Chapter 36: Christmas Wishes
"Luke!" Lorelai called from the snow-covered front yard. "Luuuuuke!"
Luke opened the front door and started walking toward the voice, "Sorry, I was- what the hell did you do?"
Lorelai grinned widely as she glanced in the back of Luke's truck. She'd begun shopping for Christmas decorations the first day she felt her sinus infection starting to give up the fight. Luke had joined her on the first few shopping sprees, but after he'd made one too many comments about crap made in China and making the house look like Disneyland, Lorelai had banished him. She'd borrowed his truck that morning to purchase the remaining decorations for the yard and exterior of the house.
Luke gaped at the back of his truck, seeing it filled with outdoor Christmas decorations. Light-up candy canes to line the walkway to the house, a gigantic inflatable snowman, and a massive tree made of lights were the items Luke could get a clear look at. Below them were several other decorations ranging from several fake pine garland strands interwoven with white lights to massive red bows.
"Lorelai," Luke groaned, "What happened to keeping it simple?"
"I believe I threw it out two seconds after you suggested it. Come on, Luke, it's fun! And did you see the neighbors' houses? We can't be that house, y'know, the one that makes zero effort. We have to at least put a little work into this."
"Yeah, because hanging the gigantic wreaths you insisted we needed, and putting up all the colored lights wasn't the slightest bit of work," he grumbled as he helped unload.
"Well, I can do most of the rest. I'll just need your help with the garland and the bows. I want to put those over the porch railing and balcony. It'll be pretty, just you wait," Lorelai grinned excitedly, "Besides, April and Rory both arrive on evening flights, don't you want to welcome them to their new Stars Hollow residence in style?"
Luke allowed a small smile to escape as he thought of their reactions. April had become less obsessive about her atheist-agnostic non-holiday stance after Lorelai had argued that technically, since none of them were religious, their method of celebrating was just for fun, and he knew Rory was definitely her mother's daughter when it came to Christmas kitsch.
Hours later, Luke finally finished organizing and disguising all the necessary electrical cords needed to light or otherwise run Lorelai's outdoor winter paradise. Lorelai beamed proudly from the patio furniture on the porch where she'd been sitting with a mug of coffee and Paul Anka burrowed up next to her.
"Did you see the wreath?" Lorelai asked, handing Luke the mug of tea she'd brought out for him as he sat next to her.
"I hung the damn thing a few days ago, don't you remember?"
"Not the big one on the house, silly, the one on the truck!"
"Please tell me you didn't."
"I so did," she turned her massive smile toward him, "Your truck, the SUV, and my jeep. I put those on before I dragged you out here. Face it, the Danes house is going to be festive. Remember? You can be festive, and you like it when I drag you into it."
"There's festive, and there's excessive," he said, shaking his head slightly.
"Excessive would be also adding the reindeer kit. Which I wanted for the jeep, but the zippered windows don't work with the antlers," Lorelai pouted. "Y'know, I really should buy another strand of colored outdoor lights for the diner."
"The ones you already made me put up are plenty. I almost punched Taylor in his damn smug face the next morning as it was."
"So that's why he gave me a free scoop of that peppermint fudge ice cream," she laughed. "Come on, let's go in and warm up before we have to come back out here again to see the timer kick everything on."
Luke stood and ushered her indoors, not bothering to mention he'd already seen everything on while making sure it all worked.
He'd been hanging up some of the interior decorations before she arrived, and the box containing the stockings sat nearby. He pointed at them, "Uh, there are these really fancy ones in there and your old burned ones. I don't know if you want to hang one set on the mantle on the library and one set out here, or what."
Lorelai wrinkled her nose as she saw the hideous stockings Chris had bought the year before. "Toss those, those were new last year and they're not us. Besides, I bought ones like mine and Rory's for you, April, and Paul Anka." She opened the coat closet, grabbed the plastic bag she'd brought home a few months prior, and handed it to him. "I still need to add your names with glitter glue, but we can hang them up for now, and I'll do that tomorrow."
Luke reached in the bag and held up four newer versions of the stockings that matched Rory and Lorelai's singed ones. "Got an extra here. You replacing one of the old ones?" he asked.
Lorelai grimaced briefly as she grabbed the fourth one, tossing it into one of the newly emptied boxes, "Um, no, Rory and I will keep our old ones... this one was just, um, wishful thinking."
Luke's eyebrows furrowed and he carefully placed the remaining stockings on the coffee table in front of him. He turned toward Lorelai, watching as she busied herself with another box of decorations, clearly intending to move onto something other than the stockings.
"Like... there was something that made you think you might need to grab an extra stocking?" he asked slowly.
"No. I thought, maybe, by Christmas..." she waved her hand dismissively, still not meeting his eyes, "Well, anyway, like I said, just wishful thinking."
"Lorelai," Luke replied softly, sitting on the edge of the arm rest.
"Don't. It's not a big deal," Lorelai reached for the Christmas tree skirt she'd sewn several years ago and finally steeled herself enough to regard Luke. "I'm not worrying about it. I just..." she sighed, fingering the soft fabric in her hands. "I really just figured, at the time, there might be four and a half of us for the holidays. I'm glad it's not, because, I mean, what good is eggnog without booze, anyway? And have you tried Babette's Christmas cocktails? I would probably be drinking less caffeine, you know, and Weston's has that amazing candy cane coffee that I missed last year, and I know you wouldn't have let me help you with the lights on the roof, and we had so much fun doing that and gazing out at the view of the neighborhood."
Eager to put an end to her babbling, Luke stood and wrapped his arms around his wife, pressing a kiss to her temple. "It'll happen."
"I know," Lorelai said, her voice slightly muffled against his shoulder. She took a deep breath, letting herself lean into his embrace a little, "And I'm really okay. I'd forgotten about that extra stocking until just now, and seeing it, I remembered what I was thinking that day, and it... caught me off guard a little."
"You're sure you're okay?" he asked, pulling back to watch her face, knowing it would tell him things her words might downplay.
Lorelai's eyes scanned Luke's concerned face before she met his eyes. She was mostly telling the truth. The fact was, although Sookie had backed off the topic since Lorelai recovered from her sinus infection, the rest of the town hadn't, and the comments had been getting to her a little over the last few days.
Rory was conceived the first and only time she and Chris had decided the excitement of impromptu sex on the balcony was more important than the condoms hidden beneath two pounds of Tootsie Rolls in Lorelai's dresser drawer. She thought it might be just as easy the second time.
