There are many things Lorelai Gilmore is good at. She can name the seven dwarfs, the six Brady kids, the five members of Fleetwood Mac and all four Beatles. Her impressions of Daniel Day Lewis are spot on. She has raised a beautiful daughter and owns a successful inn by even her father's high standards.
But if there is another thing her and Richard Gilmore agree on, timing is not one of her strong suits.
3-year-old Lorelai ran into her father's office in her birthday suit just as he was closing the biggest deal of his life. 7-year-old Lorelai announced she wasn't wearing any underwear in front of Emily's DAR friends. And of course 16-year-old Lorelai made the biggest timing error when she became pregnant.
Lorelai thought she would have learned her lesson after that, but the fuzzy alarm clock didn't go off on Rory's first day at Chilton. Lorelai slept with Christopher just as things were getting interesting with Luke; putting on hold for years what she could have had then. And even though one of her earliest memories is of Emily telling her dinner is served promptly at seven, she has more times than not been chastised for her lateness.
But nowhere has the timing been more wrong than in Lorelai's engagement to Luke Danes. She thought proposing to Luke would be the hardest part of getting married, but that has not been the case.
First they didn't set a date because of her estrangement from Rory. Then Christopher reappeared tearing open old wounds long thought healed. Finally, a date was set. A wedding dress was chosen. But yet again the timing wasn't right. This time her name was April. Lorelai's heart still beats a little quicker when she thinks of Luke having a daughter. Secretly Lorelai always harbored the dream of giving Luke his first kid. A cute son with beautiful, kind eyes like his father's. Now Lorelai just wishes she could take away the pain she knows he feels for being denied the relationship he never knew he needed.
It has now been exactly 12 months since that magical night, when in the stillness of the diner Lorelai slowed down long enough to ask Luke to marry her. A wedding seemed imminent back then. But for a year the timing hasn't been right. A year of blaming April, Anna, Christopher, Richard, Emily, Rory, Luke, herself…
But today Lorelai is making a change.
As she walks into an empty Luke's carrying a small bag full of a big future for her and Luke, the change is hardly noticeable. But Luke knows Lorelai better than anyone else, and his eyes travel down the length of her left arm as the light catches on something silver.
"You're wearing a watch. You don't wear a watch."
Lorelai ignores Luke's statement. There will be no counter banter for them tonight. She quietly sits on her favorite stool in front of her favorite diner owner, hands tightly holding onto the bag.
A less patient man might have vocalized his concern for Lorelai's odd behavior, but 10 years of Lorelai Gilmore has taught Luke silence is golden. He also knows what today is and has spent most of the day wondering how a year later they are still nowhere closer to marriage. Too many nights have ended in too many fights, so instead Luke quietly cleans the counter as the sound of his rag sliding across the counter joins the faint ticking of Lorelai's watch.
Just when the silence becomes almost too much for both of them, Lorelai looks down at her watch and a faint smile begins to materialize on her face. As she begins to pull a box out of the bag, Luke stops what he is doing preparing himself for whatever Lorelai has planned.
"Luke, one year ago at this moment I asked you a question. And your answer made me the happiest woman alive."
"Well, your question had the same effect on me," Luke says sheepishly smiling, in an unsuccessful attempt to hide his current state of nervousness.
Lorelai stops and gives Luke the most soothing smile she can. "I know." He nods, signaling her to continue. "And I love engaged Luke and Lorelai. More than dating Luke and Lorelai. Definitely more than just friends Luke and Lorelai, but I want to change that."
Lorelai slides the box across to Luke. As he takes it she continues, "See, I've never been good at timing. Never. Ever. You know that. And all year with the wedding there has been one thing after the other that has just screwed up…"
"The timing?" Luke offers.
"Right. The timing. I'm an Olympic Gold Medallist when it comes to-"
"Lorelai, we have been over this," Luke interrupts not wanting to start the argument that has unfortunately become as familiar as his blue hat. "It's not all your fault. There was Rory and then I lied about April and-"
"-And Christopher, and my parents and the price of tea in China..." Lorelai places her hand over Luke's hand with the box, assuring him this conversation was going to end differently tonight. "I know, but I finally realized something. The timing will never be right. Never completely."
Lorelai takes a deep breath and looks Luke deep in the eyes. "Luke Danes I know you have already said yes once. But will you marry me? I'm tired of engaged Luke and Lorelai. To hell with timing, I want to meet married Luke and Lorelai."
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes, Lorelai Gilmore. I will marry you. Again. Tell me when and where. I will be there."
Lorelai lets out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "Good. I was thinking one month from today. Under the chuppah outside the inn."
"I'll be there."
"Good. Now open your box." Luke opens it revealing a beautiful silver watch, a perfect companion to the one on Lorelai's wrist. He looks at Lorelai with a mixture of love and confusion. "I wanted to get something to commemorate our re-engagement."
"It's perfect. Come here." Lorelai leans across the counter as Luke captures Lorelai's lips in a passionate kiss full of new beginnings. Suddenly Luke breaks the kiss and asks the question that has been running through his mind both about the watch and the sudden second proposal.
"Lorelai, why now? What's different?"
Lorelai takes the watch out of the box and flips it over revealing a simple inscription –
It was time.
There are a few things Lorelai Gilmore isn't good at. She can't sing all the lyrics to "It's The End of the World as We Know It". She's an awkward winker. Cleaning out gutters has proven to be a life threatening adventure. And both her and Richard use to say Lorelai had terrible timing.
But as the clock in the Dragonfly strikes 1 o'clock, his daughter promptly ascends the stairs looking as striking as ever. As Richard takes her arm, he notices the watch. Before he can ask, Lorelai smiles and says, "It's time for a change, daddy." And with that Richard leads Lorelai out the front door to finally meet married Luke and Lorelai.