A/N: Ok thank you for not sending the guys with the tire irons to come and beat me up for that last chapter. In this chapter Audrey enlists the help of her sister and cousin to put Luke and Lorelai together again. But of course Luke has his own plan that in a way is much more romantic. Happy reading!
Chapter 45: Putting Her Family Together Again
Audrey could tell something was wrong before she even entered her house. Her mother's Jeep wasn't in it's normal spot under the tree. Upon entering the house she really knew that there was something, wrong, amiss and just plain strange.
The living room was destroyed. Lamps were broken, chairs were toppled, books and magazines were thrown from one end of the room to the next. Along the hallway holes about the size of her father's fist pecked out a pattern in the drywall. Audrey first thought that they had been robbed but nothing was missing as far as she could tell.
"Mom? Daddy?" she called. "Anybody home?"
She found her father sitting at the kitchen table with a bottle of wine in his hand. Several bottles of beer in various stages of fullness littered the table. He was drinking out of a wine bottle, muttering to himself. Audrey knew something was wrong.
"Daddy? Where's Mom?"
"Gone," he slurred. "She's gone and it's my fault. She's probably with Max, making plans. She's gone and she's never coming back."
"Daddy what are you talking about?"
"Max, Max, Lorelai, inn," he muttered.
Audrey was getting nowhere with her father. She knew she wasn't going to get any real information out of him while he was drunk. She had only seen him this drunk five years ago when Rory and Matty's lives hung in the balance. She left him there in the kitchen and waded through the mess on the floor of the living room and searched for the phone. Finding it buried under an old In Style magazine and a couch pillow, she punched in her sister's number.
"Dad for the last time, Mom is not here!" Rory sighed.
"Rory," Audrey said timidly. "It's not Dad it's Audrey."
"Oh Audi. I'm sorry. Jess and I have been the sounding board all afternoon. Are you all right? Do you want to stay with Marty and I tonight?"
"I don't even know what's going on. Dad's drunk, the house is trashed and Mom's not here. Rory, I'm a little scared. Dad's muttering stuff about Mom leaving and it's his fault. What is going on?"
"Max, Mr. Medina came to the Dragonfly today and begged Mom to run away with him. She said no, he then kissed her and Dad saw the kiss," Rory explained.
"Oh my God! Where is Mom now?"
"At the Dragonfly. You can't tell Dad though, Audi. Mom doesn't want him to know where she is. Dad accused her of having an affair with Max. They fought loudly. I don't know what was said, Mom won't tell me. All I know is that Mom left and is at the Dragonfly."
Audrey was stunned. Her parents had seperated again. What would happen to her? What if they divorced? Would she have to choose between them? Could she choose between her parents?
"Audi, do you want to stay with Marty and I for a few days, until things calm down?"
"No. I'm going to stay here, clean up a little, maybe devise a plan to put our family back together," Audrey said.
"Oh Audrey. This is something we can't fix. They have to do that on their own," Rory sighed. Call if you need me for anything. Audrey, Mom and Dad always fight and they always find a way back to each other."
Rory knew that she had to remain positive for her little sister. Rory was, however, unsure if fate would bring Luke and Lorelai back together. Audrey hung up the phone and sighed. She set the phone down on the coffee table and tried no to cry. She began to clean up the living room.
About a half hour in, Audrey had barely made a dent in the mess that Luke had made. He walked into the kitchen still slightly buzzed. He saw his daughter cleaning up the mess his anger and humilation had made.
"Audrey stop," he said softly. "I'll clean this up."
"Dad I need to do something to keep my mind off what's going on," she answered, stacking the books back onto the bookshelves. "Please just let me do this."
"Then let me help," he said, gathering up the broken lamp. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I heard what happened from Rory but all I got was the Reader's Digest version."
"Lorelai and I were going to have lunch together today at 1:30. She said she had meetings all morning, but whenI got to the the Dragonfly, they were, Max and Lorelai, were kissing. He had his hands all over my wife. How could she do this to me? To us?"
"Daddy, I've seen the way Mom looks at you. She wouldn't be unfaithful to you. She loves you so much. Besides Daddy, if Mom really was seeing Mr. Medina behind your back, do you really think she would meet with him at the Dragonfly?"
"Mom you have to go home," Rory said to her mother.
"No. I am not going to reward bad behavior," Lorelai said stubbornly, lying on the bed of her room at the inn. "He's never spoken to me like that before. When we fought over Chip and the boat it was never like it was this afternoon."
"Well if you won't talk to him, you need to talk to Audrey. She's hurt and confused."
