"Mystery Woman – part 5"

* * *

Luke walked home feeling relieved. That had been much easier than he thought it would be, denying to Lorelai that there was any meaning behind the resemblance.

Of course, he knew differently. But what was he gonna do, come out and say, Oh yeah, I've wanted to be with you for years now, and I think I subconsciously asked Leslie out because she looks like you. Hope you don't feel weird about it.

No. He could never do that.

Besides, maybe he did ask Leslie out because of the resemblance, but that's not all there is to her. It wasn't the reason he liked hanging out with her. She was funny. She was smart. She was always so easygoing.

But those are all the things you like about Lorelai, he reminded himself. So maybe. . .you're just trying to accept Leslie as a Lorelai substitute.. He kicked a rock down the sidewalk and let out a long sigh. You'd better figure things out soon. . .because if that's what's going on, it's not fair to Leslie.

Or to you.

* * *

Lorelai was curled up on the corner couch cushion, a blanket pulled up over her legs, a container of ice cream in her lap. She'd decided the situation called for wallowing.

She'd been told many times that Luke had a thing for her, and she'd always dismissed it. She never seriously considered the possibility of dating him. But this whole situation had made feelings she'd never known she had come to the surface. She struggled with the emotions for a long time before she realized what she wanted.

Him.

She wanted more than a friendship with him. And she thought he wanted more than one with her. She thought the Leslie thing backed that up. . .which was the only reason she'd even considered telling him how she felt. Knowing that he felt the same way was the small boost of confidence she needed.

But the way he'd brushed it off. . .the way he'd said it was only a coincidence. . .she cringed just thinking about it.

As she shoved a spoonful of rocky road into her mouth, she thought, Maybe it's better this way. We have a good thing here. . .why screw up a perfectly good friendship? Pursuing something with Luke could've ended with disastrous results.

She swallowed hard and leaned her head back against the armrest. "But it could've ended with amazing results," she whispered sadly toward the ceiling.

* * *

"You know, lying to your daughter isn't nice," Rory declared later that night.

"I'm not lying," Lorelai replied. "A group of eight-year old boys really did finish up all the ice cream. They knocked on the door and said they were really hungry but didn't have any money for food, and I felt bad for them, so I was like, 'well, we don't have much, but here – take the ice cream.' So they took it and left."

Rory pulled two empty cartons out of the garbage can. "And then they came back here to throw them away?"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose, then nodded. "Uh, yup, that's right. They couldn't very well throw them away at home because then their parents would know that they'd spoiled their dinner."

"Right." Rory dropped the containers back into the garbage can, then sat down at the kitchen table with Lorelai. "So, what happened that forced you to finish off two containers of ice cream?"

Lorelai sighed. "Nothing happened, it was just a craving," she replied. "Hey, you know what – I heard that Solaris is a really bad movie, but that there's a lot of George Clooney's butt in it."

"Mom."

"So we can go and pay absurd theater prices and see a really giant shot of his butt, or we can save our money and just wait for the DVD to come out, but only get a regular-sized shot of it," Lorelai said. "What do you think?"

"I think you're trying to change the subject," Rory replied.

Lorelai stood up and walked to the refrigerator. "What should we have for dinner? This leftover Chinese food should have a few more hours of life left in it. Feel courageous enough to give it a taste?"

"Mom, come on." Rory sighed. "You've been mopey and grumpy for awhile now, and you're not telling me anything and I'm worried about you."

Lorelai shut the fridge door, then turned around and leaned against it. "You don't have to be worried."

"But I am."

"But I'm telling you that you don't have to be," Lorelai said. "Nothing's wrong. You're right. . .I was going through sort of a mopey phase, but it's over now."

"What was the mopey phase about?" Rory persisted.

Well, Mommy's a complete idiot, Lorelai thought. She let her heart open up and speak, and she actually listened to what it was saying. . .and you know by now that Mommy doesn't have much luck when that happens.

Lorelai shrugged and waved her off. "It was just. . .a combination of things. Lots of stuff going on at work, and . . .you know, just some other things."

"Like?"

