. . .
As Rory changed into her bridesmaid dress, Lorelai walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. She lingered by the couch for a moment before she walked over to the mantle and looked at the pictures that were displayed on it.
Her eyes wandered over to the wall next to the side door, and she walked over to it. She stared up at the picture of her and Luke, the one taken just moments before he proposed, and she smiled to herself.
Lorelai was still staring at it when Rory walked out of her bedroom and into the living room. "Okay, I'm wearing it, now what?"
Startled, Lorelai jumped slightly. She turned around and smiled when she saw Rory in the dress. She clapped excitedly. "Aw, it looks so great, hon."
Rory smiled and glanced down at it. "Thanks. So. . .what now?"
Lorelai grinned as she walked over to the stereo. "Now we dance around like idiots."
Rory folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the staircase railing. "I'll just watch you, thanks."
"No, come on, it'll be fun. No one's here to make fun of us." Lorelai fiddled with the CD player until the song she wanted came on, and as Madonna started playing, she turned to Rory and smiled. "Vogue!"
Rory, watching Lorelai attempt to dance, started laughing. Lorelai rushed over to her and grabbed her hand. "Come on!"
Lorelai's energy rubbed off on her, and Rory began flailing her arms around aimlessly as she shimmied around the living room. "Oh my God, this totally stays between us," Rory said with a laugh.
"Deal." Lorelai smiled as she twirled around the living room in her wedding dress.
. . .
The next morning, Lorelai slowly opened her eyes and stared up at her bedroom ceiling. She let out a yawn as she turned to check the clock. 7:54. Deciding it was too early to get up on a Saturday, she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.
Suddenly, she remembered that she had gone to bed alone last night, and her eyes opened again. She quickly glanced over to Luke's side of the bed, where he lay next to her asleep.
She smiled and sat up, then tapped him on the back. "Luke," she said in a loud whisper. "Wake up." When he didn't respond, Lorelai put her hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. "Luuuuuke, come on, get up."
Luke's eyes opened slightly and it took him a minute to realize whose voice had awoken him from his comfortable sleep. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand, then pulled the covers up tighter around him and muttered, "Go back to bed."
"I wanna hear about your bachelor party," Lorelai said excitedly.
"I'll tell you later," he mumbled groggily. "Go back to bed."
Lorelai ignored him and pressed for details. "What time did you get home? Where'd you go? What'd you drink?"
"Lorelai. . ."
"Did you go to a strip club?" Lorelai asked.
Luke sighed and rolled over to face her. "Geez, are you ever gonna stop talking?"
"Yes, when you enlighten me with details."
Luke rolled his eyes, then finally decided to talk just to shut her up. He exhaled loudly, then started to summarize his night. "First, we went to a Ravens game."
"Cool. What's that – hockey?" Lorelai asked.
"Baseball," Luke corrected her. "Minor league baseball."
"Ah, go on."
"Then we went to a bar and had some drinks, then a bunch of us went back to John's house and hung out." Luke shrugged and added, "That's pretty much it."
Lorelai smiled. "You're purposely leaving out the strip club because you don't want me to know about it, right?"
Luke paused a second as he glanced toward the window, then muttered a sheepish, "Yeah."
Lorelai gasped and smacked him playfully on the stomach. "I knew it! I knew you'd go to one."
Luke looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, you were right. We spent a few hours there. I learned all the girls' names, even got a few phone numbers. Oh, and at one point I was invited up on stage to dance with them, and I did it. It was pretty fun. I'm considering stripping as a viable second career option."
Lorelai frowned at his sarcasm. "Aw, man, you were just kidding? No strip club?"
Luke shook his head. "No strip club. Sorry to disappoint you. Now, if you don't mind. . ." He gestured to the pillow.
Lorelai gestured for him to roll back over. "Yeah, yeah, go back to sleep." He rolled over and closed his eyes, and she lay back down on her pillow.
She was quiet for a moment, then said, "Luke?"
Luke groaned. "God – what now?"
"Hey, now, don't be cranky," Lorelai warned him.
"What is it?"
Her voice softened as she asked, "You had fun, right?"
