in but Luke assured her that they would be fine and they could afford a new car, it would just require some tweaking of their budget.
"I know firsthand that starting a new business isn't cheap, especially trying to open up a new inn. Knowing you, I expect you want the best and that can require a lot of work and money," Richard started. "I assume the diner is doing well but a new business is a financial risk. Buying a new car can be expensive, especially if you want something top of the line. You don't want to open yourself up to financial trouble."
"Your father's right," Emily added on and Lorelai suspected that with their attitudes it might be the first thing they agreed upon in a while. "Right now, you're already doing so much and allowing us to do this will take some of the pressure off of you. You can think of it was a present for our grandson, if that helps."
"A new car before he's even out of the womb," Lorelai commented, her hand straying down to her baby bump. "How very Gilmore."
"You refused my help before but this is something else that your father and I would like to do for you and Luke and for my grandson," Emily commented. "Letting us help will take some of the stress off of you and you can focus on the pregnancy, more than trying to find a new car. I can make sure it's something that you're comfortable with."
Lorelai wasn't able to get a word in before her father spoke up again. "We would like to offer our help." His next comment was meant for Emily. "Though maybe we should let Luke and Lorelai look for something they want, we could just foot the bill. Help out that way."
"Are you suggesting that I'm not capable of finding a vehicle that will be suitable for them and their child?" Emily asked.
"I'm sure that's not what Dad meant," Lorelai jumped in to assure her mother when she took on an insulted tone.
"I just meant that Luke and Lorelai might want to look for a new vehicle on their own to make sure it's what they want not that you weren't capable," Richard answered. "I also meant that I won't have the time to take off from work and go look for a new vehicle."
"Again, not necessary to buy us one, I think we can swing it," Lorelai spoke up but it fell upon deaf ears.
"No one said you had to go, I'm more than capable of doing this myself," Emily replied, her voice as sharp as the look she was currently giving him. "I offered and I'm going to do this for them. We're going to have another grandchild soon, I want to help out."
"I agree that we should help out," Richard started only to be cut off by his wife.
"Then it's settled, we're buying a new car for Lorelai and Luke," Emily said definitely. She tore her eyes away from her husband who sat at the opposite end of the table and focused back on her plate of food in front of her.
Confused as to what just happened, Lorelai looked across the table to Luke. "Shouldn't we get a say in this?"
"Consider it a gift," Emily answered her daughter. "You refused my first gift and now I'm offering something else. This will be money that you did not have to spend. As your mother, I want to do this for you. For my grandchild."
The silence that followed combined with the sequence that had just played out between her mother and father and had been playing out since they arrived at diner, Lorelai chose not to argue against her mother. She could drop the issue for now and pick it up again later, after she talked with Luke about the proposed idea. The not at all bad and actually helpful idea. Conversation fell short soon after, every new topic introduced was dropped within just a few minutes. Soon the only clear sounds were that of the maid shuffling in with the dessert and the clang of utensils against the dishes.
The next afternoon, the diner bells sounded her arrival as Lorelai strolled into the diner. She had only made it a few steps in before she stopped and scrunched up her eyebrows at the scene before her. Or really lack of scene before her. Usually around this time, the diner was bustling with the last of the lunch crowd soon to be followed by a few stragglers who enjoyed a later lunch who would be joined by just a couple of lingers from the lunch rush who liked to take the time to enjoy another cup of coffee or the latest gossip. It was her favorite time to come by because it allowed a perfect balance between catching up on gossip and occupying a good chunk of Luke's time while she ate. Today, however, there were only a very few number of people in the diner and two of them worked there.
"Wow, it's dead in here," Lorelai commented as she moved her feet again and made her way to the counter where Luke stood. She eyed the stool warily and tried to decide if sitting at the counter was a good idea or not with her pregnant belly. "It's not usually this dead, especially on a Saturday."
Luke responded with a shrug of his shoulders. "I have customers."
Lorelai gave the diner a once-over and her eyes settled on a man in the corner before she turned back to Luke. "You have a Kirk."
"The diner was busier earlier," Luke explained. "Regular customers ordering their regular meals and some taking up tables when other customers could use them."
"Someone's grumpy today."
Luke sighed, leaning forward on the counter. "I'm not grumpy."
She gave a nod of her head, bracing her hands on the edge of the counter as she closed the space between them. "Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, you're grumpy," she said before quickly pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "That's okay, I'm a little grumpy too."
