AN: Thanks for the great reviews. Here's another chapter for you:
Lorelai took a big swig of coffee from the thermos Luke had prepared for her. She wasn't sure why Michael had been so freaked out at the thought of her not being at the inn—there wasn't anything for her to do. She was sitting on her butt being bored. She couldn't even remember all of the little inn-related problems that she had squashed the day before, because today they were non-existent.
There is a God.
She thought about calling her therapist, I mean Rory, to vent about the night before, but decided against it. Rory was probably in the library, making up for all the studying she would not be doing during her weekend with her mom. And she had vented a lot already. A lot.
Lorelai decided to stop by the diner before heading to her parents' for the dreaded Friday night dinner. Then her train of thought stopped. Her parents' house. As in both of theirs. Together. Lorelai swallowed hard and pushed the thought down. With all that was going on she had almost allowed herself the luxury of forgetting about them for a little while.
Taylor stopped Lorelai outside of Luke's. "Hi, Lorelai, can I speak with you for a moment?" Without waiting for an answer, he led her by the elbow around the corner where he could 'speak with her.'
"Lorelai, I know that things have been rather difficult for you lately, what with the inn and your financial troubles, not to mention your parents' problems and whatever is going on with your new boyfriend..."
"What?! Taylor, how do you know about these things? Since when is my personal life *your* business?"
"Well, it's not *my* business per say, but when you don't go to work until 2 pm, we as a town can really only assume one thing. We've all wondered for a while if you have a drinking problem, and frankly, if this keeps up, the town may be forced to revoke your license to operate the Dragonfly."
"What?! Dr...Drinking Problem? Is that what everyone thinks?"
"Well, there has been some talk..."
"No! I do *not* have a drinking problem."
Taylor reached up to scratch his head, nearly detaching his sorry excuse for a hairpiece in the process. "I guess if you're in denial there's no use in trying to reason with you..."
Lorelai turned away from him and threw her hands in the air. "Why me?" she asked no one in particular.
"I'm here if you ever need to talk!" Taylor called after her as she stormed off. "That could've gone a lot better..." he mumbled to himself.
Luke watched the end of this encounter through the diner window. But instead of coming in like he expected her to, Lorelai got in her truck and prepared to drive away. Luke's head said 'Let her go, she'd come in and talk to you if she wanted to.' But his head must not have been loud enough, because his heart had already told his feet to chase after her. He was fast approaching the Danger Zone.
"Lorelai, wait!" he shouted at her closed window. She put the vehicle, which had already started moving, into park and rolled down her window."
"What do *you* want?" she demanded.
"Are you okay?" Luke was genuinely concerned. "What did Taylor want? Because I've been looking for a few more reasons not to like him, so if you could help me out it would be much appreciated."
"He just wanted to inform me of a few things, like, I don't know, the town thinks I'm an alcoholic and my job security is on the line, not to mention the fact that he, and of course the rest of the town by default, knows about my parents' problems and Jason and did you tell anyone about the money you lent me?" She only stopped talking because her lungs were out of air.
She opened her mouth to say something more, but Luke stopped her simply by raising one hand. "I swear I didn't tell a soul. I don't want that getting around anymore than you do. Did he say something to you about it?"
"Well no, not exactly. But he *knew. * And he did mention my 'money problems.' Do you think I have a drinking problem?"
"Coffee, yes. Alcohol, no." Luke was trying hard not to be amused by her frustration.
"Because Taylor said that the whole town thinks I was late to work today because of a hangover and they've wondered about me for a long time."
"Well *I* know that that's not true." Luke reasoned.
"Oh, Luke, why are you so nice to me?" Lorelai had changed from crazy ranting woman to worn-out and apologetic/thankful woman right before Luke's eyes.
"You're my best customer," Luke answered without batting an eye. "Alright, have fun with your parents." Luke patted the car door, wanting some physical contact but not daring to touch her.
Lorelai drove away still feeling pretty rotten. But at least there was a hint of a smile on her face.
