Author's Note: Hey Guys! Sorry it has been soooo long. I promised I wouldn't give up. I finally got a full-time job and it has been crazy. I finally settled into a routine, though, so I can take up the writing again. You can attribute the last few chapters to my anger with ASP. I had my story ending planned out since about the 5th chapter, so you can tell how long ago that has been. I just read the spoilers for the rest of the season last night, and I COULD'VE WRITTEN IT. It's very VERY similar. It's not that I thought my idea was unique, but I would've thought hers would be more unexpected. Anyway, I really do love ASP, but I am rushing out the rest of this story for two reasons. One, I want to finish this without being influenced by the way she plays it out, and two, I want to start on a sequel, so that I will have a lot more room to play around with things. Anyway, thanks to those who never gave up and sorry again for the long wait. Love you all.
On with the story. . .
Chapter 25: The Fund-raiser
Just before sunset on Saturday evening, a dark blue town car pulled up to the Stars Hollow town square. Out stepped an elegant woman in a deep maroon gown. It was a conservative dress, floor-length and smooth. Embroidered flowers just a shade lighter than the rest of the dress adorned the cuffs of the long sleeves. She'd had her auburn hair done especially for the occasion, but it looked no different from usual.
Emily stood appraising the scene before her. She had to admit Lorelai had done a wonderful job. Directly in front of her was a large, wooden dance floor. It had obviously been built recently, but the sprinkling of rose petals masked its imperfections. It was lit by tall, wrought iron stands, topped with white candles surrounded by pink lilies.
Behind the dance floor stood a modest stage, built low to the ground, with only a black curtain in the back and a single microphone in the center. A spotlight roamed the stage, which Emily saw to be manned by a quirky man she vaguely remembered.
To the left of the dance floor was the dining area, holding about 20 tables. Each was covered in cream colored, satin table clothes with a light sprinkling of iridescent glitter. Bouquets of red roses, pink lilies and purple irises colored the centers of half the tables, while floating candles in crystal bowls of lavender water decorated the rest. She noticed that about a quarter of the chairs were already filled with members of the D.A.R. and their guests.
To her right stood the town's gazebo. She had always thought it was an elegant structure on its own, but tonight it brought new meaning to the word. Vines were woven throughout the lattice roof and dangled down the sides. The same flowers that adorned the tables blanketed the roof and hung from the vines. Small twinkle lights peeked out from behind petals, like magical fairies playing with each other. Under the roof she saw the furniture and antiques that had been donated for the silent auction. She watched as a group entered to look, but made their bids quickly when they realized they were being watched by a stern looking Korean woman.
The rest of the square was decorated in ribbons, streamers, and flowers. Everywhere she looked, Emily saw purple, pink, and red. Strands of lights were draped everywhere casting a gentle glow over the area.
Beyond that, slightly away from the display, was a tiny enclosure, in which a group of children was terrorizing three older girls. Emily immediately recognized one of them to be Rory, but the other two she couldn't place from a distance. One was small and cowering in a corner and the other stood rigid and kept pointing her finger.
Behind her, all the shops were dark, except the diner. Inside, Emily could see Lorelai's friend Sookie running around amongst a batch of confused looking waiters. She heard the voice of the overbearing man she had met a few times before. He was directing valets, who looked more like scared teenage boys.
In all of the activity, Emily still had yet to see Lorelai. She walked to where a woman was checking invitations. The squat blond smiled up at her.
"Invitation, doll?" she asked.
"I don't have an invitation. I'm the one hosting this event." Emily looked patronizingly at the woman, who just continued to smile.
"Oh, Emily. I didn't recognize you all gussied up like that." Emily smiled at her thinly.
"Do you know where I might find my daughter?" she asked.
"She's right there, sugar." Emily looked where the woman was pointing. There stood a tall woman in a dark blue gown. It was made out of a thin material with sparkles embedded that glinted in the candlelight. The dress had thin straps and open, plunging back. The gown was floor-length with a slight train trailing behind. The woman's raven hair was pulled back in a loose bun and small curls decorated her nape and surrounded her face. Next to her was a broad-shouldered man in a dark suit. His back was to her, but she could just make out the outline of the curls at the end of his short dark hair. Emily didn't remember Lorelai mentioning dating anyone, but she was standing very close to the man and his hand was resting gently on her lower back. Emily headed toward them.