"Your meeting at the inn didn't go well?" Luke asked, reaching behind himself for the decaf pot of coffee after producing a mug stored underneath the counter.
With a quick shake of her head, Lorelai replied, "Well you could say that. I thought I was supposed to meet with Sookie and Michel today to do a walk-through and discuss what's done and what still needs to be done but Sookie never showed and didn't answer when I called. Michel showed but didn't stay long, insisting that he had somewhere else to be."
Luke followed Lorelai with her cup of coffee in his hands as she made the decision that she wasn't going to sit at the counter but at one of the empty tables by the window. "You need to talk to them. You can't do everything on your own, that's stressful enough for someone who isn't pregnant. You've been doing a lot on your own recently, they're partners in this business too."
"I know, I know," Lorelai sighed. She accepted the coffee when he offered and took a long sip. "They have their own lives too and Sookie isn't good with the financial planning and numbers part of the business but I am so that falls to me. Which I can handle."
"There's other areas they could help out with," Luke butted in. Since the only other people in the diner were Kirk and Cesar who were now sitting together, he joined Lorelai at her table. "Like showing up for a scheduled meeting to discuss the inn that they want a part in opening."
"I know," Lorelai repeated with as just an exasperated sigh as before. "Can we not talk my perpetually doomed business right now? Can we focus on something else?"
He reached across the table and laid his hand across hers and gave it a tender squeeze. "Your business isn't doomed. The Dragonfly is going to do great. Everyone will want to stay there, it will be written about in magazines."
"We're married and I'm pregnant with your child, you have to say nice things to me," she replied. A soft smile crossed her face. "But thank you."
He gave her a just as soft and sweet smile back. "Anytime."
"Now can we talk about the fact that I'm starving and you haven't yet asked me what I would like to eat?" Lorelai asked and then went on to answer her own question. "Because if that question was asked the answer would be a BLT with extra B and a side of fries."
He chuckled. "Coming right up."
As Luke moved to stand up from the chair and go to the kitchen to prepare Lorelai's order, Cesar intercepted asking to hear the lunch order and then offering to cook so Luke could stay out front with Lorelai while she waited. Encouraged by Lorelai to take Cesar up on his offer since she mentioned there was something else she wanted to talk to him about, he remained at the table while Cesar headed into the kitchen and while Kirk left money on his table for his meal and then left the diner.
"About my parent's offer last night," Lorelai started. "Or more so my mother's offer, I've thought about it and we haven't really talked about it since it was offered, but I don't think it's such a bad idea. The inn is going to cost more than originally planned and we still have baby stuff to buy and if we didn't have the expense of getting a new car, I think it would be less stressful on us. And you are all about reducing my stress."
"You would be okay with your mother personally picking out a new car for us?" Luke asked.
"Well, I mean, we could give suggestions as to what we want if we knew what we wanted, maybe show some pictures so we don't end up with something that screams 'Emily Gilmore,'" Lorelai tried to explain. "Plus whatever is happening between my parents, I think my mom needs this, needs to help out or focus on anything than other than what she's not talking to me about even though I have asked."
"I'm sure everything is fine between your parents, maybe they hit a rough patch, but they could work it out," Luke attempted to reassure his wife who he knew was worried about her parents. "Could be her way of wanting you to accept the presents she is offering since the nursery makeover was refused."
She laughed at that because that's exactly what was on her mind. "You know that thought did cross my mind, that this is all a mind game but it's carried on for too long. She wouldn't go to this length. But if it was, then it worked."
"It would help us out," Luke admitted. "We could focus more on finding someone to help out once the baby is born and we both have to go back to work."
"That's one thing we're not mentioning to my parents. Especially to my mother. I can only imagine the comments she'll make if she learns we're hiring a nanny."
He gave a sharp nod of his head. "I'm not arguing with you on that."
The couple was startled when the current quiet nature of the diner was broken by the forceful opening of the diner door followed by the usual tinkling of the bells. Their attention was drawn to the figure standing in the doorway and addressing them both by name. An awkward figure of a person who had just left the diner barely ten minutes ago.
"What is it Kirk?" Luke questioned when the man in question continued to stand in the doorway staring at them.
He let out a breath that he had been holding. "There's an emergency town meeting."
"Now?" Lorelai asked to which Kirk nodded in response. A slight pout formed on her face. "But my food..."
"We don't have to go to every meeting this town holds, you know as well as I do that these emergency town meetings are never really emergencies," Luke replied.
