Notes: It had been so long since I'd written this story that I honestly didn't remember this chapter at all. When I recently read it again, it was like reading something for the first time. Normally I am the last person to ever praise their own work, but I have to admit, I love this chapter! In fact, I think it's become the second favorite chapter I've ever written, next to "The Substitute" from "Just the Perfect Friendship." Hope you read and enjoy it as well!
A small sleepy snort from the passenger seat made Luke glance over at his wife, who was once again taking the opportunity to nap while he drove the Jeep home. A smile made up of a certain percentage of satisfied smugness tugged at his lips while one of his hands immediately tried to creep over to stroke her alluring leg. He snatched it back and anchored it firmly onto the steering wheel, exhaling forcefully.
Lorelai deserved to catch up on some sleep. Their wedding night had been the joyful start of what had turned out to be a real honeymoon. They had even stayed an extra day, so anxious were they to prolong that delicious feeling of belonging to each other again. And even this morning…Luke's smile turned into a full-on grin. They'd barely made it out the door by checkout time. Yes, Lorelai deserved a nap.
However, as Luke swiveled his head at an unfamiliar intersection, he wished she'd wake up. He'd driven into town from an unaccustomed route and he was momentarily confused about where they were. He wished she was awake to look at the landmarks and tell him where to turn next.
But on the other hand…That wouldn't be good, if she did wake up and divine his plan. Determined to do this on his own, he turned right and drove several blocks until a street name jogged his memory. With relief he turned left and soon found the neighborhood he'd been seeking.
He pulled over to the side of the tree-lined street. He looked over at Lorelai and this time, he did rub his hand over her leg.
"Lorelai," he said gently. "Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up." He hoped the anxiety bubbling in his stomach wasn't obvious in his words.
She stretched and smiled, her eyes still tightly closed. She straightened and leaned over to him, unerringly finding his mouth. Her lips clung to his in the most familiar way and when the kiss ended she spent some long, indulgent moments just rubbing her cheek against his. Finally she sighed and opened her eyes, lazily looking over his shoulder at the scenery visible from the driver's side window.
He heard her gasp in recognition. She pushed away from him abruptly, landing forcefully back in her own seat as her head snapped around to look at the other side of the street.
"Luke!" she hissed shrilly. "This is Hartford! What the hell are we doing in Hartford?"
He ran his fingers over the cover on the steering wheel. "We're going to tell your parents we got married." He hoped he sounded authoritative.
"We will do no such thing," she fumed.
He nodded, looking straight out of the windshield, taking in all of the painstakingly manicured front lawns ahead of them down the street. "Yeah, we are," he stated quietly, but with certainty.
Apparently she heard the note of conviction in his voice and tried a different tack. "Look, of course we'll tell them. Eventually. Just not now. Let's just enjoy this by ourselves for a while first," she pleaded.
He shook his head, not looking at her, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist the pleading in her eyes. "That's what you always do, Lorelai. How's that been working for you?"
"Suddenly you're Dr. Phil?" she demanded.
"Well, right now I've still got more hair than he does." Luke ruefully rubbed a hand over his head. "But I've watched you do this dance with your folks for years, where you keep something from them and then it all blows up in your face when they find out. And I don't want to be a part of that anymore. I'm a middle-aged guy, Lorelai, and you're…" He grinned when he saw her already taking offense at what she thought he was going to say, and toned it down. "You're an adult. You're no kid. Hell, your kid isn't even a kid. We're too old to be trying to sneak something past your parents. It's ridiculous! If they don't like what we have to say, fine, that's their business. They can choose whether or not they want to be around us. But I'm not going to deliberately keep something this important from them."
Lorelai's mouth opened and closed several times while he watched her try to find some way to refute him. Her eyes darted all around, trying to find an argument to persuade him. Finally she smacked the dashboard in front of her in frustration.
"Fine," she said petulantly. "We will throw ourselves to the lions. We will put aside any effort at self-preservation and we will march in there and tell them we're married. Just don't expect any heroics from me. I'm not taking a bullet for you. This is all on you."
"Yes, it is," Luke agreed soberly.
"OK, then." Lorelai gulped in a nervous breath. "Just…This is just about the getting married part, right? Please don't make me tell them about the baby yet. I really…I really don't want them to know that I screwed up again."
Luke bit his lip as he reached for her hand. He hated that she thought anything about the baby was a mistake, although the way it had been conceived still made pangs of regret shoot through him. He squeezed her hand until she looked at him, trying to blink away the anxiety in them.
"I think that the baby news can wait," he agreed. His thumb rubbed over the smooth silver band on her finger. "I just want to keep them informed," he added in his dry tone. "I'm not trying to kill them."
Lorelai's big breath of relief rushed out of her. "Good," she said, leaning back in her seat. "Well, let's get this over with, then."
Luke pulled the Jeep around the block and started to turn into the Gilmore's driveway.
"Wait, wait!" Lorelai said urgently. She rubbed at her stomach and gave him a big-eyed look of distress. "I don't think I feel good, Luke."
"Don't do that, Lorelai," he muttered, parking the car.
"Luke," she whined.
He swallowed hard before he turned to face her. "You can't fool me, Lorelai. I know exactly what you look like when you're sick. And I remember far too well that night you came to the diner to tell me about the baby. I'll never get how you looked that night out of my head. I don't ever want to see you look like that again. Do you understand? Pretending to be sick is something you can't ever do to me. Promise me that."
He watched as her face lost the pouty look and her eyes widened as his words made an impact on her. "I didn't mean…I'm sorry, Luke. I won't do that again." Her tone was sincere as she met his eyes, and he nodded.
