We're gonna fast-forward a few weeks now. :
Chapter EIGHTEEEN
Lorelai had been working for a couple weeks by now and had gotten exactly 3 paychecks. She was saving most of the money, but the rest of it was going towards food, since the two of them were practically garbage disposals. She didn't have enough money yet, but she knew she really needed a car. She set off to the diner that morning, as always.
"Luke!" She cried dramatically. "I don't know what to do!...coffee please."
"About what?" He rolled his eyes as he filled her mug.
"I need a car so bad, but I can't afford one," She explained.
"Why don't you ask your parents?" He suggested, shrugging.
"Oh no, you do not understand how it is between me and my parents. Once you turn to them for one thing, they hold it above you forever and never forget it," She nodded gravely.
"Well…if you really need it, I could lend you some money," Luke offered.
"No! Luke I could never ask that of you. Don't even think about it," She pointed a finger at him and took a sip of her coffee.
"Just know that the offer still stands," He replied and retreated to the counter.
Lorelai was peacefully sipping her coffee and reflecting on Luke's admirable kindness when she caught sight of the time. She practically spit her drink across the room and jumped up, grabbing Rory's hand and yanking her out the door.
"C'mon Rory, mommy's gotta bring home the bacon," Lorelai prompted, jogging down the sidewalk with the toddler's hand clasped in her own.
She dropped Rory off at Lane's and ran to the Independence, bolting into the front door and haphazardly locking herself in the staff coat closet to get dressed in her uniform. She emerged, breathing heavily and her hair a mess, to everyone looking at her in confusion. She simply nodded an exasperated "hi" to them and smoothed her skirt.
"Alright then…the Perkinson's need to be shown to room 15," Michel explained in his heavily accented voice.
"Will do," She nodded, then motioned for the middle-aged couple to follow behind her.
Lorelai had been working for three hours. Or had it been seven? Or maybe two days? Nope, only three hours. Three hours of making beds and smiling at guests whenever they walked by and directing everyone to the complimentary towels. Today was going mind-numbingly slow. Once it was finally her lunch break, she sat down in the small staff room which was pretty much just a moderately-sized shed off to the side of the actual inn. Since it was small, there was only one window, and the other maids and staff had it furnished with a small, unsteady card table, three folding chairs, and a radio. She leaned back on her chair, breathing deeply. She unwrapped the mini-sub the kitchen staff had given her. It was tuna. Gah. She knew that she said she'd take whatever they'd give her, but she hated tuna.
"And I thought the kitchen staff and I had a special agreement…" She murmured.
But, a tuna sandwich was better than no sandwich, so she flipped back her hair and gulped, then took a bite. While she was eating, her mind wandered. It wasn't a bad thing, since it distracted her from the far-too-much-mayo-ness of the sub. And since when did tuna fish sandwiches have chopped celery in them? She would have to take up this subject with Luke later. Luke. Lorelai had taken quite a shine to him. He was funny, and he put up with her. Also, he wasn't exactly hideous either. He's not quite Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome, but he had a rugged attractiveness to him. And he was nice to her. Beneath his monosyllables and cynical remarks, Lorelai could tell he was genuine. He had actually offered to help her pay for a car. Was he crazy? Offering a loan to Miss Lorelai "Just toss your loans with the rest of my emotional baggage" Gilmore? Not all of her loans were money, but she still had a lot of them. She still owed Kate Ricker back for "borrowing" her wildfire red Manic Panic and new mascara and "forgetting" to give it back. Please, Lorelai had the half-full jar of hair dye in her top drawer and the mascara in her makeup bag. Sorry Katie, you're not getting it back. But back to Luke, he was so mysterious, and he actually listened to Lorelai (or at least made it seem like he did). She wanted to know more about him. Maybe she'd ask those two gossipy women (Barbara and Miss Pansy, was it?) that she saw in the diner every morning. They seemed to have their fingers on the pulse.
