First of all, I know this chapter is shorter than usual, but I only updated yesterday, what more do you want from me?
Thank you to everyone that reviewed, I'm glad you all liked the baseball I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I love the Bangles, and it was great to write about them in the story. A couple of the songs like 'Walk Like an Egyptian', didn't actually come out until December 1986, and it's only April in the story, but I wanted to include it cause it's one of the most popular. And another that I mentioned didn't come out till '87, but I have the power to change history :P
I hope you enjoy this chapter, even though it isn't the usual length.
"You know, it's really hard for a girl to get ready to go out, if she doesn't know where she's going," Lorelai pointed out once she'd emptied all her clothes from the suitcase. All Luke had told her was that they were going out, she had no idea where to.
"Just wear something nice," he shrugged.
"But what kind of nice?" she questioned.
"There are different types?"
"Well yeah, there's like Cyndi Lauper nice, or Olivia Newton John nice," she explained. "You see Olivia has the whole perfect, clean image with all the elegance, but Cyndi's a little crazier with more adventurous outfits." Luke methodically nodded his head, but he had actually zoned out as soon as the first person was mentioned. He had no idea who these people were. "So which one?" she asked when he didn't respond.
"Uh...just wear what you would to a concert," he said quickly, hoping he hadn't just given it away.
"Like an Aerosmith concert or more like the Bangles? Or Abba?" she chuckled. "Should I wear a jumpsuit with platform boots?" Luke rolled his eyes.
"The second one," he mumbled.
"Ok, so Bangles concert." She mulled over her choices, before picking up a black miniskirt with a skimpy vest top. "What do you think?" she asked as she reappeared from the bathroom. Her hair was down and flowing over her shoulders, her makeup was subtle with smokey eyes, and she was wearing the outfit she'd chosen with some pumps.
"You look great," he replied from his place on the bed. He'd been waiting patiently for her to prepare herself, trying to picture her reaction when she saw what they were doing.
"Not too trashy?" she asked. Luke smiled slightly.
"Just the right amount of trashy," he told her.
"Good." She walked over to him and nudged his legs apart with her knee, so she could stand between them. She put her arms around his neck and grinned when he looked up at her, his hand poised at her waist. "Tell me where we're going," she demanded.
"Not a chance," he refused. "Wait and see."
"When are we leaving?"
"As soon as you're ready."
"I'm ready now." Luke nodded and got to his feet, so he was standing dangerously close to her. He dared to look down at her, and found her smiling up at him. He left a light kiss on her lips, before pulling away and picking up her jacket from the back of the chair. "Luuuke? Where are we going?" she asked teasingly as they left their hotel room.
"You're not gonna break me," he said gruffly, but he was smirking slightly.
"How long have I got?"
"About ten minutes."
"Easy," she boasted. They stopped on the side of the street and Luke hailed a cab, just telling the driver the street name rather than the name of the arena. Just so Lorelai wouldn't find out until they got there. She continued to bug him throughout the whole journey, but he successfully kept quiet about their destination. The cab stopped as per Luke's request and he paid the driver, before escorting Lorelai out of the car.
"So where are we exactly?" she asked as she took in her surroundings. The street they were currently standing on was small, and there were a few stores and restaurants along each side. All they had to do was walk down a small side street and their night would be revealed. Luke checked his watch, finding that there was still another hour until the show started, they had time to get snacks.
"Come on," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her across the street.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked, beginning to get fed up with the suspense. She just wanted to know already.
"Pipe down," he complained, but he wasn't really annoyed. He wanted her to stop asking him, she would find out in good time. He led her into a grocery store and picked up a basket, slinging it over his free arm as he clutched her hand in his.
"The grocery store?" she asked. "I had to dress like we were going to a Bangles concert for the grocery store?" She furrowed her brows, and looked completely disappointed.
"This is just a pit-stop," he said. "We need fuel." A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"So this isn't your big surprise?"
"Definitely a bit bigger than the grocery store," he said with a nod.
"I'm intrigued."
"Well you can stay that way cause I'm not giving it away just yet." Lorelai pouted as she followed him through the aisles. He'd already picked up a banana and an apple, as well as two sandwiches for dinner. He'd planned to take her out to dinner beforehand, but they'd spent too long in bed and didn't have enough time to get a meal. "Which do you want?" he asked as he gestured to the selection of junk food.
