Chapter 3
. . . . .
It was the first Saturday of December, and Lorelai was in the nursery changing Josh while Luke was taking a shower. A familiar feeling washed over her and she glanced toward the window, and then she smiled down at the baby. "It's starting soon," she whispered.
She finished changing him, threw on his jacket and a winter hat, and then rushed with him to the bathroom. Lorelai knocked on the door before she pushed it open. "Luke, hurry, dry off!"
Alarmed, Luke quickly stuck his head out from behind the shower curtain. "What's wrong?"
"I smell snow!" Lorelai giddily declared. "It's Josh's first snow outside of the womb, come on!"
Lorelai had been on high alert all morning. A snowstorm had been predicted for the weekend, and she'd told Luke that they needed to be outside when it started so they could share that moment with Josh.
Luke turned off the water, pushed open the shower curtain, stepped out of the shower, and reached for his towel.
Lorelai waved her hand in a circle, urging him to go faster. "Come on, come on, you're moving so slowly."
Luke started drying himself off. "While you're waiting for me, why don't you go get the video camera? We can record this miraculous occasion and relive it for years to come."
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, good idea! Why didn't I think of that?" She turned and hurried toward their bedroom, calling over her shoulder, "And I heard that mocking tone in your voice!"
She lay Josh on the bed, away from the edges in case he tried rolling over, a skill he'd recently been developing. She picked up the video camera from the dresser, popped on the battery, and turned on the power.
Luke walked into the bedroom with a towel around his waist. "Got it all set up?"
"Yes. Why aren't you dressed?"
"My clothes are in here," he said. "It'll only take me a second."
Luke got dressed quickly and they went downstairs, grabbing their coats before heading out the front door and onto the lawn.
Lorelai was holding a bundled-up Josh in her arms and Luke had the video camera. She looked up toward the sky and took a deep breath, then smiled at Luke. "This is exciting, huh?"
Luke smiled and nodded. While he didn't exactly share her deep love of snow, he did like how happy it made her.
"You can turn it on," she said, nodding to the camera. "It's coming. I can feel it."
Luke pushed record on the camera and took a few steps back from them. Lorelai turned Josh around in her arms so he was facing the camera.
"Here we are, on this frigid December 6th, waiting for Josh's first snow," Lorelai said to the camera, and then pointed toward the sky. "My senses are telling me it's going to be any second now." She kissed the baby's head. "Are you excited, Joshy?"
Josh was gurgling as he looked around the yard, oblivious to how exciting this moment was for his mother.
"Ooh, ooh, here it is!" Lorelai announced excitedly as the first flakes began to fall around them. Lorelai took Josh's hand and held it out, trying to get him to feel some of the falling flakes. "Do you feel that, honey? That's snow... beautiful, wonderful, magical snow."
Luke continued recording them for a minute, smiling as he watched Lorelai talk to Josh about all the things she loved about the snow. He turned the camera off and walked over to them, and pressed his lips to Lorelai's for a deep kiss. He pulled back with a smile. "Happy first snowfall."
Lorelai smiled brightly. "Are you finally starting to appreciate the magic of snow?"
"Maybe a little," he admitted.
"I knew you'd come around eventually," she said. "Let me take some video of you and him."
Luke handed her the camera and took the baby, and she took some video of her two boys in the snow. After she had turned the camera off, she walked over to them.
"There's definitely gonna be enough snow to build his first snowman tomorrow," Lorelai said. "And we can lay him on the ground and make little baby snow angels, it'll be so cute!"
Luke smiled at her excitement, and then glanced down at the baby who was starting to unhappily squirm in his arms. "Okay, let's finish the snow celebration inside... I think he's cold."
"Okay," Lorelai agreed, and they started walking to the front door. "We can have hot chocolate and light a fire and watch the snow fall out the window while also watching a movie with a lot of snow in it."
They walked into the house, and they took off their jackets before heading into the living room. Lorelai walked over to the side window with Josh to watch the snow.
"What movie do you wanna watch?" Luke asked. "Frosty the Snowman?"
Lorelai turned around to look at him. "Oh, that's much more family friendly than the movie that popped into my head."
"Which was?"
"Misery."
Luke narrowed his eyes. "That's the first movie you thought of to celebrate our son's first snow?"
"It's a classic, and there's snow in it!"
Luke smirked. "Well, maybe for the kid's sake, we'll hold off on showing him that particular classic for another 18 years or so."
"Good idea." She looked out the window for a moment, and then back at Luke. "Oh, can you grab the phone? I have to call Rory for a mother/daughter snowfall chat."
Luke retrieved the phone and walked it over to her. "So, what did you decide to do about the procession costumes?"
Miss Patty, on behalf of Taylor, had called the house two days earlier while Lorelai was at work asking if she'd be able to help with costume alterations for the annual procession. Luke had relayed the message to her when she got home.
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I called her back and said yes." She held up the baby in front of her face to hide behind him. "Don't be mad at Mommy, she's just trying to keep the townies happy so they continue to love her and help watch me when I need a babysitter."
Luke smirked. "I'm not mad. If you think you can handle it, then you should do it. You like that stuff."
Lorelai lowered the baby shield. "I think most of the people walking in it this year are gonna be the same as last year, so there shouldn't be too many alterations needed. Saying yes was just easier than being publicly flogged by Taylor for neglecting to participate."
"You just had a baby," Luke pointed out. "If he tried to flog you for not having enough time to sew stupid costumes when you're trying to juggle work and a baby and constant exhaustion, I'd strangle him with my bare hands."