Lorelai hadn't been disappointed when, a few weeks after her and Luke's wedding, there were no signs of a wedding night conception, but she'd forgotten how part of her initial honeymoon planning had included many investigations into virgin tropical beverages. Lorelai had told herself it was just in case, but after seeing the stocking again, she realized it had been more of an expectation than she'd wanted to admit.
"I know we agreed to be really open about this, Luke, and I swear I'm trying. I'm not upset, I'm not worried. I know it'll happen sooner or later, but a part of me expected sooner..." she smiled at him reassuringly, "I'm okay. It really was just seeing the stocking that reminded me it's... later."
"Say the word, Lorelai. I'm still fine with seeing what happens, but I told you before, if you're not, we can start to get more serious about this, get a specialist or however that works, more tests, whatever-"
"No," Lorelai said firmly, shaking her head and reaching for his hand and squeezing it, "No. I'm not even ready for that yet." She thought for a moment, trying to sort out how to explain how she was feeling, "It's different on my end, you know? More... wondering if being a day late might mean something, or did I eat that apple because it was there or because it's a sign of something. But I'm fine with what we agreed to. And I swear, if it changes, I'll tell you."
"Okay," Luke breathed, relieved to have more insight into what had been going through her head. He smiled and squeezed her hand back, "You know, we could at least, or, I guess, you could try that chart thing."
"There's a reason I had to switch the lingerie drawer to the bigger one, Luke. You really didn't notice you've been getting seduced several specific nights in a row the last two months?" she asked with a slight smirk. He looked thoughtful for a moment and shook his head with a smirk of his own. "I've kinda been doing the charting thing since our conversation about kids in August, hon. Just keeping track of things. Believe me, there has been ample sex at the right times of the month since the wedding."
"Oh," Luke replied, dumbfounded. "Well, that's smart, I guess."
"I haven't been super crazy with it. I remember Sookie constantly taking her temperature and obsessing over a bunch of other stuff," Lorelai sighed in annoyance at the thought, "I really don't want to deal with that."
"Well, I think keeping up with the... um, y'know, specific days thing is good. And I can ask Liz-"
"No way," Lorelai objected as she realized the tree skirt in her hands was in desperate need of ironing. She walked to the stairs and tossed it on a step to take it upstairs next time she went up, then returned to the living room. "Maybe later I'll see if there's anything else we can do to maybe help, but I'm not sleeping with a fertility crystal or something."
"Fertility crystal?" Luke laughed.
"Or something!" she grinned, moving back to the boxes of decorations. "I know we both blocked out the details TJ was freely sharing the other night, but I think I remember something about a crystal or stone or something hanging above their bed."
She glanced at Luke in time to see him shudder, and giggled as she began unpacking more decorations.
Lorelai waved as she saw her step-daughter approach the airport's baggage claim area. April squealed and ran to hug her step-mother tightly.
"No Dad?" April asked as they walked to the luggage carousel for April's flight.
"Airport parking's crazy and he refuses to pay for a spot so far away, so he's circling. How was your flight?"
"Not too bad. There was a little kid in the middle seat next to me flying to his dad's for Christmas, so I ended up letting him take the window seat because he was a little nervous. He's ten, his parents just divorced, and it was his first time flying alone," April nodded toward a boy whose face was burrowed into his father's side nearby. "I ended up telling him my life story and he felt a little better about things."
Lorelai nodded and watched the boy and his father interact. She thought back to Rory's childhood, realizing that if Chris has been more involved, that child might have been Rory. While there would have been so many times she would have relished having him more involved and supportive, she was grateful to have maintained a monopoly over holidays during Rory's childhood. She wondered how the boy's mother was coping with him being gone during Christmas for the first time, and her thoughts immediately turned to Anna, who was dealing with the same.
"What's your mom doing for Christmas?" Lorelai asked curiously. Anna hadn't been home the last several times Luke had talked to April, causing all parental-only information to be exchanged via brief emails. With all three adults caught up in their own lives, there hadn't been much time for discourse.
"Working. She's trying to make a lot of sales during the holidays to deplete inventory as fast as possible so she doesn't have to worry about that stuff during the move next year. We're spending spring break out here, too, so she can start getting this side of things ready," April picked at her cuticle nervously, "And, um, I kind of need your help with something during this trip."
"What's that?"
"I have a tour and an interview with Putnam Hall. I promised Mom I'd talk to Dad about it in advance, and I completely forgot."
Lorelai chuckled, "Forgot? Something that big?"
"By forgot I mean... kept putting it off, and ran out of time. I tend to do that sometimes, kinda like telling Mom about finding Dad," April smiled guiltily. "But I recently found out I'm eligible for a scholarship, so if he really doesn't like this and doesn't want to pay, I can probably arrange for it to cover his portion, and-"
"April, if you want this, you know the money's not going to be an issue," Lorelai reassured her. She smiled at April's dubious expression. "He's more bark than bite, you know that."
"True," April replied thoughtfully. "You should come too."
"Mmm, we'll see," Lorelai hedged. She recalled the majority of her teachers in high school being relatively old and couldn't fathom they'd still be there. Still, if anyone involved in the faculty recalled her, it wouldn't do April any good. "Might be more fun for you and your dad to explore it with a fresh set of eyes and unsullied opinions."
April shrugged, reaching for her bag as it moved in front of them on the baggage claim, and pointed to a similar, larger bag, "That one too."
As the two of them used their combined strength to drag it off the conveyor, Lorelai groaned, "Geez, April, how long you staying again?"
"I'm leaving some of it here. Less to pack next year, and this way I can work on my room a little more," April grinned as they walked to the pick-up area outside.
Luke pulled up in the SUV, grumbling as he loaded April's luggage into to the back, "If this is all books..."
"No," April laughed as they settled in for the drive home. "Mom made me leave the one with the books; said she wasn't paying for two overweight bags. I tried, though."
Talk of Anna and April's moving preparations continued as they drove. When they pulled up in front of the colorful, brightly lit house, April burst into laughter and immediately began taking pictures.
"Don't send any photos to Rory, it's a surprise!" Lorelai called as she followed Luke indoors.
Later, after Lorelai returned to the inn, Luke helped April unpack and decorate her room while she slowly tried to direct conversation toward school. Luke watched her carefully, noticing her tendency toward nervous chatter when avoiding something... not unlike her step-mother.
"April," Luke said firmly as he held back the swim trophy she'd reached for. "What's up?"
"Have mom or Lorelai, um, mention anything about school next year?"
"No. The last time school came up was at the wedding, and you said you were looking at private schools," Luke frowned, watching April sit on her bed with a heavy sigh. "Did you pick one, or something?" he asked.
"Uh, I have... some ideas."
"Really?"
Luke sat across from her on the bed and handed her the trophy, watching as she nervously rubbed the bottom of her shirt over the nameplate, removing a few smudges.