"Ooh, can I Cheetos?" Luke nodded. "And a Three Musketeers bar?" He nodded again. "And...
"Pick whatever you want," he sighed, knowing that she'd carry on bugging him if he didn't. Lorelai made an incoherent sound of glee, before practically diving into the display. When they walked over to check out, their basket was full of marshmallows, gummy worms, Pringles, cookies and other typical Lorelai foods, and Luke frowned at it. There were only three items in there that could be associated with the word healthy.
As they walked down the street again, Lorelai turned to Luke as she polished off half of her sandwich.
"This night's shaping up to be a good one already," she said happily. Luke smiled at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"It's about to get a whole lot better," he told her, before turning up the side street to get to their destination. Lorelai got even more confused as they walked down the secluded, dark street.
"I hope you don't think we're having sex up here, Lucas," she tutted. Luke cast her a sidelong glance as he carried on walking. "This isn't the surprise is it, sex in public?"
"Lorelai, you'll find out what the surprise is in a minute, will you be patient?" Lorelai grinned in anticipation as they continued to stroll through the darkened alleyway.
"When can I open my gummy worms?" she asked.
"When we get there," he replied.
"When's that?" Luke held his arm out and pointed towards the building. Lorelai followed his gaze and watched as people in groups mulled around on the sidewalk, some entering the building.
"What is this?" she asked, feeling the excitement rise in her stomach. She felt like a bunch of butterflies were fluttering around inside of her, and she didn't quite know how to calm the feeling. They crossed the street, still hand in hand, and walked closer to the groups of people. That's when Lorelai noticed the signs above and around the entrance reading; The Bangles, tonight only. She gasped loudly and her eyes flew to Luke.
"Do you like it?" he asked hopefully, although he already had a pretty good inkling that she did.
"Oh my god," she exclaimed as she threw her arms around his neck. "I can't believe this, you got Bangles tickets?" Luke nodded. "But...how? I didn't even know they were here tonight."
"Sookie told me about it, and suggested that we go this weekend," he said. "I thought it'd be a good idea."
"It was a great idea," she said excitedly. She tightened her arms around him, pulling herself closer to him, and gave him a kiss filled with passion and gratitude.
"I heard you really like the Bangles," he said as they pulled away from one another.
"Hell yeah," she confirmed. "They're the best girl group around." She grinned as she looked at the crowds of people surrounding them. "I can't believe we're here."
"I think I said the same thing when we got to the baseball game earlier," he chuckled.
"Now I know how you felt." Luke took her hand again and pulled her towards the entrance and over to a ticket booth that had just opened up. After giving them some information, they found his reservation and handed the tickets over, in exchange for seventy dollars. "I know we're on vacation, and we're having a good time and all, but how exactly are we affording everything?" asked Lorelai once they'd strayed away from the ticket booth.
"It's covered," he assured her.
"You keep telling me that, and I keep believing you, but now I'm having a hard time thinking if it's actually true."
"You don't need to worry," he told her.
"But I do worry," she continued. "Cause the diner's not even half finished yet, and there's still a hell of a lot to pay for. You said yourself that you don't think you'll have enough money to cover everything, so how are we being able to afford tickets to see the Bangles and large amounts of junk food?" Luke hung his head, trying to avoid having to answer her question.
"This isn't the time for this, Lorelai," he warned. He definitely didn't want to discuss this while they were surrounded by thousands of people.
"When will be the time? When you're broke and can't afford a new stove for the diner?"
"Why are you arguing with me about this now?" he asked, raising his voice a little. Nobody was paying attention to them; they were too caught up in the buzz of being at a Bangles concert to notice.
"Because I'm worried, Luke," she said, softening her voice. "I love that you're doing all these nice things for me, but I'm worried about you and your situation. You worry about me, so why aren't I allowed to do the same for you?" Luke sighed, he knew she only had good intentions, but they weren't always clear to him. He focussed on a spot on the floor, before opening his mouth to let the words tumble out.
