Chapter 6
"Rory?" Christopher exclaimed, breaking Rory out of her writing focus. "What the hell are you doing out here in the middle of the night? I thought you were a burglar!" He hissed, trying to keep his voice down so not to wake anyone else.
"A burglar? In Stars Hollow?" Rory replied. "We haven't had one of those since the 90s. And what were you going to do, douse me in foam?" She chuckled, eyeing the fire extinguisher in her father's hands.
Chris chuckled back, now calming down from the adrenaline that had been cursing through him moments before. "I looked in the closet for a baseball bat or something but couldn't find any. It was either this or Bop It." He put the extinguisher down next to the front door of the house and walked towards Rory, who was sitting on the porch bench, wrapped in her duvet, working on her laptop. "What are you doing? Why aren't you asleep?"
It was nearly 2am, but Rory was too wired to sleep. Earlier that day she had received her very first job offer, as a journalist for the Providence Journal Bulletin, or Pro Jo. She had been so nervous waiting to hear back about the interview she had had the day before. She had checked and checked her mobile phone over and over again while showing Logan around Stars Hollow. It was Logan's first time in town (aside from when he and his friends had driven her back from Hartford after a party Emily had thrown her, several years earlier). He had managed to convince her to put her phone away while they ate at Luke's diner, but even that had only worked out because Luke himself provided distraction in the form of having an argument with Taylor about all the hay bales blocking the front of his diner.
It was the Spring Fling Festival, one of Rory's and Lorelai's favourite Star Hollow festival, and Rory was excited to show Logan around. She had pointed out to him all of the town's major spots, including the curbs where she fell off her bike for the first, second and third times. Logan was loving the tour and was particularly fascinated by Taylor. After the lunch at Luke's and three full laps of the town square and surroundings, Rory and Logan had decided to return to the house to surprise Rory's parents with dinner. Logan was eager to impress Rory's parents, particularly Lorelai, as she had never seemed to get on the Logan train, so to speak. Christopher seemed to like Logan fine, and the two got along really well, having so much in common. Since the first time they met (actually the second time, if you counted Emily's and Richard's vow renewal ceremony), when Rory had just moved in with Logan for the first time, Logan and Christopher had quickly gotten into an easy rapport, swapping stories of the boarding schools they had attended and been promptly expelled from. It became such a fond shared history that Logan gave Christopher a copy of his portrait of Endicott Peabody, the headmaster of Groton School, a boarding prep school in Massachusetts, which Logan had stolen from the headmaster's office immediately after his expulsion as a Christmas present.
Lorelai, however, was harder to impress, and so Logan had wanted to appeal the strongest force in a Gilmore girl: her stomach. They drove all the way to Bridgeport to get all the necessary ingredients for paella, a dish that was bound to appeal and impress everyone from Lorelai, who seemed to have the same steel strong stomach and voracious appetite as Rory, and Gigi, who was as picky a selective eater as any 6-year-old had the right to be.
Dinner had been a really happy affair. Rory had gotten the job offer just as they had been finishing the cooking and setting the table. Her whole family cheered for her, celebrating her accomplishment. Everyone had enjoyed the food especially Gigi who, unlike Lorelai, could not seem to find any fault in Logan at all. Ever since Logan has asked Gigi for a dance at Mia's wedding, the little girl was totally smitten by her sister's boyfriend. So much so, in fact, that she didn't even complain about having to give up her room and sleep on the couch so that Rory and Logan could have Rory's old room for the weekend.
