"It's Still There – part 21"
. . . . .
When Luke turned onto Main Street and headed toward the town square, it was Sookie who first saw the crowds gathered near the gazebo up ahead. "What's that?"
"I don't know," Lorelai replied. "I see a lot of balloons. . .it looks like someone's having a party." She scoffed. "How come we weren't invited?"
Jackson and Rory exchanged a smile in the backseat. As the car circled the gazebo, everyone in the crowd was staring and waving enthusiastically at them. "Why are they so excited to see us?" Lorelai asked, then narrowed her eyes when she saw Kirk wearing nothing but a large diaper. "And what the hell is Kirk doing?"
Sookie suddenly gasped. "Oh my God!" She tapped Lorelai excitedly on the shoulder. "Look up there!"
Lorelai glanced up, and her eyes widened when she saw the "Congratulations Lorelai!" and "Congratulations Sookie!" signs that were hanging from the top of the gazebo.
"Oh. . .my. . .God." Lorelai clapped a hand over her mouth as she stared out at the crowd.
"This is a party for us?" Sookie asked Jackson, and he smiled and nodded. "Oh my God!"
"Welcome to your baby shower," Luke announced as he parked the car. He got out and quickly walked around to Lorelai's door. He helped her out of the car as the other three climbed out of the backseat.
The crowd had walked over to greet them, and the still-in-shock guests of honor talked with the townspeople for a few minutes before everyone dispersed to let them take it all in.
Lorelai and Sookie stood staring in amazement at the scene in front of them. People were already lined up at the games and refreshment tables, balloons were everywhere, music was playing, and two large piles of presents were underneath the banners.
Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "This is absolutely incredible."
Sookie took a deep breath and fanned her face. "I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry."
"I already am." Lorelai wiped the tears that had formed in her eyes, then turned to Luke and Rory. "I'm assuming you guys had something to do with this?"
Rory smiled. "Luke, Jackson, and I planned it, but everyone else helped pull it all together." She stepped forward and hugged Lorelai. "Happy Baby Shower, Mom."
"Thank you, sweetie." Lorelai kissed her on the cheek, then stepped up to Luke. "I can't believe you were able to keep this a secret."
"Yeah. Me, either."
She smiled and kissed him. "Thank you."
He pulled her into a hug. "You're welcome."
Lorelai thanked Jackson with a hug while Sookie did the same with Rory and Luke, and then Lorelai turned to Sookie. "What do you say we go have some fun at our shower, huh?"
Sookie nodded and giggled with excitement. "Let's go!"
. . . . .
Lorelai and Sookie mingled with the guests and played the shower games for a while, then headed for the refreshments. They each fixed themselves a plate and sat down at a table to eat. Lorelai smiled at the tablecloth with babies all over it. "Look how cute."
"I know, everything is so amazing," Sookie said, and she put a hand to her chest. "I'm so overwhelmed, I had no idea this was coming. A joint shower was such a good idea."
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it was. I'm glad we get to share something like this with each other."
"Me, too." Sookie raised her glass of water. "To us." Lorelai smiled and clinked her cup against Sookie's.
As they were eating, Miss Patty came to sit with them. "Hello, ladies. How are we doing?"
"Excellent," Lorelai replied. "Sookie and I were just saying how great this shower is."
"Nothing but the best for Stars Hollow's favorite knocked-up gals," Miss Patty said.
Lorelai smiled. "That's so eloquent." She glanced past Patty and saw a familiar car coming down the street. "Hm. That looks like. . ." The car pulled to a stop, and Emily and Richard climbed out. ". . .my parents. Huh."
"Aw, that's nice that they came," Sookie said.
"Yeah." Lorelai watched them pull a wrapped gift out of their trunk. "Ooh, and even nicer that they brought a present." They pulled another one out. "Ooh, two presents. One for you and one for me, I'm guessing?"
"Oh, that's so sweet," Sookie said. "We should go say hello."
Lorelai glanced down at her plate of desserts. "Hm, maybe when I'm done." She shoved a cookie in her mouth. "Where are our husbands? They mingled with us for a few minutes, then disappeared."