Lorelai turned the baby around to look at his face. "Honey, just so you know, Daddy is not usually a violent man, he's just very protective of Mommy." She lowered her voice a little, adding, "Now, don't tell him, but even though Mommy can take care of herself, she finds Daddy's protectiveness kind of hot sometimes."
Luke smiled and handed her the phone. "Here, you call Rory, I'll go make the hot chocolate."
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "Thank you."
. . . . .
. . . . .
A week later was the annual Christmas party at Emily and Richard's house. When Luke arrived home from work, the first floor was empty and the house was surprisingly quiet.
Luke headed upstairs and found Lorelai getting Josh dressed in the nursery, and walked over to them at the changing table. "Getting more use out of that suit Emily got him, huh?"
"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "The idea of a baby in a suit seemed completely absurd until I saw just how adorably handsome he looked in it."
Luke smiled and nodded. "It's cute. Where's the bowtie?"
"I'll clip it on right before we leave," she said.
"Is Rory meeting us there?"
"Yup."
Luke checked his watch. "And you wanted to leave by 5:30, right?"
"Around then, yeah," Lorelai said. "But if we're running late, we'll just blame it on Josh. They can't get mad at a baby." She lifted Josh up and smiled at him. "No, they can't... especially not when you're dressed up like an adorable little businessman."
Luke snorted a laugh. "I feel like I should be asking him for tax advice or something."
Lorelai smiled. "I bought him the cutest little Christmas sweater for when we take him to sit on Santa's lap next week." She quickly held up a hand. "And please don't do another rant about how we shouldn't instill the Santa fantasy in him, I've heard it enough."
"The concept of Santa is stupid," Luke said. "And parents just keep going along with it year after year, and for what?"
Lorelai gently covered his mouth with her hand. "I just said don't do that!" She dropped her hand and added, "I know it seems stupid, but when he's a little older and you see how excited he gets at the idea of Santa, you'll change your mind. The fantasy of Santa is a huge part of childhood."
"But then we have to watch the fantasy be shattered when he inevitably learns that we've been lying to him for his entire life," Luke said. "Then he'll never trust us again."
"Yes, he will, don't worry," Lorelai said. "I'll tell you what, you play along with the Santa stuff, and I'll be totally on board if you want to skip the whole creepy Easter Bunny stuff."
Luke exhaled a sigh. "Deal." He gestured toward the door. "Okay. I'm gonna jump in the shower real quick, get the burger and fries smell off me."
Lorelai smiled. "I love that smell." She leaned in and kissed him. "We'll be downstairs."
. . . . .
. . . . .
That evening, while Lorelai and Rory were mingling with Emily and her friends in the living room, Luke was upstairs in the nursery feeding the baby. When Lorelai finally saw them walk down the stairs, she excused herself from the conversation and walked over to them.
"Everything okay?" she asked, running her hand over the baby's head.
"Yeah, he's good," Luke replied. "I warned him about what was happening down here, but he still wanted to come see for himself."
"He's probably hoping I'll slip him one of the apple tarts I've been talking about all week." Lorelai took the baby from Luke and nodded toward the conversation she'd just walked away from. "I'm gonna take him over there to distract them from Rory and give her a break. Can you grab me a few more tarts?"
"Haven't reached your limit yet?"
Lorelai scoffed. "You know I have no tart limit."
Luke smiled. "Be right back."
As Luke headed toward the dessert spread in the dining room, Lorelai walked over to the group of women surrounding Rory.
"Look who wants to join the party," Lorelai announced, and the women instantly began cooing over him. This was the first time the guests were getting to see him awake. When they'd arrived at the house, Joshua was sleeping and they brought him right upstairs to the nursery. He slept through dinner, and then Luke went up to feed him when they heard him crying in the baby monitor.
"Here, I can take him, Lorelai," Emily said, holding her hands out toward the baby, and Lorelai passed Josh to her.
"Oh, how precious is that little suit," a woman said.
"I got it at Neimann Marcus," Emily said.
"So, Mom, are you okay with him for a minute while Rory and I grab fresh drinks?" Lorelai asked.
"Yes, we're fine, take your time," Emily replied, and then proudly declared to the group, "This young man just recently started rolling over last week."
As the women gasped at the news, Lorelai put her arm around Rory and led her away from the group.
When they were out of earshot, Rory gratefully whispered, "They were just starting to ask me about my dating life, so that was perfect timing... thank you."
"You're welcome," Lorelai said, and they went to the bar to get their drinks. "What is going on with your dating life anyway?"
Rory cocked her head to the side. "Mom."
"Just curious... you haven't mentioned anything about it lately."
"Because there's nothing to mention," Rory replied with a shrug.
"Okay. I just wanted to make sure that College Rory knows she can still share things with her mother as she finds herself ensconced in the complicated world of college boys," Lorelai said, and then gritted her teeth as she added, "Many of whom sleep just one short staircase above her."
"When there's something to know, you'll know it," Rory promised.
"Okay, just checking."
Luke walked over with a plate of apple tarts, and Lorelai smiled. "My hero, thank you." She took a bite of one and moaned happily.
Luke glanced over at the other side of the room where Emily was showing off Joshua to her friends. "Wow, he does make a good distraction, huh?"
"Yup. That kid is going to be our savior at these parties," Lorelai replied.
"Where are all the men? I swear there were some here before I went upstairs."
