Part 2

This wasn't the first time.

In fact, Luke highly doubted that this would be the last time. It had become a strangely familiar routine for both of them. Lorelai would hire a professional for repairs, but instead of following his advice, she would denounce everything that came out of the said professional's mouth. She would then proceed to call Luke and make him drop everything at the diner so he could basically tell her what she wanted to hear.

It happened that time when her house became infested with termites. It also happened that time when the makeshift stage of the fashion show looked more like a makeshift wheelchair ramp. Therefore, it was hardly surprising when he found himself wedged behind the Viking stove in a highly uncomfortable manner. The floor hadn't been cleaned ever since the fire and a healthy layer of soot had now taken residence on his pants.

He had no idea why he played along. To be honest, he was a little bit tired of Lorelai's antics.

Thank god Sookie decided to hang around. Perhaps she stayed because she had nowhere else to go. However, it was more likely that she stayed around because the kitchen was her second home. It was her domain and she couldn't simply wait outside while somebody poked around her prep table or sniffed around her spice rack. In any case, the gourmet chef's presence was much welcoming since it helped distract Luke from the subject of Lorelai.

Since Sookie was never known as the tight lipped one, the conversation flowed easily between them. They just finished discussing Kirk's latest entrepreneurial attempt when the inevitable topic came up.

"Have you and Jackson figured out a name yet?"

"Jackson and I have decided that we're going to name the baby after chefs. I get to choose if it's a girl, he gets to choose the name if it's a boy. So if it's a girl, her name is going to be Julia Alice Melville. Julia for Julia Child, Alice for Alice Waters. It sounds so old-fashioned. Like a character in a book. I'll have to ask Rory if she knows of any Julia Alice's."

Luke stopped working on the pipes for a second so he had the attention to decipher Sookie's string of excited syllables. Just like any expectant mother, Sookie had her set of strange ideas when it came to her child. "And if it's a boy?"

He heard Sookie giggling. "Jackson's having a harder time with it. I told him to start watching the Food Network for ideas. That wasn't a good idea, because he's become addicted to 'Iron Chef' and there's no way I'm naming our son Morimoto."

What the hell was Morimoto? It sounded like a type of sushi. Of course, Luke wasn't going to ask a hormonally imbalanced pregnant woman why in the world her husband would name their child after sushi. Instead he stood up and attempted to wipe the soot off his jeans. "Iron Chef?"

"You've never seen Iron Chef?" Sookie asked incredulously, as if he had been buried in a bomb shelter for the last five years. "It's the greatest show. It's from Japan. You'd probably like it."

Not likely. Luke was never a big fan of TV. The only channel he watched was ESPN and he watched it mostly for Yankee games. He was usually too exhausted to catch anything after he closed the diner. And now he had to split what was left of his minuscule free time between Nicole and Lorelai. And lately, he had to spend even more time just to keep the two women apart, fearing the impending doom if they were left alone unattended.

How did he get back to Lorelai again? Luke fervently shook his head to clear his mind. Time for a topic change.

Luke looked around the room and noticed the soot covered utensils and the unplugged appliances. "Have you been cooking in here?" Ladies and gentleman, rhetorical question of the century!

"No," she said. "I'm losing my skills. Test me."

"Test you?" He looked at her incredulously. What was this, high school trivia?

"Ask me how to make something," Sookie said. "Like … uh … clam chowder."

"Clam chowder," he repeated. Easy enough. "I know that one. First you open the can…"

"Blasphemy," she said. "I would so cream you if we did 'Iron Chef' here." Luke frowned at the mentioning of the TV show. What was her obsession with Iron Chief?

"So what do you do all day?" Luke asked her. "If you aren't cooking." That woman was always fiddling with recipes, making julienne veggies or burning her hands. Mostly burning her hands.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I make up menus, just in case we get up and running soon. Crank call Michel from my cell phone. Jackson keeps me busy too. He calls every five minutes asking me if I'm sitting down, if I'm tired, if I'm eating my vegetables." She giggled again. "It's kind of funny. We eat two meals a day together, he knows what I eat. Maybe he's worried about what I eat for lunch. And I usually eat here or go to the diner for lunch."

"I know."

"What?" she asked him curiously.

"Jackson called me yesterday. He had a list of what I could and could not serve you." A huffy Jackson stormed into his store yesterday morning armed with a grease pencil. He then started to alter Luke's menus. He crossed out the fries and onion rings. As if that was not enough, he declared that there should be more organic vegetables in his chicken soup. It was both comical and irritating at the same time.

"He's actually easing up a little bit," she said. "So enough about me and my eating habits. How are you?"