"I know this isn't really your thing, and I don't mean to spring this on you, but I have an invitation for a tour and interview with one. And it's kind of a big one. My first choice, actually. And, again, I know it's not your thing, and you'd probably prefer I'd stick with public school, but-"
Luke frowned, shaking his head, "For me, public school was right. You're a lot different. I hated school and never would've survived something like that. When is it?"
"The day after Christmas."
"Is it so fancy that they don't even have winter breaks?"
April laughed, "No, I explained my situation and there are a few faculty members coming in. I won't get to see the school in session, but I took it as a really good sign that they were willing to come in anyway."
"I'd say so," Luke nodded. He watched April nervously tracing the outline of the trophy in her hands and knew there was still something more she wasn't saying. After a few moments of silence, he cleared his throat and gave her a knowing look when she glanced up at him.
"Putnam Hall is the school." She waited for a reaction, but he either didn't recognize the name, or had never actually heard it. "It's private, but it has an amazing science program, but they also have a swim team."
He nodded, liking what he was hearing so far, "Sounds like a good fit."
"Yeah, I think so too," April giggled nervously, "Uh, well. So. Funny enough, it's actually where Lorelai went."
"Really," Luke replied, biting back the groan he wanted to release. Given the stories he'd heard from Lorelai and her parents, he'd developed a strong distaste for her high school. He saw it filled with self-absorbed, overprivileged rich kids, the kind that created adults like Christopher - perpetual children with no concept of reality or responsibility. "April, have you, uh, mentioned this to Lorelai?"
"Oh, yeah. She said I should form my own opinion, though, since her experience was a little unique."
Relieved by her admission, April stood and returned to the step stool they'd gotten out. She set her trophy on one of her shelves, then glanced down to watch her dad for a moment, sighing inwardly as she noticed the weary expression on his face. He remained silent, not a rare choice for him, but it was often an indicator of parental disapproval.
She stepped down and put her hands on her hips as she stood in front of him.
"Unique as in 'belonging to or connected with only one particular thing, place, or person', synonymous with unusual?" April said, pausing while she waited for him to look up at her. "Or in more common terms, I'm not going to let some snotty teenage boy knock me up."
"April!" Luke groaned, dropping his face into his hands.
"Mom and I already have plenty of plans for when I'm actually dating. Besides, I've done a ton of research on hormonal birth control, and-"
"April!" he shouted, jumping up and completely turning away from her as his face turned red with a combination of fury and mortification, "I don't think I want to hear about this!"
"Well, you should," she frowned, crossing her arms in front of her, "I mean, these are conversations that are important to have with your kids, you know. I need you to understand that school's my main priority, sex isn't, and if it becomes more important to me before I graduate, I already plan to be exceptionally careful."
When he didn't turn around or speak, April sighed. "Dad, can I show you some of the literature from the school? It doesn't have statistics about teen pregnancies, but I think you might find the acceptance rate into high ranking universities rather impressive. Mom even talked to the head of the science department on the phone, they have a two-week intensive at MIT, and-"
"April, stop," Luke took a deep breath as he turned to face his daughter, "I wasn't saying no. I just have concerns."
"The past doesn't dictate the present, you know," she said, looking him in the eye. "If it did, you'd be the step-grandfather to Rory's seven year old kid."
He shook his head. His concerns weren't nearly that simple. He'd seen what Lorelai had gone through with Rory's over-exposure to the world of Emily and Richard. He still vividly remembered what had happened after the night Liz and TJ had intruded and ruined their date.
He'd called Lorelai later that evening to apologize for his insane family one more time, and ask how she'd enjoyed the cheesecake he made. He'd noticed she sounded a little down, and far less enthusiastic about the dessert than she'd normally be; after a fair amount of prodding, she told him about Rory coming home in a limo, bejeweled and drunk. She never said another word about it after that, but Lorelai could rarely hide the worry that crossed her face the deeper Rory got involved with Logan, immersing herself further into the world her mother had sought to protect her from so many years ago.
To be fair, his conscience reminded him, she was at Yale by then. And he couldn't recall Rory getting too heavily involved in such things when she was in high school. Even the boys she dated had been from Stars Hollow. Not that that was any consolation.
"It's not just that, April," Luke waved his hand dismissively, "I'll see if Lorelai can take a few hours off that afternoon and we can go."
"She seemed a little disinterested when I mentioned it earlier. Wants us to see it without her own opinions getting in the way," April shrugged. "I'd like her to go, but you may want to check on your ingredients for pie first. Maybe have coffee waiting when she gets home? See if Aunt Liz has some jewelry she wouldn't mind pawning off on you?"
Luke smirked at April's list of ways to butter up Lorelai. She likely wouldn't be thrilled with the idea of revisiting her past, he knew. He really would like Lorelai to go along with them. If April got in and decided to go there, Lorelai would be going with him to parent nights and swim meets, anyway. But most importantly, at this point, he'd rely on her ability to talk to people out of his league so he didn't embarrass his daughter by only picking up on half the things they talked about. Such social situations were far more palatable when he could shadow Lorelai.
"We'll talk about it. Either way, we should definitely check this place out," Luke took a cleansing breath and attempted to change the mood, "You said you had a brochure or something?"
"Mom!" Rory yelled as she caught sight of her mother waiting in the airport's baggage claim. The two bolted toward each other and held on tight. Passersby, certain the two hadn't seen each other in years, smiled at them, proud to be witness to such an important moment.
"It's been so long!" Lorelai said as she released her daughter, "Two long months."
"It has been two long months. Now let's go, because during that length of time, I got a whole new house I still haven't seen," Rory urged, looking around. "No Luke, no April? My new family really knows how to welcome me home."
"Tonight's the one night April was able to arrange a pre-Christmas dinner with her mom's cousin and the people she and Anna used to get together with before she moved," Lorelai explained. "She wanted to introduce her dad, who tried very hard to get me to go, but it's in Woodbridge and you're here, and it's the one time I've been able to pick you up from the airport instead of being upstaged by your fancy chauffeur."
"Ohh," Rory nodded, recalling April talking about them over the summer, "I'm happy for her, I know she missed them last year. Especially the infamous Uncle Rex who covertly assisted with the DNA project."
"Right. April was a little upset when she realized the timing conflicted with your flight, and Luke's not much for social engagements, so you know he'd rather be here. I, however, am perfectly content not having to share you for a bit."
Rory smiled and looped her arm through her mother's as they walked toward the parking lot. Soon, the luggage was loaded into the jeep and they were on their way. As they drove through their half Stars Hollow, half Beacon Falls neighborhood, Rory's eyes widened at the amount of lights and decorations covering each of the houses, laughing as she saw the new house fully decked as well.