Lorelai heard the voice over the radio announcing the time and pretty much toppled backwards out of her chair. Wow, the second time you've been cutting it close today, she thought, wiping off the crumbs and leaving the shed, great job, Gilmore.
"Lorelai! There you are," Mia called, summoning her into the lobby.
"Yeah?" She asked, standing up straighter.
"We have a guest," She explained.
"Okay, what room?" Lorelai asked routinely.
"No, not that kind of guest," Mia chuckled lightly. "A possible employee."
"Oh," Lorelai nodded, and then took notice of the girl standing next to Mia. She couldn't be much older than Lorelai herself, and recognized her as the plump girl that she'd seen in the paper for winning a baking contest years ago.
"This is Sookie St. James," Mia introduced. "Sookie, this is Lorelai. I'm sure you'll get along."
"Hi," The two of them greeted in unison, Sookie waving.
"And Lorelai, I'd like you to show Sookie around and be her right hand this week. She's trying for a spot on the kitchen staff, and since you seem to have an "in" with the people in the kitchen I thought you'd be the ideal woman for the job…And I'll tell them you don't like tuna," Mia smiled knowingly, and Lorelai tried to look innocent.
"What's wrong with tuna?" Sookie asked, big-eyed.
"Well, nothing, it's just…I'm picky about it," Lorelai rambled on, flustered. "And there was celery in it, and…and, um, too much mayonnaise, and-"
"Gah!" Sookie exclaimed, causing Lorelai to jump, "I hate it when there's too much mayo and celery!"
"Me too!" Lorelai replied, lightly putting her arm around Sookie's back and leading her into the kitchen.
They chattered casually about tuna and then continued on to pie.
Lorelai's work day had finished as Sookie's tour guide, and they had spent the day talking about food and movies and Lorelai had told her about Rory. They walked out of the kitchen and towards the door.
"Hey, you wanna grab some coffee now?" Lorelai asked, since Sookie was her first female friend in town and she enjoyed talking to her.
"Well I can whip some up…" Sookie offered.
"Yeah, but going out for coffee seems so much more sophisticated. You know, sitting at a little table, making small talk, the whole bit," She replied.
"You're right!" Sookie said, practically giddy. "But where?"
Lorelai contemplated. The coffee at the diner was great, but it would be hard to talk if Luke ever came up in conversation, and he was just the person Lorelai had been meaning to bring up. So she settled on Weston's.
"How 'bout Weston's?" She shrugged.
"Sure, let's go!" Sookie grabbed her sweater and bag while Lorelai got her purse.
The two young women sauntered down the sidewalk chattering and laughing as though they'd known each other for years. Anyone watching their animated conversation would've guessed they were friends since birth. They finally arrived at Weston's and went inside, both ordering coffee and a small dessert. A slice of pie for Lorelai, and a scone for Sookie. They settled at a small table and began their conversation quickly.
"So, you know Luke Danes, right?" Lorelai asked, deciding just to dive headfirst.
"Yeah, we went to the same high school. Him and his sister," Sookie nodded.
"So, what do you know about him?" Lorelai asked, trying to sound blasé, but doing a bad job, as it was obvious that she was very interested.
"Well, he's a bit of a loner, I guess you'd call him. But he's a really nice guy. He cares a lot about family, in school he would always lecture Liz- his sister- about the older boys she was dating. Call them tools and pervs and shallow jerks," She giggled.
"Hmm. Yeah, he's nice," Lorelai added.
"So how long've you been in Stars Hollow?" Sookie chirped.
"Well, not that long, but I've sort of known Luke longer," She replied.
"Sort of?" Sookie questioned in confusion, eyebrows raised.
