Disclaimer: I'm just trying to make people happy, not trying to make money (at least through this).
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Lane sat with her mouth open in shock throughout Rory's recap of the last month. She was jealous that she missed out on all the excitement but was also miffed that Rory didn't try to find her somehow to tell her the news. They were best friends, and she was sure Rory could've talked to her one way or another. "So basically I've missed out on…a lot. Jess came back, is going to Yale, and is going to live with you."
"That seems right. Doesn't seem like so much when you list it like that," Rory wanted to lighten the mood; she was still worried about her friend's reaction. "Should we head back down there? They're probably worried about us."
"Okay," Lane nodded slowly. "I just wish you had told me."
"I tried, before you got here,"
"I know, you said that already. I just don't like being out of the loop,"
Rory thought of an idea and smiled, "Well, we haven't gotten everything for the apartment yet. You can come with Mom and me, when we go shopping for more household items." Rory couldn't think of another word to describe the things they were planning to buy that weekend. "We've already got the furniture and bedding and stuff…"
"So we're on the hunt for another monkey lamp?" Lane smiled, somehow knowing they were out to get the finishing pieces.
Rory nodded, "We need things that makes it unique to us; like mom's house."
"Monkey lamp it is," Lane said and they both laughed, heading down the stairs and out from behind the curtain. Their laughter lightened the tone for the others in the room; it was as if they had been holding their breath the whole time.
They returned to the table and a smile spread across everybody's faces. "Where's the food?" Lane asked.
"Lukey, food time," Lorelai said in a sing-song voice. He muttered but gave her a kiss on the cheek before vanishing into the kitchen again. "He'll make such a good housewife," she said, laughing and loud enough for him to hear.
Rory raised her eyebrows, remembering the scene in the mall. "I'm sure he will too," she said as she nudged Jess. "But have you had any thoughts about setting the date?"
Lorelai shrugged and looked as if she was about to say something when Luke came up to the table behind Rory with a plate full of turkey. "A little help?" he asked Jess, who groaned and stood up to get the rest of the food.
"I'll help," Lane offered and joined Jess to carry the plates of food out. They put all of the dishes on the counter and moved away the stools so it was like a buffet. "This looks wonderful Luke."
"Thanks Lane, it's nice having you back," Luke said as stood off to the side, watching everyone pile up their plates before he did so himself. "Everybody enjoyed it earlier."
"Awe man, we're already eating leftovers?" Rory laughed. "Not cool."
Jess placed his hand over his heart and said, "I can attest that this is all new food – I had to make most of it."
"See, good housewife," Lorelai said and the table erupted with laughter.
Once everyone was sitting down at the table, Dave suggested they say grace and thanks. "I know most of us aren't very religious but it doesn't seem right to say thanks without saying grace…"
"As long as it's you saying it, we're okay," Rory comforted him. "We know it means something to you."
Dave smiled and started to speak, "Thank you Lord for this food you have given us, along with the good company. Amen." A round of 'Amens' chorused through the diner. "Should I start with my thanks?"
Everyone nodded and he reached for Lane's hand. "I'm thankful that our tour is over and we have reliable running water again. I'm thankful that we were even able to tour in the first place. I'm thankful that I was given the opportunity to experience it all with the love of my life, Lane."
A blush crept up Lane's cheeks and there was a short pause before she started her thanks. "I'm also thankful for those, especially for the running water. I'm thankful that I have been able to spend so much time with Dave and that he has managed to get on Mrs. Kim's good side. I'm thankful I have Rory, Lorelai, Luke," she paused. "And Jess, here with me today. I'm thankful that we are all happy at the same time, that hasn't ever really happened before."
Rory winked at Lane, her turn at saying thanks. "I'm thankful I have everybody in this room to call my friend. I'm thankful that Jess is back and I'm thankful we made it to where we are today. I'm thankful I have my mom to be my pillar and that I have Luke to keep her relatively sane. I'm thankful that I have Lane, even though I have neglected her recently. I'm thankful that I'm happy, as well as everyone else here. I'm thankful that I'm in love."
Jess blushed quite like Lane did, "I'm also very thankful that I'm in love: that I have Rory and that I was able to get here in the first place. I'm thankful I got into Yale and that we'll be living together soon. I am thankful for you, Luke; for being the closest thing to a father in my life, for brining me to this crazy town and introducing me to this wonderful woman. I am thankful for the company of friends, old and new. I'm thankful that I was able to make it back here, no matter how crazy it is. And one more, that I think Lane forgot and Lorelai may still mention – I'm thankful there is no longer Logan in Rory's life. From what I've heard, he wasn't good for her and I'm thankful that I was able to take his place."