"Luke still says our place is overly outrageous compared to the neighbors' houses," Lorelai scoffed as she unloaded Rory's luggage.
"Uh, did he miss the penguin rollercoaster on that first house on the corner?!"
"Apparently! Taking all that down is way too much of pain. I think ours looks perfectly decorated."
"And you did a really nice job hiding all the electrical cords," Rory observed as they walked up the candy cane lit sidewalk.
"Mention that again, with a little more awe in your tone when Luke gets home tonight for me, will you? He spent more time on that than anything else, and makes sure to mention the fact every time someone compliments the house," Lorelai rolled her eyes.
Rory headed straight upstairs, more eager to see her room than the indoor Christmas decor, and gasped when she opened her bedroom door, her mother right behind her.
Her Yale diploma and a few of her travel posters were neatly framed and hung. On her old nightstand was a framed photo from sixteenth birthday. Her desk was there, though it looked like it had been refinished - Luke's work, no doubt. An extra charger for her laptop was already waiting there for her, along with a few books.
She walked over and sat on her new bed, looking around the room at the other small touches before her gaze landed on a new dresser upon which sat a few more photos. She walked over to get a closer look.
One was from the wedding, during the surprise mother/daughter dance, another was of her and Lane as little kids, sitting on the steps of the gazebo. One of the silly graduation frames she'd gotten as a gift in June held a photo of her and Paris in their caps and gowns; Lucy had taken it, she remembered, and it was one of the few moments she'd let herself relax and enjoy the afternoon, banishing all thoughts of her uncertain future and Logan's proposal. Next was a photo of the Danes-Gilmore-Nardini family from the wedding. The last frame was her with her grandparents, also from her Yale graduation.
Rory dropped her hand onto her chest as she turned toward her mother who was silently watching her from the doorway.
"This is... I don't even know... this isn't at all what I was expecting."
Lorelai smiled warmly and walked in, sitting on Rory's bed as she looked around. "Luke went back and ordered the dresser that day we ordered the beds. April got one too. After we started working on moving things in here, we noticed GG had wreaked havoc on your desk. I came home from work the next day to find the garage reeking of paint stripper. He sanded it down, got rid of all the stains, and refinished it."
"I figured as much," Rory replied, opening one of the dresser drawers to find her clothes neatly folded. "Mom, I don't think I ever want to leave, this is so amazing."
"Ah, well, mission accomplished," Lorelai stood. "I know you've been struggling with the concept of home, and I know you said you'd never be here long-term, but... I want to make sure you know you always have a home here, and I did as much as I could to make it feel that way."
"You definitely succeeded," Rory nodded walking to embrace her mom tightly. "Thank you so much. Of course," she continued as she released her and dropped back onto the bed, "I now have very little reason to be in the rest of the house."
"Ohhh, yes you do," Lorelai reached down to tug Rory's hands, "Come on, you have to see the rest of Luke's handiwork. For someone who put up such a fight about the house's exterior, he is super anal about his indoor Christmas decorations."
Lorelai and Rory sat in their chairs, watching gleefully as April indulged in her first candy cane coffee at Weston's.
"And?" Rory urged expectantly as April set her mug down.
"And... it's good. Better than I was expecting. It's not too pepperminty, but still sweet enough that you don't need to add sugar to the coffee," April paused, letting the taste settle, "I like it."
Lorelai nodded proudly, happy to have April join in such an important tradition.
"So, Rory, you have to come with us for my Putnam Hall tour," April said, changing the subject.
Rory raised her eyebrows and looked at her mother, "You going?"
"I've been guilted into it, but yes," Lorelai replied with a sigh. Luke had practically begged her not to leave him alone, and as he so rarely asked for anything, she couldn't tell him no. "Hey, Rory, did the ol' P.H. ever make it onto your list of potential schools?"
"Nah," Rory shook her head, "I didn't think you'd go for it, and Chilton had the better literature department and school newspaper, so it was my first choice all along. What would you have done if I had dreams of attending your old school?"
"Sucked it up," Lorelai shrugged. "I probably would've tried to talk you out of it, though. One of my teachers would've sent you to the principal's office on your name alone, and that's assuming he didn't figure out who your dad was."
"Just because you had a kid?" April scoffed.
"Uh, there may have been a few disruptive offenses prior to that. Let's just say having Rory was probably the least of the things they took umbrage with. I won't go into details lest your father decide I'm attempting to give you ideas."
"These stories are best told by my grandparents, anyway," Rory winked at her step-sister.
"Mean. You know what happens when your grandmother gets into 'Bag on Lorelai' mode."
"What happens?" April asked curiously, grinning as Lorelai took a long gulp of coffee while shaking her head.
"Grandma's storytelling grows more and more dramatic with every passing moment, and she starts yelling at Mom like it just happened yesterday."
"She reminds me I am an embarrassment to the family, a mark on an otherwise clean record of scholastic achievement," Lorelai rolled her eyes. "And of course, my daughter never takes my side, she sits there and enjoys the show."
"Not true, sometimes I just wait until she's done to remind her that it all worked out in the end."
"Sometimes? Try rarely. Thankfully, I don't have to sit through any of it anymore," Lorelai smiled smugly as Rory cocked her head. "It really upsets Luke, and last time it happened, he nearly yelled at my mother and we left early."
April smiled proudly, "Doesn't surprise me. Dad's pretty overprotective like that."
"Overprotective... whatever you do, don't date anyone local who might want to stop by Luke's if you break up," Rory muttered.
"Ugh, at this point, I'm pretty sure I'm not mentioning any boys to Dad from here on out. It's never gone well for me," April sighed helplessly. "Not that Mom's any better, but he's... so weird about it."
Lorelai smirked as April talked about a boy from her school she'd been hanging out with, the famous Jamie from the summer long forgotten. Luke had spent a good twenty minutes venting about Aaron already; Lorelai was pretty sure he hadn't gotten nearly enough details to match the number of presumptive leaps he'd made about the boy.
The women got their second cups of candy cane coffee to go, and headed to the car to drive home. As Luke was slightly understaffed due to the holidays and closing the diner that night, Lorelai planned an evening of takeout with their daughters for dinner. As she drove the SUV toward the house, she saw Rory smile into her glowing screen for what seemed to be the millionth time since she'd arrived the day before.
When she saw the phone come out during a Christmas movie and Chinese food, Lorelai paused the movie, staring at Rory until she noticed.
"I was watching!" Rory objected, eyes still focused on her phone's screen.
April glanced over at Rory and pointed at the phone, "You've been on that thing non-stop."
