Chapter 3: Lorelai in Stars Hollow
"I'm just saying. It wouldn't kill you to own one U2 album. Or David Bowie's. Your music taste is very poor, my friend."
"My music taste is just fine, thank you." Luke defended himself. "Besides, it all sounds the same to me. Music it's just something that you're supposed to hear in the background so you don't have to be alone with your thoughts."
Lorelai gasped at his words.
"You did not just say that. And to think we wasted last Saturday on some stupid movies. You need to listen to all my albums. Wanna come over now? We need to fix this right away"
It was Tuesday afternoon. Lorelai's parents were still away, so she felt pretty lonely in the big house all by herself. After the party, they spent most of Saturday at Lorelai's, watching different movies and eating a lot of junk food (well, it was a lot of junk food for Luke, for Lorelai it was a normal amount). When Luke's dad heard that she was staying all alone, he also allowed him to spend Monday afternoon with her. Of course, most parents of teenagers would be concerned about leaving their son alone with a girl, but Luke's dad trusted him. And he probably wouldn't have minded if Luke wanted to spend another afternoon at Lorelai's house, but since it was Tuesday, Luke had another responsibility, unfortunately.
"I wish I could, but unfortunately today is the town meeting. My dad can't make it and I promised him that I would go for him." He answered apologetically. She frowned a little at his words, she expected him to say yes. "Unless, you want to go with me? You said it yourself a while back that you would like to see the town meeting. And I could show you around my hometown."
She didn't need much convincing. "Sure, that sounds fun."
"Fair warning, though. People in my town can be a bit.. eccentric and bizarre."
"I think in that case, I'll fit right in." She answered with a smile. She couldn't wait to visit Stars Hollow.
The bus drive was exactly 30 minutes and Lorelai spent most of that time giving Luke lectures about the importance of music. She only stopped talking when he promised he would buy whatever album she felt was necessary for his 'music education'.
When they got off the bus, Lorelai looked around with excitement. She has never seen an actual small town before. All of her family and her parents' friends lived in Hartford or bigger cities like Philadelfia and New York. The town square was small and really pretty. The town was decorated with all sorts of fall themed decorations - she saw a lot of different shades of orange and warm brown, and the gazebo, which stood at the dead center of the town, looked almost magical.
"Oh my god, it's so pretty. What are all those decorations for?" She asked.
"Annual Autumn Festival" he answered. "Although it's nothing special, really. People in this town celebrate every little thing. We have Annual Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter festivals. On top of that we have the Easter Egg Hunt, Thanksgiving parade, 'Bid on a Basket' annual fundraiser and the ridiculous battle reenactment. But of course, there was never any battle in Stars Hollow, there was an almost battle for which the soldiers were waiting all night in the cold but it never happened. So now, a few morons, stand all night in the cold reenacting, whenever there is the first snow of the winter. My dad is one of them also, I don't know why, he's usually pretty smart."
"All of that sounds like fun actually. Even standing all night in the cold. I love snow." Lorelai was suddenly enchanted by this place and was wondering what it would be like to live in this place. The whole year full of some fun events and festivals. It sounded amazing to her. "What is a 'Bid on a basket' fundraiser?"
"Oh, another stupid town tradition. The women in town prepare baskets with food for a picnic. Guys bid on a basket, and they go on a date with whoever made a basket. Pretty sexist, if you ask me. I never participate In any of this stuff. I usually just show up for a few minutes to make my dad happy. He loves all this stuff."
"You can't possibly hate it. It sounds awesome. If I lived here, I would be at every one of these events. And I, of course, would drag you there with me. So you would learn to love it, too." She smiled at the thought.
"I guess, it wouldn't be all so bad, if I had your company." He started to learn that it didn't make much sense to argue with Lorelai for long. She was a master at talking and she would always somehow convince him that she was right. "Here, in the corner of the building is my dad's hardware store. We can come in and say hi, and then I'll give you the full town tour."
"Sure," she answered, a little nervous. She heard some great things about Luke's dad, but he was still a parent, and in her world that was never a good thing.
The store was empty, besides the man at the counter. It was obvious to Lorelai that it was Luke's dad. He was practically an older version of him.
"Dad, hi. There's someone here I'd like you to meet. This is my new friend Lorelai Gilmore. Lorelai, this is my dad William Danes."
William shook her hand with a smile on his face.
"Well, well, well, the famous Lorelai Gilmore. My son won't shut up about you. Thank God, he brought you here, I was beginning to think he made you up." He winked at her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Danes" she smiled back at him. Turned out that she didn't have to worry at all. William was as nice as Luke always described him.