After dinner, they wanted to continue the celebration with dessert, so all five of them took a walk across town towards Weston's to collect some pies. The walk there, which ordinarily would have taken no more than 5 minutes, took three times as long because they had to walk around the hay bale maze since it had taken over almost the entire town. They discussed Rory's job offer on the way, the good and potentially not so good aspects of taking the writing position on the Pro Jo. Everything was going great, everyone riding the high of Rory's first job. Arriving at Weston's though, things seemed to change. Rory went inside, to collect the pies and Christopher and Gigi went with her, the former to pay and the latter to see all the beautiful baked goods, leaving Logan and Lorelai outside alone. When the pies were collected and paid, Rory and the others went back outside and could feel some tension between Lorelai and Logan. They didn't speak of it. In fact, Logan didn't speak much the rest of the evening, seeming lost in introspect. After pie, he focused his attention to drawing with Gigi at the coffee table while everyone watched old episodes of the Golden Girls on the huge TV in the living room. Everyone went to sleep eventually except for Rory, who kept thinking about the position at the Pro Jo.
"I couldn't sleep. And I didn't want to risk waking Logan. Or Gigi. So I came to work out here." Rory said quietly, snuggling herself further into her duvet.
"You're making a pro/con list, aren't you?" Christopher smirked at her.
She blushed but was too worked up to pretend like her father hadn't read her like a book. "There are just so many factors! So many things to consider!" She gestured pointedly to the computer but kept her voice low, so not to wake the rest of the house.
"Ok. Scoot over. Let me have a look at it." He sat down next to her and lifted the laptop off her lap while she draped some of her duvet over his. "Air quality in Providence is better than in Manhattan. Chinese food in Manhattan is better than in Providence." Christopher read some of the entries from the list. "Big fish, good and interesting writing assignments. Small fish, larger learning potential. Ok, can I give my opinion?"
"Of course." Rory said, leaning closer to read with Christopher.
"I think you have to be a bit more general with some things. Like this Chinese food thing, for example." He pointed at the screen. "If you're going to list all the types of cuisines that are better in Manhattan versus Providence, we will be here until next week. It might be worth to generalise it even beyond cuisines. It's probably fair to say that Manhattan would provide better cultural experiences, overall. Gastronomy, theatre, music, art, and so on." He passed the laptop back to Rory, and she promptly began to type. "Same thing with something like air quality in Providence. Providence would provide a healthier and more wholesome physical environmental in general. Better air quality, less noise pollution, less light pollution, less crime, etc."
"Got it. That's a good point. Thanks." She finished updating that part of the list and scrolled up to closer to the beginning of the list. "I have also been thinking to add that printed newspapers are on their way out. But I don't know if I should put that as a Pro or as a Con. On the Pro side, I should take the job because these positions will get progressively harder to come buy as newspapers die out. But on the Con side, I should worry about getting too entrenched in an acrimonious medium." Rory explained anxiously.
"Fair points, on both sides. Put both in." He suggested and Rory smiled at him, so glad that her dad was not only humouring her with her list, but also taking it seriously enough to really listen to her and help her out.
Christopher continued to read the list as she typed. "What are these things here to the side?" He pointed to a third column a bit separate from the main list.
"These are other things I have thought of but don't know where in the list they go, Pro or Con."
"Why is Logan there?" He pointed to where she had typed Logan's name, followed by three question marks.
"Well, Logan and I have done long distance before and much longer distance at that. Compared to him being in London, me moving to Providence is nothing. So that's a Pro." She explained. "But Logan is figuring things out for his own career. I don't know where he will end up. What if he moves to the other side of the country? Or to another country? That would be a Con. I just don't know yet." She shook her head dejectedly.
"And you guys haven't talked about it yet? About what happens after graduation?" Chris asked gently.
"No… There has been nothing concrete to discuss until today. I guess we will have to talk about it at some point."
"Sooner better than later, hon. Trust me on that." Chris said as he swung his arm around Rory's shoulder, pulling her close to him.
"Yeah, I know…" She replied, leaning her head on her father's shoulder. "I put you, Mom and Gigi on the Pro side. Providence is close enough I should be able to come visit once or twice a month."
Christopher took a deep breath at that, steeling himself against the thought of his daughter, to whom he had only recently gotten properly close, moving to another city in another state, even if it was just "next door" to Rhode Island.
"I'll tell you what, kiddo. No matter where you move to, no matter where you end up, your mum and I will come visit you every month."
"Really? Every month?" Rory inclined her head up to look at her father and gave him a soft smile.