"Well, you know how I had Rory when I was a teenager? Well my mother was practically head of the Hartford gossip chain and she was paranoid that anyone would see me and blab about Richard and Emily's "loose" daughter and their reputations would be ruined. So she brought me to Stars Hollow to buy the pregnancy tests and go to a clinic," She explained. "And I sort of just started talking to Luke one day at his dad's hardware store and that was it. We lost contact for a few years, but then I moved here and we started talking again, obviously."
"Wow," Sookie stirred her coffee with wide eyes.
"Yup," Lorelai sighed, satisfied, and took a sip of her drink.
"What, you got a thing for him or something?" Sookie giggled out of nowhere, and Lorelai began choking on her coffee.
"Sookie!" Lorelai cried, putting down her mug. "I do not."
"Okay," She replied, putting up her hands in defense.
"I can tell that he's a really sweet guy…I mean, he offered to help me pay for a car!...but, it's not like that," Lorelai tried to convince herself.
"He tried to help you pay for a car?!" Sookie asked in disbelief.
"Uhm, yeah?" Lorelai answered uncertainly at Sookie's bewilderment.
"Wow," Sookie breathed. "That's really nice."
"Yeah, yeah it is," Lorelai smiled softly.
"Well did you take the offer?" She asked abruptly.
"No! I couldn't do that. I need a car, but that's just too much," She shook her head.
"Yeah, I understand," Sookie nodded.
"So, how about the men in your life?" Lorelai asked, leaning in towards the center of the table.
"Well…there is this one guy. His name is Jackson, I met him at a veggie convention and it turns out he doesn't live too far from here. He's even considering moving to Stars Hollow to be closer to his crops!" Sookie gushed excitedly.
"Sookie, that's great!" Lorelai shared her excitement.
"I know!" Sookie nodded thoroughly.
"Have you guys gone out yet?" She asked.
"What? Oh no, no, definitely not," Sookie immediately clammed up.
"Well, I think it's about time. Do you have his number?" Lorelai asked.
"Well, uh, yeah…my purse…but," She floundered, as Lorelai grabbed her purse and dug around until she found the small slip of paper with his number scrawled on it.
"Let's go," Lorelai said, picking up her own bag and beckoning Sookie towards the door.
They walked to the Kim's, where they picked up Rory, then powerwalked back to Lorelai and Rory's apartment. Sookie offered to make Rory lunch, so while she did that, Lorelai dug through the bedroom until she found the phone. Once she had found it, she dialed the number and handed it to Sookie. Sookie stood there, frozen, as the phone rang in her hand.
"Hello?" A male voice greeted.
Sookie got nervous and tossed the phone to Lorelai, who then tossed it back to her, who only responded by throwing it into Lorelai's hands once more.
"Hello," Lorelai finally answered, deciding she had to do this herself. "Is this Jackson?"
"Why yes it is," He replied.
"Good. Now, I hear you know my friend, Sookie St. James," She said.
"Um, yes, yes I do," Jackson replied, after taking a nervous gulp.
"Well word on the street is that she thinks you're a pretty nice guy," Lorelai nodded, though Jackson couldn't see it.
"Really?" He seemed to relax more.
"Really. And she's been meaning to ask you if you'd like to go out sometime, she just can't do it herself right now. She's recovering from a bought of…uh laryngitis," Lorelai replied coolly.
"Oh, wow," He said simply.
"So, can she expect to see you at Weston's this Friday at 8 o'clock?" She asked.
"Uhm yes. Yes she can," Jackson answered proudly.
"Great. And look nice!" Lorelai added, before hanging up.
Sookie stared at her.
"I just scored you a date!" Lorelai exclaimed.
There was a moment of silence before Sookie jumped up and screamed happily, then went over to hug Lorelai, and the two of them continued squealing and hopping up and down. Rory, feeling left out, stood on her chair and started squealing happily with them, twirling her fork in the air like a baton.
Author's Note: Yes, I know, not too much L/L-ness in this one either, but more than last time. And I'll be addressing the "car" issue more in the next chapter. Reviews are nice. I'll add more ASAP (school is coming to a close!)