TODAY - Stars Hollow - Luke's Diner
Luke worked just as he always did. Or at least, as he had in the past three months, ever since his relationship with Lorelai began. His attitude had definitely changed.
"Hey!" he called to some poor guy who'd pulled out a cell phone, "Don't make me tap the sign." And some things never changed. He certainly didn't want to have to start yelling when Lorelai and Rory would show up, as they were bound to do so sooner or later.
It was Rory's first day back at Chilton, she'd need the 'comfort food', and he wouldn't deny it to her. He still believed, even more so now, that it wasn't good for her. But as long as she was happy... As much as he didn't want to admit it, Rory felt like a daughter to him now. She sort of did even before... but never like this.
"Uh, excuse me?" Luke was lost in thought and he didn't hear. He moved behind the counter. "Coffee man, hello?"
'Lorelai?' he thought. He caught a glimpse of brown hair and looked up. His eyes fell upon a tall woman... a tall pregnant woman. 'Not Lorelai,' he thought. "I'm sorry, can I help you?"
"I hope you can. I'm looking for someone, I was told she might be here."
"Who's that?" he asked.
"Lorelai Gilmore. I know she's not here now though..." she said, quickly looking around the room.
"Well, she should be coming in any minute," he said after looking at the clock, "You're welcome to wait for her."
"I think I'll do that, I just need to go back to my car for a minute."
"Okay," said Luke. The woman smiled and walked out. 'That was strange,' Luke thought. He let it go a few seconds later when Lorelai and Rory walked in. Rory looked tired.
"Coffee, please," she said slowly as she slid down on a stool at the counter. The words were barely out of her mouth and Luke had already set down two cups in front of them.
"Hi!" said Lorelai, leaning forward to kiss him.
"Hey," he responded with a smile. "By the way, there was someone looking for you."
"Ed McMahon?"
"No."
"Damn."
"She seemed to know you," Luke explained.
"She?"
"Hey, Gilmore! Hand, please?" someone called from behind. Rory turned, and so did Lorelai, recognizing the voice immediately.
"No way," she whispered. And then she saw her. "Way!" she smiled. She had aged a bit, barely, was pregnant and carrying two small sleeping girls, but there was no mistaking. "Lucy... Lucy Cooper," Lorelai spoke in a near-whisper.
"The one and only," she smiled. "You know, I wasn't kidding about that hand." Lorelai snapped out of the shock and walked to her old friend. She picked up one of the girls, so Lucy was now more comfortable. "That's better," she said.
The two were silent for some time, observing each other, taking in how much and how little the other had changed in fifteen years.
"Mom?" Rory called hesitantly. The two women came back to reality and Lorelai smiled.
"Lucy, you remember Rory?"
"How could I forget? Although SHE probably has. I mean she wasn't even two the last time I saw her."
"I don't remember you, but I know Mom's mentioned you... many times." Lucy smiled.
"I can't believe how much you've grown," Lucy said with a single tear, "Seems like just yesterday you were that little kid, jumping into my arms for a hug, screaming 'LULU!'..." Lucy said, imitating Rory's long-lost nearly 'pixie-esque' voice. Rory smiled, with just a hint of embarrassment.
"Well, come on," Lorelai said, indicating a table. The three went to sit together, resting the sleeping girls on a couple of chairs next to their mother. "Don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?" Lorelai asked.
"Well... needed a vacation, missed you, looked you up, and here I am!"
"And here you are... with two kids and one more coming?" Lucy smiled.
"I couldn't leave them behind." She looked at the two girls and indicated each of them. "This is Tara, and this is Eva." She rested her hand on her round belly. "And this is... or will be in about a month... Maggie."
"Oh, speaking of which, how's your mother?" Lorelai asked, remembering the sweet woman who had helped her out so much. Lucy's face changed slightly.
"She, uh... she passed away." Lorelai was speechless.
"Oh my God, Lucy, I'm so sorry. If I'd..."
"You couldn't have known."
"When? Why didn't you call me?"
"It was almost three years ago. I did try to call you, but I didn't know where you lived anymore and I just didn't have the energy to try anything else. I'm sorry." Lorelai picked up her friend's hands.
"Hey, don't worry about it. How did... if you don't mind me asking."
"Cancer."
"No... oh my..."
"Can we... talk about something else?" Lucy asked uncomfortably.
"Of course, sure." Lorelai looked around, the girls, Lucy's round belly. "So... three girls, uh? Or almost..." Lucy became happier little by little.
"Yeah, I know. You should have seen me right before I had them," she said, nodding to the girls, "I was just..." She made a round motion a couple inches away from her belly.
"Wow. How old are they?"
"They just turned six last month." Just then Luke walked up to them.
"So, ready to order?"
"Sure," said Lorelai, then looking to Lucy.
"Yeah." She gave her order, as well as something for the girls. Almost like magic, the second the food was set before them, they opened their tiny brown eyes.
"They really are yours," Lorelai observed with a wink. Lucy smiled. The group ate as they talked, mostly of 'the adventures of Lorelai and Lucy'. Luke stopped by their table from time to time.
It was like nothing had changed between the two friends, no matter how much time had gone by. Lorelai had a feeling though. Like there was something that Lucy wasn't telling her about. She couldn't explain it.
*
Later that day, in the streets of Stars Hollow
Luke and Lorelai walked together, enjoying the cool breeze. "So you got Lucy settled in?" he asked her.
"Yes. I gave her a room, showed her around the Inn, and I told her I'd pick her up to get her back to my place for dinner."
