A few hours later, Lorelai and Luke made their way into Fenway Park. Luke found their seats easily, and it seemed like he knew Fenway Park like he knew Stars Hollow. He sat down and pulled out a notebook, peaking Lorelai's curiosity.
"What's that?" Lorelai asked.
"I'm scoring the game. See, you put each player's name in a box. Then there's another box to score how he got out or got a hit... It's just a more complicated way of keeping score," Luke explained, knowing that Lorelai wasn't going to understand a word he said.
Lorelai nodded, and took a look around. When she saw a scoreboard, she gave Luke a confused expression as she looked over his shoulder. "You have a scoreboard, and it's right there. See it, next to the Boston Globe sign?" Lorelai pointed out.
"Yeah, I see it, but this is how I concentrate on the game, it keeps me focused. I've done this at every game I've been to," Luke said, writing down the pitchers' names in the proper places.
Lorelai stopped questioning Luke's game attendance methods. She knew he wasn't going to change his routine just for one day. He probably learned how to score the game from his dad. Lorelai watched the grounds crew, hard at work to prepare the field for play, when her stomach began making noise.
"Hey, Luke, do you want a beer?" she asked. "I'm going to get some food. I need ice cream, and a Fenway Frank, and a pretzel, and of course, I'm getting peanuts and cracker jacks, because if there's a song about them, that must mean they're pretty amazing."
"I'll take some peanuts and a beer, just don't get lost," Luke said without looking up from his writing.
Lorelai gave Luke a mock salute and was on her way to find all of the food she needed. She decided that she'd resort to taking more than one trip, because she couldn't possibly carry the extra food she had added to her mental list on the way to the concession stands. She waited patiently in line, well, as patiently as possible with the scent of hot dogs floating through the air. She began debating what to choose, and couldn't decide until it was her turn to order.
She looked at the man behind the cash register and jumped. "KIRK?" she asked, shocked.
Kirk nodded. "Lorelai, what a surprise. I didn't think you'd be present at such an establishment. I was under the impression that you hated sports."
Lorelai sighed. "Yeah, I do. What the heck are you doing here?"
"Well, see, Lulu has a cousin who's high up in the ownership here. Apparently he's a business mogul of some sort. Anyway, mother allowed me to come up here for a few weeks, as long as I got a part time job to cover my expenses. Lulu's cousin hooked me up," Kirk explained.
"Ah. That's… nice. Get me two Fenway Franks, some fries, and two beers?" she asked.
"I'll have to see your ID," Kirk declared firmly.
Lorelai folded her hands and groaned. "Kirk, you know me. I'm definitely over 21. My daughter is just about that age. Her name's Rory, she goes to Yale... remember her?" Lorelai asked, frustrated.
"I know Rory, but I'm sorry, Lorelai, it's policy," Kirk insisted, adamant that Lorelai show him her ID.
She rolled her eyes and sighed as she fished through her wallet for her Driver's License. "Just don't show anyone the picture," she insisted, handing it to Kirk
"Thank you. That will be twenty-six dollars," Kirk said, returning the license and trying to hold back from laughing.
"Twenty-six bucks? That's insane! Who are we paying with this?" Lorelai counted out the bills and handed Kirk the cash.
"Enjoy the game." Kirk placed the beers on a tray and handed them to Lorelai. "Don't spill," he cautioned.
Lorelai walked from one concession stand to another, frustrated that it wasn't all in one place. She reorganized her trays, attempting to comprehend what just happened. It was supposed to be a two day trip without seeing anyone from Stars Hollow except Luke. Now that record was broken. She gracefully maneuvered through the crowd, trying desperately not to spill anything. When she successfully made it back, the players were taking the field.
"Here's your beer, and your peanuts," Lorelai said. "And you'll never guess who I had to go through to get that for you."
"I have no idea," Luke replied.
"Kirk."
"Jeez, that guy really can't live his own life without getting into mine, can he?" Luke said, irritated.
"All right, we'll talk about it later, focus on the game, mister! S-wing, batter, batter, batter, s-wing, batter!" Lorelai shouted.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Nobody's up to bat yet," he pointed out.
