DFC says: Hey there! How about an unexpected story to finish out the work week? I just had a hankering to write a short, complete, joyful, lighthearted story, and here it is. This story is set in Season 4, shortly before the Dragonfly opens. And don't worry, the next installment of A Wedding in the Hollow will be along in a few days.
(And please note, I'm flying without my trusty beta Eledgy on this one. She was already proofing the next chapter of WITH, and in keeping with the carefree nature of this story, I thought she deserved some time off. I do however have an image of her reading this, one hand over her horrified eyes as she's confronted with some terrifying sentence-mangling on my part. Uh...surprise?!)
All right, there you go, off to read. You can either leave me a review now or I'll put it on your tab. ;)
Paying Her Tab
"Luke!" Lorelai shouted. "I'm out of napkins over here!"
"How can you possibly be out of napkins?" Luke finished refilling the mugs of the diners sitting at the counter before he consulted the clock on the wall. "It's not even 7 o'clock yet! I know I filled all of the napkin dispensers last night, so how in the world can yours be empty?" Finding her claim hard to believe, he trekked over to her table to see for himself.
"You're out of napkins," he confirmed sourly, picking up the bare container.
"Yeah, I know. Fix that, would you, doll?" Lorelai didn't bother looking up, but continued to write madly.
"Are you…?" Luke noticed what she was using to write on. He flattened his hand on the stack of napkins piled on the table, all of them lined with her writing. "You used my napkins to scribble on? All of them?"
"I'm not scribbling," she disputed, distractedly.
"Writing the great American novel then. Whatever the hell it is you're doing that's using up my disposable resources so quickly."
"I'm making lists. And notes. And, uh…other…stuff."
He shook his head. "Well, here's a tip for you. There are these newfangled items called notebooks, made especially for this very thing. They're filled with an earth-shattering invention called paper. You should give it a try." When she didn't reply, didn't even look up at him or smile, he spoke again. "Notes for what?" he asked, sounding a little kinder.
"For…the…you know, the Dragonfly." She did look up then, and felt disoriented to find Luke standing before her. She rubbed at her tired eyes. "These are all things I really need to remember; things I need to do before it, uh…before…" She trailed off, losing focus.
"It opens?" Luke suggested.
"Yeah. That." She nodded and put her hand on the pile of napkins. "These are all of the crucially important things I need to remember to do in the next couple of weeks."
Luke tilted his head a bit and tapped at the last number on her current napkin. "179? Are you kidding me? You've thought of 179 things you still need to do at the Dragonfly?"
"Well, look who's all proud to show off his upside-down reading skills."
Luke pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. He regarded her seriously for a few moments before he gently asked, "Lorelai, are you OK?"
"Me?" She looked over at him, frowning. "Sure, I'm great. Why wouldn't I be?"
He looked into her cloudy eyes for another second. "Are you sleeping?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course I'm sleeping! I've always been a champion sleeper! Why would you even ask me that?"
"Because it's not even 7 o'clock yet, you were waiting outside when I opened, and in under an hour you've gone through at least 100 napkins." He looked at her with real concern. "You seem a little manic – even for you – and I'm wondering if you aren't getting the rest you so obviously need."
She waved a hand carelessly in the air. "Sure, I sleep plenty. Well, you know, I go to bed intending to sleep. But then after a couple of minutes I usually remember something important, so I get up to write it down, 'cause I gotta make sure I don't forget it again." She patted the napkin in front of her. "As soon as I get that done, you can bet I go right to sleep again. Unless I remember I said I was going to order something, but hey, it only takes a minute to go downstairs and fire up the laptop and get the ordering done. And sure, since the laptop's going anyway, I might surf the web a little bit, check to see if Rory emailed me, play a hand of solitaire, that sort of thing. But as soon as that's all done I go to bed again and go right to sleep. Well, except if Sookie calls me, because she's forgotten something on her list that we need to do." She paused thoughtfully. "Which – now that I'm thinking about it – actually happens quite a lot. No biggie, though. So yeah, sleep and me, we're good." She nodded earnestly at him when she finished her rambling explanation.
