Lorelai sprinted into her room, her breaths heavy and her cheeks rosy. She pulled her sweat-soaked shirt off and undid the laces on her shoes. She pushed them off her feet, and bent down to pull her socks off, hopping around on one foot. She sighed and fell back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She smiled and took a deep breath, breathing in the clean air of her room. For the first time, she actually smelled that Vanilla Glade air freshener she'd paid $3.79 for. She smiled, eyes closed. It was as if all of a sudden, she could hear and feel and taste and touch colors swirling all around her. It was like she was stuck inside of a rainbow, and it was swirling all around her. She was refreshed. She'd just run for eight miles, but she was refreshed. The colors, the fragrances, they'd all overtaken her. She ran her hands over the soft purple comforter, sighing softly. She let her freshly manicured feet run over the comforters, her toes curling up and sighs escaping her body.
Lorelai grinned and sat up in bed, pulling her knees to her chest. She let out a loud squeal and jumped up and down on the bed, grinning and letting her happiness overtake her. When she'd let out the longest squeal of her life and then picked up her phone and dialed faster, unable to catch her breath as giggles and squeals threatened to engulf her like tsunami waves.
"Hello?" Laura asked. Lorelai giggled in response. "Lorelai?" Lorelai squealed. "Lorelai, what's going on?"
Lorelai grinned into the phone. "You. Lydia." Lorelai giggled more. "Come now." She squealed and bounced on the bed again, and then let out a small, but happy sigh. She hung up the phone, climbed off the bed, stripped off her clothes and climbed in the shower. She looked up at the shampoos and conditioners that were stacked inside of her shower. Herbal Essences. She laughed to herself. I don't need the orgasm shampoo. I'm so happy I make orgasms look bad. Lorelai grinned at the thought and let the water flow over her body. She tilted her head upward and drank the water, pretending she was standing under a waterfall. She was still in the shower when she heard the door open downstairs. She grinned and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a bright-patterned towel around her waist. It was one of those extra-large towels that wrapped around you from shoulders to knees that made you feel like the best thing on earth was wrapping up in a towel after you'd taken a shower. She grinned and smelled the edge of the towel. It smelled like flowers. She smiled and tucked the top of the towel under itself, securing it around herself. Just as she got it finished, Lydia and Laura burst into the room. Lorelai grinned and jumped in place, and then ran over to her bed and flopped herself on it, a loud squeal escaping her lips.
"Lorelai, what are you on?" Lydia asked, laughing. She laid down on the bed, resting her head on Lorelai's stomach. Laura followed suit, resting her head in the opposite direction of Lydia's.
"Okay, are you guys ready for this?" Lorelai asked, grinning.
"YES!" They said in unison.
"I'm getting married!" Lorelai said in a sing-song voice.
Lydia and Laura squealed. "Lorelai!" They grinned and flipped over to look at her face. The three of them spent fifteen minutes just staring at each other, grinning.
Fifteen minutes later, Lorelai broke the silence. "Let's go try on dresses!" Lydia and Laura grinned and jumped out of bed. Lorelai sprinted down the stairs, opened the door, took a step outside and then ran back inside. "I'm in a towel!" she shrieked up the stairs. Lydia and Laura laughed and threw her clothes. Ten minutes later, they were on their way.
Lorelai spun in the white dress, staring at herself in the mirror. The white cloth hung around her body perfectly. She placed her hands on her stomach and smiled. She ran them up the bodice of her dress, feeling the beads adorning it. She stopped twirling and looked at herself in the mirror. She gasped at herself and smiled. Everything was perfect. The small straps holding the dress up. The way it dipped low in her back. Where it sat on her hips. How it looked with her eyes. She reached over to the shelf and pulled a tiara off and slipped it on her head. She smiled at herself.
"Oh my gosh," Laura gasped, coming up to stand next to Lorelai in front of the mirrors.
"You look gorgeous," Lydia said, resting her head on Lorelai's right shoulder. The girls smiled at themselves in the mirror. Lydia, in a beautiful, pale yellow dress. Laura, in a matching pink one. And Lorelai, in the middle. In the white dress. She was no longer 'always the bridesmaid, never the bride'. Now, she was the bride. She smiled at herself in the mirror. This was her life. This was where she'd ended up. Standing in front of a mirror in the most beautiful dress in the world with her best friends beside her, looking forward to a beautiful wedding with a beautiful man who would give her a beautiful life.
Lorelai sank into the big chair in her living room, a copy of her favorite book and a glass of tea next to her. She smiled as she looked over at the book. She'd spent all day with her girls, the famous L's, the ones she'd entrust everything in the world to. For right now, they were the only ones who knew about her and Luke. There were five people that knew that her life was going to change drastically. The bride, the groom, a five-year-old, and the Ls. Lorelai had relished in that fact all day, but now she wanted to tell her mother. She wanted her father to know. She wanted her family to know.
Lorelai smiled and got out of the chair. She slipped her flip flops on, grabbed her keys, and drove the forty-five miles to Hartford. She knocked on the dark mahogany doors and waited for the maid to answer. It was 10:30. Her parents would just be going to bed, but Lorelai wouldn't let that stop her. Her parents deserved to know; she wanted them to know. When the maid opened the door, Lorelai smiled at her, said a quick hello, and ran upstairs to her parents' bedroom. She knocked on the door sharply, three times. "Mom? Dad?"
"Lorelai?" She heard her father's voice from the other side of the door. Moments later her father opened the door, dressed in a robe and slippers. He opened the door and Lorelai jumped into his arms, smiling and tears running down her cheeks. Her mother got out of bed and made her way toward the two, wrapping her arms around them.
"Lorelai, what's this about?" She asked, wiping Lorelai's tears away like she'd done so many years before.
Lorelai smiled and held up her hand, showing off her engagement ring. "Luke." She grinned as her parents hugged her tighter, enveloping her with their arms. "It was so cute, Mom… He had Christina wear this shirt that said Luke Loves Lorelai on it, and she had the ring like it was a secret and…" Lorelai trailed off with a squeal. Her parents laughed.
"He's a good man, that Luke," her father said.
"You've never met him," Lorelai laughed.
"I have," Richard replied, "He came to me a few weeks ago. Wanted to tell me how he felt about you."
"Really?" Lorelai asked.
"Really. Permission granted." Richard smiled and patted Lorelai's head.
"Thank you Daddy," Lorelai smiled. Richard nodded and crawled back in bed. Emily took her daughter's hand, kissed her forehead, and led her downstairs to the kitchen. "Chocolate chip cookies, milk, and girl talk," she smiled.
Lorelai nodded. "That sounds great."