A/N Like I promised, a lot faster than the past few chapters. Nobody mentioned the spell check in the reviews so I figured that it didn't really matter. If there is anyone who thinks differently just let me know.
Thanks for all the lovely reviews. I didn't realized how many people where reading my story till I saw my stats a few days ago. You guys really know how to make me happy, all of you!!
Lorelai walked into the house at 6 o clock that evening. She found Rory and her mother working on the quest list in the kitchen.
"Hey, how is it going? You're almost ready?"
Rory looked up "Hey mom. Yeah, we're just checking to see if we're missing someone."
"Okay. That's great! I'm going upstairs and change. After that we can stop by at Luke's, grab some dinner and drive to the dress shop."
"Sounds like a great plan. Just hurry, we have to leave in 45 minutes."
"I know. I'll try to be fast."
She kept her promise. She walked back into the kitchen 5 minutes later. "I'm ready. You guys ready to?"
"Wow, that must be a record." Rory smiled at her mother.
"Yeah well, don't get used to it." Lorelai smiled back.
"Lorelai, we finished the quest list. If you and Luke find some time to check it today, we can send the invitations tomorrow."
"Thanks mom, Rory. It depends on what time we're back tonight, but if we can we'll do it today, otherwise we'll do it tomorrow morning."
"I have 3 different kind of invitations picked out at." Emily handed them to her daughter. "You just have to pick the one you like most, than I can get them printed first thing tomorrow."
"How did you do that?"
"I pulled some strengths. I've done these things for your father for almost 40 years, so I know how to handle them."
"It's amazing." She looked at the cards. "Personally I prefer this one, but we have to show them to Luke and see what he thinks." She handed the card to her mother.
"That's my one favourite also."
"Let's go, otherwise we're going to be late."
Luke smiled when he noticed Lorelai entering his diner. He walked towards her and kissed her. "How was your day?"
"Busy, as always." She looked into her purse and pulled out the wedding invitations. "My mother picked those up. We have to choose one so she can have them printed tomorrow. They also finished the quest list. All we have to do is go trough it and see if someone's missing."
Luke looked at the cards. "Which one do you prefer?"
"I'll tell you after you told me."
"I don't really care, I like them all, you pick."
"Come on Luke, there must be one you like more."
"But…" He stopped when he saw the look on her face. "Alright this one." He handed her the same card she had picked out earlier.
"That's the one I preferred also."
"Well, than it's set. You came in to drop of the cards or you want dinner before you leave."
"Again, do you have to ask?" She smiled.
"I guess not." He smiled back.
Emily parked the car in front of the bridal shop about 5 minutes early. The owner of the store was already expecting them. They where about to ring the door bell when she opened it.
"Hi, welcome, come in" The blond woman shook Lorelai's hand. They where about the same age. "My name is Allison Davis, but you can call me Ally"
"Nice to meet you Ally, my name is Lorelai. This is my daughter Rory, and this is my mother Emily."
"I believe I talked to you over the phone this morning?" Ally asked as she shook Rory's hand.
"Yes, I really appreciate your helping us like this."
"I'm glad I can help. A wedding is every girls dream and it's usually a lot of stress and planning. If understand correctly the wedding is only a few days away?"
"The wedding is on new years eve." Emily replied, shaking Ally's hand.
"Well, than we have to find you girls a dress soon. There's probably a lot of other things that need to be arranged."
"Yes, but I have the best team." Lorelai smiled.
"I can see that."
"My daughter mentioned you have dresses in maternity size?"
"That's our specialty. I got married myself 5 years ago. My husband proposed and a few days after I found out I was pregnant. We tried to get married as fast as possible but my father got sick so we had to postpone. I wanted to be married before our baby was born, so I was about 7 months pregnant when the wedding took place. It took me forever to find a dress that fit me, and it still wasn't perfect.
3 years ago my best friend had the same problem. After that we decided to open a store for woman in the same situation we where in. We run the store together and are able to take care of our children at the same time. My son is going to kindergarten now but I have also have a 7 month old daughter, and my friend's daughter is almost 3 years old now."
"I'm very glad you decided to open this store. I hope you have the perfect dress for me."
"Well, let's check it out shall we?"
Ally showed them some dresses. Lorelai picked out 3 different dresses she liked. She tried them on and showed them to the others.
"What do you think?" Ally asked when Lorelai showed the third dress.
"I don't know, really. It looked better when I didn't had it on."
"What kind of dress did you had in mind before you came in here?"
"Uhm… I don't know."
"I bet you gave it some thought." Ally smiled. "Every woman does."
"Okay, I have thought about it." Lorelai closed her eyes. "The dress has to be simple but elegant. The colour… light, but not white because that would be totally out of line…" Lorelai opened her eyes and looked at Ally with hope in her eyes.
