Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. I am just borrowing.
Previously: Rory talked Lorelai into not pulling any pranks at the rehearsal.
Friday Afternoon: The Dragonfly
Lorelai and Rory walked into the kitchen where Sookie was busy stirring some cake batter.
"Oooooooh," Lorelai squealed, "Is that my cake?"
"Yep," Sookie replied, "Well the vanilla part anyway."
"When are you making the chocolate part?"
"It's already done and cooling right over there. Touch it and lose a hand."
"But, it's my cake."
"Not until tomorrow."
"So at 12:01 in the morning can I have some cake?"
"No. You can have cake when Luke feeds you the cake at the reception."
"Luke has to eat cake. I just thought about that," Lorelai voiced as she walked to the phone and dialed.
"Luke's" said a gruff voice.
"Hey." Lorelai said warmly.
"Hey yourself. What's up?"
"Nothing much. Do you realize you're going to have to eat cake?"
"Only one bite, and that gets fed by your hand, so I'll deal with it."
"Will you deal with it if it doesn't all wind up in your mouth?"
"No. Then you'll have to deal with it."
"How?"
"Cake. Hair. Smush."
"Enough said."
"I thought so."
"Okay, well that was all. I just didn't know if you were aware."
"I am now." Luke confirmed then hearing the silence asked, "What time do I need to be there tonight?"
"Six. Will that give you time to get everything ready for the dinner?"
"Yeah. That'll be fine."
"Are you sure? Because, we can always go out somewhere if it's going to be too much trouble."
"Lorelai, I want to do this. The groom normally takes care of the rehearsal dinner and the honeymoon."
"I know, but I just don't want you to go through too much trouble."
"It's not. Trust me. This is going to be small, just you, me, Rory, your parents, Liz , T.J., and Jess."
"Jess is definitely coming?"
"He got here about fifteen minutes ago."
"Okay, and you're sure he's going to be okay with being your best man?"
"Yeah, he said it was 'fine'."
"Cause, you know, Rory is the maid of honor..."
"Lorelai, we have talked about this. They are adults. Whatever they feel or don't feel for each other, they can handle like mature adults. It's time for them to grow up."
"I know. I'm sorry. That was just my protective mom genes taking over again."
"It's fine. I understand."
"So I'll see you at six?"
"I'll be there. I love you."
"I love you too."
"Bye."
Lorelai hung up the phone and smiled. She looked at Sookie and said, "Getting cake in my hair would almost be worth it." Sookie just giggled and continued her baking.
Lorelai and Rory walked out into the dining area and began putting the linens on the tables. Rory then went behind her mother and placed the centerpieces on the tables. They had made the arrangements of burnt orange candles surrounded by brilliant colored fallen leaves by themselves, ignoring Emily's protests to let a professional handle the job.
"Those really look nice on the mocha colored linens." Lorlelai remarked.
"Yeah, they do. We are amazing."
"Yeah we are. And you know we always will be right?"
"Mom," Rory whined, "I know. We've been over this. You'll still love me. I'll still love you. We will always have each other. I got it. Really."
"Just checkin." Lorelai smiled.
When they were done they stood back and looked around. The tables were set with cream and gold place settings. The candles with the brightly colored leaves surrounding them, gave each table a soft glow. On one table in the sitting area, they had placed pictures from their lives. There were pictures of Luke and Lorelai by themselves, pictures of Lorelai and Rory together, and various pictures of the three of them together. Rory had objected that she wasn't getting married so her pictures shouldn't be on the table, but Luke had insisted. "I'm getting a daughter in this deal too. And a great one at that." Rory had to relent.
Lorelai slipped her arm around Rory and kissed her on the top of the head.
"Nervous yet?" Rory asked with a smile.
"Nope. Just excited."
"Good. Just checkin."
"So, what now?" Lorelai asked looking around.
"Let's go over the list." Rory suggested, walking over to her backpack and pulling out a notebook covered in sequins and lace.
"Okay," Lorelai agreed, "Let's make sure we aren't leaving anything out."
Rory sat down, opened the notebook and said, "All right, I'll call out the list and you answer with the status of each item. Okay?"