Sookie gestured toward the other side of the gazebo. "There are a bunch of guys over there drinking and talking about sports. They're probably with them." She stood up. "Bathroom break. Be right back."
"Okay." Lorelai glanced across the lawn and saw Rory and Lane walking over to greet Emily and Richard. After talking for a moment, the girls took the presents from them and walked away, and Emily and Richard walked over to survey the refreshments.
Lorelai sighed and stood up. "I guess I should probably go say hello before they see me and complain that I didn't. Watch my plate for me?"
"Will do," Patty replied.
Lorelai walked over to her parents. "Hey guys."
They turned around and smiled when they saw her. "Lorelai, hello," Emily greeted her. "Happy Baby Shower."
"Thanks, Mom. I'm glad you guys could come."
"Sorry we're late," Richard apologized. "We had a previous engagement that ran a little overtime."
"Oh, that's okay," Lorelai said.
"So, were you surprised?" Emily asked. "When Rory called to invite us a couple of weeks ago, she said it might be difficult trying to plan this thing around you and Sookie."
"Well, everyone did a good job keeping it hush-hush because we didn't suspect a thing," Lorelai said.
"It looks like a festive gathering," Richard commented, glancing around.
"Yeah, you guys should try some of the games," Lorelai suggested. "Baby bottle bowling and the diaper toss are my personal favorites."
"The diaper toss?" Emily wrinkled her nose with disdain at the idea.
"It's more fun than it sounds," Lorelai assured her. "So. . .uh, Sookie and I are eating at that table over there if you wanna get some food and come sit with us."
"That'd be nice," Emily replied. "We'll be right over."
Lorelai headed back to her table and stifled a giggle as she passed by Kirk, who was adjusting his oversized diaper. She sat back down with Patty and asked, "Did Kirk lose a bet to wear that thing?"
Patty glanced over at him and smirked. "No, actually, he volunteered. He even had the diaper already."
Lorelai shook her head, clearly amused. "Somebody needs to follow him around with a video camera. His life would make one hell of a reality show."
. . . . .
A little while later, Lorelai and Sookie found Luke and Jackson, and the four of them gathered by the gazebo to open presents. Soon blankets, bibs, toys, unisex baby clothes, bottles, diapers, and other baby-related products surrounded them. The biggest gifts were saved for last, and both of them received an infant car seat and a stroller.
After all the gifts were opened, several people came up to look at them closer, and Luke drifted away from the crowd. Lorelai watched him grab a beer from one of the drink coolers, then walk across the street and sit down on a bench in front of the dance studio.
Lorelai sighed, then leaned toward Sookie. "I can tell something's bothering Luke. . ."
"He probably still has a headache."
"No, I think it's more than that."
"Well, he'll probably tell you later."
"Why not now? I hate when he holds things in like this and acts all moody."
"He doesn't want to ruin the baby shower," Sookie pointed out. "He's staying quiet, letting you have your moment. At least he's still here for you. . .most guys in a bad mood would just leave."
"Yeah, true. At least he's sticking it out." Lorelai glanced back over at him nursing his beer on the bench. "I think I'm gonna. . ." She gestured toward him, and Sookie nodded understandably.
Lorelai stood up and walked over to Luke. "Hey you."
"Hi." He took a swig of his beer and patted the bench next to him. She sat down and he put his arm around her. "How's the party?"
"It's great, I'm loving it," Lorelai replied.
"Good."
"But I could love it a little more if I could focus my entire brain on enjoying it," Lorelai said. "But instead there's this little piece of it that's too concerned with what's bothering you, and it's throwing the whole enjoying-it thing off."
Luke sighed. "Lorelai."
"Please, Luke," Lorelai pouted. "I hate seeing that you're upset about something but not being able to fix it because you won't talk to me."
"You wouldn't be able to fix it anyway," he muttered.
"So, what, you're just gonna be grumpy forever and never tell me what's wrong?" Lorelai ran her hand over his thigh. "Come on, Luke. I love you, I need to know what's up."
