Thanks everyone for all the encouragement!!!! Sorry it took awhile to get
this out-
Once Lorelai had gotten over the shock of having fallen off the roof, and then the shock that followed when she realized she had landed on LUKE, she sat up, regained her composure, and found something to say to him.
"Luke, what are you doing here?"
"What am I-- what are YOU doing falling off rooftops!?"
"Well, since you asked, this is my new job."
He got to his feet, and helped her stand, as well.
"Are you a stunt double? Am I on the set of some action movie? I mean, I still--"
He broke off midsentence and looked at the paint that was now smeared all over her shirt and pants, and also on him, in places.
"Who gave YOU a job as a painter? Lorelai, you can't even paint your nails on your own. You have Rory do it. Why are you on rooftops, painting?"
"Well Luke, I have my Before 50 List--"
"Before 50 list--" he broke in, confused, although indescribably happy to see her, but not allowing that happiness to seep into his expression and let itself be known to her.
"Things to do before I turn 50, and painting a house and bungee jumping are both on the list, and well, you know me, kill two birds with one stone."
"Lorelai."
"What! Fine, if you must know every detail of my life, I've taken up some odd jobs to make some money for the time being."
Luke shook his head, at a loss for words. Lorelai started to take a step, but stopped when pain shot through her ankle. She winced and Luke instinctively grabbed her arm.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I should be, I mean, you took the brunt of my fall," she joked.
He touched his hip, which he knew would probaby bruise later. "That's true."
She noted that he looked to be in a little pain. "Are YOU okay?"
"I'm fine," he said, seriously. He led her slowly to the stairs of Mr. Takki's house and sat her down.
He looked at her for a moment and realized that he had nothing to say. For weeks, a million things entered his mind-- things he wished he could share with her, and things he desperately wanted to tell her, but in this moment, now that he could talk to her, he couldn't think of one thing to say. He just looked at her-- paint smears on her clothes and cheek, and her hair all messy from the fall-- he noticed also she was not wearing any makeup. She looked so different from his remembrance, and yet, in her complete state of disheveled-ness, she never looked more beautiful to him. More Lorelai.
Lorelai stared down at her lap, because she feared she had been staring a little too intensely at Luke just now. She suddenly felt uncomfortable, and yet oddly at ease. She often felt that way around him, she realized. On edge. On guard. Comfortable, yet her stomach was doing jumping jacks. This complete ambivalent feeling was always there with Luke and it drove her nuts.... and yet here she was, feeling that, and feeling totally uncomfortable, and strangely at ease. The familiartity of this feeling was something she'd missed. She missed the comfort of feeling so uncomfortable around him. She knew 'uncomfortable' wasn't the right word to describe the feeling, yet it was all she could think of to do justice to her feelings lately.
Luke finally found something to say to break the unbearable silence.
"You know, if you needed extra money before the inn opens up, you could have asked me. You could have worked at the diner. I imagine you as possibly the worst waitress ever, but still. It's not like I'd ever fire you," he said, and then chided him for saying that. He figured she probably wouldn't hold it past him to fire her, as he did cut their friendship in half for no apparent reason. Well not so much as half, as he really cut it into little shreds and threw it in the garbage.
Lorelai smiled.
"I don't think that when Nicole said she wanted me around once a day, she meant my visit starts at 8 and ends at 6."
"Well a week of fulltime shifts might just about add up to the amount of lost visit time from the past two weeks. Over two weeks," he said.
"Well thanks, but I have quite a gig going on here."
He looked up at the roof she had just fallen from.
"Got that right. What's on the list for tomorrow? Cartwheels off the town hall?"
"Luke don't be ridiculous!.......... You know I can't do cartwheels. Anyway, what are YOU doing here?"
Luke indicated to a bag of food that had fallen out of his hands when she'd fallen on him, that was now lying on the grass. "Delivery."
"You don't DO deliveries."
"This old man that lives here offered me $50 extra to bring the food TO him, and hey, fifty dollars is fifty dollars. I had no idea he might think I'm a burglar, and his idea of home security is, well, you."