"Oh, right, I forgot," Lorelai said. "My dad wanted me to tell you when you came down that the men are in the study smoking cigars if you want to join them."
Luke cringed a little, then shook his head. "As tempting as that sounds, I think I'm good out here." He checked his watch. "Plus, we should keep an eye on the clock and try to time the ride home with Josh falling asleep. It'll make it much easier for us."
"Yeah, good point," Lorelai said before popping the last piece of apple tart into her mouth. After she had swallowed it down, she said, "See, I told you - a savior. He gave us a reason to be late for cocktail hour, then we get to hand him off to entertain the crowd so we don't have to mingle, and then he gives us an excuse to leave early. Seriously, I should've had a baby years ago."
Rory slowly raised her hand. "Um, you did. Hi, remember me, the first born?"
Lorelai grinned and leaned in to kiss Rory on the forehead. "I do remember my little angel girl, yes." As she pulled back, she added, "But you unfortunately have outgrown the age where I can use your existence for my own selfish benefits."
"I'm very sorry for that," Rory said.
"Apology accepted," Lorelai replied.
The baby started crying in the other room, and Lorelai grimaced. She waited for a moment to see if he would calm down, and when he didn't, she said, "Here." She handed Luke her drink and headed into the living room. "Everything okay?"
"I sat down with him for a moment and he didn't like that," Emily explained. "So I stood back up, but he's still not content."
Lorelai held out her hands. "You want me to take him?"
"Yes, please," Emily replied.
Emily passed the baby over to Lorelai, who cuddled him to her chest and bounced gently with him for a moment. "You're okay, you're fine, no need to cry," Lorelai whispered soothingly, and the baby's cries dissipated.
"My, would you look at that," a woman commented. "My kids would never quiet down that quickly for me."
"Mine would actually cry louder," another woman added.
"Oh, it's not me," Lorelai said. "It's this miraculous new perfume scientists developed called Baby Whisperer... one whiff and it calms them right down." She leaned toward them and lowered her voice. "It may or may not contain some illegal substances, if you know what I mean."
Emily rolled her eyes. "That was a joke," she told the ladies. "She likes to joke."
Lorelai started backing away from them. "I'm just gonna bring him over here for a little bit." She turned and walked back over to Luke and Rory.
"Is he okay?" Luke asked.
"Yeah. I think he was overwhelmed by all the questions about his career goals and love life," Lorelai replied, and then whispered to the baby, "Sorry, I won't abandon you like that in this house again."
"Yes, you will," Luke said with a smirk.
"Yes, I will," Lorelai whispered to the baby. "But I will always come rescue you if you need it."
"She is a good rescuer," Rory confirmed to the baby. "I can vouch for that."
"See? I've been rescuing your sister for almost two decades and she has virtually no psychological side effects," Lorelai said, and she glanced across the hall. "Ooh, I'm gonna go show him the Christmas tree."
"I'm gonna get some more dessert," Rory said. "If I'm not back in five minutes, come put those rescue skills to good use."
"You got it," Lorelai replied.
Rory headed toward the dining room, and Luke walked with Lorelai across the hall to the front room.
Lorelai turned Josh in her arms to face the Christmas tree, then smiled at Luke. "Did I tell you that yesterday I put him in his carseat in front of our tree to look at the lights, and then he fell asleep there?"
Luke smiled. "No, you didn't. That's cute."
Lorelai nodded, grinning. "It was adorable. He was staring up at them in awe for a few minutes, and then he just conked out." She glanced down at Joshua staring at the tree. "Would it be weird to keep our tree up in the living room all year? He really likes the lights."
"Well, at first it would just be quirky and eccentric," Luke replied. "But then after a couple of weeks, the tree would die, so then we'd have a dead tree up in the living room, which would then definitely fall into the weird category, yeah."
Lorelai nodded in agreement. "You're right." She paused a moment. "Should we get an artificial tree to keep up all year long?"
"Or we could just put the lights up on the mantle or something instead of on an actual tree?" he suggested.
Lorelai gasped and then grinned at him. "Much better idea." She talked to Josh for a moment as he started to cutely babble to himself, and then turned back to Luke. "Oh, hey, what's Jess doing for Christmas?"
"No idea."
"Did you invite him over?"
"Not specifically, but I'm sure he knows he's invited."
Lorelai cocked her head to the side with a small smile. "Luke."
"What?"
"He's not just gonna randomly show up for Christmas," Lorelai said. "You need to invite him over."
Luke shrugged. "Okay, I'll mention it when I see him."
"Tell him we'll probably open up our presents early in the morning, but he can come over any time. It'll be completely casual, just a day of eating and watching Christmas movies."
"Got it."
"And also be sure to throw in that we may be in pajamas all day, but that he's not required to wear pajamas himself," Lorelai said. "But he can if he wants to, and he'll get an extra present if they're holiday-themed."
Luke smiled. "I'll let him know."
Lorelai glanced toward the doorway. "Where's Rory? Has it been longer than five minutes?"
"I think so." Luke walked across the foyer and peeked around the corner into the other side of the living room. He saw Rory talking to Emily and her friends, and he walked back over to Lorelai. "She's with the ladies."
Lorelai frowned. "I'm gonna go in there with her in case she needs backup. Here, take over tree patrol," she said as she handed Josh to him. "In about five minutes, come interrupt us and casually suggest that we get going because he's getting tired."
"Okay."