As Emily neared, the man leaned down and whispered something in Lorelai's ear. She laughed and as she turned her head to look at him, she caught a glimpse of Emily out of the corner of her eye. Emily expected Lorelai's usual reaction when she was caught with someone or something she had been keeping a secret from her mother. But Lorelai looked neither embarrassed nor guilty. Emily didn't even see the usual dread behind Lorelai's sparkling eyes. All she could read on Lorelai's features was happiness.
"Hi, Mom," Lorelai said, smiling. "You look great."
"You look lovely also," Emily replied, biting back a comment about the thinness of Lorelai's dress; she didn't want to be the one to start anything tonight. "The square looks wonderful. I'm sure all of the girls are pleased." Lorelai smirked, knowing that it was a big compliment coming from Emily.
"Where's dad tonight?" Lorelai asked, looking around. Emily sighed.
"He's at some conference in New York. With Jason gone there was no one that could fill in" Emily said with disdain. She took a deep breath and put on a smile. "I'm a single woman tonight." Her eyes roamed over to the man next to Lorelai, who up until this time had kept his back to them. Lorelai grabbed his arm lightly and turned him around.
"Mom, you remember Luke." Emily had to do a double take before she could believe that this handsome, clean-cut man and the flannel clad diner man she had met before were the same person. Emily looked him up and down appraisingly and smiled. Luke looked nervous, but Lorelai just rolled her eyes. "Have you seen the antiques in the gazebo?" she asked. Emily looked at Luke a moment longer before turning to Lorelai.
"Yes. Mrs. Kim has done a wonderful job. I'd like to go see what the bidding is up to." Lorelai nodded, but Emily didn't move. She stared at Lorelai expectantly and cleared her throat.
"Oh!" Lorelai jumped when it finally hit her. She looked up at Luke and he nodded. She followed Emily away. They hadn't made it but a few steps before she asked the question Lorelai knew was coming.
"Are you seeing that man?"
"When he isn't wearing his invisibility cloak," Lorelai answered, but Emily just looked at her, exasperated. "No, Mom. I'm not seeing him." Emily looked at her skeptically.
"You two looked quite cozy." Lorelai looked away. She didn't like discussing her love life with Emily to begin with, but this time she wanted to avoid it even more. She had felt very comfortable being affectionate with Luke. She didn't want anything to freak her out, to turn this into a bad thing. An inquisition from Emily spelled big trouble.
"We're just friends," she said, not even believing it herself anymore. Emily opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Jackson's voice.
"If everyone could please take their seats, we'll begin." Lorelai and Emily exchanged a glance then walked toward their seats, both knowing that the conversation was far from over. "Stars Hollow would like to extend a warm welcome to the Hartford DAR . . ."
As Jackson continued, Emily took her seat at a table in the front with other ladies of the DAR Lorelai sat next to Luke, at the table she'd assigned them. As Lorelai sat down Luke noticed she didn't look very happy. He gave her a quizzical look. She looked at her mother and just shook her head. He nodded, knowing how difficult Emily could be. Lorelai was glad that Luke understood without her saying anything. It used to be only Rory that had that ability. They both settled in to watch the show.
Lane's band performed first. They played a slow Sinatra song and Lorelai was amazed at how good Brian sounded when he wasn't wheezing. The band had come a long way. Lorelai was glad Mrs. Kim was there to see it. In fact, Lorelai had even seen Mrs. Kim swaying gently to the song. It was the slightest of movements, and went unnoticed by most, but Lorelai saw it and wished Lane could've too.
Next, Miss Patty crooned "Moon River." Even Luke had to admit it was a good performance. Lorelai had convinced her to dress conservatively and her husky voice really did the song justice. Lorelai leaned over and whispered something in his ear about the song making her think of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Luke had seen it many times before. It was his mother's favorite and knowing Lorelai liked it too made the hair on his arm stand up.
Miss Patty's little ballerinas rounded off the performance part of the evening. They weren't the most talented group the town had seen, but they were adorable enough to make up for it. Also, this bunch kept all their clothing on through the entire dance, so it was deemed a success.