"Yup, every month. One weekend a month will be Rory weekend. It's a deal."
"Even if I move to Alaska? Or Hawaii?"
"Even if you move to Australia!" He promised. But then thought better. "Actually, Australia is really far away… Its like 24 hours in a plane… That's a lot of hours of your mother making jokes about turning into sardines." They chuckled. "Ok, here's what we'll do. If you move to Australia, we will go visit you every two months, and I will pay for your tickets to visit us in the intervals. How does that sound?" He kissed her forehead.
"Sounds perfect, Dad. Thanks."
"Anything for you, Kiddo."
"And thanks for trying to smooth things out between Mom and Logan today. Things would have been a lot more awkward if you and Gigi weren't here." Rory was right of course. Lorelai was very obviously tyring to be polite to Logan, something she would never do if she actually liked Logan and felt comfortable around him. And Logan was trying hard to impress Lorelai. He had brought her Himalayan orchids, for crying out loud! Himalayan!
"Your mum only wants the best for you. So do I, of course." Christopher said, rubbing Rory's arm to warm her up. "Logan reminds me a lot of me at that age. Trying to find my start at business, failing again and again, making dumb decisions, and not knowing how to deal with the consequences. Getting a new reality check every day. You remember how much of a mess I was. It took me 22 years to get your mum to put up with me."
"I just wish Mom would see all the ways that she and Logan are actually similar. Logan did grow up with a lot of privilege, everything handed to him, except for love and affection. And now he has broken away from that, quit his father's company, left the fancy apartment, because he doesn't want to live that life anymore. She did the same thing. You both did." She said, sitting up and adjusting the computer on her legs again. "Yes, he is immature sometimes, running away from his problems to go to Vegas or cliff diving with Colin and Finn. But now he has actually left the Huntzberger Publishing Group. He is on his own now. He has some savings, but not much. He is crashing with me and Paris and Doyle. And believe me, no one who has any other option would voluntarily share space with Paris and Doyle. Paris gave out to him about 2% milk a couple of days ago."
Christopher laughed. "Living with Paris certainly doesn't sound very glamorous; I'll give you that. You mom just worries. And I think she has a knee jerk reaction to not like anyone rich, despite the fact that basically everyone in her family is rich. But she just wants you to be happy, you know that."
"Oh, don't get me wrong, Logan drives me absolutely insane sometimes. I get so frustrated with some of the things he does." Rory admitted. "But I love him." She added with a simple shrug of her shoulders and an easy smile.
"Only the ones we love can drive us up that wall like that. I'll try to talk to your mom about this again, ok?"
"Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it."
"No problem. Now, lets see what else you have on this list of yours."
They worked on the Pro/Con list for a few more minutes until something very unexpected happened: Logan and Lorelai came out of the kitchen, together, carrying plates of leftover pie and ice cream for everyone.
"Hi guys. Did we wake you?" Christopher asked, standing up and helping Lorelai with all the plates and forks she had been carrying.
"No, no. Don't worry. You know that only leftover food has the power to wake me and get me out of bed in the middle of the night." Lorelai replied with a quick kiss to Christopher's cheek and sat down on the bench next to Rory, taking Christopher's offered seat.
"I needed some water and ran into Lorelai in the kitchen. We decided to raid the fridge and bring you two supplies." Logan explained, handing Rory a plate of pie and a glass of water. He sat himself on the floor, leaning on the porch railing across from the bench where Rory and the others where sitting.
"Yeah, we figured you were Pro and Conning up a storm out here. You know how this works, kid. You have to refuel regularly."
Rory beamed, surrounded by love and pie. "Thank you. You came at the perfect time. The next point on the list up for discussion is public transport. The RIPTA vs the MTA."
-Pirates on Skates-
After working on the list for another hour, Rory feels significantly less anxious (or significantly more tired) and they all decide it's time to go back to bed. Lorelai and Christopher check in on Gigi on their way back up the stairs, tucking her back under the covers that had slipped down to the floor. They climb back into their bed after brushing their teeth and cuddle under the covers.