He pulled the keys out of the ignition. "So. Are we ready?"
"Let the games begin," Lorelai said gloomily, reaching for the door handle.
At the massive front door they paused to prepare themselves. Luke felt a chill swirl down his back in spite of the heat from the July day. Nothing good had ever happened to him in this house and he dreaded what lay in store for him this day. He had a sudden insight into how hard it must be for Lorelai to face this over and over again. He put his arm around her waist, giving her a squeeze to remind her that she was no longer facing this alone. She gave him a slight smile and a sigh, pushed the doorbell, and squared up her shoulders in a way he'd seen her do countless times.
That week's maid answered the door.
"Hi. Are Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore here?" Lorelai asked. "I'm their daughter."
The maid nodded silently and ushered them into the sitting room before turning to go find her employers.
"Wait!" Lorelai called, taking a step towards the maid before she disappeared. "Tell them that Mr. and Mrs. Danes are here to see them, OK?"
"Lorelai!" Luke barked at her.
"No, this is better," she insisted grimly. "Let's give them a chance to have some warning."
Soon they could hear a door slam somewhere in the house. Voices were raised. Another door slammed. They instinctively took a step closer to each other.
Emily Gilmore stalked into the room, a thunderous glare pasted onto her face. She was carrying gardening gloves and as she entered the room she tore off a wide-brimmed hat she'd been wearing, and tossed both it and her gloves towards an upholstered chair. When they missed the chair and she didn't react, it proved just how upset she was.
Richard was on her heels, a stunned look haunting his face. He had a newspaper jammed under his arm, while his fingers were trying to retie the bowtie hanging under his collar.
Emily's eyes swept ferociously over them. "Lorelai, I hope to God this is one of those jokes you always think are so funny. I always had faith in your intelligence, if nothing else. I sincerely hope that you didn't allow this man to worm his way into your life again!"
Luke felt his nostrils flare and he had to press his lips together to keep from laying into this woman who was now his mother-in-law. He felt Lorelai tense beside him. Then she threw back her head and flung up her hand so that her ring was clearly visible.
Emily actually gasped. Her shoulders sagged, briefly. "What were you thinking?" she shouted, getting her second wind.
Richard caught Luke's eye. He nodded a cordial greeting. Luke looked at him in disbelief.
"I was thinking I wanted to be married to Luke!" Lorelai shouted back at her mother, fuming.
"After the way this man treated you? The callous way he cast you aside? After the way he showed he cared nothing about your feelings, you decided to go back for more?"
"Now, just a minute―" Luke heatedly tried to interject.
"We had some bad times, yes," Lorelai jumped in. "But that doesn't erase all of the good memories. It doesn't do away with how much we care about each other!"
"Bad times?" Emily sniffed. She zeroed in on Luke. "Is that what it was, Luke? It was just a bad night that forced your fiancée to go to Boston?"
Luke's mouth dropped open as his heated anger turned to cold fury.
"Mother!" Lorelai stepped closer to Emily, her fists clenched. "We know we both made mistakes. We are trying to fix them." Her controlled voice was showing how hard she was attempting to keep herself in check.
Richard suddenly appeared at Luke's shoulder. "Luke, what do you say we have a drink?" he asked amiably.
Luke's head whipped over to stare at the older man. "What?" he asked, incredulous.
"You call what happened a mistake?" Emily flung out the words to Lorelai. "Oh, it was just a mistake," she repeated, making her voice high-pitched and sugary. "It was just a mistake that I forgot for two months to tell you I have a daughter. It was just a mistake that I ended up in another man's bed!"
"Let's go have a drink," Richard urged again.
"Yes! Those were mistakes! Mistakes that we are trying to put behind us! Mistakes that we are going to recover from, because we love each other!" Lorelai shouted.
"But…" Luke pointed helplessly to the two furious women.
Richard shook his head, smiling slightly as he stepped over to the drink table. "That doesn't really concern us anymore."
Luke looked with apprehension at Richard, who was calmly pouring them glasses of Scotch, to the two women shouting at each other, their arms flailing in synchronization. He wondered if Richard had lost touch with reality. "How does that not concern us?" he asked, agitated.
An insightful smile made Richard's lips curl up. "Scotch OK with you?"
"Sure," Luke said in resignation, still keeping watch over the fight going on across the room. He reached to take the glass, giving his attention to Richard.
The older man leaned towards him slightly. "Emily has been so worried about Lorelai," he confided. "Both of us were concerned that this break with you was going to permanently scar her. She just hasn't been herself for a very long time now. It's good to hear some fight back in her voice."
"This is good?" Luke asked dubiously.
"Oh, yes, this is good." Richard paused to savor a mouthful of the smooth Scotch. "I'll tell you a secret," he offered. "I know Emily very, very well. I watched her shoulders sag in relief when she saw that you two were really married. She knows that's what Lorelai has desired more than anything."
"But she's trying to rip her to shreds!" Luke was still fighting the desire to go over and rescue Lorelai, to drag her away from her mother's shrill words.
Richard shook his head again, thoughtfully. "This is what they do, Luke. I know it's not pretty. But you have two very strong-minded women here, both who think they know best and both who refuse to back down in a fight. They'll get past this. It'll be all right. Trust me."
Luke's head swiveled between Richard's calm assurance and the turmoil being flung across the room. He took a gulp of his drink, not knowing what else to do.
"Tell me Luke," Richard said, the amiable note still in his voice, "why did you decide to marry Lorelai?"