Luke let out a sigh, then stood up and held out his hand. "Come on." She grabbed his hand and he helped her up, then led her into the dance studio. He shut the door behind them. "With everyone out there..."
"Privacy. Yeah, I get it." Lorelai sat down in a chair in the corner of the room and stared expectantly at Luke.
He finished off his beer and tossed the can in the trash, then shoved his hands in his pockets. He took a deep breath and declared, "I'm going to be a father."
Lorelai eyed him curiously for a moment. "Yeah. . .and?"
Luke shook his head. "No, you don't get it. . .I'm going to be a father. A father."
"Okay, did it just hit you today that this thing growing in my stomach is an actual kid?" Lorelai asked. "Did you think it was a cat or something?"
"No, I knew it was a kid, but. . .I don't know. . ." He shrugged. "Until today. . .it didn't really hit me that there's so much you have to know to raise a kid. And it's getting closer. . . it's only two months away. . ."
"I know."
Luke put his hands on his head and paced back and forth in front of her. He began rambling quickly, "Do you ever think that maybe it all went too fast? I mean, we got married, and then – boom – it's like the next day we're having a baby. I mean, that's not usually how it goes, right?" He threw his hands around in some aimless gestures. "There's supposed to be some sort of transition period after you get married where you take some time to get used to the whole marriage thing and then you decide to have kids and then you have them and it's all nice and spread out. I mean, I know neither of us are getting any younger, but having to go from being a bachelor to being a married father so fast is. . .it's crazy. Doesn't it seem a little crazy that we're having a baby already?" His face was red and he was out of breath from his quickly delivered diatribe.
Lorelai stared at him with wide eyes for several moments, unsure of how to respond. Finally, she pursed her lips, closed her eyes, and shook her head in disbelief. She stood up and started walking toward the door.
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "Wait, where are you going?"
She stopped at the door with one hand on the handle. "I'm leaving."
He walked over to her. "I just told you what's bothering me, and now you're walking away without saying anything?"
"You want me to say something?" Lorelai turned around to face him. "I think you're a jerk. There. I said something."
Luke scoffed. "What? Why am I a jerk?"
"Because of what you just said to me, Luke!" Lorelai exclaimed. She walked past him to the other side of the studio. "Ugh, I can't even look at you right now. We tried for two months to get pregnant, and then we finally did, and after months of telling me how happy you were about it, you're telling me now at my baby shower. . ." Her lower lip trembled and she swallowed hard to hold back her tears. ". . .that you don't want this baby anymore? How could you be so. . . " Her voice trailed off into a sob and she covered her face with her hands as she began crying. "How could you do that to me?" she choked out.
Luke quickly crossed the room to her. "That's not what I said." He tried to comfort her with a hug, but she nudged him away with her elbow.
"Just leave me alone," she mumbled through some sniffles.
Luke let out a frustrated sigh. "Lorelai, I didn't say that I don't want it."
She wiped some tears away and took a deep breath. "I just really need to not be near you right now, Luke. Just leave."
"No, we're not done here."
Lorelai huffed. "Then I'll leave."
She started to walk toward the door, but he grabbed her arm. "Lorelai. . .wait. . ."
"Just leave me alone, Luke," she exclaimed. "I heard you loud and clear – you don't wanna be a father. There, the discussion's over."
"It's not over," Luke said sternly. "I didn't – "
"I suppose next week you'll decide that you don't wanna be a husband anymore either," Lorelai interrupted, shaking her head slightly. "I knew things were going way too good to be true."
"Will you just listen to me, please?" Luke asked loudly. "I never said I don't want this baby."
"Then why would you say what you did?" Lorelai exclaimed. "Why the hell would you tell me that maybe we moved too fast and that us having a baby is crazy?"
Luke threw his arms up with frustration and exclaimed, "Because I'm scared outta my mind to be a father!" His loud voice echoed through the empty dance studio, and Lorelai's eyes widened with surprise. He took a few deep breaths, then more calmly said, "I'm scared, okay? I wasn't before, but. . .now. . .it's only two months away." He swallowed and glanced down at the ground. "I want to be a father. I just don't think I'm gonna be a good one."
