Disclaimer: These characters are owned by the WB, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and Amy Sherman-Palladino.
Author's Note: This follows my previous story, The Luke Box, but begins about a month later and continues through to how I hope the season will end. You don't have to have read The Luke Box in order to understand this story. Spoilers through episode 5.14, Say Something.
Rory was on her way home from a Doose's run. It wasn't that Lorelai was avoiding Doose's completely, but if Rory was around she always offered to go for her. As she passed Luke's, she glanced inside. She hadn't been to Luke's since the breakup and she knew without asking that Lorelai hadn't either. Looking at Luke's defeated expression and sad eyes, she couldn't help thinking that they could work this out if they would sit down and talk about it. She suddenly had an urge to go in and say hello. And hell, some coffee would be nice.
He looked up when the bell rang and his face registered surprise. He started to look behind her, his eyes questioning, until he realized she was alone and looked down.
"Hi Luke."
"Hi Rory. It's good to see you. Can I get you something?"
"Some coffee, please."
"For here, or in a to go cup?"
She started to say 'to go', but something in his eyes asked her to stay. "Here. I have a few minutes."
He smiled then, a very small smile, but it was a start. "How are you?" he asked as he turned to get her coffee.
"Okay, I guess. School is going well."
"You've been around a lot," he glanced at her as he continued, "I've seen you around town more than usual."
"I'm just keeping in touch with Mom, making sure she's eating enough." Her mom would be upset if she knew she had said that to Luke, had let him know she was hurting.
At the mention of her, he looked up and the sadness returned to his eyes. "How is she?" he asked quietly.
"She's okay, keeping busy at the inn." He nodded and Rory knew he must have buried himself in his work as well.
He started wiping the counters, and then stopped, like he wanted to say something, "Hey."
"Yeah?"
He hesitated and then, "Are you guys going to that stupid basket thing this Saturday?"
Rory wasn't expecting that, "I don't think so. I mean, I don't think my Mom would want to. Why? You don't usually pay any attention to town events."
"Well, you two have been doing it every year since I can remember."
"Probably not this year." Rory was surprised to see a disappointed look on his face, and asked, "You weren't going to go, were you?"
"No, probably not . . . unless," he looked up at this, "there was something worth bidding on."
Rory held his gaze, trying to figure out if he was saying what she thought he might be saying. "So, if there was something worth bidding on, you would be there?"
"Yes." He was still looking straight at her, willing her to understand the implication. She did.
"Well, if I can convince her, maybe we'll see you there," Rory said as she got up to leave.
"Maybe you will," he said, allowing a small smile to escape his lips, as he handed her a cup. Rory looked at him questioningly. "It's uh…for your Mom."
"She doesn't drink coffee anymore," Rory said gently, catching a glimpse of the shock and pain on his face, before turning and walking out the door.
"Lor, it's me again. Please, please, please call me back. I'm going to be in the area this weekend. I really want to talk. I'm so sorry about everything, but I can't just leave it like this between us. I know this hasn't worked the other 37 times that I have called you, but I need to see you and make things right."
"It's a little late for that," Lorelai said bitterly as she hit the delete button. Walking over to the sofa, she collapsed with exhaustion. It had been just over four weeks since the vow renewal and she and Luke's breakup. Avoiding Christopher was easy. It was much harder to avoid Luke, but she had successfully managed it by spending all of her waking hours at the inn or with Rory.
Lorelai wasn't sure how long she stayed on the couch, lost in her thoughts, but she was brought back to reality by the sound of the front door opening and Rory calling, "Hey Mom, I'm home."
"In here."
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, just tired. You went to Doose's?"
"Yeah, I got some staples for you: Pop-Tarts, frozen pizzas, etc."
"Thanks, babe. You're wonderful."
"Anytime. Hey Mom?"
"Yeah?"
"I saw Luke tonight."
"Well, you do have to walk by the diner to go to Doose's."
"I went in to talk to him."
Lorelai flinched slightly, "Why?"
"He looked sad." Lorelai didn't know how to respond to that, so she stayed quiet. "He tried to give me some coffee for you."
"What did you tell him?"
"That you weren't drinking it anymore."
"Why did you tell him that?"
"Because it's true," she said matter-of-factly. Her voice became softer then, "He asked me something too."
"What?"
"He wanted to know if we were going to the basket auction."
"He what?" Lorelai turned and looked at Rory with surprise.
"That was pretty much my reaction. I told him that we probably weren't. Then I asked him if he was going and he said not unless there was something worth bidding on."