"Speaking of your place..." Luke started. Just then, someone called to them from behind.
"Luke! Lorelai!" They turned at once. It was Miss Patty. Lorelai smiled slowly. By the expression on Patty's face, she had a feeling the conversation would end awkwardly.
"Hey Patty," said Lorelai, "How's it going?"
"Oh, I'm wonderful, dear. You will never believe this."
"Oh I'm sure I won't," Lorelai said slowly.
"I was just taking a stroll around town when I came across the most fabulous little house I have seen in quite some time. And it's on sale!"
"Oh! So you're moving, then?" asked Luke.
"Please. With all my belongings, don't be ridiculous."
"Yeah, Luke," said Lorelai with a smile. Luke bumped his shoulder to Lorelai's with a smile of his own. "Uh," Lorelai cleared her throat, "So if you're not moving, then what's this about?"
"Well, I was thinking..." Patty started.
"Uh," started Luke.
"Oh," continued Lorelai immediately.
"The two of you have been together for some time now. Maybe it would be time to start thinking about... well, you know..."
"Um, not really," Lorelai said, tilting her head a bit.
"I spoke to the current resident and told him you'd be stopping by."
"What?" Luke said, looking to Lorelai, then Patty, then to Lorelai and back again.
"You did what?" asked Lorelai.
"Oh just go and see the place, please?" Luke and Lorelai looked to each other. "Well, I have to go... class to teach." Luke and Lorelai couldn't move or say anything for about a minute.
"So... what did you want to talk about?" Lorelai asked, looking to him.
"I... uh... we can probably talk about this later," he said, beginning to walk again until Lorelai grabbed his arm.
"No, come on, Luke tell me." He looked around.
"I was going to..." he started, not looking at her.
"Yes?"
"I was going to ask you to move in with me," he said, looking up to her. Lorelai's eyes and mouth went wide.
"You... really?" Her emotions were hard to read. She seemed happy, surprised, and a bit angered somehow. "Now hold on a minute, are you serious?"
"Why not?"
"Well, for one thing no offense but your place is very small. And two, what about Rory? If it would be too small for two grown people to live there when one of them is me, what would it be with me and mini-me?"
"Well for one thing she's not so mini."
"What?"
"Hey she's almost six feet tall!"
"Alright, wrong expression, but you get my point. If you want us to live together, why can't you come live with us?"
"Lorelai..."
"What? There's one of you and two of us, we have the bigger house."
"What is this a contest of who has the biggest one... okay that sounded wrong. Look, my place is right over the diner. If I move in with you it completely changes my whole schedule."
"What does THAT have to do with anything? I make it there everyday, it's very easy."
"Look, forget it. I thought we were ready for this. I guess I was wrong," said Luke slowly. They didn't speak or look away from each other for some time. "I have to go to work," said Luke and he walked away.
"Luke, wait!" she called. He kept going. She ran a hand through her hair, and then wiped away the few tears that escaped her eyes. 'What was that about? Great job, Lor... I shouldn't have said that to him,' she thought. She knew there was no point in going after him at the moment so she walked off to her car and drove out towards the Inn.
She needed a friend at the moment. She needed the one person who always knew the right thing to say at times like these. And luckily for her, she was within driving distance for the first time in nearly fifteen years.
*
That night, Lorelai and Rory's home
"Thanks," said Lucy as Lorelai handed her a glass of milk, holding on to her cup of coffee as she sat next to her friend.
"So tell me, what have you been up to in the last almost-fifteen years?" Lorelai asked Lucy, "Cliff's notes version please?" Lucy laughed.
"Well, I went to college..."
"Yeah, I know that part," Lorelai smiled.
"Right. Well, I met Mark at the end of my first year and before I knew it, we were on a plane to Hawaii and we eloped."
"Aww," said Lorelai.
"We relocated and transferred to another school... that's when you and I lost track."
"Yeah," Lorelai sighed.
"The next seven years were pretty regular. Then we had the girls six years ago. Then, um..." She stopped and looked down to her glass.
'Uh-oh,' Lorelai thought.
"Then eight months ago, I found out I was pregnant. And about two months later, I found out my husband was sleeping with his secretary and had been for over a year."
"No way," said Lorelai, in shock, "How'd you find out?"
"She called me."
"You're kidding."
"She said after she found out I was pregnant she started feeling guilty and she thought I should know."
"Crazy woman!" Lorelai exclaimed.
"I confronted Mark and he said he'd leave her... Well he did leave, just not her. A week ago I came home with the girls only to find a note from Mark, saying he was running off to get married and he wanted me to sign the divorce papers on his desk."
"Lucy..."
"I signed them, packed our bags and we went on the road. We ended up in Massachusetts, so I figured I'd head towards Connecticut and... come visit my old friends. I called your parents' home and your mother told me you were in Stars Hollow and told me you'd be in Luke's diner if you weren't at the home address she gave me. That's my story. "
"And I thought I had a sucky love life a few months back." Lucy shed a few tears. "Oh..." Lorelai brought her into a hug. "I'm sorry I brought it up."
"Hey, don't worry about it," said Lucy as she pulled away, "I would have had to explain it to you sooner or later."
"What have you told the girls?"
"The truth, mostly. I didn't have to tell them much. They were unfortunately very aware of our problems. They'll be okay. They're very strong for their age."
"Just like their mother was. " Lucy smiled.