"But I can't skip a town meeting, Rory likes to stay up to date on the happenings in this town," Lorelai reasoned. "If she finds out that there was a town meeting and I didn't go to see what it was about, she'll be upset."
"So, we'll send Jess," Luke suggested.
She looked around the diner and saw no signs on her daughter's boyfriend. "And where is Jess?"
Luke gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know. He left earlier, said he needed to go out for something."
"Then I think we have to go." She carefully pushed herself up from the chair and steadied herself on her feet. "Can you..."
Luke seemed to read her mind. "I'll go get your food from Cesar, we'll take it to the meeting. It will really piss Taylor off."
"And what would this town be without the Luke and Taylor dynamic, certainly a little less colorful," Lorelai called after Luke as he moved away from their table and headed back towards the kitchen. She turned to Kirk who still stood in the doorway. "You can go back to the meeting, we're on the way."
"Don't be late," Kirk warned, confusing Lorelai as he swiveled on his heel and then bolted out the door.
She watched as he hurried down the sidewalk, somewhere between a walk and a run, and then ducked into the dance studio. She was confused but put it down to Kirk's natural ways. A few seconds later she felt a hand on her shoulder and a take-out box of food was being placed in her hands. She smiled and pressed a kiss to Luke's cheek.
"Let's go."
Luke pressed a hand to her back as he led her out the diner door and down the sidewalk, heading to the dance studio. All the while, Lorelai had opened her container of food and started to munch on a loose piece of bacon that had fallen off her sandwich and rested amongst the pile of french fries. Preoccupied while trying to hold her lunch steady without spilling anything and navigating the few steps up to the dance studio/town meeting hall, Lorelai didn't immediately notice that the studio was darkened inside. She only noticed when Luke started to grumble about the lights being off and where the light switch was located.
"This better not be another one of Taylor's ways to save money to repair that bridge that he always claims needs donations."
"Like the time he tried to claim that we didn't need to light the whole studio just for a town meeting that would only last a few minutes," Lorelai replied. "That is until someone starting throwing spitballs at him."
Luke looked at her knowingly. "Yeah, someone."
"What? Rory was upset and seeing her mother throw spitballs at Taylor made her laugh. It was all in the name of making my kid happy." She nodded her head towards the opposite wall that Luke was currently by. "Light switch is over there."
When Luke managed to find the light switch and flip it on, a chorus of 'surprise' from different directions rang out as the crowd gathered before their eyes also shouted their congratulations on the soon-to-be resident of Stars Hollow and their love for the couple standing in front of them. Lorelai's eyes drifted from the crowd to the pastel decorations that covered the dance studio to the banner that declared this a baby shower to the two woman who had stepped in front of the crowd and were directly responsible for the 'emergency town meeting'.
"Surprise," Rory exclaimed as she approached her mother and Luke. "Happy baby shower."
Lorelai smiled wide. "You threw all this together? Rory, this is amazing."
"Well it wasn't just me," Rory pointed out as her party planning partner-in-crime came to stand beside her. "Sookie did a lot of the work. A real team effort."
"Yes, and I know we were supposed to have a meeting today but I had to help out with this," Sookie said as she gestured her arms to the room and people around her. She stopped short at the sight of the box in Lorelai's hands. "What's that for? We have food here."
"Sookie," Rory almost scolded the older woman.
"Oh right, not the point," Sookie replied with a smile. "You thought it was a town meeting, didn't know about this because this was a surprise. This was hard to keep a secret."
"Well I love it, it's amazing," Lorelai gushed. She turned her head to look at Luke. "Did you know about any of this?"
He shook in head in response. "I didn't know. I thought it was a town meeting like you did."
"We wanted to keep the both of you in the dark," Rory informed them. "Make it a complete surprise."
"And it worked," Lorelai encouraged. "Glad you did it now because if you would have waited longer, a surprise like that might have triggered labor."
"Exactly my thinking," Rory replied. She moved and looped her arm through her mother's. "Come on, I'll show you everything that Sookie and I planned."
"We have all of your favorite foods," Sookie explained as she fell in line behind Lorelai and Rory and walked beside Luke. "Things you've been craving lately, things you've always loved, and food that I thought was essential. And I made a cake! You should see the cake!"
Lorelai stopped to smile at her best friend. "You didn't have to do that much Sookie. But tell me about this cake I've been hearing about."