"What am I, 80 years old? Call me William, my dear. So tell me, Lorelai, what brings you to our town this afternoon?"
"Well, my parents are still out of town, and Luke offered to show me the town meeting, which sounds really fun to me." She answered.
"Oh it is fun, don't let the 'Mr. Grumpy' here tell you otherwise. I swear, I don't know where he gets all of this negativity from. I love those town quirks, but he can't stand most of it."
"Yeah, I've noticed." She laughed."But don't worry, Sir. I'm trying to make him more open to fun, and so far it's been working."
"Okay, can you please, stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Luke interrupted. "I am open to fun, I just have a different definition of it." He defended himself.
"Of course, son. You're very fun." He said politely, while mouthing silent 'not really' to Lorelai. She giggled.
"Haha, very funny." Luke shook his head. "Okay, dad, we're gonna get going. I promised Lorelai the town tour. We just came in to say hi."
"Okay, son. Have fun you two. It was a pleasure to meet you Lorelai. And may I say you are just as charming and as pretty as my son said." Luke blushed at his father's words.
"Can you, please, not embarrass me, dad?"
"Thank you, sir. And you are as nice as Luke said." She smiled politely and they walked out. "So, you tell your dad I'm charming and pretty, huh? Someone could think you have a little crush on me, boy." She teased him.
"Oh, geez. I'm gonna kill my dad. Luckily I promised you the tour, and the tour guide always talks while the others listen. Got it?"
"Sure, but you can't avoid this subject forever." She laughed. He ignored her.
"Okay, the tour starts now. Stars Hollow, here we come."
"And that's pretty much it." Luke finished his tour at the front of his house. "Last stop, my home. Come on, in."
Lorelai was still a little overwhelmed after seeing the Stars Hollow. Luke wasn't kidding about the people being eccentric and a little bizarre. Miss Patty, a big woman in her 40s, was a dance teacher and the center of all the gossip. When she saw Luke with Lorelai she immediately called them and insisted that Luke should tell her all about 'his new lady friend'. Then, she spent around 15 minutes talking about the beauty of being young and about her colorful past. Kirk, a 14-year-old boy from Luke's old high school, stopped and stared at Lorelai for a while, and then he asked if he could smell her hair. Luke then threatened to call Kirk's mom if he didn't leave them alone, so he ran away. Al, a short, old man, insisted that they should visit his restaurant "Al's pancake world" and try his new sushi recipe.
It was all a bit much. But, Lorelai couldn't deny that it also had its charms. Everyone knew each other, they were nice to one another and very welcoming towards Lorelai as she was the only new person in town who hadn't heard all of their stories yet.
Luke's house was, indeed, small. But it was also very cozy and homey, as she predicted. The wall was full of photos, which unlike Lorelai's weren't staged. Family portrait showed Luke, around the age of 13, his dad and who she presumed was his late mother and a little blonde girl, which must've been his sister Liz. They all looked honestly happy. Lorelai couldn't imagine what it must've been for Luke to lose his mom at such a young age. She never felt a strong connection to her parents, but she also couldn't imagine what life would be like without them there. Despite everything, she loved her family.
"Let's go to the kitchen, I'll make something for us to eat."
"You'll make it?" She raised her eyebrows."Don't tell me you can cook."
"Well, my dad is at the store till late, and my sister always hangs out with her friends. Someone has to make dinner for those two." He shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal.
"Wow, the things I learned about you today. Okay, then, Jeff Smith. Cook me something good. And while you're at it, I would also really appreciate it if you could make me some coffee."
"You already had like 3 coffees at school. Do you have any idea how unhealthy that is?"
"Gee, who are you, my mother? Besides, it was a long time ago, at lunch. I need some coffee, Luke, please." She looked at him with begging eyes.
"Fine, but I will make you one cup, and one cup, only."
"Fine, I can agree to that" She smiled, knowing that she could probably convince him later to give her more.
"And I'm no fancy chef, by the way. I just cook normal food. Burgers, pancakes, stuff like that." He suddenly felt self-conscious, thinking that maybe he oversold his cooking abilities.
"Hey, you know I'm no picky eater. Burgers sound great."
He was preparing their food, while she continued today's music discussion. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
"This must be Liz, she probably forgot her keys. Would you mind? I can't leave the stove now."
"Sure" Lorelai answered and walked to the door. Luke was right. Behind the door was a girl, which Lorelai recognised from family photos. Liz looked at her confused.
