L.L., Dramatic Stand Alone Piece, Complete, PG13
****
Luke’s Diner, Wednesday, Mid-morning
“Hey,” she smiled, sitting on a stool and leaning across the counter, “it’s quiet in here.”
“Hey, Lorelai. Yeah, the lull,” he replied, continuing to place fresh doughnuts on the cake stand. When he finished he poured her a cup of coffee, then began to wipe the counter.
“Listen,” she started after a quick sip, “I, uh, need to ask you a favor...”
“Something broken?” he asked.
“Well, sort of...” she began.
“What?”
“Well, I was wondering...tomorrow afternoon if you--?”
“Tomorrow? Nope. Sorry.”
“But you usually take Thursdays off, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but I got tickets again–I promised to take Nicole to a Yankee game.” Luke turned to make a fresh pot of coffee.
“Oh, right. Ok” she smiled anyway “I just thought... but never mind, maybe Kirk can do it...”
“You want Kirk to try to fix something for you?” he turned back to her.
“No, I don’t need anything fixed... I just need someone to...”
“I thought you said something was broken.” Luke leaned down to pick up a box of napkins to begin refills before lunch.
“No. No, I didn’t mean... It doesn’t matter.” she reached in her purse for a couple of dollars and placed them on the table. “I’ve got to go.”
“Ok. Sorry–maybe I can fix it next week.”
“Right. Ok. Well, have a good time at the game!”
And with that she was gone.
********
Luke’s Diner, Thursday, Late afternoon
“Jeez! Shut the door Kirk–It’s pouring out there!” yelled Luke
“Yes, the proverbial cats and dogs.” Kirk crossed to the counter “I thought you were going to a game today.”
“Called on account of proverbial cats and dogs,” grumped Luke “What can I get you?”
“Just some information, please, and then I will place an order.”
“What? Look, Kirk, I am in no mood...”
“I need to know how Lorelai takes her coffee.”
“What? Why? She just drinks it black and hot and in ungodly quantities. Why do you need to know?”
“Well, she had an adverse reaction to the anesthetic, or a complication or something, so they are keeping her for awhile. But since she hired me to come pick her up at four, and I reserved the time anyway, I thought I’d just take her a cup of coffee to try and cheer her up–it’s much cheaper than flowers. Plus Lorelai tends to exhibit a great deal of gratitude when she’s given coffee...”
“Kirk, what the hell are you talking about? Anesthetic? Is she at the dentist or something?”
“No, she’s at the hospital. She had a test this morning and I was supposed to pick her up, but there were some complications so they are keeping her over–“
“Test? Complications? What are you talking about?”
“I was going to bring her coffee... But then again maybe she’s too sick for coffee. They usually only keep you if you’re pretty sick...Perhaps she’s tired and wants to rest. I may need to rethink this.”
“Kirk, what hospital?” “Hartford Memorial. What do you think about the coffee idea?”
But Luke was gone.
********************************
Hartford Memorial Hospital, Room 312, Early Evening
Luke stood in the open door watching and listening.
“Rory? Hi sweetie. Did I catch you at a bad time? -Good. Listen: Don’t freak or anything, but I’m over at the hospital. -No, no, now listen: I had to have a needle biopsy this morning... -Just let me finish... -Yes, but it’s very small... -I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to worry you. -Yes, I know. -Honey, I’m a big girl, I’m perfectly capable of getting a test by my- -Yes, looks like it might be.... -Don’t cry sweetheart, don’t cry. It’s really very small... very small... -They are going to take it out in the morning–a lumpectomy. -It’s so small, really, and it’ll be quick and the doctor looks just like the Quaker Oatmeal guy. -Well, sure, you gotta trust the Quakers, right? -No, I don’t want you coming tonight. -No, Rory-It’s raining and you’re upset. I don’t want you driving, plus they won’t let me eat for twelve hours before so I’m pretty cranky too. -No, that’s how I want it. I’ll be fine. I am fine. Just tired. I’ll probably go right to sleep after we’re finished talking. -Well, it didn’t tickle, the needle was sort of spear-like, but I’ll be asleep tomorrow. -We won’t know for sure until after, but maybe chemotherapy too. -Rory, it’s gonna be all right. -Sure, if you want to call your Dad, it’s up to you. -No, I don’t want to talk to him. I just wanna be alone. -Honey, I love you too. -They’re gonna take me in at seven thirty, so you’ll have to get here early. Just drive carefully. -Yes, I’ll call her next. -Just try to sleep, all right? -Ok, I love you too. Yes, yes, I’m sure. I am fine. I love you too. -Bye.”