"Sounds good to me, "Lorelai answered, sitting down.
"Here we go. Set up tables."
"Check."
"Decorate tables."
"Check."
"Check on cake."
"Check has been checked, "Lorelai giggled.
"Good," Rory smiled. "Reserve minister."
"Check."
"Arrange florist for bouquets and live flowers."
"Check."
"Book a band for reception."
"Did you ask Lane if her band would play?"
"Yeah. She said she would love to, and that she would make the boys learn a few slow songs for the important dances."
"Okay then. Check."
"Food."
"SOOKIE!" Lorelai shouted. "HOW COMES THE FOOD?"
"GREAT! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!" Came the reply from the kitchen.
Rory looked at her mother, smiled and said, "Check?"
"Check."
"Make sure the dress still fits."
"Check. I tried it on this morning."
Rory looked down at the list and grinned, "Well, its all under control then. Shall we decorate the chupah?"
"Yeah," Lorelai said, standing up. "Luke is going to be so shocked tonight. I haven't told him about it yet. I wanted to make it a surprise."
"Oh, he'll love it." Rory said with a smile, then asked, "Did you want to go ahead and put the tulle on it, so that all we have to do tomorrow is add the flowers?"
"Yeah. That sounds good. Tomorrow will be busy enough."
"Just enjoy it, Mom. You only get married once."
"True. Unless you're J-Lo."
"True," Rory agreed laughing.
As Lorelai began weaving the gentle fabric around the chupah, she remembered standing under it with Luke when he had brought it to her house before her wedding to Max. She remembered that it was that moment, when they stood under it together, that she realized she couldn't marry Max. She didn't know the reason, but the fact remained. Max wasn't the one for her. Now, as she stood under the beautiful carvings that Luke had made with his own hands, she felt the love and care that he must have had for her, even back then, to have created such a beautiful thing just for her. She looked at Rory with tears in her eyes and said, "Will you promise me something?"
Rory saw her mother's eyes filled with tears and answered, "Sure, Mom. Anything. What is it?"
"Promise you won't mock me if I add some of my own thoughts to my vows tomorrow." Lorelai whispered as her tears began to spill.
"Oh, Mom," Rory whispered, as she wrapped her arms around her mother, "I promise. But if you do the Macarena during the reception, consider yourself mocked."
"Dually noted." Lorelai said smiling through her tears.
Mother and daughter held each other in a tight embrace, sharing a moment that both would remember for the rest of their lives.
Friday Evening- 6pm- Dragonfly
Luke walked in the front door and looked around for Lorelai. When he saw her, she was standing...."Under the chupah. The chupah I built. For her. For her wedding. I didn't know she was going to..." Luke felt a lump rise in his throat as he stared at her. She was talking to Sookie, and as she laughed she lifted her eyes to meet his. She smiled and he responded with the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face. He walked toward her thinking, "I never thought in a million years this would happen to me. This is all of my dreams coming true. I am marrying the one true love of my life." When Luke reached Lorelai he took her hands in his and kissed her gently on the lips.
"I love you." He told her.
Lorelai searched his face to find a reason for the gravelly voice. She smiled at him and whispered, "I love you too."
They stood there holding each others hands until Rory came up and slipped her arms around their shoulders.
"Okay you two. Break it up. We need to get this thing rolling." Rory said with a smile, as she pointed out the fact that there were others in the room and that they were there for a reason. "Mom, you go stand in the back with Grandpa. Luke, you can take your place next to Jess. He's over there with the minister. The three of you will walk in together and stand here at the altar. Okay?"
"Okay," Lorelai echoed, not taking her eyes off Luke.
Rory took her mothers hands out of Luke's and walked her upstairs.
"Mom, you ready?"
"Yep. I'm not scared at all this time."
"Good. Now about that prank..."
"You said I wasn't allowed." Lorelai protested.
"Well, a small one won't hurt." Rory said, smiling at her mother as she handed her a cup of coffee with ribbons and flowers glued to it.
"This is the prank?" Lorelai said, looking at the cup in her hands.
"Yeah, it's a coffee bouquet." Rory said with a smile.