"I know I love this house," Lorelai said with a yawn. "But you are right. We need to move."
"Why do you say that?" Christopher yawns back, adjusting the pillow under his head.
"Well, Rory and Gigi can't share that tiny room forever. I know Rory is grown and will be gone most of the time. But when she comes to visit, she'll want her own room. One where she and Logan don't have to toss a coin to see who gets the trundle bed. And Gigi might not put up a fuss with sleeping on the couch now, but she will not be so willing as a teen or even as a pre-teen, I promise you that." Lorelai explained. "I know she is totally infatuated with Logan now, but her obsession with blondes won't last forever.
Christopher eyed Lorelai with a growing smile and an inquisitive expression on his face.
"What?" She asked confused.
"You just said the words 'Logan' and 'forever' in the same sentence."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't."
Yes, Lor. You did. I heard you." Christopher's smile grew.
"Well, it's your word against mine. Who is going to believe you? Nobody!"
"You are warming up to him."
"No, I'm not.
"You are! Admit it."
"Never!" She pushed away from him and pretended to struggle when he held her close to him.
"I mean, I figured you must have had some kind of truce when you came out together with pie and ice cream. But never in my wildest dreams would I have thought you'd start including him in long term future plans, no matter how good the pie."
"I'm sorry, hon. You must have been dreaming because that didn't happen. In fact, you're dreaming right now." Lorelai swiped her hand down Christopher's face, forcing him to close his eyes. He grabbed her hand, holding it to his chest. "Wake up, Chris. You're having a night terror. Wake up!"
Christopher laughs harder at that, rolling over her pushing her down into the mattress to stop her fake struggles. "I think you're the one having a night terror, because it sounds like you are now securely buckled up in the Logan train. You are Team Logan all the way. You are so Team Logan, you will start designing t shirts and pompoms tomorrow."
"Hey, reel yourself in there, coach, because that is not happening."
"No?"
"No!" She insisted. "I am merely, only slightly, marginally, practically imperceptibly considering the possibility of maybe, someday, warming up to him, a little bit."
Christopher looked at her, speechless for a couple of heartbeats. "Wow, you really get your use out of that thesaurus, huh? You can't distract me in your sea of synonyms."
"You're just jealous of my obviously superior vocabulary." She pushed him off of her and he let her, but promptly pulled her close to his side again.
"Come on, tell me. What happened before the pie and the ice cream?"
Lorelai took a deep breath, finally abandoning her ruse. "Not much. He just… He explained that he knows he made a huge mistake with this business deal, that he messed up big. He said he knows he has had a lot of privilege. That he has left that now and that he wants to work hard." She took another deep breath, settling into Christopher's arms. "I guess he said all the right things. I don't know."
They were silent for a little bit and then Christopher said: "Rory told me she thinks you and Logan have a lot in common."
"She did?"
"Yeah. She said you both grew up in Hartford society, without a lot of familial love. And that you both broke away from it to make it on your own."
"So did you."
"Yes, sure. But I already liked Logan. I didn't need our similarities pointed out to me." Lorelai rolled her eyes at that.
"He is a good kid, Lor. He treats Rory well and she loves him. You can't blame him for only figuring out at 23 what you already knew at 16. He got there eventually. And he got there before getting our daughter pregnant. That's got to be a positive in our book." He chuckled.
"No way Logan gets the points for that. That's all Rory."
"Alright, alright. Fair enough!"
"But you're right… He is a good guy." Lorelai said finally, giving Christopher a kiss on the lips. "But I'm not making pompoms." She promised.
"Oh, no?" Christopher kisses her back. "That's too bad. I remember that brief stint you had in the cheerleading squad our freshman year. It was hot." He teases her wickedly, going in for another kiss.
Lorelai swats him in the arm. "I was the mascot, you ass!"
"Oh, I remember. Believe me! That memory got me through many lonely nights in California."
"You're crazy."
"Crazy about you."