"Well that wasn't my fault," she explained defensively. "The stupid ladder fell down merely because I lightly kicked it, I mean isn't it supposed to be able to stand a little force. Isn't it made of steel or something?"
"It's a ladder, not Superman."
She opened her mouth, to say something smart back, but he interupted before she had a chance.
"Lorelai, why don't you come by at all? Ever. I...... I'm really sorry. You have no idea how sorry," he said quietly, as if more to himself. "I hate this. If I'd thought that asking you to come by less equaled you disappearing from my life, I never would have--"
"Luke, it's not that," she said, looking at him for a moment. But when she saw the look that Rory and Sookie had been talking about, that daunting look, she had to turn away again. She looked back at her lap again.
"Lorelai, I know I hurt you," he said, the words practically choking him as he said them. Ever since he'd known her, he'd felt such anger at anyone who ever hurt her. This wonderful woman. And here he was, the worst culprit of all, because he was someone she had trusted and NEVER thought would do that too.
She didn't say anything. She just stared at her lap, her bottom lip pouting out a little. She'd seen that look, and now she knew. He was hurting too. She took a deep breath.
"Luke, I'm sorry too. I know I'm acting like Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, over here, and you're right. You made it clear that I should come by, and my pride, or...... or something, is getting in the way of me doing that. But...... I'll get over it. Don't worry. Soon, I'll be able to do that once-a-day thing. It's just right now, I can't tell what part of the day I want to drop in. I mean, in the morning I need coffee to get through the day, but then I've used my visit so early on, and what if later, I have something, some little story about Rory or something that I want to share with you, while the excitement is still fresh, and then I can't do that later in the day because I already saw you once that day. In the morning. And..... and I don't know, in the morning, I admit, it's more about the coffee. Seeing you is a bonus, but coffee is what I need, but in the afternoon and night, it's the friendship and the coffee is the bonus, you know? So, until I can work out some of the kinks in this--- "
Luke just stared ahead, hating what he'd done. Hating that he had ever even asked her to do this. Hating that he knew, he could SEE, that she was hurting, yet she was trying to act like she wasn't so he wouldn't feel guiltly. He wouldn't let himself off the hook. He couldn't. He shook his head.
"This whole thing is so--- just forget about it. Come by whenever you want to. Please," he asked her desperately.
She finally turned and looked at him again, resolving to not look away until she had said what she needed to.
"Luke, do you want a family?"
"Yes," he said quietly.
"And for this to happen, Nicole wants me around less? Once-a-day?"
Luke shook his head, but didn't break the gaze. "Yes," he said, angrily.
"Luke, no one deserves to be happy more than you. You deserve to have someone. And start a family. Have kids. Be happy. The whole sha-bang. Everyone else has had their chance at that life. Now it's your turn. I would be the most awful friend if I stood in the way of that."
"And I AM the most awful friend for even asking you to--"
"No, Luke!"
She stopped, took a breath and looked at him again.
"You want a family, and this is how it has to be for that to happen. I'll be fine. Don't...... just don't worry about me. For once, Luke, worry about YOU. You deserve to be able to do that and be happy. Put yourself first for once. Think about what YOU want. What makes you happy. Everything else will fall into place."
She stopped talking and looked distant. She knew that it did hurt that his ultimate happiness was something she would have nothing to do with. She had never thought that would be the case. She always thought she'd get to be there for him, in some way, and be witness to everything in his life that made him happy. A hard sadness punched her, just then, in her gut it felt like, and she choked back some tears. But her look, and what she must be feeling did not go unnoticed by Luke.
"Lorelai--" he started.
"Mr. Danes, is that you!?" the confused voice of Mr. Takki broke into his sentence. Luke jumped up, off the porch steps, grabbing the food off the grass, before Mr. Takki made it out to the porch.
"Yes, Mr. Takki. Here you are," he said, handing the man his food.
"Oh hi, Miss Gilmore," Mr. Takki said, confusedly. "I, um, I am not sure why you're down here. I'm sorry, I didn't know you wanted food, I didn't order you any--"
"No, no," Lorelai started. "I was just taking a little break."