Ally smiled. "I think I have the dress you are looking for. Wait a minute, I'll be right back." She left and came back, holding a box in her hands. She put the box down and opened it. She pulled out the dress. "This one just came in this morning. I ordered it last week, and lucky for you it's right your size."
Lorelai took the dress over and walked into the changing room. She came out about 5 minutes later. She turned around to look at herself in the mirror and immediately tears filled her eyes. "Wow, this dress is amazing."
"Lorelai, you look beautiful." Emily had to wipe away some tears herself.
"You think?" Lorelai looked around to face her mother.
"Absolutely. This dress fits you perfectly."
"She's right mom, you look absolutely amazing."
"Do you think Luke will like it?"
"Oh mom, do you even have to ask. He'll love it! This dress is totally you, there is no woman who would fit this dress better than you."
"I agree." Lorelai looked at Ally. "You can try on every other dress in my store, but you won't feel the same as you feel in this dress. A woman knows when a dress is perfect. The tears in your eyes prove it."
"Really?"
"Absolutely. Every single woman who bought a dress in here had tears in here eyes when she found the perfect dress, just like you have now."
"You think it fits perfect?"
Ally looked a little closer. She walked around Lorelai. "Let's just… I'll be right back." She walked into the back again and came back with a sowing kit. "Since the wedding will be within a few days I'm able to take it in just a little bit. You have a little extra fabric right here on the sides." She put a few stitches in the dress. "There you go, now it's even more than perfect."
Lorelai looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes filling with tears again. "Perfect, just perfect. Now all I need is some shoes. Do you have those to?"
"Yes, follow me." They followed Ally to the other side of the store. "Here you go."
Lorelai found the shoes that matched her dress perfectly. They where white, a little heel, not to high because it was hard to walk on heels while she was pregnant. But as she tried the shoes on she knew this where shoes she could where for an entire evening without feeling her back in the end. She looked at herself in the mirror again.
Emily walked up behind Lorelai and untied her hair, hanging it loosely over her shoulders. "This is what you will look like at your wedding day. This is going to be the most beautiful day in your life."
"I know. Mom, thanks for being here with me. It means a lot to me."
"It means a lot to me too. This is the day I dreamed about since the day you where born. And being a part of it, I can't describe how that makes me feel." She had to wipe away a tear from here eyes again. "Oh my, look at me, and it's not even the actual wedding yet."
Lorelai turned around and hugged her mother. "Thank you." When they pulled apart Lorelai looked at Ally "Do you have brides maids dresses also?"
"Yes. In every size, both maternity as regular. Let me show you."
Luke was home already when they walked in. "Hey, how did it go?" He stood up to kiss Lorelai.
"I found the perfect dress for myself and the perfect dresses for the brides maids."
"Show me."
"Nice try mister, you'll have to wait a few more days before you can see me in my dress walking down the isle."
"I can't wait." He smiled at her.
"Me neither." She kissed him again.
"I'm going home now." Lorelai turned around. She totally forgot about her mother. "You can stay if you want."
"No, that's okay."
"But you're coming back again tomorrow anyway."
"I know, but I have to get the invitations printed anyway. Speaking of those…." She walked into the kitchen and came back with a couple of papers. "This is the quest list." She handed them to Luke. "And this is the text Rory and I wrote down for the invitations. I don't know what you think?"
Lorelai sat down, Luke next to her. They read the text a few times and discussed it. They made a few adjustments and handed the paper to Emily. "This is the way we'd like to have it."
Emily read it. "Perfect." She smiled. "I see you guys tomorrow."
Lorelai kissed her mothers cheek. "See you tomorrow mom, and thanks for today."
"Thank you Lorelai." Emily smiled. She kissed Rory's cheek and gave Luke a hand before she walked outside towards her car.
Lorelai woke up early the next morning. She was surprised to see Luke awake already. He was watching her with a big grin on his face. "What?" She asked.
"Nothing."
"You should see yourself in the mirror." She laughed out loud when she said it.
"I'm just happy." He leaned in to kiss her. When he pulled apart after a while he whispered. "Good morning."
She kissed him again before replying. "Good morning." She turned around to see what time it was. "Why am I awake at this hour? It is 6 am. And why are you still here? Aren't you supposed to open the diner at this particular time?
"First, I have no idea why you are awake. I've been awake for a while now, but it's still early. There are a few busy days in front of us so you better get some sleep while you still can. Second, Caesar is opening today."
"Oh…" She let herself drop in the pillows again. She brought her hands to her face and cried: "Aghh…"
Luke watched her with a smile on his face. "You want to go back to sleep?"
