"Revolving Satellites Redux" by Gluglug
Chapter Seven: Lawyers In Love
Spoiler Warning/Timing: mid - Third Season
Rating: PG
Summary: The Girls go to the soda shop's grand opening. Lorelai and Nicole have girl talk.
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and all characters are property of The Dubba Dubba Dubba WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Amy Sherman- Palladino. They don't belong to me, just borrowing.
It was the following Saturday at the Gilmore household and they were getting ready to attend the opening of Taylor's soda shop. Lorelai and Rory were just about to head out the door when Lorelai looked pitifully down at Bert.
"Oh, Bert, don't cry, you're starting to rust from all your tears. We'll be back later. Just because Luke has neglected you, it doesn't mean that Rory and I don't love you."
Rory rolled her eyes at her mother. "Mom, you've got to stop talking to Bert like that. I know you're mad that Luke hasn't dropped by all week, but this is ridiculous. I'm calling Creedmore tomorrow to reserve you that rubber room."
"And I'm going to request an adjoining one for you. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, dear."
The girls closed the door behind them and started their way to the town center.
Rory was excited. "Ready for our egg creams and free sundae?"
"Well, Taylor only gave me one flyer, so if you want to give your sundae to Jess, I won't mind."
"You're in a generous mood. Hey, I'm not sure if Jess can make it, he said he might have to work. Let's drop by the diner first and I'll see if I can persuade him to take a break."
"Well, you can go in there without me, I'm not about to beg Luke to come by again. When I saw him for like a whole two seconds in the diner this week, he told me he didn't come by Monday night because he was too busy. Yeah, busy sticking his tongue down Nicole's tonsils, no doubt."
"Yucky mental picture, Mom. You don't know for sure he was with her."
"Oh please, they're joined at the hip and they're more nauseating than Ben and Jen. And by the way, that whole "Jenny from the Block" attempt at street cred is a big 'ole crock of .."
"Whoa. I'm banning "Access Hollywood" and your subscription to US Weekly until you calm down, missy."
"Sorry. It's just that since I've broken up with Alex and this whole Luke toolbox mess, my only distraction is the love lives of the rich, famous and airbrushed."
The girls reached the town center and found themselves in front of Luke's. Through the window, Lorelai spotted Luke behind the counter chatting with Nicole, who had the prime stool location near the register that used to belong to her. Jess was taking an order at one of the front tables.
"Rory, you go ahead and talk to Jess. If I go in with you, I'll lose my appetite for the egg cream. I'll save you a spot."
"Ok, Mom, I think you're being silly, but I'll see you in a few."
Lorelai headed to the shop entrance and was stopped by Kirk, who was wearing a cardboard sign and handing out flyers.
"Hey Lorelai. Lovely day for the opening of a soda shop, huh?"
"Hey Kirk, it's damp and chilly today, not exactly ice cream weather."
"Yes, well, Taylor wants me to drum up business, so I'm hoping folks don't notice. It's opening day, you know."
"Well, yeah, by the balloons, the huge sign you're wearing plus the one behind you that says "Grand Opening" and these flyers, I think you're doing a great job getting that message across."
"Hey, do you have someone to give your free sundae to? I know you've been seeing someone or you'll probably give it to Rory, but if either of them fall through would you mind sharing yours with me?"
"Aw, Kirk, what a sweet sentiment, but I told you that I'm not interested in dating you."
"Oh, no, I didn't mean to imply anything romantic. You see, Taylor is so cheap that he won't give employees free anything. I'm hoping to find someone nice who'll take pity on me and sneak me their free sundae during my break."
"Well, I might be able to give you mine, what time is your break?"
"In a half an hour."
"No problem, I'll be glad to help."
Kirk smiled or winced, Lorelai couldn't tell. "Thanks so much, I'll be forever in your debt."
She opened the door, the place was busy, but not full. All the employees were dressed in old fashioned striped shirts, straw hats and bowties. It was charming, if not a bit too Disney-esque for her. She took a seat at a small table and looked around for a familiar face. All of the customers looked like tourists who reminded her of those J. Crew families that Luke despised.