"Oh, and there are some Ziploc bags in the diaper bag, so if you have a chance to grab a few more apple tarts to bring home with us, I will be eternally grateful and will repay you in ways you will find very satisfying."
Luke smirked and playfully saluted her. "Mission accepted."
. . . . .
. . . . .
On Christmas morning, the baby slept a little later than usual, and Lorelai anxiously kept checking on him in the crib, eager to start celebrating his first Christmas.
Luke was in the kitchen making breakfast when she finally brought Josh downstairs dressed in his Santa-suit pajamas. "Look who's finally awake," Lorelai softly announced.
Luke glanced over from the sink where he was washing the frying pan, and he smiled. He turned off the water, grabbed a towel and dried his hands, and walked over to them.
"Hey, buddy," Luke greeted him, and took the baby from Lorelai. "Merry Christmas." He kissed his cheek, and then held him up at eye level. "You slept all night... was that your present to us?"
Lorelai smiled and rubbed the baby's back. "Probably all he could afford on his minimal salary." She nodded toward Rory's closed bedroom door. "Any movement in there yet?"
Luke shook his head. "Not yet, but breakfast is ready."
"Okay, let's go wake up the girl," Lorelai said. She took Josh from Luke, walked to Rory's bedroom door, and tapped on it gently. "Honey?" she called. "Are you up?"
Lorelai heard a slight groan from inside the room, and she pushed open the door. Rory was still in bed, covered by blankets, and Lorelai walked over to her. She held Josh right next to Rory's face and whispered, "Merry Christmas, sister. Don't you wanna get up and play with me? I know I don't do much yet, but I'm awfully cute."
Rory opened her eyes and rolled onto her back, and smiled at Josh. "Happy first Christmas," she said as she squeezed his tiny hand, and then smiled at Lorelai. "Merry Christmas, Mom."
Lorelai leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Merry Christmas, first born. Luke's been slaving over the stove all morning making Christmas breakfast, and I'm pretty sure I saw pancakes shaped like Christmas trees. You ready to get up and come join us?"
Rory nodded and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah. I'll be right out."
"Okay." Lorelai took Josh back out to the kitchen as Rory tiredly climbed out of bed.
. . . . .
. . . . .
Later that morning, they were sitting on the floor in front of the Christmas tree opening presents. Josh was sitting on Luke's lap staring at the lights on the tree as he distractedly chewed on one of the new teething toys he'd gotten as a gift.
When the adults had finished opening their presents, Luke passed Josh to Rory, and reached for the gift he'd saved for the end. "Last one," he announced as he held it out toward Lorelai.
Lorelai took the box from him and, surprised by how light it was, confusedly shook it. "Uh, you may have forgotten to put the present in here, hon." She unwrapped the gift, opened the box, and pulled out some tissue paper to reveal an envelope. She gave Luke a curious look as she pulled it out of the box.
Luke glanced nervously at Rory, who smiled at him, and they both looked back over at Lorelai. She opened the envelope, pulled out a piece of paper, and unfolded it. She read the top of the page. "Travel Itinerary." She looked at Luke with confusion.
"Keep reading," Luke urged.
Lorelai glanced down at the paper and started to read through the details of the 10-day trip that Luke had planned for them with the travel agent. She got halfway through it before looking back up at him. "Luke, what is this?"
"Well, it's phase one of Lorelai and Rory taking over Europe," Luke replied.
Lorelai glanced over at Rory, and then back at Luke. "You booked me and Rory a trip to Europe?"
"Well, not all of Europe," Luke replied. "Just Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France."
"You booked me and Rory a trip to Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France?" Lorelai asked, still having trouble grasping it.
"Yes," Luke replied, unable to tell whether she was happy about it. "I thought since you missed out on the big post-graduation trip that maybe you guys could take a smaller one instead. I ran the idea by Rory and she was on board, so I decided to book it."
Lorelai gasped and looked at Rory. "You knew?"
Rory nodded. "Yeah, and I thought it was a great idea. Whether we see Europe in one long trip or a bunch of short ones, at least we'll still be doing it together."
"And I called Mia to talk to her about it before I booked it," Luke added. "I wanted to make sure she was okay with you taking the time off, and she was fine with it, especially when she found out why. She said you two have been talking about visiting Europe since Rory was a kid."
"Yeah, we have," Lorelai replied.
"She was glad you were finally getting to go," Luke said. He paused for a moment and then took a deep breath before nervously asking, "So... what do you think? Do you like it, hate it? I can't tell, you look like you're somewhere in the middle."
Lorelai shook her head. "No, I'm not in the middle at all... I love it, it's amazing. I'm just surprised, I wasn't expecting anything like this, so I'm just kind of speechless."
"A rare Lorelai Gilmore state," Rory commented.
"I know ten days might seem like a long time to be away from him," Luke said, gesturing to Josh in Rory's lap. "That was the one big factor I was worried about."
"He was," Rory confirmed. "He almost scrapped the whole plan because of that."
"Is that gonna be a dealbreaker?" Luke asked. "Because I can still cancel the trip."
"Keep in mind, it's three months away," Rory pointed out. "It's not like we're leaving tomorrow and we're whipping you away from him without adequate pre-trip bonding time."
Lorelai nodded. "No, yeah, it'll be fine... I have time to mentally prepare for that. And he'll be here with his Daddy, so I know he'll be in good hands." She smiled at Luke. "I love the present, really... thank you, hon. This is amazing."