"So," she said, "What's going on? I've known you long enough to know everything is not right with the world of Lorelai Gilmore." Lorelai didn't say anything about the sudden change of subject.
"I can see you haven't lost your touch at spotting this, uh?" Lucy just gave her a look. "Luke and I had a fight," she sighed.
"What about?"
"He asked me to move in with him."
"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing? You love him, don't you?"
"Of course I do."
"So what's the problem?"
"I don't know. I don't want to move into his place because it would be too small, and he doesn't want to move here because he says it would screw up his schedule. And we can't move into a new place... I mean, Rory pretty much grew up in this house and we both love it..." Lucy smiled.
"You were never good at these types of decisions, you know?"
"Hey, not helping here."
"Sorry. Look, Lorelai... If you love him and he loves you, then there's nothing to worry about. You'll work it out... together."
*
Hartford, Richard and Emily's home
Richard walked into his daughter's old room to find his wife where he now did at least once a day, sitting by the window. "Emily," he called to her slowly. She didn't move. He walked further in and went around the bed, finally sitting on the edge of it. "Emily, you have to stop this. It's been three months..."
"I know it's been three months," she snapped, turning her head to face him, "And she hasn't been here. She hasn't even called and neither has Rory. How could I drive my daughter away TWICE? Am I such a bad mother?" There were tears running down her cheeks and her voice was getting close to shaking.
"Don't ever say that. Do you hear me? You are not a bad mother."
"But I am. I couldn't be there for her when she was pregnant. She came back into our lives and look what I did. It's always me and my pride. I can never let her be happy. I always have to open my big mouth. Why couldn't I just have been happy that she found a man she really liked? A man who loved her and treated Rory like his own daughter even when he wasn't romantically involved with Lorelai." Richard admired his wife in these moments.
"You need to tell her that."
"But how? She'll never forgive me."
"Invite her to dinner. Her, Rory, and..."
"Luke," Emily finished for him.
"Right." They were silent. "Emily?"
"I can't do it, Richard."
"Yes, you can," he said, getting up and walking up to her. He took her hand. "You have to be the one to do it. You can do this, if anybody can, it's you. Call her tomorrow morning and tell her to come with Rory and Luke next Friday night." She hesitated, and then nodded silently. Richard kissed her hand and left the room quickly. Emily looked around. She would do this, and she'd do it right.
*
Luke's diner, the next morning
"Cup of tea, please?" Luke heard a woman ask from behind. He tried to hide his smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry, we only have coffee," he replied.
"Oh, well I guess I'll have coffee then," she replied. He turned and faced Lorelai.
"Morning," he said.
"Morning," she repeated after him. They looked into the other's eyes, trying to see if they were heading for a reunion or another smackdown. After a few seconds, they looked away as Lorelai sat at the counter and Luke served her a cup of coffee.
"I'm sorry," both said at the same time.
"Should we make a wish?" Luke commented.
"I'm so sorry about yesterday, I don't know what was wrong with me."
"Lack of caffeine?" he suggested.
"Maybe," she laughed.
"Look, you don't have to apologize..."
"No, Luke, I do."
"You had every right to say the things you did."
"Look, how about we go see that house Patty talked about? At least then if we don't like it, we'll have at least gone to see it," said Lorelai.
"Actually," Luke said as he looked down with a smile.
"What..." said Lorelai.
"I... uh... called the resident out of curiosity. By the end of the conversation, he told me he decided to keep his house. So it's... not for sale anymore," Lorelai laughed.
"Well that takes care of THAT problem."
"Yep," said Luke.
"So what do we do? I mean do you really want us to live together?"
"Absolutely." She thought for a few seconds.
"Well since neither of us seems to want to part with their current home, I think we should just give it time. It's not like we're in a rush. We'll get to that decision when the time comes." He smiled.
"How did I get so lucky to get a woman like you?"
"Um, I think it was the constant serving of coffee," she smiled.
"Well then I guess I should keep it coming."
"Best idea I've heard all day," she said, leaning over the counter and standing to kiss him. Just a few seconds later, Lorelai's cell phone rang. She sat down and took it out.
"Hey how come she can answer her phone in here and the rest of us can't?" said a man sitting two stools away from Lorelai.
"Because... she's my best customer," said Luke.
"In more ways than one," she smiled. She answered her phone over the sounds of mumbling from the man. "Hello?"
"Lorelai?" She swallowed hard. "Please, don't... don't hang up, please," said Emily. After a few seconds, Lorelai spoke.
"I'm listening."
"I said some... terrible things, and I wish I could erase the moment where I said them, but I can try to make it better. I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said, what I did... I guess I need to adjust to certain possibilities. If you're happy with Luke then I'm happy too."
"Wow, Mom, that's some turnaround you had there," said Lorelai, in an honest tone. "What made you change your mind?"
"I never had to change my mind... just admit some things to myself. And I... I missed you." She had to stop herself from crying.
"You did? Really?" said Lorelai with a surprised smile.
"You're my daughter, how could I not?"
"Even with all that I've..."
"Oh forget about that," said Emily.
"This is... wow," said Lorelai wiping away a stray tear from the corner of her eye. Luke gave her a look, but she waved it away.
"I was thinking... If you'd want to restart on Friday dinners, maybe you and Rory could bring Luke along." This surprised Lorelai more than anything in the whole conversation.
"Uh, I'll have to... run this by him, so I'll have to call you back on that part," she said, looking up at Luke. He seemed as puzzled as she was and he hadn't even heard the conversation. "Okay, bye," said Lorelai before hanging up and putting the phone away.
