What Came Before -- Lorelai runs into Luke in Doose's but before she can apologize, Kirk interrupts and makes things even worse.
Strike Three!
"Come on, Mom, you have to get up. It's going to be a beautiful morning. I hear birds singing already. And Weston's will be open soon. The coffee is good, and the strudel is excellent."
"Maybe later. Of course you could always go get it and bring it back to me. Cherry would be nice."
"No. I refuse to be an Enabler. You can walk just as well as I can. Now I don't know what's going on with you and Luke, but you can't let this thing make you some kind of reclusive old lady. PLEASE, get up?"
"Thirty minutes. Just give me thirty more minutes."
"Okay, but in twenty-nine minutes I'm starting your shower. And if you don't want to waste valuable hot water, you better be ready to jump into it."
Lorelai pulled the covers over her head and mumbled something.
"Twenty-eight more!" Rory said out loud as she headed back downstairs.
Fifteen minutes later Lorelai heard the shower running.
"My God!" she whined as she got out of bed and into the shower. "That was the fastest half hour in the world! We should call Ripley's Believe It Or Not!"
"How do you know, you were asleep." Rory told her. "I'll be downstairs getting ready for school. And don't make me come back up here!"
An hour later they were sitting in Weston's Bakery. Lorelai had finished her second cherry strudel and third cup of coffee. Rory wasn't far behind her.
"So, do you want to come by the inn after school?"
"No, I think I should go straight to Grandma's. I've got four tests next week and I really need as much study time as I can get."
"Okay," Lorelai answered, disappointed. "Then I guess I'll see you there for dinner."
"Don't be sad. The more I get done this afternoon, the more time we have to spend together Saturday and Sunday."
"You're right. You have a good day and I'll see you about seven."
"Okay. I better go, I hear my bus. Love you."
"Love you, too, Hon. 'Bye."
Lorelai finished her coffee, paid Fran, then left.
She had intended to go to the Independence Inn but she saw Miss Patty and Babette together near the gazebo, and they saw her, too, and waved at her, motioning for her to come over to them. Against her better judgment, she complied.
"Hi, you two, what's going on?"
"Aw, Sugar, we feel awful!" Babette said. "Just terrible!"
"About what?" Lorelai asked, knowing she shouldn't.
"This feud between you and Luke. It's tearing the whole town apart," Patty told her. "We were talking about organizing a boycott of the diner."
"Yeah!" Babette chimed in. "Except then Weston's would be the only place to eat breakfast. And to tell you the truth, her scrambled eggs are always too runny, and her bacon is never crisp."
"How can I put this?" Lorelai said. "Oh, I know – THERE IS NO FEUD! Luke and I may be having a small disagreement, but THAT'S ALL! It's nothing, less than nothing, less than less than nothing!"
"Lorelai, we all know what happened in the diner – you two were fighting so bad Luke had to run outside." Patty said.
"Yeah!" Babette added. "And the same thing happened in Doose's. Kirk saw the whole thing."
"Kirk? My God, you actually believe anything KIRK says?"
"Wait a minute," Patty interrupted. "There's Luke. We need to get this straightened out before it gets out of control."
"No!" Lorelai exclaimed. "We don't need to . . . ."
But before she could say anything more Patty and Babette were dragging her toward Luke, yelling at him to wait for them.
By the time they got to him, Lorelai could see the anger in his face, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Luke!" Lorelai said desperately. "Tell them they're crazy! Tell them we are NOT having a feud!"
"Now you hush, Lorelai, we'll get to the bottom of this." Patty told her. "Luke, we've been friends for a long time, so I think I have the right to tell you that I think the way you've been treating Lorelai is a crying shame."
"Yeah!" Babette put in.
"Patty, please don't . . . ." Lorelai tried to say.
"So if something doesn't change, and in a hurry, we just may have to boycott your diner. We don't want to, but sometimes . . . ."
"FINE!" Luke shouted. "You don't want to eat my food, then great! Then I don't want any of you in my diner again! I don't need you, or you, or YOU!"
His last shout was directed at Lorelai. And without another word he stormed off.
"Well!" Patty said. "I guess we have no choice but to talk to Fran about those eggs."
"And the bacon," Babette added.
"Sorry, Lorelai, but it looks like Luke is playing hard ball. But don't you worry, we'll get this straightened out, one way or another."
Miss Patty and Babette walked away, heading towards Fran's, leaving Lorelai standing there, feeling like she had been punched in the gut.
After a minute or two of trying to decide if she wanted to go after Luke to try to talk to him once again, she slowly turned in the opposite direction and walked to the Independence Inn to go to work.
The day crawled by until it was five o'clock. Lorelai figured it was the best time to call Rory.
"Hello." It was Emily.
"Hi, Mom, it's me, Lorelai."
"Yes, Lorelai, I do know your voice."
"Can I talk to Rory?"
"She's upstairs doing her homework. I'm not sure if this is the best time. Why don't you just talk to her when you come for dinner?"
"Mom, please, may I talk to my daughter? Please."
"Well, I suppose. She's been up there for a good while. I guess a small break wouldn't hurt anything. Just a minute."
Emily walked up the stairs to Rory's room and gently rapped on the door.
"Rory, there is a telephone call for you. It's your mother. Do you want to take it?"
Rory quickly opened the door and bounded down the stairs.
"Hey, Mom, what's going on?" Rory asked.
"I need you to tell your grandmother that I won't be at dinner tonight."
"Why?"
"I had the absolutely, most fabulous day! Right after you left I was shanghaied by Patty and Babette, and they dragged me into another confrontation with Luke."
"Oh, no! What happened?"
"It was strike three."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I'm out. I struck out. He told me he didn't want me coming back into the diner."
"Mom! I'm so sorry!" Rory said.
Then after a short pause, she continued, "Mom, when are you going to tell me what's going on with you and Luke?"
"Rory, it's nothing you need to be concerned about, it's just a thing between Luke and me."
"Yes, it is something I need to be concerned about. If we can't ever go back into the diner, then it certainly concerns me."
"He didn't say you couldn't go in, just me."
"And do you think I'd ever go in there again if you couldn't?"
"Sweetie, I really don't want to talk about it right now. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Look, if you want me to, I can drive over there later on, after you've eaten, and bring you back home."
"No, there's no reason for you to do that. I'll just spend the night here and take the bus back in the morning."
"Are you sure? You really don't mind?"
"No, of course not. I'll see you in the morning, at home. And I'll tell Grandma you don't feel well."
"Thanks, Hon. See you tomorrow."
TBC