Luke smiled. "Good." He pointed toward the paper. "And you'll notice you're staying in actual hotels - none of that hostel crap."
Lorelai smiled. "I noticed that, and I'm very much okay with it."
After they cleaned up the presents, Luke went into the kitchen to start preparing Christmas lunch. A few minutes later, Lorelai joined him, announcing, "As delicious as your meal might be, Josh has opted in favor of the baby cereal with a side of strained carrots. I apologize that our son is so ungrateful for your hard work in the kitchen."
Luke smiled. "One day he'll appreciate me."
As Lorelai started preparing the baby's dish at the counter, Luke walked over to her. He stood beside her and rubbed her back. "You sure you're okay with the trip?" he asked. "We can cancel it if you have doubts about it."
Lorelai looked over at him. "There are no doubts," she assured him. "I wanna go, I'm really excited about it."
"You're sure?"
Lorelai nodded her confirmation. "I'm very sure. The surest of sures. Like I said, it was just a surprise, that's all... a big one. An incredible one. I needed a minute to wrap my mind around it."
"I probably should've talked to you first before doing something like that," Luke said. "Maybe that's not the kind of thing you surprise someone with, especially when it means I'm forcing you away from your son for ten days. That's something you should've probably had a chance to weigh in on."
Lorelai put the jar of baby food down and turned to face him. "Okay, two things. One - Luke, hon, I love the gift. It's perfect. You did a wonderful thing, and frankly, it's gonna be hard for you to ever top this."
Luke smiled. "Okay, good."
Lorelai stepped closer to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "And two - you're overlooking the fact that the baby isn't the only person I'm gonna be away from for ten days. You keep mentioning how hard it might be to be away from him, not even realizing that I'm already thinking about how hard it'll be to be away from you." She kissed him softly before adding, "You do realize that I'm pretty fond of you, right?"
Luke smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. "I had a suspicion."
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I can't remember the last time we were apart for that long."
"Me, either."
"I guess we don't have to think about that yet. It's still a few months away." She stared at him for a moment. "You know, you're really getting the shaft in this situation."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Rory and I get to go out and have this awesome trip while you're stuck at home dealing with all this extra responsibility as sole caretaker of Joshy, not to mention being apart from your extremely attractive wife. I mean, you put in all the work to make this happen and all you're getting out of it is the bill."
Luke shrugged. "I get to help my girls start an adventure they've been talking about for years... I get to see them excited and happy. That's a lot more than just the bill."
Lorelai's lips curved into a smile. "You really are the most selfless man in the world, you know that?" She leaned in and kissed him passionately as his arms wrapped around her.
The baby started to cry in the living room, and Rory called, "I think he needs to be changed!" A moment later, she added, "Yeah, he definitely needs to be changed!"
Lorelai pulled back from Luke and called, "Be right there." She smiled at him. "Duty calls... literally. But I love the gift, and I love you."
Luke smiled. "I love you, too." Lorelai gave him another kiss, and then she headed to the living room.
Lorelai took the crying baby from Rory and brought him to the changing table. She started to change him, talking to him softly to calm him down.
Rory retrieved the itinerary for their trip and started reading through it. Lorelai glanced over at her and asked, "So, did you help plan it?"
"No. He just asked me about the dates, and how many countries he thought would be good for ten days. The rest he did on his own at the travel agency." Rory held up the paper. "And it looks pretty good to me."
Lorelai nodded in agreement. "It does."
"So, you're really okay with it, right?" Rory asked as she put the paper back into the envelope. "When he mentioned it, it just made so much sense... shorter trips will be much easier in terms of taking time off and being away from home."
Lorelai nodded again. "Definitely. In my mind, the big trip was on an indefinite hold, but it hadn't even crossed my mind that there could be other options out there. Thankfully, someone else was thinking outside the box."
"It's gonna be amazing," Rory declared, smiling. "I can't wait."
"Me, either," Lorelai said, and then she lifted Joshua up. "Okay, I'm gonna go feed him in the kitchen, and then we should probably call my parents in the Vineyard to offer some holiday cheer, and then... what do you think... A Christmas Story? Christmas Vacation? It's a Wonderful Life?"
"All of the above," Rory replied.
Lorelai smiled. "Sounds good."
. . . . .
. . . . .
A few weeks later, on a Saturday in mid-January, Lorelai arrived home after having spent most of the evening running a party at the inn. She quietly walked into the living room and found Luke on the couch, his eyes closed, his legs propped up on the coffee table, the baby asleep on his chest.
She grinned at the cute sight and walked over to the couch. "Luke," she whispered. "You awake?"
"Mmhmm," he murmured in response, and he opened his eyes to look at her. "Hey. How'd it go?"
Lorelai sat down next to him. "It was good. Everything went smoothly." She ran her hand over Josh's back. "How was he? Any problems?"
"Nope. All smooth here, too." Luke beckoned her toward him with his head. "Come closer."
Lorelai leaned in for a kiss, and then asked, "You want me to take him upstairs and put him to bed?"
Luke dropped his feet from the coffee table to the floor. "Nah, I got him. I'll go put him in the crib."
He stood up, and as he headed for the staircase, Lorelai asked, "You going to bed? I'm gonna make some tater tots... I've been craving them all night."
"I'll be back down," he replied as he started to ascend the stairs. "I have to talk to you about something."
Lorelai frowned. "Way to ruin pre-tater tot time by making me spend the next two minutes paranoid about what you need to talk about."