Lorelai took a big swig of coffee from the thermos Luke had prepared for her. She wasn't sure why Michael had been so freaked out at the thought of her not being at the inn—there wasn't anything for her to do. She was sitting on her butt being bored. She couldn't even remember all of the little inn-related problems that she had squashed the day before, because today they were non-existent.
There is a God.
She thought about calling her therapist, I mean Rory, to vent about the night before, but decided against it. Rory was probably in the library, making up for all the studying she would not be doing during her weekend with her mom. And she had vented a lot already. A lot.
Lorelai decided to stop by the diner before heading to her parents' for the dreaded Friday night dinner. Then her train of thought stopped. Her parents' house. As in both of theirs. Together. Lorelai swallowed hard and pushed the thought down. With all that was going on she had almost allowed herself the luxury of forgetting about them for a little while.
Taylor stopped Lorelai outside of Luke's. "Hi, Lorelai, can I speak with you for a moment?" Without waiting for an answer, he led her by the elbow around the corner where he could 'speak with her.'
"Lorelai, I know that things have been rather difficult for you lately, what with the inn and your financial troubles, not to mention your parents' problems and whatever is going on with your new boyfriend..."
"What?! Taylor, how do you know about these things? Since when is my personal life *your* business?"
"Well, it's not *my* business per say, but when you don't go to work until 2 pm, we as a town can really only assume one thing. We've all wondered for a while if you have a drinking problem, and frankly, if this keeps up, the town may be forced to revoke your license to operate the Dragonfly."
"What?! Dr...Drinking Problem? Is that what everyone thinks?"
"Well, there has been some talk..."
"No! I do *not* have a drinking problem."
Taylor reached up to scratch his head, nearly detaching his sorry excuse for a hairpiece in the process. "I guess if you're in denial there's no use in trying to reason with you..."
Lorelai turned away from him and threw her hands in the air. "Why me?" she asked no one in particular.
"I'm here if you ever need to talk!" Taylor called after her as she stormed off. "That could've gone a lot better..." he mumbled to himself.
Luke watched the end of this encounter through the diner window. But instead of coming in like he expected her to, Lorelai got in her truck and prepared to drive away. Luke's head said 'Let her go, she'd come in and talk to you if she wanted to.' But his head must not have been loud enough, because his heart had already told his feet to chase after her. He was fast approaching the Danger Zone.
"Lorelai, wait!" he shouted at her closed window. She put the vehicle, which had already started moving, into park and rolled down her window."
"What do *you* want?" she demanded.
"Are you okay?" Luke was genuinely concerned. "What did Taylor want? Because I've been looking for a few more reasons not to like him, so if you could help me out it would be much appreciated."
"He just wanted to inform me of a few things, like, I don't know, the town thinks I'm an alcoholic and my job security is on the line, not to mention the fact that he, and of course the rest of the town by default, knows about my parents' problems and Jason and did you tell anyone about the money you lent me?" She only stopped talking because her lungs were out of air.
She opened her mouth to say something more, but Luke stopped her simply by raising one hand. "I swear I didn't tell a soul. I don't want that getting around anymore than you do. Did he say something to you about it?"
"Well no, not exactly. But he *knew. * And he did mention my 'money problems.' Do you think I have a drinking problem?"
"Coffee, yes. Alcohol, no." Luke was trying hard not to be amused by her frustration.
"Because Taylor said that the whole town thinks I was late to work today because of a hangover and they've wondered about me for a long time."
"Well *I* know that that's not true." Luke reasoned.
"Oh, Luke, why are you so nice to me?" Lorelai had changed from crazy ranting woman to worn-out and apologetic/thankful woman right before Luke's eyes.
"You're my best customer," Luke answered without batting an eye. "Alright, have fun with your parents." Luke patted the car door, wanting some physical contact but not daring to touch her.
Lorelai drove away still feeling pretty rotten. But at least there was a hint of a smile on her face.