A/N: First of all, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY TO THE I'M SORRYTH POWER! (and wow, my spell check didn't freak about sorryth. Real word?) You may not think I have a good reason for not updating in like over a month, but I have prepared a list of excuses. Take your pick (and if you don't feel like listening to my rambling, just scroll down to the chapter start. I won't mind)…

1. I started this story before finals and then I was weighed down by studying. Believe me, I was in the library writing anatomy note-cards until rigor mortis set in my hand and made it look like a claw. And let me tell you, typing with a claw hand is no picnic.

2. Following my finals, the Gilmore Girls finale aired. I don't think I need to explain this much. I was too depressed to write anything JJ.

3. Feeling very Jeffersonian, I penned the Theory of Gilmore Girls Finales and showed it to Lolabelle26. It's strange how you can tie in every GG finale to Partings. I wrote down all the similarities I found in my "theory." If you wanna see it, ask in my review and I'll email it to you. Either I have way too much time on my hands (which was a definite factor in the week after I was done with school) or I'm not crazy and they wanted us to see the similarities. Or I watch way too much Lost and want to over-analyze things that don't exist. Anyway, I'm proud of my theory.

4. I'm still trippin' from the Lost finale. What's with the Hurley bird? Were Jack and Kate using Morse code at the end with the blinking? Are we ever going to see Michael and Walt again? What was with the bright light? Why didn't Charlie care that Locke and Mr. Eko weren't back from the hatch? Desmond; dead or alive? OMG, Desmond caused the plane to crash! Why are those guys in Antarctica? Are "the Others" good or bad (I'm not so sure anymore)? OMG, we saw the outside world for the first time! GAH, I shouldn't have even started. And don't let me get on a rant about the amazing Grey's Anatomy finale. DENNY! WHY?

5. Next, I was traveling back and forth from my school home and my home home until my best friend got married at the end of May. I was a bridesmaid. Too busy to write.

6. The day after the wedding, I journeyed to Washington D.C. for vacation and to check out the audiology grad school program at Gallaudet. I'm going to be a junior in the fall so I got to start thinking ahead to grad school. Scary thought. Didn't have my laptop for ten days so couldn't write.

7. Back from DC, went to school home, went home, went to Phoenix to see Josh Kelley in concert (OMG! Amazingly awesome. Swoon. Depressed that he is officially off the market now that he's engaged to Katherine Heigel from Grey's Anatomy), went to Tucson (school home) to drop some stuff off and hang with my friend going to summer school. Too much traveling.

8. Officially home now, and tried to write, but got writer's block.

9. Was in the mood to write the other night, but I made the mistake of turning on Celebrity Poker Showdown on Bravo (I LOVE watching poker on TV. Not sure why, though) and it was a repeat from two years ago and guess who's on…that's right, the one and only Lauren Graham! And she was playing against Matthew Perry and Sean Astin (RUDY! RUDY!) and Sara Rue and she kicks poker ass! She won! I was so proud, even though it happened 2 years ago, lol. So, too distracted by LG/Matthew Perry banter and poker and watching LG kick butt.

10. Yesterday it was like 115 degrees outside. Seriously, I live in one of the hottest places in the country. I'm getting the temperature straight from my car gauge. Too hot to write. Considering making a jaunt to San Diego, but no time. Sigh…

11. This week I'm teaching music and motions to songs at Vacation Bible School for kids ranging from babies to 5th graders which is quite a feat b/c I am the whitest of white and can neither dance nor sing well (okay, I can at least sing in tune, but I'm no Whitney Houston, no matter how good I sound in my car). So, I drink a Red Bull before VBS starts for ultimate energy and I'm exhausted when I get home. But, strangely enough, I am in a writing mood. It's funny how my mind works.

