Disclaimer: I want to reiterate that I do not own any of these characters.
I'm just borrowing them for my own (and yours, I hope) amusement.
Author's Note: Regarding the numbers that appeared in the last chapter, I don't know how that happened. They weren't there when I uploaded. If anyone can explain how to fix the problem, I'd appreciate it.
Discovering True Love
Chapter Three: Back to Work
The next day, Lorelai awoke 30 minutes early. She was dressed and ready for work by 7:15 a.m. As she carried a mug of coffee with her, Lorelai stood at the bottom of the stairs.
"Rory? I'm leaving!" she called to her sleeping daughter.
A sleepy Rory stumbled down the stairs. Yawning, she asked her mother, "why are you up so early?"
"I have something important to do this morning before I go to work," Lorelai said, holding up a packet of fertilizer, "I have to go feed my tree."
Rory snorted. "Since when do you have a green thumb?" she asked.
"Hey!" Lorelai exclaimed, "no potshots at your mother!"
"Sorry," Rory apologized, "but, seriously Mom, why the sudden interest in trees?"
"You should have seen this tree, Rory," Lorelai said, "it looked so sad drooping in the heat. You would have done the same."
"Awwww, it was drooping? Poor wittle twee."
"Yeah, I know," Lorelai continued, getting excited, "anyway, Luke told me about Taylor's insistence on planting the tree in the heat of the summer…."
Rory interrupted her. "Wait a minute, Luke was with you when you saw the tree? Oh, I get it, Mom," she said, knowingly.
"What? What does Luke have to do with this?" Lorelai asked, innocently.
"Mom, he has everything to do with the tree. You're using this tree to avoid having to think about him. It's a distraction," Rory told her.
"Hey! Don't psycho-analyze your mother," Lorelai warned, "it's not nice."
"I call them as I see them," Rory replied, with a grin.
"Well, yeah……..I gotta go," Lorelai said, changing the subject.
Turning on her heel, she headed for the front door. Rory called out after her, "say hello to Luke for me!" She watched her mother wave good-bye as she walked out the door and muttered, "when will you see what's right in front of you, Mom?" Shaking her head, Rory decided to put it out of her mind for now and went upstairs and climbed back into bed.
Five minutes later, Lorelai walked into Luke's Diner. Luke was holding a full pitcher of water. Wordlessly, she took it out of his hands. She walked across the street (no running, she was wearing heels) and knelt down next to the tree. "Hi, it's me again," she said, as she started sprinkling some fertilizer on the ground around the roots. "I'm back like I promised. You're going to realize fast that I always keep my promises," she told the tree, as she generously poured water over the limp branches and wetting the ground around the roots. She got quiet, thinking about her life. "You're lucky, Mr. Tree," she said, quietly, "you don't have to worry about meeting a nice tree who can spend the rest of your life with." Thinking about what she just said, Lorelai wondered, "maybe you can meet a nice tree and live together forever and have nice little saplings." Shaking her head, she chided herself, "Lorelai Gilmore, you have now reached a new level of crazy." Standing up, she said goodbye and went back across the street.
Entering the diner again, she returned the pitcher to Luke and ordered a coffee to go. Puzzled, Luke repeated, "to go? You're not staying?"
"No, I got to get to work," Lorelai told him, "I've been away for too long. I have to go check on the inn." Luke poured her coffee in a to-go cup and she left after saying goodbye.
She arrived at the inn ten minutes later. Michel, her French-born concierge, was barking orders from behind the front desk. Seeing Lorelai, he said, in his thick French accent, "oh, good, you are back. The inn is all yours."
Lorelai laughed. "Gee, Michel, I missed you too," she laughed.
Michel looked at her like she was crazy. It's nice to see he hasn't changed, Lorelai thought. "What's going on here?" she asked, surveying the busy lobby.
Michel sighed dramatically. "It's a convention of bird-watchers," he drolled. "Let me ask you something, why would you need a convention for bird-watchers?"
At that moment, one of the guests came up to the desk. "Excuse me, sir?"
As Michel tended to the guest, the phone rang. Lorelai picked it up, "Independence Inn," she greeted.
"Lorelai, it would have been nice to get a phone call when you got back," her mother, Emily Gilmore intoned.
