Chapter Five: Luke Danes Shops?
It was October, the leaves had changed there was a crispness in the air. Luke and Lorelai had made it through the summer together including a two week sailing adventure with April towards the end of it. Lorelai loved April; she reminded her a lot of Rory if Rory had been more into science than literature. Either way she was smart and funny and Lorelai was glad that Luke was finally letting her get to know her more. There were a few days that Lorelai played possum and told Luke and April to go on without her, she didn't want to take away all of their time together, she just wanted to be part of it sometimes. And it was on their last night there, when Luke peaked in on the two of them after he cleaned up the dinner mess that he knew, it was time to marry Lorelai.
April and Lorelai were sitting giggling listening to the radio and flipping through magazines. He just stopped and watched them from where he was, hoping they wouldn't sense him there and ruin their moment.
"Hey Lorelai, do you know how to French braid?" April asked.
"As a matter of fact, I do grab a couple bands out of my bag there front left pocket, I'll fix you up if you'd like." Lorelai said with a smile.
April quickly got into the bag and scurried back to Lorelai.
"Park it." Lorelai said patting the place in front of her on the couch.
"Did you braid Rorys hair a lot?" April asked.
"Not really, she was more of a let it flow kind of girl." Lorelai answered with a pause to think of Rory for a moment.
"Not me, with these frizzy curls I will do just about anything to not have to deal with it." April flipped the page in her magazine.
"Oh they're beautiful. You know my hair is naturally curly too." For once Lorelai felt like she and April were just having a conversation, not an audition. She had worked so hard for the last two weeks to show Luke that is was ok, to have them together and this just seemed so natural.
"Really? I haven't ever seen it that way." April said snapping Lorelai back to reality.
"Maybe I should start to let it go wild again huh?" Lorelai said tugging Aprils head gently back to she was looking at her and made a face.
"Maybe." April laughed.
Something came over Luke in that moment. He knew that everything was as it should be and he could go on with a wedding with her, and a life with her no more side roads no more surprises.
That was almost two months ago. Luke still carried that ring around in the pocket of his jeans every day so she wouldn't accidentally find it. She stole his thunder last time, he just wanted to make sure that everything was perfect this time.
Lorelai breezed through the door of the diner and made a b-line for the coffee, she didn't even bother stopping at Luke anymore. As part of their new found complete honesty rule, she had revealed that she felt bad when Luke had to take time away from his paying customers just to bring her more coffee, so he agreed that if he was otherwise engaged with a patron she could help herself to whatever she needed behind the counter rant free. As Lorelai often did, she was totally taking advantage of the agreement.
"Hey hon." She said kissing Luke on the cheek and picking up the pot.
"Hey hows your day?" Luke said smiling.
"Oh you know same ol' same ol' forest animals helped me with my chores seven short guys followed me home…"
"I'm not positive why I ever think I will ever get a serious answer from you." Luke said clearing a plate.
"Me either." Lorelai said grabbing a donut from under its glass container.
"Hey hey hey , what are you doing I'm taking you to dinner in less than an hour."
"I know you are, you're taking me there someplace sneaky and suspicious and not telling me a thing. So I don't know if I will like the food, or how long it takes to get there, and I have to go home and change and get ready all things that require energy, energy that requires food to replenish and I have not eaten since breakfast so, if I don't eat this donut, we might not ever make it to diner because I will collapse from malnourishment."
"Eat your donut." Luke said once again defeated.
"Thank you." Lorelai said with a quick peck before heading to the door.
"I'm picking you up in less than an hour, please I'm begging you, be ready, completely ready, I don't want to pick your shoes, or which skirt. You completely dressed at your house in forty-five minutes." Luke said.
"Why Luke its been oh so long since you wanted me completely dressed whatever will I do?" Lorelai said as she finally left the diner leaving Luke red faced and nervous.
"Surprise dinner huh?" Miss Patty chimed in from her meal.
"Yeah, you know Lorelais been really busy at the Inn, things are finally starting to settle down a little, you know she deserves it." Luke said trying not to reveal too much.
"That's nice, you sure it doesn't have anything to do with that ring you're hiding in your pocket?"
Luke froze for a second then sat down at the table with patty and half whispered half yelled as he leaned in to her.
"How did could you possibly know I have a ring in my pocket?" Luke asked.
"Because honey, these eyes have seen it all. You keep checking your pocket every ten seconds like you've already lost something, and you're not that worried about a few quarters I assume."
"Patty, you've got to promise me, you won't say anything until Lorelai herself tells you it happened. Please Patty." Luke pleaded.
"Of course not honey." Patty said with a smile.