"Buddy's helping me out," he admitted. "He dropped by the diner about a week ago, and we went through everything I'd need to get it back up and running. We worked out prices, wages for Tom's people, and labour costs. I can afford the materials, and a few appliances, but Buddy's helping with the rest." He felt ashamed to admit that he'd asked somebody for help, he wanted to prove to her and everyone else that he could do it himself, obviously he was incapable.
"Why didn't you just tell me that?" she asked. She felt like he was always keeping something from her, something that changes the situation they're in. Luke shrugged.
"I wanted you to think that I did it all myself," he said. "I didn't want you to know that I'm failing."
"Luke," she said sadly. "I don't want you to think you have to impress me all the time, cause you don't. I don't care if you're paying for the work on the diner or if someone else is, it doesn't matter to me. As long as you're ok and you're happy, then I'm fine with whatever happens." She looked directly at him. "I would have been more than happy to just stay at the hotel tonight; you didn't have to go out of your way to impress me."
"Did you want to go back?" he asked. "Cause I can get the tickets refunded..." Lorelai held her hand up to stop him from going any further.
"We're here now," she mumbled with a wide smile. "Might as well stay." Luke grinned.
"I thought so," he chuckled. "What do you say we go find our seats?"
"I say that's a pretty good idea." They shared a smile and Luke rested his hand at the small of her back to guide her through the crowd. Luke asked an usher where their seats were, and they were shown through an archway onto a large balcony.
"Front row," the usher said before walking away. Lorelai turned to Luke and grinned widely.
"Front row," she exclaimed. "We can look right down onto the stage!" Luke smiled at her excitement, and led her to their seats. "These are great seats," she commented. "How did you score these?"
"I went to Sookie and asked her for advice on something to do this weekend that you'd enjoy."
"You went to Sookie for advice?" she asked, cutting him off. He nodded in reply. "Wow, I totally can't picture that," she muttered.
"Anyway, she told me about this concert and how she was gonna ask you to go a couple of months ago, but it turned out that it was on the same day as the baseball game. So she called the ticket office and pulled a few strings, and here we are."
"Remind me to thank Sookie the next time I see her," she said thoughtfully. She looked down onto the stage and sighed happily.
"You like it?" he asked. Lorelai nodded eagerly.
"I can't actually believe that the Bangles are gonna be right in front of us," she said excitedly. "It's something I never thought would happen; well not since I got pregnant."
"Yeah, I heard about your little fantasy of following them on their tour," he teased, prodding her side lightly.
"Sookie told you?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Luke nodded. "I was totally obsessed with them before I had Rory, I was gonna call her Susanna."
"Susanna?" he asked confusedly.
"She's the lead singer," she explained. "And she plays the guitar." Luke looked down at the stage thoughtfully for a few moments.
"I can't imagine Rory as a Susanna," he said. Lorelai shook her head in agreement.
"I think that's why I decided against it in the end; she just looked like a Lorelai." Luke chuckled.
"Probably cause she looked like you," he pointed out.
"Probably," she muttered. "It's weird, I don't think you can really choose a name for your kid before it's born, you just have to wait and see what suits." Luke didn't agree with that one bit.
"You're talking crap," he told her. "People choose names for their kids before they're born all the time. And the truth is, if you weren't high on Demerol when it came to naming Rory, she probably would be called Susanna right now." Lorelai twisted her mouth thoughtfully, mulling over his comment.
"You know, you're right," she agreed. "Man, I totally should have called her Lorelai Susanna, that would have worked."
"This epiphany you're having is a bit far behind," he chuckled. "She's only one and a half." Lorelai lightly slapped his arm, unable to hide her amusement.
"Shut up, people can change their names you know."
"You are not changing Rory's name," he disallowed. "She's Lorelai Leigh and that's what she's gonna stay."
"Can't she be, Lorelai Leigh Susanna?" she asked. "Or Lorelai Susanna Leigh?" Luke arched an eyebrow at her.
"You're not serious," he said incredulously.
"I am," she told him.
"You sure you haven't been on the Demerol again?" Lorelai flashed him a smile.
"No, I'm pretty sure I haven't had an epidural in the last few hours," she giggled.
"I think the hype of being at a Bangles concert's overwhelmed you," he concluded. "Cause at the moment you're talking crazy."
