Chapter 18
"Hardware and Dropouts"

Luke returned to his new home to find the downstairs in disarray and muffled expletives being muttered upstairs.

"Lorelai?" Luke called as he walked up the stairs.

"Stupid dresser. Can't find what I need and then the handle breaks off this piece of sh--"

"Lorelai?" Luke interrupted her tirade as he entered the bedroom.

"Hey," she replied gruffly.

"Wow, with a greeting like that how could resist moving in?" Luke joked. "What seems to be the problem?"

Luke sat down on the floor next to her and examined the broken drawer handle.

"You have too many clothes," Lorelai said simply.

"I have too many clothes?" he questioned.

"Yes. If you didn't have so many clothes then I wouldn't have had to clear out another drawer for you and then I would never have opened the bottom drawer again because it has a broken handle. I haven't opened that drawer since 1996 and it seemed to be a good system."

"So let me get this straight," Luke said placating her. "You broke this handle in 1996 and thus there are clothes in the drawer that you haven't worn since 1996 taking up an entire drawer, yet I am the one with too many articles of clothing."

"I couldn't have summed it up better myself," Lorelai replied with a small grin. It appeared that for the moment her disgust with the drawer situation had passed. She leaned over and threw her arms around Luke's neck. "You added onion salt to the burgers again," she said as she breathed in the scent of his clothes.

"How do you do that?" he asked her as he examined the handle and the dresser drawers.

"It's a gift," she said.

"Well I only added onion salt to the burger that I left for you on the coffee table downstairs," Luke informed her.

"Aw, you shouldn't have," she said giving him a light peck on the cheek. "But I'm very hungry so you were very right to do so."

"I figured as much," Luke replied. "I can fix this. I just need to get a few tools from downstairs."

"If it's a screw you need I could probably help you out," she said mischievously. She bit her lower lip and raised her eyebrows as she made the proposition.

"I'll keep that in mind," Luke replied suppressing a grin. He didn't like to overindulge her suggestive humor even though he secretly loved it.

Lorelai stood up and ran her hand along Luke's shoulders as she walked behind him. "So I stopped by the diner around four today and you out."

Luke winced invisibly and he stood up taking the drawer handle with him.

"Caesar said you had a few errands to run," Lorelai continued. "He said you'd been gone most of the afternoon."

Luke debated about whether or not to tell Lorelai the truth about where he'd been. He figured she would inevitably find out that he'd seen Emily and Rory and he finally decided it might be better to just tell her as much.

"Yep," Luke replied. "I was out."

"A man of many words," Lorelai teased him. "That's what I love about you. You know, I was watching Dr. Phil the other day and he said that unaccounted time was a sign of infidelity. Not that I'm pressuring you to tell me where you were or anything."

She was making light of the situation and that seemed to be a good sign. Luke didn't know how to approach the subject. It was obvious from previous experience that Lorelai liked to keep parts of her life separate. Although she'd told Luke he had full access to all the compartments of her life this would be the first true test to whether she meant it.

"I was out," Luke began again. "Looking for Rory."

Lorelai's expression changed and her face became unreadable. "You were looking for Rory? Why were you looking for Rory?"

"I wanted to talk to her about me moving in here," Luke said finally. "I know you said she was fine with it, but the way you described your conversation…I just wanted to make sure that it really was okay."

"Okay," Lorelai said as she thought about her response. "And what if Rory had told you she wasn't okay with it? Would you have not moved in?"

"Maybe" Luke answered her honestly.

"Wow, maybe," Lorelai mulled over his response.

"Not because I don't want to," Luke clarified. "I just don't want to be a sore point between the two of you."

"Believe me Luke we have plenty of those without adding you to the mix."

"I know. I just wanted to be sure that it was really okay. I'm gonna be a huge part of your life now and Rory's life when she eventually comes home. I just wanted to start off right."

"What she say to you?"

"She said she wanted you to be happy."

Lorelai scoffed. "She's got a funny way of showing it."

"I told her she was always welcome here," Luke continued. "I told her that you loved her and wanted the best for her."

"I'm sure that went over well."

"I don't know how well it went over, but she seemed open to the idea of coming home eventually."

Lorelai just nodded and stared at the ground. Luke began to wonder if he'd made a mistake. It was one of the few times that he couldn't decipher her response. Her eyes seemed hard and they weren't giving away any information. He plopped down on the edge of the bed and sat facing Lorelai.

"Lorelai?" Luke said.

"It's fine," Lorelai said looking up. "I'm fine. I'm a little surprised that you'd go talk to Rory without talking to me about it, but it's good."

"Do you really mean that or are you just telling me what you think I want to hear?"

"It's what I think," Lorelai said looking up at him and tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's weird to get used to, but I'm okay with it. Honestly." Lorelai walked over to the bed and perched herself next to Luke.

"Okay," Luke replied turning his head to face her. "Then I should probably also tell you that I spoke to your mother."

"You didn't," Lorelai cringed. She could only imagine how well that conversation went.

"I did," Luke said. "Rory wasn't there and I wanted to find her so I rang the doorbell."

"Please tell me it was Lurch who answered," Lorelai said.

"If by Lurch you mean Emily then you're exactly right," Luke replied.

"And she told you where Rory was?" Lorelai questioned. She was surprised that her mother would give up that kind of information at all.