That brought his focus solely onto Richard. As he tried to formulate a response, he recognized how firmly Richard was clutching his glass. He became aware of the set of the man's jaw. It came to him that Richard was not asking him this just to make conversation.
"I didn't have a choice," he said, and he watched as Richard swung his grim eyes to him. "I tried to live without her," he continued. He paused a moment, taking another small sip of Scotch. "I couldn't do it," he admitted.
Richard visibly relaxed. The social smile returned, maybe mixed with some genuine affection. "Good," he observed.
"You think that ring is going to make everything better?" Emily's voice soared out.
"I think this ring shows that we're committed to making this better!" Lorelai shouted, matching her mother's volume.
In confidence, Richard inclined his head towards Luke again, as they both watched their wives spar. "You know, Emily and I were married very young. We didn't have all of the years apart to make the mistakes you two did, but it's very easy to hurt the ones you love. Their love is what makes them so vulnerable to your slights. You hurt Lorelai very badly, Luke."
Luke clutched his glass and hung his head. "I know," he sighed.
Richard nodded at his admission. "I don't condone her behavior, either. Her actions were monstrous. I'm aware she was under some belief at that moment which she thought justified her actions, but she hurt you terribly, too." Here Richard drew himself up, and Luke realized again just how tall the man was. "I just want to make it clear, Luke," he said levelly, "that if you try to cut my daughter out of your life again, or if you cause her pain like this again, you and I will not be standing together civilly, having a drink."
Luke looked into the determined, dark eyes of the man who had been Lorelai's first protector. The thought bounced into his head of what he would want to do to any guy that treated April or Rory the way he'd treated Lorelai. He swallowed hard again.
"I'm in this, Richard," he promised the man. "I'd like to say I'll never hurt her again, but I'm sure I'll say something stupid down the road and I'll hurt her, whether I mean to or not. But I plan to make a life with her. I plan to take care of her. I don't ever want to be without her again, and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that happens."
Richard sized up Luke for a moment. "I believe you will," he said finally.
Emily's shrill voice once again drew their attention. "And after I had to call everyone in the family to tell them you're not getting married, you go slink off to who knows where and get married anyway! Honestly, Lorelai! Were you that desperate to not have anyone there to witness your marriage?"
"Rory was there," Lorelai said curtly, her arms folded across her chest.
"Rory?" Emily's stance deflated a bit. "Rory was there?"
"Yes, Rory was there," Lorelai grumbled. "Luke made sure Rory was there."
"Oh." Emily pushed back her hair and blinked a little bit as she glanced around the room. "So," she asked after a moment, grudgingly, "are there any pictures from this alleged wedding?"
Lorelai's head snapped up. "Yes," she said warily.
"Make sure you bring them Friday night." Emily regally walked over to where her gardening accessories had fallen and swooped them up before she continued over to the stairs. "7:30. Don't be late," she admonished. "Richard, we need to get ready. The Mendel's are expecting us by 6."
Richard watched as Emily ascended the stairway before he crossed the room to Lorelai's side. He peered kindly into her face. "Is this what you want?" he asked her, thoughtfully.
Lorelai's face tilted to study him. "Yes," she said cautiously.
He leaned a little closer, making it seem as though he was saying something in confidence to her, although his narrator-quality voice easily made it back to Luke. "If it's not, I know people, you know. We can make this go away."
Lorelai grinned at him then. "I want this, Dad," she insisted.
"Very well, then." He kissed her gently on her forehead. "I wish you both every happiness." He started towards the stairs, following his wife. "Don't be late on Friday," he reminded them as he went.
The room was suddenly bathed in silence and serenity. Luke passed a hand over his face before throwing back the rest of his drink. He set the empty glass down and then hurried over to where Lorelai stood.
"I'm sorry," he said to her at once, enfolding her in his arms. He rocked her gently back and forth. "I'm so sorry. I should have never made you do this. Are you all right?" He stopped his comforting motion and looked her in the face, searching.
"I'm fine," she assured him. She paused for a moment, taking stock. "I'm actually glad we got it over with. That feeling of dread that's usually hovering over me is gone."
Luke took a big breath in relief. "Then let's get out of here."
As he helped her into the Jeep, he let his hand linger over her stomach. "I've changed my mind about ever telling them about the baby," he muttered. "Let's just wait until you're big as a house and let them figure it out on their own."
"Ha!" Lorelai crowed victoriously. "See, you're catching on about how to survive in the Gilmore world!"
By the time he'd made it around the car to climb in himself, her face was creased in consternation. "What makes you think I'm going to be big as a house?" she demanded.
He settled into his seat, grinning. "I saw Sookie. Both times. Remember?"
"Oh." She stared down at herself.
He finally caught on. "Hey, you're not actually anxious about that, are you?" he asked, urging the Jeep to hightail it out of the ritzy neighborhood.
She looked out of her window and worried her bottom lip. "Maybe."
"You really think I'm that shallow?"
"No, but part of why you like me is because of the way I look," she argued.
"Or it could be that the reason I like the way you look is because I like you. If you were 5-foot nothing and blonde, but still you, then I'd like short blondes. Did you ever think of that?" Luke disputed her.
"I guess that makes some sense," Lorelai said slowly, thinking it over.
"I think…" Luke leaned over and took her hand, looking straight ahead as he watched the road. "I think I'm always going to think you're beautiful. And I have a feeling that seeing you carrying our baby is gonna take my breath away."
He glanced over and saw that Lorelai's face was covered with her pleased smile. "You smooth talker," she teased.
"Yep, that's me," he grinned.