"How about we just show you?" Rory chimed in. "We'll see the food, the cake, and everything else that Sookie and I have planned carefully. We can spend the rest of the day celebrating my little brother."
Lorelai's eyes gleamed as she spotted a table in the far corner that was piled high with presents, a few that were impeccably wrapped and could only be from her parents. "I spy a present table."
Rory gave a nod of her head. "Yep, those are for later. And mainly for my baby brother, though Miss Patty made hints that what she got you isn't for the baby at all."
"I wouldn't expect it to be," Lorelai agreed.
As Rory led her mother through the cramped dance studio trying to show her everything they had set up for the party, they were stopped by various Stars Hollow residents who wanted to chat about the baby and once again offer congratulations while also trying to pat her belly and feel the baby move for themselves. She quickly excused herself from that, not keen to the idea of everyone trying to touch her belly. Trying to get her mother away from touchy-feely people, Rory led her to the bulletin board that was covered in baby pictures from the expectant couple. Well more baby ones from Luke as Emily recounted how Lorelai destroyed all her baby pictures when she was younger.
After Lorelai commented on just how cute a baby Luke was and how she just knew their son would look exactly like him, Sookie joined in on Rory's explanation of the surprise baby shower and included the various activities and game they had planned, explaining that they only chose certain ones as Rory deemed some of them too cutesy and not something that her mother would enjoy.
Later that day, at a onesie decorating station, Rory held up her first creation to be scrutinized by Jess. When he made a face that she wasn't happy with, she frowned and turned the onesie back in her direction and tried to figure out where she went wrong. She knew that she wasn't the artistic type but she figured she could something a little basic with the fabric paint yet with the unimpressed look that Jess wore, she doubted her artistic abilities even more than she did while in the midst of decorating.
Jess moved closer by her side, "You have seen a duck before, haven't you?"
"Not funny," Rory pouted. She titled her side to the side as she studied the onesie that lay before her. "It kind of looks like a duck. I think it's cute."
"Whatever you say," Jess replied with a smirk on his face. He pointed his finger at the creation, careful not to touch. "What are those supposed to be?"
Rory scoffed. "Those are his eyes."
Jess held back a laugh. "Those do not look like eyes."
Frustrated, Rory let out a huff. "Well at least I tried, I haven't seen you decorate one."
"I have some ideas bouncing around."
"Sure you do," Rory replied. She took one last look at her creation. "This is really bad, isn't it?"
"It's not so bad," Jess tried to be encouraging. "I mean if you squint your eyes and look at it from an angle then maybe….yeah it's bad."
"Mom would mercilessly mock this."
"Oh yeah, you would be mocked. Probably for the rest of your life over that."
"Maybe I can do another one."
"Maybe try something a little simpler this time," Jess suggested. "Words would be good. Those would be hard to screw up."
Rory grabbed a new onesie from the pile and picked up a blue fabric marker. It only took her a moment to decide on something that she knew her mother and Luke would find hilarious. "Okay, I can't screw this one up," she said as she began to write. "We have a limited supply of onesies."
Across the room, Lorelai sat on what she had declared as her throne with Luke by her side in his equivalent to her declaration of a throne while they were surrounded by a sea of opened and unopened presents. At first their present opening attracted those who bought presents but the act of watching people open presents slowly trickled away as other activities were resumed and the food was consumed. The couple and invited guests had participated in the various games that were thought of and meticulously planned for the baby shower, some begrudgingly participated thanks to those who pouted until they gave in. And though, it wasn't planned by the two responsible for the baby shower, bets were placed with varying dollar amounts as to when the baby would be born and even who the baby would favor more.
She set aside the lacy red lingerie that was so obviously a gift from Miss Patty who suggested they use it tonight and reached across her chair and took Luke's hands in hers. She smiled at him. "We may live in a crazy town but it's full of people who love and care for us."
"You're just saying that because you're surrounded by presents," Luke pointed out.
"The gifts are a plus," Lorelai admitted. She watched the crowd of people who moved around the dance studio, some who stopped by to show off creations from the onesie decorating station. "Our baby is going to grow up so loved."
Luke smiled at her. "That he is."
And snippets of a surprise baby shower without actually getting into the whole thing. Like I said above, I hope to start updating more regularly. I have everything planned out, some that follows the events of S4 with a little twist and some happening earlier on, but I just had trouble actually sitting down to write the ideas out. I haven't forgotten about my other story either, an update is coming soon. Perhaps this weekend?
As always, reviews are appreciated!