Note: Ok, the reason I've taken so long to continue is cuz I had to think about where I actually wanted this story to go. I had to make sure I had enough plot to follow through with my intention to provide a bunch of angst. So, things may take a slight turn, and you're going to see a lot of other characters, cuz basically, how can I provide the conflict if none of them are there? So yeah, hopefully the story will come out more well rounded, and I'm going to apologise in advance for the lack of Luke in the next chapter or two. I'm not sure when I'm gonna get to him decently. Just please stick with me, and I'll deliver on the promise of a javajunkie fic.
So, again I disclaim these characters, we all know how awesome they are, and if not for Ms Amy S-P, we'd all be staring at a blank page right now. So thanks Amy, you have one of the most intriguing and creative minds I've ever seen!
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7 Days Post Kiss, 8:30amLorelai headed into the inn via the kitchen door, pausing long enough to grab a mug and fill it with Luke's coffee. She continued on her way through the hallway to the check-in desk, and looked up as she turned towards her office, noticing, as she did every day, the vase holding the flowers Luke had given her a week ago. They were finally starting to wilt and dry out, the beginning of the end for something that held so much meaning. She knew it was probably time to throw them away, but she couldn't bring herself to touch them. She didn't want to forget that moment, the first time he had ever given a woman flowers. That thought alone made the gesture so much more meaningful. Had he never wanted to buy anyone else flowers? Or was it just that he had never thought to? Had he been too embarrassed before, with Rachel, with Nicole? What made her so special? What urged him to go out in public, pick some flowers and willing carry them all the way to the inn, and even present them to her in front of countless other pairs of eyes?
Sighing with the weight of her thoughts, she pushed them aside temporarily and stepped into her small office, intent on locking out the rest of the world and concentrating solely on the planning for the inn's first official day of service. Leaning back in her chair, she realised that this was probably the first three seconds of peace she'd had since the previous Saturday. She sipped at her coffee, allowing her mind to drift back to that night, before Kirk had woken all the guests with his terrified screaming, before he had interrupted them, before she had hurried home and found Rory and Dean. She remembered what she had been thinking in that moment, just as she was leaning towards Luke for a third.. really? It would have been the third?.. kiss. She had been thinking how good it felt, how she was glad something good was happening after the arguments with Jason and her parents.
She closed her eyes, trying to bring forth the feeling of his lips pressed against hers, his arms wrapped tightly around her, his heart pounding against her chest. Naturally, Michel and Sookie chose that exact moment to charge into the office, talking over the top of one another, vying for Lorelai's attention at whatever it was they felt had highest priority.
"Lorelai, thank god you're here! I've been looking through the linen supply closet, and I can't find the yellow tablecloths we ordered with the dragonfly embroidered in the corners. I thought they arrived a couple of weeks ago. Did you see them? Did someone move them? I wanted to use them for the first meal; you know, add a touch of colour rather than use the white ones. They're so boring and.." Sookie rambled despite the fact that Michel was also rambling.
"Lorelai, I would have expected that now that you have your very own inn to run that you might consider actually showing up on time in the mornings. What a dreamland I must have been in. I was expecting you half an hour ago to go over the schedule. And also, the snotty nosed little farmer boy you hired to feed the horses and clean the stables isn't doing his job. He hasn't put away any of the food that arrived yesterday, and the stables smell terrible. I do not know how you expect our guests to actually go in there and enjoy themselves. I really do not know what you were thinking when you bought those beasts. They really have no place in such a calming environment.."
Lorelai stared open mouthed at them until they seemed to be slowing down to a steady stream, as opposed to the relentless blather they had entered the room with. "Guys.. guys.. GUYS!" she finally yelled, startling both of them into silence. "Ok, first of all, Sookie, yes, the tablecloths did arrive, but I asked the housekeeping staff to press them yesterday so they would be ready for you to put on the tables today. Why don't you go check with Celia. I'm sure she's taking care of them."
"Oh," Sookie replied, surprised. "Sorry."
Lorelai nodded and turned to Michel, "As for you, I thought we hired you here to make sure things kept themselves running properly. Why didn't you talk to farmer boy about the jobs he needs to be doing?"