"Riiight," he breathed out, slowly. He stood up, shoved the chair back under the table, reached for a full napkin dispenser on a neighboring table and exchanged it for her empty one. "You realize that once the Dragonfly opens, they're going to need you there, in charge, running things, right? So don't burn yourself out now. Get some rest, Lorelai. It's not the end of the world if you let a couple of things slide." He pointed at the stack of reminders. "Or even a hundred."
"Aww, aren't you a sweetie pie." For a split second she was able to conjure up one of her dazzling smiles. "But I'm doing fine. And in a couple of weeks it will all be over. This final stretch is just sort of intense, you know?"
"I know," he sighed. Resigned, he pointed at her mug. "Need a refill?"
"Always!" she laughed. As soon as he stepped away, she pulled a handful of napkins from the new dispenser and started writing as fast as she could, but she still couldn't keep up with her racing thoughts.
Fifteen minutes later, when Lorelai thought she'd emptied everything that had been circling her brain onto the napkins, she took one last gulp of the cooled, but still delicious coffee, then met Luke at the cash register to pay her bill.
As soon as she stuck her hand inside her cavernous bag, she knew what was wrong. "Oh no," she gasped, feeling a tiny bit nauseous.
"What's wrong?" Luke asked immediately, genuinely worried.
She propped one hip against the stool closest to the register and rested her head on her hand. "I don't have any money."
Luke's concern shot through the roof. "What do you mean, you don't have any money?" he asked quietly but tensely, bending over to where she was huddled.
"I mean, I've been so busy, I keep forgetting to hit the ATM. And I'm out. Skint. Nada. Not even two pennies to rub together." She opened her bag to him and shook it a little bit, proving her point.
Luke stood up, no longer consumed with worry. "No big deal, Lorelai. Pay me tomorrow."
"No, no, no," she disputed crankily. "This is your business. Your livelihood. You shouldn't have to carry your deadbeat, empty-walleted customers. That's how this whole commerce thing works! You eat, you pay! You drink coffee, you pay!" She shook her head at him, but she was angry at herself. "Just because I'm unable to handle the myriad facets of my life right now doesn't mean your bottom line should take a hit."
"Again, Lorelai, it's not a problem. It's not the first time I've run a tab for you," he said lightly. "And if your $5.60 is going to break me, then my business isn't in very good shape to begin with. Don't worry about it."
"But it's not right!" she wailed. "I don't want to feel like a charity case!"
"You're far from a charity case," he argued, rolling his eyes.
"There's got to be something in here that's worth something," she muttered, beginning to root through her bag again. "Let's see…how about half a container of Tic Tacs? Or an emergency sewing kit that's only missing a safety pin? Or…hey! Score!" She waved a miniscule bottle at him. "Perfume sample! Maybe Nicole would like it."
"No," Luke said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"But I want – I want to give you something," she stated, her frustration increasing. "I want to be able to give you some sort of a…a token so that you know I'm not going to skip out on my obligations." She looked up at him, fuming. "I want you to know I appreciate you!"
"I know that, Lorelai!" Luke said. Or started to say. Because suddenly Lorelai jumped up from the stool, taking him by surprise and cutting off his words.
"I've got it!" she cried, as the perfect idea broke over her. She acted on it immediately by reaching over the counter and grabbing two handfuls of Luke's gray and green flannel shirt and yanking the stunned man towards her. Leaning forward as far as she could, she pressed her lips against his mouth.
She parted her mouth slightly, so that she could apply the tiniest bit of gentle suction to his soft lips. She wanted him to understand how sincere she was in her appreciation. She finished up a few seconds later with an increase of pressure before releasing his lips with a loud smack. "There!" she declared happily, patting his scruffy, dazed face. "That should do it!"
Luke didn't respond. Didn't even look like he could respond.
"Remember, there's always more where that came from!" she informed him proudly. She felt immense satisfaction over how she'd resolved her problem.