Lorelai sighed. "Like. . .I don't know. Sometimes people feel like they're in a rut and they get kind of down for a little while, but then things get better." Lorelai forced a smile. "And now I'm feeling better, so let's just forget about it and have some dinner."

Rory sighed, still left unsatisfied by the conversation, but she nodded. "Okay."

* * *

The next day, Lorelai and Rory were browsing the tables at the rummage sale when a voice behind them said, "Hey."

Lorelai dropped the scarf she'd been looking at and briefly closed her eyes. Luke.

She didn't want to face him. She was afraid that looking at him would make the pain rush through her body again. She knew that she couldn't avoid him forever, but she'd been hoping she could avoid direct communication for at least a day or two.

But there he was, standing right behind her.

Lorelai forced a smile and slowly turned around. "Hey Luke."

"Hey."

"Find anything good?" Rory asked him.

Luke reached into his back pocket and pulled out a baseball card, and Lorelai and Rory both looked at it. "Jim Palmer. That sounds familiar," Rory said.

Lorelai mused the name for a moment, then let out a small gasp. "Oh, I know! We've seen him on TV."

"You watch baseball?" Luke asked.

"No, but he does those loan commercials," Lorelai said. She smacked Rory lightly on the shoulder a few times. "Remember, he's that really tall guy and he has that kind of deep voice, and he's always like, 'This is Jim Palmer for the Money Store.'"

Rory smiled and nodded. "Oh, right! I remember. He went from being an actor to a baseball player?"

"I guess so," Lorelai said with a shrug.

Luke rolled his eyes. "No, he was a player first." He slipped the card back into his pocket. "So, what about you? Buy anything?"

"Not yet," Rory replied. "We usually like to walk around the entire sale first and take everything in, see what's out there. Then we go around a second time and buy stuff."

"What if something you want is gone by the time you get back to it?" Luke asked.

Lorelai shoved her hands into her pockets and glanced down at her shoes. "Well, then it wasn't meant to be," she said softly.

"Ah," he nodded, unaware of the true meaning of the remark.

Rory pointed down the crowded street. "Mom, I'm gonna go say hi to Lane. I'll be right back."

"Okay," Lorelai replied calmly. Inside, she was yelling, No, don't leave me alone with him! I'm okay as long as you're standing here, but who knows what'll happen if you leave? Ooh, take him with you! Just grab a hold of his sleeve and drag him away from me, please!

Unreceptive of Lorelai's mental pleas, Rory walked away, leaving Lorelai standing with Luke. She shifted her feet and gave him an uncomfortable smile.

"So, how's the sink holding up?" Luke asked.

"Oh, good, thanks," Lorelai replied. "No more leaks."

"Good."

"You underestimated your plumbing abilities."

"Guess so. And the formerly jiggly doorknob?"

"No longer jiggly," Lorelai confirmed.

Luke nodded. "Good, good."

Lorelai folded her arms across her chest. "So. . . gonna buy anything else today? I saw an I Love Lucy plate set that I'd enjoy having my burgers served on at the diner."

"Oh yeah? I'll have to check that out later."

Lorelai smiled. "Please do." She glanced past Luke and her smile faded when she saw Leslie approaching them. She cleared her throat and nodded toward her. "Here comes your. . .um, Leslie's. . .she's coming this way. . ."

"What?" Luke turned around just as Leslie reached them. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi to you, too," she replied.

"Oh, hi," Luke said. "Sorry, I just wasn't expecting to see you. What's up?"

"I was heading to the diner to see if you were free for lunch, but then I saw you standing over here, so. . .here I am," Leslie said. She smiled at Lorelai. "Hey."

"Hi," Lorelai replied with a polite nod. Her eyes glazed over Leslie's outfit, looking for something to mock, but she came up empty. Damn her for having good fashion sense!

"What's going on here?" Leslie asked, gesturing toward the tables.

"Rummage sale," Luke replied. "We're raising money for . . ." He paused and turned to Lorelai. "What are we raising money for anyway?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Nobody really knows. Taylor always finds something that needs rebuilding or renovating for us to raise money for, but then it never gets fixed. Personally, I think he's pocketing all the money and saving up for hair follicle implants."

