Chapter 18: Friday Night Dinners

Luke was standing behind the counter of his diner watching his customers going about their daily routines–yet his mind was far, far away. So much had happened in the past few months–things that he never would have even dreamed of. The situation at Chilton had miraculously blown over. All Lorelai and Max would tell him was that Headmaster Charleston apparently was not beyond blackmail to protect students. Heather seemed to be coping fairly well with everything. Especially since she had Logan to distract her. Logan still wasn't used to the idea of his little girl growing up but Logan had been a wonderful addition to her life. He had stuck by her through everything. Sometimes Luke thought that Logan helped his daughter keep her sanity. His thoughts were interrupted as the phone rang.

"Luke's."

"Luke, it's Lorelai Medina. Listen I had an idea that I wanted to run by you."

"Ok shoot."

"I was wondering if maybe Heather could eat dinner here on Friday nights. I'd like to spend more time getting to know her. She could bring a friend–Lane, Logan, or even you. Whatever she needs to make her feel more comfortable."

"How does Heather feel about this?

"I wanted to run it by you first."

"Thank you. If it's ok with Heather, it's ok with me."

"Great, I'll give her a call tonight then."

Later that day, Lorelai called Heather and Heather agreed to the Friday night dinners. After she agreed, she called her best friend Lane.

"Lane, it's Heather."

"What's up?"

"So do you think your mom would let you have dinner with my mother on Friday night?"

Heather quickly explained the whole Friday night dinner scenario. Initially, Lane's mother was reluctant to let her go but finally agreed if she could drive Lane both to and from Lorelai and Max's herself. Heather would go after school with Max and Lane would meet them later that night.

At the end of school that Friday, Heather went immediately to Max's room. Max looked up from the papers he was grading. "Heather, just give me a minute to finish up this paper and I'll be ready to take off."

Heather nodded in response. She sat down nervously at the table and looked around the room. She had been anxiously anticipating the dinner all day–she had no idea what to expect. Getting to know her mother had been a life-long dream of hers and now that it was a reality...it was a lot harder than she had expected. She was scared on so many different levels. First, she was afraid of being taken away from her father. She was also afraid of not living up to her mother's expectations. What if she wasn't the daughter that Lorelai had dreamed about all these years? Heather knew that most of her fears were unfounded. Yet it was so hard to push them out of her head...

Meanwhile Lorelai was pacing back and forth at the apartment waiting for Max and Heather to come. Max was in charge of dinner so unfortunately there wasn't much that she could do other than wait–and let her mind wander. What if her own daughter didn't like her after getting to know her? What if... She had to somehow figure out a way to put these what ifs out of her head. Somehow it had to be possible. Somehow...

Max and Heather walked through the door—interrupting Lorelai's nervous thoughts. Max walked over and gave Lorelai a kiss. They stood there quietly for a while and then Heather noticed Max's collection of books and they immediately launched into a discussion about favorite authors and various favorite genres of literature. At first Lorelai felt left out–but then she realized that this was still getting her the chance to get to know her daughter. Finally, the topic of conversation turned to favorite music and Lorelai and Heather immediately launched into a long discussion. As Max slipped into the kitchen to begin dinner preparations, Lorelai and Heather plopped down on the couch and discovered that they had very similar taste in music. A short while later the doorbell rang.

"That's probably Lane," Heather spoke up.

Lorelai nodded as Max went to answer the door. He opened the door and standing outside were a young woman and her mother.

"You must be Mr. Medina? Heather's stepfather? I'm Mrs. Kim, Lane's mother and this is Lane."

"I'm very happy to meet you. Please come in."

Mrs. Kim curtly nodded and followed Max in the door. She took a discerning look around and nodded. She then turned her attention toward Lorelai. And you must be Mrs. Medina?"

Lorelai nodded.

"I'm Mrs. Kim and this is Lane."

"I'll be back in two hours Lane."

Lane nodded in response.

With that, Mrs. Kim left.

"So Lane, Heather tells me that you're best friends?"

"My mother used to babysit Heather when Luke was at school or work. We grew up together."

Heather nodded. "Lane was like the sister that I didn't have."

Lorelai, Max, Lane, and Heather spent the next two hours getting to know each other. They discussed everything from obscure Russian literature to the Rolling Stones.

As promised, Mrs. Kim was back promptly two hours to pick up Heather and Lane.

Lorelai smiled at Max as they walked out the door.

"That went well didn't it?"

Max nodded.

"I'm finally getting to know her...and she does like me..."

Max gave his wife a kiss. "There was never any doubt in my mind that she would like you Lorelai."