"Because Lorelai, did you not hear me when I said the stables smell? I am not going to go into that disgusting building and leave with the reek of those animals and their waste permeating my suit. I'll have you know this is Armani, and I am not going to ruin the best suit I own just so your precious horses are taken care of."
She threw her hands in the air and stood, leading him out of the office and out the front door towards the stables to talk to Nathan, the recent high school graduate Lorelai had hired to care for the horses. She shook her head as she walked, knowing that it was too good to be true. How stupid could she really be? Of course there was something she had to deal with. Of course she'd never be able to relax and think about Luke. It was times like these that she wondered why she actually wanted to run her own inn.
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By the time she finally got back to her desk, it was almost 10:30, and her forgotten cup of coffee was now cold and wasted. She grabbed the thermos, hoping that it was expensive enough to have done its job properly, as opposed to the cheaper ones that never seemed to deliver as promised. She had barely turned around when her cell rang loudly from her handbag. She rummaged through the bag until she found the offending object and looked at the screen, only to find it was Jason calling. She inhaled, calming herself before she flipped the phone open and released a pleasant "Hi," into the mouthpiece.
"Lorelai, I'm glad I caught you. I hope this isn't a bad time," he began, barely pausing to allow her to even open her mouth, "Listen, I know things are crazy for you right now, but when they calm down a bit, like in a couple of weeks, maybe we could get away for a few days, just you and me. I think it would be good for us. We can talk, we can eat, we can get this whole mess sorted out once and for all. I know this great place up in Vermont. It's very secluded, perfect for a romantic weekend. What do you think?"
"Jason, there's no way I could even consider getting away from this place for the next three months, minimum. And to be quite honest, I can't say that you're the first person that pops into my mind when I think of getting away."
"Way to shoot a man when he's down Lorelai. Come on, I thought we were going to talk about this. I waited all day Monday for your call, and I called you Tuesday, only to be blown off. I think I've been quite patient waiting until today for your call back. I want us to work this out, why can't you see that?"
Lorelai groaned in frustration. She'd had enough of his constant badgering, and was finally ready to tell him so. "Look, Jason, I've tried to be nice about this. You were a complete jerk when you pulled that lawsuit against my dad, but I managed to restrain myself last week when you showed up unannounced. I've had enough Jason. There is no way I will ever consider rekindling a relationship with you, and quite frankly, I wonder now what I ever saw in you. Maybe it was simply the idea of my mother hating it so much that I wanted it, regardless of whether or not it was good for me. I don't want you to call me again. Goodbye Jason." She flipped the phone shut and fell into her chair, leaning her forehead against the desk. The wood felt cool and calming against her throbbing head. She wished she could lock herself in this room and never be bothered again for all eternity, but she knew that would be impossible.
Naturally, as those thoughts passed through her mind, her cell phone rang again, with the usual eerie bad timing her mother somehow always managed, without fail. Did she have some sort of surveillance on her? How was it that she always knew the exact wrong moment to call?
"Mom," Lorelai stated, barely controlling her frustration.
"Lorelai, good, I'm glad I caught you. I was wondering if you were going to be busy for lunch today?"
"Mom, The inn opens tomorrow. I barely have time to sleep. What makes you think I'd have time to spend an hour eating?" She knew her words were going to start something, and though she honestly didn't have time for it, she knew no other way to make it clear enough for Emily to understand.
Sookie walked into the office, not realising Lorelai was on the phone. She waited quietly as Lorelai sighed and listened to her mother speak her mind yet again.
"Honestly Lorelai, there's no need for that kind of tone. All you need to say is I'm sorry I can't make lunch today, how about tomorrow?"
"That's just it Mom. I can't have lunch with you for at least the next week, probably longer. I just cannot leave the inn until everything is settled here properly."
"So basically you're saying you don't want to have lunch with me," Emily reiterated, twisting her daughter's word unnecessarily. "You don't care that I'm upset, you don't care that I might need somebody to talk to. You just don't care! Do you Lorelai?"
Lorelai's chest was heaving as she tried to breathe through her anger. She knew that last thing she should do now is respond with the same tone her mother had just used. But oh how she wanted to, more than anything in the world. "Look Mom, I'm sorry, but did you ever stop to think that you're not the only person with problems? I have a lot going on here, and I just cannot handle any more than what's already on my plate. So please, just understand that I'm too busy, ok?"