Lorelai could hear the disapproval in her mother's voice and regretted answering the phone. "Mother, how nice to hear your voice," Lorelai tried to sound cheerful.
Emily cut through the pretenses. "If that were true, Lorelai, then you would have called last night."
"I'm sorry, Mom," she tried to apologize, "we would have called but we ran into some friends on the way home and time just flew by."
"Well, are you still coming to dinner tomorrow night?" Emily asked.
"Tomorrow? Well…,"
"Tomorrow is Friday, is it not?" Emily reminded her.
"Yes, it is, Mom," Lorelai agreed, "but it's also Rory's last Friday before school starts. I just thought you'd let it pass so she can spend time with her friends tomorrow night."
"Rory has plenty of time to see her friends during the day, Lorelai," Emily pointed out, "she won't miss out on much by coming over here. Besides, you've been gone for two months, it's our turn with Rory."
She had a point, Lorelai knew that. She just didn't want to admit that to her mother. "Okay, Mom, we'll be there tomorrow night."
She hung up the phone and made her way to the kitchen. Her best friend, Sookie, was head chef at the inn. They had a shared dream to someday own their own inn. She walked in to find Sookie surrounding by pots and pans, all with something boiling inside. "Hey, girlfriend," Lorelai greeted from the doorway.
Sookie turned around and let out a squeal. "Lorelai! Oh my God, you're finally home!"
They spent the next thirty minutes catching up. There was a lot of gossip that Lorelai had missed while she was away. She laughed when Sookie filled her in on the fights that had occurred at the town council meetings. One of the fights was over the tree. Another one was centered on whether Stars Hollow needed an official song. Taylor had made a visit to New York City and came home insisting that Stars Hollow needed a song like "New York, New York". Luke, of course, was opposed. He thought that was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. Taylor was so mad; he boycotted Luke's Diner for 2 weeks. Lorelai laughed so hard at that, she almost wet her pants. Michel came in the kitchen at one point and commented, "your laughing sounds like two wild hyenas." To which, they answered with another round of laughing.
Finally, Lorelai went back to the front desk to look over the mail that had accumulated. While she was reading, the front door opened. She looked up to see Max Medina walk in. Seeing Lorelai, he approached the desk. She didn't know what to do. This was the first time she had seen him since the engagement party, since she had broken up with him over the phone. She held her breath as he approached her.
"Hello, Lorelai," he said, calmly, "I called your house and Rory told me you were here."
Lorelai opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She had no idea what she could possibly say to him. Max recognized that she was uncomfortable and was grateful for that. "I didn't come here to fight," he told her, "I just wanted to see if you were okay."
"Max…." Lorelai started, finding her voice.
Before she could continue, he held up his hand. "Lorelai, I just want you to be happy," he began, "I just didn't make you happy." He smiled. "I am grateful that you realized that before we got married."
Lorelai smiled weakly. "Well, you know me, the queen of perfect timing," she cracked.
With the ice broken, Max asked her about Rory. "Is she ready for school to start?"
Lorelai laughed. "Rory was ready for school to start back in June!" she joked, "that kid of mine has a constant craving for grades and tests."
They talked for a few more minutes until Max had decided that he had to ask her about Luke. The whole time he and Lorelai were dating, he could sense that the guy did not approve of him. There had to be a reason, he figured. "I have to know something, Lorelai," he told her.
"What?" she answered, hesitantly.
"This Luke person," he started, "how close are you to him?"
Lorelai stared at him. "What do you mean?"
"You do realize he has feelings for you, don't you?"
"That's absurd!" Lorelai exclaimed. Why was everyone saying that to her" Lorelai wondered. The very idea was foreign to her, as foreign as the feelings she was beginning to have for Luke.
"You don't have to answer," Max told her, "I really have no right to ask anyway. I was just hoping that we could remain friends and friends confide in each other." Lorelai remained silent, so he continued. "If you're not ready to answer for me, maybe you can answer for yourself. Well, I have to go," he said, looking at his watch, "I have a lot of things to get done before school starts."
Lorelai watched him leave. She didn't move for several minutes, still thinking about what he had said. Quietly she picked up the mail and went into her office.
