Chapter 12 – The Talk

-oOo-

Luke told Cesar and Lane that he'd be gone for a few days starting Thursday, and left it up to them whether they wanted to open the diner or not. After a brief discussion, they both decided to keep the diner open but to close earlier in the evenings. Luke nodded, his mind elsewhere.

He decided to leave early on Thursday to make sure he'd be at the inn before 3 pm on Friday without fail. He gave himself a one-day buffer in case the truck breaks down, or he gets stuck in a road accident, or something. There was no way he would miss this opportunity to see Lorelai again and finally talk to her. He wondered whether it would be okay if he got a room in the same inn, but decided against it. He could sense that Lorelai was trying to keep her distance, refusing even to have dinner with him, so he didn't need to make the situation more awkward.

He packed his "date clothes,", the same ones Lorelai bought for him years ago when he was still with Rachel. He didn't wear them often, so they still looked new. He wondered how long he should stay in Maine, perhaps she'd agree to go out with him on Saturday? Better pack enough clothes to last at least a week.

-oOo-

Lorelai arrived at the inn in Maine at one in the afternoon. After picking on a sandwich for lunch, she decided to take a bubble bath to help her relax. In just a few hours, she'd be seeing Luke again. Luke. My Luke, she thought, then immediately chastised herself. Luke was not hers. Luke will never be hers again. She had to be strong.

She wondered what she should wear. She didn't want to put a dress on and look as if she's making too much effort to look good for him. She decided to wear a sleek navy blue top and jeans, which she paired with flats. She wanted to look casual, heck she wanted to feel casual. But she couldn't do anything about the butterflies in her stomach.

At exactly three, she walked to the lobby, hoping that she didn't look as nervous as she felt. Even though she expected to see Luke there already – he was never late after all – she couldn't help the sudden rush of emotion at seeing him in his "date clothes." She approached him tentatively with a shy smile."

"Have you been waiting long?"

He was looking at the opposite direction, thinking that's where she would be coming from, but started at the sound of her voice. "Lorelai!" he exclaimed. "Not long, I got here at 2:30. You're early."

"I'm right on time."

"Yeah, I just… I wasn't expecting you for another twenty minutes or so."

She knew he was referring to her penchant for being late for every date. "Well, things change."

Luke was a bit thrown off that Lorelai wasn't really talking much. Usually, conversations between them had Lorelai taking up at least 75% of the time talking. He felt the change in the dynamics, and knew he had to step up this time and be the one to talk.

"So I was thinking we could drive to a nearby park to talk? I've been there before with Liz and TJ during the Renaissance Fair a few years back. We can have some privacy there, and the view is great. I think you'll like it. I mean, it's not completely isolated, but we can talk without worrying about people listening to us…"

"Sounds good, Luke."

"Okay, I'll just get my truck from the parking and meet you at the front. I should be here in 5 minutes."

"I can walk with you to the truck, no problem."

Luke stood for a moment just looking at Lorelai. She was barely making eye contact and seemed distant. Without a word, he gestured to the front door and when she nodded, he started walking to the direction of his truck. She followed without walking too close to him. If anyone saw them, they would surely think they were two mere acquaintances, what with the distance between them and the general air of awkwardness.

When they got to the truck, he nervously opened the door for her and waited for her to get in. He couldn't remember being more nervous than this – he was even more nervous than he was on their first date.

As soon as he started his truck, he tried to make some small talk. "So do you mind telling me what you're doing here in Maine?"

"I have another job."

"Another job?"

"Yeah. I'm doing some freelance consulting for the Durham Group."

The name rang a bell but it took him some time to place it. "Is that the company that wanted to buy the Dragonfly last year?"

"Yeah. I look at properties they're interested in, to see if I think it's a good buy."

"That sounds… exciting. It's a huge responsibility." Deep down, he wondered whether she took this job for the extra money to pay her parents back.

"It's something to do."

He tried to open a few more topics for discussion during the twenty-minute drive, but nothing really worked and the conversation was filled with awkward silences.

When they arrived at the park, he noticed that Lorelai immediately opened her door and jumped out, not giving him the chance to open the door for her. He got a few bags from the back of the truck and gestured to Lorelai to follow him along the gravelly pathway. They arrived the picnic area, with a lovely view of the beach and the nearby mountains. Only another picnic table was occupied, by an elderly couple with a dog. They left after an hour or so.

Lorelai stood transfixed at the view and breathed deeply. The place was so tranquil and she immediately felt at peace. She barely noticed Luke pulling out stuff from one of the two bags he was carrying. When she looked, she was surprised to see the table filled with snacks.

Luke cleared his throat. "So I knew you didn't really feel like going out to dinner with me," he began. "But I thought I could bring some snacks so you don't get hungry while we talk."

"This is great," Lorelai smiled, looking through the spread. "Wow. You even got Red Vines."

"Yeah, I got those from Doose's actually," Luke replied. "Here's a thermos of coffee as well, I bought it from a small coffee shop near where you're staying. The concierge said they serve the best coffee in the area, but I wouldn't know."

Lorelai opened a container and began to giggle. "Luke Danes. Did you get me chili to go with the Pringles that I see over here?"

"Yeah," Luke replied, thrilled to hear her laughing. "You always bugged me to serve chili-topped Pringles at Luke's, so I thought I'd look for a place selling chili and got those for takeout for you."

"Well thanks. I appreciate this. Coffee, doughnuts, cookies, pastries, Red Vines, Pringles… all we need is a movie and we'll be all set for a movie marathon." Suddenly, Lorelai noticed another bag which still looked full. "What's in that bag?"

Luke shifted uneasily. "I, uh… I know sometimes you get uncomfortable when talking about serious topics. You get fidgety with your hands, so I thought I'd bring you a few knitting needles and some yarn, in case knitting would help you relax."

Lorelai looked up at him, surprised at his thoughtfulness. The man in front of her seemed to be like the old Luke, the one who was so attuned to her and her mood, and not the Luke of the past few months, the one who was so distant. "Thanks. That was very thoughtful of you."

"So… shall we eat first?"

"I'm not really hungry yet, maybe I'll just have some coffee for now," she replied. She reached for the thermos and took a sip. "Not bad."

"So I guess this is the part where I should start to talk, right?" Luke asked nervously.

"Yeah."