Luke turned his head to look back at her, and he nodded. "Yeah, I had fun."
Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good." Luke rolled toward her and kissed her on the cheek before he rolled back onto his side and closed his eyes.
. . .
That afternoon, Lorelai and Rory walked into the Independence Inn. Lorelai was carrying a large box, and as they walked up to the front desk, Michel narrowed his eyes at them curiously. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "You didn't say you were coming in today."
Lorelai set the box on the desk. "That's because I know how much you love surprises."
"Yes, now surprise me again by disappearing," Michel said dryly. "That is a surprise I'd love."
Lorelai walked around to the other side of the desk. "Don't worry, we won't be here for long. I just wanna check on some things for the wedding, make sure everything's set. I wanna go through the list of servers and set-up guys and make sure we have enough people for everything." She tapped the box. "And these are the little white boxes for the favors. We're gonna store them here until we pick up the truffles later this week."
Michel was staring down at the sheet of paper in front of him, only half listening to her. "Mmhmm."
Lorelai turned to Rory. "Hon, can you take the box into my office? I'll be there in a second."
Rory nodded. "Okay." She picked up the box from the desk and walked toward Lorelai's office.
Lorelai picked up the phone and dialed the diner. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the desk as she listened to the ringing. Finally, Luke answered. "Luke's."
"Hey," Lorelai replied.
"Hey. Where are you?"
"At the inn," Lorelai replied. "We'll be here for half an hour or so, then we're heading to that big party store in Hartford to pick up some decorations."
"Decorations for what?"
"Uh, that big party we're having next week called a wedding," Lorelai said. "Did you forget already?"
"Slipped my mind. What are you gonna get?"
"I don't know, maybe a couple of white bows for the yard, some pretty ribbon to drape over the railing, little things like that. We'll have to see what they have."
"Yeah, well, don't get anything too. . ." Luke's voice trailed off.
"Too what? Girly?" Lorelai suggested with a smile. "Should I see if they have wedding decorations with baseballs on them?"
"Yeah, that'd be good."
Michel walked behind her to grab the reservation book from the other side of the desk, and on his way back, he brushed up against Lorelai. She gasped loudly. "Luke, Michel just tried to pinch my butt."
Michel turned to her with wide eyes. "I did not!"
"I'm being sexually harassed!" Lorelai exclaimed.
"She is lying!" Michel yelled toward the phone loud enough for Luke to hear him.
"Oh my God! Luke, now he's gawking at me like I'm a piece of low-fat, low-calorie, low-cholesterol turkey!" Lorelai exclaimed.
Michel slapped his palm on the desk. "Stop it, I am doing nothing!"
On the other end of the phone, Luke let out a laugh. "Okay, leave the poor putz alone. I'll see you later."
"Bye," Lorelai said. She hung up the phone and turned to Michel. "He's gonna let it slide this time, but he said if you try pulling that stuff when we're married, you're toast."
Michel scowled at her and walked away, muttering, "I hate you."
Lorelai smiled and walked to her office.
. . .
Twenty minutes later, after Lorelai had checked on all that she needed to, she and Rory walked into the inn's kitchen to get coffee. Sookie was standing at the stove stirring a pot of soup, and she glanced over when she heard the door open. She smiled when she saw who it was. "Hey, you two."
"Hey," Lorelai said as she walked toward Sookie.
"Hey Sookie," Rory said. She walked over to the coffee maker and began pouring some coffee into a takeout cup.
"What are you guys doing here?" Sookie asked.
"Checking on wedding stuff," Lorelai replied. "You know, servers, DJ, photographer, stuff like that. We just picked up the boxes for the favors."
Sookie frowned. "Are you sure you don't want me to make the truffles?"
Lorelai smiled. "No, Sookie, I told you, you have too much to do this week. That's why we ordered them from the bakery."
"I don't have too much to do," Sookie insisted.
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You're making the wedding cake, you're making all the food for the rehearsal dinner, and you're helping make the food for the actual wedding – I think you've got enough to do."
"I could've squeezed them in somewhere," Sookie muttered.
