Stepford Friends
Chapter 2
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Thanks Jewels, for being so positive and helpful with all of your Beta skills! You are so cool!
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For the next several days Lorelai avoided the diner at all costs. She buried herself in work, making decision after decision with a focused clarity that she rarely possessed. The only way to keep her mind off of losing Luke's friendship was to concentrate on something else. That something was the Dragonfly Inn. During the day it was bearable, there were so many people and so many distractions, that she was carried away in the frenzied current of the impending grand opening.
At night it was a different story. She entered a dark, lonely house, ordered take out from one of the half-dozen or so eateries that delivered, and sat alone with her thoughts. As soon as she started eating out of whichever container was in front of her, thoughts of her conversation with Luke bombarded her brain. Her usually hardy appetite had diminished to a few half-hearted nibbles from the take-out-du-jour.
If she and Luke were just friends, then why did her stomach ache all day? Why couldn't she sleep through the night without waking up to his voice? I don't want to do this any more.
She didn't tell Sookie, or even Rory, about the conversation at the diner. She allowed them both to think that she was upset over her break up with Jason. One reason she couldn't talk to either of them, was that she'd have to explain why she was more upset over losing a mere friend, than the man who had actually been her lover.
But there was something else. If she admitted it to either of her female confidants, they'd ask questions. She couldn't answer any questions about why she and Luke parted ways. She couldn't answer, because she didn't know. All she knew was that the pit of her stomach lurched every time she remembered him say 'I end up feeling stupid and used.'
Maybe they never were as good of friends as she thought they were. Maybe he really did think she was a pain-in-the-ass. She knew that her eating habits appalled him. Maybe he really did find her repulsive. She always thought that he was playing up his irritation with her. She guessed that she had been wrong. He really was bothered by her incessant chatter and convoluted thinking.
Her mind dwelled on the type of friend she had been to Luke. I deserve better, were the words that haunted her the most. She replayed all the times she asked Luke for something and he was there for her. So many times the scenario was the same: she needed him; he was there. He was right, he did deserve better. Her cheeks flushed with shame when she thought about all the occasions he helped her so selflessly and all the times she took that help so readily.
~*~*~
After several nights of fitful sleep and very little to eat, Lorelai plunged into her work with unprecedented fervor. She had meetings planned from dawn till dusk, checking, double-checking, signing-off, inspecting, ordering, deciding, and delegating. Her cell phone was in one hand, clipboard and pen in the other. She raced from her office to the dining area to supervise the placement of some bookshelves.
The extension cord that she had stepped over dozens of times that day was still in the same place it had been all morning. It was attached to the circular saw that was being used for finishing touches on the interior trim.
She stepped down too soon and the heel of her shoe became entangled in the cord, causing her to twist her ankle and trip. On her way south, she grabbed one of the sawhorses that served as the base for a makeshift workbench, which held the saw. The saw, bench and all, came crashing down. She landed on her side, slamming into the floor. The sound of the crash echoed throughout the inn, beckoning employees and tradesmen to come running from all directions.
Many hands came to her aide. They lifted the sawhorse and plywood bench off of her legs and helped her to sit up. She had the wind knocked out of her, and was shaken up pretty badly.
"Honey, are you all right?" Sookie asked, deep concerned creases marking her brow.
Lorelai nodded.
"Talk to us, Hon. Are you okay?"
This time, Lorelai shook her head.
Still seated on the floor, grasping her ankle, her face was contorted in pain. When she finally straightened her right knee out in front of her and lifted her pant leg to inspect, it had already begun to swell and discolor. Seeing the effects of the injury, and feeling the humiliation of falling in front of all the people who looked up to her for answers, she started to lose her composure. The lack of sleep and food were taking their toll and her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked up at Sookie.
"Tom and Larry, let's help her up and into the office. I think she needs to take a little break," Sookie called out, her maternal instinct working overtime to protect her friend. "Okay, everyone, she's all right! Go on. Back to work!"