Lorelai slung her bag over her shoulder and took a quick look around, confirming she wasn't leaving anything behind, because that would be embarrassing, especially since Luke was beginning to suspect she wasn't in fact the strong, confident woman he'd always thought she was. One glance at the clock told her she needed to rush off, so she walked briskly across the dining room floor to the exit. "Don't forget, I'll be here later to pay off my tab!" she gaily called back to him when she reached the door.
"O…O-kay," he replied.
For some reason, his voice sounded sort of shaky. Weird, she thought.
Lorelai's day was busy, but no busier than most of them had been for the past two months. First she headed to the Dragonfly so she could meet with Tom before he got embroiled in other problems. The two of them walked through the entire building, making sure they were on the same page about each room and each project. By then the electrician was there, so she walked through with him, too, pulling out a stack of different notes. She carefully watched him add things to the list on his clipboard as they went from room to room. Finally the painting crew arrived, and she made sure they were confident about which colors to use where before they got started.
She stayed on the property for almost another hour, checking on items she had concerns about, or sometimes just staring at the walls, trying to let it sink in that the culmination of her dream was finally coming true.
When she felt herself getting drowsy she gave her head a good shake, found Tom to tell him she was leaving, and reminded him to call her with any questions. He rolled his eyes but promised he would.
Next she drove to the courthouse located at the county seat. For some reason the Dragonfly hadn't received all of the special licensing they'd applied for, and she wanted to make sure there wasn't something holding it up. Hours of her time evaporated as she was shuffled from one office to another. Once it was confirmed that the paperwork was in proper order, she headed for Hartford.
She visited a secondhand store one of Tom's workers had recommended. After an hour and a half of sorting through bins, she found the perfect, authentic-looking doorknobs they needed for the doors. Well, if the doors ever did in fact arrive, they'd be perfect.
Finally she turned the Jeep's wheel back towards Stars Hollow, and by 3 o'clock she was parking in front of Sookie's house. She grabbed her purse, the stuffed binder of construction notes, and a sample of the doorknobs for Sookie's approval.
"Where is he?" she demanded, while Sookie held open the door for her. "Where's my dream lover?"
"Flat on his back, where he always is, the lazy guy," Sookie laughed, pointing over at the playpen.
"There he is! There's my widdle guy! There's my widdle snookie-wookems!" Lorelai leaned over the mesh side of the pen, talking baby talk and playing with Davey's toes and fingers.
"All good now," she said ten minutes later, plopping down on Sookie's couch. "I need my afternoon Davey fix. It's the thing that gets me through the rest of the day." She sighed contentedly and laid her head back against the couch for one all too brief moment of rest. "OK, let me bring you up to speed here," she began, and reached for the thick binder.
"Hold on there, Nose-to-the-Grindstone Girl. Did you eat?"
"At some point in my life? Yes, I did."
"How about today, specifically?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Breakfast."
"I figured as much." Sookie pointed at the spread on her coffee table. "Dig in."
Lorelai blinked. "How did I miss that?" She shook her head. "More importantly, how did I not smell that? God, Sook, that coffee smells heavenly."
Sookie chuckled and filled a mug with coffee for her friend. "I knew you'd need a pick-me-up by now." She handed the steaming mug over to a grateful Lorelai.
"Mmm," Lorelai sighed, elated by the afternoon treat. She brought the mug up to her mouth, but stopped just shy of taking a sip. Something felt…off about her mouth.
Tentatively, she gently ran the tip of her tongue over her mysteriously tingling upper lip.
"Did you burn your mouth again?"
"No. Umm…" Confused by the odd feeling, Lorelai rubbed a finger around her mouth, frowning. Perspiration unexpectedly broke out all over her body. She started to shake.
"Whoa there!" Alarmed, Sookie reached over and took away the coffee mug before it could spill. "Honey, what's wrong? Are you OK?"
Wild-eyed, Lorelai got to her feet. "Oh, my god," she said. She brought her hands to her flaming face. "Oh. My. God." She began to frantically pace across the room. "Oh my god! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!"