"Yeah, well, this way you have time to breathe," Lorelai said, patting her on the shoulder.
Rory walked over with two takeout cups and handed one to Lorelai. "Ready to go?"
"Where are you off to?" Sookie asked.
"To buy decorations for the wedding," Rory replied.
"For the yard and inside the house," Lorelai added.
"Did you guys pick out your rings?" Sookie asked.
"Yeah, we did it a few weeks ago, don't you remember?" Lorelai asked. "I told you how he said he hopes his ring doesn't fall off when he's cooking and accidentally land in pancake batter or something."
Sookie thought for a moment before she finally remembered, and she nodded. "Right, and you said you'd be more concerned about the batter."
"Exactly. The ring's replaceable, but man. . .to see a perfectly good batch of batter wasted would be heartbreaking," Lorelai said, shaking her head sadly.
Rory shot an amused look toward Lorelai. "Uh, okay, we should get going, Mom."
"Yeah, going, right." Lorelai smiled at Sookie. "We'll see you tonight."
Sookie giggled. "It's gonna be fun!"
Rory smiled. "I'm bringing a video camera. Mom singing karaoke is something that I would like to relive over and over."
Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Rory, then turned to Sookie. "How'd I let you talk me into this anyway?"
Sookie giggled. "I gave you a choice between the karaoke bar or the country line dancing place, and you chose karaoke."
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Okay, in my next life, remind me not to let you be in charge of my bachelorette party."
"Hey, even if you don't have fun singing, you'll have fun mocking the other people who are singing," Sookie pointed out.
Lorelai nodded. "Very true."
Rory grabbed Lorelai's arm and pulled her toward the door. "We have to go. See you later Sookie."
"Bye," Sookie called.
. . .
That night, Lorelai stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. She grabbed another one and started toweling her hair as she walked out of the bathroom and headed to her bedroom. She stared into the closet, trying to find something to wear to the bachelorette party, when the phone rang.
She wandered over to the nightstand and answered it. "Hello?"
"Uh. . .Lor, hey," a voice replied softly.
Surprised to hear his voice, Lorelai froze momentarily. She cleared her throat and said, "Chris. . . hi." Even though they'd made up since their argument, things were still slightly uncomfortable between them. Lorelai sat down on the bed. "What's up?"
"Um. . .I wanted to talk to you about something," he said with slight hesitation.
"Okay, shoot."
"Well. . .it's about the wedding," Christopher said.
Instinctively becoming defensive, Lorelai sat up straight. "What about it?" she asked indignantly.
"Don't say it like that, it's nothing bad," Christopher said. "I'm not trying to start something here."
Lorelai's voice softened. "Okay. . .what is it?"
"Well. . .we got the invitation and. . ." Chris' voice trailed off.
Lorelai waited for him to continue, and after several seconds of silence, she said, "Uh, Chris. . . and what?"
Christopher sighed. "And I wanna be there, but I wanted to make sure it was okay."
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Of course it's okay. I wouldn't have sent you an invitation if it wasn't."
"Yeah, well, I thought it might be one of those things where you don't want someone to come, but you think that they won't, so you send them an invitation anyway just so you can say that you invited them," he explained.
"Chris, I didn't – "
"Because if that's what it is, then you can tell me," he said. "I'll totally understand. I'd rather you tell me that than for us to show up and have things be weird."
"Chris, that's not it," Lorelai insisted. "I want you to be there, really."
"You do?" Christopher sounded surprised.
"Absolutely," Lorelai replied. "Chris, I said this last time we talked. . .I know I said a lot of things that . . . " She took a deep breath. "Well, just because we had that big blow up doesn't mean that I don't still. . .care about you. I mean, you and I, we have something special, you know?"
"Yeah, I know," Christopher replied quietly.
"And no matter what happens, no matter how much we scream at each other, or no matter that we're in love with other people – there's always gonna be . . .us. You and me, that 'teenage-love-that-we'll-always-remember' kind of thing, you know? So, I mean it. . .please come to the wedding."
Christopher was silent for a moment, then said, "What about Luke?"
"What about him?"
"He's gonna be there."
