Chapter 5 – June 3rd, 2006: A Year After the Wedding that Never Was

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Lorelai has been dreading June 3rd this year, because she knew it would only remind her of two things. First, that she didn't get to marry the man she loved on June 3rd last year, and second, that the man she was supposed to marry on June 3rd last year left her alone in New York because another woman called him, a woman he was now in a relationship with just a few months after they broke up.

Rory knew that this day would be tough for her mom, so she called her a few weeks before June 3rd.

"Hey mom. Want to get out of New Jersey for a few days?"

"Hey sweets. That sounds great! I'll have to see if I can get off work though. I was only supposed to stay here at the Garden Inn for six months, but it's been more than that and I still can't turn this place around. Man, I wonder if Mike Armstrong will fire me."

"I'm sure he won't. He knows you're trying really hard but you keep butting heads with that snooty General Manager. He kinda makes you miss Michel, though, doesn't he?"

"Actually, Mike told me he wanted to fire Steve. The top reason why the staff turnover here is so high is that everybody hates working for Steve. But I told him to give me a bit more time, before we go and fire the poor guy."

"Poor guy? He called me a blue-eyed doe-face when I visited you there."

"Oh, don't worry about him. So, when do you want to go?"

"I was actually thinking maybe the first week of June?"

"Any reason in particular?" Lorelai asked gaily, before it suddenly dawned on her. "Oh. June 3rd."

"Yeah," replied Rory hesitantly. "I just don't want you calling me dead drunk at 11 in the morning."

Lorelai tried to smile at the painful memory. "Sorry again about that, kid. Never wanted you to see me like that."

"It's okay, Mom. I still can't get over the fact that you and Luke didn't get married."

"I know, sweetie. But it's really time to move on. He's seeing someone else now, remember?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." After a pause, Rory continued. "So, how are you taking it Mom?"

"It's fine. I'm fine, really," she said, trying to sound convincing. "I mean, I did leave him that night and flew off to New Jersey and took this job to get away from him. I never picked up his calls – I get why he would want to move on."

"But it's Luke…"

"Rory, seriously, you and Sookie have to stop saying that. What does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't know. I just… I just can't believe he'd give up on you that easily."

"Listen, Rory, he gave up on me way before we broke up. You knew that, right? He was already out by then. Maybe he just couldn't figure out how to break up with me or something. Like, how does a man ask for a ring back? I wonder if people do that."

"I'd rather not know."

"Yeah, neither do I," Lorelai sighed. "Anyway, if you want to take a short trip somewhere before you start with your fancy new job at the New York Times, fine by me. But it doesn't have to be on June 3rd just because you're worried about your mommy getting drunk over an ex-boyfriend."

"Ex fiancé you mean."

"You know what, I hate that word now," Lorelai mused. "I don't think I ever want to be engaged again. I've already been engaged twice and it never got me to where I wanted to be. It never made me a wife. Maybe when I meet someone else, I'd tell him – if you want to get married, just tell me and we'll elope. I don't want an engagement ring, let's just go do it."

"I hope you're not going to say that on the first date," Rory laughed. "That will scare the guy."

"Maybe the second date, then?"

"Probably a good idea to hold off until the third date."

"Deal." Lorelai giggled. "Anyway, don't worry about me. I'll be fine on the 3rd. In fact, I think I'm working double shifts on that day, it's better if I keep busy anyway. Plus I can go out for drinks with Andy and the gang after work."

"If you're sure mom."

"Yes I am, sweets. Talk to you soon?"

"You got it."

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When June 3rd dawned, Lorelai intentionally made sure she would be busy the whole day to avoid thinking of the pesky what ifs.

What if she told Luke how she felt sooner? Maybe they'd still be together, maybe they'd even be married by now. But if she really thought about it, that wouldn't work, because she tried that a few times and he would always brush her off. And if she pushed harder to make him understand, he'd break up with her. She knew that from experience.

What if she didn't leave Stars Hollow when she broke up with him? Maybe he'd wake up and realize that he was losing her, has already lost her. Maybe he'd stop taking her for granted and would want to get back together again. Maybe they'd even be married by now.

STOP, she thought to herself. All these thoughts of being together and getting married are not helping. He's with Anna now. He's with Anna and April. He has the whole package – the one he didn't want to have with you.

With a sigh, she tried to get her mind to focus back on the Garden Inn. Mike Armstrong offered her a job to work in the struggling properties owned by the Durham Group and turn it around. She was supposed to talk to guests and employees, figure out what the problems were, and work closely with the General Manager to make things work. At first, she thought six months should be more than enough, but she couldn't make much headway with Steve Parker, the universally hated General Manager, who she didn't want to fire unless it was really a last resort.

