NOBODY SAID

          CHAPTER ONE

          This was it.

          Luke wiped his forehead with the back of his hand nervously.  His clothes suddenly felt a little too tight.  His cap practically locked his head in an evil grip of doom.

          Breathe.

          Lorelai yawned and stroked his arm gently and absently.

          “Lorelai,” he said, his voice shaking.

          “What?”

          He took a deep breath, careful not to pass out in the middle of it all.  The couch felt a little too warm so he shifted his weight a bit.

          “Ah, screw it,” he mumbled to himself.  He took Lorelai’s hand in his and bit his lip.  Then he started.

          “Lorelai, we’ve been… together… for a while now, how long, about… five years?”

          Lorelai furrowed her eyebrows at him and suddenly sat up.  The abrupt movement made the hair on Luke’s arm stand on end like little football fans during SuperBowl.  He stared at his shoes as he spoke.

          “Yeah, so, five years we’ve been seeing each other, and it’s been a blast.  Best five years of my life, Lorelai.  And… well, what I’m saying is…”

          Tears gathered in Lorelai’s eyes as it hit her.

          “You’re… breaking up… with me?” she asked softly, ready to burst into tears.

          Luke whipped his head up to give her an incredulous look, “What?”

          “You’re breaking up with me.”

          “Hell, no!  I’m not breaking up with you!  Are you insane?”

          Lorelai rolled her eyes and grabbed a piece of tissue.

          “Well, what’s all this jazz about us being together for five years and you having a blast…”

          Luke sighed and massaged his temples as Lorelai went on.  The gods had to be kidding.  Here he was, trying to say something, and Lorelai starts blabbering, actually stealing his air time.

          “Lorelai, marry me.”

          That shut her up good.  She stopped mid-word and faced him.

          “Are you serious?”

          “Well…” he shrugged.

          “Oh, God, you are.”

          “Of course, I am.”

          “Oh, God.”

          Luke saw the panic in her face and realized that she must not have been ready for this.  He quickly sat up and said, “You don’t have to say yes, Lorelai.  It’s stupid.  Never mind.  Forget I said anything.  Let’s just-“

          “Yes.”

          There was a slight pause as a still silence went over them both.

          “Oh, my God,” he whispered.

          “Oh, my God,” she replied.

          Lorelai felt like she was going to pass out.

          Luke felt like he was going to be sick.

          The town square was filled with well-wishers and decorations as a huge party was thrown for Luke and Lorelai’s engagement.  Sookie St. James laughed excitedly as she heard various raves on how good the food was.  She jumped as Lorelai tapped her from behind.

          “Ah!  Congratulations, honey!  Oh, my God!  You’re getting married!  For real!  I’m so jealous!  The pâtés are better than sex, says Miss Patty.”

          Lorelai smiled, but then raised an eyebrow.

          “Sookie, you are married.  For real.”

          “I know.”

          “So…”

          “So what?”

          “You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

          “What?” she asked in a high-pitched voice followed by a long and low, “Noooooooo…” 

Sookie shook her head dramatically and leaned against a table to help support her from the spinning dizziness that came over her.

          “Oh.  Oh, dear,” she said as Lorelai helped her steady.

          “Mom!”

          Motherly love and all around giddiness came upon Lorelai as she and Rory jumped up and down excitedly.

          “Ahhh!”

          “This is such a great party, Sookie,” Rory complimented, “I just love the cake and the…”  She trailed off when Sookie waved her off. 

Rory looked worriedly at her mother, who just mouthed, “Tequila” and led her away.

          At twenty-four years old, Rory had grown to be a marvelous, mature woman.  But at this moment, she looked like she was four again, excited to tell her mom all about something she’d discovered. 

“Mom, I have something to tell you.”

          “Oh, no.  You’re not going to ask me to marry you, are you?”

          “I got the job.”

          Lorelai’s eyes widened at her daughter’s good news.  She pulled her in for a hug and smiled.  

          “This is the best day, ever!  First Luke and I are getting married, now you get this woohoo-ber-fabulous job at Time Magazine!”

          Rory widened her eyes as another surge of excitement went through her.

          “Eep!”

          Lorelai looked at her funny, “’Eep’?”

          “Yeah, ‘eep’.”

          “That’s what they taught you up in that New Haven Hell?”

          Rory grinned and tucked her hair behind her ears, “I’m just in an uncontainable state of glee that I feel the urge to say, ‘Eep!’”

          Lorelai rolled her eyes, “Ooh, hey, I gotta go – Luke’s ready to tear Kirk’s head apart.”

          Rory turned to see Luke holding Kirk by the lapels of his jacket, shaking the poor man with an intimidating glare.  With a small laugh, Lorelai walked away towards the two.

          Shaking her head, she went over to a table and took a flute of champagne.  She took a small sip, sighing as the bubbles danced around her throat and warmed her on its way down.

          People walked around the town square, laughing and dancing at the festivities.  Rory stood by the side, taking the joy all in. 

          But one figure stood still, on the other side of the party, beside the gazebo, in the darkness.  As they made eye contact, she froze, dropping the slender glass to the ground, spilling its contents all over the grass.

          Jess, decked in a crisp grey suit, stared back at her with a cold expression. 

He raised his champagne flute at her and sipped.