Chapter 41
"Are you sure you can't come?"
"Yeah, Caesar needs the night off, I promised it to him weeks ago"
"But it's Friday night" Lorelai pouted
"I know"
"Friday night... with my parents, I don't want to go alone"
"You won't be alone Rory will be there and I went with you during the week and you've been to Friday night dinners without me before"
"But I want you there!" Lorelai increased her pouting
"I'm sorry, I can't" Luke said kissing her
"But, I have to go dress shopping with my mother tomorrow too, whose bright idea was that... I want names?'
"Ah I think that was yours" Luke pointed out
"Hmph" Lorelai added folded arms to the pout
"You've been getting along better recently"
"Better, that was one night. She gave me the tiara and then I obviously got blinded by the light reflecting of the diamonds and it messed with my brain functions and invited her to her come tomorrow. She won't be nice if you're not there"
"It wasn't the diamonds"
"Very funny"
"Lorelai"
"And I'll miss you" Lorelai battered her eyes while still pouting
Luke pulled her to him and kissed her "It's hard to kiss you when you're pouting"
"Yeah well who says you deserve a kiss huh?"
"Come on I have to get to the diner and you have a dinner to go to"
"I don't want to"
"Rory" Luke called out "She's your mother"
Rory shouted back "She's your fiancé"
Luke sighed "Look I promise if you quit pouting and go to dinner and behave like a good little girl I'll bring you home some pie"
Lorelai looked at him for a moment "and ice-cream?'
"And Ice-cream"
"And cherries to put on top?"
"And cherries"
"And..."
Luke cut her off "I have to go. Have a good night, I'll see you later with the pie"
"And ice-cream and cherries" She reminded him
Luke rolled his eyes and nodded. He kissed her quickly "Love you"
Luke walked to the front door and called out "I'm off to work, I'm bringing back pie... she's all yours"
Rory walked into the living room "You couldn't of held out longer? He wouldhave caved and given us donuts too"
"Hey I got ice-cream and cherries as well"
The two giggled. "Come on let's go" Rory said
"I don't want to" Lorelai said taking up her pouting position again
"Come on" Rory dragged Lorelai out of the house.
When Luke returned home that night Lorelai and Rory were watching a movie Luke was sure he'd seen them watch at least 3 times in the short amount of time he'd been living there.
"Pie's here" Lorelai said smiling
Rory got up and grabbed the diner bag and walked into the kitchen
Luke leaned over the couch and kissed Lorelai "How was dinner?"
"It was okay"
"Dinner was fine" Rory said as she came back into the room carrying the pie on plates "Even grandma was happy but mom insisted on whining all the way there about not wanting to go there then all the way home about not wanting grandma to come tomorrow."
Lorelai started to eat her piece of pie "She'll say something horrible"
"No she won't. I think she's actually really happy about the wedding"
Lorelai didn't say anything.
When Rory had finished her dessert she picked up her plate and walked over to Luke and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for the pie. I'm going to bed she's all yours"
"Night Rory"
Rory walked over to her mom "Sookie and I will be there to protect you tomorrow" She kissed her "Night"
"Night hon"
Luke moved and sat next to Lorelai "What's wrong?"
"Nothing" Lorelai sighed
"There's still pie left, something's wrong"
"I don't know, I just... Rory was right, Mom was fine tonight I guess I'm just waiting for the bomb to hit. I just afraid I'll get all excited about mom actually wanting to be apart of this then she'll pull one of her famous turn a rounds and I'll be upset I guess"
Luke pulled her into a hug "How about trying to be happy. She just might surprise you and look if she does do what you think she will then we deal with it then but she just might surprise you"
"Maybe"
Luke began placing soft kisses on her jaw line.
Lorelai then smiled "I forgot to tell you, Sookie has invited us over for breakfast on Sunday at her place. She can go over the menu for the wedding and Jackson will be there so you two can talk about sport or fishing or whatever blokey things you guys talk about"
"Okay" Luke said now kissing down her neck
"And I was thinking maybe...um... tomorrow night we can sit ..ah...down and get ...ah...started on the rest of the wedding plans like where... and... um.. The honeymoon and...ah...stuff." Lorelai said trying to concentrate on her line of thought not what Luke was doing
"Sure" Luke replied
"And I was thinking we should have like a Hawaiian themed wedding you know, me in a bikini you in a Hawaiian shirt maybe teamed with a hula skirt" Lorelai said with a smile
"Ah ha" Luke replied
Lorelai put her hands on Luke's jaw and lifted his face to hers "You're not even listening to me are you?"
Luke pressed his lips on hers "You said wedding talk tomorrow night so I'm just getting a head start on the honeymoon" He replied kissing her again then he stopped and sat up "But if you want to talk about napkins and place settings okay then"
Lorelai grabbed his and pulled him up "honeymoon" Lorelai replied running up the stairs with Luke closely behind her.