Lorelai hung up the phone.
“How long have you been here?” she asked when she finally noticed him. “Long enough.”
“I’ll be all right.”
“I know you will.”
“Not as pretty maybe...”
“You’ll still be gorgeous.”
“You think?”
“I know.”
“I have to call my parents now.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“I don’t want you ever to leave.”
“Ok,” he said as he sat next to her, “Then I won’t.”
*****
Hartford Memorial Hospital, Surgical Waiting Room, Friday morning
“Richard, I’d still feel more comfortable if you had Leonard fly out.” fretted Emily.
“It was her decision to make, Emily.”
“She liked the Quaker doctor, Grandma. I googled him last night–he went to Harvard Medical School.”
“Well, we’ll call Jacob Salenz in if she needs any re-constructive work done.”
“One step at a time, Emily,” warned Richard, “You’re upsetting Rory.”
“I’m not upset. I mean, I’m worried, of course I’m worried. Who wouldn’t be? Right? But I am calm.”
“See, she is doing fine. I’m just trying to be prepared for any possibilities, Richard. Rory’s a big girl. She understands.”
A silence fell among them.
“Rory, let’s take a walk and see if there’s a vending machine somewhere.”
“Ok. But, Luke--no coffee..” Rory got up to follow him.
“No coffee, Ok”
“‘Cause I did a lot of research last night, and excessive caffeine levels in the diet can lead to breast masses. May even lead to malignancies. So...”
“Rory, this is not the way to be thinking right now.”
“I know. I’m just saying–no coffee!”
“No coffee. I understand. Look, they have juice–lots of antioxidants: Orange or Cranberry?”
“She’s gonna be mad at you, Luke, you know.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, for being right all these years...”
“Rory, we have no way of knowing that this has happened to your mother because of coffee.”
“I know.”
“It’s just not a good idea to look for things to blame. That kind of thing can, well, it can cause problems for you.”
“I just don’t know what to do, Luke.”
“I didn’t either, Rory.”
“You care a lot about Mom, I know. You’ve been a good friend.”
“I do care about her. But I meant that I didn’t know what to do when it happened to my Mom.”
“Oh, I didn’t know–your Mom had--”
“Yeah. But, there wasn’t really any early detection then. People found out too late, and treatment wasn’t as good. Your Mom is going to be fine.”
“I know. –Luke?”
“Yeah?” “I’m sorry about your Mom.”
****
Hartford Memorial Hospital, Room 312, Late Friday night
“How are you doing, hun?”
“Thirsty...”
“Sure, here you go, have just a little sip right now. You can have more later.”
“Is everything...?”
“You came through just fine, hun. We won’t know the complete story until later, but it looks like they got the whole thing out.”
“Thank you,–?”
“Juanita.”
“Thank you, Juanita.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Wow, look at that–all four of them zonked out! How long have they been like this? They look like machine gun victims.”
“Your parents and daughter have been here since early this morning and, well, your fella’s been here since last night. Apparently he stayed after you fell asleep. They’re all exhausted, I imagine. It’s pretty hard to sleep in these chairs, so they must be pretty tired if they are managing it now.”
“Yeah.”
“Looks like they love you a lot.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Try to get some more rest, honey. You’re gonna be sore tomorrow.”
“I will. Thank you, Juanita.”
END