A waiter appeared at her table and she ordered an egg cream. A minute later, Rory and Jess came through the door and approached Lorelai's table, waving a promotional flyer.
"Look Mom, I have a flyer and found someone to give my sundae to."
"Congratulations. I'm giving mine to Kirk, how pathetic is that?"
Jess nodded. "Oh, he gave us that "Taylor doesn't feed the employees" speech too - I wouldn't think you're so special. Hey, we're going to take our own table, if you don't mind."
"Oh, I don't mind at all. I'll just sit here with my pathetic-ness, it's okay. You know, I'm so pathetic I can't lay a proper guilt trip on you two. You know, sometimes I wish we were Jewish."
Rory smirked. "Me too, my name is now Rory Goldstein. We could get eight presents during Chanukah, not just one during Christmas. Hey, Jess and I will be right over here, if you need us."
The waiter returned with her egg cream. It didn't taste like eggs or cream but it was delicious, it reminded her of Coney Island, even though she'd never been there. Well, it tasted like the Coney Island she'd imagined it to be.
The bell at the top of the front door jingled and Lorelai looked up, she was a little startled to see Nicole, alone. She had also never seen her out of her conservative business suits, but here she was dressed in weekend clothes - a pair of tight blue jeans, boots, a purple turtleneck sweater and a red down bubble coat. Lorelai gave her tentative smile and Nicole approached her table.
"Hey Lorelai, good to see you."
"Hey Nicole, nice to see you, too. Are you flying solo or is the landlord coming, too?"
"Oh, Luke? No, I'm afraid I couldn't convince him. He didn't want to leave the diner with Jess on break. And as much as he and Taylor have reached a peace accord, Luke refuses to patronize an establishment that makes money solely selling dairy, sugar and fat, which according to him, is not only the cause of this country's obesity epidemic, but the downfall of western civilization."
Lorelai laughed. "Yeah, even if that money pays the rent that Taylor gives him, right? And it's not like he serves raw food next door. What a hypocrite!"
Nicole nodded. "Well, he has to make a living somehow. But, I swear, sometimes I would love to see Luke enjoying an ice cream cone or something. He needs to live a little."
"Believe me I've tried."
"I bet you have, but give me time. I'll make some progress with him."
A waiter approached their table and Nicole ordered a strawberry sundae.
"Do you mind if I hang out here with you for a while?"
Lorelai didn't want to be rude and Nicole seemed nice enough. She just felt weird hanging out with the competition. "Sure, that would be nice."
Nicole sat down and took off her coat. "I'm glad I ran into you today, I've been hoping to spend some time with you."
Lorelai noted with some satisfaction that she was flat-chested. "Girl talk?"
"Yeah. I know that you and Luke have been friends for a long time."
"Fifteen years."
"Wow, that's a long time!"
"Well, I don't think we immediately hit it off, I think the fact that I used to call him "Duke" had something to do with it. But, yeah over the years he's become one of my best friends and he really looks out for Rory, too."
Nicole nodded. "Yeah, he talks about her like she's his daughter and he told me he's really gonna miss her next year."
Lorelai flushed with pride but tried to hide it from Nicole. This was no contest, she had fifteen years on her and she had the ace in the hole, Rory.
The waiter brought over her sundae and Nicole took a taste. "This is yummy, how's your egg cream?"
"It's a little too sweet, but I like it."
Nicole's face was sober. "Um, the reason I wanted to talk to you was, well Luke and I have been dating about a month now, and things are starting to heat up, if you know what I mean."
Lorelai started to wonder if her victory was so assured. "I think so."
"I really like him and I think we might have long term potential. But before I jump in with two feet, I need to ask you something..were you and Luke ever involved?"
"Isn't this something that you should talk to him about?"
"Well, the time I brought it up, he said 'no,' but he got really uncomfortable when I mentioned the vibe I sense when you two are together."
Lorelai chuckled. "Well, there you go - you used the word 'vibe?' Luke hates that word. Never use that in a sentence ever, if you want to keep seeing him!" Why did she tell her that, she wished she had told her to keep using the word, nonstop - vibe vibe vibe vibe vibe..