"Whoa dude, when have you ever known me to talk crazy?" she asked jokingly. Luke scoffed loudly, gaining a few looks from the people surrounding them. Lorelai noticed that there was a large number of people on the balcony around them and bounced a little in her seat. "It must be starting soon, what time is it?" she asked impatiently.
"Seven twenty five," said Luke as he checked his watch. "Five more minutes."
"Eeeeeee," she squealed. "I'm so excited; I can't remember the last time I felt like this."
"Why do I feel like a spare part?" he asked, feigning hurt.
"Seriously babe, my heart is beating so fast right now, I'm scared it's gonna jump out of my chest." Luke chuckled.
"Way to exaggerate." Lorelai grabbed his hand and put it on her chest so he could feel her hammering heart.
"See."
"Um," he cleared his throat. "It's probably not a good idea for me to be touching that part of you right now," he said, blushing slightly. Lorelai looked down at his hand and smiled brightly.
"You embarrassed?" she chuckled.
"Just give me my hand back," he ordered as he tugged it away from her. "Stay away from me until the concert's over." Lorelai grinned devilishly, before the lights dimmed and an enthusiastic voice boomed over the speaker, introducing the band itself. Lorelai got to her feet, as did almost everyone else in the room, except Luke of course, and began cheering and jumping up and down.
"Luke, get up," Lorelai ordered as she tugged on his hand. He complied and kept a hold of her hand as they watched the first band member walk out onto the stage, followed by the other three. The crowd erupted into cheers and screams again, including Lorelai, who was deafening Luke.
"Do you have to scream so loud?" he complained, although he was glad she was enjoying herself already.
"Luke that's the Bangles!" she exclaimed, pointing to the stage. "Right in front of us." She seemed to be in utter amazement as she watched the band take their places and get comfortable with their respective instruments. Just the look on her face made his heart swell, he was glad he could make her happy after she'd been so miserable the last couple of months. "Look, that's Debbi," she said in awe. "And Vicki, and Micki," she listed.
"What's with all the rhyming names?" he asked. "Are you making them up as you go along?" Lorelai ignored him.
"And there's Susanna," she finished.
"Ah the infamous Susanna," he sighed. He was actually getting pretty bored already, but Lorelai was enjoying herself so who was he to complain? The band had officially set up by now, under the watchful eyes of the amazed crowd, and were about to break into their first song.
"Ooh I wonder what they're gonna play first," said Lorelai thoughtfully. "I hope it's Manic Monday." The band began playing 'Walking Down Your Street' and the crowd burst into another round of applause. "I love this song," she gushed as she began swaying from side to side. "The music video is totally awesome, they're like hitting each other with pillows at the beginning, then they go on this big road trip and there're cows and this really weird guy in an orange truck." Luke listened, pretending to be taking an interest.
"Sounds delightful," he said, less than enthusiastically. Lorelai chose to ignore him again and began singing, all the while dancing wildly. She fit in with the rest of the crowd, whereas Luke looked a bit out of place just sitting there doing nothing. At least their minor disagreement from before was long forgotten, now they could just enjoy themselves, well, Lorelai could.
XXXX
"Where mama?" Rory asked her grandmother as she was sitting in the bathtub, Emily shampooing her hair.
"She went to New York," replied Emily. Rory looked at her confusedly, obviously not understanding what that meant.
"Where dada?" she asked.
"He went to New York too," she told her. Rory looked down at her rubber duck as it floated on the surface of the water and frowned.
"Miss mama dada," she murmured. Emily smiled softly down at her granddaughter.
"I know you do sweetheart," she said. "They'll be back tomorrow."
"Torro?" she questioned.
"That's right." Emily tapped Rory's nose with a soapy finger, leaving a dollop of foam there. Rory giggled and stuck her tongue out, trying to lick it off, that made Emily chuckle. "Silly Rory," she cooed. "You can't lick your nose, it's impossible."
"Rory nose," she said, tipping her head back as she tried to get her tongue up high enough.
"Richard?" Emily called. "Bring the camera." Richard appeared a couple of minutes later with the film camera in his hand.
"What do you want this for?" he asked.