Chapter 42
Lorelai picked up the phone and dialed the diner. "Hi Caesar is Luke there?... Oh ….no, no don't disturb him just get him to give me a call at home...Okay... Thanks Bye"
Lorelai hung up the phone and waited. A few minutes later the phone rang. Lorelai sat watching it ring until the machine picked up "You've called the brilliant and gorgeous Lorelai the equally brilliant and gorgeous Rory and the hot, hunky coffee god Luke. We're not here at the moment or maybe we're just avoiding your call... either way leave a message after the beep"
"Geez Lorelai" Lorelai giggled when she heard Luke's voice, she picked up "Well hello Luke"
"Lorelai you are not leaving that message on there, change it" Luke said angrily
"Why?"
"Because it's embarrassing"
"Luke..."
"No take my name off it"
"But what if someone you know calls here. If your name's not on it they'll think they've got the wrong number"
"I'm not giving anyone this number"
"Luke, it's cute"
"Change it!"
"Please"
"No"
"But..."
"No"
"Fine, I've got to go anyway, we're going to pick out some very important dresses today" Lorelai said trying to change the subject
"Change it before you go" Luke said
"Yeah yeah"
"Bye"
"Bye"
Lorelai hung up the phone and giggled. Rory came out of her room "Ok I'm ready, was that Luke on the phone?" Rory asked
"Yeah he didn't like it" Lorelai said in 'I can't believ it' voice
"How could he not like it" Rory asked giggling
"I don't know" Lorelai shrugged "Maybe he was upset he was described as talented and gorgeous?"
Both girls laughed. "Are you gonna change it?"
"Yean I guess, can you go upstairs and grab my purse while I do this then we're off"
"Okay"
Rory ran upstairs while Lorelai tried to think of a new message of a new message.
Rory ran back down the stairs with Lorelai's purse "Think of anything?"
"How about if I just changed his to taented and gorgeous too... I mean he is"
"Mom"
"Okay what about strong and athletic?"
"I don't think he wants to be described as anything"
"But he's a Gilmore now, he has to live the Gilmore way" Lorelai giggled "Okay let me do this quickly and then we'll go."
Later that Afternoon Luke picked up the phone and dialed the house. He wanted to see if Lorelai was back from dress shopping but more importantly to check if she had changed the phone message. After a few rings the machine picked up "You've called the Gilmore/Danes house we're not here at the moment so leave a message for Lorelai, Rory or Luke after the beep..." Luke smiled it had a nice ring to it, he was about the hang up when he heard Lorelai's voice again "Just kidding, speak again cause here's the real beep" Luke hung up he had to laugh typical Lorelai. Luke thought about the message Gilmore/Dane it had a great ring to it.
"Earth to Luke"
Luke heard Lorelai's voice and turned around
"Hey"
"Hey, you looked miles away"
"Sorry… coffee?" Luke asked hoping she wouldn't ask anymore question
"Yeah coffee would be great" Lorelai replied as she sat at the counter
"Did you find a dress?"
Lorelai's face fell "No. We found some great bridesmaids dresses for Sookie and Rory but I just couldn't find anything I liked" Lorelai sighed "the weddings not far away and I'll have to go shopping again next weekend and try on another million dresses I don't like."
Luke placed his hand on her arm "Hey you know I don't care what you wear, you'll look beautiful"
"Thanks but I didn't. I just didn't look right in any of them."
"You'll find one and you'll look amazing, you've still got a bit of time"
"Yeah maybe"
"How was your mom?" Luke asked trying to change the topic hoping that the question wouldn't depress her more.
"She was um... good? I guess. We defiantly have different taste in dresses, everything she liked I didn't but there wasn't any fights. We actually had a good afternoon apart from me and my dress nightmare"
"Where's Rory?"
"She went to Lane's"
Luke thought for a moment "So do you want to go for a walk?"
"What?"
"Well Caesars here, Michael's here and the diner's quiet lets go for a walk" Luke tried hoping it would cheer her up "I have to come back and close up but we've got some time"
"Yeah ... okay" Lorelai said with little enthusiasm
After Luke had told Caesar he was heading out and grabbing a jacket he and Lorelai began to walk through Stars Hollow.
"Are you okay?" Luke asked after about 10 minutes. Lorelai had been silent the whole time
"Uh..yeah...fine"
Luke looked at her, was acting anything but fine. They walked a little further when Luke stopped and pulled Lorelai into a hug. He didn't say anything, actually he didn't know what to say. He didn't know why she was so upset, so he just held her close to him, slowly rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head. After a few minutes he pulled back but Lorelai pulled him back to her "Not yet" She whispered. Luke waited a few more minutes the pulled back and kissed her cheek.