"Lorelai, what's going on? Are you having some kind of fit? A seizure? Tell me what to do to help you!"
"You can't help me! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Lorelai wailed, completely distraught.
"You have to stop saying 'oh my god' and tell me what's wrong!" Sookie demanded.
Lorelai tried to force some air into her lungs. She collapsed back down on the couch, burying her face into her hands. "I think…I think I might have…It's possible I kissed Luke."
"What!?" Sookie screeched, her shrillness making Davey cry out in sympathy. "What?" she asked again, softly this time, not wanting to panic the baby. "What do you mean, you kissed Luke?" she hissed.
"Might have," Lorelai corrected desperately. "I'm not sure. Maybe…maybe I just dreamed it. That could be a thing, right?"
"I really think that kissing Luke is something you'd remember," Sookie rebuked her.
Lorelai grabbed her bag. She saw the immense pile of scribbled napkins. She poked into her money-depleted wallet. "I think…I think maybe it was reality," she said forlornly.
"Lorelai, you need to give me a clue here. Is this one of your bits, just to get me riled up? Or should I be screaming and jumping up and down for joy?"
With a groan Lorelai slumped back against the couch and hid her eyes behind her hands. "No jumping up and down, Sook, but the kiss…it happened."
Sookie started to squeal, remembered Davey just in time, and quickly down shut her vocal excitement. "Tell me everything," she begged. "When? Where? And how?" She bounced on her chair. "Oh my god!"
"This morning. In the diner." She groaned in mortification, hunching forward over her knees. "I didn't get to the ATM, so I had no money, a fact I forgot until I went to pay. And let me tell you, I felt about an inch tall when I realized it."
"Oh, pooh. I'm sure Luke didn't care."
"Of course he didn't. He was completely understanding. Good and decent, just like he always is. But it bothered me so much, that once again he had to provide support because I'm a complete flake."
"That's not true," Sookie disputed firmly.
"I remember I just wanted to find something, anything, to let him know how much I valued him, how much I appreciated his generosity, and…I guess…I decided a kiss would do it."
"Aww, Lorelai, that's actually very sweet! Why are you upset about it?"
Still in agony from the delayed memory, Lorelai just stared across the coffee table at Sookie.
"Because you probably just gave him a friendly little peck on the cheek, right?"
Lorelai squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to answer.
"You know, one of those kisses that pals give to each other all time, just one of those friendly –" Sookie gave an example, pursing her lips briefly and making a quick smacking noise.
"No, Sookie, it wasn't like that," Lorelai said tiredly. "It was a kiss. A real kiss. On the mouth." She suffered through a moment of silence, her thoughts making her wretchedly ashamed. "All over his mouth."
"Lorelai! What were you thinking?
"I wasn't thinking! Isn't that obvious? And what's with you? A second ago you were all excited that I'd kissed Luke!"
"A second ago I forgot he was married!"
"You think I don't know that?" Lorelai said miserably.
"And you've got a boyfriend! And a talking key!"
"I know that too."
"And you don't…you don't…" Agitated, Sookie got up and started pacing. "You can't treat Luke like that!"
"Like what?"
"Like you care for him when you don't!"
"Hey! I care for Luke!"
"Not the way he cares for you!"
Lorelai growled in frustration. "Don't you dare start that again," she warned, wagging a finger Sookie's way.
"But you know it's true! The man is crazy about you!"
"The man married someone else!"
The bitterness in Lorelai's voice stopped Sookie cold. She turned around, eyeing Lorelai speculatively. "Hit a nerve there, did we?"
Lorelai sulked on the couch, refusing to answer.
Sookie came closer. "I thought you didn't like Nicole just because you didn't like her. But you're jealous, aren't you? You don't like her because Luke likes her."
"Nicole is…fine." Lorelai found the words impossible to say without an accompanying grimace. And a shudder. "She's just not who Luke should be with. I think it's clear she's all wrong for him, and it frustrates me that he doesn't get that!"
"Uh-huh. And who should he be with?" Sookie asked slyly.