"Yeah," Lorelai frowned, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "What gives?"
Rory sighed, finishing her snarky reply and hit send. She held up her phone making it clear she was turning the device off, and dropped it onto the coffee table.
"I pestered Miles about his family Christmas plans, so I wound up with a play by play, and some of it is mock-worthy. Like the sorry excuse for a gingerbread house he's building for a competition among his sister and a few cousins," Rory held up her hands defensively, "Hit play, I didn't realize I was disrupting the movie."
Lorelai bit back the teasing comment that had been on the tip of her tongue as Rory divulged the recipient of her endless texts, and simply nodded and hit the play button. Luke arrived a short while later, pie in hand to make up for his unexpectedly late arrival, and joined the rest of them in the living room for the end of the movie.
In typical Luke fashion, his focus was less on the movie in front of him, and more on the people around him. Lorelai was snuggled against his side, Rory laid her head against the arm rest on the opposite side of the couch, while April sat in one of the chairs, her head on one of the chair's arms, legs draped over the other. Paul Anka, annoyed to find Luke had stolen his spot, had moved to the new dog bed Lorelai had bought for the living room, turning his back to the humans in protest.
Luke decided Paul Anka had the right idea. While he could handle some Christmas movies, Home Alone was far from palatable, an unpopular opinion among the members of his family.
As the credits rolled, he grumbled, "It's still dumb. I don't care how many kids you have, you're gonna notice your child missing long before you get on a damn plane."
His observation was met with a three-toned groan, and Lorelai sat up to hit him with a pillow, "You pick the next one then, Mr. Picky." She looked at April and Rory, "He also expressed disdain for The Santa Clause, and fell asleep during White Christmas."
"The Santa Clause was stupid, and I'd just spent the entire day at the diner when you insisted we watch White Christmas," Luke argued. "I liked 'It's A Wonderful Life'. And that newer one with all the different people who are all connected, the British one."
April gaped at her father, "Love Actually? You liked that?!"
"Luke..." Rory stared, speechless.
"I liked the stories," Luke muttered, "And yes, I realize, it's a girl movie. I don't care. And if my manliness is in question, I suggest Die Hard for the next one."
"Oh god," Rory groaned, "We had this discussion last week on the bus. That does not count as a Christmas movie. It's a genre, not a theme. Die Hard is an action movie. Doesn't count." She stood and reached for her phone, "And anyway, I'm beat. Whatever you do, don't watch A Charlie Brown Christmas, or A Christmas Story without me."
"Christmas Eve traditions, no worries," Lorelai replied as Rory left to head upstairs. "You got another suggestion, manly man?"
"Not really. It doesn't really matter what we watch, I'm stuck watchin' it."
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "April? Thoughts?"
"I was going to say the good old original Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, but I think Rory might be onto something. I was up early to help Dad open the diner, and I didn't get a nap in over lunch like he did," April yawned as she stood. "So just add that to the list of movies to hold off on."
"Noted. Night, April."
April waved tiredly and summoned Paul Anka to join her as she left.
"You're not gonna bail next, are you?" Lorelai eyed Luke.
"No, I promised you two movies tonight," he gestured to the TV, "Pick."
Lorelai looked closely at his face, "No, forget it, you'll fall asleep before we finish." She pointed at him, "You have sleepy eyes. You won't last twenty minutes."
"Who cares, it's not like I haven't seen all of these. I know how they end."
"Ugh," Lorelai shook her head, moving off the couch to put the Home Alone DVD away, and start shutting off lights, "That is so not the point of Christmas movies. They're festive."
"Again with festive. If I get any more festive, I'll have mistletoe growing out my ears," he grumbled, following her upstairs.
"Now that I would like to see," Lorelai grinned.
After crawling into bed, Lorelai sighed, "Still need a TV up here. We could at least nod off to some terrible Lifetime Christmas special."
Luke rolled his eyes as he pulled on his t-shirt and walked toward the bed, "I don't think I've ever watched one, but Kirk said he and Lulu have been watching them non-stop. That's all the information I need to avoid 'em."
Lorelai laughed, and reached over to turn off the lamp on her nightstand only to realize Luke's was still on, indicating he wasn't going to sleep just yet. She rolled over on her side to face him, noticing he had the Putnam Hall brochure out again. She wrinkled her nose. He should have the thing memorized by now given the amount of times she'd seen him looking at it.
Eager to distract him, Lorelai decided to bring something up that had been on her mind, "Hey, Luke? What did you do for Christmas last year?"
"Uh, not much. There was that stuff going on with April and Anna, so... aside from Liz guilting me into Christmas Eve at her place, I just kinda tried to ignore it," Luke stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before turning his head to face her, a wry grin on his face, "Wasn't too successful with that, and it really sucked since my last two Christmases were with you."
Lorelai nodded, "Yeah... I think it worked out really well that Rory was gone. I played up the whole 'I refuse to celebrate Christmas until she's back' thing, which helped me deal with it a little better. And then I outright pretended Christmas wasn't happening all around me. If you thought my powers of denial were good before," she huffed, "That was my magnum opus."
"Only thing to be in denial about this year is tomorrow night," Luke yawned, stretching and reaching over to turn his bedside light off, "I was really hoping we'd be exempt from the Two Weeks Early Gilmore Christmas Celebration when it was canceled two weeks ago."
"How was I supposed to know she'd schedule a smaller soirée for just the family on Christmas Eve?" Lorelai grumbled, reaching to turn her light off as well. She readjusted, snuggling up next to Luke, "At least this year you don't completely hate Scotch, so it's a quick ride into happy land if you chug a few glasses right when we arrive."
"I thought this was just going to be family," Lorelai paused next to her mother as she watched the backs of her husband, daughter, and step-daughter ahead of her.
"It was, and a few of your father's business associates happened to be stranded because of the storm farther west."
"A few?! There are fifty people here."
"Lorelai," Emily sighed, "Four business associates, their spouses, that's eight. And since some of the people from the Hartford office wanted to make sure it wasn't your father and I stuck entertaining them alone, we invited a few others, and a few contacts your father is hoping to make. Your step-daughter is fourteen years old and behaving better than you are," she motioned to April introducing herself to one of the women in the other room, Luke hovering behind her.
Lorelai glanced over at Rory, hugging a woman Lorelai didn't recognize, and was soon introduced as a friend Rory had made during her time in the DAR. A few introductions and plenty of small talk later, Lorelai wondered if anyone would even notice if she sneaked out to hide in the car until dinner.
"I've been a huge fan of your daughter's writing, I had no idea she was Emily and Richard's granddaughter," one of the women who Lorelai ought to have remembered from her childhood said, smiling.