"Better?" Luke asked
"Yeah, sorry I just..." Lorelai sighed loudly "I don't know. I don't know what's wrong with me really. I guess I just had this vision of trying on the first dress I saw and it fitting me perfectly and it'll be like a fairytale ... you know... everyone would gasp and admire my beauty, music would begin to play, the camera would pan down my body"
Luke just rolled his eyes at her. "This isn't a movie this is real life and I have all confidence you'll find the perfect dress"
"What if I don't what if I can't find anything I like and I have to settle for something that looks awful on me then I'll be walking down the aisle and you'll take one look at me and bolt. I don't want you to bolt I want to look amazing" Lorelai rambled
"Hey calm down. Listen I don't want this to be so stressful for you. I want you to remember our wedding as one of the best days of your life not the most stressful. And you will find a dress and you will look amazing. I'm not going to bolt, I'm not going anywhere."
"But..." Lorelai started but Luke stopped her
"Lorelai you look gorgeous to me all the time from when you first wake up to when you go to bed. I will love what you're wearing even if it's your hello Kitty Pajamas and I'll think you look amazing." Luke kissed her "Okay so no more stressing?"
"But what if I don't" Lorelai whispered
"Okay look if you still haven't found the prefect dress a week before the wedding I promise you can wear your pajamas and I'll wear those stupid Garfield ones you bought me"
Lorelai smiled "Really? You have that much faith in my dress buying ability"
"Yes but I don't want you to not buy a dress just so you can get me to wear them. If you haven't found a dress by two weeks out I'll come with you and then if you can't find one..."
"You'll get married in your Garfield pajamas" Lorelaifinished jumping up and down "Oh and the matching slippers I bought you?"
"Lorelai, you'll find a dress"
"Wow you must love me lots I know how much you hate those pajamas"
Luke kissed her softly "I do love you lots and I'm 100 sure you'll find a dress" Luke was secretly scared that maybe she wouldn't that she'd make him wear those stupid pj's but at this moment that was all worth it to see her smiling again. He'd deal with the worrying later.
They walked around for a little longer before Luke had to go back to the diner.
"What time will you be home?" Lorelai asked with her arms around Luke
"Late, I have to close up so that Caeser will open tomorrow. We're still having breakfast at Sookie's right?"
"Yeah hopefully the menu will be easier than buying a dress"
Luke kissed her"See you tonight"
Luke returned home later then he had expected. The diner had been busy right up until closing time. After he finished cleaning for the night he checked everything was right for Caser tomorrow and headed home. The house was dark and Luke walked as quietly as he could up the stairs to their bedroom. Lorelai was already asleep. He looked at his side of the bed to find the Garfield pajamas spread out with a note on the top "You should practice for the wedding day" Luke shook his head. He undressed to his boxers, grabbed the pajamas and put them on the chair in the corner and got into bed.
Chapter 43
The next morning Luke and Lorelai were on their way to Sookie & Jackson's for breakfast to go over details for the wedding menu.
"I'm so hungry" Lorelai said rubbing her stomach as they walked
"How can you be hungry? You made me make you pancakes even though we are on our way to Sookie's for breakfast"
"Yeah… well… I used a lot of energy this morning and before I even got out of bed" Lorelai raised her eyebrows at him. Luke smiled as thought back to their morning activities.
Lorelai stopped walking "Can you carry me?"
"What?"
"On your back. Give me a ride on your back" Lorelai put her hands on his shoulders.
"No. Sookie's house is just over there" Luke said pointing to Sookie's which was about 4 houses away
"Too far" Lorelai said with a pout "Need food for energy, need energy to walk"
"Too bad the quicker you walk the quicker you get food into you" Luke said as he began walking again. Lorelai continued to pout as they walked
"Oh and can you not mention the whole wedding pajama thing to Sookie & Jackson." Luke asked
"Why?"
"Because I don't want them to know okay. You're going to find a dress it'll all be fine"
"Oh wait we could skip the dress do the pajama thing and all the guests could wear their pj's too. Jackson has the funniest pajama's"
"Lorelai please."
"Fine you're so not fun"
Luke stopped and grabbed her arm and kissed just below her ear then whispered "That's not what you were saying this morning"
Lorelai giggled as she walked up to Sookie's door and knocked "Fine I won't mention it"
"Mention what?" Sookie asked as she answered the door hearing the end of their conversation
"Oh nothing just Luke you know, talking about me, him, our bedroom" Lorelai shrugged and walked into the house looking back quickly to see Luke turn red with embarrassment. "Well I didn't mention the other thing" she whispered to him as he past walked her.
Lorelai suddenly gasped as she looked in the kitchen which was piled high with plates of food "Geez Sookie, look I'm hungry and everything but there's no way we can eat all this. It looks like you're feeding the whole town"
"I am" Sookie replied and walked out the back door. Lorelai looked at Luke who shrugged. They followed Sookie out the back to find most of the town standing out in Sookie's backyard "Happy Engagement" Everyone yelled
"Oh my" Lorelai gasped and grabbed Luke's hand "Did you know?"
