Chapter 25: Knead For Comfort
Lorelai sighed and then knocked on Sookie's door. A moment later the door was opened by Jackson. "Hi, Lorelai."
"Hi, Jackson," Lorelai smiled. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"No, not at all," Jackson answered, holding the door open. "Come on in."
"Thanks."
"La-lie," Lorelai heard when she entered the living room.
Lorelai looked in the direction of the sound and saw Sookie and Jackson's baby daughter moving towards her at what passed as a run for an 18 month old, with her arms outstretched.
"Bobbie!" Lorelai replied as she knelt on one knee and opened her arms. A second later, Bobbie was in Lorelai's arms. Lorelai spent the next couple of minutes making noises that toddlers find so entertaining.
"I swear that she gets bigger every time I see her," Lorelai said.
"Really? I don't see it," Jackson teased. He took Bobbie from Lorelai and said, "Sookie's in the kitchen."
"Thanks." Lorelai turned and headed for the kitchen. When she entered, she found Sookie in the middle of some huge baking exercise, with her hands kneading a batch of dough and flour in her hair and on one cheek. "Hi, Sookie."
"Hi, sweetie," Sookie replied. "Where have you been? I tried calling your house a couple of hours ago. You know I think your answering machine is broken, because it didn't pick up."
"I just got back from taking Rory back to school."
"That's nice," Sookie replied. "It's a beautiful day for a drive."
"Yeah, it was real nice."
"So," Sookie asked. "What's new with you?"
"Oh, so many things, Sookie," Lorelai sniffed. "So many things."
Sookie noted the expression on Lorelai's face and said, "Uh-oh. This sounds bad."
"Pretty much."
"Okay, I'm almost through with this bread," Sookie said. "There's iced tea in the fridge. Why don't you fix us both a glass and tell me about it?"
Lorelai walked to the cabinet and as she pulled out a pair of glasses and said, "I'm not sure where to start."
As Sookie continued to knead, she said, "Well, I don't think I've talked to you since sometime Thursday, so why don't you start there and take me though the weekend?"
Lorelai took the pitcher of tea out of the refrigerator, as she filled the glasses, she said, "Well, let's see. It all started with Luke going postal on a jar of peanut butter."
"Peanut butter?"
"Then me talking him into going to Ohio for Rachel's funeral so he could deal with her death. And I did such a good job of convincing him he needed to deal with it, he decided that we needed to spend some time apart, so he could get his head straight over this whole Rachel thing."
"Oh my God!"
"Then," Lorelai continued, as she returned the pitcher of tea to the refrigerator. "Rory came into town, which was nice, but my mother found out and forced us to come to dinner where she proceeded to chew a chunk out of my ass the size of a Honda, because I let Luke go to Rachel's funeral."
"Ouch," Sookie said, as she put the dough in a pan. "Just like old times."
"Ahh, but I'm not done yet," Lorelai said, sitting at the kitchen table. "On Saturday, Rory goes shopping and guess what she brings home?"
Sookie left the bread to rise, and while she began wiping her hands on a towel, asked, "What?"
"Pregnancy tests."
Sookie sat in the chair across from Lorelai as she said, "Oh my God, is Rory pregnant?"
"Nope, the tests were for me. I'm the one that's pregnant."
"Oh my God. Oh my God," Sookie gushed. "You're pregnant, you're pregnant. This is so great!" When Sookie noticed that Lorelai was not quite as excited as she would have expected, she calmed slightly and said, "Is this great?"
Lorelai sighed, closing her eyes for a second, "It is great. It's really great."
Sookie picked up her tea as she asked, "Okay, it's great, but I'm sensing less that total commitment here."
"Well, at first I was real excited, and I wanted to tell Luke," Lorelai stated. "I kept trying to call him on his cell…"
"Luke has a cell phone? I thought Luke hated cell phones."
"He does," Lorelai responded. "I bought him one last year just so he would have it if ever needed, and since he was going out of town I talked him into taking it. But you're interrupting me."
"Oops, sorry. Go ahead."
"Thank you," Lorelai said with a smile. "So I finally get a hold of him this morning and I catch him with another woman."
Sookie sat blinking at Lorelai for a second, then said, "Okay, you're going to have to repeat that, because I could have sworn I heard you say that you caught Luke sleeping with some other woman."
Lorelai's only answer was an embarrassed nod.
"Luke? Are you sure?"
Lorelai nodded again, as the tears started to run down her cheeks.
Sookie shook her head, as if to clear it then said, "Alright, this is not making sense here. Start at the beginning and don't leave out any details."
