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CHAPTER 23 – Now you're Gone... I'm sleeping with the Light on
Nearly four weeks later...
Luke was still in Maine, he had thought he would have been back in Stars Hollow by now, but no such luck with the state that Liz and TJ were in.
"If I never see another medieval costume in my life it'll be too soon" he grumbled when he saw a band of knights walk past him. Liz was helping out the best she could but TJ was driving him crazy with his constant moaning and refusal to do anything that may sustain his injury even longer, his main problem was his laziness.
He hadn't heard from Lorelai since he had left, although she didn't have his sisters number anyway so she couldn't have called him. He had lifted the phone to call her so many times, the three times that he had finally built up the courage to call all he had gotten was her machine which he really didn't want to talk to, so he had just hung up.
Lorelai had been keeping herself busy with the Inn, doing everything and anything she could to take her mind off Luke. She only went to the diner for a few minutes each morning to grab a quick coffee on her way to work, also she wanted to check if he was back, but each and everyday she was disappointed with the lack of flannel in the diner. It just wasn't the same anymore with Luke away, not even the coffee was the same!
Lorelai had gotten Liz's number off Rory who knew it in some weird related Jess way which she hadn't questioned her about. She had dialled her number so many times but had just hung up, 'Why hadn't he called her? He said he would call!' Lorelai kept thinking. Rory was off doing the college thing so she hadn't seen her a lot and Sookie... well she was Sookie. She had been coaxing her to call him since the day he had left, 'God damn my stubborn nature' she thought.
Jenson had set her a card and big bouquet of flowers after the fight to apologise, although she hadn't seen him much either with all the work she had been doing at the Inn, plus she had been doing her best to avoid him. She knew now she shouldn't have gone to the dance with him, Jenson shouldn't have acted like that to Luke and got him riled up, and Luke shouldn't have punched him – it was all their faults... not that it mattered now Luke was gone anyway. He had never been away for this long, he had left the diner and even Caesar and Lane weren't sure when he'd be back.
A few nights later...
Around 10pm Lorelai was sitting at home, flicking through the TV stations and she came across Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As she watched it, for the first time ever she felt sad watching one of her favourite movies, it was the same movie it had always been... but now it was different to her. She remembered her first date with Luke when he had brought her to the drive in movie to watch it after they had been out for dinner. He had been so sweet and had thought of everything and now he was gone...
Luke sat down to watch TV, he was tired after the long day he had had, it was more tiring and annoying to hear people talking in old English language than it was when Kirk came into the diner with his daily dilemma about what he wanted to eat or just his continual weird questions. He flicked through the channels trying to find some baseball, but not paying much interest to what was on the screen. He stopped at a channel when he recognised the film on...it was Lorelai's favourite.
They both sat and watched the movie, thinking of one another, what they were doing, how much they missed each other and how much they hated to admit how much they missed each other and wanted to talk to one another. He saw the Umpa loompa part which Lorelai had talked about for twenty minutes after the film had ended and even made up a song about, he smiled when he thought of it.
She remembered the song she had made up on their first date that she had sung for ten minutes straight just to see how annoyed she could get him. Luke quickly picked up the phone and dialled her number, wanting to do it before he lost his nerve. She had done the same, she knew Liz's number by heart from the number of times she had tried to call him in the past month and failed.
"Dammit" they both said out loud when they heard the busy tone on the end of the line.
The next night
"Ahh I can't find my shoes" Lorelai shouted from her room.
"Which one's?" Rory shouted back as she walked upstairs.
"The black ones"
"Oh the black ones, now I know which ones you're talking about" Rory said sarcastically as she dodged the flying shoes that were passing her head.
"Mom?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you have three pairs of the same shoes?"
"Where?"
"The one's on that heap, the ones you just almost killed me with that landed out I the hall and the ones that you are just about to throw" Rory said matter-of-factly. Lorelai looked at them and then shrugged as she went back to the shoe search.
6.40pm – The Gilmore Residence
"Hey mom"
"Hello Lorelai, hello Rory – You will be joining your father for drinks in the pool house before dinner"
"So dad got joint custody, he must be psyched, did you know that you can divorce your parents?"
"That's ludicrous"
"No really mom, Nathan from One Tree Hill did it – and here's me thinking he was stupid" Lorelai said smiling as Rory laughed. Emily ignored her and informed the maid to lead them to the pool house.
"How weird is this?" Lorelai whispered to Rory as they walked.
"I know, I haven't been in the pool house since... I can't even remember the last time I was in the pool house"
"I can – I pushed you I" Lorelai said as she rubbed her hands evily.
"There's the motherly love that orphans crave".
Richard had his 'man slave' as Lorelai called him serve their drinks as Richard served them some Hungarian cheese that he had recently discovered on a recent business trip. The conversation was basically the same as it always was, Richard asking about Yale and talking about how much he loved his years there and asking Lorelai about business at the Inn. The only difference now was there wasn't Emily's disapproving voice in the background.
At 7pm the maid informed them that diner was ready in the main house.
"Okay if I had known we were going to be walking through these gravel stones I would have worn different shoes" Lorelai said as she lifted her foot to examine the heel of her shoe.
"Well don't worry you'll probably have another couple of pairs at home anyway" Rory said sarcastically.
"You're not the only one who stays prepared" Lorelai shot back.
Dessert...
"So Lorelai when are you going to be bringing Luke to dinner? Emily asked finally after an entire meal of not mentioning it. Lorelai had finally told her before all the stuff that had happened with Luke that they were together, even though Emily had already known.