"Oh, okay. Well here, Mr. Danes," Mr. Takki said, reaching into his pocket, to pay Luke.
"No, it's okay, keep the money, Mr. Takki," Luke said. What he received for delivering food to Mr. Takki, he realized, was much more than fifty dollars, and now the money was not looking attractive to him at all.
Mr. Takki shrugged his shoulders and headed back inside. When he was out of earshot, Lorelai stood up and wobbled to Luke.
"Luke, fifty dollars is fifty dollars!"
"I don't want it. I'm just glad I could prevent you from breaking your neck. That's....... priceless."
"Ah, yes, my priceless neck. They say that's what I'm gonna go down in the books as: the Girl with a Neck Worth Saving."
"They, who?"
"Oh, you know, 'they'......" she trailed off, thinking.
He crossed his arms, amused now. "I'm not sure I know who 'they' are."
"Just 'they', that collective group of people who are always saying things," she explained.
"Saying things like......" he encouraged.
"Like 'you catch more flies with honey' and 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away',"
"I thought doctors actually SAID that," Luke started, to which Lorelai just looked confused.
"What doctors do YOU know that tell you that you catch more flies with---"
"No!" Luke started, feigning frustration, although inside he was overwhelmed with excitement at the familiar feeling that bantering with Lorelai gave him. "Not..... nevermind. But you're claiming that these people, 'they', have said that you have a neck worth saving?"
"Yup. One in the same," she said, as if she believed it.
"Well I lost you somewhere back there, I'm not even sure what we're talking about anymore," Luke said, truthfully.
"Well I think you were leaving, and I was about to go pick up that ladder and get back to work."
"I don't think so," Luke said, looking at her right ankle, which she wasn't putting any pressure on. "You can't even stand on that, and if you end up back there," he said, looking at the roof, "you'll fall off again, and neither I nor THEY will be there to save your neck!"
Lorelai just pouted, looking at him. She opened her mouth to argue, but before she could say anything, Luke had disappeared into Mr. Takki's house. He momentarily returned.
"Okay, where's your car? You're getting the day off. You're sick."
"Luke, I need that money!"
"He's still paying you. As long as the roof gets finished."
"And how am I supposed to finish the roof from one town over?" she challenged.
"Figure that out tomorrow," he said. And before she could argue, "Lorelai, you need to ice your ankle, you can barely stand on it. You know you can't get back up there today. Where's you car?" he asked again.
"It's at Java," she finally said, defeated.
"That little coffee shop down the street?" he asked, to which she nodded her head. She could have sworn that a look of sheer jealously flashed over his expression quickly, at the idea that she was drinking coffee elsewhere. Then the look transformed to realization, as his question about her coffee provision of late was answered. "They let you park your car there all day?"
"Oh yeah, it was their idea. They don't care. Well, as long as we're heading there, I might as well get a cup of coffee," she said, more to herself.
He helped her into his truck and shut the passenger door. While he was heading to the driver's side, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in all the familiar smells of his truck. The smells made her want to cry-- they reminded her of so many things Luke. That smell of warmth, brought over from the diner, no doubt, mixed with work, sweat, the smell of Luke himself, and his flannel shirts-- that laundry smell-- just Luke. As he opened the driver's side door to get in, a gust of wind bustled into the truck, and made a streak on Lorelai's cheek suddenly feel freezing cold. It was only then that she realized she really was starting to cry.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Luke asked, noticing this as well.
"My eyes run when I'm cold," she quickly explained, swiping at her eyes, and trying not to think about the smells that were overwhelming her senses. She looked out her window and didn't say anything for the remainder of the ride.
Luke felt a familiar tightening in his chest--- that he had often felt in these past two weeks, when he thought about how he had hurt his best friend so badly--- and he just stared blankly ahead, not knowing what to say.
He dropped her off at Java, and watched her limp inside, order a coffee, toast the guy working there, and drink her cup. He pulled his truck out and left before she noticed that he was still there. He didn't want her to think he was stalking her or something.
