Chapter 6 – June 3rd, 2010: Five Years After the Wedding that Never Was

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Luke sipped his beer slowly, not bothering to look around the hotel bar and restaurant. He was here on the 3rd of June for the third time in the last three years, here in the New York hotel where Lorelai took him five years ago, hoping against hope that she could get him to marry her. Luke shook his head at the thought. Lorelai Victoria Gilmore – the woman he loved from afar for eight years, the woman he wanted to marry and have children with – she had to go to such extreme measures to try to keep him around.

The last time he saw Lorelai was at Rory's graduation party. That was when he realized that he never stopped loving her, and probably never would. He broke up with Anna soon after and filed for joint custody to ensure he would still have access to April. Anna fought dirty and dug up every piece of dirt she could find – including his inability to keep a long-term relationship, and that he did not have a woman in his life to help him understand how to raise a teenage girl. Thankfully, with the help of a brilliant letter of recommendation from his nephew Jess on how Luke was the father he never had, the judge decided to award joint custody.

A man in a suit sat next to him at the bar with a slight nod. He ordered a gin martini, and Luke remembered that it was Lorelai's drink of choice as well. For him, he always stuck with beer, or occasionally some whiskey. He never had a problem drinking, but lately he noticed himself drinking alone more and more. He was forty-five, alone, and worst of all he was lonely. He didn't have any close friends at Stars Hollow – Lorelai was the only one who got close to him in all the years he lived there.

He was in the middle of remembering how kind she was when his Uncle Louie died, when he noticed the guy beside him staring intently at someone at a nearby table. He called the bartender over and asked him to send a gin martini to the pretty lady in the blue dress. Out of curiosity, he snuck a peek at the woman who took the suit guy's attention, and drew a sharp breath when he realized it was Lorelai.

She looked absolutely stunning. She didn't seem to have aged a bit since they last saw each other four years ago. Her hair was slightly shorter, and came down her shoulders in soft waves. She was wearing a form-fitting dark blue dress that showed off her figure perfectly. She sat alone in a table, leafing through a magazine, looking slightly bored. When the bartender handed her the drink, she looked flattered. Luke immediately turned to face the other way in case she looked towards the bar to smile her thanks to the suit man for the drink.

Suit man seemed pleased with himself and got off the bar stool, walking deliberately to Lorelai's table. Luke held his breath, trying not to watch and see if Lorelai would let him sit at her table. Thankfully, he saw her give him an apologetic smile and gestured towards the door vaguely, and suit man walked back to the bar and plonked himself beside Luke again.

Guess this putz struck out, he thought, elated. Wonder how she'd react if she sees me?

He was gathering courage to go to her table when he noticed another guy approaching her. The guy was tall and had unruly dark hair, which looked like he didn't bother with. He wore black-rimmed glasses and a black leather jacket with jeans. To his dismay, Lorelai immediately stood up and went over to the guy when she noticed him. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips and began to drag him to their table, shoving the magazine to his hand and pointing excitedly at something.

The man took a second to look at the page she was pointing at and gave her a big hug. Luke wasn't near enough to hear their conversation, but he could guess it was about something in the magazine. By the familiar way they kissed and hugged, he assumed they've been in a relationship for some time now. He settled back into the bar stool and asked for another beer.

He watched them surreptitiously the whole night. He noticed how Lorelai's eyes sparkled and how she giggled often. He noticed how the guy kept a steady glance at her, and even from afar he could see the love in his eyes. He craned his neck to see if there was a ring on Lorelai's finger and was pleased to note there was none. He wondered if he could get a chance to talk to her before the night was over.

His chance came when someone called the guy over from another table. Unruly hair guy stood up with alacrity and after a few quick words with Lorelai, he stood up and walked over to join some friends. Luke stood up and slowly walked over to Lorelai, who was back to leafing through the magazine. He cleared his throat, and waited for Lorelai to look up.

"Hi."

Her surprise was evident. "Luke! Luke Danes! Whatever are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied with a smile. Mind if I sit for a bit?"

"Sure, sure, have a seat," she said warmly. "Andy won't be back for maybe 10 minutes or so."

"Andy, huh?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile, with just the slightest hint of discomfort. "How about you? Are you still with Anna?"

"No," he replied. "We actually broke up after Rory's graduation party."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

There was uncomfortable silence between them. "So Luke, you never told me what you're doing here in this big smelly city. You've always said you hated it here in New York."

Luke didn't reply immediately and wondered if he should just tell her the truth. He didn't have much time, knowing that Andy may be back any minute now, so he decided to just go for it. "I, uh, I've actually been coming to this hotel bar every year on the same day."

Lorelai seemed genuinely puzzled. "Why?"

"It's, uh, it's June 3rd today. Not sure if you knew that."