They traveled a few miles in contented silence before Lorelai sat up in her seat and pointed down the road.
"Hey, you don't think you're going to Stars Hollow, do you?"
Luke frowned. "Where else would I be going?"
"Woodbridge," she replied matter-of-factly.
"No, I don't think so," Luke said curtly
"Yes, we are," Lorelai insisted.
"Lorelai," he started to complain.
"None of that!" she ordered. "You made me go tell my folks. I still feel bad that April wasn't there. We need to go tell her now."
He shook his head. "I don't know. Springing something like this just sounds like a colossally bad idea."
"Holding it back is just going to make it worse," she refuted. "It looks like we're hiding it."
Luke glanced down at his watch. "I don't even know where April would be right now," he grumbled.
"Oh, no. No, no, no," Lorelai was shaking her head now, emphatically. "We don't tell April first. We go to Anna first. We tell her first. Otherwise it just looks like we're going behind her back, and that's one thing you never want an insecure, possessive mom to think. No," she continued, sounding very sure of herself, "we go see her first. And somehow, we need to make it sound like we're asking her permission to tell April, although we're really not."
Luke had to admit that there was some sense in what she was saying. "You think we can pull that off?" he asked skeptically.
"I think we need to at least try," Lorelai said, her forehead crinkling in thought. "We need to get this started in a new direction. We need some new rules with her. Otherwise I'm afraid we'll just slip right back… to where we were."
Luke heard how her voice faltered at the end. He looked out the window and rubbed at his face. He thought about standing with Lorelai outside the door at her parents' house, hoping that his presence beside her gave her some strength. He now hoped that having her by his side would help him face down Anna.
"OK," he said glumly. "But this is all on you. I'm not taking a bullet for you."
She grinned at him, hearing her own words bounced back at her. "Fair enough."
They sat in nervous silence the rest of the way to Woodbridge, both of them fidgeting in worry. By the time they found a parking spot in front of Anna's shop, both of them were ready to turn around and run to Stars Hollow.
As they walked up to the door of the shop, Luke heard Lorelai panting for breath. He looked over and grabbed her around the waist when he saw the ashen, queasy look on her face.
"Hey," he said, leaning down to her, rubbing her back gently. He knew this time it wasn't an act. "We don't have to do this today. Let's just get you home."
She gulped down a few mouthfuls of air. "It's just nerves," she told him. "I'll be all right. Let's just get it over with." She patted his arm and tried her best to smile.
Against his better judgment, Luke opened the door for them to enter. On top of his other worries about how this summit meeting was going to go, he now added what Anna's reaction would be if Lorelai threw up all over her merchandise. Or on her. That evil thought actually made him smile a little bit, and that was what Anna saw when she looked up and saw them entering the empty store.
Her brows knitted together and she crossed the room briskly, confronting them before they could get more than two steps inside the door.
"What are you doing here?" she snapped at Luke. "It's not on the schedule for you to see April today. And after the way you just up and disappeared last week, I don't know if I can trust you to keep up this visitation plan, anyway. And what is she doing here?" she fumed, pointing at Lorelai.
"She has a name," Luke said, through gritted teeth. "Her name is Lorelai. As a matter of fact," he added, suddenly feeling dangerously daring, "as of last Friday, her name is Lorelai Danes. Does that meet with your approval?"
Anna gasped and her face paled in shock, soon replaced by fury. "Oh, you didn't," she said, warningly. "You ran off and got married to her? Without discussing what that was going to mean for April?" She laughed harshly. "Well, I guess now I know where April rates in your life. I guess I don't have to try and find some way to fit you in anymore!"
Luke opened his mouth, but Lorelai beat him to it.
"Back off, lady!" she ordered. Luke had heard that tone in her voice before, usually when she was defending Rory, but he hadn't heard it for a long, long time.
"Lorelai," he ventured.
She held up a hand towards him. "It's OK, Luke. I've got this," she said pleasantly, facing down Anna.
"Watch it," Anna warned her.
"You don't get it," Lorelai told her, taking a step closer to her, and Luke bit back a smile as he watched Anna back up. "You really don't get it. We've been tiptoeing around you, all cautious and careful, always so 'Oh, don't upset Anna!' Well, no more! You need to understand that he—" she pointed at Luke—"is a wonderful man. He's kind and loving and all he wants to do is to get to know his daughter. His daughter! His!" She paused a moment to regroup and grab a breath. "And I love him. I love him with my whole heart." She gave a little grim-sounding laugh. "But here's what you don't get. As much as I love him, and as much as I hate what you did to him, I'm still on your side! How messed up is that?" she cried out harshly.
"I…" Anna started to say hotly, but Lorelai overpowered her.
"Because see, I'm practically you. Well, if you leave out the part about how you hid your daughter from her father for 12 years, because frankly, that's some serious control-freaky stuff there, if you ask me. But I raised my kid on my own. I know exactly what that's like. I know all about the fear that someone else could take your place; could worm her way into your daughter's heart. Into that place that's always been yours. I understand that. But guess what? I've already got my own kid. I don't want yours. I would like to be her friend, though. I would like to get to know her. And that's my prerogative now, because I'm married to her father. And I understand how weird that is for you. I know how that screws with your head, when you see your ex with someone else. Believe me, I've been there."
"You think I care that he's with you?" Anna disputed her loudly.
"I know you do. It doesn't matter how long ago it was or how it ended, or whether or not there's still any actual feelings there. There's just something about seeing your ex happy with someone else that makes you doubt yourself. Makes you think, why her and not me?"
"You're delusional," Anna muttered.