"Thank you." Luke said jumping from his seat, he was so excited he kissed Patty on her cheek.
"Keep that up and I'll marry you." Patty teased.
Luke didn't have time to go one more round with Patty so he just ran up stairs to get ready. As he buttoned the last button on his new shirt, he tired to run through what he planned to say again. But all he could think about was how much she was going to tease him for buying a new shirt and if the shirt wasn't cause for teasing the new pair of jeans he put on was. He grabbed his jacket and keys and went back down into the diner.
"Looking good there sugar." Babette called as he opened the front door.
"Ladies." He said giving both Patti and Babette a wink as he left. He knew that Patty had certainly told Babette, but hoped that the two would keep it under wraps at least until they were able to tell people themselves.
To his surprise Lorelai was standing on the front porch waiting for him when he pulled in the drive. He didn't know how she did it but somehow she never stopped taking his breath away. Her hair was down, and she let the curl come through he always liked it when it was wild like that. Her dress was a beautiful shade of blue that made her eyes pop and sparkle. Luke almost without thinking touched the spot in his pocket where the ring was one more time before he approached her.
"Wow. You look…" Luke started, walking up to her kissing her first on the cheek then stepping back to look at her one more time. "Amazing."
"You're not so shabby yourself. New shirt…and pants, who knew Luke Danes shopped." Lorelai said unable to control her smile, or the thought in her head that tonight must be special if Luke shopped.
"I made it many years before you started shopping for me, and never opened the diner naked." Luke joked.
"Oh maybe you should have ya know to pick up business, break up the monotony of clothed restaurateurs everywhere."
"Maybe next week." He said smiling. "Shall we?" He asked leading the way to his truck.
Lorelai could tell something was up, she knew Luke well enough to know when something was up and when they pulled up at Sniffy's Tavern she thought she knew what and butterflies started in the pit of her stomach.
"After you." Luke said opening the door for Lorelai.
They walked in and suddenly she realized the place was empty, not a soul in sight. Come to think of it there were no cars in the parking lot to speak of but she had been to preoccupied to notice before.
The lights were low and two candles flickered in the corner booth that they shared on their first date. It seemed like a lifetime had past since then, being back there brought back all of those feelings that she felt that first night, and she had a feeling she knew why they were there.
"Wow Luke what did you do buy the place out?" Lorelai asked as she took her seat.
"What can I say I know the owners." He had no sooner spoken those words than Mazzy and Buddy appeared at the table with two glasses of wine and their first course.
"Hi Mazzy, Buddy, how are you?" Lorelai asked and smiled.
"We're just fine sweetheart, you two enjoy your meal." Mazzy said.
Buddy followed his wife back to the kitchen and gave Luke a thumbs up and a wink as he slipped back through the door.
"You think we'll ever be like those two?" Lorelai asked.
"I hope not. Mazzy is nuttier than a squirrel and Buddy lives in a constant state of beer buzzed that even the drunkest of the drunks marvels at." Luke said taking a sip.
"I mean old together, happy, even if that means you drink and I loose my mind." Lorelai persisted.
"Definitely." He said kissing Lorelai. "While its hot." He said picking up his fork.
"Luke, this is all too much, is there a special occasion I'm forgetting here, an anniversary I'm not aware of? I know I haven't given you any horoscopes lately." Lorelai rambled.
"You've been busy lately, I thought you could use a nice night, you're missing Rory I know that, I just thought it would be nice to get out, go someplace special have a nice meal, relax you know."
"Oh Luke that's sweet, I have been kind of stressed with Rory being gone and all the weddings being booked at the Inn. Thank you." She said kissing his cheek, she let her hand glide down his cheek while she studied the man in front of her. She really did love him.
By the end of desert Luke had Lorelai completely convinced that this really was nothing more than a nice meal out in private, no big conspiracy behind it. Luke's nerves were building as they quickly finished their desert he knew it was time to do what he came to do.
He looked around the empty room and thought of all the things he wanted to say to her, but couldn't get his mind to slow down enough to pick out one thought from the other. He took Lorelais hands in his and smiled. She smiled back at him and he began to speak.
"Lorelai, there are a lot of things in my life, that I wish I did, and things I wish I had never done. I wish I would have spoken up sooner when I knew you were supposed to be with me cause I knew it, I knew it from the day you gave me that damn horoscope it was you. And I wish I had never let you go before, I wish I had the sense God gave a gnat sometimes when it comes to knowing what to say, and when to say it. And one of the things that I wish I had done, but never really got a chance to was ask you…" He said reaching in his pocket and sliding out of the booth onto one knee. "Is if there was any way you Lorelai Gilmore might want to marry a guy like me, who might not always know what to say or when, but is willing to spend his life learning with you."