Lorelai frowned and cocked her head to the side. "Aw, Luke..." She stepped forward and hugged him.
He kissed her cheek and gently stroked her hair. They hugged silently for almost a minute before he whispered, "I'm just worried and freakin' out and talkin' crazy. I didn't mean what I said."
Lorelai sniffled against his shoulder. "Promise?"
"Yes. I don't really think we went too fast," he assured her. "That was just. . .forget that. I want this more than anything."
"Good, because you're getting it now whether you want it or not." She pulled back and sighed up at him. "You're going to be an amazing father, Luke. Look at how you are with Rory."
Luke shook his head. "Rory's different. I never had to deal with her as a baby. I couldn't even change a diaper today at that stupid class."
"Neither could half the other guys there," Lorelai pointed out. "It's not something everyone gets down after five minutes. Plus, it was a doll – they're lighter than an actual baby, so it'll be easier with the real thing."
"I wasn't good at making the bottle either."
"You're not the only one who spilled it. Accidents happen."
"I dropped the doll on the floor three times," Luke reminded her. "What if I drop our kid?"
Lorelai exhaled slowly and laced her fingers through his. "Luke. . .you're gonna be fine. I have never once doubted that you're gonna be a great dad, and you shouldn't either."
Luke shook his head. "That class today made me realize that I'm not as ready as I thought I was."
"Forget about the class, Luke," Lorelai said. "You are ready – you don't have to know every little detail about raising kids to be a good dad. Part of being a good dad is actually wanting to be a good dad, and you've got that part down. Once the baby comes and you get used to it and you finally realize that you're great with it, you'll be fine. That's how it was with Rory. I was terrified at first, but after a while, you fall into this parental state of mind and everything works out." She kissed him, then comfortingly rubbed his arms as she smiled up at him. "You're gonna be great, Luke. Believe me."
Though some nervousness about fatherhood remained, Luke shook his head in amazement at how he suddenly felt better about the situation. Her words could comfort him like no one else's could. He pulled her into a hug, muttering, "God, I love you so much." He placed a few soft kisses along her neck. "Do I have to tell you how amazing you are?"
Lorelai shrugged it off. "Nah, I already know."
Luke cradled her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. As he pulled back, he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "Sorry for getting you upset."
"It's okay. You might wanna apologize to the baby, though." She ran her hands over her stomach. "I felt it jump a couple of times. I think the yelling scared it."
"Oh, right. . .I forgot it can hear in there." He crouched down in front of her and ran a hand over her stomach. "Sorry, baby. We promise not to yell anymore."
"Hey, speak for yourself," Lorelai scolded him. "You might do something to annoy me and I'll start yelling, and then the baby will be like, 'I thought they promised they wouldn't yell anymore. I guess my family is full of liars. I'm never coming out!' and then I'll have a baby stuck inside me forever and it'll be all your fault."
Luke rolled his eyes as he stood up. "Are you ready to get back out there?"
She nodded and wiped the remaining moisture from her eyes. "God, I probably look like a mess."
"You look perfect." Luke brushed her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ears. "So... we're good, right? You know I didn't really mean – "
"I know," she interrupted. "We're good."
"Okay. Good."
Lorelai took a deep breath. "Let's go." She took his hand and they walked out of the dance studio.
. . . . .
Almost two weeks later, Lorelai walked up to Michel at the front desk of the inn. "Michel, we need to talk about my maternity leave."
Michel's ears perked up and he turned to her. "Ooh, it's coming soon, no?"
"It starts in a month, so we need to start taking applications for a temporary replacement."
"For you?"
"Yes, for me. Who else would we need a replacement for?"
"For me," Michel replied. "I could take over your job and we could hire someone else to do mine."
Lorelai shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea."
Michel frowned. "Why not? I do your job half the time anyway when you skip work for all your idiotic reasons."
"Because when I come back, you're not gonna want to go back down to your regular position," Lorelai pointed out. "You'll whine all the time about having to work under me and you'll be insufferable to be around."
"How will that be any different than it is now?"