"You are indeed my child." Lorelai told Rory, as she patted her on the arm
The music began and Rory walked down the stairs, smiling and holding a bouquet of ribbons.
The music then began to play the wedding march and Lorelai appeared over the railing and walked down the stairs, holding her bouquet in front of her. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she raised her arm to take her father's and heard her mother gasp.
"Oh Lorelai, please," Emily said with an exasperated sigh.
Luke and Lorelai shared a huge grin and Richard just patted her on the arm. Laughing they walked to the altar where the minister took them through the ceremony. When the rehearsal was over, the wedding party moved to the diner where Luke had prepared a feast for the group. When dinner was over, Emily and Richard said their goodbyes and Liz and T.J. went to the kitchen to help clean up. Rory told her mom she was headed for a last minute run to Doose's and that she would see her at home. Jess went upstairs to leave the couple alone. As he walked away he smiled, shaking his head. "It's about time." He thought.
Luke poured Lorelai some coffee and as he handed it to her he smiled. She took a sip and then asked, "Can you bring me some of this tomorrow? I know I'm going to need it."
"I'll send Liz with some, so that I don't anger your mom or Rory. How about that."
"Sounds good to me," Lorelai murmured into her cup. Luke just watched her. She was so beautiful to him. Full of light and energy. She was the bright spot in his life. He knew he was different because of her. He had always heard it said that no person could change another. He smiled because he knew it wasn't true. She had changed him. He was someone else entirely now. He was happy. He watched movies. He went without a hat, sometimes. He shaved more often. He smiled more often. He was even nice to Taylor, sometimes.
Lorelai looked at him and gave him a puzzled look as she asked, "What's the reason you're smiling like that?"
"You. The reason is you." Luke said as he kissed her. He took her hand and led her to the door of the diner. "Tomorrow, at this time, you'll be my wife. I can't wait."
"Me neither." Lorelai whispered as she kissed him gently on the lips. "Goodnight, Mr. Danes."
"Goodnight, Ms.Gilmore."
Lorelai took her coffee, walked to her car, and drove home, smiling the whole way.
Please read and review. The wedding is in the next chapter. I promise. :)
Previously: Rory talked Lorelai into not pulling any pranks at the rehearsal.
Friday Afternoon: The Dragonfly
Lorelai and Rory walked into the kitchen where Sookie was busy stirring some cake batter.
"Oooooooh," Lorelai squealed, "Is that my cake?"
"Yep," Sookie replied, "Well the vanilla part anyway."
"When are you making the chocolate part?"
"It's already done and cooling right over there. Touch it and lose a hand."
"But, it's my cake."
"Not until tomorrow."
"So at 12:01 in the morning can I have some cake?"
"No. You can have cake when Luke feeds you the cake at the reception."
"Luke has to eat cake. I just thought about that," Lorelai voiced as she walked to the phone and dialed.
"Luke's" said a gruff voice.
"Hey." Lorelai said warmly.
"Hey yourself. What's up?"
"Nothing much. Do you realize you're going to have to eat cake?"
"Only one bite, and that gets fed by your hand, so I'll deal with it."
"Will you deal with it if it doesn't all wind up in your mouth?"
"No. Then you'll have to deal with it."
"How?"
"Cake. Hair. Smush."
"Enough said."
"I thought so."
"Okay, well that was all. I just didn't know if you were aware."
"I am now." Luke confirmed then hearing the silence asked, "What time do I need to be there tonight?"
"Six. Will that give you time to get everything ready for the dinner?"
"Yeah. That'll be fine."
"Are you sure? Because, we can always go out somewhere if it's going to be too much trouble."
"Lorelai, I want to do this. The groom normally takes care of the rehearsal dinner and the honeymoon."
"I know, but I just don't want you to go through too much trouble."
"It's not. Trust me. This is going to be small, just you, me, Rory, your parents, Liz , T.J., and Jess."
"Jess is definitely coming?"
"He got here about fifteen minutes ago."
"Okay, and you're sure he's going to be okay with being your best man?"
"Yeah, he said it was 'fine'."
"Cause, you know, Rory is the maid of honor..."
"Lorelai, we have talked about this. They are adults. Whatever they feel or don't feel for each other, they can handle like mature adults. It's time for them to grow up."