On the drive home, he smiled to himself, glad to have seen her. Seen that she looks okay. It assured him that she WAS finding somewhere to eat, and he was glad she was in good supply of coffee, although the thought of her sharing that cup of coffee with that other guy behind the counter did cause his smile to momentarily fade, and a strange feeling to enter his gut. But as soon as the feeling entered, he dismissed it and remembered that today was the first day where he forgot about his inner torments for awhile, and was actually happy. He had actually smiled and meant it today. When she was going off Lorelai-style, in front of him. It made him smile now, just thinking about it.
He hoped that she would listen to what he had said before they parted. He had asked to her stop by tonight. He had a desperate look in his eyes when he asked--- he knew he did. She had said she might, and she actually looked like she meant it.
He couldn't figure out why her eyes were tearing when he got into the truck, but he found himself now thinking about that. His instincts told him it had little to do with the weather, though. He frowned at the thought that he made her cry. And probably not for the first time. He suspected, just from talking to her today, and that night, that she cried before, because of him. He shook his head, like he was trying to shake away those thoughts, and just concentrated on driving back to the diner. The diner that just seemed so unfulfilling lately. So empty. So lonely.
Later that night---
Lorelai stepped up to the entrance of the diner and took a deep breath, before entering. She braced herself, put her head confidently in the air, and opened the door. She looked around. Luke was nowhere in sight. She went over to the counter and sat down, nervously. This common action, that had once been a constant in her life, seemed foreign to her now, and her heart-rate sped up in doing it. She was nervous. She wasn't sure she could even handle coffee right now.
"Lorelai?"
Lorelai looked up and saw Nicole approaching the counter, taking a seat next to her.
"Nicole! Hi," she said, now more nervous than ever.
"Hi, Lorelai," Nicole said, and there it was. That smile. That was neither genuine nor happy at Lorelai's presence.
"Wow, Nicole, nice shirt. It really brings out your eyes. I really love it! Where did you buy it?" Lorelai babbled nervously, rolling her eyes at how she knew she sounded.
"I made it," Nicole said, a little icily. "Um, so is this your first time here today?" Nicole asked, trying to sound casual.
At that moment, the entire arrangement, and how painful it was for Lorelai came rushing back to Lorelai, and she stood up.
"Uh, yeah, but actually, I can't stay. I.. I really should be going."
"Oh, okay," Nicole said, trying to seem sorry that Lorelai was leaving.
"Well, you take care, Nicole, I'll, um, see you later," Lorelai said and turned to quickly head out of the diner.
Luke headed out of the backroom and saw the back of Lorelai's wobbling form head out the door, and the bell jingle. He was speechless. "She came," he thought. Once the shock subsided, he ran to the door.
"Lorelai!"
Lorelai stopped and turned to look at him. She had allowed a tear to fall and looked at him nervously, and then over his shoulder at Nicole. Confused, he turned to look at what she was looking at. Nicole. He jumped at her presence and turned, letting go of the door.
As soon as his back was turned, Lorelai took off for home.
Back at the diner---
"What just happened?" Luke asked.
"Nothing. She came, she saw, she conquered," Nicole tried to joke.
Luke didn't crack a smile, he didn't blink, he just demanded an answer without saying a word.
"What? She came in, sat down, we talked and she decided she didn't want to stay."
"What was talked about?" he asked, feigning patience.
"I just asked her how many times she'd been in today, or something like that," Nicole said, obviously seeing this as harmless.
Luke's gaze widened, and he shook his head, disgustedly. Before he could say anything, the bell over the door jingled, which caused Luke to jump, as he was standing right next to the door. He whipped his face around, only to be faced with his nephew.
"Okay, Uncle Luke, I'm here, I have paint brushes.. this better be good," Jess said.
"Jess, it's a pleasure to see you," Nicole said.
Jess rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it is."
Nicole made a face at that, and turned her attention to Luke. "Luke's what's this about? What's he talking about, paint brushes?"
Luke didn't acknowledge her. He walked back to the counter, grabbed his coat, said something to Caesar and joined Jess at the front door.
"Luke," Nicole said, grabbing his arm.