"Don't," Lorelai threatened.
"You know, if you'd given him the tiniest bit of encouragement over the years –"
"Oh, god." Lorelai lowered her head. "Please, I beg you, please don't start this again. I can't take it." Implausibly, a second later she started to laugh, mainly to keep herself from crying. "I'm so tired," she said weakly, once the panicky laughter had faded away. "So, so tired."
"I know you are, cookie. And I'm sorry I opened up a big ol' can of worms. Dredged up stuff you don't have time to deal with right now." Sookie sat down beside Lorelai and rubbed her back affectionately.
"I'm going to fix this," Lorelai vowed quietly. "Somehow, I'll make Luke forgive me."
Sookie shook her head. "You know that's part of the problem, right? You're the one person that Luke will always, always forgive."
"Pour a little more salt in the wound, why don't you, Sook?"
"Sorry." Sookie patted her hand. "Should we table the Dragonfly stuff? Do you just want to go home today and lick your wounds?"
The idea of going home and burying her head under a pile of pillows had never sounded more appealing. But the bazillion napkins in her purse wouldn't like that at all.
"Here." Resigned, Lorelai handed the plastic shopping bag to her. "Brought you a surprise."
Sookie fingered the bag delicately. Her dimples came out as she smiled deviously. "Why, Lorelai. Is this a doorknob, or are you just happy to see me?"
"Both," Lorelai said, and tried to smile at the well-worn joke. She knew that she would be doubly worn-out herself the next day, because it wouldn't only be the Dragonfly's problems keeping her awake this night.
It was late when Lorelai finally faced the diner the following day. She'd deliberately waited until she was certain that most of the diner's clientele had left for the night. She wanted to avoid as many onlookers as possible while she pleaded her case of temporary insanity to Luke.
She knew there was gossip; she'd heard some whispers. Saw some of Tom's guys poking each other in the ribs as she walked by them today. But the one good thing about her crazy schedule was that she didn't have time to walk through town, to get corralled by Miss Patty or Babette and be forced to recite what had happened, bit by agonizing bit, as they added their own off-color commentary. So at least there was that.
She pulled open the door. The bell chimed. Luke looked up from his station behind the counter. She saw him register it was her. Then he deliberately looked back down at whatever appliance repair was otherwise occupying his attention.
It took her forever to cross the floor to the counter. She was pretty sure she could have walked to Hartford faster.
Finally she reached a stool and managed to climb up to take a seat on it. "Luke," she began, her tone one of ultimate seriousness, befitting the conversation they needed to have.
"Lorelai," he intoned, mocking her.
And then he smiled, soft and slow. Like they were sharing some of sort of an intimate joke between them.
It was the smile that rattled her. The smile that made her forget everything she had so carefully planned to say. The smile that made her heart skip a beat, and then race away to oblivion all by itself.
"I…I wanted…" She took a breath, tried to remember where she was going with this. "I wanted to say I'm sorry…"
His body language completely changed. His spine stiffened. The smile dissipated. His eyes, which had been so warm and welcoming just a moment before, changed to ice blue.
She rushed on. "I'm sorry. I went to the ATM today – I really did! But…" She looked at him, tried to get him to look back at her. "It was broken, Luke. Out of order. I swear. And I didn't have my checkbook with me, so I couldn't cash a check anywhere, and I didn't have time today to go home and get it. I'm so sorry, really I am. So, unfortunately, I still…"
He was looking at her now, intently, his head cocked a little bit. "You still don't have any money," he finished for her.
She nodded. "I don't. And I'm so –"
"Sorry. Yeah, I heard." The coy smile was back.
"I promise, tomorrow you are getting paid back, mister!"
"Whenever, Lorelai. It doesn't matter to me." He put down the tools and the screws and the springs and whatever else he'd been fiddling with. He grabbed a towel and wiped off his hands. "Are you hungry?"
She laughed, she couldn't help it. "Luke, are you deaf? Or is your memory really that short?" She hooked her heels over the rung on the stool and stood up a little bit to get closer to him. "I. Have. No. Money," she enunciated loudly and clearly.
