A/N: All right cahpter three feels a little more true to the current nature ofthe characters. I haven't touched on Lane yet, but I'm gonna get there. The Elder Gilmores will also make a couple of appeareances. Enjoy!
And now on with the Show!
Chapter 3: Friends, Love and the Really Hard Stuff part 2
"I wanna call him." Lorelai sighed.
"No you don't. He's suing Grandpa." Rory replied sensibly.
"And still with the wanting to call him." She heard Rory grumble over the line.
"What about the wedding this weekend?" Rory asked trying earnestly to keep her mind off Jason.
"Yeah, it ought to be fun."
"You're going with Luke?"
"Yeah, he asked, and I thought it would be fun." Rory could almost hear the shrug in her mother's voice and she sighed louder than she'd meant to. When will they get it?! She thought.
"What?" Lorelai asked as soon as the sigh past Rory's lips.
"Nothing." Rory tried to put her off.
"That exasperated groan was not 'nothing.'" Lorelai said quickly. "I heard frustration and anxiety in that sigh."
"Then your ears are better than mine." Rory said quickly then turned as Paris walked—really she more stalked—into the room. "I gotta go, Mom."
"We are not done with this. I love you!" Lorelai shouted as she heard Rory putting down the phone. What was that sigh about? She thought again before she headed to the kitchen to forage for food. Tossing her hands up at the empty fridge she laid a hand on her grumbling stomach and looked the clock. "Early dinner at Luke's then drop by the Dragonfly and see if the air conditioning problem in 17 is fixed." She nodded at the empty house and pushed the play button on the stereo as the trotted up the stairs.
Luke was putting the finishing touches on a new peach pie as she walked in. "Mmm, pie." She said before he could get it under the glass bell.
"No. I just finished it. For tomorrow." He emphasized the future date.
"Mmmm. Pie." Lorelai said mostly just to rib him.
"Are you coming to the wedding?" He asked feeling a little apprehension about her answer.
"Um, I think so." She paused and looked up at him. "I'm still going with you, right?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "I mean—you still want to right?"
"Yeah." She said slowly and looked up and raised a brow at him.
"Okay, just checkin'." Luke said and turned to reach for the coffee pot.
Lorelai shook her head and called to Luke, "Hey! Don't I get to order."
"Yeah." He leaned on the counter and pulled out his order pad. "What'll it be?"
"Cheeseburger, cheese fries, nachos with cheese, and red velvet cake with cream cheese icing."
"Mmm-Hmm. How about the cheeseburger, regular fries, and a chocolate malt?"
"How about Cheeseburger, fries, nachos with cheese and a chocolate malt?" she countered.
Shaking his head Luke decided to bargain with her. "Let's try a Cheeseburger, cheese fries, and a chocolate malt."
"Sounds like a winner!" Lorelai smiled up at him and when he smirked back at her, hear heart flipped over in her chest.
"Huh." She said calmly and nonchalantly as he grinned at her.
"What?" He asked still looking at her eyes, unable to tear his away.
"Nothing." She said still not looking away or changing the subject.
"All right." He said and nodded. He could give her some time to deal with it. He'd had a while to get used to the idea, even though it only really struck him three days ago and for the whole day you could have knocked him over with a feather.
He smiled as he walked back to the kitchen and relayed her order to Caesar. This was going to be fun, he thought. Scraping at his ever present five o'clock shadow.
Back in the dining room Lorelai went through her to do list for the hundredth time and scratched off two things she was sure Michel was handling at the Dragonfly. Thinking about what had just happened she dialed Rory's number.
"You realize these things are not free, young lady." Rory's voice floated to Lorelai's ear.
"Problem." Lorelai explained with one word.
Then she relayed the entire even to Rory before Luke re-appeared and scowled her out of the diner. "Out with that thing." He pointed at her cell phone. "Or no pie." He threatened, and Lorelai all but ran out the front door.
"The Pie Nazi." Lorelai stated in shock. "It flipped over the Pie Nazi, Rory. What is this?"
"Mom. Slow down and relax. He's just Luke. I mean we are talking about Luke, right? "
"Yes, Luke." She sadi sharply. "But I don't think you understand, Rory. I—I'm—"she stopped. "Insane." She said a moment later. "It's fine and I'll go to the wedding this weekend and take a breather form all the Inn craziness and the next time I see Luke this will no happen." She sounded more sure than she actually was. "Then I'll call Jason."
"Who is the much more logical choice since he is in litigation with your father." Rory said.
"Don't roll your eyes at me young lady." Lorelai scolded just as Rory did roll her eyes.
"How do you know?" Rory sighed.
"Your eyes give you away." Lorelai answered cryptically.
"Okay. Mom, I love you, and this—whatever it is—"Rory had her own suspicions as to what had her mother in a tizzy. "It'll work out for the best."
"Right, right. Thanks, honey. Now I have to go back in there and get my pie. Bye."
"Bye." Rory echoed shaking her head at the young man who'd just witnessed the entire phone call. "My mother. She's wonderful, and only mildly eccentric." She said with a smile.
He looked down at Rory and grinned, "Aren't all mothers a little crazy."
"I guess so." Rory smiled back and took his hand when he offered it. "So, Adam, shall we knock this paper out and get some coffee?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "That sounds like a plan."
Meanwhile Lorelai went back to her pie and her to do list. Item number 5 caught her attention, and now she laid her head down and nearly screamed, but settled for a low growl instead. Kirk, still sitting at the new table Lorelai had discovered for him slid toward the back to find Luke.
"I don't know." Kirk was saying as he and Luke rounded the corner from the kitchen. "She's just repeating—'Raisins' over and over... She a case, man."
"Oh, Kirk, you are not one to talk."
"I freely admit that I'm nuts I have never hidden or denied my eccentricities."
"God knows we all wish you would sometimes." Luke threw back at Kirk as he laid a hand on Lorelai's back. "What's wrong?" He asked her. "With all the moaning and gnashing of teeth you might scare my customers away."
"I'm a terrible friend." She moaned.
"No, you're not. What makes you say that?"
"I told Sookie two days ago that I would pick up fresh—"
"Raisins." Luke supplied throwing a quick glance at Kirk.
"Right." She said looking briefly up at him, confused. "Though I must ask how raisins can be fresh—they're dried up grapes. They by definition are not fresh. Anyway I forgot them yesterday and we argued about it and she said that I was caught up in all my own stuff and didn't care about anyone else's stuff and now I realize that she was right and I am totally self- centered and horrible. I want to go home, curl up in a ball and die." She finished and put her head down on the table again. Luke rolled his eyes and jimmied his ever-present ball cap up and down on his forehead before he spoke.
"Breathe Lorelai." Luke reminded her, and she took a deep shuddering breath.
"Luke, this Inn is driving me crazy. I'm letting everyone down. I screw something up at least once an hour. How am I going to do this?" She looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes. He dropped to a knee at her side and pulled the curtain of long, soft hair out of her face. "Lorelai, it's a big project you guys are wrapping up. Everyone is stressed. Listen, I said it before I'll say it again: you need a break. Liz's Wedding ought to be nothing if not fun and silly. Just hold out 'til then and—"he stopped as he rose and put her arms around his shoulders.
"Thank you, Luke. You are the absolute best." She said her voice still hoarse with tears and pulled back to lay a friendly kiss on his cheek. The bell above the door jangled and Luke didn't even notice it. He did however notice the quiet murmur running through the diner. Aware that he would be swamped with questions the minute she left Luke walked her to the door and smiled after her for moment before turning around to face the music.