"Sorry, did I have the wrong house? I'm pretty sure I was living here this morning."
"No, no, it's the right house. I'm Lorelai - Luke's friend." She explained.
"Well, in that case, nice to meet you, Lorelai. I'm Liz."
"Oh, I know. Luke talked about you."
They walked to the kitchen together.
"No way. Luke really talked about me? He's usually too embarrassed by me." She rolled her eyes. "Hey there, big brother, what's for dinner?"
"Cheeseburgers, they'll be ready in a minute. Wash your hands, Liz."
"Sure, mom." She stuck her tongue at him, but went to the bathroom.
"Wow, this is really good." Lorelai said after she took the first bite. She didn't lie. He was a really good cook. "I'm so jealous. I can't even boil my own water and make the coffee myself. My mother insists that it's a job for our cook and that a proper lady should not bother with the kitchen tasks." She rolled her eyes, while Liz looked at her surprised.
"You have a cook?" Liz asked with raised eyebrows.
"Well, my parents have a cook, really. I don't have my own money. It's all theirs, I just live there." Lorelai explained, a little embarrassed. She usually lived among people with the same economic background, and for them having a cook was a normal thing. But it was clearly not a common practice in Stars Hollow.
"That sounds great, actually. I just have to eat whatever my brother makes."
"Watch it, or you won't have anything to eat." Luke warned her. " Now finish this and go do your homework."
"So bossy. You know, Luke, you're only 2 years older than me. You can't always tell me what to do."
"I can actually. While dad is at work I am in charge."
Lorelai listened to their argument with fascination. She guessed this is what having siblings looked like. When she was growing up, she always wished for a little brother or sister. Then she would feel less alone. But of course that never happened.
"Fine, I'll leave you alone with your 'girlfriend'" With that she was gone in her room before either Luke or Lorelai could correct her.
"Sorry about her. She's 14 and it's all about boys now. She thinks that it's impossible for a guy and a girl to be just friends. Anyway, here's your promised cup of coffee. Drink it and we can get going. The town meeting starts in 20 minutes."
Lorelai took a sip of the coffee and stared at Luke completely stunned.
"What happened? Is there something wrong with the coffee?" He asked when he saw her face.
"Oh my god! Luke, this is the best coffee I have ever drunk in my entire life. And I drank it all. I mean really, every coffee house in Hartford, all kinds possible. This is seriously amazing. How is that possible? You don't even drink coffee." She really couldn't believe it. This was like coffee from heaven.
"Well, I don't have to drink it to make it," Luke pointed out with a smile. He was glad she enjoyed it so much.
"Now that I discovered this coffee, I will have to come here more often. I won't be able to drink another cup without thinking of this one. You're my coffee angel, Luke." It sounded over the top, but she really meant it.
"You know you're always welcomed here, Lorelai. But you can't have unlimited coffee. I told you, it's bad for you."
"But you have a real gift straight from God. He wouldn't give it to you if you weren't meant to share it with the world, more specifically, me."
"Fine, whenever you come here, you'll be able to get 1 or 2 cups tops. But that's it. Okay now, we really have to get going if we don't want to be late."
They said goodbye to Liz and walked out the door. But Lorelai wasn't done with the subject.
"I just can't believe that I've known you for 3 weeks now and I only now discover that you're a coffee master. We are a perfect match. You don't like coffee but you can make a perfect one, and I can't make my own coffee and I love it. This is awesome."
"Oh no, you're not gonna leave me alone now, huh?" He teased her. " We're gonna have to be friends till the day I die, because of my excellent coffee making skills."
"Like I would leave you alone regardless. Face it, my friend. You're stuck with me." This concept didn't sound bad to Luke at all.
"Okay, it didn't start yet. Let's sneak in the back, before anyone notices you. Otherwise we'll spend half the meeting discussing your arrival. And I'm not kidding. This is a very boring town, which is excited by the smallest changes."
They haven't exactly been able to sneak in. There were only a few people inside, but all of them gave Luke and Lorelai a questioning look. She recognised Miss Patty at the front, who sent them a knowing smile.
"You see that guy at the front? That's Taylor Doose. He owns the only grocery store in town and is the Town Selectmen, which basically means that he runs these stupid meetings and is responsible for organizing the town events." Luke whispered to Lorelai. "I am his number 1 enemy, as last year during the winter festival, my dad was home sick for 2 weeks, and I ran the store for him. I refused to decorate the outside for a winter theme and Taylor was pissed. He thinks I bring negativity to the town. He's not wrong though. " He smirked and something in his smile told Lorelai that it was probably his favorite activity to drive this Taylor guy mad.