"No, I'm not," Lorelai said, advancing further. Anna was now backed up against the counter. "I know all sorts of stuff. Do you want to know what else? I know April is a really bright girl. She already figured out who her father was when you wouldn't tell her. Right now she's still at that stage where she thinks you're perfect, but that's all going to fade really soon, especially when she realizes you're the one causing the problems between her and Luke. Do you want to know what really terrifies you? If she bonds with Luke, that means she'll actually have someplace else to go. When things get ugly with you, she'll actually have an alternative." Lorelai chuckled bitterly. "Like I say, I understand better than you can possibly imagine."
Anna looked away, her fingers nervously clutching at the counter. "That'll never happen," she insisted, although her voice lacked conviction. "Not between me and April!"
Lorelai shrugged. "Maybe not. Maybe you'll get lucky. But you keep acting like a crazy person and make it harder for her to be around her dad, eventually she's going to get fed up with the theatrics. And the older she gets, the more she's the one who determines what she's going to do. That's just a fact of life. You can't control her forever. And seriously, what's the downside here, if Luke and I get to know her better? That just means April has two more people in her corner. How is that bad?" Lorelai's voice had changed into a softer, gentler tone, and had taken on more of her wheedling quality by the end.
Anna's eyes darted around her store as she gulped in a shaky breath. "Maybe it's not," she muttered.
Lorelai glanced over to where Luke had settled back against a display table, his arms crossed over his chest as he enjoyed the show. "Um, anything you want to add here?" she asked him, suddenly sounding nervous.
"I think you've pretty well covered it," he told her, trying not to grin. He straightened up and walked over to stand in front of Anna too. His face and voice lost the amusement. "I would like to see my daughter now," he stated. "We would like to tell her we're married. We'd like to share our news with her. Like you say, it does affect her, and we'd like her to know as soon as possible. I don't think that's unreasonable at all, do you?"
Anna scowled and bit her lip. She looked over at a clock resting by the cash register. "She's just getting out of her swim team practice. It's over at the Natatorium on 7th. You've dropped her off there a couple of times, remember?" She grudgingly gave out the information.
"You're saying it's OK if we go pick her up?" Luke questioned, his hands on his hips as he tried to figure out this woman in front of him. She might as well have been a total stranger for all the more he understood her.
"Oh sure, it's fine," Anna snapped out sarcastically. She closed her eyes and drew in a long breath. "There might be something in what you say, that it's better for April if we all work together."
"Better for you, too," Lorelai said gently. When Anna's eyes flew open, startled, Lorelai nodded at her. "Trust me," she told the woman, holding her gaze.
Finally Anna shrugged and looked away, fighting to maintain her icy composure. "Just bring her back here after you talk to her."
"Of course," Luke agreed. He touched Lorelai's elbow and they started towards the door. "Do you think she could spend some time with us in Stars Hollow this weekend?"
Anna gave an annoyed look towards the ceiling. "I'll have to check the calendar." She sighed. "But it's probably OK."
"Good." Luke nodded, reaching for the door. "I'll call you later."
"Hey, Luke," Anna called, just as they stepped over the threshold.
He poked his head back in to look at her, trying to stifle his irritation at whatever restriction she was going to decree. He noticed that she no longer seemed as angry.
"You know," she said, sounding almost amused, "I used to think one of the reasons we broke up was because I was just too feisty for you." She laughed a tad bitterly, and pointed out the door to where Lorelai was standing. "I guess I was wrong."
He felt a smile crack across his face. He nodded at her and closed the door.
Lorelai was waiting on him a few steps away. He could see the doubts starting to swirl through her now, eating away at the confidence she'd just displayed inside. He hurried over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. He gently kissed the top of her head. "Welcome back," he said to her.
"What?" Her blue eyes were dark and huge with worry.
"You sounded like yourself in there," he told her. "I haven't heard you like that for a really long time. I've missed that." He felt his throat closing up a little bit and he fought against it. "You sounded like my Lorelai again." His voice was gruff.
She squeezed her eyes shut in relief. "You're not mad? I kinda got carried away in there."
"Nah. You're just feisty," he told her, trying to joke. But then he cleared his throat and spoke seriously. "The only person I'm mad at is me. I should have brought you with me the very first time I came over here. We should have fought for April together. I'm sorry, Lorelai. I'm sorry I left you out. I'm sorry I tried to do this alone."
She buried her face in his chest and clutched at his arms. He stroked her hair and held her tightly to him. Finally Lorelai took a small step back, still clinging to his arms, her face shining as she looked at him.
"We're…We're going to be OK, aren't we?" she asked, her voice nearly sounding giddy.
"Yeah, we are." He smiled at her, feeling the little bit of doubt he'd still been hiding pop like a balloon and sail off into the atmosphere. "We're going to be fine."
They parked across the street from the indoor swimming facility and soon spied April walking out the side door with two other girls. She had a clear plastic bag slung over her shoulder and her wet hair was starting to dry into a wild cloud of frizz.
They scrambled to get out of the Jeep and get her attention. "I can give her much knowledge on how to tame her hair," Lorelai panted as they rushed across the street.
Luke spared a glance at her as he raised his hand. "April!" he called over to the girl.
She turned, as did the other two girls. They all started over to meet them, and Luke and Lorelai, realized that the other girls were Chelsea and Tamara, who'd been at April's birthday party.
For a few minutes there was a lot of chatter from the three 13-year-olds and from Lorelai, who slipped into 13-year-old chatter mode herself. Luke stepped back, observing the scene in amusement. Finally a small pause in the conversation left him room to step in.