"Everything okay?" he asked her.
"Guess who that was?" she asked with a forced smile, trying to hide her bewilderment.
*
The next afternoon, in the Chilton Halls
Rory hurried out of class, hopefully saving herself another exchange with Tristan. Ever since that day when she got back together with Dean, he hadn't exactly been fun to be around, especially if your name was Rory Gilmore. Unfortunately, Paris had somehow managed to notice that little fact. Just as Rory had stepped out of her last class, Paris, Louise and Madeline filed out as well and had walked fast to block her path.
"Why the hurry?" Paris asked.
"Someone's waiting to pick me up, okay? I don't want to keep him waiting," she said, feeling almost silly for letting Paris think it was her business to know.
"Would he happen to be your hot boyfriend-again?" said Louise with her normal mischievous grin.
"No!" Rory said, trying to get past them.
"Maybe it's another guy," said Paris, "Maybe it just wasn't enough to hurt Tristan, and she had to do the same to the other one too. She probably has her 'next victim' waiting outside."
'Man, she's on a roll today, isn't she?' Rory thought. "This isn't ANY of your business, okay? And for your information, Dean and I are still together, and the guy who's waiting for me is my mom's boyfriend, who came here as a favor to her. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go." She pushed her way past Paris who didn't look back at her. Instead, she looked up at Louise and Madeline, who were staring at her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.
"Oh nothing," said Madeline with a smile. Louise smiled as well. Paris could tell there was more to it, but since she knew that trying to get it out of them would just be annoying and pointless, she rolled her eyes and stalked off to her locker. Louise and Madeline exchanged looks and walked off after her.
Just ahead of them, Rory was just getting to her locker when she saw Tristan was waiting for her right next to it. She stopped walking. "I just can't get a break today, can I?" she sighed, using every bit of strength she had, not to throw her arms up in frustration. She continued to walk at last, not looking at him. "Tristan, go away," she muttered as she worked the lock combination and opened the door.
"Hey, it's a free country, I'm not causing any trouble, and I can stand wherever I want." Rory quickly put away what she didn't need and took what she did and slammed the door shut. Finally, she looked up at Tristan.
"What's your problem? I told you I didn't want to be with you..."
"Yeah, you made that very clear."
"So why do you insist on still doing this?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Rory sighed loudly and tried to walk away, but Tristan was quicker and he blocked her way. "What is it with you people today? Someone is waiting for me!"
"Your boyfriend?" asked Tristan.
"No, my mom's."
"Well then come on, I'll accompany you," he smiled.
"I can do it myself," she said, finally able to get past him. It was no surprise that he followed her. Luckily for her, Tristan didn't know Luke. This could get interesting. They arrived outside and Rory spotted Luke but didn't go to him immediately. "Okay, you walked me out now go away," she told Tristan.
"Oh come on, I'd like to meet this guy, " he said, placing himself in front of Rory again. She tried to get past him and once again, he wouldn't let her.
"Damn it, Tristan! Leave me alone!" she said, her voice rising.
"And what will you do, if I don't?" he said, getting closer.
"Is there a problem here?" they heard someone ask from behind Tristan. Rory looked up and smiled.
"Luke, hi." Tristan seemed to be almost sizing him up, when he looked up at Luke.
"No problem." He walked away, muttering a "See you tomorrow" to Rory. She smiled up at Luke.
"Thanks," she said.
"Anytime." They started walking back to the car. "So what was THAT all about?" he asked her.
"Oh, nothing. It was just Tristan being his usual self."
"Oh, was that him?" Luke said.
"The one and only," Rory nodded.
"So how was your day?"
"Oh, the usual, you know? Class, a bit of Paris dodging, more class, more dodging... I tell you sometimes those four are like Charlie and his angels, but the annoying kind? Constant mission of making my life miserable."
"Don't worry about them," said Luke as they got into the car.
"The worst part is Paris and I were actually becoming friends until the whole thing with Tristan happened," she explained as they started driving away.
"You'll work it out eventually," Luke reassured her.
"Yeah, I guess," Rory said, looking out the window.
"Oh you won't believe what happened this morning," said Luke. Rory looked at him.
"So I guess you and mom are okay now?"
"Yeah, we are."
"And what is it that I won't believe?"
"Your grandmother called your mom." Rory's eyes went wide.
"She... she did? What happened?"
"They talked, and uh... your grandmother apologized."
"She did?" then, after a few seconds, "Really? I mean... Really?" she asked in total disbelief.
"That's not even the weirdest part."
"You mean there's more?" she asked unsure. He nodded.
"Your grandmother wants to start up on your Friday dinners again and... I've been invited to come along." Her eyes went wide again and Luke was almost afraid they would fall out of their sockets. "Breathe," he instructed her.
"Right," she smiled and took a deep breath. "This is so... wow."
"Your mother had about the same reaction."
"Which means she'll probably be freaking out, and you know her almost as well as I do, so..."
"Yeah, you're right. Hold on," said Luke as he sped up.
"Better get there before she starts rearranging my closet." He turned to her for a second.
"She did that?" he asked with a smirk.
"If she's REALLY antsy, she might do yours too."
"Now why would she do THAT?" he said in confusion.
"Because, she'll have run out of things to do at OUR house."
"She wouldn't..." Luke started, and then off Rory's look, "Of course she would."
"If we're in luck, Lucy will have talked to her before that."
"Guess we're lucky she's here then."
