As they pulled up to the house, Rory couldn't speak. Yes, she had been there a mere few hours ago, even if it felt as though days had elapsed since she had gone to the hospital, but now, now that she knew more, it was as if she was coming back for the first time again.
They got out of the car and walked to the door. Rory reached for the turtle, but Luke had already pulled a key out of his pocket and opened the front door. It swung opened, and they stood on the stoop for a few moments before Luke let Rory walk in first and then closed the door quietly behind them.
Rory walked to the kitchen, and Luke followed. Rory sat at the kitchen table, her hands folded, just like she had at the table in the hospital cafeteria, except that her sunglasses had long since been moved to her purse. She reached for it and drew them out, lying them carefully on the table, and then searched the bag for the case that she had neglected to place them in before. Her fingertip nicked something slightly sharp, but instead of recoiling, she pressed it, savoring the feeling of something after feeling so numb for so long. She dragged her finger along the edge of the object, trying to remember what it was, and then it hit her. Slowly, deliberately, she drew it out, and held it without looking. She then placed it on the table and looked.
Lorelai Gilmore, Owner and General Manager
It was the business card that Michel had given her earlier that day. Hard to believe that it was still the same day, but there it was. She looked up from the card to Luke, who had busied himself with the coffee-maker. Just as she was about to say his name, he turned away from the coffee-maker and it began to make that familar sound of coffee brewing. He looked at Rory, his elbows resting on the counter behind him, waiting for the question that he knew that she wanted to ask.
I... I have another question. Luke asked, invitingly.
Before I came to the hospital, I went to the Dragonfly.Mmm hmm.I saw Michel there, and I asked him about... about where she was. She couldn't bring herself to say yet, or even So that's how you figured it out.Yeah. He didn't recognize me when I asked for her. He said... he said that she was on leave, she looked up, trying to recall Michel's exact words. And he said that I should call here or write a letter, and that she always got back to her messages, eventually. She was proud in spite of herself for remembering the exact words. Came from all those years of required memorization at Chilton and Yale. How... how could she answer her messages like that?Oh... that would be me. I check messages, read mail... He trailed off and walked over to the coffee pot and poured Rory a cup. She didn't speak, knew that there was more to the story. He came over to the table and handed Rory the cup. She drank as he started to speak again.
I didn't at first. At first I just sort of let everything pile up. Didn't want to think about her not being able to do it herself. But then there came a point... the doctor recommended that I get everything in order for her around here... take care of bills and stuff, and so I started with that. Then I started checking the messages, writing them all down for her on this huge legal pad and getting back to people when they needed it. By then... by then there was a huge amount of other mail showing up at the house, so I started to take care of that too... getting back to people and filing all of it.You filed all of it?Well... yeah. I mean, there was just so much, and I couldn't throw it out. She would kill me. She would want to read it all herself. She'll want to read it all herself.Yeah... I guess she will. For the first time that day, Rory smiled. It was a small smile, tentative, but it was real.