He shrugged. "But you're hungry, right?" He stopped and smacked himself on the forehead. "What a question," he muttered. "Of course you're hungry." He pointed behind him, at the dark kitchen. "I can make you a burger. Or there's leftover meatloaf. Which sounds the best?"
"Luke…"
"Meatloaf it is." He put a hand on top of hers, lightly. "That's what friends do, right? They make sure their friends are being taken care of, don't they? They make sure they're not, um, you know, missing out on anything they might need."
He ignored her feeble protests and went into the kitchen. The lights came on. Things clattered.
And Lorelai sat at the counter, feeling as though she'd managed to avoid the firing squad, but might have jumped right in front of a different sort of bullet aimed straight at her heart.
Lorelai licked the last of the gravy off of her fork. She stood up and slowly walked the few feet over to the cash register, even though there was no real reason to do so.
Luke put down the item that had been keeping his hands busy and met her at the end of the counter.
"So…this going on my tab, right?" she asked.
"You bet." Nonchalantly he put his hands into the rear pockets of his jeans and rocked backwards on his feet for a moment. "'Course, if you wanted – or felt like you needed to – you know, give me another I.O.U. or something…" He trailed off, most intently not watching her.
She shook her head, not understanding. "I.O.U.?"
"Or whatever that was, yesterday," he mumbled, shrugging it off as if he didn't care. But his eyes snaked up to hers and seemed to be pleading, almost. He took a few steps around the end of the counter, closer to her.
"Luke…?" This time, her voice was the one shaking.
Unbelievably, his hand curved possessively around her waist. He pulled her forward, and she allowed herself to be pulled.
This kiss was much better than the impromptu one from the day before, mostly because they both knew it was going to happen. Also, Luke tilted his head as he came in, allowing a better angle to make magic happen.
As soon as the kiss began, Lorelai remembered all of the things she'd liked so much from the day before. The feel of his chest under her hands. The way he smelled like a campfire in a pine forest, with a little coffee added in. The way his lips made her believe she'd be happy kissing them forever.
Multiple minutes drifted away as they celebrated their new connection. When they did finally break apart, they were discombobulated in regards to space and time, and didn't quite know where to look or what to do with their hands.
But then Luke leaned in, close to her ear. "That was certainly better than anything money could buy."
Lorelai grinned, beginning to feel like her normal, outspoken self. "Then, hell, take me into the storeroom and let's clear off all my debts."
His fingers suddenly bit into her back and his breathing quickened, informing her better than words ever could that he'd had the same thought at some point. The knowledge that he'd imagined her like that, that he wanted her as much as she wanted him, hit her with such an exuberant rush that she had to put a hand on the nearby counter, putting an actual physical stop to the idea of dragging him off somewhere.
"Maybe I should go," she suggested reluctantly, trying to pretend she was in control of her desires.
"Before you do, there's something I want to tell you."
"What?" They were still standing so close. Her hands naturally went back up to his shoulders, his arms wrapped back around her waist.
"I signed those divorce papers today, the ones that have been up in my drawer forever. They're on the way to Nicole now."
"You did?" Lorelai was completely stunned, partially because she didn't think he'd ever make the decision to end that farce of a marriage, and partially because during the past seven or eight minutes she'd been able to forget there even was a Nicole. "Because…?" she prompted him to continue.
"Because it was time," Luke said with a shrug. "The thing between me and Nicole was never going to get any better. It was never going to be enough, for either of us. It was time to put it to rest and see if there's something else out there, something that might make me…I dunno…happier, I guess."
"Something?" Lorelai asked guilelessly, her eyes as innocent and wide as she could make them. "Or someone?"
Luke grinned. He took away one hand from her back so he could bring it up to her face. "Someone," he agreed.
"Oh, is it me? Is it me?" she chattered.
He ducked his head down again, shyly, she thought, so that he could whisper next to her ear. "I hope it's you."
She pulled her head back, so she could smile at him. "There's something I should probably tell you, too."