"Grudgingly," Luke said.

"Hey, that's quite a feat, give yourself credit."

"I guess."

"So, where was Rory?" Lorelai asked tentatively.

"She works at the Hartford Community Center Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday she helps clean up Manning Park."

"Hmm," Lorelai thought about it. "Rory's never really thought she was that good with kids. I guess she'll learn."

"Yeah," Luke agreed.

"It'll be good for her," Lorelai said. "Less time with Logan and my parents can't be a bad thing."

"Probably not," Luke said.

"Luke," Lorelai said resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for caring so much about Rory. It's still going to take some getting used to, but I'm really glad that you went to go talk to her."

"I'm glad too," Luke said.

"Your shirt's making me hungry," Lorelai said smelling the onion salt again.

"Well your burger is on the table," Luke smiled.

"Good. After I eat I'll help you find that screw," she winked at him. She nudged him with her hip as she stood up and walked out of the room. She turned to wait for him at the door. She smiled at him and Luke knew that while she wasn't completely okay with the idea of him seeking out Rory, she was getting used to the idea. He returned her grin and stood up to join her downstairs.

Rory looked at the finger paint table and sighed. For only a few hours the group of fifteen kids sure did a lot of damage.

"So, is it always like this?" Rory asked Marty as they covered the paints.

"Pretty much," Marty replied. "I like to think of this as my own personal version of Trainspotting. Everything is kind of weird and nothing makes sense until the last kid gets picked up."

"I don't think I've been this exhausted in weeks," Rory said as they cleaned up the table.

"Since finals?" Marty asked.

"Not even then," Rory said. "So, you volunteer every summer?"

"Pretty much," Marty replied. "I got into the habit in high school and I stuck with it."

"That's really nice, especially since you work so much."

"Well bartending is usually a night gig, so it kind of leaves a gapping hole in the day."

"Sure," Rory said. "So are you here five days a week?"

"Oh no, usually two or three depending on what my work schedule looks like," Marty said. "What days are you here?"

"Monday, Wednesday and Friday," Rory replied. "I was really glad to see you today. We haven't talked in a while."

"No, we haven't," Marty said pointedly. He broke the moment by snapping a lid shut and returning it to a shelf.

"Rory, I'll need you to fill out this paperwork for the court. They forgot to have you fill it out after the hearing," Katherine said as she passed through the classroom.

Rory nodded. "Thanks," she replied quietly. "I'll fill them out before I leave." She felt her face turn a few shades of red and she swallowed hard. She hadn't wanted Marty to know she was required to complete community service, but with the words court and hearing she pretty much knew her cover was blown.

"Community service?" Marty asked. "As in court ordered community service?"

"Yeah," Rory replied sheepishly. "I got into a little bit of trouble at the end of the semester."

"Wow," Marty replied shocked. "So, you had unpaid parking tickets or something?"

"I borrowed a yacht," Rory said feeling her cheeks flush.

"You borrowed a yacht? Where were you going?"

"I don't know exactly," Rory said. "Anywhere but here. South America maybe?"

"That's very Gob Bluth of you," Marty replied.

"Yeah, well it wasn't the smartest idea I've ever had," Rory said.

"So will you be done with the community service by the time school starts?" Marty asked.

"Um, probably not," Rory said. "But it's okay because I'm not really going back to school in the fall."

"You're not?" Marty asked incredulously.

"No," Rory confirmed.

"Wow, you're the most studious person I know. You're like the poster child for Yale."

"Well it's time for a change."

"I guess."

"We have to grow up and find our own way. It's time I start making my own decisions," Rory said paraphrasing Logan's speech to her.

"Sure," Marty said unconvinced.

The table was just about clean and Marty removed his smock. Rory glanced around the room and walked over to some tables and started pushing in chairs.

"I'm living with my grandparents in Hartford for a while," Rory continued to babble to fill the silence in the room. "I'm working at a law firm and doing my community service."

"Your Mom must miss you," Marty said helping her push in the chairs.

"Yeah," Rory dismissed him. "My Grandparents have been great. They've been really supportive and understanding about everything. I made a pretty big mistake and they've been wonderful."

"Right," Marty replied curious about Rory's dismissal of his comment about Lorelai. He surveyed the room, which looked fairly clean and tidy and he draped his smock over the chair. "Well it looks like it's pretty clean."

"Yeah it does," Rory agreed. "So will you be here on Wednesday?"

"Probably," Marty replied. "I work Thursday night so I'll probably be around Wednesday."

"Well then I guess I'll see you then," Rory smiled.

"Yep," Marty replied. "It was nice seeing you again Rory." Marty gave her a half grin and left the classroom.

"You too Marty," Rory said sincerely as he walked away. With Lane on tour and Paris unavailable for the summer it felt nice to have a friend again. Rory always had Logan to talk to, but there was something about talking to Marty that calmed and yet also unnerved her. It was his reaction to her leaving Yale. He seemed shocked and slightly unsupportive and for reasons unknown to Rory it bothered her immensely.

Rory removed her smock and placed it over Marty's. She would just have to explain her reasons for leaving school a little more clearly the next time she saw him. She surveyed the room one last time before leaving to fill out her paperwork. All in all her first day at community service hadn't been a bad as she thought it would be.

TBC