They gathered Lorelai and whisked her away to the office, sitting her on one guest chair, and propping her injured leg up on the other. Tom promised to return promptly with some ice. As soon as the ladies were left alone, Lorelai allowed the brimming tears to fall. She wept for the pain, the humiliation, and the fear. Now that the floodgates had opened, she wept because she had lost Luke and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Does it hurt really badly? I can take you to the emergency room. We should get some X-rays," Sookie asked in a concerned hush.
"No, that's okay. I'll be fine," Lorelai sniffed unconvincingly. "Besides, one of us has to be here. We have a lot of big-ticket items to sign for today. All the kitchen equipment and dining tables are going to be delivered. We need that stuff and can't afford to send any of it back for reshipment. We can't leave the inn today. As soon as I put some ice on it, it should be fine."
Sookie didn't look sold, but she held her tongue. Lorelai was right, though. One of them had to remain at the inn today. By the time Tom returned with the ice, Lorelai had calmed down, but she was still wasn't ready to face the crowd.
With the ice packet in her hand, Sookie said, "Let me take a look, Hon." Lorelai rotated her leg for Sookie to see. Sookie's eyes widened and she blurted out, "Oh God!..." She then slapper her hand over her mouth and said, "It looks good...really good." She overcompensated by nodding heartily and giving a thumbs up."
"It's fine!" Lorelai winced as Sookie covered it with the ice. "I just need a few minutes alone. Thanks Sookie, but go ahead. I know you have things to do in the kitchen."
"Ok, but I'll be back to check on you in a while."
~*~*~
When Sookie entered the kitchen, she went straight to the phone. She knew that Lorelai was too stubborn for her. And since she couldn't get away today, she knew whom to call. There was only one person who Lorelai would listen to. The big strong knight in woven flannel could take her to get X-rays. He would insist, not taking no for an answer, even if he had to carry her there himself.
"Luke's."
"Hey, Luke? It's Sookie,"
"Hi, Sookie."
"It's Lorelai."
"She's not here, Sookie," he sighed. So often in the past several months, people didn't even bother to call Lorelai's cell; they just dialed Luke's directly, circumventing the 'no cell phones' rule that he tried to enforce.
"No, I know. Um, she's hurt. She needs to go to the emergency room," Sookie tried to explain, but she was flustered, knowing that Lorelai would be upset that she went to Luke without her knowledge. "The circular saw was… and then the extension cord…with the bench toppling… and boom!"
"Hold on; I'm there!" He grabbed his jacket and his keys. On his way out the door, he asked Ceasar to call Lane in early for backup.
Luke swung his legs into the truck and slammed the door in a singular motion. After starting it and putting it in reverse, he checked behind him and backed up, just enough to crank the wheels and peel out of the parking lot. His heart raced as he broke nearly every traffic law in the Stars Hollow town limits. If Taylor had seen him, he would have unraveled his own cardigan.
Moving in the direction of his destination, he tried to make sense of what Sookie had said. "Lorelai is hurt. X-rays. Emergency room…circular saw." His imagination tried to bring up images so terrible they made him shudder. But, Luke was a man of control. He wouldn't allow the worst of them to bubble to the surface of his consciousness. Deliberately trying to calm down, he kept repeating, "She's okay. She's okay."
He pictured Lorelai's sad face the last time he saw her. She was so confused and hurt by him ejecting her from his life. He didn't mean to lose her completely, but somehow in his own self-preservation he had sacrificed exactly what he wanted to keep. He did want Lorelai in his life, just more of her, and not only on her whims. They were very different that way. He knew she was unpredictable and mercurial in her moods. He, on the other hand, was Steady-Eddie; you could predict almost to a fault, how he would react in any situation. She could use some steadiness in her life and he could use a little shaking up. Just like Jack Sprat and his wife, he thought.
When he pulled up into the Dragonfly parking lot, he looked around for signs of trauma. Seeing the workers going about their business as usual gave him comfort. He walked in through the same back entrance that he stormed out of almost two weeks ago. Without greeting, he rushed to Sookie. "Where is she?" his voice was full of concern, almost fear.
"Oh, Luke. Thank God!" she said. "She's calming down now. She was a little shaken up…"
"Where is she?" he asked again impatiently.