"Uh, yeah, he's playing sort of an integral role in the wedding," Lorelai agreed.
"So. . .he and I didn't really end on good terms the last time we saw each other," Christopher reminded her.
"So what? You can start over with new, fresh terms," Lorelai said.
"I doubt that he wants me there."
"He was a little surprised to see your name on the guest list after all that happened, but he said he was fine with it," Lorelai explained.
"You're sure?"
"Absolutely," Lorelai said. "Plus, both of you will be so busy staring at me that you won't even notice each other. Trust me – I look amazing in my dress."
Christopher let out a small laugh. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "Now, are you gonna take my word for it or are you gonna come see for yourself?"
Christopher took a deep breath and he exhaled it slowly. "Okay."
Lorelai smiled. "You'll come?"
"Yeah, we'll come," Christopher replied.
"Good. Thank you." Lorelai glanced at the clock. "Okay, I've got a bachelorette party to get ready for, so I better go."
"Wait, one more thing," Christopher said.
"Yeah?"
"Are you guys going on a honeymoon?" he asked.
"Yeah, Vermont," Lorelai replied. "Why?"
"When are you leaving?" he asked.
"Monday morning," she replied. "And we're coming back on Thursday. Why?"
"Rory's not going, right?" Christopher asked.
"No, she's not," Lorelai replied. "For the millionth time, why?"
"Well, it's been awhile since she's visited, so that might be a good time. . .I mean, if she wants to. I don't know if she does, but. . ."
Lorelai smiled. "I'll bring it up."
"Okay, thanks," he replied.
"I'll see you next week," Lorelai said.
"Yup. Have fun tonight."
"Thanks. Bye."
"Bye."
Lorelai hung up the phone and walked over to the closet to find an outfit.
. . .
That night, Luke was on the couch watching television when Lorelai and Rory walked through the front door. It was around 11:30, and when they saw him on the couch, Lorelai nudged Rory and said, "Aw, he was waiting up for us. How sweet."
Luke turned off the television and he glanced over at them. "I was not. I was watching the game."
Lorelai smirked as she walked to the couch. "Right. . .who plays sports this late at night?"
"I don't know – maybe the teams on the West Coast?" Luke suggested.
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Oh yeah." The girls sat down on either side of him, and Lorelai patted him on the knee. "Okay, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have some competition. There's a new man in my life."
"Oh yeah? Who?" Luke asked.
"Albert," Rory informed him.
"And Albert is. . ." Luke prompted.
"A waiter at the karaoke place. Oh my God, he was so funny, he had us cracking up all night long," Lorelai said with a laugh. "And when I told him we were there for my bachelorette party, he gave us free drinks."
"And he told her that she was the most beautiful bride he's ever seen," Rory added.
"And he got up on stage and sang 'Build Me Up, Buttercup' with me when my own daughter wouldn't," Lorelai said, shooting Rory a pointed look.
Rory held up her hands innocently. "Hey, I sang 'Love Shack' and the Cheers theme song with you. That was enough duets for me."
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "True – and I have to say, 'Love Shack' was my favorite one of the night. It's such a good karaoke song."
"Definitely," Rory agreed.
"So, you and Albert are dating now?" Luke asked.
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. You don't mind, do you?"
"But you can't tell Albert's boyfriend," Rory said.
Luke turned to Rory. "Boyfriend?"
Rory smiled. "Yup, Dominic. They've been together for two years."
"Okay, I guess I don't have to feel threatened by Albert anymore," Luke said with a smirk.
Lorelai smiled and pinched his cheek. "Aw, you were getting jealous, how cute."
"Enough." Luke pushed her hand away. "So, you had fun?"
"Lots of fun," Lorelai said, nodding enthusiastically.
"Yup, it was great," Rory said. "Miss Patty and Babette singing 'It's Raining Men' was one of the most entertaining things I've ever seen."
Lorelai laughed and nodded in agreement. "They should definitely take that show on the road."
Luke smiled. "I kinda wish I'd seen that."
"I bet if we ask, they'll do it at the wedding," Lorelai suggested.
Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't wanna see it that badly."
. . .