Hey it's update time!
I tried to update sooner, I was already receiving some threats… ;)
But today is the best I could do since my vacations are officially over, thank god (I hate free time), and classes and work have started…
I still love all the reviews! They make my days so much better, how can I not be thrilled about them?
Thanks to tha best betas eva:
OzDust and MrsDionysiusOGall !
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Chapter 6 – Reunions aren't so fun when you're married…
Luke and Danny moved to the bar; finding a line, they apparently weren't the only thirsty ones. They waited for a while, Danny trying to start a conversation, and Luke just doing anything he could to stop that from happening. Luke hated people who tried to make others talk against their will; he felt pressured, and became even quieter than usual. After some incredibly awkward minutes, the line finally seemed to move; at least they had something to do now… Moving was good, moving was something he could focus on, and soon he would have his beer, so all was fine with the world.
"This line is long…" Danny stated the obvious after looking at the length of line to the bar.
"Yep" Luke hadn't just gained the monosyllable–man nickname for nothing; he had to keep his rep after all.
"I'll walk along the line; see if I can find someone I know…Then we'll take less time!" Danny obviously thought that was the greatest idea since straightening iron…
"You wanna cut in line?" Luke had a different opinion about Danny's idea… What was he? Four?
"No, of course not. But if I happen to come across someone I know, I guess no one will stop me from starting a conversation with this person." Danny smiled superiorly.
"Right… Go ahead." Luke figured Danny wouldn't come back; he knew he hadn't been a very good company so he couldn't blame him.
Luke stayed in line a little while longer, when he saw Danny approaching him; he was followed by a small group of guys; apparently, he knew a lot of these people…
"You play poker?" Danny asked, handing him a fancy imported beer.
"Yeah." Luke took a big gulp directly from the bottle, stopping when he remembered that that wasn't very polite, though the other guys seemed too drunk to care…
"Guys, Luke's playing!" Danny announced to the others. "What are we waiting?"
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Lorelai and Sandy had been talking nonstop for a long time; they didn't even notice the time go by, and they wouldn't have stopped if it wasn't for Sandy's pregnant need for a bathroom break. Sandy excused herself and promised she would be fast. Lorelai stood alone at the same corner table she and Luke had escaped to. Lorelai scanned the room, lots of familiar faces… She tried to remember other people she had had a civil relationship with during those ancient days, but she had successfully erased that period from her mind.
"Lorelai, there you are!" Dotty came rushing toward her table, almost crashing into it. "I've been looking for you, I wanted to show people our wonderful organizer!" she said too cheerfully, her breath agreed with that…
"I'm just waiting for Sandy, she's in the bathroom." Lorelai tried to reason with the drunk version of Dotty.
"Don't worry, she'll find us!" Dotty grabbed Lorelai's hand, making her stand up. "The girls are dying to see you!" She leaned on Lorelai, trying to regain her balance.
"No, I'm the one dying…" she answered sarcastically; of course, Dotty being a little drunk, thought that was just a really funny joke, and started laughing loudly.
"Ok, this way! Follow me!" Dotty marched ahead, walking in S-shaped paths; Lorelai decided to obey her, and followed her tracks.
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The poker game was going well, a small crowd had even gathered around their table to watch it; some making comments, some cheering, some just too drunk to know the difference… Luke had started badly, losing the initial games, but he was full of luck now; he had won the last two rounds and was currently holding a royal flush.
Beat that! He was already feeling like a winner, but this was the last round he would play; he thought it was best to get out of the game without any debt…
They were doing the bluff thing, some small talk, mostly so the game would last longer; besides, the weak bluffers always became transparent at some point during the small talk.
"Lucky night, huh, Luke?" Frank said from across the table; he had entered the game later on and seemed to be enjoying Luke's obvious shyness.
"Very." Luke didn't look away from his cards; he hadn't liked this guy from the start.
"First, you came with the prettiest girl from our class…" Frank continued with his attempt to tease him.
"Who did you come with, pal?" Charles, another player, asked.
"He came with Lorelai Gilmore…" another man answered from behind; Luke didn't like the way he said that… "Remember her?"