"She's um…over in the…near the… oh, follow me." Sookie found it easier to act, than to explain when things got tense. She led him to the office door, then whispered, "Uh, one more thing. She refuses to go to the emergency room, and she doesn't know that I called you. Oh, wait, that's two." She giggled and slunk away to the kitchen.
With a lump in his throat, he stood outside the door. His fear had subsided substantially since he parked his truck. And he knew Sookie would never leave her alone if she were badly hurt. But, he still hesitated to knock. Taking a deep breath, he broke the silence by rapping twice, then opened the door without waiting for a reply.
He found Lorelai sitting with her foot propped up, and her pant leg rolled to her knee. She was picking intently at the palm of her hand. There was an opened first aid kit on her desk.
"Hey." Their eyes locked as he entered the office. He noticed the tearstains and puffy red-rimmed eyes, causing his heart to go out to her.
"Hey," she echoed, sitting up, straightening her blouse, and running a hand through her hair.
"I heard you were hurt," he said softly.
"Sookie?"
"None other."
"I, um, I didn't tell her to call you."
"I know. I know," he said. "Can I, uh, see?" He gestured to her ice-covered ankle.
"Yeah," she said. She winced slightly as he removed the ice pack, watching his face as he inspected the injury.
"Oh, Lorelai," he breathed, his eyes showing concern. He kneeled down near her foot, and touched the red, puffy skin that had been under the ice. He could see that there was significant swelling and the redness was starting to turn purple. She sucked some air in through her teeth, making a slight hissing sound, when he slid his finger along her sore tendon to determine the extent of the swelling.
"You know you have to see a doctor," he stated steadily. It wasn't a question.
"Yeah," she said, biting her bottom lip.
"Don't worry. They'll probably just take X-rays to be safe," he tried to reassure her. "I'll go with you, okay?"
She nodded.
"We need to wrap it, before it swells too much. So, you let me know if it hurts."
"It hurts," she said instantly.
"I haven't even touched you yet," he said, smiling slightly, lifting an ACE Bandage out of the kit.
He'd been on enough sports teams to have seen his fair share of sprains, so he knew what to do. Beginning at the base of her toes, and winding around her foot, he kept the bandage taught, but didn't pull. He circled it around the arch and pulled it diagonally across the top of the foot and under the arch in a figure-eight pattern. Checking Lorelai's face periodically to see if he was hurting her, he continued wrapping it around the outside of her swollen anklebone, leaving the entire foot covered except for the heel. He then wound it up higher, to the bottom of her calf and fastened it, his hand lightly grazing her smooth leg. "There, that didn't hurt too much, did it?" he asked.
She shook her head, not looking up from the palm that she was studying.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Splinters… from the sawhorse."
"Let me see." He turned her hand, palm up, and held it in his. He could feel her trembling, and wondered if she was afraid, or in pain.
"I took some of them out, but I can't get these." She had three small splinters deeply embedded under her skin, at the base of her thumb.
"Can I try?" he asked, smoothing her fingers down so he her palm would rest flat in his strong hand.
She nodded. He searched through the first aid kit, and pulled out a few items.
"There aren't any tweezers. I already looked."
"That's okay. I always come prepared," he said, pulling a Swiss Army knife out of his pocket.
"So, now you're Captain von Trapp?" she asked.
"The von Trapps were Austrian," he said, unfolding some of the blades so he could get to the tweezers.
"Ok, so now you're Alfred Nobel?"
"Swedish." He continued to adjust the blades.
"Who are you, then? Heidi?"
"Thank God. I thought you were going to resort to calling me 'holey cheese.'" He flashed perfect white teeth.
She finally smiled too. God, he missed her. For the first time in almost two weeks his world was brightened by that smile.
He rolled the desk chair near Lorelai. Ripping open two alcohol swabs, he pulled one across his tweezers, then said, "Now, this will be cold, but it shouldn't hurt." He rubbed the other swab on her palm where the splinters were.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," she whined softly.
"Does it hurt?" He furrowed his brow, then blew softly on her palm, looking up at her.