(That's all for now, peeps! Hope you enjoyed it! I welcome all of your comments.)
Author's Note: Regarding the numbers that appeared in the last chapter, I don't know how that happened. They weren't there when I uploaded. If anyone can explain how to fix the problem, I'd appreciate it.
Discovering True Love
Chapter Three: Back to Work
The next day, Lorelai awoke 30 minutes early. She was dressed and ready for work by 7:15 a.m. As she carried a mug of coffee with her, Lorelai stood at the bottom of the stairs.
"Rory? I'm leaving!" she called to her sleeping daughter.
A sleepy Rory stumbled down the stairs. Yawning, she asked her mother, "why are you up so early?"
"I have something important to do this morning before I go to work," Lorelai said, holding up a packet of fertilizer, "I have to go feed my tree."
Rory snorted. "Since when do you have a green thumb?" she asked.
"Hey!" Lorelai exclaimed, "no potshots at your mother!"
"Sorry," Rory apologized, "but, seriously Mom, why the sudden interest in trees?"
"You should have seen this tree, Rory," Lorelai said, "it looked so sad drooping in the heat. You would have done the same."
"Awwww, it was drooping? Poor wittle twee."
"Yeah, I know," Lorelai continued, getting excited, "anyway, Luke told me about Taylor's insistence on planting the tree in the heat of the summer…."
Rory interrupted her. "Wait a minute, Luke was with you when you saw the tree? Oh, I get it, Mom," she said, knowingly.
"What? What does Luke have to do with this?" Lorelai asked, innocently.
"Mom, he has everything to do with the tree. You're using this tree to avoid having to think about him. It's a distraction," Rory told her.
"Hey! Don't psycho-analyze your mother," Lorelai warned, "it's not nice."
"I call them as I see them," Rory replied, with a grin.
"Well, yeah……..I gotta go," Lorelai said, changing the subject.
Turning on her heel, she headed for the front door. Rory called out after her, "say hello to Luke for me!" She watched her mother wave good-bye as she walked out the door and muttered, "when will you see what's right in front of you, Mom?" Shaking her head, Rory decided to put it out of her mind for now and went upstairs and climbed back into bed.
Five minutes later, Lorelai walked into Luke's Diner. Luke was holding a full pitcher of water. Wordlessly, she took it out of his hands. She walked across the street (no running, she was wearing heels) and knelt down next to the tree. "Hi, it's me again," she said, as she started sprinkling some fertilizer on the ground around the roots. "I'm back like I promised. You're going to realize fast that I always keep my promises," she told the tree, as she generously poured water over the limp branches and wetting the ground around the roots. She got quiet, thinking about her life. "You're lucky, Mr. Tree," she said, quietly, "you don't have to worry about meeting a nice tree who can spend the rest of your life with." Thinking about what she just said, Lorelai wondered, "maybe you can meet a nice tree and live together forever and have nice little saplings." Shaking her head, she chided herself, "Lorelai Gilmore, you have now reached a new level of crazy." Standing up, she said goodbye and went back across the street.
Entering the diner again, she returned the pitcher to Luke and ordered a coffee to go. Puzzled, Luke repeated, "to go? You're not staying?"
"No, I got to get to work," Lorelai told him, "I've been away for too long. I have to go check on the inn." Luke poured her coffee in a to-go cup and she left after saying goodbye.
She arrived at the inn ten minutes later. Michel, her French-born concierge, was barking orders from behind the front desk. Seeing Lorelai, he said, in his thick French accent, "oh, good, you are back. The inn is all yours."
Lorelai laughed. "Gee, Michel, I missed you too," she laughed.
Michel looked at her like she was crazy. It's nice to see he hasn't changed, Lorelai thought. "What's going on here?" she asked, surveying the busy lobby.
Michel sighed dramatically. "It's a convention of bird-watchers," he drolled. "Let me ask you something, why would you need a convention for bird-watchers?"
At that moment, one of the guests came up to the desk. "Excuse me, sir?"
As Michel tended to the guest, the phone rang. Lorelai picked it up, "Independence Inn," she greeted.
"Lorelai, it would have been nice to get a phone call when you got back," her mother, Emily Gilmore intoned.