"No" Luke replied squeezing her hand.
"Come on dolls, come over and celebrate" Babette yelled from the crowd
Sookie and Jackson walked past the stunned couple and began bring plates of food out to the hungry guests
Lorelai snapped herself out of her shock "Sookie" she grabbed her arm as she was walking past "Oh my god, you did all this?"
"Ah ha" Sookie nodded excitedly "Well you are getting married and you hadn't mentioned an engagement party but I knew if I did you'd say no fuss. So Rory, Jackson and I decided to surprise you" Lorelai hugged Sookie "Thank you I'm still in shock"
"You" Lorelai turned and pointed to Rory who appeared from the crowd "How could you keep this from Mama?" Lorelai pulled her daughter into a hug
"We all decided you two needed a little celebration" Rory smiled
Rory looked at Luke "Are you okay Luke?"
Luke nodded "Yeah just a little shocked"
Rory hugged Luke "Happy engagement party"
"Thanks"
Rory pulled back "Come you two... eat, mingle, it's your party"
Lorelai looked at Luke and smiled. She hugged him and kissed him softly "Happy engagement party"
"Happy engagement party" Luke whispered back before grabbing her hand and leading her into the crowd.
A few hours later after they had mingled with the guests, eaten their engagement breakfast and Lorelai had unwrapped their engagement presents with the excitement of a 5 year old on Christmas morning Sookie took Luke and Lorelai by an arm each and steered them towards the front of the crowd where Rory was standing. Sookie gave the nod to Babette who placed two fingers in her mouth and let out a piercing whistle to get everyone's attention.
"Thanks Babette" Sookie started "I just wanted to thank everyone for coming and for keeping today a secret. I just want to say that I am so happy for Luke and Lorelai and I'm just so happy Lorelai you deserve this and..." Sookie stopped and sniffed back a few tears "you're my best friend and no one deserves to be happy more than you" The tears were now streaming downSookie's face.Sookie pointed to Rory "You go" she said barely audible through her tears. Sookie walked over to Lorelai and hugged her, then went and stood next to Jackson. Rory looked at her mother and Luke who were holding hands ands smiling at each other. "I also would like to thank you all for coming to celebrate this with Mum and Luke and Sookie and Jackson for the amazing day they put together. Mom, you are my best friend, my role model and the most wonderful mother a girl could have. You have sacrificed so much for me and I'm so happy for you and Luke. Luke you have always been like a father to me and I just want to thank you for making mom and me very happy. I love you both" The whole crowd let out a collective "awwe". Lorelai wiped away a tear and Luke was trying to hide the fact he too was also tearing up. Rory walked over and hugged both of them. "I love you too" Luke whispered back to Rory.
Lorelai took Luke's hand again and walked forward. She whispered something into Luke's ear who then whispered something back to her. "As Luke isn't big on public speaking and I love being the center of attention..." The crowd laughed "I'd just like to say on behalf of Luke and myself Thank you everyone for coming and celebrating this with us. Thank you Sookie and Jackson for putting this day together. I still can't believe I didn't know about it and that Patty and Babette kept it a secret" The crowd again laughed.
Patty looked at Babette "Hardest 3 days of my life" Babette nodded in agreement.
"And a huge thank you to Rory for being the best daughter in the world. I love you kid." Lorelai took a deep breath "and while you're all here I guess this is easier then sending out invitations. The wedding is going to be held on the 17th March, 11am in the gardens of the Inn. Then the reception will be held inside and of course you're all invited." The crowd clapped and then one by one rushed over to hug Lorelai and shake Luke's hand.
Chapter 44
"That was so sweet of everyone" Lorelai said to Luke as they walked through the front door of their home "We are lucky to have such good friends"
"Yeah we are lucky" Luke agreed as he wrapped his arms around Lorelai.
"The look on your face" Lorelai laughed thinking back
"Yours looked pretty similar"
"Yeah okay they got us" Lorelai agreed "but it was a great surprise"
"It was" Luke nodded
"So Mr. Danes I've been thinking..." Lorelai said as she kissed him
"No need to do that, I only want you for your body"
Lorelai slapped him playfully and laughed "I've been thinking you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight"
Luke laughed and kissed her. "Sorry...go on"
"So" Lorelai continued, "I was thinking that seeing as Rory's gone with Dean and we have this whole house to ourselves..." She kissed him again" Is there anything you'd like to do?" Lorelai asked raising her eyebrows at him
Luke thought for a moment then kissed her passionately before pulling back "Yeah, I thought we could clean up the kitchen from this morning" Luke smirked and walked off
"Hey" Lorelai stood with her hands on her hips "wrong answer"
Luke walked back over to her "Oh is there something you wanted to do?" he asked pretending not to know
Lorelai snaked her arms around his neck and massaged the back of it with her fingers. She put her lips close to his and whispered, "It's the day of our engagement party, we have the house to ourselves, we should be celebrating" She kissed him passionately parting his lips with her tongue. A small moan escaped from the back of Luke's throat. Lorelai pulled back and smiled at him.