"Don't wait up," he said, coldly, before heading out with Jess for the night.
Once Lorelai had gotten over the shock of having fallen off the roof, and then the shock that followed when she realized she had landed on LUKE, she sat up, regained her composure, and found something to say to him.
"Luke, what are you doing here?"
"What am I-- what are YOU doing falling off rooftops!?"
"Well, since you asked, this is my new job."
He got to his feet, and helped her stand, as well.
"Are you a stunt double? Am I on the set of some action movie? I mean, I still--"
He broke off midsentence and looked at the paint that was now smeared all over her shirt and pants, and also on him, in places.
"Who gave YOU a job as a painter? Lorelai, you can't even paint your nails on your own. You have Rory do it. Why are you on rooftops, painting?"
"Well Luke, I have my Before 50 List--"
"Before 50 list--" he broke in, confused, although indescribably happy to see her, but not allowing that happiness to seep into his expression and let itself be known to her.
"Things to do before I turn 50, and painting a house and bungee jumping are both on the list, and well, you know me, kill two birds with one stone."
"Lorelai."
"What! Fine, if you must know every detail of my life, I've taken up some odd jobs to make some money for the time being."
Luke shook his head, at a loss for words. Lorelai started to take a step, but stopped when pain shot through her ankle. She winced and Luke instinctively grabbed her arm.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I should be, I mean, you took the brunt of my fall," she joked.
He touched his hip, which he knew would probaby bruise later. "That's true."
She noted that he looked to be in a little pain. "Are YOU okay?"
"I'm fine," he said, seriously. He led her slowly to the stairs of Mr. Takki's house and sat her down.
He looked at her for a moment and realized that he had nothing to say. For weeks, a million things entered his mind-- things he wished he could share with her, and things he desperately wanted to tell her, but in this moment, now that he could talk to her, he couldn't think of one thing to say. He just looked at her-- paint smears on her clothes and cheek, and her hair all messy from the fall-- he noticed also she was not wearing any makeup. She looked so different from his remembrance, and yet, in her complete state of disheveled-ness, she never looked more beautiful to him. More Lorelai.
Lorelai stared down at her lap, because she feared she had been staring a little too intensely at Luke just now. She suddenly felt uncomfortable, and yet oddly at ease. She often felt that way around him, she realized. On edge. On guard. Comfortable, yet her stomach was doing jumping jacks. This complete ambivalent feeling was always there with Luke and it drove her nuts.... and yet here she was, feeling that, and feeling totally uncomfortable, and strangely at ease. The familiartity of this feeling was something she'd missed. She missed the comfort of feeling so uncomfortable around him. She knew 'uncomfortable' wasn't the right word to describe the feeling, yet it was all she could think of to do justice to her feelings lately.
Luke finally found something to say to break the unbearable silence.
"You know, if you needed extra money before the inn opens up, you could have asked me. You could have worked at the diner. I imagine you as possibly the worst waitress ever, but still. It's not like I'd ever fire you," he said, and then chided him for saying that. He figured she probably wouldn't hold it past him to fire her, as he did cut their friendship in half for no apparent reason. Well not so much as half, as he really cut it into little shreds and threw it in the garbage.
Lorelai smiled.
"I don't think that when Nicole said she wanted me around once a day, she meant my visit starts at 8 and ends at 6."
"Well a week of fulltime shifts might just about add up to the amount of lost visit time from the past two weeks. Over two weeks," he said.
"Well thanks, but I have quite a gig going on here."
He looked up at the roof she had just fallen from.
"Got that right. What's on the list for tomorrow? Cartwheels off the town hall?"
"Luke don't be ridiculous!.......... You know I can't do cartwheels. Anyway, what are YOU doing here?"
Luke indicated to a bag of food that had fallen out of his hands when she'd fallen on him, that was now lying on the grass. "Delivery."
"You don't DO deliveries."
"This old man that lives here offered me $50 extra to bring the food TO him, and hey, fifty dollars is fifty dollars. I had no idea he might think I'm a burglar, and his idea of home security is, well, you."