"Very lucky."
Luke worked just as he always did. Or at least, as he had in the past three months, ever since his relationship with Lorelai began. His attitude had definitely changed.
"Hey!" he called to some poor guy who'd pulled out a cell phone, "Don't make me tap the sign." And some things never changed. He certainly didn't want to have to start yelling when Lorelai and Rory would show up, as they were bound to do so sooner or later.
It was Rory's first day back at Chilton, she'd need the 'comfort food', and he wouldn't deny it to her. He still believed, even more so now, that it wasn't good for her. But as long as she was happy... As much as he didn't want to admit it, Rory felt like a daughter to him now. She sort of did even before... but never like this.
"Uh, excuse me?" Luke was lost in thought and he didn't hear. He moved behind the counter. "Coffee man, hello?"
'Lorelai?' he thought. He caught a glimpse of brown hair and looked up. His eyes fell upon a tall woman... a tall pregnant woman. 'Not Lorelai,' he thought. "I'm sorry, can I help you?"
"I hope you can. I'm looking for someone, I was told she might be here."
"Who's that?" he asked.
"Lorelai Gilmore. I know she's not here now though..." she said, quickly looking around the room.
"Well, she should be coming in any minute," he said after looking at the clock, "You're welcome to wait for her."
"I think I'll do that, I just need to go back to my car for a minute."
"Okay," said Luke. The woman smiled and walked out. 'That was strange,' Luke thought. He let it go a few seconds later when Lorelai and Rory walked in. Rory looked tired.
"Coffee, please," she said slowly as she slid down on a stool at the counter. The words were barely out of her mouth and Luke had already set down two cups in front of them.
"Hi!" said Lorelai, leaning forward to kiss him.
"Hey," he responded with a smile. "By the way, there was someone looking for you."
"Ed McMahon?"
"No."
"Damn."
"She seemed to know you," Luke explained.
"She?"
"Hey, Gilmore! Hand, please?" someone called from behind. Rory turned, and so did Lorelai, recognizing the voice immediately.
"No way," she whispered. And then she saw her. "Way!" she smiled. She had aged a bit, barely, was pregnant and carrying two small sleeping girls, but there was no mistaking. "Lucy... Lucy Cooper," Lorelai spoke in a near-whisper.
"The one and only," she smiled. "You know, I wasn't kidding about that hand." Lorelai snapped out of the shock and walked to her old friend. She picked up one of the girls, so Lucy was now more comfortable. "That's better," she said.
The two were silent for some time, observing each other, taking in how much and how little the other had changed in fifteen years.
"Mom?" Rory called hesitantly. The two women came back to reality and Lorelai smiled.
"Lucy, you remember Rory?"
"How could I forget? Although SHE probably has. I mean she wasn't even two the last time I saw her."
"I don't remember you, but I know Mom's mentioned you... many times." Lucy smiled.
"I can't believe how much you've grown," Lucy said with a single tear, "Seems like just yesterday you were that little kid, jumping into my arms for a hug, screaming 'LULU!'..." Lucy said, imitating Rory's long-lost nearly 'pixie-esque' voice. Rory smiled, with just a hint of embarrassment.
"Well, come on," Lorelai said, indicating a table. The three went to sit together, resting the sleeping girls on a couple of chairs next to their mother. "Don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?" Lorelai asked.
"Well... needed a vacation, missed you, looked you up, and here I am!"
"And here you are... with two kids and one more coming?" Lucy smiled.
"I couldn't leave them behind." She looked at the two girls and indicated each of them. "This is Tara, and this is Eva." She rested her hand on her round belly. "And this is... or will be in about a month... Maggie."
"Oh, speaking of which, how's your mother?" Lorelai asked, remembering the sweet woman who had helped her out so much. Lucy's face changed slightly.
"She, uh... she passed away." Lorelai was speechless.
"Oh my God, Lucy, I'm so sorry. If I'd..."
"You couldn't have known."
"When? Why didn't you call me?"
"It was almost three years ago. I did try to call you, but I didn't know where you lived anymore and I just didn't have the energy to try anything else. I'm sorry." Lorelai picked up her friend's hands.
"Hey, don't worry about it. How did... if you don't mind me asking."
"Cancer."
"No... oh my..."
"Can we... talk about something else?" Lucy asked uncomfortably.
"Of course, sure." Lorelai looked around, the girls, Lucy's round belly. "So... three girls, uh? Or almost..." Lucy became happier little by little.
"Yeah, I know. You should have seen me right before I had them," she said, nodding to the girls, "I was just..." She made a round motion a couple inches away from her belly.
"Wow. How old are they?"
"They just turned six last month." Just then Luke walked up to them.
"So, ready to order?"
"Sure," said Lorelai, then looking to Lucy.
"Yeah." She gave her order, as well as something for the girls. Almost like magic, the second the food was set before them, they opened their tiny brown eyes.
"They really are yours," Lorelai observed with a wink. Lucy smiled. The group ate as they talked, mostly of 'the adventures of Lorelai and Lucy'. Luke stopped by their table from time to time.
It was like nothing had changed between the two friends, no matter how much time had gone by. Lorelai had a feeling though. Like there was something that Lucy wasn't telling her about. She couldn't explain it.
*
Later that day, in the streets of Stars Hollow
Luke and Lorelai walked together, enjoying the cool breeze. "So you got Lucy settled in?" he asked her.
"Yes. I gave her a room, showed her around the Inn, and I told her I'd pick her up to get her back to my place for dinner."