"Luke's probably already filled her head with all the things he wants to believe about what happened today."
"Mom! Stop it! You know Luke would never do that!"
Lorelai looked at her daughter. It was the first time in 18 years that she called Luke by his first name.
"You called him Luke. You never call him Luke."
"I got your attention didn't I?" Rory questioned. "Mom this is stupid. You can't live at the Dragonfly."
"Why not? My mother did when she left Dad."
"You're not Grandma."
"I want to give him time to calm down and see things rationally. I'll call him in three days."
Dinner that night was a quiet one. Neither Luke nor Audrey said much of anything. It was still stange for Lorelai not to be there. Things had been tense between Luke and Audrey ever since their talk in the living room. Audrey was afraid of what to say and what to keep to herself.
That night Luke trudged up the stairs to their room. Sitting on his nightstand was their wedding photo. Tucked into the frame was a new photo, taken a few days ago. Kirk, decideing that he wanted to be an international man of mystery, had taken it from the bushes. He had caught Luke and Lorelai under the elm in the park. Luke had his arms wrapped around Lorelai and they were laughing about something. How could he have known then that in a few short days later he would be screaming at her and accusing her of adultry.
Luke loved Lorelai with everything he had. He'd give anything to have her in his arms at that moment. He went to her closet and took in the scent of her purfume that still lingered. He ran his hands along her clothes. He noticed something sparkling from her vanity table. Lying haphazardly, like they had just been dropped were her engagement and wedding rings. Unable to hold the pain and sadness in any longer Luke erupted in heart breaking sobs.
Downstairs Audrey heard her father's cry. It was breaking her heart. She had to do something, anything to put the universe back in it's natural order. But what? Rory had said that fate always brought her parents back to each other but now, Audrey wasn't so sure.
Audrey drove to school the next morning void of all emotion. On a normal day she would be blasting her radio, singing along to every song she knew and some she didn't. She was dreading Lit class today. She'd have to face the man that Hurricane Katrinaed her entire life. She pulled into her spot next to Ryan's Cooper and sighed. How was she supposed to learn anything from the man who demoed her family? At least she had two classes to get used to the idea.
"Good morning Miss Danes," Max said, as Audrey brushed past him.
"Don't talk to me," Audrey snapped.
"Excuse me?" Max asked, confused.
"You're lucky I even came to your class after what you did," Audrey said just as coldly.
"Miss Danes, I suggest that you go outside that door and come back in with a more positive outlook on this class."
"I have no positive outlook on this class or anything concerning you today. You're the reason I spent six hours putting my house back in proper working order. You're the reason there are seven, no eight holes peppered throughout my hallway. You're the reason my mother has moved into an inn!"
It finally dawned on Max why the once calm, serene, quietAudrey Danes was lashing out at him. His idiotic move from the day before had rippled.
"I'll be in Miss Geller's office," Audrey snapped as she left the room. She plowed right into Ryan.
"Hey baby! Medina's class is that way," he siad catching her by the shoulders.
"I can't be in his class anymore."
"What? Why? Audi talk to me."
"I don't feel like I should have to sit and be taught by the man who runined my family."
"I take it that there is more to this story and you'll tell me later right?"
Audrey nodded. Ryan gave her a quick hug and kissed the top of her head. He watched as she made her way to the main office to Miss Geller's office.
"Gone Fishing" was the sign hastily taped onto the door of the diner. Luke camped out at the house for most of the morning in a blindhearted hope that Lorelai would be coming home. He left only for an hour to go to the hardware store to get some drywall repair and paint. He wanted the house to be perfect for when his beloved Lorelai came back to it. As he worked on repairing the first hole by the stairs he heard a faint knock on the door. Wiping off his hands he went to answer the door.
"Rory. Hi," he said, softly.
"Hi Da-Luke," she replied.
The sound of his first name coming from his Rory's lips stung him deeply. He might have known that the Lorelais would stick together on this. It was Lorelai squared versus Luke. He did not have good odds.
"Mom needs some things," Rory said. "I won't be long."
"Rory don't be like this," Luke said following her up the stairs. "Don't give me the cold shoulder."
"I'm not giving you the cold shoulder Luke," Rory answered, taking a few more of her mother's suit jackets.
"In eighteen years you have not called me Luke once and now you've done it twice in the last minute. Don't shut me out."
"You and Mom aren't the only ones this fiasco has hurt! I'm hurt, Audrey's hurt, Marty and the kids are hurt. So are Jess, Annie, Jeffy and Haylee. You and Mom are being really stupid about this. You know there was nothing going on between Mom and Max. But you both are too damn stubborn to make the first move. That's just my opinion. Excuse me, Mom's wating."