"So did you date?"
Lorelai told her the truth. "No, Luke and I never dated." She should've stopped there. "Maybe this vibe you sensed is just that we know each other so well. I've logged countless hours at the diner drinking coffee, we sometimes sit together at town meetings, he's been over to my house for dinner a few times, our kids are dating, but, no, we're not involved."
"I'm glad to hear it. You see, the reason I was so worried is that I was engaged a few years ago, to a guy I met in law school. He had a female friend from college and he insisted their relationship was strictly platonic."
Nicole paused and took another taste of her sundae. "Well, the night before our wedding, I went to his place to surprise him and instead I got the surprise - he was in bed with her. Needless to say, I was devastated and it took me a long time to get over it. I didn't date for a long time and now that I've found Luke, I don't want history to repeat itself."
Lorelai felt so guilty. "Nicole, I'm sorry, that's horrible. You have nothing to worry about here."
"I'm so relieved. But I can't believe you've never even thought about dating him, even in passing. He's a great catch, isn't he? Except when he's ranting about junk food or Taylor or whatever, but even then he's so cute."
Lorelai shrugged. "I guess so."
"You guess he's cute or you guess you've thought of dating him?"
"You must be good at cross-examination, huh?" Lorelai chuckled, a little ruefully. She felt like she was under oath on the witness stand. "Um, I guess both. It's crossed my mind, but I think Luke and I are better off as friends."
"No more questions your honor, the witness can step down." Nicole laughed. "I didn't mean to make it seem like I was grilling you, Lorelai. I think it's great that Luke has such a good friend as you, and I thank you for your honesty. Hey, maybe we should all go on a double date sometime - aren't you seeing someone?"
"I was." Lorelai sighed. "But things just weren't clicking."
"Too bad, well, when you start seeing someone else, perhaps we could still do it."
"Yeah, that'd be fun."
Nicole looked at her watch. "Oh I gotta go, I'm meeting a friend at the mall. I'm hoping to find a sexy new dress for my date tonight. Any suggestions of what Luke might like?"
"Plenty of cleavage?"
Nicole snorted. "Not in my case unfortunately, but I think Luke prefers my other attributes." She opened her purse to fish out some money and offered a five dollar bill. "Oh this should cover the sundae."
"Oh, keep it - it's on the house, remember?" She waved the flyer at her.
"Thanks for the chat and the sundae Lorelai, see you soon." She put on her coat and left the soda shop.
Lorelai stared at her half-drunk egg cream, she had lost her appetite. Rory and Jess passed by the table on their way out the door. "Mom, I'll be right back, I just want to walk Jess back to the diner."
"Yeah, because he might get lost or something," she muttered to herself.
This day was not going well, the egg cream was giving her a stomach ache and Nicole made her feel just like Julia Roberts in "My Best Friend's Wedding." She didn't even have a dashing gay soul mate like Rupert Everett to make her feel better.
She could have told Nicole that she was interested in Luke and that she should make a break now. But she couldn't. Despite her tendency to be selfish, Lorelai she knew she wasn't a mean spirited person. Her cleavage comment was about as nasty as she could get, and Nicole had the sense of humor to laugh it off. Maybe it was time for her to let go of Luke? After all, Julia Roberts let go of Dermot Mulroney so he could marry Catherine Keener, no wait, it was Cameron Diaz...
"Mom, Kirk wants to see you." Rory's voice snapped her mother out of her reverie. "He wants his sundae."
A/N: The title is an old Jackson Browne song, geez, I date myself. And Dermot Mulroney is married to Catherine Keener in real life. He's hilarious in "About Schmidt" - go see it if you get the chance. I hope you appreciated my attempt at writing a Kirk scenario, I thought it would fit here - I'm trying to expand my writing to the Stars Hollow townies, where appropriate.