"What's that?" He grew bold enough to play with the ends of her hair.
"One of the reasons I didn't have time to go home and get my checkbook today was because I needed to drive to Hartford."
"Did you have to see your parents?" he guessed.
"No, no parents." She got tongue-tied, not sure how to segue into what she needed to say. "Maybe you didn't know, but I've had a…a…a Jason."
"Oh, yeah. Him," Luke said, close to sneering.
Lorelai rushed to get the rest of it out. "Notice I said 'had,' because today I told him it was over between us."
"Why?" Luke immediately wanted to know.
"Because it was just a casual thing; something to do when I didn't have anything else going on. But you know what my life is like currently – what with the Dragonfly and Rory and basic human existence, it's insanely busy. It's crazy. I don't have time for anything that's merely casual right now."
He looked at her seriously. "I don't do casual," he informed her.
She smiled. "Oh, I know that, all right."
"Not casual is something you'd be OK with?"
"I think I could be very OK with not casual."
"That's good then. Good." He murmured the words as if deep in thought, then brushed a kiss to her forehead.
"Well, that was sort of casual," she complained, even though that light touch alone made the blood rush through her again.
His smile was a faint one. "I was just thinking that you should head home. Get some rest."
"I probably should," Lorelai said, wishing she didn't have to agree.
With an apologetic smile she put on her pink coat and gathered up her purse. She came to stand in front of him again, but not at the same close range as before. When she leaned forward for a quick kiss goodbye, it was an awkward reach this time. They half-smiled at each other, self-conscious over the fumble.
"You'll be in tomorrow?" Luke wanted to hear it confirmed.
"I will, but it will probably be late again. Maybe even later than tonight." She looked at him regretfully.
"Not a problem. Even if the sign says closed, I'll leave the door unlocked for you. Just come on in."
"Thanks, Luke." She'd reached the door but wasn't quite sure what to say to end their evening. "I'll see you tomorrow."
He gave her a look that almost melted her on the spot. "Sleep tight."
"No chance of that," she muttered, but went home anyway to what was undoubtedly going to be another sleepless night.
"Honey, I'm home!" Lorelai called out facetiously as she rushed inside the diner the next night. The blinds were closed, so she was pretty confident there was no one inside except Luke.
He immediately got up from one of the counter stools and headed towards her.
"Sorry, sorry – I know I'm late, even later than I thought." She took off her coat and laid it and her purse down on a table. She straightened her hair with her hands as she walked over to meet Luke, still talking. "I don't understand how I can check dozens of things off of my lists every day, but still have –" The words stopped abruptly as she stood and stared at Luke. "You look… wow, nice. You look amazing, actually. What's the occasion?"
He waved a dismissive hand at the new-looking gray slacks and the buttoned-down striped shirt he wore. "You always look good. Just thought maybe I should try and match your example."
"Hey, if I've got that much influence over you, let's discuss your disgustingly healthy eating habits, hmm? Or your sad lack of movie knowledge."
"Let's save those fascinating discussions for another time." He put a hand on her elbow and tried to turn her around, but Lorelai had other ideas.
"No, wait!" she yelped. She ran back to her purse and extricated the billfold out of it. "I've got something much more important to take care of first."
"Fine," Luke sighed. He followed her to the counter instead.
She opened the wallet and drew out some bills. Elaborately she counted the money out, added the proper amount of coins, then stood back to display her efforts. "Ta-da!"
"Let's get this over with," Luke said, and reached for the money.
"Wait, wait!" Lorelai stopped his hand. "Don't be so hasty, bucko! I have a proposition for you."
"You do, huh?" He leaned easily against the counter, smirking at her.
"I do indeed." She pulled more money out of her wallet and once again put it into a neat pile, ending with an elaborate flourish. "Behold! The opportunity to double your money!"
"Really? What's the catch?" he wanted to know, quirking one eyebrow at her.
"No catch. More of a…perk, actually." Now that it was time to play all of her cards, unexpected shyness left her short of breath. "I'll pay you double the money if you'll just let me, um…kiss you…again."