Every so often, Emily would sneak a peek over at Luke and Lorelai. She had seen them exchange a look when Lorelai had first sat down and Emily had been intrigued ever since. To any passerby, they looked like a couple. During the band's performance, Lorelai leaned forward in her chair, listening intently. Luke, meanwhile, leaned back in his chair with his arm around the back of Lorelai's chair. When he thought no one was looking, he watched Lorelai instead of the stage. Emily recognized that look. Richard looked at her that way when they were younger. When Miss Patty took the stage, Lorelai leaned back, but Luke kept his arm there. They both stared in the general direction of the stage with content looks on their faces. Finally, when the ballerinas took the stage, Lorelai sat up again. This time she turned to smack Luke on the arm excitedly every time the girls did something cute. Luke regarded her with part annoyance and part amusement. By this time, Emily was fairly sure, she'd gotten her answer.
After the performances were over, dinner was served. Emily only half listened to the conversation at her table, keeping a watchful eye in Lorelai's direction. She planned to talk to her the first chance she got, but when it came to food, especially Sookie's food, Lorelai took it seriously. As each dish was served, Lorelai would take a bite and make a face. Even from her seat four tables away, Emily could see Luke's face redden. He glared at Lorelai, but she would only laugh. When dessert was served, Lorelai took a huge fork full, opened her mouth wide, and shoved it all in.
"Real attractive" Luke said, looking at her. Lorelai smiled, closed her eyes and let out a loud, pleasurable sigh. Luke turned bright red again and glared at her.
"Don't you think the first three times were enough?" he growled.
"No," Lorelai said simply and giggled at the look she received back.
Soon dinner was over and the winners of the silent auction were announced. Everyone clapped politely after each name was read, and Mrs. Kim stood on the stage until she had received a check from each and every winner.
After Mrs. Kim left the stage, Morry and the Troubadour quickly set up. They started playing and it wasn't long before the dance floor was half full. Luke and Lorelai were the only ones left at their table. Luke sat with his arms crossed, looking everywhere but at Lorelai. She batted her eyes at him and stuck out her bottom lip. When that didn't work, she made little whimpering noises. When he still didn't budge, she began to whine loudly and he finally relented out of sheer embarrassment.
By the time they took their place on the floor, Luke's arm was around Lorelai's waist. Almost immediately they fell into natural rhythm and their bodies moved together as if they had been made specifically for this purpose. Luke held Lorelai so close that his arm circled around her back and almost rested on her opposite hip. Their swaying reminded Lorelai of riding the waves of the ocean. It had less to do with the beat of the music, than with some natural pull that she had no control over. They moved as one without any effort. One of Lorelai's hands traced gently across Luke's back and the other was in Luke's palm against his chest. As calm as they appeared on the outside, their minds were racing inside. Neither looked at each other, afraid that their faces would betray their emotions. Lorelai hadn't forgotten about her mother's presence, but with Luke holding her this way she felt like it didn't matter. She realized that without her even knowing, Luke had always supported her just the way he was now. He created a protective shell just the way he was now, cradling her in his arms. That was the exact moment that she realized, not even Emily Gilmore could scare her out of her feelings for Luke. He was a constant, an always. She couldn't remember what it was like before him and couldn't picture being without him again. As she looked over his shoulder, she smiled to herself.
Luke was also having some realizations. He had been in love with Lorelai Gilmore for a long time without ever admitting it to himself. He had never let himself have those feelings. As painful as "not loving" her was, loving her could only be twenty times worse. Lately, though, he had slowly been losing his grip on his feelings. Right now he was barely hanging on by a thread. He was holding her so close he couldn't distinguish her racing heart from his own. He wasn't sure he could ever let go. He realized that no matter what it took, he wouldn't ever let go.
Now both relaxed further into each other. Lorelai rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Luke leaned his chin against the curve of her neck and breathed her in deeply. Both smiled almost simultaneously and felt the other's smile against their skin. They pulled their heads back so slowly that time seemed to stand still. Lorelai could feel Luke's breath travel from down her back, over her shoulder, to hitting her collar bone. They looked deep into each other's eyes for only a second. It seemed to last forever and the thoughts racing through their heads vanished. Neither knew anything but the other's face. The world disappeared from around them. Gone were the people, the music, the lights, and the voices. Luke had never believed all the junk people spouted about love and romantic moments. This moment changed that forever. Their faces moved back together even slower than they had come apart. Neither closed their eyes, afraid it was a dream. They were so close that Luke could smell Lorelai's lip gloss, when a throat being cleared brought the world back so fast, Lorelai felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her.
"What are you doing here?"