"We're very proud of her," Lorelai smiled back, watching Rory and April in deep discussion with a few of the guests. She shook her head disbelievingly, and wondered where Luke managed to hide.
"They get along surprisingly well for sisters, especially with the age gap," the woman gestured to the pair, "My sister and I had a ten year age difference and never quite saw eye to eye."
"Ah, well, they are step-sisters, and with Rory on the road and April spending most of her time with her mother, that may have something to do with it. I imagine it's a little different when you grow up with someone. Sibling rivalry and all."
The woman nodded agreeably as Emily approached, handing Lorelai a drink.
"You should give Hébert a call and get a head start on April's debutante gown, Emily, you know he books up quickly these days."
Lorelai nearly choked on her drink, earning her a glare from her mother.
"Thank you so much for the suggestion," Lorelai replied, recovering slightly, "You should mention that to her father when you see him," she bit back a grin and turned to her mother.
The nameless guest took the cue to move onto a new group of people and Emily frowned at her daughter, "You don't need to mock it, Lorelai. April might enjoy such a thing."
"Doubtful, but like I told... Sissy Hurdygurdy, you're welcome to talk to Luke about it."
"Sissy who? That was Evelyn Schuster, I introduced you not ten minutes ago."
"Ah, right, sorry. They look so similar," Lorelai took a long sip of her martini as Emily continued venting about her lacking attention span. She tuned her mother out, frowning as she noticed her father speaking to Floyd Stiles. It was hardly surprising, he did own her father's company, but she hadn't seen the man since the awkward encounter with Jason years ago.
"Lorelai, did you hear anything I just said?" Emily's frown deepened.
"I didn't, sorry, what did you say?"
Emily sighed heavily, "I asked how things have been, settling into the house and embarking on your second month of marriage. We haven't seen you in a few weeks, and I'm hoping you weren't deliberately avoiding that question."
"No, mother. Things are great. The house is great. It's all great," Lorelai answered, and seeing the look on her mother's face, decided to elaborate somewhat, "I finished Rory's room just before she arrived, and April's is surprisingly put together for someone who doesn't even live in the same state."
"Good," Emily nodded, "And when will you finish the rest of the house?"
"It's done, I emailed you pictures of everything. I mean, we're still slowly working on the office, but there's no rush there until Luke has time to focus more on the cafe and we move the rest of his office stuff out of the apartment. You can stop by if you don't believe me."
"And the fourth bedroom?" Emily asked pointedly.
With that, Lorelai tipped the rest of her martini into her mouth, realizing she'd likely need several more drinks to get her through the night than she'd originally thought. She spotted Luke laughing warmly as Rory drew him into her conversation with yet another person Lorelai didn't recognize. She decided her best course of action was to flee the conversation before it could begin.
She tapped the side of her glass, indicating its need to be refilled, and took a step toward the drink cart only to be stopped by her mother's hand on her arm.
"Lorelai, I just don't want you to think you have all the time in the world if that's what you want. You're not as young anymore, and-"
Gritting her teeth, Lorelai focused on gently setting the empty martini glass on a nearby table to prevent herself from throwing it against the wall. For someone so obsessive about appropriate behavior, there were times Emily Gilmore seemed exceptionally skilled at inappropriate conversation. The first discussion on the topic had been with Christopher in front of a wedding planner. And now...
"Mom, we're not talking about this."
"Well, you'd mentioned after you got married-"
"Not talking about it means not talking about, and certainly not here, and especially not tonight. And if I can help it, not ever." Jaw set, Lorelai lifted her martini glass off the table and headed for the drink cart. She was relieved to find a pitcher of gin martinis already made and, after quickly tossing in a lemon twist, lifted one of the carefully arranged beers from the austere, urn-looking ice buckets. After removing the lid, she quickly headed toward her husband.
Luke glanced over to see Lorelai walking his way with a bottle of beer in her hand and immediately abandoned the "festive" brandy he'd been sipping. The brief moment of joy he felt over trading the thick, strong liquor for his adult beverage of choice disappeared upon seeing the anger present on Lorelai's face. Given how calm the majority of their interactions with the Gilmores had been over the last several months, it came as a surprise.
"Hey, thought you might want something you actually like," Lorelai forced a smile as she slid the bottle into his hand.
"Uh, thanks. What's... did something happen?"
"Nothing new. Just my mother sticking her nose where it's not wanted."
"About?"
Lorelai shook her head, "I'll tell you later. Where'd the girls run off to?"
"Heard something about apple tarts and knowing where the tupperware is," Luke chuckled. "Your daughter, not mine."
"She didn't go alone," Lorelai smirked at him, poking him as she did so, "I never have given you a full tour of this place, have I?" Luke shook his head and she grabbed his free hand with hers, "Follow me."
She led him upstairs, showing him far more rooms than two people who lived alone in a house had any reason for, and saved her room for last, pausing before she opened the door, "Prepare yourself. Nothing has changed since I was sixteen."
Every time she walked into her old bedroom, Lorelai could feel the cloying inadequacies of her youth. It was a twisted play on Goldilocks: never enough or far too much, but never just right - even when it came to producing grandchildren, apparently. "The dollhouse used to sit over there," she gestured.
Lorelai watched Luke as he looked around slowly, taking in every inch, as if imagining it would piece together a picture of the girl who used to live there, the predecessor to the woman he'd come to know so well.
"Rory didn't sleep in here as a baby?"
"She did," Lorelai replied. "I never really asked what happened to her crib." She bit her lip as she glanced at the spot where it used to sit, "Probably better that way."
Luke continued to inspect the room, a confused expression crossing his face as he spoke, "Wasn't your mother supposedly renovating this room, and that's why your dad dropped off the dollhouse last year?"
"Yeah," Lorelai huffed, "Funny, huh? Only thing missing from the room since the last time I was in here is the damn dollhouse."
"She'll do just about anything to get your attention, I guess." Luke mused, thinking of every time he'd seen Emily stick her neck out to reach out to her daughter over the years. Now, with a teenager daughter of his own, he had a bit more understanding of what might have been going through both Lorelai and Emily's heads back then.
Before Lorelai could ask what he meant, the door opened.
"What are you two doing?" Rory inquired as she stuck her head in the door.
Lorelai raised an eyebrow at her daughter as she turned one of the dolls sitting in a nearby chair upside down, "What do you think we're doing?"
"Hiding from Grandma by the looks of things."
"Please. I'm giving Luke a tour," she walked over to move one of the decorative pillows on the bed forty-five degrees, "What are you doing?"