The room was filling up with people and at 7 o'clock sharp Mr. Taylor Doose knocked with his gavel.
"Good evening, everyone. We have a pretty tight schedule today. Let's start with the first order of business. The Autumn Festival is almost here. I once again need to remind every business owner near the town square to decorate their places as required." with that he sent Luke a disapproving look, as he remembered his last year's behavior. Of course, this year, the store was already decorated, his father took care of that, but Taylor Doose never forgets and forgives.
The meeting went on for a while, but Lorelai was not bored for a minute. It was all so fascinating to her. The most fun for her was when people came on the stage with their legal disputes, which apparently were being resolved by the whole town. Young guy named Andrew came on stage as he was accused by a loud woman named Babette, that he went to his house the other night through her lawn and accidentally broke her gnome. Apparently, this gnome had both actual and sentimental value. Both of them told the story from their perspective and then it was time to vote for who was in the right here.
Lorelai, without hesitation raised her hand to show her support for Babette - after hearing her story, she believed that the guy should pay for the broken gnome.
"Excuse me, young lady." Mr. Doose spoke directly to Lorelai. "But you are not allowed to vote as you are not from this town. In fact, you shouldn't even be allowed in this meeting, but since you came with Luke, and let's face it - he's such a loner that we are all worried about his future - I generously allowed it."
"Gee, thanks Taylor." Luke shook his head angrily. "Come on, let her vote, she just wanted to help by being part of all this. If you won't agree, she can have my vote, since I think it's all bonkers anyway."
"Luke, language!" Taylor gasped indignantly.
"Oh, come on, Taylor. Let the little darling vote. She was on my side, anyway." Babette winked at her. "And maybe he was such a loner because he was holding out for the best. You're really pretty, sugar." She said with a smile.
"Oh, thank you, Bebatte." Lorelai answered while Luke blushed a little.
"Fine, we can have a vote about this, if you insist. Should this little miss, named Lorelai Gilmore as reported to me by Miss Patty, be allowed on our town votes at this meeting and any future meetings that she might attend? All in favor, please raise their hands." Taylor said and to Lorelai's surprise, every single person raised their hand. She couldn't believe how nice the people of Stars Hollow were to her.
"I think this is my favorite place in the entire world. " She whispered to Luke with a smile.
It was after 8, when the meeting ended, and although Lorelai said that it is no problem for her to come back home by bus, both Luke and his dad insisted that Luke should drive her home in his father's truck. William told them to wait on the town square, as he had to fill up the tank first.
"So, I see that you enjoyed yourself today." Luke noticed. " Who would've thought that those meetings could actually bring joy to anybody." He laughed.
"Are you kidding me? This was so much fun
Everything here is so much fun. And people are so nice and honest. You don't see a lot of those in Hartford. I wish I could live here." She said honestly.
"Yeah, I think you would fit right in. You already have voting rights, so you're basically an honorable citizen of Stars Hollow." She smiled at his words.
They walked up the gazebo and she looked around. She didn't even notice when the day turned into night. The town looked even more magical, as the whole square was bright from little lights hanging around.
"So pretty." She said, taking it all in. It was a perfect day. And suddenly she remembered something Luke said a while ago. "Luke, remember how you told me that the first kiss should not be rushed. That I should wait for a good moment with a good guy?" She asked although it was more of a rhetorical question. She knew he remembered. He nodded in response.
"Well, I can't think of a better guy and a better moment than this one." She said and without waiting for his response she locked her lips to his. It wasn't a big movie kiss, it was a little awkward and pretty short, as it may often happen with first kisses. But it was perfect for her. And she knew in this moment, he was right. She could've kissed him that first day waiting for the bus, or last Friday, while being drunk. But here, today it was a perfect, magical moment. And nobody could steal this away from her.
And it was only confirmed when Luke looked at her with a smile and kissed her back. This kiss was longer and more passionate and even more perfect. And who knows how long it would've lasted if they hadn't heard a short chuckle behind their back.
They jumped away from each other and looked at Luke's dad with flushed faces, not knowing what to say.
But he just laughed and said:
"Just your friend, my ass. Oh, Luke, you could've just said that she's your girlfriend. I was young once, also. Okay kids, the car is ready. And you, young man, will drive your girlfriend home and come straight back. No funny business, got it?" He asked with mischief in his eyes.
"Got it." Luke answered quietly, still embarrassed. But when Lorelai smiled at him and took his hand, he felt like the happiest man alive.