"Oh, the cheese! I'm drowning in it!"
They make out for a few moments until Lorelai breaks the kiss to say: "You know, there's another reason we'll need extra rooms."
"Oh yeah? What's that? Are you going to take up a hobby?" Christopher teases, kissing down Lorelai's neck. "Maybe quilting, or scrapbooking?"
"Nope."
"Stamp collecting? Extreme couponing?"
"No"
"Yoga?" Kiss. "Meditation?" Kiss. "Tap dancing?" Kiss.
"Are you done?"
"I could go on."
"Chris."
Christopher stopped his decent down Lorelai's neck and looked her in the eyes.
"I want to have another baby with you." She whispered.
"Really?" He whispered back.
"Yes."
"I know we talked a bit about it before but, really? Are you sure?"
"I am. Are you?"
Christopher beamed down at her. "God, Lor. Yes. So much."
"Ok. Let's do it." She beamed right back up at him, making him move up to kiss her in the mouth.
"I love you, Lor."
"I love you too. Despite your weird obsession with team mascots." She teased.
"My obsession is with you."
"Oh, no! More cheese! I'm drowning again!"
"Don't worry. I'll give you mouth to mouth."
-Pirates on Skates-
After breakfast the next morning, The Gilmore-Hayden clan plus Logan made their way to the town square, where they met Lorelai and Michel, who were leading the Dragonfly Inn guests to the Spring Fling Festival. The guests were a bit put out by the fact that there weren't going to be any booths or activities other than the hay bale maze itself, especially the kids. They had been excited to go on pony rides and get the face painted and such. One kid in particular was really unenthusiastic about going into a maze that was just a maze; no tricks, nothing scary waiting for you from behind every corner.
"So there are no lights or fireworks? No people jumping out at you with squirt guns or something?" The kid asked.
"No, honey, I don't think so. It's just a maze, but it's made out of hay!" His mother replied, trying to get her son to be excited about the maze.
"So it's really just a hay maze? What a drag." The boy exclaimed, wishing he could go back to his video games instead.
"No way, man. This maze is going to be so cool." Logan cut in, trying to get the kid excited. "I've been looking forward to this maze for days!"
"This maze is all I've dreamed of since I could dream." Rory added.
"Gosh, I'm so glad to be here. I cannot wait to get in that maze. I bet you I can find my way out faster than you." Logan dared the boy.
"You really like hay bale mazes?" The boy asked Logan.
"Hells yeah, I do! They are the best."
"Yeah… I guess they are cool." The boy relented and his mother sent Logan a thankful look before leading her son to the entrance of the maze, where Taylor was regulating staggered entries.
"Is there really no nothing scary in the maze, Daddy?" Gigi, who was holding her father's hand tightly, asked in a tiny unsure voice.
"There is nothing, Gigi. It's just a maze." Christopher said, squeezing her hand back.
"Do you promise?" She insisted.
"I promise."
Gigi turned her doubtful look to Logan. He took a knee in front of her so she didn't have to look up at him and offered her his little finger.
"I pinkie swear it." Gigi smiled and hooked her own pinkie finger around Logan's, shaking on it. At that moment Sookie and Jackson approached with their kids, Davey and Martha.
"Hey kids, hi you guys!" Lorelai greeted them. "Did the kids like the maze?"
"The kids loved the maze!" Jackson said excitedly.
"We loved the maze." Sookie added, some surprise still in her voice. The whole town seemed to have expected the hay bale maze to be an awful idea, but everyone was now loving it.
"Really?" Lorelai asked, incredulous.
"It's so fun."
"But there are no lights, no fireworks. Why is it so fun?"
"It's just… cool!" Jackson said simply.
"See Gigi?" Logan asked the little girl as he got up off his knees. "Everybody likes the maze."
"Gigi is a little nervous about going into the maze. Aren't you honey?" Christopher explained, greeting Sookie and Jackson as well. Gigi looked down, embarrassed.
"Don't be scared, Gigi." Said Davey. "I was scared too at first, but it's really fun."