Other writers have used the "My Best Friend's Wedding" analogy - it's obvious but it works here. I know, poor Lorelai, but need her to be a little more angsty before this is all settled. Remember - in the end I just want these kids to be happy :-)
Chapter Seven: Lawyers In Love
Spoiler Warning/Timing: mid - Third Season
Rating: PG
Summary: The Girls go to the soda shop's grand opening. Lorelai and Nicole have girl talk.
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and all characters are property of The Dubba Dubba Dubba WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Amy Sherman- Palladino. They don't belong to me, just borrowing.
It was the following Saturday at the Gilmore household and they were getting ready to attend the opening of Taylor's soda shop. Lorelai and Rory were just about to head out the door when Lorelai looked pitifully down at Bert.
"Oh, Bert, don't cry, you're starting to rust from all your tears. We'll be back later. Just because Luke has neglected you, it doesn't mean that Rory and I don't love you."
Rory rolled her eyes at her mother. "Mom, you've got to stop talking to Bert like that. I know you're mad that Luke hasn't dropped by all week, but this is ridiculous. I'm calling Creedmore tomorrow to reserve you that rubber room."
"And I'm going to request an adjoining one for you. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, dear."
The girls closed the door behind them and started their way to the town center.
Rory was excited. "Ready for our egg creams and free sundae?"
"Well, Taylor only gave me one flyer, so if you want to give your sundae to Jess, I won't mind."
"You're in a generous mood. Hey, I'm not sure if Jess can make it, he said he might have to work. Let's drop by the diner first and I'll see if I can persuade him to take a break."
"Well, you can go in there without me, I'm not about to beg Luke to come by again. When I saw him for like a whole two seconds in the diner this week, he told me he didn't come by Monday night because he was too busy. Yeah, busy sticking his tongue down Nicole's tonsils, no doubt."
"Yucky mental picture, Mom. You don't know for sure he was with her."
"Oh please, they're joined at the hip and they're more nauseating than Ben and Jen. And by the way, that whole "Jenny from the Block" attempt at street cred is a big 'ole crock of .."
"Whoa. I'm banning "Access Hollywood" and your subscription to US Weekly until you calm down, missy."
"Sorry. It's just that since I've broken up with Alex and this whole Luke toolbox mess, my only distraction is the love lives of the rich, famous and airbrushed."
The girls reached the town center and found themselves in front of Luke's. Through the window, Lorelai spotted Luke behind the counter chatting with Nicole, who had the prime stool location near the register that used to belong to her. Jess was taking an order at one of the front tables.
"Rory, you go ahead and talk to Jess. If I go in with you, I'll lose my appetite for the egg cream. I'll save you a spot."
"Ok, Mom, I think you're being silly, but I'll see you in a few."
Lorelai headed to the shop entrance and was stopped by Kirk, who was wearing a cardboard sign and handing out flyers.
"Hey Lorelai. Lovely day for the opening of a soda shop, huh?"
"Hey Kirk, it's damp and chilly today, not exactly ice cream weather."
"Yes, well, Taylor wants me to drum up business, so I'm hoping folks don't notice. It's opening day, you know."
"Well, yeah, by the balloons, the huge sign you're wearing plus the one behind you that says "Grand Opening" and these flyers, I think you're doing a great job getting that message across."
"Hey, do you have someone to give your free sundae to? I know you've been seeing someone or you'll probably give it to Rory, but if either of them fall through would you mind sharing yours with me?"
"Aw, Kirk, what a sweet sentiment, but I told you that I'm not interested in dating you."
"Oh, no, I didn't mean to imply anything romantic. You see, Taylor is so cheap that he won't give employees free anything. I'm hoping to find someone nice who'll take pity on me and sneak me their free sundae during my break."
"Well, I might be able to give you mine, what time is your break?"
"In a half an hour."
"No problem, I'll be glad to help."
Kirk smiled or winced, Lorelai couldn't tell. "Thanks so much, I'll be forever in your debt."
She opened the door, the place was busy, but not full. All the employees were dressed in old fashioned striped shirts, straw hats and bowties. It was charming, if not a bit too Disney-esque for her. She took a seat at a small table and looked around for a familiar face. All of the customers looked like tourists who reminded her of those J. Crew families that Luke despised.