"Nah, it wouldn't work anyway. I believe it's the fault of your child, it has to much of your genes."
"The baby is keeping you awake?"
She replied by taking his hand and placing it on her stomach. Luke smiled "Wow, there's a lot of activity going on in there. It's amazing."
"It would be if it wasn't at this hour." She sounded grumpy. It was a lie though. She loved feeling the movements of the baby inside her. The first time she felt the baby kick was a morning a few months ago. Luke was just about to leave when she started smiling. He asked her what was going on and she had placed his hand on her abdomen, just like she did now. They had to wait a while before the baby kicked again, but the smile on his face when he felt it was the most beautiful one she had ever seen.
Sometimes it was exhausting, especially when the baby kept her awake for hours during the night, but she loved the feeling of the moment. Most of the time it wasn't until later she regretted the missed sleep, when she felt exhausted at work. Once, she actually fell asleep in her office. Sookie had found her and sent her home.
The stores where about to open when Luke and Lorelai arrived at the mall that morning. They had spent most of the time in bed. They checked the quest list once more and made a 'to do' list. Rory was already awake when they left and promised to look into the list and see if there was anything she could do.
"Can I help you?" The jeweller asked when they entered the store.
"I think so." Luke replied. "We're looking for wedding rings."
"Ah yes." The man replied. He walked behind the counter and pulled out a few boxes. "This is our collecting. Do you have anything in mind already?"
"Not really." Lorelai replied.
"Well, just look at them and see what you like."
Lorelai pointed at a set of rings. "I like those."
Luke stood next to her and looked where she pointed. The jeweller replied by telling her it was an excellent choice. Lorelai looked at Luke and noticed the annoyed look on his face. Luckily someone else entered the store. "Do you mind if I help the other customer while you look around?"
"Not at all," Luke replied with a sarcastic tone in his voice.
When the jeweller arrived a few minutes later Luke and Lorelai had already made a choice. They choose 2 simple matching rings made of white gold.
"We'd like to have these." Lorelai handed the rings to the jeweller.
"Excellent choice. We have to check the sizes and write down what you want to have engraved in the rings."
"We have one question. How long will it take to have the rings ready, engraved and all?"
"It usually takes about a week, during this season it could take a few more days."
"That won't work for us. We're getting married in 3 days. Is there any change you can have them ready before that?"
"There's a lot of work, but I think I can make an exception."
"That would be wonderful."
The jeweller tested their sizes and wrote down the lines for the inscription. He looked up at Lorelai after he finished: "Did you notice your fingers swelling up because of the pregnancy?"
"What?" Luke looked angry at him.
Lorelai took his hand and squeezed it. "It's a normal question Luke" She whispered. To the man she said "No, they haven't changed a bit."
"Good. A lot of women do swell up, and if you buy a ring now that fits perfectly there will be a big change it won't fit anymore after you gave birth. That's why I had to ask."
Luke just nodded. "Do we have to pay in advanced or when we pick up the rings?"
"You have to make a deposit and pay the rest when you pick them up."
Luke nodded again and handed him his card.
When they left the store Luke walked towards the exit immediately.
"Not so fast mister."
Luke turned around with a confused look on his face. "I thought we where leaving. This is a mall. We did what we came here to do, so now we can go home."
"No, we have to get you a suit. You own one suit and you wore it many other times. You're so not wearing that suit to our wedding."
"I know that. But I have to be back at the diner in 30 minutes, besides, I'm not allowed to see what your wearing before you walk down the isle, so you can't see what I'm wearing either."
Lorelai pouted. "But Luke, that's not the way it's supposed to be."
"I don't care. This is the way it is going to be. I promise you that I'm buying myself a new suit, but you're not going to see it."
"But Luuuuke…" She wined.
"No buts, we're leaving."
"But…"
He took her hand in his and leaded her towards the exit. She wanted to protest once more, but decided to give in. Even though she didn't like it, he had a good point.
Luke and Lorelai walked into the house together that night. He had dropped her off at the inn that morning after they came back from the mall, and picked her up again to take her home. Emily was still there when they arrived. Lorelai excused herself to change and Luke went into the kitchen to prepare supper, which was ready at the moment Lorelai walked into the kitchen again.
They all sat down and discussed what they accomplished that day. Emily and Rory delivered all the invitations personally. Kirk offered to help them, but they refused, of course. He was kind of disappointed but they made him happy by handing him an invitation of his own.
Lorelai told about the visit to the mall that morning, not leaving out the part about how Luke and the jeweller where going to be each others best friends in the future. "Hon, maybe you should ask him to be your best man!"
"You say something there."
"What?"
"A best man. I need a best man. You have a maid of honour and bridesmaids, but I need a best man. Who am I going to ask?"