"Wait Rory," Luke called after her. He went to the vanity table and picked up Lorelai's rings. He set them in Rory's hand. "Tell her I'm sorry and that I love her. She'll listen to you. I want her to come home."
"Mom's going to call you in three days. She hopes by then you have calmed down enough to see things clearly. Until then she does not you to come looking for her or anything. Please do this for her."
Rory walked out of the house and over to her car. Lorelai was sitting in the passenger's seat starling intently at the house. A part of Luke wanted to run out to the car, pull her into the house and talk. Apologize, beg for mercy, grovel anything it takes. He then would make love to her like the first night they had been together after their really great first date. He wanted to hold her again, whisper her name, hear her chant his like a holy prayer.
"How'd he look?" Lorelai asked her daughter.
"Miserable," Rory answered. "Here." Rory hands her mother the two rings. "He says he's sorry and that he loves you. He wants you to come home. And so do I."
"Do you believe him?" Lorelai asked, staring at the house.
"He's never given me any inclination to think otherwise Mom. I've only seen him this way once and that was after Chip died."
"You didn't hear the way he spoke to me. I don't know if I can ever feel the same way about Luke again."
Tears stung her eyes as she looked at the house. So many fond memories she had in that house. It was the house she bought, it was the house that Luke fixed on a daily basis even before they were together. But that house also held some bad, scary and heartbreaking memories for her. She knew Luke was sorry for the things that had transpired yesterday and that he loved her. She just couldn't make herself get out of Rory's car and go inside.
"Mom I told Dad that you're both being very stupid. Get in there and work this out."
"Not yet Rory. It's still too soon. I'm going to let him stew on this for a few days."
"You're mean Mom."
"Aunt Paris I want out of Mr. Medina's lit class," Audrey said.
"What for?" Paris asked. "I know you and that boyfriend of yours have almost all of your classes together. Did something happen?"
"Personal reasons against Mr. Medina," Audrey stated. "I can no longer stand to be in his class."
"Audrey I can't remove you unless I know the reason why."
"He broke up my parents. He went to the Dragonfly begged my mother to run away with him then kissed her something my father saw. Now Mom is living at the Dragonfly and I can't be around Mr. Medina without being hostile and angry."
Paris sat silently. She understood. "Audrey you are excused from Max's class for the rest of the period. Tomorrow, stop by and I'll let you know who you'll have."
It didn't take Luke long to figure out which inn Lorelai was at. He loaded up his truck with every rose the nursery had and drove over to the inn. He stopped at Miss Patty's for her bullhorn. He arrived at the inn and began to unload the roses onto the porch. He turned the CD player on in the truck and blasted a song for her.
Oceans apart day after day
And I slowly go insane
I hear your voice onthe line
But it doesn't stop the pain
If I see you next to never
How can we say forever
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
Lorelai looked out the window of her room atthe inn and saw Luke unloading the hundreds of roses onto the porch. The song continued.
I took for granted all the times
That I thought would last somehow
I hear the laughter, I taste the tears
But I can't get near you now
Oh, can't you see it baby
You've got me going crazy
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
"Lorelai Danes!" Luke yelled into the bullhorn and pausing the song. "I know you can hear and see me. I'm sorry about yesterday! I over-reacted to something that wasn't your fault. I love you so much and I want you to come home. If and when you're ready to talk I'll be right here waiting for you. I love you Lorelai Danes!"
Luke turned the song back on and finished unloading the roses.
I wonder how we can survive
This romance
But in the end if I'm with you
I'll take the chance
Oh can't you see it, baby
You've got me going crazy
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
Waiting for you
The song ended just as Luke left the last rose tied with a white ribbon. He then got in his truck and drove away, to work, to home, where Lorelai didn't know. Lorelai came downstairs and sat amongst the thousands of roses. She picked up the one with the ribbon and touched it to her nose.
"You know the last time I bought flowers for someone? Never that's when! A very easy stat to remember!"
"I loved the flowers!"
This sweet, yet strangely pyschotic gesture touched Lorelai deeply. He still loved her and wanted her home. And in the end she knew the outcome. She would be going home. If not tonight then early the next day. She was going to put her family back together.
A/N: See I told everything was going to work out. However this is not the end of this story yet. Coming up on Collide: A deal is made between two former enemies and a family begins to heal. Summertime hits, literally. Audrey loses someone very close to her and takes matters into her own hands.
Right Here Waiting-Richard Marx