Lorelai sighed and then knocked on Sookie's door. A moment later the door was opened by Jackson. "Hi, Lorelai."
"Hi, Jackson," Lorelai smiled. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"No, not at all," Jackson answered, holding the door open. "Come on in."
"Thanks."
"La-lie," Lorelai heard when she entered the living room.
Lorelai looked in the direction of the sound and saw Sookie and Jackson's baby daughter moving towards her at what passed as a run for an 18 month old, with her arms outstretched.
"Bobbie!" Lorelai replied as she knelt on one knee and opened her arms. A second later, Bobbie was in Lorelai's arms. Lorelai spent the next couple of minutes making noises that toddlers find so entertaining.
"I swear that she gets bigger every time I see her," Lorelai said.
"Really? I don't see it," Jackson teased. He took Bobbie from Lorelai and said, "Sookie's in the kitchen."
"Thanks." Lorelai turned and headed for the kitchen. When she entered, she found Sookie in the middle of some huge baking exercise, with her hands kneading a batch of dough and flour in her hair and on one cheek. "Hi, Sookie."
"Hi, sweetie," Sookie replied. "Where have you been? I tried calling your house a couple of hours ago. You know I think your answering machine is broken, because it didn't pick up."
"I just got back from taking Rory back to school."
"That's nice," Sookie replied. "It's a beautiful day for a drive."
"Yeah, it was real nice."
"So," Sookie asked. "What's new with you?"
"Oh, so many things, Sookie," Lorelai sniffed. "So many things."
Sookie noted the expression on Lorelai's face and said, "Uh-oh. This sounds bad."
"Pretty much."
"Okay, I'm almost through with this bread," Sookie said. "There's iced tea in the fridge. Why don't you fix us both a glass and tell me about it?"
Lorelai walked to the cabinet and as she pulled out a pair of glasses and said, "I'm not sure where to start."
As Sookie continued to knead, she said, "Well, I don't think I've talked to you since sometime Thursday, so why don't you start there and take me though the weekend?"
Lorelai took the pitcher of tea out of the refrigerator, as she filled the glasses, she said, "Well, let's see. It all started with Luke going postal on a jar of peanut butter."
"Peanut butter?"
"Then me talking him into going to Ohio for Rachel's funeral so he could deal with her death. And I did such a good job of convincing him he needed to deal with it, he decided that we needed to spend some time apart, so he could get his head straight over this whole Rachel thing."
"Oh my God!"
"Then," Lorelai continued, as she returned the pitcher of tea to the refrigerator. "Rory came into town, which was nice, but my mother found out and forced us to come to dinner where she proceeded to chew a chunk out of my ass the size of a Honda, because I let Luke go to Rachel's funeral."
"Ouch," Sookie said, as she put the dough in a pan. "Just like old times."
"Ahh, but I'm not done yet," Lorelai said, sitting at the kitchen table. "On Saturday, Rory goes shopping and guess what she brings home?"
Sookie left the bread to rise, and while she began wiping her hands on a towel, asked, "What?"
"Pregnancy tests."
Sookie sat in the chair across from Lorelai as she said, "Oh my God, is Rory pregnant?"
"Nope, the tests were for me. I'm the one that's pregnant."
"Oh my God. Oh my God," Sookie gushed. "You're pregnant, you're pregnant. This is so great!" When Sookie noticed that Lorelai was not quite as excited as she would have expected, she calmed slightly and said, "Is this great?"
Lorelai sighed, closing her eyes for a second, "It is great. It's really great."
Sookie picked up her tea as she asked, "Okay, it's great, but I'm sensing less that total commitment here."
"Well, at first I was real excited, and I wanted to tell Luke," Lorelai stated. "I kept trying to call him on his cell…"
"Luke has a cell phone? I thought Luke hated cell phones."
"He does," Lorelai responded. "I bought him one last year just so he would have it if ever needed, and since he was going out of town I talked him into taking it. But you're interrupting me."
"Oops, sorry. Go ahead."
"Thank you," Lorelai said with a smile. "So I finally get a hold of him this morning and I catch him with another woman."
Sookie sat blinking at Lorelai for a second, then said, "Okay, you're going to have to repeat that, because I could have sworn I heard you say that you caught Luke sleeping with some other woman."
Lorelai's only answer was an embarrassed nod.
"Luke? Are you sure?"
Lorelai nodded again, as the tears started to run down her cheeks.
Sookie shook her head, as if to clear it then said, "Alright, this is not making sense here. Start at the beginning and don't leave out any details."