"Restroom. The one downstairs had a few people waiting," Rory glanced at her mom and Luke one last time before turning around. Recalling her recent discovery about the last time her mother hid in there with a man, she added, "I'm leaving this door open. I'll see you downstairs."
Lorelai rolled her eyes and turned to find Luke holding up a smaller doll, one that actually was used with the dollhouse. "Whatever happened to that big dollhouse anyway?" he asked. "I thought you were going to keep it around and decorate it along with the house for the holidays?"
"Ah, well, Jackson broke it and Sookie was gonna get it fixed, but I'm pretty sure she never did since she never brought it back. It looked irreparable anyway. I heard the people at Webster's Dictionary used a photo of it for the definition of 'smithereens', as in 'smashed to'."
Luke frowned, recalling how much she'd loved the thing. He'd thought about their own daughter playing with it at some point, and had taken extra care when moving it into Lorelai's house. "I could take a look at it."
Lorelai shrugged, "I can ask Sookie about it, but I hadn't really thought about it until recently when I found the Christmas decorations I bought for it. She may have just tossed it." She walked over to the window and stared out at the balcony for a few moments, watching Luke's reflection in the glass as he joined her.
"Ever sneak out?" he asked curiously.
"You're seriously asking me that question? It was only a few years ago I escaped from it for the last time. My mother tried to set me up on a double date."
Luke chuckled and squeezed her shoulder. She eyed the balcony and thought of the last time she'd used it for something other than an escape route... and the time before that, when a young, drunken evening with Chris had resulted in Rory. She wondered if a barely tipsy evening with Luke might be as equally productive. Luke likely wouldn't go for it, especially if he had the slightest inkling who else had been out there with her. Before she could so much as propose the idea, she felt her mother's presence and began to turn as Emily spoke.
"Lorelai, if you miss your bedroom so much, you're welcome to move back in. I'm not sure why every party results in you escaping up here."
"Every party, Mom?" Lorelai snorted as she turned around, "I'm pretty sure Rory's sixteenth birthday party was the last one, and she was hiding up here, not me, because she was surrounded by a bunch of kids from her school she couldn't stand."
Emily rolled her eyes, "Last Christmas, your husb- things were a little strained and you were hiding on the floor behind your bed."
"I didn't even want to be here," Lorelai replied, her eyes glued to the floor, "I came because Chris wanted to, and you-" she closed her eyes and waved her hand dismissively, "Anyway, it doesn't matter, we'll be down in a few minutes."
Emily clenched her jaw. She knew she'd done nothing but tread in unwanted territory all night long, and as intentional as it had been earlier, she hadn't meant for it to carry over into her first Christmas Eve with her daughter and her family. She waited until Lorelai looked back up, and sighed when she saw the impatient look on her daughter's face. She spared a quick glance at Luke who was awkwardly staring at a shelf of dolls, as if such a thing would be of great interest to him.
"I came up here to tell you that your father's business associates are leaving," Emily broke the awkward silence, "I'd like to at least give the four of you your Christmas presents before you leave." She slipped out the door and closed it behind her before Lorelai could reply.
"Okay, what's going on with you two?" Luke asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he stared at the back of his wife's head.
Lorelai sighed heavily and sat on the bed, turning to face him. "She was asking about her future grandchildren. Real subtle at first, asking how the house was, and if the fourth bedroom was furnished yet."
Luke's eyes widened, "No. In the middle of the party?!"
"Oh yeah."
"I get prying after a few years, but we've only been married a few months, that's hardly long enough to be demanding news about grandkids. How does she even know-"
"Every time the woman corners me, she makes me talk," Lorelai raised her hands in exasperation, "First with you moving in over the summer, and then I mentioned us still wanting a kid or two together after we bought the car. I shouldn't have said anything."
"Probably not, you know how your mother is," Luke tugged her hands, "Let's get downstairs, I know Rory and April were excited over that old book they found for your dad at Mrs. Kim's."
An hour later, Emily rubbed her hand over the vintage Chanel wallet she'd received. As much as she loved the item, it was the framed photos she'd received that meant the most. One of Lorelai and Rory from the wedding, as well as one of herself, Richard, Luke, Lorelai, Rory and April. Unfortunately, the warm feeling she'd had upon seeing the photos was quickly replaced by the recent memories of her conversation with Lorelai.
"It's lovely," Richard observed as he returned from placing his latest first edition book in his study. "Both gifts must have cost a small fortune."
"Mmm," Emily hummed distractedly. "I think she's worried about having a child with Luke."
"Worried?"
"She wants one. They both do. It's early, but I can tell she's worried about it, and I was trying to get her to talk abou-"
Richard raised his eyebrows. Even with as much talking as his wife and daughter were doing lately, that particular subject seemed a little taboo. It explained why Lorelai had been so detached and quiet while they opened presents over coffee. "Did you truly think she would talk to you about this, at a dinner party of all places?"
"It wasn't like I invited the entire party to our conversation."
"Even so. Had it been at a Friday night dinner, with only her in attendance, I still don't believe she would have allowed that conversation to happen," Richard sat back against the settee with a glass of seltzer in one hand and looked at his wife expectantly, "Emily, you must know that no matter how close you and Lorelai have gotten, there are still a great many things she would likely not discuss with anyone, least of all us."
Emily crossed her arms stubbornly and glared at him with a look that bordered on pouting. "I just thought she might want to hear that it's not unheard of, and prepare her because of what happened with Hope and her husband. She and Hope are so similar... Luke isn't anything like Jack, but that kind of thing is difficult for the best of couples. And it's not like she has all the time in the world. Lorelai can be so impatient about the silliest things, but abysmal at pursuing things that matter."
"I'm not certain that's true in every case, and I think Luke and Lorelai have been through enough that they wouldn't let this come between them. I was always glad we never had to worry about that," Richard mused.
"Maybe for five minutes," she chuckled in response. They'd put off having a child the first year of their marriage, much to Trix's disappointment, while they devoted much of their free time to traveling. Later, as Richard's job began to take up more of his time, they'd also realized they were tired of exploring the world at such breakneck speeds. Lorelai had been conceived mere days after they decided to set aside their busy traveling schedule in favor of starting a family.
"Do you ever think we should have had a second child?" Richard asked his wife, curiously.
"Only after she left with Rory," Emily replied. "For about a year, I regretted it. But overall, no. One was enough for me, especially after she learned how to talk. With our luck, we'd have had two precocious children."
He laughed and nodded in agreement. Though it would have been a nice distraction to have another child to focus on after Lorelai and Rory left, overall, he knew Emily had her hands full with one. Furthermore, considering the costs of a private education for two children made his head hurt.