"Maybe," Luke agreed.

Rory walked back over to them, and as she greeted Leslie, Lorelai mentally scolded her. You know, if you had just dragged Luke away from me like I asked you to, I wouldn't be standing here pretending to be happy and friendly, but secretly wanting to rip my hair out.

Leslie patted Luke on the arm. "So, what about lunch? You have some free time?"

Luke checked his watch. "Well, yeah, but I gotta get back to the diner by twelve-thirty."

Leslie checked her own watch. "Oh, that gives us plenty of time. We even have a few minutes to scope out the sale a little. Looks like there are some cute things here." She picked up a scarf from the table. "This is great."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. Don't even think about it. I had my eye on that, it's mine! She leaned forward and examined the scarf. "Oh, you know what, I'd stay away from that one."

Leslie raised an eyebrow. "How come?"

"Because the woman who donated that just got over a bad case of pinkeye," Lorelai explained. "Plus, I think her son had that hand, foot, and mouth disease, too. . .so that thing's probably loaded with germs and bacteria and other infectious organisms."

Leslie made a face and dropped the scarf. "Ew. Thanks for the tip."

Luke and Rory both narrowed their eyes with confusion at Lorelai, who nodded and said, "It's true. I overheard someone talking about it yesterday."

"Okay, well, I'm sure there are some non-contaminated items here," Luke said. "Let's go look around."

"Okay. See you guys later," Leslie said. Rory and Lorelai said goodbye, and Luke and Leslie walked away.

When they were out of earshot, Lorelai picked up the scarf and clutched it to her chest. "Ha! Sucker."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Tsk. You made all that up, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I saw this scarf first," Lorelai said. "And I was not going to stand here and watch it get ripped away from me. That's like being a guard at the Louvre and letting someone just waltz in and take the Mona Lisa without even trying to stop them."

Rory folded her arms across her chest. "Mom, that scarf is not the Mona Lisa of scarves."

"Oh, whoa, whoa, I beg to differ," Lorelai said. She held it up in front of Rory's face. "Look at the sharp colors, the cute fringe, the woven – "

"You just want it because she wants it," Rory interrupted, pushing Lorelai's hand away.

Lorelai scoffed. "I do not! I was looking at it five minutes ago with the intention of buying it."

Rory smirked. "Right. You're such a child."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and muttered, "Fine, but I'm a child with a nice new scarf."

A few minutes later, at another section of the rummage sale, Leslie perused a table of jewelry while Luke stood nearby. He glanced down the street, surveying the crowd until he found Lorelai. He shoved his hands into his pockets and watched her as she walked along the row of tables with Rory.

He sighed softly to himself as he brought his gaze back to Leslie. She had moved down to the next table, and didn't notice that Luke hadn't moved along with her. Luke turned back to find Lorelai, who was now near the refreshment table with Rory, and he settled back into his quiet observation mode. He saw Sookie walk over and start talking with them. He loved watching Lorelai in a discussion, especially the way she used her hands, always gesturing, always touching.

She's touched him during many of their conversations, and he never showed that he noticed or cared. . . but it was something that he always paid attention to. Sometimes he waited for it, looked forward to it, even. A playful shove, a pat on the arm or chest, their hands grazing against each other when she handed him money to pay the check. . . every little touch was incredible.

Stop it, he thought, shaking his head. What the hell is wrong with you? Leslie is five feet away, and you're standing here thinking about Lorelai, staring at her like you're undressing her with your eyes. He stared at Lorelai for a beat, then quickly turned his head. No, don't even think about it.

He turned and walked toward Leslie, who was paying for whatever she'd just picked out. "What'd you buy?" he asked.

As she collected her change, she held up a beaded bracelet. "Cool, huh?"

"Yeah, it's nice," he nodded.

"I'm just hoping the former owner didn't have any contagious diseases." She shoved her change into her pocket, then slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. "So, ready for lunch, or did you wanna look around some more?"

"Nah, I'm ready." They started walking down the sidewalk.

Lorelai was still standing with Sookie and Rory when she saw Luke and Leslie walking toward them. She forced a smile as they walked past, and they all exchanged polite waves and head-nods.