"Well that wasn't my fault," she explained defensively. "The stupid ladder fell down merely because I lightly kicked it, I mean isn't it supposed to be able to stand a little force. Isn't it made of steel or something?"
"It's a ladder, not Superman."
She opened her mouth, to say something smart back, but he interupted before she had a chance.
"Lorelai, why don't you come by at all? Ever. I...... I'm really sorry. You have no idea how sorry," he said quietly, as if more to himself. "I hate this. If I'd thought that asking you to come by less equaled you disappearing from my life, I never would have--"
"Luke, it's not that," she said, looking at him for a moment. But when she saw the look that Rory and Sookie had been talking about, that daunting look, she had to turn away again. She looked back at her lap again.
"Lorelai, I know I hurt you," he said, the words practically choking him as he said them. Ever since he'd known her, he'd felt such anger at anyone who ever hurt her. This wonderful woman. And here he was, the worst culprit of all, because he was someone she had trusted and NEVER thought would do that too.
She didn't say anything. She just stared at her lap, her bottom lip pouting out a little. She'd seen that look, and now she knew. He was hurting too. She took a deep breath.
"Luke, I'm sorry too. I know I'm acting like Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, over here, and you're right. You made it clear that I should come by, and my pride, or...... or something, is getting in the way of me doing that. But...... I'll get over it. Don't worry. Soon, I'll be able to do that once-a-day thing. It's just right now, I can't tell what part of the day I want to drop in. I mean, in the morning I need coffee to get through the day, but then I've used my visit so early on, and what if later, I have something, some little story about Rory or something that I want to share with you, while the excitement is still fresh, and then I can't do that later in the day because I already saw you once that day. In the morning. And..... and I don't know, in the morning, I admit, it's more about the coffee. Seeing you is a bonus, but coffee is what I need, but in the afternoon and night, it's the friendship and the coffee is the bonus, you know? So, until I can work out some of the kinks in this--- "
Luke just stared ahead, hating what he'd done. Hating that he had ever even asked her to do this. Hating that he knew, he could SEE, that she was hurting, yet she was trying to act like she wasn't so he wouldn't feel guiltly. He wouldn't let himself off the hook. He couldn't. He shook his head.
"This whole thing is so--- just forget about it. Come by whenever you want to. Please," he asked her desperately.
She finally turned and looked at him again, resolving to not look away until she had said what she needed to.
"Luke, do you want a family?"
"Yes," he said quietly.
"And for this to happen, Nicole wants me around less? Once-a-day?"
Luke shook his head, but didn't break the gaze. "Yes," he said, angrily.
"Luke, no one deserves to be happy more than you. You deserve to have someone. And start a family. Have kids. Be happy. The whole sha-bang. Everyone else has had their chance at that life. Now it's your turn. I would be the most awful friend if I stood in the way of that."
"And I AM the most awful friend for even asking you to--"
"No, Luke!"
She stopped, took a breath and looked at him again.
"You want a family, and this is how it has to be for that to happen. I'll be fine. Don't...... just don't worry about me. For once, Luke, worry about YOU. You deserve to be able to do that and be happy. Put yourself first for once. Think about what YOU want. What makes you happy. Everything else will fall into place."
She stopped talking and looked distant. She knew that it did hurt that his ultimate happiness was something she would have nothing to do with. She had never thought that would be the case. She always thought she'd get to be there for him, in some way, and be witness to everything in his life that made him happy. A hard sadness punched her, just then, in her gut it felt like, and she choked back some tears. But her look, and what she must be feeling did not go unnoticed by Luke.
"Lorelai--" he started.
"Mr. Danes, is that you!?" the confused voice of Mr. Takki broke into his sentence. Luke jumped up, off the porch steps, grabbing the food off the grass, before Mr. Takki made it out to the porch.
"Yes, Mr. Takki. Here you are," he said, handing the man his food.
"Oh hi, Miss Gilmore," Mr. Takki said, confusedly. "I, um, I am not sure why you're down here. I'm sorry, I didn't know you wanted food, I didn't order you any--"
"No, no," Lorelai started. "I was just taking a little break."