"Christopher Hayden's girl?" Charles seemed to recognize the name.
"Yes," Frank answered. "The one and only."
"How a punk like Chris got a girl like her was always a mystery to me!" came the same voice from behind Luke.
"Yeah, I tried to ask her out all through middle school… She never said yes," a different guy answered.
"I couldn't even ask her out!" Frank said, followed by a long laugh, and was soon joined by every other guy around.
"Look at the top-notch lawyer now!" Danny said, already laughing.
After a while, the laughter died down, and everybody was ready to finish the round, especially Luke. He had a royal flush for God's sake!
"So, Luke, how long have you known Lorelai?" Danny asked, oblivious to the continuation of the poker game.
"About eight years…" Luke tried his best to look very interested in his cards, why did they have to keep talking about Lorelai? They were all just a bunch of gossips…
"That's a lot!" Danny concluded; everybody nodded their heads affirmatively, some muttered.
"Not really…" Luke answered, again trying to sound uninterested. But the truth was that he was a little intrigued with the big curiosity about Lorelai…
"So you have been married for…?" Danny continued his quiz, everybody else listening closely.
"What?" Luke asked, a little unsure of what he had just heard. Married? Did he say married?
"Married…for how long?" asked the same mystery man behind him.
When he felt less shocked and paralyzed, he would turn around to see who the hell this man was!
"But…" Luke tried to answer, but was interrupted.
"Didn't she get pregnant in high school?" someone new to the discussion asked.
"Yeah, a daughter, Rory." Luke smiled even without knowing he'd done so.
"So you helped raise her?" Charles, a tabloid journalist, asked, really interested in the drama, his cards completely forgotten…
"Well… I helped with anything I could." Luke was starting to give up on the game…
"That's very honorable of you, man!" Danny patted him on the back. "I don't know if I would have done the same…"
"I…" Luke unsuccessfully attempted to explain that he wasn't Lorelai's husband, but they didn't allow him any opportunity to talk.
"Yeah, to raise someone else's kid… I don't think I would have done it either…" mystery man said again.
Luke could only conclude that the reason for all this talking was the obvious effect of a whole lot of booze… Men usually don't talk this much, or was it just him?
"I wouldn't even marry a woman who had a child!" new guy gave his opinion.
Yeah, right, Luke had forgotten he was married to Lorelai now… How did they get that idea? He hadn't said anything that could lead them to believe that he and Lorelai were more than friends, unless… Lorelai had. No, she wouldn't do that, she said she only needed a date so she wouldn't look bad, she didn't mention anything about a husband! He felt himself grow mad and hardly heard the comments the men were throwing at him about his supposed life, he just couldn't believe Lorelai would tell everyone that they were a married couple! And she didn't even ask for his consent; he knew she was a little…eccentric, but that did not give her any right to do something like that! Married couple… them! That would never happen; he would probably die of exhaustion first! Ooh, he was mad now...
"To Luke, a very honorable man!" Danny said, raising his glass in the air; everybody else did the same and yelled, "Cheers!" Luke used the distraction as a way to get away unnoticed, or so he thought…
"You can't leave now, buddy!" mystery man said, resting a heavy hand on his shoulder.
"I have to go… Talk to my wife!" Luke answered sarcastically; the sarcasm totally lost on the others' drunken minds.
"Cheers to that too!" someone yelled from somewhere nearby; shot glasses were all raised after that.
Luke realized they wouldn't miss him; they probably wouldn't even know he was gone… Too bad he was about to win the poker game, it's not every day that he got to play poker, never mind win at it… But right now, Luke was on a mission, he had to find Lorelai and clarify this whole thing; she had to answer some questions!
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Lorelai had followed Dotty to a table (actually a few tables were rearranged so they now were together as one) on the opposite side of the men's corner of the room. She hated how rich people socialized only among equals, and equals meant women talking with women at one end of the room and men drinking and smoking at the farthest other end.