A waiter appeared at her table and she ordered an egg cream. A minute later, Rory and Jess came through the door and approached Lorelai's table, waving a promotional flyer.
"Look Mom, I have a flyer and found someone to give my sundae to."
"Congratulations. I'm giving mine to Kirk, how pathetic is that?"
Jess nodded. "Oh, he gave us that "Taylor doesn't feed the employees" speech too - I wouldn't think you're so special. Hey, we're going to take our own table, if you don't mind."
"Oh, I don't mind at all. I'll just sit here with my pathetic-ness, it's okay. You know, I'm so pathetic I can't lay a proper guilt trip on you two. You know, sometimes I wish we were Jewish."
Rory smirked. "Me too, my name is now Rory Goldstein. We could get eight presents during Chanukah, not just one during Christmas. Hey, Jess and I will be right over here, if you need us."
The waiter returned with her egg cream. It didn't taste like eggs or cream but it was delicious, it reminded her of Coney Island, even though she'd never been there. Well, it tasted like the Coney Island she'd imagined it to be.
The bell at the top of the front door jingled and Lorelai looked up, she was a little startled to see Nicole, alone. She had also never seen her out of her conservative business suits, but here she was dressed in weekend clothes - a pair of tight blue jeans, boots, a purple turtleneck sweater and a red down bubble coat. Lorelai gave her tentative smile and Nicole approached her table.
"Hey Lorelai, good to see you."
"Hey Nicole, nice to see you, too. Are you flying solo or is the landlord coming, too?"
"Oh, Luke? No, I'm afraid I couldn't convince him. He didn't want to leave the diner with Jess on break. And as much as he and Taylor have reached a peace accord, Luke refuses to patronize an establishment that makes money solely selling dairy, sugar and fat, which according to him, is not only the cause of this country's obesity epidemic, but the downfall of western civilization."
Lorelai laughed. "Yeah, even if that money pays the rent that Taylor gives him, right? And it's not like he serves raw food next door. What a hypocrite!"
Nicole nodded. "Well, he has to make a living somehow. But, I swear, sometimes I would love to see Luke enjoying an ice cream cone or something. He needs to live a little."
"Believe me I've tried."
"I bet you have, but give me time. I'll make some progress with him."
A waiter approached their table and Nicole ordered a strawberry sundae.
"Do you mind if I hang out here with you for a while?"
Lorelai didn't want to be rude and Nicole seemed nice enough. She just felt weird hanging out with the competition. "Sure, that would be nice."
Nicole sat down and took off her coat. "I'm glad I ran into you today, I've been hoping to spend some time with you."
Lorelai noted with some satisfaction that she was flat-chested. "Girl talk?"
"Yeah. I know that you and Luke have been friends for a long time."
"Fifteen years."
"Wow, that's a long time!"
"Well, I don't think we immediately hit it off, I think the fact that I used to call him "Duke" had something to do with it. But, yeah over the years he's become one of my best friends and he really looks out for Rory, too."
Nicole nodded. "Yeah, he talks about her like she's his daughter and he told me he's really gonna miss her next year."
Lorelai flushed with pride but tried to hide it from Nicole. This was no contest, she had fifteen years on her and she had the ace in the hole, Rory.
The waiter brought over her sundae and Nicole took a taste. "This is yummy, how's your egg cream?"
"It's a little too sweet, but I like it."
Nicole's face was sober. "Um, the reason I wanted to talk to you was, well Luke and I have been dating about a month now, and things are starting to heat up, if you know what I mean."
Lorelai started to wonder if her victory was so assured. "I think so."
"I really like him and I think we might have long term potential. But before I jump in with two feet, I need to ask you something..were you and Luke ever involved?"
"Isn't this something that you should talk to him about?"
"Well, the time I brought it up, he said 'no,' but he got really uncomfortable when I mentioned the vibe I sense when you two are together."
Lorelai chuckled. "Well, there you go - you used the word 'vibe?' Luke hates that word. Never use that in a sentence ever, if you want to keep seeing him!" Why did she tell her that, she wished she had told her to keep using the word, nonstop - vibe vibe vibe vibe vibe..