"A little mystery is good in a relationship," he countered.
"Nuh uh," Lorelai said. "Haven't you ever watched a Lifetime movie? Mystery is bad, very bad."
"Go make your tots," he said from the top of the steps.
Lorelai headed into the kitchen, turned on the oven, and dumped some tater tots onto a sheet pan. She slid it into the oven as Luke joined her, and they both sat down at the table.
"Okay, so, what is it?" Lorelai asked him.
"Jess called when you were gone to tell me that someone showed up at the diner tonight looking for me," Luke replied, and then he paused for a moment before declaring, "His mother."
Lorelai gasped. "What? Your sister is in town?"
"Yeah, she came into the diner looking for me. When Caesar told her I wasn't there, she asked to go upstairs and wait for me, and he told her I didn't live there anymore," Luke explained. "She introduced herself, he realized it was Jess' mom, called upstairs to tell him, and he came down to talk to her."
Lorelai winced a little. "How'd that go?"
"He said he was a little cold toward her at the beginning, but he loosened up by the end," Luke replied. "Even took her upstairs to show her the apartment. She asked where I was, but he didn't wanna just give out our address and have her show up, so he told her he would give me her number so I could reach out to her if I wanted."
"She's up to date on your life, though, right?" Lorelai asked. "I mean, she knows you're married... we sent her an invitation to the wedding."
"And we never heard back, so who knows... maybe she never got it. Maybe she wasn't living at that address anymore."
"But you called her to invite her to Jess' graduation ceremony... you talked to her then, right?"
"I had to leave a message," Luke reminded her. "I mentioned the ceremony, told her we were expecting a baby in July, but who knows if she got the message. Never heard back about that one either." He let out a sigh.
Lorelai frowned. "You've been trying, hon... you were doing all you could to keep her in your life and make sure she knew what was going on. There wasn't much more you could've done besides getting in a car and driving all over the place to track her down in person."
"Yeah, I guess. Jess says she's got a new gig that has her out on the road a lot."
"Bounty hunter?"
"Something to do with Renaissance fairs. And she's gonna be in town for a few days, staying with one of her old high school friends... so I was thinking about inviting her over for dinner tomorrow," Luke said. "Is that okay?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, definitely, we should have her over. She should meet your family."
Luke was quiet for a minute before he softly said, "She's not a bad person, my sister. She's just... she's flighty, you know? She's had some rough times, she doesn't always make the best decisions... but she's not a bad person."
Lorelai gave him a reassuring smile and reached over to squeeze his hand. "I know."
"I don't want you to think that because she shipped her kid off to me that she's some evil mother."
Lorelai adamantly shook her head. "Not at all. She did what she thought was best for him. An evil mother wouldn't have even considered trying to give him a better life."
Luke nodded. "Yeah."
"And hey... it was the right decision, huh?" Lorelai continued. "Look at Jess now... he graduated high school, he's had a job for almost 2 years, he's going to college. You changed that kid's life, Luke. You gave him a life. So, maybe your sister didn't always make the best decisions over the years... but she did pretty good with that one."
Luke shrugged a little. "I guess."
Lorelai smiled and wagged her finger at him. "Don't be humble, take your props... you're amazing," she told him. "And call your sister... talk to her... invite her over. Maybe she's finally trying to get back in your life, back in Jess' life."
Luke nodded. "I will, I'll call her."
. . . . .
. . . . .
The next night, Luke was in the kitchen cooking dinner while Lorelai was upstairs getting dressed. Josh was lying on the bed, recently fed and freshly changed, contently occupying himself with a rattle.
Lorelai heard the doorbell ring and gasped softly. "You hear that, honey? That means your Aunt Liz is here... we're gonna get to meet another family member today."
Lorelai finished getting dressed and headed downstairs with Josh, and walked toward the voices coming from the kitchen. Luke was standing at the stove tending to the food and a woman was leaning against the back door talking to him.
Luke smiled when he saw Lorelai and Josh enter the room. "Hey." He put down the wooden spoon in his hand and waved them over.
Lorelai walked over to him and Luke put his arm around her. "Lorelai, this is my sister, Liz," Luke said. "Liz, this is Lorelai, and this is Josh."
Liz's face lit up and she shook her head in disbelief. "Man, I still can't believe you have a wife and a son!"
Lorelai smiled. "Here we are, in the flesh." She extended her hand toward Liz. "It's so nice to finally meet you."
Liz stepped closer and threw her arms around Lorelai. "It's nice to meet you, too!" She pulled back from the hug and leaned down to greet Josh. "And look at this little guy. He's perfect."
"Do you wanna hold him?" Lorelai asked. "He just ate, so he's pretty happy right now. He takes after me in that way."
"Oh, yeah, I'd love to hold him," Liz replied excitedly, and then looked at Luke. "Is that okay?"
"Of course it's okay," he replied. "The food's gonna take a little while longer, let's go sit in the living room."
"Can you grab me a water bottle?" Lorelai asked Luke, and then asked Liz, "Do you want a drink? We've got water, beer, soda, coffee... baby formula, if you're into that."
Liz smiled. "You're funny," she replied, and then said to Luke, "She's pretty and funny... you hit the jackpot."
Luke smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I did. What can I get you to drink?"
"I'll take a beer," Liz said.
The girls walked to the living room with the baby, and Luke grabbed the drinks from the fridge. He brought them in and set them on the coffee table, then sat down in the armchair. Lorelai was on the couch next to Liz, who was holding Josh and staring down at him with a big smile.