"No, but just in case it did, I wanted to have my words ready," she said, slightly pouting. In spite of her fear, she was acutely aware of the wonderful, warm feeling on one side of her hand where he held it, and the tingly cold sensations on the other.
"You are work." He smiled, shaking his head.
"I don't mean to be work." She looked up at him with a sad expression. He had clearly hurt her feelings. Again.
"I didn't mean it in a bad way. I just meant …jeeze, I don't know what I meant," he finished with a feeble mumble.
"Hey, Luke, I know you're busy. You don't have to do this. I can call Rory, or my mother."
"Lorelai, this is where I choose to be," he said. "Now, close your eyes. Keep them closed." He covered her eyes lightly with the palm of his hand to make sure she wasn't peeking, then pulled his fingers down her cheek in an unconscious caress, marveling at her softness. His touch caused her to press her cheek into his hand in an almost imperceptible nuzzle. "Trust me. If you don't move, it shouldn't hurt. Do you trust me?"
"I trust you," she said, keeping her eyes closed.
Still holding her hand, he pulled it closer. Using his freshly cleaned tweezers, he carefully ticked away some skin from where the first splinter entered, exposing a tiny sliver of wood to grasp and pull. She didn't flinch, so he went to work on the second one, deftly working out the splinter. After successfully removing the third in the same fashion, he paused to gaze at her while her eyes were still closed. Jeez, she was beautiful. Through all the talking and arguing and flirting and fighting, sometimes he'd forget how strikingly beautiful she was. She opened her eyes; they held each other's gaze before he realized he'd been caught staring.
"Okay, got 'em all," he said self-consciously, quickly looking away.
"Really? It didn't even hurt." She looked at her hand, then up at him. "Dr. Danes, you have a wonderful bedside manner," she said with a smile. Then thought, but didn't dare say, dirty.
In the awkward silence that followed, they could hear her before they could see her. Babette was in the house.
Bursting through the office, she said, "Hey Sugah, I heard you might need some of these." She held up a pair of mangled wooden crutches, and noticing Luke, she thrust them into his hands. "It's good to see that you two kids finally worked it out. I knew that spat wouldn't last."
"What spat?" Luke asked, already getting irritated.
"You know, the one you had Thursday before last."
"How did you…?"
"Oh, that was easy. Andrew saw you stormin' outta the inn like a bat outta hell. Then Kirk heard the both of ya talkin' in the diner saying, 'So, that's how it is? Yeah, that's how it is.' I saw Lorelai crying in her jeep. We haven't seen her in the diner since. Miss Patty says she's been eatin' that slop from Al's. So we put two and two together. Simple." She shrugged.
"Um, thank you for the crutches, Babette." Lorelai gave a half-hearted smile.
"What the hell happened to them?" Luke asked, holding them as far away from his body as his arm could extend.
"Oh, don't worry about them. They used to be Morey's, from when he had the hammer toes. The bolts rusted. To tell you the truth, I think it's because Cinnamon peed on them; God rest her soul. The sizing bar was stuck, so when I needed 'em, on account of my bunions, we just sawed off the bottom with a hacksaw!" She made slashing motions with her hand.
"Well, that was thoughtful of you, thanks," Lorelai said as politely as she could.
"You're welcome, Doll. I'll check in on ya later," she said, breezing out as fast as she had come in.
Luke shut the door firmly behind her. "Let's get out of here."
~*~*~
After some difficulty maneuvering with the garden gnome-sized crutches, and some help from Sookie, Lorelai made it through the front door of the inn. Luke drove his truck around to pick her up. She waited at the top of the stairs in one sneaker, her injured ankle wrapped and lifted behind her.
Luke got out of the truck, opened the passenger side door, and scaled the stairs two at a time. He took the crutches from a startled Lorelai and handled them to Sookie. Standing by her side, he lifted her into his arms effortlessly, carried her down the stairs, and carefully placed her in the truck.
"Oh, that is so very Officer and a Gentleman," Sookie gushed with her hands held together near her chest.
~*~*~
To be continued...