I hope this list of excuses suffices. I really am sorry. I hope you can find in your hearts to forgive me. That would really make me feel better. I hereby dedicate this chapter to L&Lrockmysocks , Lolabelle26, and Nardini's Suck for trying to get my butt in gear. To Amanda for calling me a rockin' tomato (flattery will get you anywhere with me). Tom for your terrific suggestions and for inspiring a funny blonde moment for me (Tom, I first read your review when I checked my email on my cell phone and for some reason read the M in your name to be RN. Don't ask me why, I tend to see things. So, I was like, cool, Torn…very Natalie Imbruglia. Haha, then I realized it was Tom. I should really stop drinking Red Bull). To LLfreak8285 for getting my Veggie Tales reference. To Muffin, I'm glad I fulfill your cravings (I think, haha). To my cousins, Danae for putting up with my talking about this story incessantly and reading it for me, and Grace for laughing about the pigeons in this chapter. I needed that. Ok, I guess I should really get on with it. Just know that if you reviewed, you got my love in a nifty little warm fuzzy package. On with the next installment…

Chapter 2: Carmelites, Gondolas, and Indiana Jones

I wonder if Luke went on that cruise.

"The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is the most important museum in Italy for European and American art of the first half of the 20th century. It is located in Peggy Guggenheim's former home, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, on the Grand Canal of Venice. Opened in 1951 by…" Rory spouted on, reading from her now worn guide book. Lorelai had gotten used to this behavior from her daughter as soon as they set foot on European soil and had quickly learned when it was appropriate to place her full attention on what she was reading and when to zone out. It was a zone out moment.

Currently, Lorelai was gazing out into the Piazza de Marco from their little café, watching some man be assaulted by pigeons. It was quite amusing actually. The man was obviously terrified of birds and flailed his arms in a pathetic attempt to get the birds to fly away. Wasn't going to happen. The pigeons were definitely in dive-bomb mode. Now, he was frantically running to the Basilica di San Marco, hoping the ornate church would shield him from the holy flying terrors. Sanctuary…Sanctuary, Lorelai repeated to herself, letting her thoughts have a good laugh.

"So, what do you think?" Rory asked, looking to her mother for direction.

"About what?" Lorelai asked absently, wondering if birds were allowed in church. Does God smite them? Are pigeons considered kosher? Does God allow non-kosher birds in church? Are pigs allowed in church? What about Wilber? Surely Zuckerman's famous, radiant, humble, something or other pig could come in. Surely you can't be serious! I am serious, and don't call me Shirley…haha. I should really look this up somewhere. Maybe it says something in the Bible. Maybe I'll just add it to the list of things to Google when I get home.

"Think about the museum."

"Oh, the Glockenspiel Museum."

"No, the Guggenheim Museum."

"What did I say?"

"Glockenspiel."

"What did you say about glockenspiels then?"

"I didn't say anything about glockenspiels."

"What is a glockenspiel anyway?"

"I think it's a clock."

"So, definitely not the same thing as a Guggenheim."

"Nope, although I think they're both German," Rory said, giving her that look. She knew her mother hadn't been paying attention to her. "You know, at this rate, we'll never have a plan of action for Venice."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I got distracted. Some guy was getting assaulted by pigeons."

"Do we need to switch seats?" Rory asked, giving her the 'Mom look,' once again. Man, she really is serious about all this planning. "I need you to focus here."

"Call me Digital Dan."

"Okay DD, Guggenheim Museum. Yes or no?"

"I'm sorry, what was the Guggenheim Museum again?"

"Mom!" Rory said in exasperation. She picked up her guide book and pointed to the picture, then proceeded to say, "The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is the most important museum in Italy for-"

"No need to read it again, Echo. Summarize."

"It's an art museum. Modern art to be more exact. Both American and European from the first half of the 20th century."

"So, we talkin' Pollack, Picasso, or Warhol?"

"Probably more like Picasso. Lot's of abstract."

"That could be fun. We can come up with our own interpretations."

"Yours are usually dirty."

"Can I help it if they all look phallic?"

"Yes."

"Aw, you're no fun. Put the museum on the list."

"You got it." Rory jotted down the Guggenheim Museum on her growing list with a printed flourish, placing it under the aforementioned sites of Venice.