"What does that mean?"
"He wants to bid on your basket."
"No, he hates stuff like that. And remember he broke up with me."
"Well that may be, but he brought it up and he looked like he wanted a chance to see you, to talk to you."
"He knows where to find me, if he wanted to talk."
"Do you want to talk to him?"
How to answer that? Of course she did, but what was there to say? He said he couldn't be in the relationship anymore and she was trying to respect that. What else was there to talk about? Unless… he had brought it up after all, right? She was nodding then, "Yeah I want to talk to him," she admitted.
"Alright then, let's do it."
"I can't. What if he doesn't come? Kirk might buy my basket."
"He'll come."
"How do you know?"
"I know, okay. Besides, if he doesn't, I'll kill him."
"Sookie, will you help me with my basket?"
"Don't you usually just throw junk food in there?"
"Yeah, but I want it to be better this year."
"I'm surprised you're doing it at all. What's going on? You can't possible have gotten over Luke already. So what's up? Is this your plan to make him jealous?"
"No!"
"Then what?"
"Rory saw him the other night and he asked if we were making baskets. He said he might come if there were something worth bidding on. It's probably nothing, but…"
"Oh my god, we have work to do! Let's see, I could make grilled chicken sandwiches with watercress and tarragon mayonaisse, pasta salad with roasted vegetables, and …"
"Hey chef-girl, come back to reality, please. I don't want you to make it for me. Can you help me make something myself? Something simple? Sandwiches and salad, maybe some brownies or cookies for dessert?"
"I guess so, but you don't cook."
"That's why it needs to be simple, but I want to make it."
"Okay, I'm sure I can help you with something like that. So tell me, what's going on?"
"If only I knew."
"Hey Lor, it's me again. It's Saturday. I'm just outside of Stars Hollow and I am going to stop by to see you. You can throw me out if you want, but I need to see you. I just want to talk. Well, I'll see you soon."
Lorelai was beginning to regret this. Besides the fact that she had endured several questions and pointed comments from Patty about entering a basket, she had yet to see Luke. Being around so many people at once reminded her of why she had been working such long hours at the inn. She was ready to go curl up on her couch when she heard Taylor.
"Well, well, well. Here is Lorelai Gilmore's basket, likely to contain Pop Tarts and maybe a Slim Jim if you're lucky."
"Hey, don't say that. I made a lunch."
"Well, that sounds even more frightening." Lorelai glared at him, but he went on, "Can I have 20 dollars?"
There was a slight pause, during which she scanned the crowd, wishing she had thought better of this and stayed home. She heard the familiar voice before she saw him.
"Fifty dollars." Following his voice, she saw him as a few people stepped aside to let him move forward. He stopped about twenty feet from her and their eyes locked, both a bit surprised to actually be here. The crowd was silent, wondering what this meant. Even Taylor seemed flustered.
"Going once-"
"Sixty dollars." Both Luke and Lorelai look toward the voice at the same time. Lorelai paled when she saw Christopher. She looked back to see the dismay on Luke's face before he turned and started to walk away.
This can't happen again. "Christopher, get out of my life. I don't want you here."
"Dad, go away. It's not for you. She made it for someone else." Lorelai was surprised to hear the vehemence in Rory's voice.
"Luke, don't go," her voice was so quiet he couldn't possibly have heard her, but he stopped.
"Seventy dollars," he said, without turning around.
Lorelai's heart leapt at the words, but only for a moment.
"Eighty dollars." Her face crumpled in defeat.
"Chris, leave me alone. I don't want you here . . at all."
Rory started walking toward him, "Dad, get the hell out of here, before you screw it up again."
"Give me a chance. I can outbid this guy," he says pointing at Luke.
"No you can't, Christopher. Just go." Lorelai said bitterly as Taylor's voice continued the auction.
"Going once. . . "
Luke turned around then to say, "One hundred dollars." He glared at Chris, who glanced at Lorelai and Rory's angry faces before walking away.
"Going once, going twice, sold for 100 dollars to Luke Danes," Taylor boomed.
Lorelai tried to catch her breath while Luke paid Taylor for the basket and walked toward her. She could feel the eyes of the town on her and she smiled nervously at Luke.
"Hey," he whispered.
"Hey."
"Will you eat with me?" He held up the basket and gave her a hopeful look.
"Well, that is the way it's supposed to work. Can we just go someplace where the whole town isn't watching us?"
"Gladly."