Chapter 7: Reconciliation
Luke stumbled sleepily down the stairs, with a lopsided smile on his face. He had prepared himself this morning in a lethargic haze. He had fumbled with the buttons of his blue flannel shirt and dropped his baseball hat many a time. The afternoon before he had finally done something that he had wanted for so long. He had finally confessed his feelings to Lorelai Gilmore; he had kissed her with great passion and let his bravery prevail over his timid shyness. When it came to Lorelai, he had always been coy and bashful; he was never ever able to confess how he really felt and say what he really wanted. But last night, after he had comforted her in a moment of rancid craziness, he had been overcome with an insane amount of courage and decided right there and then that it was time to reveal his true emotions. The reaction that he had received to his valor had been absolutely perfect; there is no way the reaction could have been any better.
He walked over to the door, opened the blinds, and turned the sign from "Closed" to "Open." He turned to walk back to the counter when he heard the bells above the door ring joyously, announcing his first customer of the day. To his great surprise, it was Lorelai.
"Lorelai?" he asked, afraid of the expression on her face. Without a word, she ran up to Luke and planted a kiss right on his lips. Although he was slightly confused at first, he finally began to give into his emotions and kiss her back. After a moment or two, Lorelai finally pulled away.
"Good," she whispered breathlessly, "I just had to be sure that it would be as good the second time around."
"That's why you're here so early? To make sure my kissing skills haven't diminished in the last twelve hours?" Lorelai smiled sheepishly.
"Indubitably," she said in a vaguely moronic voice. Luke laughed, and looked down at the floor, noticing for the first time her pajama pants and slippers. Her old tattered slippers and the pants covered in huge red lips.
"Comfortable?" he asked, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. Lorelai wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head across his chest.
"Very."
Rory awoke to the sunlight streaming in through the windows. She sat up, stretched, and yawned. Catching sight of the bright purple post-it stuck to her door, she got up and read its contents.
"Ran to Luke's, be back soon." Rory looked back at the clock.
"She went to Luke's before eight? On a Sunday? Without me? Well la di da," Rory muttered to herself.
She shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing her dreary eyes. She stared at the empty coffee pot, and contemplated making a pot.
"Screw this. I'm going to Luke's."
People looking out their windows must have thought that there was something wrong with Rory Gilmore. She strolled down the street in a pair of pajama shorts and a large, oversized tee shirt, totally denying any type of fashion sense her mother had ever taught her. Her hair sat high on her head in a lopsided ponytail and she wore on her feet a pair of sandals that she could swear were once white. It was so strange for her to be seen in public like this, but she honestly did not care. She was in the mood for coffee, and that's all she wanted at this point.
She entered Luke's after a slightly familiar looking man held open the door for her, ignoring her disheveled appearance.
"Thanks," she said smiling at the man with graying hair as she walked into the diner. At the counter she found a blond haired boy sitting in her usual seat. She smiled as she spotted him and took a seat beside him.
"Excuse me sir, but I do believe you are in my seat." Logan smiled wide, his eyes glistening at the sight of her.
"Well miss, did it have your name on it? I don't believe so. I saw no "reserved for a beautiful young girl with brown hair" sign, so I thought it would be cool if I sat here."
"I'm afraid that you were very mistaken kind sir." Rory smiled and leaned in to kiss Logan on the lips. "Good morning!"
"Good morning. You look… quite unlike yourself." Rory glanced down at her ensemble and shrugged.
"If I had known I would find such a swell looking gentleman, maybe I would have dressed up a little bit. Hey, do you know where my mom is? She left me a note that said she'd be here." Just as Rory uttered these words, her mother came bounding down the stairs that led from Luke's apartment, a wide smile on her face. Rory raised her eyebrows as she saw the wide smile on Lorelai's face. "Hi mom. You look quite happy this morning."
"Well dear," Lorelai replied as she sat down and wrapped an arm around her daughter, "that is because it is such a beautiful day and the sun is shining and the birds are chirping and it has just put me in a glorious mood."
"Oh yeah, I'm sure that's why you are so very happy this morning." Lorelai smiled a devilish smile and leaned in to whisper,
"Okay, and maybe the make out session that just occurred made me a little bit happy, too."
"Eww, mom! Too much information!"
"Shh, shh. Keep it on the 'down low.' That is what you kids are saying these days, isn't it?" Lorelai smiled over at Logan who looked completely overjoyed by the conversation he was experiencing. "Are you finding this amusing?" Lorelai asked.
"Completely," he laughed, leaning over and kissing Rory on the top of the head.
The little bells above the door ran triumphantly and the clan glanced behind them to see whom it was. Jess strolled in, a copy of Swann's Way in his hand.
"Hey," he nodded at the group who seemed to be staring at him. He made his way behind the counter and poured himself a cup. Noticing that Lorelai and Rory were void of any, he asked if they wanted any. The two nodded eagerly, and he poured the mugs without so much of a scowl.
"Do you need a refill?" he politely asked Logan, holding out the coffee pot.
"Sure," Logan replied graciously.
"Okay, well I'll see you guys around," Jess said, making his way up the stairs just as Luke was making his way down. The smile on his face was even bigger than Lorelai's had been. And plus, he was whistling. Who ever thought they would live for the day they saw Luke Danes whistle.
"Good morning," he said happily as he spotted his two favorite girls.
"Okay, you can't hide the truth. I know for a fact this is not the first time you have seen each other this morning," Rory pointed out matter-of-factly. Luke smiled sheepishly and scratched his head. Suddenly, Rory squealed excitedly and ran over to hug him.
"Um, okay…?" Luke stuttered, shocked by Rory's reaction.
"Sorry, I'm just so excited!" Lorelai smiled at her daughter, and then at her newly found boyfriend. It was so amazing that he had been right in front of her eyes all this time and she never even realized it. She sighed happily, and took a sip of her coffee. She didn't think things could get much better than this.
Rory took her seat after her outburst of joy and took Logan's hand. She squeezed it tight and it gave her such comfort that she never wanted to let go. She smiled at her boyfriend that she really and genuinely cared for and then at her mother's newfound romance. Finally, the both of them were happy. Things couldn't get much better than this.
Jess came bounding down the stairs and went behind the counter to stand next to Luke.
"Hey," he said to Rory and Logan, "I was thinking about going to take a walk or something. You guys want to come?" Rory and Logan shared a glance and then nodded.
"Sure," Rory replied. "But, umm, could I go change first? I'm tired of looking like a bum," Rory laughed as she and Logan stood up, still hand in hand.
"Yeah, of course," Jess laughed as he rounded the counter.
"Okay, I'll see you guys later," Rory said, kissing her mother on the cheek and turning to leave the diner. Jess held the door as she and Logan exited. But before Jess himself could leave, Lorelai called his name. He turned back and looked at Lorelai, perplexed.
"Thanks," she said with a genial smile.
"What?" he asked, trying to hide the fact that he knew exactly what she was saying.
"Just thanks." Jess couldn't help but smile this time.
"No problem," he replied as he made his way out the door to meet up with Rory and Logan. Lorelai turned back to Luke who was smiling at her with a lopsided grin.
"You're wonderful," he whispered as he leaned in and kissed her sweetly.
"I try," she replied, wrinkling her nose.
"Lorelai, dear," Miss Patty called, interrupting the intimate moment.
"Yes Patty?" Lorelai answered, turning around in her chair.
"What was that I just witnessed with Jess and Rory and you?" she asked, wanting to keep up on the latest town gossip. Lorelai glanced out the window and saw as the three new friends walked across the square. She looked back to Patty and smiled brightly.
"I guess you could say that there's been a reconciliation."
THE END