"What do we have so far?" Lorelai asked, curious as to how many days they would be spending in this city of canals.

"Well, the Doge Palace, so you can see the dungeon."

"Of course. Such an angel child. Always lookin' out for your mama."

"I try…Then the Bridge of Sighs and the Ponte di Rialto for the obvious photo ops. The Archaeological Museum. The Torre dell'Orologio-"

"English?"

"The clock tower right over there." Rory stated, pointing behind her back to the tall tower across the plaza from them.

"I gotcha, continue." Lorelai said with a wave of her arm.

"A gondola ride…"

"Cliché, but enjoyable." Lorelai stated with a nod, picking up her small mug for another sip.

"…Espresso in a café on the Piazza de Marco, which is something we can already cross off the list," Rory stated, picking up her pen to do so.

"Mmm!" Lorelai interrupted, trying to quickly down the espresso already swimming in her mouth. Swallow. "Don't cross it off yet! Put it down as an everyday thing. This can be our Venetian Luke's."

"At the rate we're going right now, we are going to go home dead broke."

"So we don't eat for a few months. The inn is bought, Yale is covered. We good, baby."

"Yeah, but you still have to go Bob Villa on the inn."

"Dang, I knew I was forgetting something," Lorelai remarked with a snap. Then she smirked at her daughter as she swiped the Hello Kitty notepad from her daughter, who subsequently had her pen poised, ready to write. "Swoops!"

"Hey, I'm writing here!"

"Chillax, Midnight Cowboy. I need to visualize the list. I'm a visual person."

"I was writing, though!"

"La-dee-da, a minor technicality."

"Maybe in your book, Annie Hall," Rory muttered under her breath, crossing her arms across her chest in a huff. Lorelai turned the notepad sideways, as she studied the content.

"You know, this list is kinda skimpy compared to Florence and Rome. We're in Venice, the City of Lights!"

"That's Paris."

"Oh yeah…uh, the City of Brotherly Love?"

"Philadelphia."

"Well, we all know that Manhattan is the Big Apple. I give."

"The reason the list is so small is because I haven't finished perusing the guide book."

"Jeez, Miss Touchy Pants, have at it." Lorelai busied herself with her espresso once again as Rory slowly flipped pages. She downed the rest of her miniscule mug in one gulp. Sure, Italian coffee was good, but a big part of her desperately missed Luke's big mugs and spectacular brew. God, what is it that he puts in his coffee? I mean, jeez Louise, its heaven sent. If Lorelai was truly honest with herself, she had been craving Luke's a lot lately. Was that weird? I mean, I eat there everyday. Sometimes twice a day. You would think I would get sick of his food, but I never do. Man, I would kill for some pancakes right now. Breakfast, when we get it, is so bland. I'm starting to get sick of hard rolls and Nutella. I miss sugary goodness. Oooo, or a burger. Mmmm, Luke's burgers. Luke's French fries. Luke's Monte Cristo sandwich…not that I ever ate it, but, boy, does that sound good right now.

As if on cue, her stomach grumbled. Sure, they were sampling some terrific cuisine in Europe's finest locations. The pizza was great, but she was a little disappointed to find that fettuccini alfredo was not a native dish. But, nothing was like Luke's. It was comfortable. It had ambiance. It was home. Call her Norm, because, like Cheers, it was where everybody knew her name. No, Lorelai wasn't homesick. She was having the time of her life, currently painting the Italian towns red with her best friend and pride and joy. But, there were a lot of things that Europe lacked. It didn't have a gazebo. It didn't have her inn. It didn't have a Kirk. It didn't have a Babette or a Miss Patty. Europe definitely didn't have a Luke. There could never be another Luke. He was one of a kind. No one else could be surly and sarcastic, and sometimes irritating, but also manage to be the best friend a girl could have. She missed him. That realization hit her like a lightening bolt. Why do I miss him? Am I allowed to miss him?