"It's been a long time since I've held a baby," Liz said. "I'm surprised I still remember how to do it."
"It's like riding a bike," Lorelai said. "I went about 19 years between kids and all that baby stuff came back to me pretty fast."
Liz's eyes widened as she looked up from the baby. "Wait, that means... you have a 19 year old kid?"
"Yes... her name's Rory, she goes to Yale," Lorelai replied.
Liz looked Lorelai up and down. "How the hell do you have a 19 year old kid? You look so young."
Lorelai smiled. "I started earlier than most... had her when I was still in high school."
"Wow," Liz said. "Were you married before?"
"Nope. Second kid," Lorelai said as she ran her hand over Josh's hair, and then gestured to Luke and added, "But first husband."
"Got it," Liz said.
"Okay, saying 'first husband' makes it sound like there's gonna be more after me," Luke pointed out.
"Sorry... first and only husband," Lorelai corrected herself, smiling at Luke. "Better?"
"Thank you," he said.
"And the first kid goes to Yale, huh?" Liz said. "That's pretty cool. Hopefully I can meet her next time."
"Yeah, hopefully," Lorelai agreed.
Liz stared down at the baby for a few moments, and then looked at Lorelai. "So, you guys gonna have more kids?"
Lorelai's eyes widened at the question. "Oh, well, uh..."
"Liz, you can't ask stuff like that," Luke admonished her. "That's personal."
"Okay, okay, sorry," Liz said. "I was just wondering."
"So, uh, I heard you got to catch up with Jess," Lorelai said.
Liz grinned. "Yeah. He looks so good. He told me he's going to college, working at the bookstore, living in that apartment all by himself... he's suddenly all grown up. He was a kid last I saw him, and now he's like... an adult."
"Yeah, kids do that, they grow up into adults," Luke said with a nod.
"I knew you could do it," Liz said, smiling adoringly at Luke. "I knew you could help him. I'm so grateful for everything you've done for him. He just seems so happy now... he wasn't like that when he was with me. He was always angry." She exhaled a little sigh. "It was hard to send him away, but I knew he needed to get away from me. I was bringing him down."
"You weren't bringing him down," Luke said. "He just... he needed some space to get on the right track. He needed a new environment. And it wasn't always smooth sailing, but he's doing good now."
"Yeah, seems that way," Liz said with a nod. "Thank you, really."
"You're welcome."
"Hey, speaking of sailing, you ever finish Dad's boat?" Liz asked him.
Luke's eyes widened with surprise. "Wow... haven't even thought about that in years. No, it's just been sitting in Mrs. Thompson's garage."
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "What boat? You have a boat? Since when does my husband have a boat?"
"Well, I don't know that you could actually call it a boat," Luke replied. "It's a boat shape."
"Our dad started building this boat years ago, and Luke would work on it with him all the time," Liz explained. "It was their special thing."
"And then my dad got sick and it's been sitting in that garage untouched ever since," Luke finished. "Kept paying Mrs. Thompson to store it for me, thinking I'd work on it again someday, but never did anything with it."
"That's nice that you and your dad had that," Lorelai said.
"It could be a fun project to work on someday with this little guy," Liz said, nodding toward Josh. "You could carry on the tradition of father-son boat building."
Lorelai gasped softly. "Aw, that would be so cute."
"Yeah, maybe," Luke said. "Or maybe we'll scrap the boat and start our own project, we'll see."
When the baby started getting fussy, Liz handed him over to Lorelai. She stood up with him and bounced him a little to calm him down.
"I saw some signs in town for the winter carnival," Liz said. "Looks like I just missed it."
"Yeah, it was a few days ago," Lorelai replied. "It was great."
"If you like carnivals," Luke muttered.
"Which I do," Lorelai declared with a grin. "So, for me, it was great. Josh had fun, too."
"He slept in his stroller half the time, and when he was awake, was completely oblivious to what was going on around him," Luke said. "That's him having fun?"
"Well, he didn't cry or whine or complain," Lorelai said. "So yes, in baby terms, that was him having fun."
"I'm glad the town is still doing all those crazy events," Liz said. "Wouldn't be the same without 'em."
"No, it wouldn't," Lorelai agreed, and then gestured toward Luke. "Your brother and I differ in our opinions of town events, but he usually puts up with them for my sake."
Liz smiled. "He's a good guy, that brother of mine." She picked up her beer and took a long sip before she said, "So, speaking of guys... I met someone."
Luke couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Oh, geez."
"Stop, he's a good one, this guy," Liz insisted. "I'm telling you... he's nice, he treats me right, he's supportive. He helps me sell my jewelry out on the Renaissance Fair circuit. He's amazing. You'd like him."
"Uh huh," Luke said doubtfully. "I've never liked a guy you've dated before, so I can't imagine I'm gonna start now."
"Luke," Lorelai said, cocking her head at him.
"I'm telling you, I picked good this time," Liz told him. "I don't let guys treat me like crap anymore." She turned to Lorelai. "You know how you go through that phase where you just hate being single so much that you keep a guy around just to have one, even if they treat you real bad?"
"Um... uh..." Lorelai stammered, unsure of how to politely respond to something she could not relate to. "Well, I'm sure a lot of people do that."
"I grew out of that, finally, and realized I needed to put me first, and I needed a guy who would put me first, too," Liz proudly declared. "And I found him."