Lorelai seemed puzzled. He looked down in embarrassment. Here he was like a love sick puppy while Lorelai couldn't even remember the significance of the date. When she finally did after several minutes of awkward silence, the surprise in Lorelai's face was evident. Her face instantly colored. "Oh. I… I didn't even remember."

Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess I like getting out of the diner once a year and come here to think about stuff."

"Stuff?"

"Yeah, well, never mind," he said, embarrassed. He could see Lorelai was confused and was looking at him with her eyebrows furrowed. He forced a smile. "So anyway, how have you been? What are you doing here?

"Oh, I live here now. Been living in the Big Apple for the past three years, I think."

"I didn't know you wanted to live in a city. You always said you were a small town girl."

"And I am, and I do miss Stars Hollow, and small town life… but I guess things change," she said with a small smile.

Luke sipped his beer slowly, trying to decide the best way to say what he wanted to say. "Hey, so listen, I know your, uh, boyfriend will probably be back anytime now... I wonder if, uh, he'd mind if we meet for lunch or dinner tomorrow? I mean, only if you're free and only if both of you are okay with it…"

Lorelai had to smile at how fidgety and nervous Luke was. She reached over to give him a small pat in his hand but the unexpected electricity she felt at the touch surprised her. She quickly removed her hand. "I'm sure it will be okay. We have dinner plans tomorrow, but I can do lunch if you like?"

"That would be great, thanks," he mumbled. "I, uh, I'll call you. Do you have the same number?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yes, same number." Luke stood up and seemed to be thinking of what to say, so Lorelai decided to help him out. "So… I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Luke nodded. "I'll see you Lorelai," he replied and walked back to the bar.

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Luke tried to smile and act normally, but for heaven's sake, this was Lorelai Victoria Gilmore in front of him, eating a steak. He felt like a high school dork having lunch with the head cheerleader.

"So how have things been with you? How is Rory?"

"Rory's great. She's been with the New York Times for a few years now, she thinks she may be able to get her own by-line soon. And she lives very close to where I live, so we see each other several times a week."

"So… she likes Andy?"

"Of course. He's a writer too, did I tell you that?"

Luke shook his head. "No, was that how you met? I mean, did Rory introduce you guys?"

Lorelai giggled easily. "No, I actually met him when I was living in New Jersey."

"New Jersey?" Luke asked. "Oh, I recall you went there after we… after you left Stars Hollow."

Lorelai blushed. "Yeah. I was only supposed to stay there for a year max then go back to Dragonfly and Stars Hollow, but when the time came, I, uh, I felt like I didn't have much reason to go back, so I took a job in New York."

Luke wondered if she thought he was still with Anna that time and if that was one of the reasons she didn't go back. By the way she was furiously cutting her steak and not looking at him, perhaps it was not unlikely.

"So you met Andy when you were in New Jersey?" He didn't want to pry but he couldn't help himself.

"Yeah, so, uh… my twenties were quite unique because I had Rory so young, so I never experienced going out for drinks after work and so on. Rory encouraged me to make friends at work, and sometimes she would come in and we would go out to bars for a drink. One time, we went to this bar which was having a movie trivia night, and Rory and I were like – oh we're gonna totally win this. I mean our entire lives were spent watching as many movies as we can. But then there was this guy who knew the answers to nearly all the questions. I was so annoyed that we lost that I wouldn't even shake his hand after."

Luke smiled. "You can be a sore loser sometimes."

"Yeah, well anyway, that was Andy."

"The guy with all the answers?"

"Yep."

"What is he – some kind of movie freak?"

"Turns out he's a film critic for the New York Times and a bunch of other publications. He was in New Jersey that week to see his family."

"Wow," Luke said, sipping his water slowly. "So I guess you got your very own movie guy."

Lorelai remembered the time Luke told her he could be a movie guy for her. "I guess so."

"And you've been together since then?"

"We haven't been together for more than a year, to be honest. We've just been really good friends. I guess you can call him my best friend after Rory and Sookie and…, uh, that's it." She looked so uncomfortable that Luke wondered what she was supposed to say.

Luke took a deep breath "I'm… I'm happy for you, Lorelai. Really. I just wanted you to be happy."

Lorelai looked at him and forced a smile. "Thanks Luke. I wish you the same. Joy and happiness. And love."

Luke tried to dispel the sudden uncomfortable air. "Hey, so I guess you're getting the whole package after all? I assume you guys will get married and have kids?"

Lorelai 's eyes suddenly watered and she looked down and began to poke at her potatoes. "Oh, I'm not so sure about that."

Luke's heart suddenly soared. Perhaps he still had a chance? "So, uh, you're not sure about Andy?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, about Andy I'm sure. It's just… I can't have kids anymore."

Luke suddenly felt cold. He knew she always wanted to have another kid. "I… I'm sorry Lorelai."

