Chapter 29 – At Last
YAY! I'm back! So, yes, another chapter. Again, I apologize for the LONG wait, but you guys should expect that by now ;)
Thanks for all my AMAZING reviews. I love you all!!
I hope you guys like this!
Enjoy!
Luke and Lorelai were not left alone for too long because Rory soon ran up to them and tightly hugged her mother and then Luke. Lorelai and Rory did their scream and jump up and down thing that they always did when something amazing happened, and Luke just stood there and laughed.
"I can't believe this. You're married." Rory said, holding her mothers hands in hers.
"I know me either." Lorelai said, looking at Luke.
"Rory!" Sookie called. "Can you come over and help me, honey?"
"I'll be right there!" Rory called back. "I'll see you to later!"
And with that, she ran off to help Sookie get ready for all the guests.
Lorelai turned around, wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head on his chest. He kissed her on the top of her head and pulled her closer to him. Once again, they were not left alone for long.
"Emily, Richard." Luke said.
Lorelai quickly let go of Luke and turned around. "Hey mom, dad." She greeted.
"It was a lovely ceremony. You two did a fine job." Emily said.
Her parents just kept amazing her. Were they really finally all for this? Did they finally understand?
"Thanks mom. We had a lot of help from people in the town too. We never would have been able to do it all by ourselves."
"Well, it was very nice."
"But not as good as the one you had imagined, right?" Lorelai baited.
"It wasn't what I pictured, but it was beautiful."
"Wow, well, thanks mom."
"Well, I guess we'll go find our seats."
"Ok, we'll see you guys later."
"Luke, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute." Richard said.
"Uh, sure." Luke said as he gave Lorelai a puzzled look.
"I'll meet you at the table, Richard." Emily said, making her way to the reception area.
Lorelai gave Luke a supportive look and went to go find Rory and Sookie.
"Let's go for a little walk." Richard said, leading the way.
Luke followed him wondering what this could be about. This couldn't be a 'you're not good enough for my only daughter' speech, could it? He could never win with the Gilmore's.
"Luke, I know you know very well of my relationship with my daughter." Richard started.
"Yes I am." Luke said.
"We don't seen eye-to-eye most of the time, we just don't agree much. But, I want you to know you are getting the best girl in the world. You couldn't get anyone better than her."
"Oh, I know that." Luke said confidently.
"I was a bit skeptical of you at first, but I have seen how much you really care for my daughter. I know you'll take good care of her."
"I will."
"She's quite a handful, my daughter, she's very emotional, very passionate, very stubborn."
Luke laughed to himself, thinking of all the times Lorelai had fit those qualities just mentioned. Particularly the stubbornness.
"But I suppose you know this. You probably know her better than we do."
"Oh, well, I don't think…"
"No, no, it's alright. You should know her well." He paused. "The reason I wanted to pull you aside here is because I just wanted you to know how lucky you are to be getting my daughter as a wife. And that I know you will make her happy."
Luke smiled. "I just want you to know that I love your daughter more than anything in the world. I would do anything for her."
"I know that."
"It means a great deal to me that you accept me into your family."
"I know I won't regret it." Richard said. "Well, let's go join the party."
"Sounds good."
The two men walked together over to the reception where they parted ways to go sit with the their wives.
It felt so weird for Luke to call Lorelai his wife. But it was a good weird. An amazing weird. It was something he had been looking forward to since they had gotten engaged. She was finally his, and only his. He couldn't be happier.
"Hey." He said, sitting next to her.
"Hey, how'd that go?" Lorelai said, worried.
"Actually, it went great."
"What? No. Shut up!"
"We had a nice talk."
"My parents are really freaking me out today. I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone."
"Or Outer Limits."
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Same show but never referenced. I know."
He kissed her softly. "I love you."
"I love you too, ya freak."
Luke laughed softly and looked out at everyone. He couldn't believe the whole town was here. Even Taylor, who he hated more than anything, was there. Lorelai had said it would be mean if they didn't invite him. He didn't care, he didn't want Taylor there. And yet, like most of the time, he caved. He could never say no to her.
"I kinda feel bad seating my parents next to Kirk now." Lorelai said.
"No you don't."
Lorelai smiled. "You're right. I don't."
A few minutes later everyone had found their seats and the food started coming. As usual, Sookie was freaking out about how the servers had plated the food, was there enough parsley on the dishes, was the cake ready?
Despite Sookie's mild freak-outs, the food was absolutely amazing. Sookie always knew what food to make for what occasion. It was part of what made her a great chef. The part that Lorelai loved the most was that Luke was drinking wine. That's right. Wine. He hated wine, probably more than he hated champagne, and that was saying a lot.
Then it was time for the toasts. Lorelai had been nervous for this part because she knew she was going to cry. She had been doing so well so far, but she knew this was going to do it.
"Excuse me everyone." Sookie said. "I would like to say a few words about my best friend."
She looked over at Lorelai and beamed. "Lorelai and I have been friends for many years. She always understood my crazy cooking habits and let me work the way I wanted too. She helped me through my first date with Jackson and has always been there for me no matter what." She paused, wiping her eyes. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry, but Lorelai, sweetie, I love you so much. You're such an amazing person and now you have the perfect guy for you. I'm just so damn happy for you two."
Lorelai smiled at her best friend as she wiped the tears running down her face. She grabbed Luke's hand and squeezed it slightly. He squeezed it back as a sign of support.
"To Lorelai and Luke!" Sookie said, raising her glass.
"To Lorelai and Luke!" The crowd repeated.
Everyone took a drink and Sookie sat down. Rory looked across the table at her mother. Now it was her turn and she couldn't have been more nervous.