"You could ask Kirk." Luke looked confused at Rory when she said that, but when he saw the big smile her face was showing he knew it was a joke.
"Yeah hon." Lorelai added. "He has to be the best friend you have. I think you saw him every day since the day you opened the diner."
"Ah geez."
"Who did you imagined to be your best man when you where younger?" Lorelai was serious now.
"I don't know… till he past away that would have been my father. But after that, I never really thought about it. I mean, I have friends and all, we hang out with Sookie and Jackson a lot, and there is always TJ, or Jess, but honestly I don't see either one of them as my best man."
"How about Buddy? I mean, on our first date you took me to see him and Maisy. And you told me how you came there 2, 3 days a week. You told me how you've known him your entire life and that he helped you opening the diner. And the diner is where we met so…"
Luke smiled. "I like that. I'll step by there tomorrow and ask him."
After dinner Emily stood up to leave. "I'll step by again tomorrow."
"Most of the work is already done here. You've already been a great help, I'm not sure what's left for you to do. The inn staff will do the decorations and things."
"Maybe I can come by there and see if I can help out. I believe this is a very busy time for them so I'm pretty sure they can use the extra help."
Lorelai wanted to tell her mother that it wasn't necessary but when she looked in her mothers eyes to tell her that, she couldn't. She seemed so happy, Lorelai didn't had the heart to tell her no. "Okay mom, I'll see you tomorrow."
At 7.30 pm the doorbell rang. Luke stood up and opened the front door. The man standing in front of it was in his late fifties. He was wearing a grey trench coat. The coat was open and revealed a brown suit underneath it, a pair of glasses reaching out of the front pocket. His grey hair was brushed to the left.
Luke shook his hand. "Hello, my name is Luke Danes. Please come in."
The minister handed Luke his coat, and followed Luke inside after he hang it.
"This is my fiancée, Lorelai Gilmore."
"Phillip Greene, nice to meet you." He shake Lorelai's hand.
"Nice to meet you too. Would you like a cup of coffee?"
"Yes please."
"I'll get it." As Luke walked away Rory entered the living room.
"This is my daughter Rory."
"Nice to meet you Rory."
"Nice to meet you too, sir. I'm very happy you're willing to help my mother and Luke."
"So, you're happy they are getting married?"
"Absolutely. This has been my dream for years now. Even before my mom and Luke started dating." Rory glanced at her mother while she said it. "I'm very glad the wedding will take place this soon. They where talking about July in the first place, but decided otherwise. I'm studying in London this year and I'm home just for the holidays. I have to leave again on Sunday, unfortunately. But this vacation turned out the best one I ever had."
"I'm very glad to hear that Rory. I find it very important that if there are any children involved, they approve the wedding."
"I definitely do!"
"So, if I understand correctly, you want to plan the ceremony this way, that you will be married at midnight exact?" Phillip repeated Lorelai's words.
"Yes, if you think that is possible."
"I've never done it before, but if we make sure we have enough time, it shouldn't be any problem. I just have to say the 'I pronounce you ..' line just in time. It could be that we have to wait for a little while before I say it, but I don't think it should give any problems."
"Do you have any problems with it being an outside wedding?"
"No, I've done more outside weddings at this time of the year. I find them very special. I just have one request. Since the day I got married I never spent a holiday apart from my wife. Normally I don't work these days but you seem like a very special couple to me, so I talked to her and she told me to do it. But I saw a little sadness in her eyes when she thought about me not being there for New Years."
"Why don't you bring her with you?"
"You don't mind?"
"Of course not. We'd love for her to come."
The minister wrote down parts of their history so he could make a story out of it for the ceremony. When he left Lorelai realized how tired she was. Luke noticed it too.
"We should get to bed now. We still have some very busy days in front of us."
"Yeah. I'm hoping our baby let us sleep in a little for once, though."
Luke smiled. He lowered himself and talked to her abdomen: "If you don't let your mommy sleep in a little tomorrow you will be grounded for two months."
Lorelai smiled. "I hope he'll stay in there for the next two months, a month and a half at least."
He looked up "Me too." Than he spoke to the baby again "So you better stay in there for a while and let your mommy sleep in. She gets very grumpy if you wake her up early and your daddy has to deal with it while you're safe inside there."
Lorelai took his hand and pulled him up. "Come here silly man."
"That's what you do to me. The more time I spent with you, the grazier I behave."
"I know, it's a disease." She smiled.
"I guess so, and it obviously is very contagious."
"It was a good day wasn't it?" She was serious now.
"Yeah it was."
"It's really going to happen."
"Yes it is."
"I still can't believe it."
"You better believe it." He kissed her. After a few seconds he pulled apart and took her hand, leading her upstairs.