"Your mom said it was OK if Lorelai and I brought you home," he told April. "We'd like to talk to you for a little bit."
"Um, sure," April shrugged. "See you guys," she said to her friends, stepping over closer to the adults as she shifted her bag.
"I saw a Dairy Queen just down the street. How about if we score a Blizzard while we talk?" Lorelai suggested.
April turned her serious eyes on her. "I'm not much on the sweet stuff," she stated, "but some onion rings might be good."
Luke watched Lorelai's eyes widen in shock. She gave him a look then that he knew without a doubt meant 'She's your daughter!'
"Yes, she is," he said out loud to Lorelai. "Only I wouldn't eat the onion rings, either."
"His eating habits are freaky," April complained to Lorelai as they started to walk down the street.
"Yes, they are," Lorelai agreed at once. "But we love him anyway!"
April shot her an appraising look.
The temperature inside the eatery was icy compared to the hot July day outside. April, still damp from swimming, started to shiver at once. As soon as their order was completed they hurried outside to eat at a table set in the sun.
Luke shuddered as he sipped at his water, watching Lorelai attack her swirled ice cream concoction laced with Reece's pieces. April ran an onion ring through a pool of ketchup and munched with gusto.
"So, April," he hedged, unsure of how to begin, "there's something we'd like to talk to you about."
She nodded, licking her lips. "You guys are married."
Lorelai's spoon stopped in midair and Luke's hand nearly crushed the flimsy paper cup holding his water.
"How did you know?" Lorelai asked.
"I saw the rings." April shrugged, carelessly picking up another onion ring. "I notice stuff. I'm pretty observant. That's one of the reasons I'm so good at the science stuff."
Luke tried to search Lorelai's expression to figure out what to say next. "We got married last Friday," he finally said.
April tore an onion ring into fourths and then proceeded to eat each piece. "I thought you guys broke up," she observed.
"We did," Luke confirmed, "but we didn't like being apart."
April nodded, her eyes never leaving the red blob of ketchup in front of her. "I thought it might have been because of me."
Lorelai gasped and at once reached for April's hand. "Oh, honey, no!" she insisted, lowering her head to look into the girl's face.
April looked at Lorelai calmly. "Well, you were never around. I figured there had to be a reason."
That caused Luke to take in a harsh breath. "April, that was my fault. Lorelai wanted to be there, and I kept her away. I had some weird idea that you and I needed some time for just the two of us, so that I could figure out how to be a father. But that was a stupid idea."
April regarded Luke coolly. "Ideas themselves aren't really stupid. You just have to test them out and see if they're practical or not. You know, see if they'll hold up. What's stupid is to keep going when you see it's not working."
Luke blinked at his daughter's serious brown eyes for a heartbeat or two. "Keeping you and Lorelai apart wasn't working. She's a huge part of my life, and I hope you're going to be a huge part of my life, too. The two of you need to be together."
"That's logical." April absently dunked a piece of onion ring for a couple of seconds. "I know Mom's been problematic, too."
Once again Luke and Lorelai's eyes met over the table.
"We…We talked to your mom today," Lorelai revealed. "I think…I hope we have a better understanding now."
"That'd be good." April munched for a few beats. "So, you're like my stepmother now, huh?"
"Yes." Lorelai nervously rubbed a napkin over her fingers.
"That's cool." April nodded her head as she opened up another ketchup packet. "My friends think you're awesome. They still talk about my birthday party."
"Well…" Lorelai shot a glance at Luke. "Maybe we can do something like that again over the summer."
April continued to thoughtfully stare at the designs she'd swirled into the ketchup. "So, that means that Rory's like my stepsister, right?"
"That's right," Luke agreed.
April's head shot up. "Is she in Stars Hollow?"
"No, not right now. She's working at a summer internship right now," Lorelai informed her.
"Oh," April said, sounding disappointed.
"It's not that far away," Lorelai said cheerfully. "It's just past Philadelphia. She comes home sometimes."
"Really?" April's face brightened. "Could we go see her, maybe?"
"Um, sure, I guess," Lorelai shrugged, looking over at Luke for guidance.
"Will she be home soon?"
"Well, she's got another four weeks on this job, and then I think she might fly over to visit her boyfriend in London―"
"London!" April interrupted. "Cool!"
Lorelai grinned. "But she'll probably be home as much as she can. She misses Stars Hollow and her mommy, even though she won't admit it."
"So, does Yale do the thing where siblings can come spend a weekend? I mean, I'd totally qualify for that now, right? That would be super awesome, if I could spend a whole weekend there with her." April's eagerness was apparent in her words and posture.
"Uh…" Luke looked helplessly over at Lorelai. "We'd have to run it by Rory, and your mom, too, but I guess that'd be OK―"
"You know, there's a ton of stuff I'd like to talk to her about," April cut him off, her thoughts running together. "I need to decide pretty quickly where I'm going to go to high school. Rory went to Chilton, right? I'd love get her insights on that. I've got this chart I've been working on. Hey, do you have her email? It'd be OK if I'd email her, right?"
Lorelai's eyes were starting to glint with amusement. "I'm sure it'd be OK," she said, grinning at Luke.
"So, what's this internship about? How did she get it? Does she get school credit for it, or will it just look good on her résumé?" She eagerly peppered them with Rory questions.
Luke leaned back in his chair, smiling, slowly shaking his head as Lorelai answered all of his daughter's questions. For the first time since leaving their hotel room that morning he felt completely content.
Luke heard Lorelai make a muffled noise from her seat in the Jeep as he finally drove towards Stars Hollow.