"Well," he stood to finalize his bill with the caterers they'd hired, "Whatever you do, Emily, don't push Lorelai on this particular subject. If she wants to talk to you about it, she will. Otherwise, I think it's best left between her and Luke."
"That's what worries me," Emily frowned, staring at the family photo she'd placed on the table next to her.
Lorelai changed into her Christmas-themed pajamas and walked toward the rarely used door toward the back of the second floor. Luke had hidden the wrapped presents in the attic, not trusting her around them for even a second. He'd also absconded with the key to the attic sometime around Thanksgiving, and she'd been regularly checking the handle to see if it was unlocked, eager to see if his alleged improvements in gift giving had been permanent. She was excited to find the door unlocked just before they'd left for her parents' house.
The last time she'd been in the attic had been shortly after they'd moved in, to store a few things they'd chosen not to use in the new house. She glanced around, finding the barely lit area slightly creepy. Seeing the pile of wrapped gifts not far from the doorway, she reached down to pick one up when her eye caught something leaning against the wall. She walked over to investigate.
"My grandfather looked positively heartbroken to hear you talking about MIT over Yale," Rory said to April as they tossed their pillows and blankets on the floor of the living room. Lorelai had a Christmas Eve plan, and no one was going to get in the way. All of them - even Luke - had Christmas pajamas, and a plan to watch one of the five movies Lorelai had left on the coffee table - assuming they were able to narrow it down.
"I know, I felt bad. Yale's still a consideration, but there's a lot to be said for MIT as well. And Harvard. And Stanford, even though California is a little far. I'd like to stick with the east coast, I think, but I'd be stupid not to consider it." She stood to turn on the Christmas tree lights and a few other decorations before turning off the room's main source of illumination, "Ah, ambience. I don't know what I was thinking with the anti-Christmas mentality the last two years."
"Being a teenager," Rory smirked, "It's good to explore. I think some of the biggest distractions in college were because I didn't do that enough as a teenager. You know, Lane was a cheerleader at one point."
"Lane?!" April laughed, "She's never told me that!"
"Where's Lorelai?" Luke asked, carefully transporting four full mugs from the kitchen to the living room.
"She said it wasn't officially Christmas Eve unless the presents were around the tree," Rory shrugged, "So wherever the presents are, there goeth my mother."
April and Rory exchanged a confused look at Luke's panic face as he carefully slid the mugs onto the coffee table and sprinted upstairs.
"Lorelai," Luke said in a strained voice as his eyes adjusted to the dark attic. He didn't need his eyesight to know what Lorelai was looking at as the the pile of Christmas presents sat untouched.
She turned, and he was relieved to see a confused look on her face instead of the sad expression she'd had a few days ago when they'd rediscovered the extra stocking.
"When, and... how?" she asked.
"I kept thinking about it when we drove home that night we saw it, and the more I thought about it... well, I made up a story about the delivery date for Rory and April's beds being wrong, and then ended up buying the dressers in case you noticed the price had changed when you saw the balance of the checking account."
Lorelai shook her head, impressed by his subterfuge, and turned back toward the wooden headboard of the crib Luke had been gazing at back at the furniture store in October.
"What if it doesn't happen?" Lorelai asked quietly, dropping her hand from the carved swirls in the wood.
"I think I asked you that same question when we were first talking about moving in here," Luke replied, stepping toward her.
"That was different, an extra room isn't the same thing as buying furnishings for it."
Noticing he was a few inches away, she looked up at him.
"Like you said, wishful thinking," he answered.
Lorelai laughed softly, stepping back into Luke's embrace as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, leaning his head on her shoulder. She rested her hands on his forearms, rubbing the firm muscles there as they both looked at the crib.
"So we have an empty bedroom, a crib, and an unused Christmas stocking," she observed, leaning back against him heavily and resting her head against his, "Now is probably a good time to admit to hiding a box Sookie gave me of Davey, Martha, and Theo's old baby clothes in the garage. You got anything else?"
"Uh," Luke laughed a little at her admission, "A box Liz gave me of clothes Doula's outgrown," he nodded to a small box sitting near the crib pieces.
"We're quite a pair," Lorelai huffed, and turned her head to press a kiss to his temple.
"I think we should agree no more baby stuff. I don't think either of us needs the added pressure, especially this soon."
Lorelai thought back to the prying conversation with her mother and nodded. As if being under Stars Hollow's microscope wasn't enough, she now knew her mother was overly focused on the subject as well, and there were several items in their house to keep reminding them. Pressure was an understatement, especially when she considered her own nagging thoughts she frequently pushed to the back of her mind.
They stood there, unmoving for a few more minutes until Lorelai's gaze fell upon the wrapped presents. There may not be someone in their lives to use the crib and boxes of clothes, but there were two people downstairs probably wondering where they'd run off to.
As Luke and Lorelai returned to the living room, Rory stopped whatever story she was telling April, and asked where the two had been.
"Luke forgot to wrap one of the things he bought," Lorelai answered as she carefully organized the gifts under the tree.
"I didn't forget," Luke objected. "I knew it was there, and it's why I've had the attic door locked since I bought it."
Lorelai turned and stood, a small smile on her face, "Well, I'm glad it worked out the way it did."
"Me too." Luke replied, returning the tiny, knowing smile.
Rory narrowed her eyes at the odd conversation happening in front of her and turned to glance at the movies again, noticing one was missing. She looked up as Luke opened a DVD case and walked over to the TV. Realizing which DVD had gone missing, and wishing her mother hadn't been so open-minded with the options, Rory groaned.
Before anyone could ask what had just happened, Luke turned and pointed at Rory, "I went to a Gilmore family Christmas party, complete with several awkward conversations, most of them about things I could care less about. I'm owed."
Lorelai laughed as she realized what Luke had just done and dropped onto the couch next to Rory, patting her knee, "He's right, babe. Looks like this year's official Gil-Nar-Danes Christmas Eve movie is Die Hard."
Author's Notes: Wow, I expected everyone to hate chapter 34! Thanks to all for the kind words, but don't worry, no more exes. There's only five chapters left, afterall...
This is the last chapter of this fic that clocks in at over 10k words. The rest are around 5k-7k. I am trying desperately to get around to replying to as much feedback individually as I can, but if I miss you, PLEASE know I read and appreciate your comments SO much. Due to the holiday this weekend (father's day) it might be a day or two before I get around to posting the next chapter, but I will do my best to get it edited and posted as soon as I can! In the meantime, I highly recommend Fish Bag's post-series one-chapter fic, "Father's Day 2007". Naturally, this site balks at actual URLs *sigh*, so avail yourself of the search function above or find it in my Favorite Fics in my profile.