Lorelai nodded, as well as Lane. "We would've gotten it eventually," she said. "Luke?" They were going clockwise around the table but when it came to Luke, he was silent. "It's your turn."
"I know," he said and paused. "I have too much to be thankful for, but I'll try anyways. I'm thankful for every person here. I am thankful that I have Lorelai…finally. I am very thankful that the people in my life are just as cheerful as I am, it's about damn time. I'm thankful that I am going to get the opportunity to spend every waking day with Lorelai. I love you."
Tears were in her eyes, she was the last one up. "I am thankful for my daughter and her love, her best friend and her love, and for my love. I'm thankful that everything has turned out happy in the end, even though this isn't really the end of anything. I guess I'm thankful for almost everything everybody else is, which isn't a great way to end it but it's true…except for the running water thing," she grinned at Lane and Dave. "This woman doesn't go anywhere without running water."
They all laughed, knowing the honesty in the joke. "So, that was sufficiently mushy," Jess commented when they were all finished. "Time to eat?"
"Definitely," Rory answered.
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The food was long gone before the conversation stopped and Dave and Lane left to go back to their house. Rory and Lorelai helped Luke and Jess with the cleaning up, something that was very unexpected to the guys. When everything was put away, they sat down with cups of coffee and continued the conversation a bit longer until Lorelai announced that she was getting a bit tired.
"I think we should be heading home," she said with an elaborate yawn. "Come on Luke, you ready?"
Luke glanced around the diner and made sure everything would be okay for opening the next day, "Yeah, let's go. Lock the door before you head up," he said to Jess and Rory before leaving.
"That turned out okay," Jess said, getting them more coffee. "What happened with Lane?"
Rory smiled and accepted the full mug, "Monkey lamps," she said amused.
He raised an eyebrow but didn't question it, "You ready to go upstairs?"
"Sure," she said and nodded. "Now that things are going to be okay with Lane, will you tell me what your secret plan was?"
Jess shook his head and put his hand on her back. "Nope," he said nonchalantly while leading her up the stairs.
"You're seriously never going to tell me?"
"Only after it works,"
"But you won't have to do it now,"
Jess scoffed at her naivety, "Didn't you hear her pause while she gave thanks? She hasn't accepted me yet."
Rory tried to remember but she hadn't been paying that close attention to details, "I'm sure you'll be fine!"
"It will be once my master evil genius plan works!" he smirked and laughed heartily. "It'll be okay in the end."
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Luke crawled into bed with Lorelai, exhausted from the busy day at the diner. Jess was right – people in this town really were lazy. "So this was a relatively drama-free Thanksgiving."
Lorelai sighed and curled up to Luke, "Relatively… There was tension, but not nearly as bad as it could've been."
"What makes you think there was going to be a big to-do with Rory and Lane? They've been best friends forever, they'll get through anything."
"That's the thing – they've been best friends forever. They have always told each other everything. Now that they're getting older, it's been harder. If I had friends when I was Rory's age, I'm sure it would be the same."
"Well Lane didn't even mention it after Rory talked to her, so they'll be fine,"
"Awe, Luke," Lorelai said, jokingly. "You just don't understand girls… There's gotta be something going on there. I've watched enough TV and movies to know that Lane accepted it a little too quickly."
Luke patted her hair, knowing Lorelai was going to focus on it for a while if he kept the topic going. "It's the spirit of the holiday,"
"Yeah, maybe," Lorelai said and a comfortable silence fell over the two of them. Luke was playing with her hair and she started to relax more.
"So about the wedding date," Luke said after a while. "You were going to answer when I came in."
Lorelai thought he hadn't heard Rory ask, but she knew he did. "I was just going to say we haven't really talked about it."
"Don't you think we should?"
Lorelai bit her lip, "Yeah…"
"Not now though, it's been a long day," Luke said, sensing her hesitancy. "Just…soon."
"Soon," she repeated, voice heavy with worry and sleepiness.
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Shorter than the last few, but longer than a lot of them. I think that there's a lot of hidden(ish) elements in this chapter, I hope everyone catches them! If not, oh well – it's only a story!
If there isn't an update tomorrow…don't expect one for a while. I've been warning you since I think chapter 23, so you guys should fully know that I am going on vacation and don't know how the posting schedule will be. I know you love the every day updates, which I hope to return to on my return. Everyone have a good week (a good spring break if you're as fortunate as me), I'll post sometime soon, no promises though!
Please review, the more reviews I get, the longer and better the chapters are. Plus, they make me happy.