"Seriously?" He folded his arms, looking stern and disappointed. "You honestly think you can buy my affections? And if so, you think I'm that cheap?"
"I hope so." She walked into him and he immediately put his arms around her. "Because I'll tell you the truth, there's not much money left in my bank account, and if your kisses are super expensive, I won't be able to afford very many of them. Since I have no self-control, I'll go broke within a week. And once I'm out of money, you know what that means."
"I'll have to run you a tab."
She nodded, content to be right where she was. "And then we'll have to find some creative way for me to pay that off." A knowing smile lit up her face. "So I guess it's a win-win situation for me, no matter what."
"Yeah. For me too." He kissed her then.
"See?" She kept hold of his arms, her eyes still shut. "That one right there probably depleted my whole budget."
"I'll float you a loan." He put his hands on her shoulders and got her to turn around.
If the sight of a dressed-up Luke threw her for a loop, seeing the beautifully set table before her knocked every word out of her head. The crisp white tablecloth, the muted glow of the small battery-operated lamp, the wineglasses – that would be glasses in which to pour wine – completely stunned her. She hadn't been so astonished since a chuppah was delivered to her front yard.
All she could do was to turn to him, her mouth hanging open, pointing to the bud vase holding a single rose in the middle of the table. "Pink?" she finally managed to croak out.
Luke shrugged. "You keep wearing that pink coat. I figured you liked pink."
She was still in a state of shock. "I do. I do like pink. But, Luke…" She shook her head, trying to get a handle on the night. "But what – what is this?"
"Well, it's…" He ran his hands over his head, seemed surprised not to feel his hat there, then stuck them in his pockets. "It's a date."
"A date?!" Her mouth was doing the hanging-open thing again.
"Yeah, I thought…Ah, man!" He smacked his forehead. "I just realized, I never actually asked you if you wanted to go out with me."
"I do," she reassured him instantly. "I most certainly do."
"OK, then, that's good." He took a breath of relief. "I know how busy you are right now, so I figured it would be a while before you had time to go out on a real date, and I thought maybe I could sort of jerry-rig something here, to get us started." He looked at her anxiously, trying to read her face. "You hate it," he said bluntly.
"No, no, no! I do not hate it!"
"But you're still giving me that look that says I'm an idiot."
"No!" Lorelai laughed. She moved closer to him, took his arm, and laid her head against his shoulder. "This is not my 'Luke is an idiot' face. This is my 'I never dreamed Luke Danes could be such a romantic guy' face."
"Oh." He chuckled. "Yeah, truthfully, I never knew I could be either." He bent down to kiss the top of her head. "I'm not sure I ever wanted to be one before this."
She hugged his arm tighter. "Then I'm glad I'm the one to inspire your latent romantic tendencies."
"Here, have a seat. I'll go get our food." He came down to her level as he pushed her chair in. "And just to be perfectly clear, there is absolutely no cost or expectations associated with this meal in any way, shape, or form." He started towards the kitchen, but took a slight detour in order to turn off the overhead lights, which left only the small lamp on their table and the lights already on in the kitchen to provide discreet, date-like illumination.
Lorelai looked around at her surroundings, completely delighted by everything Luke had done to make this night special for her. She was over-the-top delighted with Luke, too. She couldn't imagine a better first date.
"Hey, Luke," she yelled to him. "What if I want to pay for the meal?"
"Absolutely not," he yelled back.
"But Luke," she whined. "What if I want you to take me back into the kitchen and –"
He appeared, carrying two plates of salad and glaring at her.
"– and let me help you do the dishes?" she finished up innocently, smiling brightly.
"That I might agree to." He sat the salad in front of her and stole a kiss. "I'll be right back with the wine."
"Hurry," she encouraged him, and leaned across the table to smell the sweet scent of the newly-opened pink rose. She smiled, because she knew that the rose's destiny was to be pressed into a book and kept forever as a memento of this night.
The night she paid off her tab – and started one that would last the rest of her life.