They reached their table and Dotty drunkenly announced Lorelai, complimenting her wonderful work at the party. All the other women introduced themselves and Lorelai almost instantly forgot all their names; that's how memorable they were. She kept glancing around, looking for Sandy; she didn't want her to think she had just taken off… But Dotty promptly pushed her into a chair and told her to have fun chatting with the girls. She decided that this was a perfect time to drink her first martini, and if that didn't work, they had a very efficient bartender on shift right now…
Her martini came and the conversation flowed somewhat easily; the fact that Lorelai could talk just about anything really helped her in these kinds of situations. And of course, Lilly had to mention her nineteen-year-old daughter, but really, Lorelai could talk about Rory for hours.
"So she's attending Yale? That's such a marvelous university!" one of the women said. Lorelai thought that was Wendy, but she wasn't all that sure.
"Yes, she's dazzling them with her wit and charms!" Lorelai answered, feeling a tiny bit affected by her few martinis.
"That's great! You seem very happy…" Marie Louise, one of the infamous Nazis, said; she was nicer when she had drunk a little…
"I am." Lorelai had just realized that too; she was happy; she had the most perfect daughter, a good reliable income, her inn, but there was something… missing. She couldn't quite put her finger on it…
"Who wouldn't be with that husband?" the woman she thought was Wendy said.
Yep, that's what she needed: a partner, a husband; someone she could count on. Wait, had they just said my husband?
"My husband?" Lorelai asked, laughing lightly.
"Yeah, he's YUMMY!" someone else said. "I wish my Tony had that body!"
"Are you talking about Luke?" No, they couldn't be thinking Luke was her husband…
"Is that his name?" Lilly asked. "He is good-looking!" She gave a drunken chuckle.
"Wait a minute." Lorelai was confused; she had to get things straight. "Who do you think is my husband?" She tried to enunciate every word so the women's alcohol-fogged minds would understand her question.
"Luke, of course!" Dotty answered without a blink.
Maybe she wasn't going to get through to them. Dotty was obviously too drunk to answer anything and the others didn't look like they were much better. Some of the women had their heads down on the table, some were chatting uncontrollably. Lorelai decided to talk to Lilly; she seemed in better shape and had seen Luke; clearly the best option.
"Do you also think Luke is my husband?" Lorelai questioned Lilly, who was sitting a little far away but bent to hear her question.
"Yeah, he looks like a nice man!" Lilly answered without a doubt.
"He is." Lorelai couldn't wait to tell Luke; that would give them a reason to laugh! Married…THEM! That was funny; she would probably kill him if that were true!
Lorelai guffawed at that, and that's when Sandy arrived.
"What's so funny?" she asked, smiling.
"Oh…Nothing…" Lorelai recovered quickly. "So was it hard to find me? Dotty dragged me away," Lorelai whispered closely to Sandy.
"No, you guys are laughing pretty loud!" Sandy took a step back from Lorelai; her breath smelled like alcohol.
"The magic of alcohol, my friend!" Lorelai unknowingly shouted; the others cheered that.
"I came by to say good night!" Sandy said, her eyes showing her fatigue.
"So soon?" Lorelai said in a softened voice.
"Gotta get my sleep…" She yawed and patted her big belly.
"Okay, I'll help you up the stairs!" Lorelai stood and took one of Sandy's arms. "This way I can get away from them…" she whispered conspiratorially.
"Ok, you can tag along!" Sandy said after a giggle escaped her mouth.
They went out the improvised ballroom and up the stairs. Surprisingly, Lorelai wasn't so drunk that she couldn't help her friend up the stairs, but she really had to concentrate to do so. She left her friend at her door, wished her good night, promised to tell Danny she had already gone to bed and that they would talk some more tomorrow. Now, she just had to find Luke to tell him about the married thing, he would find it hilarious! Lorelai marched down the stairs looking for her husband!
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Luke spotted Lorelai entering the ballroom; he had been looking for her for a while now… She didn't see him right away; she seemed to be scanning the room for something and when she saw him, the broadest of smiles appeared on her face. It almost made it impossible for Luke to continue to be mad at her…
"Luke, there you are!" She approached him all smiles. "I have the funniest thing to tell you!"
"Yeah?" he answered out of pure reflex, because in reality, that's not what he had planned to say.