"So did you date?"
Lorelai told her the truth. "No, Luke and I never dated." She should've stopped there. "Maybe this vibe you sensed is just that we know each other so well. I've logged countless hours at the diner drinking coffee, we sometimes sit together at town meetings, he's been over to my house for dinner a few times, our kids are dating, but, no, we're not involved."
"I'm glad to hear it. You see, the reason I was so worried is that I was engaged a few years ago, to a guy I met in law school. He had a female friend from college and he insisted their relationship was strictly platonic."
Nicole paused and took another taste of her sundae. "Well, the night before our wedding, I went to his place to surprise him and instead I got the surprise - he was in bed with her. Needless to say, I was devastated and it took me a long time to get over it. I didn't date for a long time and now that I've found Luke, I don't want history to repeat itself."
Lorelai felt so guilty. "Nicole, I'm sorry, that's horrible. You have nothing to worry about here."
"I'm so relieved. But I can't believe you've never even thought about dating him, even in passing. He's a great catch, isn't he? Except when he's ranting about junk food or Taylor or whatever, but even then he's so cute."
Lorelai shrugged. "I guess so."
"You guess he's cute or you guess you've thought of dating him?"
"You must be good at cross-examination, huh?" Lorelai chuckled, a little ruefully. She felt like she was under oath on the witness stand. "Um, I guess both. It's crossed my mind, but I think Luke and I are better off as friends."
"No more questions your honor, the witness can step down." Nicole laughed. "I didn't mean to make it seem like I was grilling you, Lorelai. I think it's great that Luke has such a good friend as you, and I thank you for your honesty. Hey, maybe we should all go on a double date sometime - aren't you seeing someone?"
"I was." Lorelai sighed. "But things just weren't clicking."
"Too bad, well, when you start seeing someone else, perhaps we could still do it."
"Yeah, that'd be fun."
Nicole looked at her watch. "Oh I gotta go, I'm meeting a friend at the mall. I'm hoping to find a sexy new dress for my date tonight. Any suggestions of what Luke might like?"
"Plenty of cleavage?"
Nicole snorted. "Not in my case unfortunately, but I think Luke prefers my other attributes." She opened her purse to fish out some money and offered a five dollar bill. "Oh this should cover the sundae."
"Oh, keep it - it's on the house, remember?" She waved the flyer at her.
"Thanks for the chat and the sundae Lorelai, see you soon." She put on her coat and left the soda shop.
Lorelai stared at her half-drunk egg cream, she had lost her appetite. Rory and Jess passed by the table on their way out the door. "Mom, I'll be right back, I just want to walk Jess back to the diner."
"Yeah, because he might get lost or something," she muttered to herself.
This day was not going well, the egg cream was giving her a stomach ache and Nicole made her feel just like Julia Roberts in "My Best Friend's Wedding." She didn't even have a dashing gay soul mate like Rupert Everett to make her feel better.
She could have told Nicole that she was interested in Luke and that she should make a break now. But she couldn't. Despite her tendency to be selfish, Lorelai she knew she wasn't a mean spirited person. Her cleavage comment was about as nasty as she could get, and Nicole had the sense of humor to laugh it off. Maybe it was time for her to let go of Luke? After all, Julia Roberts let go of Dermot Mulroney so he could marry Catherine Keener, no wait, it was Cameron Diaz...
"Mom, Kirk wants to see you." Rory's voice snapped her mother out of her reverie. "He wants his sundae."
A/N: The title is an old Jackson Browne song, geez, I date myself. And Dermot Mulroney is married to Catherine Keener in real life. He's hilarious in "About Schmidt" - go see it if you get the chance. I hope you appreciated my attempt at writing a Kirk scenario, I thought it would fit here - I'm trying to expand my writing to the Stars Hollow townies, where appropriate.
Other writers have used the "My Best Friend's Wedding" analogy - it's obvious but it works here. I know, poor Lorelai, but need her to be a little more angsty before this is all settled. Remember - in the end I just want these kids to be happy :-)