"Speaking of your place..." Luke started. Just then, someone called to them from behind.
"Luke! Lorelai!" They turned at once. It was Miss Patty. Lorelai smiled slowly. By the expression on Patty's face, she had a feeling the conversation would end awkwardly.
"Hey Patty," said Lorelai, "How's it going?"
"Oh, I'm wonderful, dear. You will never believe this."
"Oh I'm sure I won't," Lorelai said slowly.
"I was just taking a stroll around town when I came across the most fabulous little house I have seen in quite some time. And it's on sale!"
"Oh! So you're moving, then?" asked Luke.
"Please. With all my belongings, don't be ridiculous."
"Yeah, Luke," said Lorelai with a smile. Luke bumped his shoulder to Lorelai's with a smile of his own. "Uh," Lorelai cleared her throat, "So if you're not moving, then what's this about?"
"Well, I was thinking..." Patty started.
"Uh," started Luke.
"Oh," continued Lorelai immediately.
"The two of you have been together for some time now. Maybe it would be time to start thinking about... well, you know..."
"Um, not really," Lorelai said, tilting her head a bit.
"I spoke to the current resident and told him you'd be stopping by."
"What?" Luke said, looking to Lorelai, then Patty, then to Lorelai and back again.
"You did what?" asked Lorelai.
"Oh just go and see the place, please?" Luke and Lorelai looked to each other. "Well, I have to go... class to teach." Luke and Lorelai couldn't move or say anything for about a minute.
"So... what did you want to talk about?" Lorelai asked, looking to him.
"I... uh... we can probably talk about this later," he said, beginning to walk again until Lorelai grabbed his arm.
"No, come on, Luke tell me." He looked around.
"I was going to..." he started, not looking at her.
"Yes?"
"I was going to ask you to move in with me," he said, looking up to her. Lorelai's eyes and mouth went wide.
"You... really?" Her emotions were hard to read. She seemed happy, surprised, and a bit angered somehow. "Now hold on a minute, are you serious?"
"Why not?"
"Well, for one thing no offense but your place is very small. And two, what about Rory? If it would be too small for two grown people to live there when one of them is me, what would it be with me and mini-me?"
"Well for one thing she's not so mini."
"What?"
"Hey she's almost six feet tall!"
"Alright, wrong expression, but you get my point. If you want us to live together, why can't you come live with us?"
"Lorelai..."
"What? There's one of you and two of us, we have the bigger house."
"What is this a contest of who has the biggest one... okay that sounded wrong. Look, my place is right over the diner. If I move in with you it completely changes my whole schedule."
"What does THAT have to do with anything? I make it there everyday, it's very easy."
"Look, forget it. I thought we were ready for this. I guess I was wrong," said Luke slowly. They didn't speak or look away from each other for some time. "I have to go to work," said Luke and he walked away.
"Luke, wait!" she called. He kept going. She ran a hand through her hair, and then wiped away the few tears that escaped her eyes. 'What was that about? Great job, Lor... I shouldn't have said that to him,' she thought. She knew there was no point in going after him at the moment so she walked off to her car and drove out towards the Inn.
She needed a friend at the moment. She needed the one person who always knew the right thing to say at times like these. And luckily for her, she was within driving distance for the first time in nearly fifteen years.
*
That night, Lorelai and Rory's home
"Thanks," said Lucy as Lorelai handed her a glass of milk, holding on to her cup of coffee as she sat next to her friend.
"So tell me, what have you been up to in the last almost-fifteen years?" Lorelai asked Lucy, "Cliff's notes version please?" Lucy laughed.
"Well, I went to college..."
"Yeah, I know that part," Lorelai smiled.
"Right. Well, I met Mark at the end of my first year and before I knew it, we were on a plane to Hawaii and we eloped."
"Aww," said Lorelai.
"We relocated and transferred to another school... that's when you and I lost track."
"Yeah," Lorelai sighed.
"The next seven years were pretty regular. Then we had the girls six years ago. Then, um..." She stopped and looked down to her glass.
'Uh-oh,' Lorelai thought.
"Then eight months ago, I found out I was pregnant. And about two months later, I found out my husband was sleeping with his secretary and had been for over a year."
"No way," said Lorelai, in shock, "How'd you find out?"
"She called me."
"You're kidding."
"She said after she found out I was pregnant she started feeling guilty and she thought I should know."
"Crazy woman!" Lorelai exclaimed.
"I confronted Mark and he said he'd leave her... Well he did leave, just not her. A week ago I came home with the girls only to find a note from Mark, saying he was running off to get married and he wanted me to sign the divorce papers on his desk."
"Lucy..."
"I signed them, packed our bags and we went on the road. We ended up in Massachusetts, so I figured I'd head towards Connecticut and... come visit my old friends. I called your parents' home and your mother told me you were in Stars Hollow and told me you'd be in Luke's diner if you weren't at the home address she gave me. That's my story. "
"And I thought I had a sucky love life a few months back." Lucy shed a few tears. "Oh..." Lorelai brought her into a hug. "I'm sorry I brought it up."
"Hey, don't worry about it," said Lucy as she pulled away, "I would have had to explain it to you sooner or later."
"What have you told the girls?"
"The truth, mostly. I didn't have to tell them much. They were unfortunately very aware of our problems. They'll be okay. They're very strong for their age."
"Just like their mother was. " Lucy smiled.