"What?" he asked cautiously.
She tried again to stifle the giggles that were trying to break out of her. "Nothing," she squeaked.
He smiled in spite of himself. It was good to hear her giggly. "Tell me," he urged.
The laughter pealed out of her. "It's just, here we've been, all of this time, so concerned about April. You were scared to let me around her, for fear she'd like me better than you. I was terrified she wouldn't like me at all. And here all that matters to her…is Rory! She's a Rory groupie! She doesn't care about us at all!"
Luke grinned ruefully as he signaled a turn. "That does appear to be the case."
"Oh, wow." Lorelai sighed thankfully, relaxing back into her seat. "Today's been good, huh?"
"Pretty good," Luke agreed.
Lorelai sighed again. "I have to say, I'm not exactly looking forward to the third degree we're going to get from the town. I wish we could just settle in and not have to explain it to everybody."
Luke scowled. "That's for sure."
Lorelai sat up straighter. Her hands waved in excitement. "What if we could?"
"How would we do that? You know the gossips are going to be all over us the second we get there."
"Well, what if we had a sort of…spokesperson. A representative. Someone who'd field all of the inquiries for us."
"What are you talking about?"
"On TV, you know, every time a family has some sort of trauma, they usually don't speak to the reporters. They always appoint the family lawyer, or a friend, or someone as their spokesperson. That's what it always says under their picture. You know, 'Thaddeus So-and-So, Representative of the Smith Family' or something like that," Lorelai explained.
"And how does that relate to us?" Luke questioned.
"Well, when Miss Patty comes up and peppers you for details about our honeymoon, you say, 'Sorry, Patty, you'll have to ask our designated spokesperson about that.'" Lorelai made her voice go deep as she pretended to speak as Luke.
"And who would that be?" he asked, shaking his head at yet another of Lorelai's crazy ideas.
"Sookie," she answered at once.
His eyebrows rose as he glanced over at her. "Sookie?"
She nodded seriously. "I kind of feel bad, Luke, that we ran off and didn't tell her. Maybe if we go tell her now, before anyone else, and let her trump the rest of the gossips, it won't hurt her feelings as much. Could we? Could we go tell her now?"
He sighed as impatience tugged at him. He was never going to get back to the diner at this rate.
"All right," he muttered.
"Yay!" Lorelai squealed. "Go back behind the Dragonfly property to that access road. Pull up behind the stables, so we're hidden from the main building," she ordered, grabbing for her phone.
The Jeep had barely coasted to a stop before Sookie's auburn head came into view. Lorelai jumped out and Sookie headed right for her, still clutching a wooden spoon with some sort of red sauce clinging to it.
"You're back!" Sookie shouted joyfully, throwing her arms around Lorelai and squeezing tightly. Just then Luke climbed out of the other side of the Jeep, drawing her attention.
"Oh!" she gasped, stepping back away from Lorelai's embrace. "You're together. Oh my God! You're together!" She jumped up and down in joy, then abruptly stilled. "Wait. Are you really together?"
"We're together," Lorelai confirmed.
"Oh my God! That's fantastic! You know, in the back of my head I was wondering, because you were gone, and he was gone, and I kept thinking, wow, wouldn't it be something if you were actually together, but here you are, and you're actually together! I can't believe it!" She hugged Lorelai tightly as they squealed and jumped up and down. "So you guys made up?" she asked breathlessly.
"Actually, Sook," Lorelai took a deep breath and looked over at Luke, "we actually did a little bit more than made up."
Sookie waggled her eyebrows as she chuckled knowingly. "I just bet you did!"
"No, no, Sookie, I mean…" Once again Lorelai looked over at Luke but he didn't give her any hints on how to proceed. "We, uh…We got married, Sook."
All of the excitement left Sookie. "You did what?" she asked soberly.
"We got married." Lorelai gulped at the dismayed look on Sookie's face. "Last Friday, in Maryland. We're…married," she repeated again.
Sookie eyes nervously bounced back and forth between Lorelai and Luke. "Are you sure that was the smart thing to do?" she finally asked, hesitantly. "Are you sure you shouldn't have taken this reconciliation thing a little slower?"
Lorelai looked down at the ground for a minute before stepping closer to Sookie. She took her hands and looked into her face. "Sookie. If you'd messed up, and you'd lost Jackson, but then you had this opportunity for a second chance with him, wouldn't you take it? Wouldn't you want your life together to start as soon as possible?" Lorelai shook her head slightly as she rubbed Sookie's hands with hers. "Luke gave me this chance. I didn't want to wait anymore," she said softly.
The green bandana on Sookie's head bobbed as she nodded her head slightly, but she couldn't look Lorelai in the eyes. She looked over at Luke instead. "Luke?" she asked doubtfully.
Luke walked around the car to join the two women. He slung his arm over Lorelai's shoulders as he faced Sookie. "This was the right thing for us to do, Sookie," he said simply. "It was what we needed to do."
Sookie sucked in a huge breath of air. "Wow. You're married." She stared at them for several long moments. "You're really married?"
Lorelai smiled proudly and displayed her ring, pulling on Luke's hand to show his, as well. "And I've got the marriage certificate, some slightly wilted flowers and a kid somewhere in Pennsylvania who'll back me up."
Dimples flashed on Sookie's face as her excitement returned. "This will be the biggest news in Stars Hollow since Gina Pruitt went skinny dipping back in '84 and her undies ended up mixed in with the lettuce in Taylor's produce section!"
"How did…Who?" Lorelai asked, momentarily taken aback.