Last time she saw Luke was three weeks ago at Rory's graduation. She remembered thinking that he looked nice in a suit. Okay, she might as well be honest; he looked pretty hot in a suit. She'd be lying to herself if she tried to deny that Luke was handsome. You're allowed to think that about friends, right? I think Sookie is gorgeous. Doesn't mean I have feelings for her…Ew, and let's not dwell on that thought ever again.

It was strange that she was thinking about Luke a lot on this trip. Usually her thoughts were cyclical, starting with coffee, going to 'must get some now,' then to 'man, this stuff cost me a pretty Euro,' next to 'the cups are too small. Luke's are 100 times bigger,' finally going to 'Luke's coffee sounds pretty good,' then to Luke in general, ending with wondering if he went on that cruise with Nicole. Lorelai thought about that fact more than she liked to admit. It bothered her more than she liked to admit. Why does it bother me if Luke went on the cruise with Nicole? Why should I care?

It was usually when things were quiet. Rory would be flipping through her guide book, while Lorelai drank coffee and nibbled on biscotti, taking in her surroundings. She couldn't get their last conversation out of her head. Luke saying that he might not go on the cruise. How she felt both guilty that she scared him, but inexplicably happy that he wasn't going. Luke was not sure that he wanted to commit to Nicole. A part of Lorelai not wanting him to because she wasn't particularly found of the stuck-up strawberry blonde. Curious as to why she suggested that he go on the trip anyway, despite what Nicole might read into it. How cryptic he sounded when he said, "You think that's okay considering. . .I don't know. . .everything?" What the hell did he mean by that? There were other things that day, other feelings that she had about Luke that remained a mystery. Her heart swelled and sped up when she realized he was crying because he was proud and loved Rory like his own. They were strange, but familiar at the same time. Does that make sense?

"Uhhh, namesake," Rory called, waving her hand in front of her mother's face.

"Huh?" Lorelai said, shaking her head as she brushed those strange Luke thoughts away. Something that she had become accustomed to these past three weeks.

"You zoned out again."

"Sorry, my heart."

"I was thinking about adding Murano to the list so we could see the glass blowers."

"Sounds fun, I'm game."

"What's with your face?" Rory asked, arching her eyebrow.

"Boy, do I feel pretty right now." Lorelai stated in defense, touching her cheeks and feeling that they were hot. She was blushing. She was blushing because she was thinking about Luke. She was blushing because she was thinking about Luke and she had been caught. Luke is just your friend. You're over-analyzing everything about that day because you haven't seen him in awhile and you miss seeing him everyday. Remember the last time you went a long time without seeing Luke? You had that crazy dream about him! With the decaf, and the twins, and the toy in the cereal, and the…kissing.

"You're all red."

"It's a little warm today."

"Ohhkay," Rory brought out slowly, obviously not believing a word coming out of her mother's mouth. Knowing she had caught the elder Lorelai zoning out with that same dreamy/confused expression several times on the trip.

"So, uh, I have a crazy request," Lorelai said, hoping to cover up her blush by spiking Rory's interest about a new place.

"Never comforting."

"Usually true, but this has always been a little dream of mine."

"Do tell."

"I want to see that library slash church from Indiana Jones."

"Which movie?"

"The last one. With Sean Connery."

"The church in the canyon? That's in Jordan, or Lebanon, I think."

"No, the one when he was in Venice. You know, with the big X, and the rats, and the skeleton, and the blonde Nazi chick, and the 'Ah, Venice,'" Lorelai said, doing her best to emulate Harrison Ford.

"Oh, I know what you're talking about now. You realize that there probably aren't catacombs under that church/library."

"I don't want to see the catacombs, just the outside. Take some pictures. Fantasize about Harrison Ford from twenty years ago."

"Yeah, the earring kinda makes him unappealing now."

"We are so alike that it's creepy sometimes."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Rory said with a smile, as she downed the rest of her espresso and jotted down the Indiana Jones church/library on the Hello Kitty adorned list. "Okay, remember I didn't scoff at your idea, so please hear mine out."

