The alarm went off at 4am and Luke hit it as fast as possible. He looked
over next to him and tried to see if Lorelai had woken up. He leaned over
and kissed her forehead softly before slipping silently out of bed. The
first few nights he had slept over at her house, she had woken up to the
sound of his early morning alarm, but lately she was sleeping through it.
He had felt badly, knowing the long hours she was putting in at the
Dragonfly, because she would get up with him and claim it was giving her a
jump-start on her day. He knew better.
It's been over two weeks since they had started dating. The whole town knew on day one, and everyone was used to seeing them together now. Not like the whole town hadn't been waiting for this. For years, in fact. Which they kept telling them, over and over. Luke had a routine set now, she would come in when she got up and then later he'd bring her dinner at the Dragonfly. After he closed the diner, he would come over to her house. He watched her sleep this particular morning. He knew she was exhausted because of work, but she was holding up well. She looked so peaceful right now, lost in dreams. The selfish part of him wished she'd open her eyes and smile at him, but he squelched it and went about getting ready for work. He'd see her soon enough.
Lorelai woke up lying on her arm. She had no feeling in it at the moment, all she was aware of was the dead weight. She tried to will her fingers to move. 'It worked in Kill Bill,' she reminded herself as she felt foolish for lying there staring at her unworking hand. After a few moments the feeling came back and she had a renewed joy in the ability to oppose her thumb.
'Boy, this is going to be along day.'
Before she made herself get out of bed, she rolled to the side that had until a couple hours ago held Luke. She smelled his pillow and smiled to herself. She couldn't believe that just three short weeks ago, this had been her dream—and now it was very much their reality. She let her mind drift to Luke completely, how he looked at her, how he made love to her. Not that she had never imagined what Luke was like in bed, but she had never imagined he would be so commanding. It wasn't that he was controlling at all, but he took her over somehow. She had experienced good sex before, but this was otherworldly. He used her entire body to take her to levels of ecstasy she'd never dreamed possible.
'Okay, I need to get out of bed,' she reminded herself. 'Stop thinking about Luke!' When that mental command didn't work, she made herself take a shower and go to the diner. Maybe she just needed to see him.
"Coffee!"
Luke looked up to see Lorelai staggering towards the counter.
"Sorry, we're all out."
Lorelai stood stock still in shock. Her eyes widened and blinked once.
"Lorelai?"
"What did you just say? How could you even let this happen? This is a diner, coffee is the most served item in any diner!"
"I was kidding. Here." He slid a full cup in front of her.
"That's not funny. Messing with my coffee will never be funny."
"Speak for yourself," he commented, leaning over the counter to kiss her.
"You so didn't deserve last night," she informed him.
He blushed and decided to change the subject before someone with a big mouth overheard.
"So, what are you up to today?"
"We have reviewers coming over to look at the Dragonfly and—," she was cut off by her cell phone. Luke gave her a pained look, and she answered it. He pointed to the sign. She ignored him. He went about taking orders and when he got back she was off the phone.
"You let Nicole use her phone."
"That was business."
"That could have been business."
"Was it?"
"Worse. It was Emily. Seems I'm having lunch with her."
"Sorry. What's this about?"
"I have no idea. She claimed it was because I wasn't coming to dinner tonight, but I was officially uninvited. Rory and Tristan are having dinner with them and Janlan, Tristan's grandfather. But I'm going to tell her about us."
"Really? So soon?"
"Is that okay?"
"Yeah, hey, whatever you want to do. The rest of the world knows."
"Good. I'll see you tonight, then?"
"Yeah. I'll be done early here, Lane's closing tonight."
Lorelai nodded and finished off her coffee. She gave Luke a quick kiss and headed off for the Dragonfly. She was actually excited about telling her mother about Luke. She wanted the whole world to know. She'd never been this happy before. It seemed like everything in her life was finally falling into place.
Tristan sat in his apartment absently flipping through television stations. He had two hours before his flight to Hartford left. It had been two very long weeks since he had seen Rory. Two weeks since he'd told her about his dad. It had felt good, telling someone and just getting it off his chest. He'd not told anyone else why he hated his dad so much, everyone just assumed he was pissed that his dad had decided military school was the best thing for him after all the 'trouble' Tristan had created. But Tristan knew better, and hated his dad even more for coming off looking like the victim.