"Yeah, well, I found out a few years ago…"

"When we were still together?" Luke asked, not able to stop himself.

"No, it was several months after we broke up."

"So if… if we got married on June 3rd like we were supposed to and tried to have kids… Maybe we still could?"

"Really, Luke, I don't want to think of any what ifs," Lorelai snapped. "And that's rich, coming from you."

"I'm sorry." Luke said quietly. "I really am."

"Yeah I'm sure you are," Lorelai said sarcastically. "We've only broken up for what – three months – before you got together with April's mom?"

"I, uh... It wasn't… How did you know that?"

"Never mind how I know. I'm just saying – I don't want to talk about our past. We were friends, we got together, it didn't work out, the end."

"I'm sorry."

Lorelai was quiet for a few minutes trying to quell the sudden onslaught of emotion. If she was really over Luke, should she still feel the old anger and hurt? I'm with Andy now, she reminded herself. Luke can't hurt me anymore.

After several minutes, Luke cleared his throat. "For what it's worth, I'm really sorry about everything I've done to hurt you. You have no idea how sorry I am."

Lorelai finally looked up at him. She could see the sincerity in his eyes. "I know you're sorry, Luke. I'm sorry too. It just didn't work out. That happens."

Luke tried not to say it but the words slipped through before he could stop himself. "I really miss you, Lorelai."

"Luke, I'm with Andy now."

"I know. I'm sorry. That wasn't appropriate."

"No, it wasn't." Lorelai abruptly changed the subject to reduce the awkwardness. "So what do you think about Morey and Babette's new gnome?" she asked with a giggle.

"You know about that?"

"Of course, I do!" Lorelai replied. "I drive over to Stars Hollow every two weeks to see everyone."

"You do? How come I never see you?"

"Oh you know how it is. If I drop by the diner, I'm sure it would start the rumor mill again, and I can't really have that. Not when Andy and I are thinking of moving to Stars Hollow."

Luke almost choked on his salad. "You're moving back to Stars Hollow?"

Lorelai looked at him evenly. "Andy asked me a few times if I wanted to move back, but I'm not sure he's cut out for small town life. That's the only reason why I haven't moved back yet."

"Well, you're always welcome back… to Stars Hollow and to the diner." Luke replied, trying to hide his emotion. He didn't even know what to feel. The prospect of seeing Lorelai everyday again made his heart soar. But the idea of seeing him with someone else was like a dagger in his heart.

"Thanks, we'll think about it."

"Are you… are you getting married soon?"

Lorelai giggled at some distant memory. "I expect so."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked, confused.

Lorelai tried to keep her giggling in check. "Sorry Luke, it's just that… it's something Rory and I talked about that I only remembered now, and it made me laugh."

Luke smiled. "You mind sharing it with me?"

Lorelai's huge smile faded a bit. "Okay, so when we just… I mean, when I was still… uh, a few years ago, I told Rory I never want to be engaged again. And Rory asked if that meant I was never going to get married, and I said no, I still want to get married, and get the whole package, if I do meet someone new. But I said I'd rather we elope and get married right then and there, than get another engagement ring that leads to nowhere."

Luke flinched but tried to cover up quickly. "Okay, I still don't get what's so funny."

"So Rory said I shouldn't tell this to a guy on the first date, because it would, you know, scare off the guy obviously. But she ended up blurting it out the first night we went out for drinks with Andy and a bunch of other friends. Although Andy and I weren't dating then, I guess in a way you could say that was our first date."

"So she likes Andy?"

"Rory and I never really thought that there would be anything romantic happening between Andy and me. He was… I don't know. He was just really laid back and became a really good friend to both of us really quickly. I mean, obviously Rory likes him – since he's a writer and all – and he's a film critic, so we three can talk movies all night."

"So what happened?"

"One day, I guess I realized that maybe the one I was looking for was right there in front of me. Apparently, he's had feelings for me for three or four years, but never said anything."

"Why not?"

"He thought I may not be over you."

"What?!" Luke sputtered in surprise.

"I told you we started out as really good friends. I guess, kind of like the way we started out. So he knows all about you. It helped to have someone to talk to when you're trying to get over someone, you know."

"I… I think I understand. That's how the thing with Anna started. I was feeling… lonely after you left, and I had nobody to talk to, so I started to open up to her."

Lorelai nodded, but didn't know what to say, so she took a bite of her potato.

"But I broke up with her very soon after. After I saw you again at Rory's graduation, I knew it wasn't right."

"You haven't been in a relationship after that?"

Luke shook his head. "Not really. I've been to two or three dates, usually set up by April or someone else, but that's pretty much it."

Lorelai stared at him for a few minutes until he felt uncomfortable. "Luke… I don't want you to be lonely your entire life. I… I hope you find the one for you. I really do."

Luke smiled with a tinge of sadness. "Yeah."

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