"Oh, okay. Well here, Mr. Danes," Mr. Takki said, reaching into his pocket, to pay Luke.
"No, it's okay, keep the money, Mr. Takki," Luke said. What he received for delivering food to Mr. Takki, he realized, was much more than fifty dollars, and now the money was not looking attractive to him at all.
Mr. Takki shrugged his shoulders and headed back inside. When he was out of earshot, Lorelai stood up and wobbled to Luke.
"Luke, fifty dollars is fifty dollars!"
"I don't want it. I'm just glad I could prevent you from breaking your neck. That's....... priceless."
"Ah, yes, my priceless neck. They say that's what I'm gonna go down in the books as: the Girl with a Neck Worth Saving."
"They, who?"
"Oh, you know, 'they'......" she trailed off, thinking.
He crossed his arms, amused now. "I'm not sure I know who 'they' are."
"Just 'they', that collective group of people who are always saying things," she explained.
"Saying things like......" he encouraged.
"Like 'you catch more flies with honey' and 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away',"
"I thought doctors actually SAID that," Luke started, to which Lorelai just looked confused.
"What doctors do YOU know that tell you that you catch more flies with---"
"No!" Luke started, feigning frustration, although inside he was overwhelmed with excitement at the familiar feeling that bantering with Lorelai gave him. "Not..... nevermind. But you're claiming that these people, 'they', have said that you have a neck worth saving?"
"Yup. One in the same," she said, as if she believed it.
"Well I lost you somewhere back there, I'm not even sure what we're talking about anymore," Luke said, truthfully.
"Well I think you were leaving, and I was about to go pick up that ladder and get back to work."
"I don't think so," Luke said, looking at her right ankle, which she wasn't putting any pressure on. "You can't even stand on that, and if you end up back there," he said, looking at the roof, "you'll fall off again, and neither I nor THEY will be there to save your neck!"
Lorelai just pouted, looking at him. She opened her mouth to argue, but before she could say anything, Luke had disappeared into Mr. Takki's house. He momentarily returned.
"Okay, where's your car? You're getting the day off. You're sick."
"Luke, I need that money!"
"He's still paying you. As long as the roof gets finished."
"And how am I supposed to finish the roof from one town over?" she challenged.
"Figure that out tomorrow," he said. And before she could argue, "Lorelai, you need to ice your ankle, you can barely stand on it. You know you can't get back up there today. Where's you car?" he asked again.
"It's at Java," she finally said, defeated.
"That little coffee shop down the street?" he asked, to which she nodded her head. She could have sworn that a look of sheer jealously flashed over his expression quickly, at the idea that she was drinking coffee elsewhere. Then the look transformed to realization, as his question about her coffee provision of late was answered. "They let you park your car there all day?"
"Oh yeah, it was their idea. They don't care. Well, as long as we're heading there, I might as well get a cup of coffee," she said, more to herself.
He helped her into his truck and shut the passenger door. While he was heading to the driver's side, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in all the familiar smells of his truck. The smells made her want to cry-- they reminded her of so many things Luke. That smell of warmth, brought over from the diner, no doubt, mixed with work, sweat, the smell of Luke himself, and his flannel shirts-- that laundry smell-- just Luke. As he opened the driver's side door to get in, a gust of wind bustled into the truck, and made a streak on Lorelai's cheek suddenly feel freezing cold. It was only then that she realized she really was starting to cry.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Luke asked, noticing this as well.
"My eyes run when I'm cold," she quickly explained, swiping at her eyes, and trying not to think about the smells that were overwhelming her senses. She looked out her window and didn't say anything for the remainder of the ride.
Luke felt a familiar tightening in his chest--- that he had often felt in these past two weeks, when he thought about how he had hurt his best friend so badly--- and he just stared blankly ahead, not knowing what to say.
He dropped her off at Java, and watched her limp inside, order a coffee, toast the guy working there, and drink her cup. He pulled his truck out and left before she noticed that he was still there. He didn't want her to think he was stalking her or something.