Luke swallowed hard "Okay whatever you want to do" He leaned back in to kiss her but Lorelai moved "Good I want to drive to Sookie's to pick up all our presents"
Luke grabbed Lorelai by the arm "wrong answer" he said before he kissed her. Lorelai giggled as she let Luke carry her up the stairs to their bedroom.
A few hours later as Luke and Lorelai were walking down the stairs the phone rang and before Lorelai could get to it the machine picked up... "Lorelai this is your mother"...
"Argh" Lorelai pulled her hand back "That was close"
"...Would you please give me a call when you get this message."
"You can call her back now, we've got time" Luke said to Lorelai
"Ah no. I don't want to spoil today. I'll call her tomorrow"
Luke picked up the keys to Lorelai's jeep "So we're going to Sookie's to pick up the presents?"
"Yep and then we'll talk about the wedding"
"After that I'll have to get to the diner" Luke reminded her
"Okay I'll drop you off at the diner then take the presents home. I'm meeting Rory at home and we're heading to Al's for dinner for whatever Al's specialty of the night is"
"Sounds fun" Luke nodded before they walked out the door.
Lorelai returned home later that afternoon with a jeep load full of presents. She loaded her arms full and headed to the front door. Rory heard Lorelai coming up the porch steps and opened the door just in time as Lorelai stumbled through.
"Thanks hon... can you grab the top ones I can't see where I'm going"
"Ever thought of doing two trips?" Rory asked laughing at the huge pile of presents with legs
Lorelai scoffed "No that would be sensible"
Rory grabbed a few presents off the top of the pile and carried them into the kitchen and placed them on the table. "Wow I can't believe all this stuff"
"I know, everyone loves me" Lorelai said in a high pitched voice "So what's' going on?"
"Nothing. Dean and I browsed around the book store for a while"
"You mean you browsed and Dean watched you browse" Lorelai interrupted
"And then went for a walk" Rory added ignoring her "Oh before I forget there's a couple of messages on the machine for you"
"Oh yeah who?"
"Grandma"
"Oh yeah I heard that one"
"Yeah one" Rory laughed before she played the messages
"Lorelai this is your mother...would you please give me a call when you get this message"
Beep
"Lorelai please call me when you get this message"
Beep
"(Emily sighing) Rory if you hear this message please ask your mother to call me"
Beep
Lorelai looked at Rory and rolled her eyes "Geez"
"Lorelai I know you've probably listened to my messages and probably won't call me back so I'll tell you what I wanted. I found you a wedding dress. It was the last one left in your size and seeing as I couldn't get a hold of you to ask you if you want it... I bought it anyway. It's stunning, I love it and I think you will as well. Call me please"
"Argh. I can't believe she did that. You saw her taste in dresses when we went shopping. We hated everything she liked"
"I know" Rory agreed, "What are you going to do?"
"What I always do...ignore her messages and deal with it kicking and screaming later"
"Yes that's the mature way"
"Ah ha" Lorelai nodded then sighed "Hey can you ring her and tell her that you've found a great dress for me and you'll be so hurt if I have to even look at hers"
"Mom it won't hurt to look at it, it's not like you have any other choices. You'll look, you won't like, you'll think of an excuse not to wear it."
"But I don't want to" Lorelai whined like a child
Just then the phone rang again.
"No way" Lorelai said looking at the phone "She seriously wouldn't call again"
Lorelai and Rory waited for the machine to pick up
"Hey Lorelai it's me, can you give me..." Lorelai picked up the phone
"Hey handsome, what can I do for you?"
"You can ring your mother, she's called the diner 3 times looking for you" Luke replied
Lorelai shook her head "Unbelievable"
"Is everything ok?"
"Yeah, I'll sort it out thanks"
"Ok. I'll see you later tonight. Love you"
"Oh yeah how much?"
"What?"
"Love me...Enough to call my mother for me?"
"Lorelai"
"Yeah yeah I know. Love you too bye"
Chapter 45
The house was dark when Luke returned home late after closing up the diner. He crept quietly up the stairs and into the bedroom. He undressed down to his boxers and slipped into the bed next to Lorelai who was sleeping peacefully. Luke smiled as he looked at her. He moved the hair out of her eyes and kissed her softly.