He had been giving more thought about his and Rory's relationship. Was it going to be possible to be apart from her like this for three more years? It was already killing him not to be able to see her and touch her. They talked almost everyday, even if just for five minutes at night. He just needed to hear her voice.
He tried to push all the doubt out of his mind. She would be there at the airport to pick him up tonight, and they were having dinner with the grandparents. And the next weekend he was coming up for his faux birthday, so they'd be seeing a lot of the other in the near future. It was the everyday thing that killed him. He couldn't take it anymore; all he could think about was her, so he picked up his cell phone and called her.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's me."
"Oh, hey. Aren't I picking you up in like three hours?"
"Yeah. I'm bored now, though."
"Oh, poor Tristan! What can I do to entertain you? Oh, I know. I'll recite my econ textbook to you. You need a nap, right?"
"Funny. So, how do you feel about tonight?"
"Like wedding invitations will be sent out by the end of the night."
"What? Aren't we skipping a few steps here?"
"Calm down there, buddy. I was kidding. It's just our grandparents are friends, and I know they're all very excited about us dating. We're like, their dream come true. My mom didn't exactly fit in with their evil plans as I'm seeming to," she laughed.
"Oh. I wasn't—worried," he lied.
"Sure you weren't. I have no intention of marrying you, Tristan."
"What?"
"Okay, that came out wrong. I mean right now. Wouldn't that be absurd, we live in two different states."
"Wow. You know, I called because I needed reassurance, and you're just freaking me out. I think I have hives."
"Hypochondriac."
"So what are you up to? I know you can't be doing homework again. Or should I say still."
"Actually, I was watching a movie with Tanna."
"Exciting," he teased.
"Be nice."
"She's such a freak."
"She is not! She's, unique."
"You know a lot of unique people."
"Well, you're right there."
"Alright. This is stupid. I'll see you in three hours."
Rory was quiet for a minute. He sounded off, and she couldn't tell exactly what was up.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I was just sitting here thinking about how much I hate being here when you're there, but how much I don't want to be there. It's quite the conundrum."
"Maybe you should talk to your dad."
"No."
"Tristan, look. I know it sucks and he's completely wrong, but I know what it's like to shut your dad out after he screws you over. You'll feel better if you at least talk to him."
"What did your dad do?"
"He promised me and my mom that he was going to be with us, after years of being flaky and unreliable, then he left us for a woman he didn't love because she was pregnant with his child."
"Wow. And you shut him out after that?"
"Yeah. For months. But after a while I realized that he was a person too, with problems he had to deal with and I listened to his side, what was going on with him. Not that we're ever going to be close like me and mom, but he's the only dad I've got."
"This might sound harsh, but I had no idea you had problems. Your life seems so perfect to me."
"I've had it pretty good, considering what it could have been like. My parents could have gotten together and completely screwed me up. But I have a really strong mom and she protected me and made sure I had everything I ever needed."
"You know I love you, right?"
"You love me?"
"Yeah. I wanted you to know that. I'll see you at the airport."
With that the line went silent. Rory stared at her phone, unsure of how to react. She knew she loved him, and she wanted to tell him. Calling him back seemed like a bad idea, though. He obviously had a lot on his mind, things he wasn't telling her about. But he loved her. She knew their relationship was the real thing, but it was still amazing to hear him say the words.
Emily pulled up at the Dragonfly Inn and looked around. The grounds were lovely and she was quite impressed at what her daughter had created. She smiled with pride and walked into the inn.
Lorelai was talking to Sookie and laughing. Emily walked up to them and greeted them.
"Do you want to have lunch here, Mom? Sookie's made an amazing menu for the reviewers and we have plenty."
"That would be lovely. Sookie, everything I've ever had that you've made has been simply wonderful."
"Thank you, Emily. Lorelai, all the stuff is in the kitchen and the servers will take care of the rest. I need to run home and nurse Davey."
"Thanks, Sook. Come on, Mom."
As they sat down, the servers placed food in front of them and they began to eat.
"Lorelai, I just wanted to tell you, this place is very impressive. I think I might make a reservation here, for your father and me. He could use a getaway for a night, I should think."
"That's great, Mom. Just let me know when."
"So, how's everything coming?"
