A few minutes later Rory walked in the diner and sat down in the chair Luke had vacated.
"Hey, did you order?" She asked.
"Oh, I'm fine, thanks for asking. Yeah, my day has been good so far, too." Lorelai said, sarcastically.
"I'm hungry! We can exchange pleasantries after I've eaten."
Lorelai laughed. "Fine, yes, I ordered, it should be ready any second now. Ceasar's cooking, though, so it might be a little burnt."
"Ugh, why does Luke continue to let that man cook? Doesn't he know his area of expertise is in serving the food, and not cooking it? In fact, staying away from the kitchen altogether?"
"Who knows what goes on in Luke's head sometimes. Maybe he thinks that by making us eat gross burgers, it'll make us not like them anymore! Hah! Fat chance of that happening!"
"Yeah, that's what H.J. Heinz invented ketchup for!"
"He'll never outsmart us Gilmores!" Lorelai yelled.
As she said this, Luke came out of the kitchen carrying their plates of food. "No one would be stupid enough to even try", he said.
"Apparently you are", Lorelai replied.
Luke rolled his eyes and placed the plates in front of them. "I'm not even going to ask what you're talking about this time."
"That's always wise", Rory laughed as Luke turned and walked away.
They each picked up their burger and started eating. They ate in silence for a few minutes until Rory pushed her plate away. "Ok, you never let me eat for this long without grossing me out when you talk with your mouth full. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm just thinking." Lorelai looked at her food.
"Thinking is not nothing. What are you thinking about?"
"It's....nothing. I.I...I'll tell you later."
"You better, because I don't know how I feel about actually being able to finish a meal for once. I mean, I might actually get full!"
"Ha ha, you're funny. Now eat your burger before I decide that it's going to be your last meal."
"Fine, but you better tell me what's bothering you." Rory pulled her plate back towards her and resumed eating.
---
A few moments later, having paid Luke for the meal, the two women left the diner. They had only walked a few steps before Rory stopped and turned to her Mother. "I'm sorry, but you are too quiet! You have to tell me now!"
Lorelai was silent for a second and Rory didn't think she was going to say anything. Suddenly Lorelai took a deep breath and grabbed Rory's arm. "I think I'm dating Luke!" she said.
"What!?" Rory's mouth gaped open.
"You heard me! I'm dating Luke! Well, I think I'm dating Luke!"
"Wha...how...what?!"
Lorelai pulled Rory to end of the building where they were out of view of the diner. "Well, when he asked me to Liz's wedding, he-"
"He asked you to Liz's wedding? I thought you just went together! I didn't know he asked you!"
"Well, he did, and when he did he seemed kind of...I dunno...nervous or something. But at the time I didn't really think anything of it. So we went, and we had a really great time, and, well, you know about the dance. Then later when he walked me home he asked me if I wanted to go to a movie with him!"
"Luke? At a movie? Luke is so not a movie guy!" Rory raised her eyebrows.
"That's what I said! But then he said that he could be a movie guy! Anyway, so I said yes, and we went, and it was fun! But then afterwards at the diner, he was holding my hands and he got all serious, and I could tell that he was about to say something, and I panicked! I left. I made up some excuse about having to get home to you or something, and I just left. I'm not sure exactly what he was going to say, but something told me that I wasn't ready to hear it."
"Oh Mom..." Rory sighed.
"But then today, just before you got here, he sat down at the table and he asked me to dinner! For tonight! And I said yes! We're dating! Luke and I are dating. I can't do this! I can't date Luke! Can I date Luke?" Lorelai had tightened her grip on Rory's arm.
Rory wrenched her arm out of Lorelai's grasp. "No you can't date Luke!"
"What? What do you mean, I can't?!"
"Mom, you just can't!" With this Rory turned and started walking down the street.
Lorelai was stunned. She hadn't expected this reaction from her daughter. She stood there on the sidewalk outside Luke's Diner as Rory got farther and farther away. "What just happened here?" She said to herself. She shook her head and started down the street towards home, Rory, and the argument that was sure to be waiting for her.
---
"Rory?" Lorelai called into the quiet house. There was no answer. "Rory, you better be here!"
"I'm in here" came the reluctant reply from the direction of Rory's bedroom.
"Okay, contrary to popular belief," Lorelai walked into the room, "I am still your mother, and with that responsibility comes privileges such as knowing what the hell you meant back there! What do you mean, I can't date Luke?"
Rory sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you, but you have to promise me you won't get mad at me."
Lorelai sat down on the bed across from Rory and crossed her legs. "I'm going to refrain from making that promise until after I hear what you have to say."
"You can't-"
"Uh, yes I can, I'm the mommy, remember? Now go."
Rory sighed again. "Fine. You can't date Luke because you'll just end up hurting him. Everyone knows that Luke loves you, even if you can't see it! And you may be attracted to him, but with Luke it goes deeper than that. It's obvious."
"Rory..."
"No, let me finish. Now think back. You claimed that you loved Max, and look at what happened? He was a huge part of our lives and now he doesn't even want to see you anymore, at all! And then Dad! He wanted to marry you for a long time before Sherry even came along, and you turned him down! So what if neither of you were ready, you could have gotten ready together! And then with Jason, you were always really casual with him. He cared about you, he even gave you the key to his apartment, and you never used it! Now, I know what he did later was inexcusable, but before that, you acted like the relationship with him was no big deal!"
"Wow..I.." Lorelai began.
"I'm not done." Rory continued. "Luke is a very important part of our lives. He's been a friend and confidant to you, almost like a father to me, and one of the major figures in this house forever. Sure, you fight, but you've always made up, because in the end, it's always Luke that we need. That you need. He is more than a friend to both of us, and if you date him, you'll just end up hurting him, and that would crush him! He would be devastated, and would probably become more of a hermit than he is now. He wouldn't be able to face you, and that would ruin everything."
Lorelai stared at her daughter. She was speechless. She had no idea that Rory had these feelings all this time. It hurt to know that this was how she felt. She could feel tears forming in her eyes and looked down at the bed. "I don't know what to say..I...I didn't know you thought all of that. Am I really like that?" Tears rolled down her cheek.
"Oh, Mom." Rory took Lorelai's hands. "It has been like that, but it turned out for the best. They weren't right for you. And I don't know if Luke is, but I'd rather never find out then see you both hurt."
"B..but..but what if he is? I mean...what if Luke is right for me? If I don't try, then I'll never know. I know Max and Jason weren't right for me, and I'll always love Chris, but what if Luke has been the one all this time and I've just been too stupid and blind to see it?!
"Well, honestly Mom, think. Do you really think that he might be?" Rory looked into Lorelai's eyes.
"I...I don't know...I don't want to hurt him, but I don't want to hurt myself either! I...I need to think."
"Are you still going to dinner with him tonight?"
"I...yeah, I guess so. It would be horrible to cancel now, wouldn't it?"
"Well, that depends on how much thinking you do between now and then."
"Yeah," Lorelai stood up. "I'll, ...uh..I'll be in my room."
"Okay." Rory stood up and put her arm on Lorelai's shoulder. "Mom?"
Lorelai turned. "Yeah?"
"I love you."
Lorelai wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve and pulled Rory into a hug. "I love you too, sweets."
----