"Good for you," Lorelai said sincerely, and then looked at Luke. "Isn't that good, hon?"
"Yup, that's good," Luke agreed with a nod. "Very good. Happy for you."
"I'm gonna bring him back with me next month for my high school reunion," Liz said. "You'll get to meet him, and I promise you'll love him."
"I'm sure we will," Lorelai said.
"Can't wait," Luke muttered, and then stood up from the chair. "Dinner should be ready."
. . . . .
. . . . .
That evening, after they said goodbye to Liz, Luke and Lorelai headed into the kitchen to clean up from dinner. Lorelai cleared off the table and Luke started to load dishes into the dishwasher.
"So, what did you think?" Luke asked her. "You can be honest."
Lorelai smiled. "I think she's great, Luke. She's really nice, and she seems really happy with where her life is at right now."
"Yeah, she does," Luke agreed.
Lorelai grinned as she added, "And she adores you so much. The way she looks at you, it's like you're a superhero."
Luke smirked. "Not true."
"It's completely true," Lorelai said as she walked over to him. "It's really sweet, Luke. She looks up to you and respects you and trusts you a lot. I can tell she really wants your approval." Lorelai ran her hands up his arms and rested them on his shoulders. "You should maybe try to give it to her once in awhile."
Luke exhaled a sigh. "Was I being a jerk?"
Lorelai shook her head. "No, not a jerk, you're just protective. I don't think you trust her to make good decisions yet."
"A lot of history there," he reminded her.
"I know, I get it," Lorelai said with a nod. "I'm not gonna pretend to know what kinds of things went on in the past with her. But I would just... the next time we see her... be open to the fact that she might be changing for the better and might start making good choices. Just a little bit of positive reinforcement can really help someone who's trying to change, you know?"
Luke nodded. "I'll try."
"Thank you." Lorelai kissed him, and then pulled back from him. "Now, why is this the first time your wife is hearing about your boat?"
"Because I totally forgot about it," he replied honestly. "I haven't looked at it in years, not once. I used to stop by and pay Mrs. Thompson every month to store it, but then two or three years ago, I decided to just pay her for a couple years up front so I wouldn't have to worry about it. It really just slipped my mind that I even had it."
Lorelai nodded. "I get it." She eyed him curiously for a moment. "Any other secrets or modes of transportation hidden around town that you wanna tell me about?"
"Not that I can remember right now, but I'll let you know if I think of anything else."
Lorelai smiled. "Good, thank you." She gestured toward the living room. "I'm gonna go check on the boy."
"Okay."
Lorelai headed to the living room to make sure Josh was still asleep in his baby swing. Luke finished loading the dishwasher, then walked to the living room.
Lorelai had started to straighten up the room, and Luke watched her for a minute before he said, "Can I ask you something?"
"Yup." Lorelai picked up a onesie from the coffee table and sniffed it. "Is this clean or dirty?"
"Uh, I'm not sure," Luke replied.
Lorelai picked up a few toys and put them on the shelf of the changing table. "Oh, don't forget, we have his six month checkup on Tuesday," she told him, and then she frowned. "I think he's getting a couple of shots, the poor boy."
"Bummer." Luke shifted his feet and shoved his hands in his pockets. "So, listen... I need to ask you something kind of important."
Lorelai stopped cleaning and looked over at him. "Okay."
"Um... I've been thinking about what Liz asked earlier," Luke started, and then paused for a second before asking, "Do we want more kids?"
Lorelai was surprised by the serious question, and gestured to the baby swing as she jokingly replied, "Geez, I literally just gave you one. Can't a girl get a break?"
"Lorelai, I'm serious," he said. "We talked about having one, but we never really talked about what came afterwards. We should discuss that at some point, right?"
"Yes, we should," Lorelai replied with a nod. "At some point, we should discuss it."
"But I'm guessing that 'some point' is not right now?"
Lorelai shrugged a little. "I don't know. I think maybe we should wait and see where our heads are at when we're not in this weird zone of 'new baby euphoria meets sleep deprivation and exhaustion'," she told him. "Because depending on which side of the zone I'm in, the decision could vary from one day to the next. Hell, from one hour to the next."
"Okay." Luke paused for a moment, started to say something else, but stopped himself.
"Go on," she prompted him.
Luke walked over to her. "Well, if you had to answer right now, what would you say? It's not binding, I'm not gonna take this as your final answer... I'm just wondering."
"Right now, at this particular moment..." Lorelai glanced over at Josh in the baby swing and stared at him for a few seconds, and then looked back at Luke. "I would say yes."
Luke's eyes widened slightly. "Yes?"
"Yes. I could see our family getting a little bigger."
Luke smiled and he slowly nodded. "Okay... good to know."
"So, judging by your reaction, I guess you're on the same page?" she asked him, then quickly added, "I know the page could turn for either of us at any time... but right now, at this particular moment, on this particular Sunday in January, you feel the same way?"
"Yeah... I do," Luke confirmed.
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay... good to know." She gestured with both hands to the baby swing. "But let's focus our attention on this one for a little while before we discuss throwing another one into the mix, okay?"
"Yeah, of course," he agreed, and he rested his hands on her hips. "You'll let me know when you're ready to talk about it?"
Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed him softly, and then promised, "You'll be the first, and only one, to know."
. . . . .
. . . . .
To be continued...
.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! And thanks to those of you who left reviews or sent messages to confirm that there actually are people reading and I'm not alone on this LL journey. :) Happy Holidays!