Lorelai giggled. "Oh, right," she said, taking a huge bite of her Fenway Frank. "Oh, wow, Rory would love one of these. They are so… yummy, and…"
"Come on, Arroyo! Let's set them down, one-two-three, don't fall behind 'em in the first inning!" Luke coached, writing the batter's name in the box.
Lorelai swallowed her hot dog. "Ah, Luke? I don't think he can hear you, you'll have to be a little louder than that. And besides, there are thirty thousand other people shouting the same thing you're practically mumbling."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Lorelai, you can't sit silently at a baseball game. You have to voice some sort of encouragement to the team, or clap, or something."
"Okay. If you say so, I'll do it too. I gotcha." Lorelai looked around the park, trying to soak it all in. "Who's up?" she asked. "I want to cheer for them."
"Derek Jeter," Luke answered, marking numbers in his book.
"He any good?"
Luke sighed. "Here you go, here's a program. You can keep track of who's up and who's not that way. Say whatever you want to Jeter, as long as it's not something good."
"Oh, he's a Yankee. I forgot. Is he the one I hear everyone calling "A-rod?" Lorelai asked.
"No, that's Alex Rodriguez. Hence A-Rod. He'll come up later in the game, you'll know who he is," Luke insisted.
Lorelai ate her popcorn, watching Luke's reaction to every play. Each one was predictable, but extremely entertaining. If it was a strikeout, Luke would pump his fist a little, and mark the letter "K" in his book. If someone from the Red Sox got a hit, he'd say "Drive him in!" to whoever was up next. After a few times through the lineup, she decided it was her turn to cheer. She ensured she would be cheering to the right person, and then took a deep breath.
"Come on, Varitek! If you can catch as good as you look, we'll be in good shape," Lorelai shouted.
Luke turned to Lorelai. "You think Jason Varitek is good looking?"
Lorelai shrugged, and came up with an answer she knew would annoy Luke. "Not as good looking as Johnny Damon…" she started in a sing-songy voice.
Luke put his pencil down. "Lorelai, seriously. Johnny Damon looks like a caveman, it's actually rather disgusting if you ask me."
"Well, I guess you really didn't want to hear that he looked a little bit like you, except he's probably not as nice as you are, and I thought that the rugged look was actually quite attractive," Lorelai said, pouting as she turned to watch the game.
Luke looked at Lorelai, confused, and went back to his scoring. "That was the most random thing I've ever heard, and he doesn't look a thing like me. There's A-rod," Luke said, pointing out the man the entire crowd began to jeer at.
"You can't let it go, can you? You're surprised I gave you a compliment, and you were caught off guard!" she giggled.
"I believe we changed the subject to Alex Rodriguez. Watch the game," Luke said.
Lorelai sighed in satisfaction as she watched the events on the field. "Wow, he totally karate kicks his leg, doesn't he?" she asked, referring to Bronson Arroyo. "That's a high kick… Miss Patty would have recruited him a long time ago for his flexibility and balance."
When Luke didn't answer her, Lorelai turned to the field to see what all the commotion was about. Jason Varitek, the catcher she had just cheered for, had Alex Rodriguez in a headlock, and the benches were clearing. She watched as Luke and the other Red Sox fans shouted and cheered.
"Hit him, Jason!" Lorelai shouted. "Yeah, that's it, throw him down, you got him now! I like this game," she said to Luke.
Luke turned to her as the scuffle died down. "That's a rare occurrence... well, it's not rare that there's a rivalry and some drama going on at a Sox-Yankees game... It's not every day that you get to see a bench clearing brawl between the Red Sox and the Yankees in person, especially a brawl when Jason Varitek shoves his mitt in A-Rod's face. Jason's usually a really good sport."
Lorelai smiled. "So I was here for history, huh? Taylor's going to be so jealous! I'm going to add to the historical nature of this day, and celebrate with cotton candy. More beer?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll take another," Luke said, adjusting his scoring sheet to fit the new players entering the game in place of those ejected from the brawl.
Lorelai wandered off to get cotton candy, thinking about the exchange she had with Luke over Johnny Damon. She didn't realize how open she was about her secret taste in men. She shook it off, though, embarrassing as it was, hoping that Luke didn't think anything of it. She was beginning to believe that Rory would be five dollars richer at the end of the vacation if she didn't keep her mouth shut.