12

Lorelai watched the truck from the door of the potting shed until it made the curve and disappeared. She then slowly walked back to the inn, going through the back door into the kitchen.

Sookie looked up momentarily as she was folding vanilla into a bowl of egg whites with a large spatula.

"Did you talk to him?" she asked, as she silently counted the strokes.

"I talked to him."

"Well? Did you guys get things straightened out?"

"I guess we did."

"So does he understand that even though things aren't going so good for him right now he can't keep threatening everyone?"

"I -- we didn't get that far."

"So how far did you get?"

"I let him go. Luke's not working here anymore."

Sookie set the bowl down on the counter, the egg whites forgotten about.

"You fired him?"

"I didn't have a choice."

"But how could you fire him? That's not being a very good girlfriend."

"Sookie, this has nothing to do with being his girlfriend. It's got to do with keeping this inn running smoothly, and to keep it from going under. It's business, plain and simple."

"But it's LUKE!"

"Did I hear someone say Luke was fired?" Michel asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Yes, Michel." Lorelai answered him. "I fired Luke."

"You never should have let him work here in the first place. I never understood why you did such a thing."

"I don't want to hear it, Michel."

"You never asked us if we thought it was a good idea, you just . . . ."

"I said I didn't want to hear it!" Lorelai was getting angry. "I suggest you get on the phone and get our bellmen back here as soon as possible, unless you'd rather be carrying luggage up and down those stairs all weekend."

Michel immediately left the kitchen for the desk to start making phone calls.

"I still can't believe you fired Luke," Sookie said.

Lorelai walked out of the kitchen without answering her.

……………………………..

Lorelai left the Dragonfly at four that evening. She hoped that Luke would have cooled down by the time she got home and she could talk to him and make him understand why she had to do what she did. But when she pulled into her driveway, her breath caught in her chest – the doors to her garage were wide open and the boat was gone.

"Oh, God! Not again!" She said out loud.

She immediately backed out of her driveway and drove straight to the diner.

She slowly drove past, looking at all the work that was finished, and impressed at how quickly Tom and his crew had gotten things done. But the boat was nowhere to be seen.

"Lorelai!"

She stopped her Jeep and Tom came up to her.

"Hey, Tom. Your guys are really doing a good job."

"Yeah, thanks. Everyone wants the diner up and running as soon as possible. Look, I need to talk to Luke about something."

"I'm not sure where he is right now."

"You guys have a fight?"

"No. Why would you ask that?"

"Well, what with him going fishing and you not knowing it, I just figured . . ."

"He's gone fishing?"

"Yeah. One of my guys saw him in Doose's. He was buying cans of pork and beans and canned meat and bread and water and stuff. And he had his boat with him. You didn't know?"

"We don't always tell each other everything."

"Then you're lucky. I can't go to the toilet without my wife wanting to know where I'm going."

"You said you needed to talk to Luke?"

"Oh yeah. Back when we were first going over the plans, we were trying to decide whether or not to put in a separate exhaust for the new dishwasher. It puts out a lot of steam, you know. Well, I need to know what he's decided. If he doesn't want it, then I can get my guys to go on and close up the ceiling. But if he wants one, I need to get the special stainless steel pipe ordered, and the . . . . You're not writing this down? Maybe you should write it down."

"Don't need to," Lorelai said, and pointed at her head. "Steel trap."

"Okay. Anyway, it'll take a week to get the pipe here and installed, and I'll need to get the electricians to run the wiring, and the hole through the wall will need to be cut so we can mount the fan on the outside. And the sooner I know something, the sooner we can get that ceiling finished."

"Okay, I'll call him just as soon as I get home."

As soon as she pulled into her driveway, Lorelai called Luke's cell phone. But all she got was his voice mail.

"Luke, would you call me just as soon as you hear this? I really, really need to talk to you. Also, Tom wants you to call him. It's something about some special pipe and wiring and the dishwasher. I have no idea what he was talking about, but you need to call him."

Lorelai killed the connection, but just sat there, staring at the empty garage, and feeling just as empty.

13

Lorelai slowly got out of the Jeep, went to the garage, closed the doors, then walked to the house. She unlocked the front door and went in, but only as far as the foyer. The house felt just as empty as the garage.

After standing there for a while, listening to the silence, she checked her messages; there were none. She picked up the phone and dialed Luke's number, but hung up when his voice mail cut in.

She was sitting on the couch slowly flipping through the channels when Rory found her. It was well after ten p.m. Dinner with her grandparents had taken longer than usual. Emily insisted Rory tell her everything about the two midterm essays she was writing, with detailed explanations of every word, expression and phrase she said she didn't understand.

Rory sat next to Lorelai and kissed her on the cheek.

"I couldn't help but notice that Luke's truck isn't here. You don't have him working this late at the inn, do you?"

"No. He's gone fishing."

"Will he back by Sunday? 'Cause I really hoped the three of us could have another movie night together."

"I don't think he'll be back by then."

"Well, where did he go?"

"I don't know."

"So, when's he coming back?"

"I don't know."

"Did you guys have a fight?"

"I don't know. I guess."

"What happened?"

"Do we have to talk about this right now?"

"We don't HAVE to, but I'd kind of like to know what's going on."

"He went fishing because he doesn't work at the inn anymore. I had to let him go."

"Let him go? You mean you fired him?"

"Yes, Rory, I fired Luke! He wasn't getting along with the staff. They were all quitting or threatening to quit because of him. And while I can run the inn without Luke, I can't run it without the bellmen, or the kitchen staff, or anybody else he intimidated!"

It was obvious that Lorelai was having a hard time with her decision, so Rory didn't pursue the matter.

"Have you eaten anything?"

"I'm not hungry."

Rory sat closer to her mother, put an arm through hers, and laid her head against her shoulder. Lorelai leaned her head down on Rory's, and they sat together watching the TV screen.

'………………………….

"It's almost midnight." Rory said. "And I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Okay. I'll see you in the morning. Sleep tight."

"What about you?"

"I'll go upstairs in a little while."

"Do you want me to sit up with you?"

"No. You go on to bed. I won't be long."

Lorelai sat on the sofa another hour, occasionally glancing at the stairs.

Finally, she forced herself to get up and climb the stairs to the second floor. But she stopped just as she got inside her bedroom.

For more than nine years this had been her bedroom, and her bed -- hers alone. And then eight months ago, Luke was suddenly there, sleeping with her on occasion. But more often than not, she was sharing his bed in his apartment.

But after the fire, his apartment, his bed, was no longer an option, so for the past four weeks there he was. At first it was strange having him there every night, and at times Lorelai felt as if her personal space was being, not so much invaded, but filled up.

But without realizing exactly when it happened, she suddenly realized that she wanted him there. She liked his warmth next to her as he slept. She welcomed the feeling of being safe and protected. And she didn't mind it when his snoring would wake her up from a sound sleep and a really great dream.

But now the soft, comforting bed that she loved, first as 'hers,' and then as 'theirs,' was no longer warm and inviting. It was cold and unwelcoming.

Lorelai backed out of the room and went downstairs.

When Rory got up the next morning, Lorelai was asleep on the couch.