Lorelai pondered for a moment. "Hm, good point. Let me think about it." The phone rang, and she answered it. "Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking."
"Hey, it's me," Luke replied.
"Hey, me. What's up?"
"I just talked to Tom about the construction and he said everything should be done by this weekend. He's even gonna get some guys to bring down the washer and dryer from upstairs and connect it all up for us."
Lorelai grinned. "Ooh, that's so cool. Then we can finally start getting the nursery all ready. This weekend we'll go pick out some cute baby wallpaper, okay?"
"Whatever you want."
"Lorelai!" a voice called, and she looked up to see Sookie rushing toward her.
"Hold on a sec, hon," Lorelai said to Luke, then covered the phone. "Hey, how was the doctor's appointment?"
"We found out the sex!" Sookie said excitedly.
Lorelai's eyes widened. "You did?"
Sookie nodded. "They did the ultrasound and they could see its little thingy!"
Lorelai smiled. "Aw, Sookie, it's a boy?"
Sookie threw her hands up in the air. "It's a boy!"
Lorelai walked to the other side of the desk and hugged Sookie. "Congratulations, sweetie. Do you have the ultrasound picture?"
"No, Jackson took it back to work with him," Sookie replied. "I'll bring it in tomorrow."
"Okay, good," Lorelai replied. "I wanna see his little thingy."
Sookie giggled. "It's so cute!"
"You two are making me sick," Michel muttered.
"Oh, hush," Lorelai waved him off, then she smiled at Sookie. "Now you can stop calling your baby an 'it' like Luke and I do." She glanced at the phone on the counter. "Oops, Luke." She picked up the phone. "Hon?"
"Still here," Luke replied.
"Did you hear? Sookie's having a boy!"
"Yeah, I heard, " Luke replied. "I'll let you go talk to her. I'll see you at home."
"Okay. Bye."
They hung up, and Lorelai and Sookie resumed talking about the doctor's appointment.
. . . . .
On Sunday afternoon, Luke and Lorelai went shopping for wallpaper, and afterward they were walking through the town square when Lorelai spotted Rory reading in the gazebo. She told Luke to go on ahead to the diner while she headed over to Rory.
"Hey, Val," Lorelai called as she approached the gazebo.
Rory glanced over and smiled. "Stop calling me that."
Lorelai walked up the steps. "Well, valedictorian's a six syllable word, hon. Every time I say the whole thing, I use up precious energy that I should be conserving to remain strong and healthy for my unborn child."
"How 'bout sticking with Rory, then?" Rory suggested.
"No, you should be constantly reminded of your extreme greatness, and I feel it's my duty to be that reminder." Lorelai gestured to the books on the bench. "What's all this?"
"I'm studying for my last final," Rory replied. "It was kinda hard to concentrate back at the house with the guys there."
Lorelai frowned. "They're still hooking the washer and dryer up? They said they'd be done by one."
Rory shrugged. "I guess they overestimated their abilities. But it's no big deal, it's a nice day to study outside." She moved the books off the bench so Lorelai could sit next to her. "Here."
Lorelai sat down with a sigh. "Man, I'm exhausted."
"Did you find some wallpaper?"
Lorelai shook her head. "Not exactly. We did find a cute border with teddy bears on it, though. We're gonna paint all the walls white to make it nice and bright and cheery, and then put the border around the center of the wall."
"Sounds good."
"Have you started writing your speech yet?"
Rory nodded. "Some of it."
Lorelai smiled. "Ooh, am I in it?"
"Yes."
"Is it gonna make me cry?"
"Considering the fact that you were crying at a McDonald's commercial the other day, I'd say probably."
Lorelai frowned. "Hey, don't mock – it was so cute how the little girl was sharing her food with her grandmother."
"Yeah. . ." Rory gazed wistfully up toward the ceiling of the gazebo. "Reminds me of the time Grandma and I shared some McDonald's chicken nuggets."
Lorelai giggled. "Yeah, right. I'd pay good money to see Emily Gilmore eat anything from McDonald's."
Rory smiled and shrugged. "I guess I must've fabricated that memory."
"I think so."
"I probably shouldn't mention that one in my speech, then."
