Because I am a sucker for Luke/Rory moments and today is Father's day.
Oh yeah and I don't own Gilmore Girls.
You don't have to be a genius to know what day of June is my least favorite. Here's a clue,it falls on the thirdSunday and honors a parent I barely know. Yep, Father's day. Mother's day I love. Heck, every day in our house is Mother's day and Rory day combined. Father's day has never, ever been my favorite and I hate when they make us make cards for our dads. They don't even care what our relationships with our dads are like but every year the construction paper, glue, scissors and crayons come out. In the past I threw them out as soon as I walked out the door. Or if we had to make a craft, I'd wait until Mrs. McCallister was too far away and use the marker, colored pencil or crayon to write "Love you, Mommy" on whatever I'd made. Mom once tried to talk to them but they insisted it wasn't fair if only one kid didn't have to make the gift.
So here I am on Father's day, sitting in my room with the coffee mug we had to decorate in my lap. Mom loves coffee so a mug would be a great gift, but not one that says "Happy Father's day" on it. Well, maybe in high school they won't make us do these stupid crafts. I can only hope so, at least. Mom lets herself in and sits at the end of the bed, facing me.
"Hey, kid. What's that?" I hand it to her, bummed. "Oh man. Again?" I nod. "Rory, I'm so sorry." I shrug.
"Mom, it's not your fault. It would be one thing if Dad at least gave us a forwarding address so I could send it and forget about it for a year. Maybe I could give it to grandpa?" She makes a face and I realize why. Most grandparents would proudly drink out of a cup like that for years to come but in the Gilmore household, it would be put away and not even used when we visit.
"Hey, I don't know how open you are to this idea." I look up. "It might totally weird him out but you could explain that the teachers made you write that on there and take it home instead of throwing it away." I think I know who she's talking about.
"Mom, Luke doesn't drink coffee." She smiles.
"He drinks tea though. You need a mug for tea, don't you?" I nod. "He may not be in any way shape or form your dad, but that kinda works in his favor. Look, I say give it to him and say it's like a thank you present for all the stuff he's done for us in the two years we've known him. Like the mashed potatoes, the bookshelves, caring if you eat right, going a little crazy anytime a boy looks at you." I grin, giggling.
"Luke doesn't do that!" Mom smiles tenderly.
"Actually, babe, he does. You're right, he doesn't like kids but you're the princess of Stars Hollow. You're not just any kid and Luke knows that and he adores you. Just give it to him."
"When?" She grins and pulls me off the bed.
"Hey, I'm suddenly feeling like my caffeine buzz is wearing off, don't you?" I hesitate. "Come on, sweets. Let's not keep the Mommy away from Luke's coffee, hmm?" Giving in, I get dressed and we leave the house.
Luke's isn't very full but it's only ten on a Sunday, which means the church rush won't be too far off. He notices us and smiles.
"Hey, sit anywhere." Mom goes up to Joe from the pizza parlor and smiles.
"Hey, you mind if we-" Luke comes up behind her and guides her to an empty table. "What, you said anywhere." I giggle as I sit down and gently lower my pocketbook to the floor. After breakfast, Mom and I are going shopping.
"What will it be?" Mom orders pancakes, eggs, toast and bacon and I get the same. Of course, we both order coffee. "I hope you don't intend to be as tall as your mom because you'll never get there with the coffee you drink." I grin.
"Well that's okay. Her slight height advantage is what makes her feel like the Mommy anyway." Luke rolls his eyes but smiles slightly as he shakes his head and leaves. It dawns on me that the only time I've ever seen him smile is around us. Mom looks me in the eye and jerks her head to him a few times but I get shy.
"Um, not now."
"When?" I bite my lip. "He won't freak out. Well maybe a little but that what makes it fun." I grin.
"Makes what fun?" He asks as he puts our mugs in front of us and pours. I hesitate.
"Luke?"
"Yeah?" I lean over and get my pocketbook. "Will you get mad if I give you something?" He shrugs.
"Rory as long as it's not some disgusting thing either of you plan on forcing me to eat, I'll be fine." I giggle, which makes him smile. Pulling the mug out, I'm careful to hide the side that says "Happy Father's day" so it's not the first thing he sees when I present it.
"Okay, before I give it to you, I want to know that my art teacher made me put the words on it, but I don't mean it as that kind of present. It's more of a 'Thanks for the mashed potatoes, bookshelves and everything else you've done for my mom and me." He rolls his eyes.
"Rory, I don't mind doing that so you don't have to give me a gift." I shrug.
"I know but it doesn't hurt to know it's appreciated, right?" Luke gives me a rare grin as he shrugs.
"Alright, fine. What is it?" I lift the mug from my lap and show it.
"I know you don't drink coffee, but you can use it for tea or hot water or hot chocolate or-" He cuts me off with a squeeze to the shoulder, but suddenly I can't help myself. Standing up, I throw my arms around his waist and squeeze. "Happy-um…friend day."
"Wow, we really need to get that girl a dictionary." I glare at her as Luke recovers and gives my head and shoulders a gentle squeeze as if he's afraid to break me if he hugs too hard before letting go. I pull back and push the mug into his hands before sitting down.
"Thanks Rory. Hey Caesar, I'll be back in a few minutes!" Luke runs up the stairs and mom smiles like the Cheshire Cat.
"He's so cute when he's flustered."
Four years later:
During "Dead Uncles and Vegetables"….
Helping out with the diner, my mom and I were actually having fun. Not that I planned on dropping out of Chilton and giving up my Harvard dream, but still fun. Mom had gone up to talk to Luke and I needed to find Jess. Ducking behind the curtain that hid the stairs to his apartment, I jogged up and walked in.
"Hey, Mom?" She looked up, as did Luke.
"What's up, honey? You got a herd of bulls shopping for China?" Luke looks at her baffled.
"What?"
"Customers – how long have you owned a diner?" Luke rolled his eyes.
"Sorry, Jackson's outside. He wants to talk to you, says it's important."
"About what?"
"I don't know. He seems upset." Mom turned to Luke.
"Ah. All right. You okay?" He smiled and nodded. Apparently it was one of the rare times where he rants and she listens.
"Yeah, thanks." He's playing with a mug between his hands.
"You might wanna study up on that diner talk." His smile is small but doesn't leave his face. It's obvious to the whole town that he loves her and she loves him but neither will admit it to themselves, let alone each other. But she gets jealous of his girlfriends and he hates seeing her with other guys.
"I'll do that tonight." Mom leaves and as I hear descending, I turn to him.
"Hey Luke, where's Jess?" He shrugs.
"I don't know, he's probably out playing basketball or something." I shake my head in disgust. With all the things Luke does for his nephew and Jess doesn't even have the decency to help out when Luke really needs it.
"That little punk." Luke smiles but doesn't say anything as I turn to leave, closing the door behind me. Then it dawns on me which mug he was using, for I caught the familiar "Happy Father's Day" on the side written in my handwriting. Smiling myself, I run down the steps and through the diner to find (hopefully) my future step-cousin.