It was early the next morning when Lorelai woke up. She had had the same dream again about Luke where they were sitting on his bed, fully clothed, necking with the orange flannel sheets tossed about. Only this time the bed was placed in the middle of the stage at the elementary school while the players from "Fiddler on the Roof" sang "Do You Love Me?" from either side of the bed. Lorelai pulled away from Luke and looked in his eyes while her own were brimming with tears. "Luke?" she started, words wanting to stumble out of her mouth. "I..."
But then she woke up. It seemed no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't tell him. Not even in her dreams.
Lorelai threw on some clothes that she thought were suitable enough for work and walked out the door without looking twice at how unmanaged her hair had become over the night. She walked the few blocks to Weston's, ordered one cup of coffee and a cherry danish and walked out with her breakfast in hand. She strolled along the town square and sat on a park bench, relaxing as the morning sun, unusual for Connecticut in March, hit her back warming her entire being.
She looked around her, soaking in the scenery. The grass was already starting to green, birds were flitting about the square, singing. People milled around seeming wonderfully pleasant. Why, when she felt so miserable, was the rest of the world so... amicable? It wasn't fair. Then she saw something curious over by Luke's. Of course normally she would have cursed herself for even giving a wayward glance towards said dining establishment, but it appeared that there was a meter maid. Since when does Stars Hollow have a meter maid? she wondered. She picked up her purse and walked straight to the area of intrigue.
As Lorelai neared the woman, she surveyed her scrupulously. The pad of paper in her hands, the uniform, the way she held the pencil in her hand. Had she been wearing flannel and a backwards baseball cap she could have passed for the female double of Luke. Only as she wasn't, and as she was looking critically at Luke's boat, Lorelai walked up to her with a degree of uncertain confidence.
"Excuse me?" Lorelai beckoned when she was fewer than three feet away.
"Yes?" the woman replied without looking up from her pad of paper that she was scribbling furiously on.
"Can I help you?"
"Not unless you own this vehicle."
Lorelai sighed. "No, I don't but..." Oh, dear, how could she do this? "Um, this is going to sound a little awkward but, since when do we have a meter maid?" She laughed, trying to make it less awkward but her efforts went unnoticed.
"Since Taylor hired me. Said that there was much too much petty crime on our streets and asked me to take care of that." She tore off the ticket and stuck it on the boat.
Lorelai blinked hard. Taylor? "Taylor hasn't been town selectman since November. Why haven't I seen you, or heard of you, until now?"
The meter maid looked at Lorelai plainly. "Taylor was put back in office three weeks ago when Jackson resigned. I was his first initiative."
"Unbelievable," Lorelai muttered under her breath. She had been so out of it recently that she didn't even know about this. Why didn't Sookie tellme that Jackson resigned?
"Yes, isn't it though," came the flat reply. "Now if you'll let me..."
"Um, one thing," Lorelai sighed. She wasn't letting this woman off so easily. "You're writing up a boat?"
"Yes, it's under violations 421 section B and 521 sections A through D which clearly state that..."
"Gah, no. Sorry. I just didn't believe it." Lorelai shook her head.
"I assure you, the boat's presence is all perfectly illegal."
"Well, as long as that's taken care of."
"Yes, now that that's taken care of, I'll just be on my way."
Lorelai let the meter maid walk past her and ran a shaky hand through her hair. She picked up the ticket and swore under her breath as she looked at the price of the fine. She looked through the window of the diner and saw Luke looking at her. She flinched under his gaze. She sighed in defeat.
"Excuse me," she called out again to the maid who she knew was still in hearing range. Time had not slipped so far past her to get this over and done with.
"Yes, Miss Gilmore?"
Lorelai stopped, curious. "How do you know my name?"
"Everybody knows who you are, Miss Gilmore."
"Um, well, okay." She hesitated and glanced back through the window just long enough to be stung for a moment. "Is this really how much I owe you?" she questioned, pointing at the ticket.
"I thought you said the boat wasn't yours."
"Well, things certainly can change depending on the circumstances, can't they?" she asked with a smile.
"I suppose so," she admitted curtly. "Yes, that is the total, Miss Gilmore. Please make the check out to Town of Stars Hollow."
Lorelai wrote the check and ripped it out with undeniable flourish.
"I expect its removal..."
"Within a week," Lorelai ended for her.
"Two days, Miss Gilmore."
"Two days?" That was fast. "I need to find storage for it and spaces are limited and..."
"Two days."
Lorelai nodded. "It'll be off the streets and no longer in violation of town regulations in two days."
"Good." And the meter maid left.
Lorelai looked past the window and behind the counter where once again the space where Luke should have been was left in a void. "Yeah, good."
TBC