"Hi sailor" Lorelai said groggily
"Sorry I didn't meant to wake you" Luke replied then placed another kiss on her cheek
"That's okay. I'm glad you did. I missed you" Lorelai said as she wrapped her arms around him. "How was work?"
"Caesar dropped a packet of flour and it broke and went everywhere."
"Oh no..."
"It was such a mess"
"No I mean I wish I had of seen it, it would of looked like snow" Lorelai said laughing
"It's not funny. It took an hour to clean it all up properly which is why I'm home so late"
"Oh poor baby" Lorelai said kissing him gently
"So how was your night? Did you call your mother back?"
Lorelai sighed "Yeah I called her from my cell in the back yard, you know where the signal is weak"
Luke rolled his eyes
"It worked. I told her I got her message and I was in a bad area but I'd go over and look at tomorrow night"
Luke nodded "Good"
"Now think of a way to get me out of it"
Luke kissed her "Go back to sleep"
Lorelai snuggled closer to Luke, the feeling of his arms around her making her feel safe and relaxed.
The next morning Luke and Rory were eating breakfast when Lorelai walked into the kitchen.
"Morning Mom"Rory said looking up from the paper
"Morning" Luke said loking up at her
"Morning" Lorelai replied but not in her usual happy manner
Luke got up and walked over to Lorelai "Are you okay?"
"Yeah why?" Lorelai said quickly
"You just look a little..."
"A little what?"
"Tired"
"Code for unattractive. Thanks"
"What? Lorelai, no I just meant… Did you sleep okay?"
"Fine" Lorelai replied not looking at him "Hey Rory?"
Rory looked at her mother "Yeah"
"Feel like taking a day off school?"
"I can't"
"Come on, help your mother out, Please. You're my favorite daughter"
"I'm your only daughter"
"Which automatically makes you my favorite so I wasn't lying, now will you?"
"No" Luke and Rory answered at the same time
"But... Oh never mind" Lorelai trudged out of the kitchen and up the stairs
Luke and Rory looked at each other and shrugged.
"I'll go you still have to get ready for school" Luke said to Rory
Luke walked up the stairs and knocked on the bathroom door "Lorelai" he opened the door an inch saw Lorelai sitting on the edge of the bath tub crying
Luke rushed in "Hey what's wrong?"
"Nothing" Lorelai replied shortly
Luke pulled Lorelai up and hugged her tightly and led her into their bedroom and sat her on the bed. "Are you really that upset about having to go to your parents or is it something else, something I've done?"
"I don't know, I guess...It's just years of dread associated with that place, it's a hard feeling to break"
"But you've been getting along well lately"
"I know" Lorelai sniffed "I guess that's what scares me. I've never got along with them but lately it's been different. I mean we're not going to be best friends any time soon but it's been ... nice I guess and I'm just afraid"
"Of what?"
"This dress. I mean if I hate it and I will" Lorelai said knowingly "Then there will be this whole big fight and things will go back to the way they were and if I hate it but tell her I like it to keep the peace then I'll end up hating them again and I hate them for doing this to me" Lorelai said pointing to her tears "I'm always crying now a days it's all their fault"
"Lorelai you don't mean that." Luke said rubbing her back. He watched her as tears started to roll down her cheeks again. "That's not all that's upsetting you is it?"
"It's nothing okay, everything's fine" Lorelai tried to convince him
"Look this is not how I want you to remember your wedding experience. Maybe we should put back the date, give us more time, take the stress off a bit?"
Lorelai froze "What? Luke… I can't believe... I mean you don't...Argggghhhhh" Lorelai threw her arms in the air and stormed out of the room "Fine let's not get married, let's just forget it all" Lorelai shouted as she stomped down the stairs.
Rory came running out of her room when she heard shouting and the front door slam shut. Luke came running down the stairs a few seconds later.
"Luke what happened?"
Luke shook his head "I really don't know. She was upset about the dress, I just suggested maybe we push the wedding date back if it's stressing her so much, you know to take the pressure off her."
"And she didn't take it well" Rory said softly looking at Luke's fallen face. She walked over to him and hugged him "I'll go looking for her. She can't have gone far she's still in her pajamas"
Luke just nodded and sat on the couch.
Chapter 46
Rory ran out the door and stopped. Out of the corner of her eye saw Lorelai sitting on the floor of the porch, her head in her hands. Rory walked over and hugged her "Mom what's going on?"
"Nothing"
Rory sat down on the porch floor next to her mother "Mom come on we tell each other everything. Don't you... do you not want to marry Luke?"
"What ...no... I do"
"What is it then?"
"I don't know, I mean look at me" Lorelai said pointing to herself
"Yeah well I don't think he's planning on marrying you with that bed hair"
"No I mean I'm not marriage material."
"I don't get it"
"I had this dream last night. Remember when Dean came over and watched The Donna Reid Show with us and he said all those things about it being nice that a woman likes to look after her family and then you got dressed up in that funny little outfit."