"Look, Rory's trying to lick her nose, I thought it was cute," she shrugged. Richard chuckled at his granddaughter's silliness.
"Rory, look at me," said Richard as he crouched down next to the tub. Rory looked up at him, her tongue stuck out and pointing upwards, with the dollop of soap still on the end of her nose. He looked through the lens, snapped the photo and smiled triumphantly.
"Make sure to get a copy of that for Lorelai," Emily said as she took her place next to the tub again. "She'll like that." Richard nodded.
"I'll go to the photo store tomorrow, Emily," he said before exiting the bathroom.
"You do some silly things don't you darling?" she asked, beginning to wash the shampoo from Rory's hair.
"Siwy," agreed Rory.
"Are you ready to come out yet?" Rory shook her head.
"No," she protested as she lunged for her rubber duck and hugged it close to her.
"Ok you can stay in the tub a little longer, but when you start to get pruney, you're coming out." Rory examined her hand then held it up to Emily.
"No pune," she said before busying herself in the water. She pulled a selection of bath toys from the side of the tub and dropped them in the water, all the while making noises to emphasise their landing. She picked one up and flew it around in the air as she made plane noises. Emily watched in amusement while her granddaughter entertained herself. She adored looking after Rory, especially on overnight visits. The girl was such a joy to take care of, she was low maintenance and well behaved, that's all she could ask for really.
When it was time to get out of the tub, Rory pouted dramatically, staring after the water longingly as it swished down the plughole. Emily chuckled as she towel-dried her, Rory was exactly like Lorelai, in fact they were so alike it was scary, Emily thought. She carried her through to the nursery, still wrapped in a towel, and laid her on the changing table. After she was dressed for bed, Emily soon realised that her granddaughter wasn't quite ready to go to sleep yet, she was much too hyper.
"Richard, where did you put that game?" Emily asked when they made it down the stairs.
"What game?" he questioned, like he had no idea what his wife was talking about.
"The thing with the mat and the multi-coloured circles," she explained. "The one we played the last time Rory stayed the weekend." Richard entered the room holding a white box.
"You mean Twister," he told her. "Were you wanting to play it?"
"Yes, Rory's too excited to sleep at the moment, and with it being the last night she's staying with us this weekend, I thought it'd be nice to let her stay up a little later than usual."
"I'll set it up," he said with a nod. After a quick recap of the instructions, and getting Rory familiar with it again, they began the game with Emily spinning the pointer.
"Richard, right foot red," she ordered. He placed his foot where he was told then waited for Rory to take her turn, obviously being told which was left and which was right. In the end, Rory had two feet on yellow and two hands on blue, and Richard was stretched over her with his arms and legs all over the place. When he had to move his leg over the top of Rory to reach the next dot, he stumbled and fell to the floor, gaining a giggle from Rory.
"Granpa wose!" she called excitedly.
"Yes I lost," said Richard, pretending to be sad. Rory patted his shoulder comfortingly before climbing on top of him as he still lay on the floor. She moved so she was face to face with him and looked down at him cheekily.
"Rory win," she exclaimed.
"I know munchkin," he chuckled as he lifted her up and held her above him. Rory began making airplane noises and Richard moved her back and forth so it looked like she was flying.
"Are you getting tired yet sweetheart?" asked Emily once Richard had put her down.
"No," she replied as she began putting her hands on the colours of the twister mat. The elder Gilmores sighed; it was going to be a long night.
XXXX
"Walk like an Egyptian!" the crowd sang as Susanna pointed the microphone towards the audience. Lorelai had been singing her heart out since the show began, and even Luke had started to get into it a little. He didn't sing though. So as the band sang their final number, everyone was on their feet dancing and clapping along, most of them singing too. It had been a great show, and Lorelai had had the best night out she'd ever experienced.
The crowd burst through the double doors at the end of the concert. The members of the band had said their final goodbyes and were probably winding down after one of their best concerts. Luke and Lorelai followed the other fans out to the main area of the arena, where stalls selling merchandise had been set up.
"Oh Luke, I totally have to get a t-shirt," she said as she looked at the selection. She chose a fitted black one with a variety of colours on the front making up the Bangles logo. She reached into her purse to get some money, but Luke stopped her.