"We're going in now Gigi." Said Rory, pointing to the entrance of the maze, where Taylor was waving them in with the next group to enter. "Do you want to come in with Logan and I?"
Gigi shook her head and pressed herself closer to her father's leg.
"That's ok. You guys go in. Your mom, Gigi and I will hang out here for a little bit and go in later."
Logan and Rory went into the maze holding hands while Lorelai, Christopher and Gigi stayed outside with Sookie and Jackson. Lorelai made up a game for the kids of watching Kirk, the maze guard, and guessing when he would trip and fall off his stilts. It happened five times in the a space of 10 minutes. Christopher started up a conversation with Gypsy, who he knew had gotten her hands on an old motorcycle and was restoring it. Christopher had never done any official mechanical work or training but had had to learn some of the basics when he had been living mostly on the road. So he enjoyed talking to Gypsy about the work that she was doing, and had even been to the workshop a couple of times to see the progress on the restoration.
After some time watching people come out of the maze, all with smiles on their faces, Christopher and Lorelai convinced Gigi to give it a try. The three went in together, holding hands and having a grand old time. Lorelai kept a running commentary of jokes and dance moves, making both Gigi and Christopher laugh. The maze, however, was harder than they expected, and it was taking them longer to find their way out than they thought.
"Lor, that's where we came from. We should go this way."
"Are you sure? I thought we came from other there."
"Daddy, are we lost?"
"No, Geege. We are not lost. We are in the town square. Al's Pancake World is right behind this wall of hay." Christopher said reassuringly.
"Actually, hon, I think that's Miss Patty's." Lorelai said.
"I thought Miss Patty's was over here. See the arches on the roof?" He pointed.
"I'm pretty sure that's the High School."
"How can that be the high school? I can see the top of the gazebo right next to it."
"Taylor lifted the gazebo away, remember?"
"Yes, I know. But I think saw it in front of the bookstore this morning when I took Paul Anka for a walk."
"Are you sure?" Lorelai pressed.
Christopher looked around him, trying to see over the hay bale wall, trying to orient himself.
"… No."
"Daddy! We are lost!" Gigi cried, desperately.
"No, we are not lost. We are still in the town square." Chris bent down to his daughter, trying to calm her down.
"Gigi, we can just wave our arms and the maze guard will come find us, remember? Taylor said so." Lorelai also tried to calm the little girl. But that was the absolutely wrong thing to say, as Gigi just started crying harder and said:
"Kirk couldn't even walk on the stilts. He will never find us! We are lost forever!"
Lorelai and Christopher had to laugh a little at the girl's dramatic response. That was also not the right thing to do, as it frustrated the girl further.
"Here, Gigi. Sit on my shoulder and tell me what you see." Christopher picked up his daughter and settled her on his shoulders, hoping she would be able to see beyond the walls of the maze. But Gigi was too worked up to be of any help by this point. So Lorelai and Christopher just decided to keep walking, figuring they would find the way out at some point. Hopefully before Gigi had a complete mental breakdown.
As they turned a corner not really looking where they were going, Lorelai literally bumped into Luke, who was walking in the opposite direction, carrying a delivery bag from his diner.
"Oh! God, I'm sorry!" Lorelai apologised, surprised. "Hi! Luke! I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."
"That's ok. Don't worry about it. Hi Lorelai. Christopher." Luke replied, also surprised by the unexpected encounter. "Is everything ok?" He asked, worried by the sound of Gigi's cries.
"Yeah, we're just having a bit of a hard time finding our way out. Gigi is losing faith on us." Christopher said, hopping a bit to readjust Gigi on his shoulders. This was the first time that Luke had ever said hello to Christopher outside of the context of the diner. So Christopher wanted to take advantage of that. "Say hi to Luke, Gigi."
"Hi." Gigi said miserably as she hiccupped with a sob.
"Oh, you're not far from the exit. Just take a left here and then two rights and you're out." Luke pointed to the way he came from.
"Hear that, Geege? We're almost out." Lorelai rubbed a hand on Gigi's thigh.