"So," she said, "What's going on? I've known you long enough to know everything is not right with the world of Lorelai Gilmore." Lorelai didn't say anything about the sudden change of subject.
"I can see you haven't lost your touch at spotting this, uh?" Lucy just gave her a look. "Luke and I had a fight," she sighed.
"What about?"
"He asked me to move in with him."
"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing? You love him, don't you?"
"Of course I do."
"So what's the problem?"
"I don't know. I don't want to move into his place because it would be too small, and he doesn't want to move here because he says it would screw up his schedule. And we can't move into a new place... I mean, Rory pretty much grew up in this house and we both love it..." Lucy smiled.
"You were never good at these types of decisions, you know?"
"Hey, not helping here."
"Sorry. Look, Lorelai... If you love him and he loves you, then there's nothing to worry about. You'll work it out... together."
*
Hartford, Richard and Emily's home
Richard walked into his daughter's old room to find his wife where he now did at least once a day, sitting by the window. "Emily," he called to her slowly. She didn't move. He walked further in and went around the bed, finally sitting on the edge of it. "Emily, you have to stop this. It's been three months..."
"I know it's been three months," she snapped, turning her head to face him, "And she hasn't been here. She hasn't even called and neither has Rory. How could I drive my daughter away TWICE? Am I such a bad mother?" There were tears running down her cheeks and her voice was getting close to shaking.
"Don't ever say that. Do you hear me? You are not a bad mother."
"But I am. I couldn't be there for her when she was pregnant. She came back into our lives and look what I did. It's always me and my pride. I can never let her be happy. I always have to open my big mouth. Why couldn't I just have been happy that she found a man she really liked? A man who loved her and treated Rory like his own daughter even when he wasn't romantically involved with Lorelai." Richard admired his wife in these moments.
"You need to tell her that."
"But how? She'll never forgive me."
"Invite her to dinner. Her, Rory, and..."
"Luke," Emily finished for him.
"Right." They were silent. "Emily?"
"I can't do it, Richard."
"Yes, you can," he said, getting up and walking up to her. He took her hand. "You have to be the one to do it. You can do this, if anybody can, it's you. Call her tomorrow morning and tell her to come with Rory and Luke next Friday night." She hesitated, and then nodded silently. Richard kissed her hand and left the room quickly. Emily looked around. She would do this, and she'd do it right.
*
Luke's diner, the next morning
"Cup of tea, please?" Luke heard a woman ask from behind. He tried to hide his smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry, we only have coffee," he replied.
"Oh, well I guess I'll have coffee then," she replied. He turned and faced Lorelai.
"Morning," he said.
"Morning," she repeated after him. They looked into the other's eyes, trying to see if they were heading for a reunion or another smackdown. After a few seconds, they looked away as Lorelai sat at the counter and Luke served her a cup of coffee.
"I'm sorry," both said at the same time.
"Should we make a wish?" Luke commented.
"I'm so sorry about yesterday, I don't know what was wrong with me."
"Lack of caffeine?" he suggested.
"Maybe," she laughed.
"Look, you don't have to apologize..."
"No, Luke, I do."
"You had every right to say the things you did."
"Look, how about we go see that house Patty talked about? At least then if we don't like it, we'll have at least gone to see it," said Lorelai.
"Actually," Luke said as he looked down with a smile.
"What..." said Lorelai.
"I... uh... called the resident out of curiosity. By the end of the conversation, he told me he decided to keep his house. So it's... not for sale anymore," Lorelai laughed.
"Well that takes care of THAT problem."
"Yep," said Luke.
"So what do we do? I mean do you really want us to live together?"
"Absolutely." She thought for a few seconds.
"Well since neither of us seems to want to part with their current home, I think we should just give it time. It's not like we're in a rush. We'll get to that decision when the time comes." He smiled.
"How did I get so lucky to get a woman like you?"
"Um, I think it was the constant serving of coffee," she smiled.
"Well then I guess I should keep it coming."
"Best idea I've heard all day," she said, leaning over the counter and standing to kiss him. Just a few seconds later, Lorelai's cell phone rang. She sat down and took it out.
"Hey how come she can answer her phone in here and the rest of us can't?" said a man sitting two stools away from Lorelai.
"Because... she's my best customer," said Luke.
"In more ways than one," she smiled. She answered her phone over the sounds of mumbling from the man. "Hello?"
"Lorelai?" She swallowed hard. "Please, don't... don't hang up, please," said Emily. After a few seconds, Lorelai spoke.
"I'm listening."
"I said some... terrible things, and I wish I could erase the moment where I said them, but I can try to make it better. I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said, what I did... I guess I need to adjust to certain possibilities. If you're happy with Luke then I'm happy too."
"Wow, Mom, that's some turnaround you had there," said Lorelai, in an honest tone. "What made you change your mind?"
"I never had to change my mind... just admit some things to myself. And I... I missed you." She had to stop herself from crying.
"You did? Really?" said Lorelai with a surprised smile.
"You're my daughter, how could I not?"
"Even with all that I've..."
"Oh forget about that," said Emily.
"This is... wow," said Lorelai wiping away a stray tear from the corner of her eye. Luke gave her a look, but she waved it away.
"I was thinking... If you'd want to restart on Friday dinners, maybe you and Rory could bring Luke along." This surprised Lorelai more than anything in the whole conversation.
"Uh, I'll have to... run this by him, so I'll have to call you back on that part," she said, looking up at Luke. He seemed as puzzled as she was and he hadn't even heard the conversation. "Okay, bye," said Lorelai before hanging up and putting the phone away.