On the drive home, he smiled to himself, glad to have seen her. Seen that she looks okay. It assured him that she WAS finding somewhere to eat, and he was glad she was in good supply of coffee, although the thought of her sharing that cup of coffee with that other guy behind the counter did cause his smile to momentarily fade, and a strange feeling to enter his gut. But as soon as the feeling entered, he dismissed it and remembered that today was the first day where he forgot about his inner torments for awhile, and was actually happy. He had actually smiled and meant it today. When she was going off Lorelai-style, in front of him. It made him smile now, just thinking about it.
He hoped that she would listen to what he had said before they parted. He had asked to her stop by tonight. He had a desperate look in his eyes when he asked--- he knew he did. She had said she might, and she actually looked like she meant it.
He couldn't figure out why her eyes were tearing when he got into the truck, but he found himself now thinking about that. His instincts told him it had little to do with the weather, though. He frowned at the thought that he made her cry. And probably not for the first time. He suspected, just from talking to her today, and that night, that she cried before, because of him. He shook his head, like he was trying to shake away those thoughts, and just concentrated on driving back to the diner. The diner that just seemed so unfulfilling lately. So empty. So lonely.
Later that night---
Lorelai stepped up to the entrance of the diner and took a deep breath, before entering. She braced herself, put her head confidently in the air, and opened the door. She looked around. Luke was nowhere in sight. She went over to the counter and sat down, nervously. This common action, that had once been a constant in her life, seemed foreign to her now, and her heart-rate sped up in doing it. She was nervous. She wasn't sure she could even handle coffee right now.
"Lorelai?"
Lorelai looked up and saw Nicole approaching the counter, taking a seat next to her.
"Nicole! Hi," she said, now more nervous than ever.
"Hi, Lorelai," Nicole said, and there it was. That smile. That was neither genuine nor happy at Lorelai's presence.
"Wow, Nicole, nice shirt. It really brings out your eyes. I really love it! Where did you buy it?" Lorelai babbled nervously, rolling her eyes at how she knew she sounded.
"I made it," Nicole said, a little icily. "Um, so is this your first time here today?" Nicole asked, trying to sound casual.
At that moment, the entire arrangement, and how painful it was for Lorelai came rushing back to Lorelai, and she stood up.
"Uh, yeah, but actually, I can't stay. I.. I really should be going."
"Oh, okay," Nicole said, trying to seem sorry that Lorelai was leaving.
"Well, you take care, Nicole, I'll, um, see you later," Lorelai said and turned to quickly head out of the diner.
Luke headed out of the backroom and saw the back of Lorelai's wobbling form head out the door, and the bell jingle. He was speechless. "She came," he thought. Once the shock subsided, he ran to the door.
"Lorelai!"
Lorelai stopped and turned to look at him. She had allowed a tear to fall and looked at him nervously, and then over his shoulder at Nicole. Confused, he turned to look at what she was looking at. Nicole. He jumped at her presence and turned, letting go of the door.
As soon as his back was turned, Lorelai took off for home.
Back at the diner---
"What just happened?" Luke asked.
"Nothing. She came, she saw, she conquered," Nicole tried to joke.
Luke didn't crack a smile, he didn't blink, he just demanded an answer without saying a word.
"What? She came in, sat down, we talked and she decided she didn't want to stay."
"What was talked about?" he asked, feigning patience.
"I just asked her how many times she'd been in today, or something like that," Nicole said, obviously seeing this as harmless.
Luke's gaze widened, and he shook his head, disgustedly. Before he could say anything, the bell over the door jingled, which caused Luke to jump, as he was standing right next to the door. He whipped his face around, only to be faced with his nephew.
"Okay, Uncle Luke, I'm here, I have paint brushes.. this better be good," Jess said.
"Jess, it's a pleasure to see you," Nicole said.
Jess rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it is."
Nicole made a face at that, and turned her attention to Luke. "Luke's what's this about? What's he talking about, paint brushes?"
Luke didn't acknowledge her. He walked back to the counter, grabbed his coat, said something to Caesar and joined Jess at the front door.
"Luke," Nicole said, grabbing his arm.
"Don't wait up," he said, coldly, before heading out with Jess for the night.