"You will never believe this!" She continued smiling; she hadn't noticed the particularly bad mood he was in.
"What? What is so funny?" Luke said in a not so nice manner; he had no patience for Lorelai's bits right now…
"What's up with you?" she said seriously, after feeling the sudden change in the air.
"Nothing's wrong with me!" he answered loudly; good thing he wasn't the only one being loud in the ballroom, because otherwise all eyes would have definitely turned on him…
"I never said there was something wrong with you…" she said cautiously, testing the waters.
He didn't answer; instead, he gave out a snort of disbelief. He was pissed but Lorelai had no idea why. After a couple of seconds of uncomfortable silence and standing, Lorelai decided she should try to speak to him again.
"Now that we've officially established that there's absolutely nothing wrong with you," she smiled warmly. "Would you be so kind to tell me what happened that put you into this lovely mood?" She tried to think before speaking, but was no good at that…
"Everything's a joke to you, huh? Everything becomes funny and you have to make fun of everyone!" He got a little carried away again.
"I was trying to light the mood!" She was soon in the same mood as he was; she took a deep calming breath. "Why don't we sit over there?" She pointed to the deserted part of the room; she didn't want people eavesdropping on their argument. They both moved to said place and sat down quietly.
Luke was trying to calm himself down; he had no idea why he had overreacted like that. He knew that Lorelai didn't deserve to be treated so rudely and she still had to find out the reason to why he had done so. He also knew that he had to somehow be able to tell her why he was so mad, but words had never been a friend of his and, at this moment, they were all out having a literate party in some intellectually graced genius's mind or something… He discreetly glanced her way; he had ruined her cheery mood, and he felt awful.
"They think we're married…" Luke tried to explain; maybe she could understand everything he wanted to say via one statement.
"I know…" Lorelai didn't even look up from her lap; she was utterly confused by his remark.
"You do, huh?" He sounded harsh again; so she did know about the marriage thing… He must have been right; she told people they were married without his permission. Why would she do that?
"What now?" She had sensed the return of mad Luke in the zone…
"You knew…and you didn't ask…you just…and I was…not expecting…you didn't ask!"
"What the hell are you talking about? Am I supposed to guess? Speak in complete sentences!" Lorelai was beginning to lose patience; she was tired of having to interpret every single thing every guy had ever said to her…
"You told them, that we," he pointed at the two of them, "are married without even asking me, just so you wouldn't look like a loser at this stupid reunion!"
Luke had expected a big outburst of rage from Lorelai, but instead she remained quiet, and that scared him more than anything she could ever say to him. He noticed that her breathing was now rapid and that her eyes seemed to narrow a little; she was a bomb ready to explode and unless he could learn how to dismantle an atomic bomb in three seconds, the chances were pretty high for him being yelled at. He just waited…
"What?" came the first exclamation of various ones to come. "You think that I would do that? Do you think I'm so affected by other's opinions that I have to lie to my best friend so I don't look like a loser in the eyes of people I never really liked?" She resumed looking sadly at her lap. "I thought you understood me…" she said in a small voice.
Luke was shocked; see, he also thought he knew at least a little about his friend… And he had just made a complete fool of himself showing her that he didn't. He was very confused; he thought it had been completely clear (at the poker game) that Lorelai had been the one who told people they were a committed couple; but then based on her reaction, his conclusion had been very wrong…
"I'm sorry…" he said in a hopeful tone, searching for her eyes even though she wasn't facilitating it. "I was only upset that you hadn't asked for my permission… I would have gladly played along with any of your crazy ideas…even though, now I know that this wasn't one of your crazy ideas…" He hoped she would understand his point and forgive his little asshole act, but she only looked up at him seriously.
"Why don't we continue this talk tomorrow?" She stood from her seat. "I'm sure you're tired… And I'm tired too, so… We'll talk later…"
He had had no idea that he was in such big trouble; she was obviously very upset with him and he could think of nothing better to do than respect her wishes and talk the next day…
"Ok. Goodnight…" He turned towards the staircase; he knew she needed time to think and he was just hoping he hadn't totally ruined almost a decade of friendship…
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