"Don't remind me" Rory said laughing
"Well I had a dream about Donna Reid only I was Donna and I failed."
Rory looked at her mother trying to understand
"I don't cook, I don't clean...I'm no Donna Reid. I'm not wife material. Luke's going to come back after a long day at work and there won't be any food on the table or in the fridge and the house will be a mess" Lorelai took a breath and continued "I don't want to disappoint him, I don't want him to get sick of me, I don't want to fail as Luke's wife" Rory hugged her mother
"Mom Luke knows all this. He's known us forever and he lives with us. I don't think he's going to be surprised you don't cook"
"Or clean" A voice came from behind them.
Rory looked up at Luke, Lorelai kept her head down andstarted to cry again. Rory stood up and let Luke sit where she had been before.Rory watched as Luke put his arm around Lorelai before going back inside the house.
They sat in silence for a short while before Luke spoke softly "I want to marry you...more than anything in the world."
Lorelai lifted her head and looked at him silently.
"I don't care that you don't cook or clean. I don't care that you talk through movies or eat huge amounts of junk food, I don't care that you talk incessantly and mostly about things I don't understand. I love you and I want to marry you"
"But why?" She asked softly
"Why what?"
"Why...why do you love me?"
"For all those reasons I listen above because they make you you. Because you are the most amazing person I've ever met and I just love you"
Lorelai hugged him tightly "I just didn't want you to think things would change when we got married. I mean I know they should but that's just not me"
"I know that."
"But you love me anyway?"
Luke rolled his eyes "Yes"
"But what if you get sick of me? I mean I know it's hard to believe that anyone could get sick of someone as charming and brilliant as me but... what if you do?"
"What if you get sick of me?"
"I asked you first?"
"I asked you second?" Luke threw back
"Luke I'm serious"
"So am I. Why do you think I'll get sick of you. You could just as easily get sick of me."
"Luke..no. I couldn't"
"Well back at ya" Luke said kissing her softly. "Lorelai?"
"Yeah"
"Okay don't take this the wrong way but... you are always so confident and I don't know, you seem to doubt yourself a lot now and usually over me. I don't want… do I? … Do I make you do that cause I don't want to"
"Luke no, I can't believe…Luke I've always doubted myself and I don't like to let people see it so I put on this brave exterior. I don't want you to feel like you're making me feel this way. Look for years I've had my parent's telling me everything I do is wrong. The way I dress, what I eat, the way I'm raising Rory, I guess after hearing it enough I started to believe some of it but the only reason I'm doubting myself now is because you're so important to me. I don't want to screw this up, I don't want to lose you. I don't have the best track record with relationships but I know this is different. I just want to make sure I do everything right but you make me stronger in so many ways and when I do doubt myself you are the one who makes me believe in myself again"
"But I don't want you walking on eggshells. Lorelai I know you so well, I love you for who you are. I don't want you trying to be someone you're not."
"I'm not, I guess I am a little. I'm just trying to be a better me."
"You're the perfect you. I want you to promise me something. I don't want you to again to doubt your ability to make me happy, or the fact that you're not good enough for me or especially that you are not a great mother. You are amazing and I want you to remember that. Promise me"
Lorelai nodded and smiled "I promise"
Luke hugged her tightly "and I want you to tell me if all this is getting to much for you. The wedding I mean"
Lorelai nodded "If I say yes will you ring my mother for me and tell her I'm not going"
Luke smiled at her "No but I will come with you"
"You'll come with me, to my parents place? You're not supposed to see the dress before the wedding"
"But I thought you said there was no way that this dress could possibly be the dress you'll wear so why will it matter?"
"Because" Lorelai shot back
Luke laughed "Great argument there"
Lorelai went to playfully slap his arm but Luke caught her hand and pulled her to him, kissing her. He pulled back and smiled at her "So you'll go and look at the dress?"
"Yes I'll go and look at the dress but if it's horrible or the day ends in me tears you'll have to pick up the pieces"
Luke nodded "I'll even bring coffee"
Lorelai smiled and kissed him.
"So you better now?" Luke asked
"Yeah thanks. What would I do without you?"
Luke shrugged "Don't know and I'm not going to let you find out" He stood up holding his hand out to Lorelai to pull her up and take her inside the house.
Chapter 47
That afternoon Lorelai stood outside her parent's front door, her heart racing. She wasn't quite sure why. Maybe it was because she was excited, maybe it was from fear, she's couldn't be sure. Lorelai took a few more deep breaths before ringing the bell.