"I'm not sure" Lorelai answered trying to be as vague as possible.
"Well how about next week?"
"No, I don't think that will work"
"Why?"
"Because it won't"
"Well how about the week after?"
"So Rory, you have a newspaper meeting tomorrow?" Lorelai said in a desperate attempt to change the subject but she knew it wouldn't work anyway. She just didn't want to have to tell her mother what had happened between them and get the famous Emily Gilmore 'You screwed up again' look.
"Yeah, it's good that I don't have to do that stupid paper hat thing this year too"
"Have you and the diner man broken up?" Emily asked, ignoring the new conversation.
"No Mom he's just out of town at the minute" Lorelai said sighing, she knew her mother would go on about it, 'She's like a dog with a bone' Lorelai thought.
"Where?"
"Maine?"
"Why is he there? Richard and I went there once, it was quite nice"
""I dunno why he's there mom okay?" Lorelai said as her annoyance grew with every prying question her mother asked.
"Why not? Shouldn't you know why the man you are seeing is away Lorelai?" Emily said pointedly.
"Yes mom, I should but I don't" she said in a calmer voice, not in the mood to argue with her mother.
"Well when will he be back?"
"Mom can we drop this?"
"Yum, this is good pie, don't you think this pie is so great mom? I mean it's so..." Rory said loudly with a weak attempt to get their attention.
"I suppose you don't know that either" Emily interrupted.
"Thanks mom for dinner, I'll see you next week" Lorelai said as she stood up from the table, set her napkin on her plate and walked out of the dining room.
"Lorelai" Emily called out as she stood from her chair and followed her daughter out, leaving Rory alone at the dining table.
"Mom, please I have to go" Lorelai said getting upset.
"What happened with Luke?"
"... I don't know Mom okay"
"Well are you going to work it out? I mean you're..."
"38, yes mom I know my age, I'm not quite senile yet, I'm going to sort it out with him"
"When?"
"Now!"
"You're going to call?"
"No I'm going to see him"
"But he's in Maine?" Emily said confused.
"Well mom, there's a highway to Maine ya know?"
"I'm not stupid Lorelai" Emily said indignantly.
"I'm going to drive to Maine"
"But it's 9 o' clock at night?"
"Highway doesn't close after 9"
"Yes but it's too late to go..."
"Bye mom" Lorelai shouted on her way to the car. She knew she had to sort it out with Luke and he didn't seem to be in a rush to get home so she would have to go there. He had shown up at her door in the middle of the night, or window to be specific so she could do the same to him.
"Thank you Rory for being a map freak" Lorelai said out loud to herself as she took the road map out of the glove compartment, the same map Rory had said she would need someday and the same one Lorelai had argued her that she never would.
Hours later...
"Jeez, why couldn't he had gone somewhere closer" Lorelai said yawning. She pressed the button to turn off her Metallica CD, she had been listening to it since she left Hartford and it was starting to slowly melt her brain as she had listened to it for the 8th time I a row. She started to listen to the radio, staying away from the 'evil' country and western stations.
Looking at the pages of my life
Faded memories of me and you
Mistakes you know I've made a few
I took some shots and fell from time to time
Baby, you were there to pull me through
We've been around the block a time or two
I'm gonna lay it on the line
Ask me how we've come this far
The answer's written in my eyes
Every time I look at you, baby, I see something new
That takes me higher than before and makes me want you more
I don't wanna sleep tonight, dreamin's just a waste of time
When I look at what my life's been comin' to
I'm all about lovin' you
I've lived, I've loved, I've lost, I've paid some dues, baby
We've been to hell and back again
Through it all you're always my best friend
For all the words I didn't say and all the things I didn't do
Tonight I'm gonna find a way
Every time I look at you, baby, I see something new
That takes me higher than before and makes me want you more
I don't wanna sleep tonight, dreamin's just a waste of time
When I look at what my life's been comin' to
I'm all about lovin' you
'Ok the guy's like older than me and still wears leather pants but...'
You can take this world away
You're everything I am
Just read the lines upon my face
I'm all about lovin' you
Every time I look at you, baby, I see something new
That takes me higher than before and makes me want you more
I don't wanna sleep tonight, dreamin's just a waste of time
When I look at what my life's been comin' to
I'm all about lovin' you
All about lovin' you
'... he knows what he's talking about' Lorelai thought as she related to the song, her and Luke had been best friends for years, he was what her life had been coming to, and if she ever got to Maine she knew she had to tell him everything, she cared too much to let him go.
Maine
Lorelai had finally reached it, she was only ten minutes away from hopefully seeing Luke again, she was excited, but also as nervous as hell.
Lorelai stopped her truck outside the apartment block, it had taken her longer than she had thought to find it but she was finally there. She fixed her hair in the mirror and put some lip gloss on quickly as she looked in the mirror, hopefully to take the attention off how tired she looked.
Luke was lying on the couch sleeping, he woke up when he thought he had heard something but when there was silence he rolled over and started to go back to sleep. He heard it again. 'Who the hell knocking in the middle of the night?' Luke thought angrily as he stood up from the couch and pulled on his t-shirt and a walked to the front door. He opened the door about 30 seconds later, trying to fiddle with the locks in the dark, he couldn't see where the peep hole was to look on and see who it was.
"Lorelai?" Luke said confused and surprised when he saw the figure shivering outside.