Disclaimer: These characters are owned by the WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and Amy Sherman-Palladino.
Author's Note: This is chapter four of what will be a six-part story. All hail the two snow days that are allowing me to put off grading papers by working on this.
Family
Luke passed the day at the diner in a daze. He couldn't stop thinking about the pain and sadness in Lorelai's eyes. Well, to be honest, she hadn't really let him see her eyes. She had been avoiding looking at him ever since the previous night. Luke wanted to believe that was a reaction to what Jason had said, but the pessimist in him was convinced that she was regretting the kiss and that's why she wouldn't look at him. Or talk to him. He had known there was a risk in making his feelings known to Lorelai. She would be afraid to ruin their friendship. She would be afraid to be in a relationship with someone who knew her so well. It was already going to be hard. Why did life always have to make everything that much more difficult? Lorelai might say that it was fate telling them that it wasn't meant to be. Today he was having a hard time coming up with arguments to the contrary.
"You know, I think Europe sounds great. I think you would really enjoy that. I mean, remember -- we loved Paris. You don't have anything special planned for the summer, do you?"
"No, nothing special."
"Well, then? What do you say? Would you like to be impulsive with me?"
"Sure, Grandma, I'd love to."
"Well I have to admit I was kind of hoping you would say that, so I had the travel agent hold a seat for you too."
"Wow, okay, so tonight?"
"Yes, do you think that you'll be able to manage?"
Lorelai suddenly realized that Rory had just made plans to leave for the summer and that she had encouraged it. What was she thinking? Did she really want Rory to leave? It would probably be a good idea for her to have some time away from Dean, but she still felt very unsettled about fighting with Rory.
Emily noticed Lorelai's expression and asked, "Lorelai, is everything alright? You don't look like yourself."
"Oh, who do I look like – Catherine Zeta-Jones? I've always wanted to look like Catherine Zeta-Jones."
"Don't be ridiculous. It was just a simple question. You seem distracted. Does this have anything to do with Jason? Did you get back together with him? Was that why he was at the inn last night? I was really surprised to see him there. I never liked that boy."
"No mom, I did not get back together with Jason and I really don't want to talk about this now."
"Then why was he there?"
"Apparently you did not hear the 'I don't want to talk about this right now.'"
"Will you just tell me why he was there? I'm assuming you wouldn't invite him knowing that your father and I would be there. I mean, you don't always take our concerns into account, but that seems beyond even you. You know he's suing your father."
"Of course I knew that. That's why I broke up with him."
Emily looked genuinely surprised. "That's why you broke up with him?"
"Yeah, what did you think?"
"I just figured it wasn't fun for you anymore now that the secret was out." Emily had intended it as a joke, but it came out more harshly than intended. Apparently their secret relationship had bothered her more than she had realized.
"Wow mom, you don't pull any punches, do you?" Lorelai joked, but Emily could see that the words had hurt her. She was trying to keep up her usual banter, but her composure seemed particularly fragile today.
"Well, what am I supposed to think when you always keep me in the dark?"
"As if you make it easy to share. I can't win with you. If I tell you things I get criticized. If I don't you get angry."
"Would you please tell me what happened with Jason?"
"He told me he was going to sue Dad, I asked him not to, but he said he had no choice. I told him I wasn't going to be with anyone who was suing my family." Lorelai looked at her mother and paused. Emily gave a small nod and she went on. "The thing was, he didn't even consider what I was saying to him. It was exactly the way that Dad treated me. I mean, I didn't expect either one of them to risk their careers for me, but they didn't even take me into consideration."
"And yet you were willing to give up your relationship out of loyalty to your father and me?"
"Don't give me that much credit. Mostly it made me realize that I didn't want to be with someone whose work is the most important part of his life."
Rory was watching this exchange with interest. It was so unusual for her mother to tell her grandmother anything about her life. It made her wonder even more what had happened in the last 24 hours.
"So what was he doing there last night?"
"Jason wanted to get back together. I said no. He wouldn't leave and I didn't want to make a scene during dinner. Later, when I tried to get him to leave, he made a huge scene and said some really nasty things about me.
"What could he possibly have said?"
"That I wasn't capable of having a real relationship. That I was just interested in sleeping with someone who would piss off my mother."
"What a horrible thing to say, especially coming from that obnoxious playboy."
Rory was starting to put two and two together and she said softly "and Luke was there."
Lorelai glared at Rory and then looked down.
"Luke? What does Luke have to do with this?" Emily asked, puzzled.
Loreleai didn't answer.
Rory looked briefly at her mother before saying, "Mom thinks that she might be dating Luke."
"Can you stay out of this?" Lorelai pleaded. "You have no idea what is going on."
"Because you won't tell me."
"Lorelai, what is this about you dating Luke?" Emily asked impatiently. "And what does she mean, might be dating? Isn't that something you generally know?"
"It's complicated."
"How complicated can it be? Did you have a date or not?"
"Well we went to his sister's wedding, but that was kind of a friend thing, at least I thought so, but we had a really good time."
"They danced," Rory interrupted with a teasing grin. "Apparently, Luke can waltz."
"Really?" Emily asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Rory!" Lorelai protested.
"What? Just filling in some details that you're leaving out."
"Just stop interrupting."
"Well, keep going then."
"I lost my train of thought with all the interrupting."
"You had a great time dancing at the wedding with Luke."
"Then he walked me home and asked me to the movies, which seemed more like a date, but still not definitive."
"This is the longest answer to a simple question that I have ever heard," Emily said. "Did you go to the movies or not?"
"Well, it was supposed to be tonight, but I don't think we are going."
"Why not? If you agreed to go you should go. This is just typical, Lorelai."
"Since when did you join the Luke fan club? I would've expected you to be horrified by my dating Luke."
"Is that why you agreed to go out with him?"
Lorelai suddenly looked as if she had been punched in the stomach and Emily realized what she had said. "God, mom no! How could you say that after Jason…"
"Your right, that was entirely inappropriate. Please forgive me."
Lorelai struggled to regain her composure and asked Rory jokingly, "Hey reporter, you have one of those little tape recorders on you? Maybe we can get her to repeat that."
"Lorelai, I really am sorry. Can you go on? Why are you canceling your plans with Luke?"
"I'm not canceling them!"
"But you just said…" Emily added.
"He cancelled them," Lorelai said quietly, not realizing how sad the expression on her face had just become."
Wait, are you serious?" Rory asked. "Luke canceled a date with you?"
"It does seem unlikely," Emily added.
"Well he said that he thought I might not be up to it, but I think that he just doesn't want to go anymore, especially after what Jason said."
"Do you still want to go?"
"I don't know. I can't really face him right now."
"You mean you haven't talked to him about it?" Rory jumped in.
"No, with the inn and everything it was just too crazy to talk this morning and then he had to go to the diner."
"Mom, you have to talk to him."
"You know what? I think that I have done enough sharing for today and you two need to do some serious packing if you are planning to leave tonight. Rory, you realize that it will take you a while to put together a set of travel clothing that will meet Emily Gilmore requirements. You have your work cut out for you."
Emily and Rory exchanged a glance, both realizing that the same time that they had gotten as much out of Lorelai as they were going to get for the time being.