"Great, everything's basically done. We're just doing finishing touches and waiting for word to spread at this point. There is something I wanted to tell you, though."
"Oh, what's that?" Emily looked at Lorelai expectantly. Lorelai drew in a deep breath and smiled.
"I'm seeing someone."
"Really? Do I know this man?"
"Yes, in fact, you do."
"Well, who is it?"
"Luke."
"The diner man?"
"Yes, Mom, the diner man. Although he's a lot more than that."
"Well. I'll be damned."
Lorelai looked at her mom confused. Was that a happy expression on her mom's face?
"Mom?"
"I'm happy for you. Seems like everything is in place for you, lately."
"I think so."
Both women smiled and continued to eat their lunch. After a few moments, Emily looked at Lorelai and started to speak.
"Lorelai, can I ask you something?"
"Shoot, Mom."
"Well, Rory tells you everything, right?"
"Pretty much."
"Has she mentioned how serious this thing with her and the Dugrey boy is?"
"They're pretty serious. He comes up from North Carolina all the time to see her."
"The reason I was asking is that they're coming to dinner, and Richard and Janlan are overly excited about the match. I don't want them to push the kids into a more serious state than they want to be in. Janlan's got his heart set on Tristan transferring to Yale."
"Yeah, Rory'd like it too, but he won't do it."
"Any idea why?"
"Nope. He just says he loves North Carolina." "Hmm. Well, thank you for the lovely lunch. I suppose you have things to take care of?"
"Yeah. This was nice, Mom."
"It was. We'll have to do it again. I'll see you next Friday?"
"Yeah."
Rory waited in the Hartford airport, anxiously awaiting Tristan's arrival. His plane had landed, so he should be appearing at any moment. At long last, she saw the familiar gait and half ran towards him. She threw her arms around him and kissed him squarely on the mouth.
"I love you, too," she whispered into his ear.
He smiled and pulled her even tighter to him. He wanted to take her and get back on a plane to some remote island where they'd never have to deal with anything or anyone ever again. Where they could just be. What a dream. Sighing, he put her back down on the ground and pulled back.
"That's so good to hear you say."
"You knew it anyway."
"I'd hoped."
"Why didn't you let me say it on the phone?"
"I've just been out of sorts today. Had a lot on my mind."
"Come on. We need to get to my grandparents house. They'll be waiting on us." She laced her fingers through his and led him out to her car and they drove off towards the elder Gilmore residence.
It's been over two weeks since they had started dating. The whole town knew on day one, and everyone was used to seeing them together now. Not like the whole town hadn't been waiting for this. For years, in fact. Which they kept telling them, over and over. Luke had a routine set now, she would come in when she got up and then later he'd bring her dinner at the Dragonfly. After he closed the diner, he would come over to her house. He watched her sleep this particular morning. He knew she was exhausted because of work, but she was holding up well. She looked so peaceful right now, lost in dreams. The selfish part of him wished she'd open her eyes and smile at him, but he squelched it and went about getting ready for work. He'd see her soon enough.
Lorelai woke up lying on her arm. She had no feeling in it at the moment, all she was aware of was the dead weight. She tried to will her fingers to move. 'It worked in Kill Bill,' she reminded herself as she felt foolish for lying there staring at her unworking hand. After a few moments the feeling came back and she had a renewed joy in the ability to oppose her thumb.
'Boy, this is going to be along day.'
Before she made herself get out of bed, she rolled to the side that had until a couple hours ago held Luke. She smelled his pillow and smiled to herself. She couldn't believe that just three short weeks ago, this had been her dream—and now it was very much their reality. She let her mind drift to Luke completely, how he looked at her, how he made love to her. Not that she had never imagined what Luke was like in bed, but she had never imagined he would be so commanding. It wasn't that he was controlling at all, but he took her over somehow. She had experienced good sex before, but this was otherworldly. He used her entire body to take her to levels of ecstasy she'd never dreamed possible.
'Okay, I need to get out of bed,' she reminded herself. 'Stop thinking about Luke!' When that mental command didn't work, she made herself take a shower and go to the diner. Maybe she just needed to see him.
"Coffee!"
Luke looked up to see Lorelai staggering towards the counter.
"Sorry, we're all out."
Lorelai stood stock still in shock. Her eyes widened and blinked once.
"Lorelai?"
