Chapter 2: Sometimes, I wish I could hate you
Rory sat in her dorm staring at a book whose words now looked indistinguishable. After nearly four hours of studying, she couldn't read anymore unless she wanted her brain to completely liquefy. This is stupid, she though to herself, casting the book aside.
"Paris," she wined at her room mate who was sitting across from her, "I think I'm going to go back home and check on my mom."
"You do realize how severely warped you are right? You've got a midterm at 8 a.m. tomorrow and you're going to go home now when you could be studying. It's sad. Do you not have any standards anymore? God Gilmore, get it together." Paris said in her usual school-above-all-else tone, only slightly more crazed. She had been sitting at her desk for the past 20 minutes contemplating the perfect lead for her story about the latest religious scandal.
"Right. Just so long as you know that Doyle isn't expecting your article for another 24 hours and it'd be real good if you ate in that time seeing as you're starting to do this crazy twitch thing that's pretty creepy."
"Go, Rory. Your presence is distracting me."
"I am. I'll have my cell phone on, so if you need me, don't call." Rory stated as she walked into the lobby and out the front door.
When she finally got to the house, her mother's car was nowhere to be seen. She picked up her cell phone from the passenger seat and dialed Lorelai's cell.
"Hello?" came Lorelai's still devastated voice over the phone.
"Hey mom, where are you?" Rory questioned her mother.
"Oh, hey hun. I'm at the inn. I was just about to leave. Why? You a cop?"
"Oh yeah, you have the right to remain silent and all that stuff. I'm at the house, I wanted to come see you." Rory responded, sarcastically.
"Man, you suck at being a cop."
"Haha, funny. When will you be back or do you want me to meet you there?"
"I'll be home soon. I'm leaving now." Lorelai responded.
"Alright. I'll see you when you get here. I'll probably be in my room. My brain is in serious meltdown mode so I'm thinking a nap would be real nice right about now." Rory responded, knowing full well that a nap was the last thing that was going to happen.
"Okay, well I'll be there shortly. I'll see you later and I expect to see your badge and talk to your captain. Love ya hun, bye." Lorelai said as she hung up the phone.
"Right… Mom? You have issues. Love ya. Bye."
20 minutes. Coffee sounds really good and I'm sure mom would want some so long as she doesn't have to go to pick it up. I can be back in 20 minutes. Rory thought as she started her car back up and headed to Luke's. After all, why would Lorelai protest? She wanted coffee directly injected into her veins most days.
Rory pulled up in front of Luke's and after considering her options for a while, turned the car off, went inside and made her way to the counter. She was deterred by Kirk.
"Oh… Hey Kirk." she said as politely as she could muster.
"Rory, I want you to give my mom my deepest sympathies. If she wants I could arrange to have her a schedule drawn up in which she'd never have to see the idiot over there. I could also come by and make sure she's taken care of. I'm very good at that. Mother loves it when I take care of her. Of course she's usually sick and claiming that she's on her deathbed whenever I come over. But Lulu says I'm great at it too and -"
"Kirk! I'm sure you're great at taking care of people, and I'm positive that it would be an absolutely beautiful schedule, but I'm not just sure that she wants all of that trouble. She'll be okay." Rory attempted to convince him as she had been since the town heard about Luke and Lorelai's split.
"Okay, well just let her know I offered and that I'm on her side."
"Her side huh?" Rory said.
"Yep, of course." Kirk replied, almost offensively.
"Then explain that blue ribbon you have on under your coat. By the way, take that ridiculous ribbon off and throw it away. They're pointless and neither of them want the town playing favorites. Bye Kirk."
"Oh…sorry. Will do. See ya Rory." Kirk stammered as he walked briskly out the door. Rory walked up to the counter shaking her head and going through her purse to find her wallet.
"Hey Rory. How ya doin'?" Luke said sheepishly as he dried his hands on an old rag.
"I'm alright. You?" she questioned, already knowing the answer judging by his warn down look. His eyes were dark, clothes disheveled and he looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks. He was lonely and she could see it in his eyes. He missed Lorelai, the entire town already knew that. It had been nearly two months and she had yet to even show up in the diner.
"Getting there. Can I get you some coffee?" he offered.
"Of course. Two coffees to go please." she said, not thinking as clearly as she'd hoped she would.
"Oh. Yeah. Two…to go. Got it." Luke stumbled over the words, knowing that the two meant she was getting Lorelai some as well as herself, and to go meant that yet again, Lorelai would not be coming in.
"Luke, I know you miss her. She misses you too."
Luke just turned around and went to work on the coffee.
"It'll take a minute, I have to make another pot. If you want anything else, just let Caesar know. I've got to go….do…something." he said, trying to find an excuse, any excuse, to not be there just then and to avoid the topic that was still so close to his heart and still so tender.
"Alright. I guess I'll see you later then. Bye Luke."
She left some money on the counter. She had never paid for coffee before because Luke had never let her. After all, he was best friends with her mother, but now that things were so entirely different, she didn't know the rules anymore and was deathly afraid to ask.
She walked to her car, opened the door and got in. She drove back to the house, one coffee in one hand and the other setting comfortably in the cup holder next to her. She arrived at the house a few minutes later, got the coffee and went inside. As she walked in, she heard the answering machine going off. She heard Lorelai's voice over the machine saying "Hey, I'm probably screening my calls, avoiding someone I don't like, so leave one and if I don't call back, it's probably you. Have a nice day!" followed by a high pitched beep that she was so accustomed to.
"Hey Lorelai." Luke's voice now came out of the speakers "I guess I just wanted to check up on you…talk to you…see how you are. I uhm…yeah. I wanted to…nevermind. I lo…" he sighed "Bye."
Oh my God, she thought to herself, now knowing if she should leave the message for her mother to hear or delete it before she did hear it. She hears it and goes into a catatonic state, knowing that he called and reminding her that he's not hers anymore. Or she doesn't hear it because I delete it and she inevitably sees or talks to him where he will, of course, ask why she didn't return his message and she goes all Wang Chung on me. Gah!
Rory opted for dealing with a catatonic Lorelai. Catatonic she could comfort, intense anger directed at herself, not so much. She walked into the kitchen and set Lorelai's coffee down on the table and began sipping hers as she walked into her old room. She grabbed one of the books that she had left there for just such an occasion and began reading.