"Everything okay?" he asked her.
"Guess who that was?" she asked with a forced smile, trying to hide her bewilderment.
*
The next afternoon, in the Chilton Halls
Rory hurried out of class, hopefully saving herself another exchange with Tristan. Ever since that day when she got back together with Dean, he hadn't exactly been fun to be around, especially if your name was Rory Gilmore. Unfortunately, Paris had somehow managed to notice that little fact. Just as Rory had stepped out of her last class, Paris, Louise and Madeline filed out as well and had walked fast to block her path.
"Why the hurry?" Paris asked.
"Someone's waiting to pick me up, okay? I don't want to keep him waiting," she said, feeling almost silly for letting Paris think it was her business to know.
"Would he happen to be your hot boyfriend-again?" said Louise with her normal mischievous grin.
"No!" Rory said, trying to get past them.
"Maybe it's another guy," said Paris, "Maybe it just wasn't enough to hurt Tristan, and she had to do the same to the other one too. She probably has her 'next victim' waiting outside."
'Man, she's on a roll today, isn't she?' Rory thought. "This isn't ANY of your business, okay? And for your information, Dean and I are still together, and the guy who's waiting for me is my mom's boyfriend, who came here as a favor to her. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go." She pushed her way past Paris who didn't look back at her. Instead, she looked up at Louise and Madeline, who were staring at her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.
"Oh nothing," said Madeline with a smile. Louise smiled as well. Paris could tell there was more to it, but since she knew that trying to get it out of them would just be annoying and pointless, she rolled her eyes and stalked off to her locker. Louise and Madeline exchanged looks and walked off after her.
Just ahead of them, Rory was just getting to her locker when she saw Tristan was waiting for her right next to it. She stopped walking. "I just can't get a break today, can I?" she sighed, using every bit of strength she had, not to throw her arms up in frustration. She continued to walk at last, not looking at him. "Tristan, go away," she muttered as she worked the lock combination and opened the door.
"Hey, it's a free country, I'm not causing any trouble, and I can stand wherever I want." Rory quickly put away what she didn't need and took what she did and slammed the door shut. Finally, she looked up at Tristan.
"What's your problem? I told you I didn't want to be with you..."
"Yeah, you made that very clear."
"So why do you insist on still doing this?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Rory sighed loudly and tried to walk away, but Tristan was quicker and he blocked her way. "What is it with you people today? Someone is waiting for me!"
"Your boyfriend?" asked Tristan.
"No, my mom's."
"Well then come on, I'll accompany you," he smiled.
"I can do it myself," she said, finally able to get past him. It was no surprise that he followed her. Luckily for her, Tristan didn't know Luke. This could get interesting. They arrived outside and Rory spotted Luke but didn't go to him immediately. "Okay, you walked me out now go away," she told Tristan.
"Oh come on, I'd like to meet this guy, " he said, placing himself in front of Rory again. She tried to get past him and once again, he wouldn't let her.
"Damn it, Tristan! Leave me alone!" she said, her voice rising.
"And what will you do, if I don't?" he said, getting closer.
"Is there a problem here?" they heard someone ask from behind Tristan. Rory looked up and smiled.
"Luke, hi." Tristan seemed to be almost sizing him up, when he looked up at Luke.
"No problem." He walked away, muttering a "See you tomorrow" to Rory. She smiled up at Luke.
"Thanks," she said.
"Anytime." They started walking back to the car. "So what was THAT all about?" he asked her.
"Oh, nothing. It was just Tristan being his usual self."
"Oh, was that him?" Luke said.
"The one and only," Rory nodded.
"So how was your day?"
"Oh, the usual, you know? Class, a bit of Paris dodging, more class, more dodging... I tell you sometimes those four are like Charlie and his angels, but the annoying kind? Constant mission of making my life miserable."
"Don't worry about them," said Luke as they got into the car.
"The worst part is Paris and I were actually becoming friends until the whole thing with Tristan happened," she explained as they started driving away.
"You'll work it out eventually," Luke reassured her.
"Yeah, I guess," Rory said, looking out the window.
"Oh you won't believe what happened this morning," said Luke. Rory looked at him.
"So I guess you and mom are okay now?"
"Yeah, we are."
"And what is it that I won't believe?"
"Your grandmother called your mom." Rory's eyes went wide.
"She... she did? What happened?"
"They talked, and uh... your grandmother apologized."
"She did?" then, after a few seconds, "Really? I mean... Really?" she asked in total disbelief.
"That's not even the weirdest part."
"You mean there's more?" she asked unsure. He nodded.
"Your grandmother wants to start up on your Friday dinners again and... I've been invited to come along." Her eyes went wide again and Luke was almost afraid they would fall out of their sockets. "Breathe," he instructed her.
"Right," she smiled and took a deep breath. "This is so... wow."
"Your mother had about the same reaction."
"Which means she'll probably be freaking out, and you know her almost as well as I do, so..."
"Yeah, you're right. Hold on," said Luke as he sped up.
"Better get there before she starts rearranging my closet." He turned to her for a second.
"She did that?" he asked with a smirk.
"If she's REALLY antsy, she might do yours too."
"Now why would she do THAT?" he said in confusion.
"Because, she'll have run out of things to do at OUR house."
"She wouldn't..." Luke started, and then off Rory's look, "Of course she would."
"If we're in luck, Lucy will have talked to her before that."
"Guess we're lucky she's here then."
"Very lucky."