Lorelai could hear the disapproval in her mother's voice and regretted answering the phone. "Mother, how nice to hear your voice," Lorelai tried to sound cheerful.
Emily cut through the pretenses. "If that were true, Lorelai, then you would have called last night."
"I'm sorry, Mom," she tried to apologize, "we would have called but we ran into some friends on the way home and time just flew by."
"Well, are you still coming to dinner tomorrow night?" Emily asked.
"Tomorrow? Well…,"
"Tomorrow is Friday, is it not?" Emily reminded her.
"Yes, it is, Mom," Lorelai agreed, "but it's also Rory's last Friday before school starts. I just thought you'd let it pass so she can spend time with her friends tomorrow night."
"Rory has plenty of time to see her friends during the day, Lorelai," Emily pointed out, "she won't miss out on much by coming over here. Besides, you've been gone for two months, it's our turn with Rory."
She had a point, Lorelai knew that. She just didn't want to admit that to her mother. "Okay, Mom, we'll be there tomorrow night."
She hung up the phone and made her way to the kitchen. Her best friend, Sookie, was head chef at the inn. They had a shared dream to someday own their own inn. She walked in to find Sookie surrounding by pots and pans, all with something boiling inside. "Hey, girlfriend," Lorelai greeted from the doorway.
Sookie turned around and let out a squeal. "Lorelai! Oh my God, you're finally home!"
They spent the next thirty minutes catching up. There was a lot of gossip that Lorelai had missed while she was away. She laughed when Sookie filled her in on the fights that had occurred at the town council meetings. One of the fights was over the tree. Another one was centered on whether Stars Hollow needed an official song. Taylor had made a visit to New York City and came home insisting that Stars Hollow needed a song like "New York, New York". Luke, of course, was opposed. He thought that was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. Taylor was so mad; he boycotted Luke's Diner for 2 weeks. Lorelai laughed so hard at that, she almost wet her pants. Michel came in the kitchen at one point and commented, "your laughing sounds like two wild hyenas." To which, they answered with another round of laughing.
Finally, Lorelai went back to the front desk to look over the mail that had accumulated. While she was reading, the front door opened. She looked up to see Max Medina walk in. Seeing Lorelai, he approached the desk. She didn't know what to do. This was the first time she had seen him since the engagement party, since she had broken up with him over the phone. She held her breath as he approached her.
"Hello, Lorelai," he said, calmly, "I called your house and Rory told me you were here."
Lorelai opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She had no idea what she could possibly say to him. Max recognized that she was uncomfortable and was grateful for that. "I didn't come here to fight," he told her, "I just wanted to see if you were okay."
"Max…." Lorelai started, finding her voice.
Before she could continue, he held up his hand. "Lorelai, I just want you to be happy," he began, "I just didn't make you happy." He smiled. "I am grateful that you realized that before we got married."
Lorelai smiled weakly. "Well, you know me, the queen of perfect timing," she cracked.
With the ice broken, Max asked her about Rory. "Is she ready for school to start?"
Lorelai laughed. "Rory was ready for school to start back in June!" she joked, "that kid of mine has a constant craving for grades and tests."
They talked for a few more minutes until Max had decided that he had to ask her about Luke. The whole time he and Lorelai were dating, he could sense that the guy did not approve of him. There had to be a reason, he figured. "I have to know something, Lorelai," he told her.
"What?" she answered, hesitantly.
"This Luke person," he started, "how close are you to him?"
Lorelai stared at him. "What do you mean?"
"You do realize he has feelings for you, don't you?"
"That's absurd!" Lorelai exclaimed. Why was everyone saying that to her" Lorelai wondered. The very idea was foreign to her, as foreign as the feelings she was beginning to have for Luke.
"You don't have to answer," Max told her, "I really have no right to ask anyway. I was just hoping that we could remain friends and friends confide in each other." Lorelai remained silent, so he continued. "If you're not ready to answer for me, maybe you can answer for yourself. Well, I have to go," he said, looking at his watch, "I have a lot of things to get done before school starts."
Lorelai watched him leave. She didn't move for several minutes, still thinking about what he had said. Quietly she picked up the mail and went into her office.
(That's all for now, peeps! Hope you enjoyed it! I welcome all of your comments.)