There was an extremely long pause, longer even than Emily was known for, and then she heard a quiet, "Fine," before a click and the line went dead.
"Is everything ok hon?" Sookie asked sympathetically.
"Yeah, I'm just peachy," Lorelai replied sarcastically. "You know those moments where there is so much going on you feel like you're Sydney Bristow and you've just been caught out by the bad guys, and you have no idea how to get yourself out of the situation before you're killed, and then it goes to a commercial and you're just hanging there, waiting to find out what happens next, and then you realise that all you need to do is use your sexuality and then kick some ass?"
Sookie nodded along with the story, though her face betrayed her confusion. Lorelai slumped back in her chair and said simply, "I wish all it took to fix my problems was a bit of kickboxing the bad guys."
"That bad?"
"You have no idea."
"Mom!" Lorelai and Sookie turned their heads towards the door, hearing Rory's anxious voice outside. She hurried into the room, her steps faltering for barely a moment as she noticed Sookie there, and exclaimed, "Mom, I need to talk to you!"
All it took was one look into her daughter's deer-in-headlights expression to know something big had just happened. She immediately jumped into action, grabbing Rory's hand and leading her outside and down the path to the back garden.
"What happened?"
"Lindsay came to see me! She yelled at me for having some sort of hold over Dean! She thinks I never let him go so he could move on and be with somebody else, and she says that I'm completely selfish and that if she sees me near him again she's not gonna stand by silently and let it happen. God Mom, what have I done?" The tears were welling in her eyes, and Lorelai quickly pulled her into her arms, one hand holding her head protectively.
"Well I for one have had enough," Lorelai spoke determinedly after several silent moments. Rory pulled back and looked at her mother in confusion.
"What?"
"I've had enough. I cannot deal with anything anymore. We're leaving."
"Again, what?"
"Just go home, pack some clothes. I'll be there in a few minutes. I'm going to talk to Sookie."
"But.."
"No arguments kid. Just go. I'll see you soon." Lorelai then turned and headed back inside, finding Sookie back in the kitchen, moving frantically around, ensuring everything was where it was supposed to be and that they had everything they needed for a successful first meal.
"Sookie, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure, what's up?" She continued her hurried movements, listening as she worked.
"Ok, well don't freak out on me, but I have to go."
"Ok, that's fine. I'll see you later then. I have plenty here to keep me busy."
"No, Sookie, I have to go. Away."
Sookie froze, afraid of what was coming next.
"I know the timing could not be worse, but I just, I can't deal with anything else right now. My stress levels are at a 'Danger Will Robinson' meltdown type high, and if I don't leave, I'm afraid of what I'm going to do when we actually have guests here tomorrow." She was becoming more and more upset as she talked, pacing the floor, refusing to meet Sookie's eyes. The guilt was already eating at her, but she knew she had no choice. It was either go and give herself time to calm down and recover, or freak out at the absolute worst moment possible.
"Lorelai, you cannot leave me here alone! I'm just a chef, I can't do it all by myself!"
"Sookie, Michel will be here, and I'll call Ivan. I'm sure he won't mind coming in to help out tomorrow for a couple of hours while it's busy. Tell him we'll pay him overtime for however long he wants to work before the night shift. I just really really need to go Sookie. I'm scared I'm going to attack a guest for asking me if they get a freakin' mint on their pillow. I just.. I can't do it."
Sookie stared at her friend for a moment, seeing the frustration and confusion and tiredness in her eyes. She knew she couldn't force her to stay, and if Lorelai said she was stressed then it was a big deal. Sighing, she said, "Ok. If that's what you need. Just promise me that if you go, you'll come back and be able to handle this with me. I was planning to run this place with my best friend."
"I promise," Lorelai smiled gratefully and wrapped Sookie in a hug. "Thankyou."
"You've got two days before I come and drag you back," Sookie warned.
"Yes ma'am!" Lorelai saluted and then hurried to grab her bag and head for home. She could already feel the calm enveloping her. It was as if the simple idea of getting away from her problems was enough to improve her outlook. As she exited the office, she stopped once more to stare at Luke's flowers. She frowned, blinking slowly as she wondered what she was going to do about him. OF all the things she had to figure out while she and Rory were gone, that was the one that deserved the most attention.
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TBC.. and Ps I'd love a review or two ;)