"What did you just say? How could you even let this happen? This is a diner, coffee is the most served item in any diner!"
"I was kidding. Here." He slid a full cup in front of her.
"That's not funny. Messing with my coffee will never be funny."
"Speak for yourself," he commented, leaning over the counter to kiss her.
"You so didn't deserve last night," she informed him.
He blushed and decided to change the subject before someone with a big mouth overheard.
"So, what are you up to today?"
"We have reviewers coming over to look at the Dragonfly and—," she was cut off by her cell phone. Luke gave her a pained look, and she answered it. He pointed to the sign. She ignored him. He went about taking orders and when he got back she was off the phone.
"You let Nicole use her phone."
"That was business."
"That could have been business."
"Was it?"
"Worse. It was Emily. Seems I'm having lunch with her."
"Sorry. What's this about?"
"I have no idea. She claimed it was because I wasn't coming to dinner tonight, but I was officially uninvited. Rory and Tristan are having dinner with them and Janlan, Tristan's grandfather. But I'm going to tell her about us."
"Really? So soon?"
"Is that okay?"
"Yeah, hey, whatever you want to do. The rest of the world knows."
"Good. I'll see you tonight, then?"
"Yeah. I'll be done early here, Lane's closing tonight."
Lorelai nodded and finished off her coffee. She gave Luke a quick kiss and headed off for the Dragonfly. She was actually excited about telling her mother about Luke. She wanted the whole world to know. She'd never been this happy before. It seemed like everything in her life was finally falling into place.
Tristan sat in his apartment absently flipping through television stations. He had two hours before his flight to Hartford left. It had been two very long weeks since he had seen Rory. Two weeks since he'd told her about his dad. It had felt good, telling someone and just getting it off his chest. He'd not told anyone else why he hated his dad so much, everyone just assumed he was pissed that his dad had decided military school was the best thing for him after all the 'trouble' Tristan had created. But Tristan knew better, and hated his dad even more for coming off looking like the victim.
He had been giving more thought about his and Rory's relationship. Was it going to be possible to be apart from her like this for three more years? It was already killing him not to be able to see her and touch her. They talked almost everyday, even if just for five minutes at night. He just needed to hear her voice.
He tried to push all the doubt out of his mind. She would be there at the airport to pick him up tonight, and they were having dinner with the grandparents. And the next weekend he was coming up for his faux birthday, so they'd be seeing a lot of the other in the near future. It was the everyday thing that killed him. He couldn't take it anymore; all he could think about was her, so he picked up his cell phone and called her.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's me."
"Oh, hey. Aren't I picking you up in like three hours?"
"Yeah. I'm bored now, though."
"Oh, poor Tristan! What can I do to entertain you? Oh, I know. I'll recite my econ textbook to you. You need a nap, right?"
"Funny. So, how do you feel about tonight?"
"Like wedding invitations will be sent out by the end of the night."
"What? Aren't we skipping a few steps here?"
"Calm down there, buddy. I was kidding. It's just our grandparents are friends, and I know they're all very excited about us dating. We're like, their dream come true. My mom didn't exactly fit in with their evil plans as I'm seeming to," she laughed.
"Oh. I wasn't—worried," he lied.
"Sure you weren't. I have no intention of marrying you, Tristan."
"What?"
"Okay, that came out wrong. I mean right now. Wouldn't that be absurd, we live in two different states."
"Wow. You know, I called because I needed reassurance, and you're just freaking me out. I think I have hives."
"Hypochondriac."
"So what are you up to? I know you can't be doing homework again. Or should I say still."
"Actually, I was watching a movie with Tanna."
"Exciting," he teased.
"Be nice."
"She's such a freak."
"She is not! She's, unique."
"You know a lot of unique people."
"Well, you're right there."
"Alright. This is stupid. I'll see you in three hours."
Rory was quiet for a minute. He sounded off, and she couldn't tell exactly what was up.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I was just sitting here thinking about how much I hate being here when you're there, but how much I don't want to be there. It's quite the conundrum."
"Maybe you should talk to your dad."
"No."
"Tristan, look. I know it sucks and he's completely wrong, but I know what it's like to shut your dad out after he screws you over. You'll feel better if you at least talk to him."
"What did your dad do?"
"He promised me and my mom that he was going to be with us, after years of being flaky and unreliable, then he left us for a woman he didn't love because she was pregnant with his child."