"I know. I'm sorry. That was just my protective mom genes taking over again."
"It's fine. I understand."
"So I'll see you at six?"
"I'll be there. I love you."
"I love you too."
"Bye."
Lorelai hung up the phone and smiled. She looked at Sookie and said, "Getting cake in my hair would almost be worth it." Sookie just giggled and continued her baking.
Lorelai and Rory walked out into the dining area and began putting the linens on the tables. Rory then went behind her mother and placed the centerpieces on the tables. They had made the arrangements of burnt orange candles surrounded by brilliant colored fallen leaves by themselves, ignoring Emily's protests to let a professional handle the job.
"Those really look nice on the mocha colored linens." Lorlelai remarked.
"Yeah, they do. We are amazing."
"Yeah we are. And you know we always will be right?"
"Mom," Rory whined, "I know. We've been over this. You'll still love me. I'll still love you. We will always have each other. I got it. Really."
"Just checkin." Lorelai smiled.
When they were done they stood back and looked around. The tables were set with cream and gold place settings. The candles with the brightly colored leaves surrounding them, gave each table a soft glow. On one table in the sitting area, they had placed pictures from their lives. There were pictures of Luke and Lorelai by themselves, pictures of Lorelai and Rory together, and various pictures of the three of them together. Rory had objected that she wasn't getting married so her pictures shouldn't be on the table, but Luke had insisted. "I'm getting a daughter in this deal too. And a great one at that." Rory had to relent.
Lorelai slipped her arm around Rory and kissed her on the top of the head.
"Nervous yet?" Rory asked with a smile.
"Nope. Just excited."
"Good. Just checkin."
"So, what now?" Lorelai asked looking around.
"Let's go over the list." Rory suggested, walking over to her backpack and pulling out a notebook covered in sequins and lace.
"Okay," Lorelai agreed, "Let's make sure we aren't leaving anything out."
Rory sat down, opened the notebook and said, "All right, I'll call out the list and you answer with the status of each item. Okay?"
"Sounds good to me, "Lorelai answered, sitting down.
"Here we go. Set up tables."
"Check."
"Decorate tables."
"Check."
"Check on cake."
"Check has been checked, "Lorelai giggled.
"Good," Rory smiled. "Reserve minister."
"Check."
"Arrange florist for bouquets and live flowers."
"Check."
"Book a band for reception."
"Did you ask Lane if her band would play?"
"Yeah. She said she would love to, and that she would make the boys learn a few slow songs for the important dances."
"Okay then. Check."
"Food."
"SOOKIE!" Lorelai shouted. "HOW COMES THE FOOD?"
"GREAT! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!" Came the reply from the kitchen.
Rory looked at her mother, smiled and said, "Check?"
"Check."
"Make sure the dress still fits."
"Check. I tried it on this morning."
Rory looked down at the list and grinned, "Well, its all under control then. Shall we decorate the chupah?"
"Yeah," Lorelai said, standing up. "Luke is going to be so shocked tonight. I haven't told him about it yet. I wanted to make it a surprise."
"Oh, he'll love it." Rory said with a smile, then asked, "Did you want to go ahead and put the tulle on it, so that all we have to do tomorrow is add the flowers?"
"Yeah. That sounds good. Tomorrow will be busy enough."
"Just enjoy it, Mom. You only get married once."
"True. Unless you're J-Lo."
"True," Rory agreed laughing.
As Lorelai began weaving the gentle fabric around the chupah, she remembered standing under it with Luke when he had brought it to her house before her wedding to Max. She remembered that it was that moment, when they stood under it together, that she realized she couldn't marry Max. She didn't know the reason, but the fact remained. Max wasn't the one for her. Now, as she stood under the beautiful carvings that Luke had made with his own hands, she felt the love and care that he must have had for her, even back then, to have created such a beautiful thing just for her. She looked at Rory with tears in her eyes and said, "Will you promise me something?"
Rory saw her mother's eyes filled with tears and answered, "Sure, Mom. Anything. What is it?"
"Promise you won't mock me if I add some of my own thoughts to my vows tomorrow." Lorelai whispered as her tears began to spill.