Lorelai smiled. "So your grandparents are in it, too?"
"Yeah. And Luke."
Lorelai's smile widened. "Aw, really?"
Rory nodded. "I'm acknowledging the people who have been there for me the most, and Luke's one of them."
"Aw, honey, that's so sweet." Lorelai blinked quickly a few times. "Okay, I'm already starting to cry."
Rory held up her hands. "No, don't. If you're gonna do it, save it for Thursday."
Lorelai took a deep breath. "I'll try." She was quiet for a few seconds, then patted Rory on the knee. "I'm sorry that your dad and Sherry can't make it."
Rory glanced down at the ground and shrugged it off. "That's okay."
"He wants to be there, hon," Lorelai assured her.
"It's no big deal. Business meetings are important, too." She glanced toward Kim's Antiques. "I wish the Stars Hollow High graduation rehearsal wasn't on the same day as my graduation. I wanted Lane to come."
"Well, at least we'll get to go to hers on Friday," Lorelai pointed out. "We'll get to see Lane and Jess and all your old friends get their diplomas."
Rory nodded. "Yeah, that should be nice."
They were quiet for a moment, then Lorelai smiled. "Hey, I'll give you twenty bucks if you say something really random at the end of your speech, like, 'Long live the purple monkeys of Bangkok!'"
Rory smiled and rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, that'd be classy."
Lorelai giggled. "Well, at least try to slip in Bangkok– that's a funny word."
"I'll consider it."
"Thank you."
. . . . .
On Thursday afternoon, Lorelai, Luke, Sookie and Jackson arrived at Chilton for the graduation ceremony. As they walked up the aisle between the rows of chairs, Lorelai glanced around for Emily and Richard. "Do you see my parents anywhere?"
"Nope," Luke replied. "We'll save 'em some seats."
They found an empty row and sat down, and Lorelai pulled her camera out of her purse. "Who wants to be in charge of this? I'm gonna be too busy bawling."
"I'll do it," Sookie offered. "And if I start bawling, I'll pass it to Jackson." Lorelai passed the camera to her.
Luke flipped through his graduation program until he found Rory's name. He smiled and held it toward Lorelai. "There it is."
Lorelai glanced down at it and read, "Lorelai Leigh Gilmore – Valedictorian." She smiled and clutched her chest. "Oh my God, look at how great it looks after her name, like it was meant to be there." She sighed and quickly wiped her tearing eyes. "I can't believe I'm crying already and we haven't even gotten to Pomp and Circumstance stupid third trimester emotions are driving me crazy." She glanced toward the door of the school. "We're allowed to go inside, right? I wanna see Rory before it starts."
"I'm sure you are," Sookie said. "Hurry up, you only have a few minutes."
"Okay, be right back." Lorelai walked toward the entrance of the school and went inside. She headed to the cafeteria where the graduates were waiting and finally spotted Rory in the corner of the room reading over her speech. She walked over to her. "Hey."
Rory looked up from her paper and smiled when she saw Lorelai. "Hey!" She hugged her. "Is everyone here?"
"Your grandparents aren't yet, but I'm sure they'll be here any minute." She smiled down at Rory's gown. "You look great, honey."
"Yeah?"
"Perfect. How was the rehearsal?"
"Pretty uneventful. Oh, except when one of the teachers tried to fix the microphone on the podium and almost got electrocuted."
"Ooh, electricity scares are always entertaining." Lorelai gestured to Rory's speech. "Are you nervous?"
Rory shook her head. "No, I think I'm all set."
"Attention graduates, please line up in alphabetical order," a voice boomed over the PA system.
"I better get back out there," Lorelai said.
Rory nodded. "Okay. Hey, if I fall or something, can you distract everyone by pretending to go into labor so the focus is off of me?"
Lorelai smiled. "Will do." She hugged Rory tightly. "Ah, I'm so proud of my little valedictorian."
"Thanks, Mom." Rory kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you out there."
Lorelai returned outside and found that Emily and Richard had arrived. "Hey Mom, hey Dad," Lorelai greeted them as she sat back down in her seat.