"Tell you later," Luke promised.
Sookie's brain was working overtime. "I need to bake you a cake! Ooh! A wedding cake! We can throw a party! Here, at the Dragonfly! This is so exciting!"
"No party," Luke said firmly.
"No party, Sook," Lorelai repeated, gently. "We just want to start our lives together. No drama, no excitement, no gossip. We don't want to be the center of attention."
"Oh," Sookie sighed, disappointed.
"Tell her," Luke urged.
"What we would like," Lorelai told her friend, "is for you to be our spokesperson. We'd like you to tell everybody for us. Would you do that for us?"
"Everybody who?"
"Everybody everybody. Everybody in town. Anybody who'll bug us for the whole story. We want to give you the job of getting the word out. Can we count on you?"
Sookie looked at Lorelai in confusion, then looked questioningly up at Luke. "Me? You're sure about this?"
"I certainly don't want to repeat this a thousand times to all of the crazy people in town," Luke said emphatically.
Lorelai nodded in agreement and looked hopefully at her friend.
Sookie looked around, wetting her lips as she considered. "Well," she said, smiling her bubbly smile as she once again started to bob on her toes, "then you need to fill me in on all of the details! Don't leave out a thing!" she playfully threatened, swinging the wooden spoon over her head in emphasis.
Lorelai threw back her head and laughed. She put her arm around Sookie and led her over to a bench by Cletus' stall. "We decided to get out of town," she started, "and Luke drove us to a town in Maryland called Harve de Grace, which is the duck decoy capital of the world. I'd slept most of the way there, so it was a surprise to me…"
Luke leaned back against the Jeep, letting the warm sunshine bake into his shoulders and relieve some of the tension that had collected in them after the long day of driving. He closed his eyes and smiled as he listened to Lorelai telling their story, minus just a few details here and there. In his mind he could picture Lorelai telling the same story again someday, only this time she was sitting in a rocking chair, holding their baby. It was a good story, he decided. A really good story.
At long last Luke turned into Liz's driveway and turned off the Jeep. He sighed and stretched, trying to loosen the kink in his back before he turned to look at Lorelai. "Do you think you can get over to the house on your own?"
Since he was looking right at her, he saw her face change. He saw that mask-like look slip back down over her happy face. He watched her gulp and squeeze shut her eyes. He watched her nod and act like everything was fine.
"Sure," she said blithely, pulling on her ponytail. "No problem."
"Hey, what's wrong?" He reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her from getting out of the car. "Are you feeling bad? We've had a really long day. If you're pooped, I can drive you home first and get you settled, and then come back for my truck. It's no big deal."
"No, Luke, it's fine." Her voice sounded brittle to his ears. "I can take it from here."
"Are you sure?" he asked, still worried.
"Sure," she replied. "I understand. You've got things to do. I got it."
He nodded. "Yeah, I thought I could take the truck and get a load of my stuff to the house yet tonight. It stays light so late, and I don't have that much to bring."
For several long moments she sat as if turned to stone. Finally she swiveled to look at him.
"You're moving in," she stated, her voice full of wonder.
"Yeah." He rubbed at his forehead, wondering if he'd somehow misread the situation. "I figure husbands and wives live together, right?"
A chuckle bubbled up out of her. "You want us to live together."
He shook his head, still confused. "Don't you?"
She lost all control then and laughed until tears spilled down her cheeks. She threw her arms around him. "Yes, I really, really want us to live together." She drew a breath and he felt her trying to get herself under control. "That's what I've always wanted."
He patted her smooth hair and rubbed at her shoulders, working his hands down. "I should have moved in a long time ago, Lorelai," he said, letting the regret he'd always felt about that color his words. "I should have been there with you."
She pulled back away from him, beaming. "You'll be there now."
He started to get out of the Jeep. "You're sure you're OK on your own? Don't feel like you have to carry everything out of the Jeep. I can do that when I get there."
"I'll be fine," she assured him happily.
"OK. Then I'll see you at home."
"OK," Lorelai repeated, watching him walk towards his sister's garage. "See you at home."
Home.
Lorelai put her shoulder against the door to her house and gave a shove as she twisted the key in the lock. She stumbled over the threshold when the door opened easier than she expected. She saw bits and pieces of junk from her purse still littering the floor from where she'd dumped it the night she realized she was pregnant.
She dropped the bags she was carrying onto the couch and looked around slowly. Had it really been less than a week since that night in the tastefully-appointed restroom at Burger King?
The house smelled musty after being shut up for so many days. All sorts of debris was scattered around from her panic that night and from her frantic packing the next morning. And over everything was the silence.
She swallowed hard and walked slowly through the downstairs. There were no little toenails skittering on the hardwood floors, welcoming her home. There was no leash on the backdoor. She didn't need to check any waterbowls, or reach into the cabinet to pull out a treat. She ended up back in the living room next to the fireplace, staring down at the spot on the floor she'd tried to avoid ever since that third night in June.
The house was silent, and still, and lifeless. She made a small humming noise, just to break the silence and to prove to herself that her ears still worked. She bowed her head, letting regret once more overpower her.
She didn't know how long she stood there, mourning Paul Anka, tormenting herself over her actions, doubting herself even now.
But then she heard something. It was faint but she knew what it was, and her heartbeat sped up.
She turned and headed for the door, throwing off her regrets as she went to fling open the door for her husband.
She ran out to the porch, watching as he backed the truck in the driveway. Their house was no longer going to be silent and lifeless, and she briefly closed her eyes in thankfulness. "Welcome home!" she shouted out to him.
Home. They were home.