"I'm intrigued."

"I want to see an opera." If Lorelai had any coffee left, she would have spit it all over the table in shock. Yes, it would have been painful, but it was an appropriate reaction.

"I'm sorry, I thought you just said you wanted to see an opera." Lorelai said with a snort.

"I did…Stop laughing!"

"Obviously you have never been to an opera."

"Hence the interest."

"Believe you me, you'll be screaming 'I want my life back!' by the end. Worse then Magnolia."

"When have you ever been to an opera?"

"I was 13-"

"Oh boy," Rory said with a sigh.

"-and my mother, along with some other DAR biddies, decides that we children just weren't cultured enough. The opera comes to town and Emily is all aglow. 'What a wonderful opportunity for you, Lorelai. Honestly, I don't understand all this teenage hostility. I am trying to mold you into a well-rounded young lady who has class.'" Lorelai mocked, doing her best attempt at an Emily voice.

"Why does Grandma sound British?"

"She just came back from a trip to London. Are you going to keep interrupting me? This is a valuable life lesson and includes some moments featuring both of your parents."

"Dad was there too? This should be interesting. Continue."

"Thank you. As I was saying…My mother, along with Francine Hayden, and a few other people that I couldn't remember if I tried, chipped in for a couple boxes at the Hartford Symphony Hall. I ended up wedged in between Christopher, who I was beginning to tolerate at the time, and Digger Stiles, who annoyed me to no end, while our mothers happily chatted behind us."

"Poor kid."

"I knew you would empathize."

"No, I mean, poor kid named Digger. He must have got the tar beat out of him in junior high."

"No hon, Digger's just a nickname. His real name was Jason, or Jeff…or maybe it was John. Anyway, I've always held him in contempt because he tipped over our canoe in the middle of the lake during summer camp."

"Haha, remind me to ask you about summer camp later."

"Oh believe me, that's a good story too. Okay, sorry, what was I talking about again?"

"Opera."

"Right, don't let me get off on anymore tangents, kay? I'll start sounding like Ten Second Tom…So, the opera started out alright. It was about these singing nuns, the Carmelites, who lived in Paris during the French Revolution. Now normally, singing nuns are fun, right?"

"Sound of Music?"

"Exactly! But, after the first intermission, it was no 'How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?' I got tired of reading the little subtitles. Christopher and Digger took turns looking for cleavage with their opera glasses, while I took to searching for funny names in the Playbill."

"What's the best one you came up with?"

"Ray Funk."

"Poor Ray."

"I was very tempted to start whistling 'Play That Funky Music White Boy,' at the time."

"What makes you so sure he was white?"

"Just an inkling." Rory sighed.

"Let's get back on track here. So, you were bored…"

"Out of my mind, lemme tell you. But, suddenly, things took a turn for the best in the last two minutes of the opera," Lorelai thrust out her hand in a dramatic matter. "The nuns were led to the guillotine!"

"Oh no," Rory stated, having a feeling as to where this story was headed.

"There they stood, in a long line, singing a prayer, walking up a plank that led off stage. Then, there was a huge whooshing sound, which I would assume is the sound a guillotine makes before your head falls off, and one-by-one the nuns stopped singing-"

"Oh my God, you started laughing, didn't you?"

"Like a giggling lunatic."

"Mom!"

"It got worse. Apparently laughter is contagious…"

"Oh boy," was all Rory could say.

"…and Chris and Digger joined me."

"What happened?"

"Emily grabbed my arm, furious, pulled me out of the box, and took me home. Worse punishment my parents ever gave me."

"Well, I hear that laughing at dying nuns is punishable by death by the Catholic Church."

"The day my grounding was over, I made a promise to myself, Rory." Lorelai gripped Rory's arm for dramatic emphasis, "I vowed to never attend the opera again, because you never know what you may find funny in moments of complete boredom, and you never know what negative consequences may follow your laughter. I want that month back, child!"

"Sometimes I think you are way too overdramatic, even for me. This conversation took up at least twenty minutes of our time."