In all of Lorelais thirty-eight years she had never been speechless and it worried Luke a little that she wasn't answering, she was just staring at him, and the ring, and back at him. For a person who had been engaged three times, she had never been proposed to live in person, with someone on one knee making her a promise of his life for her.
Lorelai just nodded her head and began to sob as Luke pulled her out of the booth to kiss her. He picked her up and squeezed her so tightly Lorelai worried for a moment she might not get another breath. As he returned her feet to the ground he took her left hand in his and slid the ring on her finger.
"Oh my god Luke, its amazing." She said admiring the ring on her finger.
"Lizzy designed it, I helped a little and one of her friends a goldsmith made it, I've had it for two months, terrified that you'd find it and then Miss Patty found out, and Babette so they might not be surprised in fact there might not be a soul in Connecticut that didn't know about it other than maybe you, and I love you and I am glad you love it, and I hope you mean that cause if you don't we can get you another I just want you to be happy and you're going to be wearing it every day so I don't want you to have to look at something you don't even like ya know, cause that would be bad, and I wouldn't want you to have to do something like that…" Luke was rambling; there was nothing sexier in this world to Lorelai than a frazzled and rambling Luke.
Lorelai kissed him again and somewhere in the time it took to kiss him again something inside her snapped.
"When." She said suddenly ripping them both out of the moment.
"What?" Luke said confused.
"When, when are we getting married, when is it happening, I don't want to drag this on too long. I don't want there to be anything that stops us or gets in the way or keeps me from finally getting to marry you."
"Then we do it as soon as possible." Luke said serious as he could.
"Rory!" Lorelai shouted.
Luke looked around the room, the way she just yelled he would have bet she was in the room now.
"What? What about Rory, you want to call her, here use my phone." Luke said fumbling for his cell phone.
"No, we can't get married without Rory so we can't do it tomorrow or anything. And April, we have to wait until April can be here, you want your daughter at our wedding right? We should have both of our kids there, like the Brady Bunch, everyone should be together ya know."
"Yes, April should be there too." Luke said laughing out loud now.
"Why are you laughing we have a lot to do, a lot of people to coordinate." Lorelai said panicking.
"You, just you, I promise you, were going to have our wedding but we don't have to plan it all tonight."
"There is precedence here, we've been engaged before, both of us have had marriages for less than a year, both of us have made mistakes, and I just don't want anymore mistakes with us, I want to get married, I want it to happen, and I want it to stick."
"Consider yourself stuck." Luke said holding her tightly.
Lorelai finally calmed down and breathed. She wasn't positive where Rory was, but she had to call her, no matter what time it was where ever she was.
Rory heard her cell phone rattling in her bag, she looked around but tried not to move she didn't want to wake Collier who was sleeping beside her in his bunk. Rory and Collier had graduated to a better bus than they started with and the field had thinned immensely what started out a bus of twenty thinned to about seven full time and up to twelve now and then and the whole lot of reporters were moved from a charter bus to more of a conventional tour bus, with twelve bunks in the back and a living space with seats in the front. In addition to moving on up in the tour bus world Rory and Collier were also moving on up in the romance world. Rory held her ground as long as she could but eventually she had to weigh the consequences of what would happen if things didn't work with Collier against what would happen if they did and decided she was ready to take that risk. She reached for the bag at her feet and Collier rolled over giving her a clear shot at her phone.
"Hello." She whispered it was midnight in Alabama and most of the bus was passed out already.
"Rory, I have big news, Luke proposed." Lorelai squealed on the phone.
"Oh my god mom that's great!" Rory couldn't contain her volume.
"What, who the hell, Rory what are you yelling about go back to sleep darlin'." Collier said not realizing Rory was on the phone with her mother.
"Who was that?" Lorelai asked distracted by the manly southern voice that just asked her daughter back to bed. "Are you sleeping with Collier now? I thought you weren't going to get involved with him, when did this happen?"
"Collier? Who the hell is Collier?" Luke asked. Lorelai waved him off, trying to figure out what was going on .
Rory knew she was caught.
"About a month or so ago, I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure it was going to stick and well I guess it has." Rory said smacking Collier; he knew he was in big trouble once she got of the phone for letting the cat out of the bag.
"Well I'll say."
"There is plenty of time to talk about that later, I want to know what happened how'd he propose where are you what happened come on come on fill me in." Rory begged.
Lorelai put a pin in the issue, it didn't matter much now, but she was not about to let Rory get off without spilling her guts. However nothing was going to come between her and the happiest news the Gilmore girls had, had in a long, long time.