She tried to keep busy the whole day, never letting herself be alone with her thoughts unless absolutely necessary. She felt she was doing well until she saw a man holding flowers nervously at the door, looking around. She suddenly remembered that fateful day at the Dragonfly trial run when Luke showed up with flowers for her, and she banged her head on a door frame out of sheer nervousness. She all but ran to her office and slammed the door shut, before she collapsed on the couch.

She kept trying to hold her sobs in, worried that someone may hear her, but the pain of remembering was too much. She allowed herself ten minutes to cry – to cry for her what ifs and her shattered dreams and most importantly, to cry for the only man she ever loved. It was therapeutic, and she was able to control her emotions soon enough.

Meanwhile, in Stars Hollow, Luke was wiping the counter silently and trying not to listen to Zack and Lane's chitchat while they were closing up the diner. They seemed to be reminiscing about a trip to Mexico that they had before, but Luke didn't quite catch it. Those two didn't strike him as well suited for each other at first, but they seemed to be very happy together.

"So Luke, have you ever been to Mexico?" Zack said out of the blue, interrupting his thoughts.

Luke stopped wiping and looked at him. "No, not really. Was it any good?"

"Man, I'm never going back. We had the worst honeymoon ever."

"Oh c'mon," interrupted Lane. "There were some good things about the honeymoon, Zack."

"Yeah, like the twins," he replied with a laugh. Lane giggled.

"Hey, I never asked you both about how your wedding was," Luke said suddenly. "I heard it was fun."

"Yeah man, we had two weddings!" Zack replied enthusiastically. "The first one was in front of this giant Buddha and I did not understand a word, but let me tell you – a robe is a fine thing for a man to wear! So light and airy."

Luke suddenly remembered Liz and TJ's wedding, and how he kept talking about "air pants." That was the moment he decided to risk everything and finally show Lorelai how he felt for her all those years. He couldn't forget the look of surprise in her face when he asked her to dance, and how they both could not seem to stop smiling at each other. It was his first time to hold her that close, and it just felt right.

He realized that Zack was still talking to him, so he shook his head to clear his thoughts and tried to focus his attention back on him and Lane.

"And the toasts were hilarious as well. Except Lorelai's. That was kinda weirdly sad, man."

"Zack!" Lane nearly shouted.

"What?" Luke asked.

Lane suddenly grabbed Zack's hand and took off his apron. "So Luke, we'll see you tomorrow, we have to rush home now, Mama Kim will have a fit if we don't get home soon to get the twins."

"Wait, wait," Luke called out. "What was Zack talking about?"

Zack and Lane exchanged a look. "Sorry man, I shouldn't have brought it up," Zack replied sheepishly. "I really wasn't thinking. And that was long ago, it shouldn't matter anymore."

"I thought she sang Endless Love while drunk?"

Lane took a deep breath. "That was just the story Miss Patty came up with to cover up what Lorelai said during her toast."

"She gave a toast? Nobody ever told me that."

"Yeah, well… It was sad and embarrassing and really awkward for Lorelai, so the whole town decided you didn't need to know about it. Sorry, Luke," Lane said, looking at the ground.

"What did she say?" Luke asked, afraid of what he might find out.

"She… uh, she said she was really happy for me and Zack, that we found love at such a young age," Lane explained, trying to be diplomatic. "And she congratulated us for getting married, saying that everyone would probably get married before her because it's just not gonna happen, and that everyone could make plans on June 3rd because she wasn't getting married on that day. That really surprised everyone, because we all thought your June 3rd wedding was on although we, uh… we did notice that you were growing a bit distant."

"Man, how weird is it? It's June 3rd today!" Zack interjected.

Luke glanced briefly at his watch, surprised that it was indeed June 3rd. He wondered if Lorelai was somewhere thinking of him. "Hey, thanks for telling me," he told Lane slowly. "Tell you what, I think I'll close the diner tomorrow. I… I think I need a break. I'll still pay you and all, but you don't need to come in tomorrow, okay?"

Lane looked at him with her eyebrows furrowed. "Are you sure? Where are you going?"

"Fishing," Luke replied automatically. He headed for his apartment upstairs, wanting to be alone. "Lock the door on your way out. And could you call Cesar and tell him we're closed tomorrow?"

"Sure, man," Zack replied. He took Lane's hand and walked out the door.

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