"Your point?" Lorelai asked. Rory held up the list.

"We could be crossing some of this off." Lorelai huffed.

"You know, I'm starting to think that my little life lessons have no effect on you."

"Starting to think?" Rory said with a sly grin. Lorelai relented.

"Alright, where do you want to go? The Glockenspiel Museum?"

"You mean the Guggenheim?"

"Same difference. Lead me to the dirty Picassos."

A few hours later, Lorelai and Rory completed their jaunt to the Guggenheim museum, and now perused the booths and kiosks on the Ponte di Rialto. Their mission; try to find the perfect souvenirs for their friends, and chachkies for their own home.

"Ya know, I'm starting to think that Jackson Pollack is a very bitter man," Lorelai commented, as they passed by a cart where a man sold boxer shorts that had the lower anatomy of Michelangelo's famous David statue printed on it. Well, that doesn't leave much to the imagination.

"Why is that?" Rory asked, as she picked up one of the shorts, eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"Did you see that one painting called Circumcision? There were some definite angry brush strokes there." Rory didn't respond, still studying the boxer shorts intently. "Honey, I know you're sheltered, but if you haven't seen at least one of those in a painting or something, then I definitely did something wrong." Rory glanced up at Lorelai and turned beet red.

"I-I-I've seen one on a painting before," she stuttered, quickly putting the boxers back on the rack. "I was just trying to figure out why they're selling boxers with the David on it here, when the David is in Florence."

"Uh huh, sure you were," Lorelai teased, and grabbed Rory's arm before they spent an unreasonable amount of time staring at the phallic boxers.

"Ah, look, postcards!" Rory announced a little too loudly and a little too exuberantly. Lorelai decided to save her daughter from any more embarrassment by not mocking her mercilessly about the boxer short stare for the rest of the day, and began turning the postcard rack. On her second complete turn, one postcard caught her eye. She picked it up and began to study the photographed scene. Lorelai immediately recognized some of the buildings and palazzos of Grand Canal. The sky was streaked with pinks, oranges, and yellows and the water took on the sunset hues in the reflection. Off to the left side, shadowy silhouettes represented two men with fishing poles, lines cast off the bridge and into the water. A scrolled Venezia adorned the top right corner. This picture captivated her. For some strange reason, this picture reminded her of Luke.

Lorelai had been getting a lot of that lately. Definitely more than she liked to admit. The entire trip she had seen little insignificant things at numerous places, and every time her thoughts immediately turned to Luke. Why was that? She couldn't quite figure it out herself. In Greece, it had been a man herding goats. It made Lorelai think of Gilbert, which in turn made her think of her chuppah, which made her think of the man who spent all those hours carving it. The man who carved her a goat just because he thought she liked goats. But, she brushed it off, blaming the sudden twisting feeling in her stomach to homesickness. In Florence, she had seen a man driving a truck among all the tiny compacts that Europeans called cars. Once again, she thought of Luke and his old truck and the rants that would be inspired about how useless small cars were. Or maybe an environmentally friendly Luke rant would come out, and he would spend hours talking about how the Europeans were much better at conserving fuel than greedy, wasteful Americans. In Rome, it had been a tourist dressed in flannel, arms crossed gruffly across his chest. And, well, you get the idea. One cannot separate the thoughts of flannel shirts and Luke. Flannel is to Luke as Coffee is to Lorelai.

Of course, there was the coffee. That always reminded her of Luke, like the espresso she drank earlier that day. Lorelai couldn't explain these crazy thoughts. She didn't know what had happened that made her think this way. It wasn't like she wasn't going to see him again in a couple of months. It wasn't like they hadn't gone an entire summer without seeing each other before. Memories of last summer and their stupid fight filled her head. Did she do the same thing then? Lorelai honestly couldn't remember. Maybe she had.

"Hey, uh, Rory," she called out to her daughter, who was examining glass gondola figurines. "Who haven't we sent a postcard to yet?" Rory pulled the Hello Kitty notepad from her back pocket and turned a few pages.