"I'll get it for you," he told her, already reaching into his pocket for his wallet.
"No, it's ok," she protested. "You already paid for the hotel room, the food, the concert tickets," she listed. "I can buy this."
"You sure?" She nodded. There was no way she was gonna let him pay for everything this weekend, he was in financial trouble after all. She pulled the shirt over her head and adjusted it so it fit nicely over her vest top.
"How do I look?" she asked flirtatiously.
"Like I told you before, you look good in anything," he said. Lorelai grinned at him and stepped a little closer to him as they walked, while he took her hand into his and twined their fingers together.
"So you like?"
"It doesn't really matter," he said nonchalantly. "I'll be taking it off you soon." Lorelai fake-gasped at his comment, he was really coming out of his shell this weekend.
"Aren't you Mr Confident?" she teased. "What makes you think we're having sex tonight?"
"Oh there'll be sex," he said surely. "And lots of it."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Cause you just can't resist the guy who buys you tickets to see the Bangles," he said close to her ear.
"True," she murmured. "You'd better not rip the t-shirt though; you're buying me another if you do."
"I can't promise anything," he chuckled. They left the arena and joined the queue for taxis. "So did you have a good time?" he asked, already knowing that she did.
"I had the best time," she told him. "Seriously, I still can't believe that the Bangles were only a few feet away from us."
"It was a pretty good concert," he agreed. The music kinda grew on him after the fourth song, it was just so catchy and easy to remember.
"Did Luke Danes just admit that he enjoyed a Bangles concert?" she asked in mock-disbelief. "I thought I'd never see the day."
"I can enjoy things," he argued.
"Well the way you sat there through most of it kinda made it look like you were bored." Luke shrugged.
"I don't dance," he stated. Lorelai raised her eyebrows.
"I have proof that tells otherwise," she said with a feline smile.
"Oh yeah?" he challenged.
"You danced with me at the Halloween party last year," she pointed out.
"And?"
"And I bet someone has pictures of that," she giggled. "Seriously though, you're quite a good dancer and nobody knew you in there so what's the worst that could happen?" Luke shrugged.
"I had a good time ok? I wasn't bored, or moody, I was having fun," he assured her. "I just didn't feel much like dancing, nothing wrong with that."
"It was a really great concert," she said.
"And I enjoyed watching you dance around like a maniac," he chuckled. "It was good to see you enjoying yourself."
"I did more than enjoy myself," she exclaimed. "That was epic, the Bangles totally rock."
"Ok, calm down a little," he warned. "People are staring." Lorelai looked up at him through her mascara covered lashes and smiled contentedly.
"Thank you so much," she murmured before reaching up and kissing him on the lips. "You know, this gesture has made me love you even more." Luke smirked.
"It's not possible for me to love you any more than I already do," he returned, leaving another kiss on her lips.
"Softie," she cooed, squeezing his cheek between her fingers.
"Wish this cab would hurry up," he mumbled. "I can't wait to get back to the room and rip that t-shirt off of you." Lorelai glanced up at him with a devilish smile.
"No ripping," she warned.
"Don't worry, it's under full warranty and guaranteed for replacement."
"Good," she said. "This is a great t-shirt." They shared yet another idiotic smile, and a few more kisses, before it was their turn to get in the cab. Lorelai seated herself dangerously close to Luke, not worrying about putting on a safety belt; she just wanted to be as close as possible to her man. As they drove through the bustling streets of New York on a Saturday night, they both sat in silence, stealing glances at each other now and again, and the odd touch here and there. There was one thing both teenagers knew for sure; the night was not over yet.
I only cut this short cause I've had a glass of raspberry cider or two, and I'm a little happy :D but I'm kinda tired too, and my eyes keep drooping which isn't good when you're staring at a computer screen. I think I did pretty well to write this when I only posted yesterday.
So you know the drill, I ask you to review, you click on the little button at the bottom of the page and leave a nice comment. If you don't usually do that, just let me know you're enjoying the story, even if you only write one or two words! I am actually curious because I have like 160 people who have put this on alert, and I'm not sure if some of you are still reading...anyway, review, if you are so kind see you soon.
Emily.