A few moments later Emily answered, "Lorelai come in"
"Wow you're awfully cheerful this afternoon" Lorelai commented on Emily's huge smile
"Well I've had a rather productive day. We've found a great new spot for our DAR meeting next week and it was a quarter of the price cheaper than the old one but much more elegant and with far better service"
"Well that's great"
"Are you hungry I had Greta make scones"
"Ah no I'm fine thanks"
"What about a cup of Coffee"
"No mother I'm fine"
"Wine, scotch"
"What? mom No"
"How about a quick walk around the yard"
"Mom no can we just have a..." Lorelai was stopped by the sound of the door bell
"I'll get it" Emily said as she made her way to the door. Lorelai listened as her mother walked back talking to someone
"Hi Mom"
"Rory what are you doing? I though you couldn't... What's going on" Lorelai stammered
"Well I had a break in school and I rang grandma and promised to make her stall you until I got here"
Lorelai hugged her daughter and whispered in her ear "Thank you"
Rory smiled and took Lorelai's hand as they followed Emily up the stairs to where the dress was kept.
"You're going to love this dress... I love it" Emily said
Lorelai tried to force a smile
"I love it more than any of the other dresses we saw the other day. It just screams Lorelai" Emily kept talking about the dress as they walked
Lorelai leaned into Rory and whisper in a mocking tone "It just screams Lorelai.. I'll be the one screaming"
When the reach the top of the stairs Emily told Lorelai and Rory to go sit in the chairs in her room while she went to get the dress.
"Shut your eyes" Emily ordered when she was about to enter the room
"Me, or Rory" Lorelai asked
"Both"
Both girls shut their eyes as Emily placed the manikin which was modeling the dress in front of the two girls
"Okay you can open them"
Rory opened her eyes looked at the dress then looked at Lorelai who still has her eyes closed.
Lorelai took a deep breath trying to slow her nerves and also giving herself a few more moments to think of reasons why she didn't like it. Lorelai finally opened her eyes and looked at the dress in front of her.
"Oh my" was all Lorelai could get out "it's..." she looked at Rory trying to find the words
"Beautiful" Rory finished for her.
"So you like it" Emily asked
"I ... I ... I love it" Lorelai said riding from the chair and walking over to the dress for a closer look
"I knew you would" Emily said proudly
The dress was a stunning strapless gown made in a heavyweight duchess satin overlaid with an ivory organza. The strapless bodice had a beautifully detailed sweetheart neckline which had been embroidered with tiny glass beads and sequins, which are heavier at the neckline and is then randomly scattered all over the gown. The skirt is cut in a fitted style with a fishtail hemline, which extends into a small puddle train.
Lorelai ran her fingers over the beading then turned to her mother "Can I try it on"
"Of course you can, the dress is yours if you want it"
Lorelai took the dress into the bathroom and shut the door. About 15 minutes later Rory knocked on the door. Mum are you okay you've been in there a while. Lorelai opened the door and both Rory and Emily gasped
"Oh Mom you look amazing"
"This is it" Lorelai said just above a whisper "This is the dress" Lorelai did a little twirl and stood in front of the mirror admiring the dress. She turned to Emily. "Thank you mom it's amazing. I love it so much"
"It's my gift to you for the wedding. I'll just go and check on afternoon tea" Emily added before leaving Rory and Lorelai alone in the room.
Rory watched her mother standing in front of the mirror with a huge smile on her face "Grandma's done really well"
"Yeah she has" Lorelai replied not taking her eyes off the mirror.
"Okay do you want to change? Grandma's getting afternoon tea then you can give me a lift back to school"
"Okay just one more minute" Lorelai replied. After a while Lorelai returned to the bathroom and changed back into her clothes. She hung the dress back up and walked over to Rory and hugged her. "Come on Hun let's get down stairs"
Later that afternoon Lorelai and Rory made their way to the diner. Before they walked in Lorelai turned to Rory. "Okay Hun just follow my lead"
When the bells above the diner door jingled Luke looked up and saw Lorelai walking towards the counter with a sad look on her face. Luke immediately grabbed the coffee pot and filled two mugs and placed them in front of Rory and Lorelai.
"That bad huh" Luke asked
Lorelai took her mug of coffee and smiled at him before taking a sip. then she replied "No but I knew you'd give me coffee no questions asked if I looked like this" Lorelai put on her sad face again before smiling sweetly at him.
Luke rolled his eyes "So it went okay"
Lorelai nodded "The dress, it's amazing Luke, it's the one"
"She looked so beautiful" Rory added
"So what's it like"
"White" Both girls said at the same time
"Yes and"
"Dressy" Lorelai added "And that's all you're getting from me. So if you want to see this amazing dress with your amazing fiance in it you'd better show up at the wedding"
"Alright if it have to" Luke mumbled
Lorelai threw the cloth that was on the counter at him "Nice, thanks. Just for that..." Lorelai held out her mug and Luke filled it
"Last one"
Lorelia smiled "Whatever you want to believe"
Luke smiled and left Lorelai and Rory talking while he went back into the kitchen