"Uh…Andrew, Tobin, Michel, Luke, Mrs. Cassini, Taylor, Gypsy, Mia-"

"What do you think about this one for Luke?" Lorelai interrupted Rory's list and handed her the picture of the two fishermen.

"Pretty."

"I thought so."

"Did the fishermen remind you of Luke?"

"Yeah, and, well, I don't know…I think he would like to hear about our trip."

"Yeah, he probably would," Rory said with a nod. "Do you think he went on the cruise with Nicole?" she asked, voicing Lorelai's thoughts.

"I don't know," Lorelai practically whispered, as she leaned closer to Rory. Almost as if she was she was telling her a secret, "He didn't seem like he wanted to go when we talked at your graduation. Like we scared him away with all the teasing about 'getting down on one knee.'"

"Well, like I said before, he should go. He could use a vacation."

"I believe that was the gist of the conversation I had with him...So, we should get this then?"

"Definitely…Think we still have enough time today for a gondola ride?" Lorelai looked at her watch.

"I saw a booth on our way over here. I'm game." Lorelai paid for Luke's postcard and the Gilmore girls headed in the direction of the gondolas for a late afternoon ride.

"What are the chances that I can talk you into that opera while we're here?" Rory asked, linking her arm with her mother's.

"I'd say one in a million." Lorelai said with a grin, thinking her long opera rant got her nowhere.

"So, you're saying there's a chance…"

"Very funny, Lloyd Christmas."

Dear Luke,

Having the time of our lives, but miss your coffee terribly. Hope all is well. This postcard reminded us of you.

Love,

Lorelai and Rory

A/N: Well, I'll keep this note brief, since I rambled on with my excuses at the beginning. What did you think? Is it great? Horrible? Eh (waves hand side to side with iffy expression of face)? Continue? Personally, I like the Rory/Lorelai-ness of the chapter, but, of course, miss LL action. That'll come eventually. We must spend some time setting up shop, so to speak. By the way, the opera experience really happened to me. It was Dialogues of the Carmelites and I saw it in high school, and yes, I busted up laughing when the nuns started getting their heads chopped off. Made those boring three hours entirely worth it for me.

I wanted to thank you all for your terrific comments and suggestions (30 reviews! Wowie! I love you guys). I'm always welcome to suggestions. I'm just glad most of you thought I could write Luke. He's a man, I'm a woman. I have no perspective here, but I tried to get into the male psyche by bugging my best guy friend and picking his brain.

I liked the idea of LL making progress before they get home to Stars Hollow, but finding a way to realistically do that is difficult. Some people said that maybe Lorelai and Rory should end up on the cruise with Luke, but I probably won't do that b/c I don't think it's fair to Rory. All her life, Lorelai has promised this Europe trip to her and it wouldn't be right if she put her needs to be with Luke over her promise to her daughter by cutting the trip short. And, Luke's cruise isn't going to be that long, for that matter (only a couple of weeks in my mind). Lorelai can be selfish (which is part of her mystique and part of what I love about her), but I don't think she would be about that. I think Rory might understand, but I still don't think it would be fair to her. But, if anyone has a way of doing that w/out being unfair to Rory, feel free to drop me a line. I like the phone call idea a lot, but I was debating, once again, on how to realistically do that. Luke wouldn't know how to get ahold of her in Europe and Lorelai wouldn't know how to get ahold of him on the boat. But, then, inspiration hit. I won't give anything away, but you'll soon see. But, I'm still very open to your ideas, since after about chapter 6, I'm at a loss about what to do. Please review. Ooo, and if anyone would be willing, I desperately need someone to bounce ideas off of sometimes. Let me know please. I guess I lied about being brief. I apologize.

Next Chapter (3)…Where's Freud When You Need Him?: I really can't tell you much, b/c it would reveal some major plot lines, but you will see both Lorelai and Luke in this chapter. Something happens that gets Lorelai thinking and Luke inadvertently does something with negative results for him.