Maybe Now: Chapter Eight: The Lorelai Box
Disclaimer is the same. Just because people at KFC/Taco Bell think I write for Gilmore Girls doesn't mean I do. hah. It's a true story, I was talking to my mom about the fic, and apparent;y someone over heard and asked if I wrote for the show...haha. Way too funny. I only dream of working on the set of GG. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews.
I know many people have done the "box" thing...I just wanted to try it my way. Hope none of you mind.
xxxxx
Lorelai returned from upstairs with an envelope which she stuffed into her purse before Luke turned around.
'You aren't going to tell me why you just disappeared for 10 minutes are you?'
'Nope, you'll fine out later.'
'Lorelai...'
'No.'
'Fine. do you mind if I go to my apartment then, to change?'
'Can I come with?'
'You can come with.'
'Then let's go.'
Lorelai picked up her phone and her purse and then followed Luke out her front door. Taking her keys from her purse she locked the front door. Luke inwardly smiled as he realized what she was doing.
'Apparently, I rubbed off on you.'
'Dirty.'
'Walked right into that one.'
'Sure did.'
He pulled her close and they walked to the diner. When they reached the diner Luke went to take out his keys but before he could Lorelai pushed on the front door. It opened.
'Apparently, you don't take your own advice.'
'Huh, I must have had somewhere real important to go last night.'
'Oh really?'
'Yea or rather someone real important to see.'
'Should I be jealous?'
Luke grabbed her and tickled her. She laughed. He then picked her up an carried her into the diner. Lorelai looked around, she hadn't been in there for almost a month. Her coffee mug sat behind the counter. But nothing had changed. Luke watched her looking around the diner.
'It hasn't changed.'
'Oh, I know.'
'Let's head upstairs.'
'Okay.'
Luke grasped her hand and they both went upstairs. As she stepped through the door she looked around his apartment, other than a few shirts on the floor next to his bed, nothing had changed. It still smelled like Luke, the aroma warmed her. As she looked from his bedroom to the kitchen and then into the room that used to be Jess' she noticed a small cardboard box next to the small twin bed that Jess' had used. She walked over to the bed and sat down on the navy blue comforter. Luke followed her over to the bed. She leaned over picked up the box and laid it on the bed. Luke just stood and watched her. On top was his leather jacket, she moved the leather jacket and put it on the bed beside her. She then looked into the box. In it there was a menu from Sniffy's, a few CD's, a few of Lorelai's bathroom products that used to be in the bathroom on 'her' shelf, a few movie stubs from the various movies that they had been to, the tie he had worn to Liz's wedding, a book, one picture of them, the one that Rachel had taking at the Starlight Festival about 2 years ago and an envelope with his messy scrawl 'Lorelai.' It had been sealed. She fingered the envelope and then dropped it back into the box. She couldn't believe that he actually had a 'Lorelai box'. She looked up at him, a bit teary eyed.
'You have a Lorelai box.'
'A what?'
'A box with all my stuff.'
'Yea, I needed to do something so one night I couldn't sleep and I put all these things in the box. I wanted to give it to you. But that finalized it. And I wasn't ready to give up on you, me...us. So I held on to it.'
She stood up and hugged him
'I have a Luke box.'
'You do?'
'Yea its in the back of my closet.'
'Oh.'
'Let's empty them, first this one and later mine...'
'Alright.'
She slowly began to hand him stuff. First she handed him the CD's: Blondie, U2, Sparks and Bowie, he placed them on a shelf next to his bed. She then handed him all her bathroom stuff and he disappeared into the bathroom and placed the few items on to it. When Luke came back from the bathroom Lorelai was looking at the menu from Sniffy's.
'Why did you keep a menu from Sniffy's?'
'It was were we had our first date...and I just thought that one day I would want to look back on it...a memento.'
'Luke's a sentimentalist.'
'Tell anyone and die.'
'Gotcha our own private secret.'
'Exactly.'
He took the menu from her hands, then looked into the box and got the movie stubs. He then crossed the apartment and opened up a small filing cabinet where he placed both the menu and the stubs. When he walked back over to Lorelai she was now holding a framed picture of them, the picture that Rachel had taken at the Firelight Festival.
'I remember this.'
'Yea.'
'Yea it was the night of the Firelight Festival. The night everything went terribly wrong.'
'What do you mean?'
'It's the night I realized I was jealous of you and Rachel. It was the night I was too stupid to say anything.'
Luke looked at Lorelai.
'Lorelai...'
'I realized that I had feelings for you. But you were with her and I wasn't going to ruin that.'
'So you didn't tell me?'
'So I kept quiet.'
'And decided to get engaged.'
'Yea well...'
'I never did tell you why Rachel left did I?'
'You just told me she had her reasons and then Max interrupted us and then you two began your 'I'll be here more' routine.'
'Oh, right.'
'So now that you're opening up...why did Rachel leave?'
'She left because of you.'
'Because of me? That was her big reason for leaving?'
'Yea. She saw what the whole town saw. My feelings for you were much more than just friendly. I wanted you but you were with Max. I came to your house that fateful night to tell you, but instead you got engaged.'
'Oh.'
'Yea.'
'So Rachel left because of me?'
'Yep, her last words were 'Don't wait to long. To tell her.'"
'And you came here to tell me, but Max interrupted you.'
'That's about it, yep.'
'Oh, wow.'
'Yea.'
Not sure what else to say she went back to unpacking the box. She took the tie threading it through her fingers then handing it to him.
'Aw, the tie you wore to Liz's wedding. You looked so sharp in your suit.'
'You didn't look too bad yourself in that pretty pink number.'
'Like that eh?'
'It was definitely working for you.'
'Good to know, I'll wear it again our next date.'
'Sounds good.'
Luke was still holding the tie when Lorelai picked up the leather jacket from the bed.
'Why is your leather jacket here?'
'It smelled like you. I just couldn't wear it again.'
'Oh.'
He then took it from her and inhaled the scent. She smiled as she watched him and then he hung up the jacket and put away the tie. Lorelai looked down into the box, the last thing that was there, was a simple plain white envelope with 'Lorelai' inscribed on the front.
'There's only one thing left.'
'Yea.'
'There's this envelope.'
'Take it, put it in your pocket and read it later.'
'You'll tell me when?'
'Anytime that I am not around.'
'Okay.'
She took the envelope and folded it slipping it into her back pocket.
'Well that's it. It's all back to normal.'
'Looks like it, I think I am gonna go get changed now then we can go, wherever.'
Lorelai sat down and watched Luke strip down to his boxers and then parade around looking for new clothes. He settled on dark jeans and a black v-neck t-shirtno flannel. Lorelai looked amazed.
'New look for you. Done with the lumberjack routine.'
'No, but its hot out. You like?'
'Very much. Very nice.'
He was fixing his belt and putting his wallet in his back pocket when he felt hands on his stomach. Lorelai's fingers were now scraping across his six-pack. She leaned up to kiss him.
'Lorelai, if you continue to do that, we will never get out of here.'
'I wouldn't mind if we never left again.'
Luke chuckled and led her to his bed.
xxxxx
Well that's it for now. Next chapter the townspeople get involved.
LP