"Wow. And you shut him out after that?"
"Yeah. For months. But after a while I realized that he was a person too, with problems he had to deal with and I listened to his side, what was going on with him. Not that we're ever going to be close like me and mom, but he's the only dad I've got."
"This might sound harsh, but I had no idea you had problems. Your life seems so perfect to me."
"I've had it pretty good, considering what it could have been like. My parents could have gotten together and completely screwed me up. But I have a really strong mom and she protected me and made sure I had everything I ever needed."
"You know I love you, right?"
"You love me?"
"Yeah. I wanted you to know that. I'll see you at the airport."
With that the line went silent. Rory stared at her phone, unsure of how to react. She knew she loved him, and she wanted to tell him. Calling him back seemed like a bad idea, though. He obviously had a lot on his mind, things he wasn't telling her about. But he loved her. She knew their relationship was the real thing, but it was still amazing to hear him say the words.
Emily pulled up at the Dragonfly Inn and looked around. The grounds were lovely and she was quite impressed at what her daughter had created. She smiled with pride and walked into the inn.
Lorelai was talking to Sookie and laughing. Emily walked up to them and greeted them.
"Do you want to have lunch here, Mom? Sookie's made an amazing menu for the reviewers and we have plenty."
"That would be lovely. Sookie, everything I've ever had that you've made has been simply wonderful."
"Thank you, Emily. Lorelai, all the stuff is in the kitchen and the servers will take care of the rest. I need to run home and nurse Davey."
"Thanks, Sook. Come on, Mom."
As they sat down, the servers placed food in front of them and they began to eat.
"Lorelai, I just wanted to tell you, this place is very impressive. I think I might make a reservation here, for your father and me. He could use a getaway for a night, I should think."
"That's great, Mom. Just let me know when."
"So, how's everything coming?"
"Great, everything's basically done. We're just doing finishing touches and waiting for word to spread at this point. There is something I wanted to tell you, though."
"Oh, what's that?" Emily looked at Lorelai expectantly. Lorelai drew in a deep breath and smiled.
"I'm seeing someone."
"Really? Do I know this man?"
"Yes, in fact, you do."
"Well, who is it?"
"Luke."
"The diner man?"
"Yes, Mom, the diner man. Although he's a lot more than that."
"Well. I'll be damned."
Lorelai looked at her mom confused. Was that a happy expression on her mom's face?
"Mom?"
"I'm happy for you. Seems like everything is in place for you, lately."
"I think so."
Both women smiled and continued to eat their lunch. After a few moments, Emily looked at Lorelai and started to speak.
"Lorelai, can I ask you something?"
"Shoot, Mom."
"Well, Rory tells you everything, right?"
"Pretty much."
"Has she mentioned how serious this thing with her and the Dugrey boy is?"
"They're pretty serious. He comes up from North Carolina all the time to see her."
"The reason I was asking is that they're coming to dinner, and Richard and Janlan are overly excited about the match. I don't want them to push the kids into a more serious state than they want to be in. Janlan's got his heart set on Tristan transferring to Yale."
"Yeah, Rory'd like it too, but he won't do it."
"Any idea why?"
"Nope. He just says he loves North Carolina." "Hmm. Well, thank you for the lovely lunch. I suppose you have things to take care of?"
"Yeah. This was nice, Mom."
"It was. We'll have to do it again. I'll see you next Friday?"
"Yeah."
Rory waited in the Hartford airport, anxiously awaiting Tristan's arrival. His plane had landed, so he should be appearing at any moment. At long last, she saw the familiar gait and half ran towards him. She threw her arms around him and kissed him squarely on the mouth.
"I love you, too," she whispered into his ear.
He smiled and pulled her even tighter to him. He wanted to take her and get back on a plane to some remote island where they'd never have to deal with anything or anyone ever again. Where they could just be. What a dream. Sighing, he put her back down on the ground and pulled back.
"That's so good to hear you say."
"You knew it anyway."
"I'd hoped."
"Why didn't you let me say it on the phone?"
"I've just been out of sorts today. Had a lot on my mind."
"Come on. We need to get to my grandparents house. They'll be waiting on us." She laced her fingers through his and led him out to her car and they drove off towards the elder Gilmore residence.