"Oh, Mom," Rory whispered, as she wrapped her arms around her mother, "I promise. But if you do the Macarena during the reception, consider yourself mocked."
"Dually noted." Lorelai said smiling through her tears.
Mother and daughter held each other in a tight embrace, sharing a moment that both would remember for the rest of their lives.
Friday Evening- 6pm- Dragonfly
Luke walked in the front door and looked around for Lorelai. When he saw her, she was standing...."Under the chupah. The chupah I built. For her. For her wedding. I didn't know she was going to..." Luke felt a lump rise in his throat as he stared at her. She was talking to Sookie, and as she laughed she lifted her eyes to meet his. She smiled and he responded with the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face. He walked toward her thinking, "I never thought in a million years this would happen to me. This is all of my dreams coming true. I am marrying the one true love of my life." When Luke reached Lorelai he took her hands in his and kissed her gently on the lips.
"I love you." He told her.
Lorelai searched his face to find a reason for the gravelly voice. She smiled at him and whispered, "I love you too."
They stood there holding each others hands until Rory came up and slipped her arms around their shoulders.
"Okay you two. Break it up. We need to get this thing rolling." Rory said with a smile, as she pointed out the fact that there were others in the room and that they were there for a reason. "Mom, you go stand in the back with Grandpa. Luke, you can take your place next to Jess. He's over there with the minister. The three of you will walk in together and stand here at the altar. Okay?"
"Okay," Lorelai echoed, not taking her eyes off Luke.
Rory took her mothers hands out of Luke's and walked her upstairs.
"Mom, you ready?"
"Yep. I'm not scared at all this time."
"Good. Now about that prank..."
"You said I wasn't allowed." Lorelai protested.
"Well, a small one won't hurt." Rory said, smiling at her mother as she handed her a cup of coffee with ribbons and flowers glued to it.
"This is the prank?" Lorelai said, looking at the cup in her hands.
"Yeah, it's a coffee bouquet." Rory said with a smile.
"You are indeed my child." Lorelai told Rory, as she patted her on the arm
The music began and Rory walked down the stairs, smiling and holding a bouquet of ribbons.
The music then began to play the wedding march and Lorelai appeared over the railing and walked down the stairs, holding her bouquet in front of her. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she raised her arm to take her father's and heard her mother gasp.
"Oh Lorelai, please," Emily said with an exasperated sigh.
Luke and Lorelai shared a huge grin and Richard just patted her on the arm. Laughing they walked to the altar where the minister took them through the ceremony. When the rehearsal was over, the wedding party moved to the diner where Luke had prepared a feast for the group. When dinner was over, Emily and Richard said their goodbyes and Liz and T.J. went to the kitchen to help clean up. Rory told her mom she was headed for a last minute run to Doose's and that she would see her at home. Jess went upstairs to leave the couple alone. As he walked away he smiled, shaking his head. "It's about time." He thought.
Luke poured Lorelai some coffee and as he handed it to her he smiled. She took a sip and then asked, "Can you bring me some of this tomorrow? I know I'm going to need it."
"I'll send Liz with some, so that I don't anger your mom or Rory. How about that."
"Sounds good to me," Lorelai murmured into her cup. Luke just watched her. She was so beautiful to him. Full of light and energy. She was the bright spot in his life. He knew he was different because of her. He had always heard it said that no person could change another. He smiled because he knew it wasn't true. She had changed him. He was someone else entirely now. He was happy. He watched movies. He went without a hat, sometimes. He shaved more often. He smiled more often. He was even nice to Taylor, sometimes.
Lorelai looked at him and gave him a puzzled look as she asked, "What's the reason you're smiling like that?"
"You. The reason is you." Luke said as he kissed her. He took her hand and led her to the door of the diner. "Tomorrow, at this time, you'll be my wife. I can't wait."
"Me neither." Lorelai whispered as she kissed him gently on the lips. "Goodnight, Mr. Danes."
"Goodnight, Ms.Gilmore."
Lorelai took her coffee, walked to her car, and drove home, smiling the whole way.
Please read and review. The wedding is in the next chapter. I promise. :)