After they had walked by, Sookie covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. "Oh my God. She looks so much - "

"Don't say it, Sookie," Lorelai warned seriously. "I get enough of it from this one." She jerked a thumb toward Rory.

"Well, then maybe I'll just take a moment to go over here and discuss it with this one," Sookie said. She put an arm around Rory's shoulder and led her a few feet away from Lorelai.

Lorelai glanced in the other direction and watched Luke and Leslie as they walked away.

The scene made her stomach hurt.

But then, for a brief moment, she imagined that it wasn't Leslie he was leaving with. She pictured herself walking down the sidewalk with Luke right by her side. That it was her arm, not Leslie's, wrapped loosely around his waist. That it was her ear he'd just leaned over and said something into. That it was she he was going to lunch with. That it was –

"Mom," Rory interrupted her thoughts.

Lorelai snapped out of her fantasy and turned around to face Rory and Sookie. "Huh?"

"We're done talking about you and your tw. . .uh, Leslie," Sookie said.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Good – got it all out of your systems?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah. Let's go look around some more."

Lorelai gave one last thoughtful glance toward Luke before she followed Rory and Sookie down the street.

* * *

The next morning was one of those mornings where she would've paid any amount of money to just crawl back into bed. She woke up with a pounding headache. The water pressure in the shower fluctuated constantly. The zipper on her skirt broke. It took her ten minutes to find her car keys. And she couldn't stop thinking about Luke.

All combined – it made for an extremely cranky Lorelai.

She walked into the diner and up to Luke at the counter. There was that stomach pain again. It hit her every time she was near him. "Coffee to go."

"You look happy," Luke commented.

"Yeah, well, you need glasses," she muttered as she reached into her wallet for some money.

He walked over to get her coffee. "Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air. "I hate that expression. What does it even mean? If there's literally a right side and a wrong side to the actual bed, wouldn't that mean that for a couple sharing a bed, one of them would always be getting up on the wrong side? Thus leading to daily arguments and a sky-rocketing divorce rate? Unless they figure out which one's the right side and then they both always crawl out on the same side, which is probably pretty damn inconvenient for one of them." She scoffed. "Wrong side of the bed. . . it's such a stupid expression."

Surprised by the rant, Luke walked back to her with a confused look. "Geez, I get it, sorry for bringing it up. Here." He handed her a to-go cup.

"Thank you," she mumbled, slapping her money on the counter. She turned and walked out of the diner.

"God, what's her problem?" Luke muttered to himself as he collected the money.

Miss Patty, having witnessed the scene from a nearby table, glanced out the window at Lorelai, then turned back to Luke. "She's been in kind of a mood for a few weeks now."

"Really, a few weeks? I haven't noticed." Luke put the money into the cash register.

"Well, it's been off and on, but something's definitely been bugging her. And Sookie said she won't talk to anyone about it," Patty said. "We're all kind of worried about her."

Luke's brow furrowed. "Huh."

Patty looked at the check lying on the table, then rummaged through her purse for exact change. She stood up and walked over to Luke. "So. . .how are things with your new lady friend?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "None of your business."

"Just asking," Patty said with a shrug.

"Well, I'd rather you didn't," Luke replied.

"Okay, okay, fine." Patty handed him the money. As he put it into the cash register, she said, "Mm, you know, come to think of it, she's been around for a couple weeks now, hasn't she? Your lady friend, I mean."

Luke stared at her curiously. "What's your point?"

Patty shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, nothing, honey. It's just that some of us think that . . . maybe there's a correlation between Lorelai's mood and your new friend. . . since they both started at about the same time."

Luke froze, as if he needed to be absolutely still to fully digest what she was saying. After a moment, he pushed the register drawer closed and slowly brought his gaze up to meet Patty's.

"What does that mean. . .you don't think she's. . ." Luke's voice trailed off. Jealous. Is Lorelai jealous?

Patty gave him a pointed look. "Just think about it, dear." She turned around and walked out of the diner, leaving Luke staring straight ahead in a daze.

* * *

To be continued . . .

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