"Thank you for the help, Luke." Christopher said genuinely.
"Yes. Thank you, Luke." Lorelai added.
"Thank you, Luke" Gigi said with a tiny voice, copying her parents.
"No problem. I'll see you guys around." Luke said as he started to turn back to the direction he was going.
Christopher started to walk towards the exit and looked back to Lorelai. But she was actually looking unsurely back and forth between Luke and Chris. "Actually…" She started tell Christopher. "I want to talk to Luke for a minute."
Christopher looked surprised for a second, but Gigi was still crying and so he was in a hurry to get out of the maze. "Uh, yeah, sure. Of course. I'll just go ahead and get out of here before Gigi never trusts me again in her life."
"I'll be right behind you." Lorelai promised, giving him a little wave.
Luke avoided looking at them but stayed behind with Lorelai. Once Christopher was gone, Lorelai turned her attention to Luke and they smiled at each other awkwardly.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"You've got snacks." Lorelai pointed to the delivery bag in Luke's hands. "That was a good idea."
"Yeah, no. Zach forgot this. He's out doing deliveries and he figured it's easier to go through the maze. He wrote me some directions here…" He showed Lorelai the piece of paper with instructions for the maze, but she was distracted by the large bracelet on Luke's wrist.
"Oh! What is that?" Lorelai pointed at it. "You have a bracelet on your wrist." She said incredulously.
"Oh, yeah. April gave it to me. She's into jewellery now. It's just a phase. She went into a Navajo exhibition or a field trip or something with school. I don't know. But now she loves New Mexico and has all turquoise earrings and bracelets, and she gave me this. What could I do?"
"Wow."
"I know. I was just getting used to the idea of having a daughter and now all of a sudden I have a teenager. Time just goes by, you know? It's crazy." Luke rambled on nervously until Lorelai interrupted him.
"Luke."
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry." She began.
"Yeah, I'm uh… I'm sorry too."
"No, no. Let me go first." She insisted.
"Ok"
"I messed up. That night I went to Christopher. I'm sorry." Luke just continued to watch her. "I mean, I never admitted it to you that it was wrong what I did, and it was. And I'm really sorry."
"Ok. Thanks." Luke said sincerely.
Lorelai took a deep breath, relieved to have this off her chest. "I don't know why I didn't say this before. I apologised to Christopher too. I mean, I used him that night because I knew he still had feelings for me and he wouldn't turn me away. And that was really wrong too. I should have apologised to you sooner."
Luke nodded "Ah, you know… I'm sorry too because… I don't know, I just didn't know how to deal with having April in my life. I have learned a lot from having her. I thought I needed to fix everything with April before I could really be with you. But that's just not how people do things. Things don't stay still. They are always changing."
"Yeah" Lorelai agreed.
"And I'm sorry too because I think I ended up using April to push you away."
"You did, huh?"
"Yeah, I think so. I was afraid and I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry."
"It's ok." She smiled gently at him.
He took a moment to really look at her and said: "I'm glad. That you're ok, I mean. I'm glad that you're ok."
"Thanks. I am. I'm really ok."
They smiled at each other for a moment before the silence became too much again.
"Well, I have these fries that are getting cold, so I better go." Luke started.
"Oh yeah, and I have to find my way out of here." Lorelai joked.
"Remember, left here and then two rights and you're out." He directed.
"Thanks, Luke. I'll see you around."
"Yeah, I'll see you. Bye."
They each turned and walked away from each other. Luke went to deliver his order, and Lorelai went to meet her family.
-Pirates on Skates-
Author's note:
Hi everyone! When I said I didn't have any plans for a regular update schedule, I wasn't kidding. *Hides face in shame* The past two years have been tough... as you all know. For me, I always turn to fanfiction for a little light and levity. Especially when things are particular bad. I hope this chapter brings you some light and levity as well. And thank you again for all the messages and reviews and follows encouraging me to continue this story. I hope you are all staying safe and healthy and sane out there.