"Hey everyone." Rory said. "So, I'm really good at giving speeches like this. I mean, ask me to talk about the Roman Empire or Shakespeare and I would be good, but this, I'm not so good at." She looked at her mother and smiled. "Anyway…uh..I remember the first day I met Luke. My mom was chasing this guy around asking for coffee and all I wanted was some chocolate chip pancakes. I asked my mom why the coffee was so important and she told me I would understand when I was older, and boy was she right." She paused. "So, I told this tall scary man that I wanted some chocolate chip pancakes and when he came back, he was holding this plate and he placed it in front of me. I had never seen anything like it. The pancakes were oozing with chocolate and there was a mountain of whipped cream on top of them. I thought I was in heaven. I think I ate them in like two minutes." She laughed softly to herself. "Luke has always been there for me and my mom and I guess I always kind of knew there was something there and me and the rest of the town, were just waiting for them both to realize it. I love you guys so much. I'm so happy you finally realized you are absolutely perfect for each other." Rory picked up her glass. "To my mom and my new dad!"
"To her mom and new dad!" The crowd repeated.
By this point, tears were quickly falling down her cheeks. She struggled to wipe them away, but it was messing up her make up so she just let them fall. Rory walked over to her mom and gave her a huge hug and then did the same to Luke.
After a brief pause, everyone looked at Lorelai and Luke expectantly. Lorelai looked at her husband, who looked clueless, so she decided to take this one.
"I think it's time for cake!" Lorelai said.
Everyone cheered and Lorelai grabbed Luke's arm and dragged him over to the cake.
"Please say we aren't going to do that whole 'let's smash cake in each other's face' thing." Luke said hopefully.
"I don't know. I guess you'll just have to be surprised." Lorelai said mysteriously.
"Lorelai."
Lorelai grabbed the giant silver spatula and cut a tiny piece and placed it in her hand. The crowd immediately began cheering, already anticipating what was going to happen. She smiled at him and smashed the piece of cake in his face.
The crowd cheered again along with a few whistles from Babette. She kissed him on his cake covered lips and laughed at the sight of him. Not only did Luke hate cake, but now he had it all over his face.
Luke cut a small piece of cake and placed it in his hand. She raised her eyebrows and whispered, "Go for it."
He smashed the cake onto her face, slightly more gentle than she had done to him. She started laughing and kissed him again. The crowd cheered once again as the two newlyweds with cake covered faces, kissed each other.
"This cake tastes amazing! Sookie, I love you!" Lorelai shouted to her friend. "I think it tastes better when you eat it this way, too."
Everyone laughed and a few servers came out holding towels for the happy couple. As soon as they had wiped off their faces, they cut themselves a real piece of cake and sat back down, the servers quickly cut and served the cake to the guests. They worked like a well-oiled machine.
Rory looked down the table at her mom and Luke. They had never looked happier. They were talking and laughing, well Lorelai was laughing. Luke was probably still upset about getting cake plastered to his face. Rory knew that Luke wasn't really upset about it. But he was just as stubborn as the both of them and he would never get rid of his 'angry diner guy' attitude. The master of the monosyllable had come a long way. No one ever thought he was capable of expressing his feelings. No one thought he would ever tell Lorelai how he felt. But he did, and the result was absolutely amazing.
After most everyone was done eating, it was time for Luke's favorite part, the dancing. Actually, he didn't mind that much because he was dancing with Lorelai. Anyone else and he would have hated it.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Luke Danes." Kirk announced.
Everyone cheered as Luke and Lorelai made there way out to the dance floor.
"Are you ready?" Lorelai whispered.
"Definitely." He said confidently.
At last, my love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
As they began to dance, Lorelai felt like they were the only two people in the world. She rested her head on his shoulder and they peacefully swayed to the music. It wasn't until she heard Kirk's voice again that she realized where they were.
"Luke and Lorelai would like to invite everyone to join them on the dance floor." Kirk said.
At last the skies above are blue
And my heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you
Several couples joined Luke and Lorelai on the dance floor, Sookie and Jackson, Rory and Dean, Babette and Maurey, and Miss Patty and some random inn employee.
Emily and Richard remained sitting at their table. Emily kept her eyes locked on her daughter. She couldn't believe her daughter was actually married. And despite all the fights they had had about her choice of men, she couldn't be happier for her daughter. They really were perfect for each other.
"Would you like to dance?" Richard asked, stirring Emily from her thoughts.
"Oh, well, yes. Yes I would." Emily said, taking her husbands hand.
"She looks happy, doesn't she?" Emily asked after they had reached the dance floor.
"Who? Lorelai?" Richard asked.
Emily nodded.
"Yes. I would say she does."
"I always knew she liked him."
Richard rolled his eyes. He had heard this a thousand times. "Yes Emily. I know."
"I knew they had feelings for each other the first time I saw them together."
"You also ridiculed her for having feelings for him." Richard pointed out.
"So did you!" Emily defended.
"Yes I did. But I also knew that even though we tried, there was nothing we could do about their obvious attraction to each other."
"Well, I approve of him now."
"I'm sure they will be glad to hear that."
Emily lightly hit her husband, sensing his sarcasm.
"Let's just enjoy the dance, ok?" Richard said.
"Ok."
You smiled, and the spell was cast
Here we are in heaven
And you're mine at last
So, the next chapter will be the last, for real this time. I could be persuaded to write a sequel though... I mean, if you guys want it. :)
Oh, and the song is At Last by Ella Fitzgerald. It had to be Ella. She's such a classic. I love her. Although this song is a little happier than the song Sookie choose, I can't Get Started. Haha
Let me know what you think!