Luke moved back over near the pipes. "Okay," he said. "Same old, same old."

By that, he meant he still had no idea what to do with Nicole and Lorelai. The two most important women in his life. Nicole was his girlfriend. She was supposed to be on his mind 24/7. But lately, most of his thoughts were preoccupied with Lorelai. It only got worse when she camped out over at his place last week. It was strange to wake up and find Lorelai in his apartment. Even Jess had sensed that.

He didn't know why. He didn't know what to do with them. He honestly didn't know what was wrong with him. This was too much.

"How's…?" Sookie hesitated. She sounded like she had trouble coming up with a name. "How's the lawyer?"

Luke smirked. It was funny that the whole town still referred to his girlfriend as "the lawyer". "The lawyer? Are you referring to Nicole?"

"Yes," she said. "How's Nicole?" She fidgeted a little bit, as if her loyalty to Lorelai prevented her from saying her name.

"Fine," he said. It could've been better if he shut his piehole and stopped talking about Lorelai in front of Nicole. But aside from that, they were fine.

Sookie looked at him intently as if she was anticipating an answer that contained more than one word. But he didn't give one. Sookie, sensing it was a sensitive subject, quickly changed the topic. "How's Jess?"

Luke frowned. He didn't want to talk about that little juvenile delinquent either. "Wonderful. Next question."

"Sorry. I'm used to talking to Lorelai and the conversation isn't as one-sided. Well, I talk to Michel too sometimes. When I have to."

Sensing that the conversation between him and Sookie had lost its momentum, Luke realized there was no point staying. He looked at his watch. 11:30. He better go back to the diner and prepare for the lunch crowd. His customers could get awfully picky when they found out that Caesar was cooking. "I need to be getting back soon. I'm just going to do a quick double check before I head back to the diner."

"Okay," she said. "Yell if you need any help."

Luke wondered how Sookie could help. No offense, but Sookie probably didn't have a good idea on pipe connections or anything Bob Vila could do. He didn't say anything. Instead, he kept his mouth shut and knelt by the pipe.

"Is it fixable?" she asked him.

He moved around the cramped space in attempt to get a better view.

Sookie walked over and glanced at his work. "A great time to be out of a job." There was a smidge of melancholy in her voice that wasn't normally associated with Sookie.

Luke didn't know what to say. Every time he tried to comfort somebody, it always turned out wrong. He didn't respond. Sookie took a look at his frozen face and guessed the rest. "You don't have to be gentle. It's bad huh?"

"It could have been better," he admitted. "I don't know how much I'll be able to do right now."

As he spoke, Sookie scooted down by him. He heard her exclaim, "Disgusting!" He might've heard something more about dizzy spells and crackers, but he was immediately distracted by something else. Everything to him was a blur as a simple gesture took precedence of his processing capabilities.

Hand. Butt. Her hand. His Butt. HER hand. HIS butt. HER HAND! HIS BUTT!!

His brain feverishly tried to relay and decipher the message. The choppy recognition slowly amplified and consolidated into a single sensory image: Sookie's hand was on his butt.

Needless to say, he was no longer inspecting the gas line. Nor did he move a single muscle. He was holding the flashlight in midair and his eyes were strained towards a particular burn pattern on the wall. But all of his concentration was focused on the spot where Sookie's rested her hand.

He should say something. Immediately. He opened his mouth, but somehow couldn't find the words to say "Would you kindly take your hand off my butt?"

Her hand didn't move. Why wasn't it moving? What exactly was going on here?

He decided not to say anything, not to move a muscle, not to swat away her hand. And that bothered him even more. Because, although he knew a thousand reasons why he should, Luke had no intention of interrupting this moment.

He was committed to an exclusive relationship with Nicole and Sookie was married and pregnant with the baby of his fruit and vegetable supplier. A man who hauled crates of vegetables for a living and probably had a nice set of biceps going. There should be no hand-butt action between him and Sookie. He was completely aware of this. And yet…

Did this count as cheating? Was it that he was so miserable with Nicole that he didn't mind this gesture as much as he should have?

Or was he just well on his way to becoming a dirty old man?

Suddenly she took the offending hand off and practically ran to the other side of the room.

"I'm sorry, Luke," she said. "I don't have wandering hands, but I just steadied myself and it was the first…"

An accident. Of course. Best to forget that anything had ever happened. He didn't say a word.

"I really am sorry," she continued. "I am sorry. We'll just put it all behind us." She started giggling. He didn't say anything. That would probably be the best approach.

He concentrated on not looking up. Letting the uncomfortable silence continue.

And then Lorelai walked in.