"Hello Lorelai," Emily said.
"Lorelai," Richard greeted her with a nod. "How are you feeling?"
"Pretty good, thanks," she replied. "I'm exactly 33 weeks along today."
Emily smiled. "My goodness. . . I can't believe there's only a few weeks left to go."
"Yup. It'll be here before we know it," Lorelai said, patting her stomach.
"Did you talk to Rory?" Luke asked.
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah, she looks so cute in her gown."
"Oh, I can't wait to see her," Emily said, her face beaming with pride.
"We brought the car," Richard said.
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, cool. I can't wait to see it."
"Wait, what car?" Sookie asked.
"My parents got Rory a car for a graduation present," Lorelai told her.
"But she already has a car," Sookie pointed out.
"Yeah, but with all the driving back and forth to Yale she'll be doing, we thought it might be too much for her car," Lorelai explained. "So when my parents said they were thinking about getting her a new one, we decided it was a good idea."
"Rory doesn't know about it?" Sookie asked.
"Nope."
"What are you gonna do with the old one?" Jackson asked.
"I don't know, that'll be up to Rory," Lorelai replied with a shrug. "Speaking of which, how much longer?"
Luke checked his watch. "Just a few more minutes."
. . . . .
At precisely 4 o'clock, the graduates walked out of the building and took their seats, and the headmaster began the ceremony with some welcoming remarks. Several speakers later, Rory was finally called up to give her valedictory speech, and she left few dry eyes among her family and friends as she praised Lorelai, Luke, and her grandparents.
A short while later, the graduates were called in alphabetical order to receive their diplomas, and Sookie moved up toward the stage to take some close-up pictures of Rory.
"I can't believe it's almost over," Lorelai said. "You wait 18 years for this day and then it's over in a heartbeat."
"Yes, but you remember it forever," Richard said.
"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore," a voice announced.
"Ooh!" Lorelai jumped slightly when she heard the name, and she smiled proudly as Rory walked onto the stage. "There she is. . ."
Rory received her diploma, then waved to everyone from the stage. They waved back, and Lorelai wiped away her tears as she watched Rory move her tassel on her cap from one side to the other.
Lorelai sighed. "My little girl's all grown up. . ." Rory stuck her tongue out at Lorelai from the stage, and Lorelai giggled. "Well, not completely." She returned the gesture, ignored Emily's scolding, then rested her head contentedly on Luke's shoulder.
After the ceremony, Lorelai and Luke went to find Rory in the crowd while everyone else waited by the parking lot. When they finally found her, they both hugged her tightly.
"How was my speech?" Rory asked.
"It was amazing," Lorelai assured her. "Everyone loved it. Everyone cried."
"Yeah, it was great." Luke shoved his hands in his pocket. "Thanks for what you said."
"You're welcome," Rory said.
"Oh, yeah, Luke's part was so cute," Lorelai gushed. "Read it again."
Rory rolled her eyes. "Not right now. . ."
Lorelai pouted. "Come on, please? If you do it right now, I promise I won't nag you for not working Bangkok into your speech."
Rory sighed. "Okay, fine. . ." She pulled her speech out of her pocket and skimmed it until she came to Luke's name. "Here it is. . .Another person I'd like to acknowledge is Luke Danes, who has felt like a stepfather to me much longer than he has actually been one. Thank you for everything you have done for me, and for all the love and support you have given me in my life as both a stepfather and as a friend."
Lorelai smiled as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "That's so nice, sweetie."
Luke uncomfortably cleared his throat. "I just have a little. . .dirt or something. . ." He turned away from them and rubbed his eyes.
Lorelai turned him back around. "Too late – we already saw the tears, tough guy."
Rory smiled and put the speech away. "Well, I'm just glad everyone liked it." She glanced around. "Speaking of everyone, where are the others?"
"They're waiting by the parking lot," Lorelai replied. "Let's go find 'em." She linked her arm through Rory's, and Luke followed them as they walked across the courtyard.
. . . . .
To be continued. . .
. . . . .
Thanks to everyone who's still reading, and thanks for the feedback! :)
