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After spending most of the morning on the phone with employees trying to reassure them that they would still have jobs to come back to Lorelai went to Luke�s, her safe haven where cell phone usage was prohibited and friendly faces abounded, for a late lunch.
�What can I get ya?� Luke asked, pencil poised over his notepad.
�Cheeseburger, fries, one of those blueberry scone things�heated and buttered liberally�and a vat of coffee,� Lorelai said without a moment of hesitation. She had been looking forward to this meal since the night before but things had been so crazy with the Inn and dealing with the remaining guests that she hadn�t been able to go to Luke�s at all. She was experiencing some serious withdrawals and didn�t enjoy the feelings one bit.
Luke groaned but wrote down the order and headed back to the kitchen to make sure Caesar wasn�t slaking off again. Once he made sure Lorelai�s order was placed he grabbed the coffee pot and went over to her table, filling the cup before sinking down into the chair across from her.
�You okay?� Lorelai asked, amused but also concerned. She had never seen Luke acting this way before. Luke sighed heavily. �Luke, you�re scaring me,� she said, amusement officially gone. She wasn�t sure if it was a mothering instinct to a friend thing or maybe just her Luke-something�s-funky-radar but whatever it was Lorelai was off the charts disturbed by Luke�s current despondent attitude.
Angry Luke she could deal with. Ranting Luke was hilarious. Helpful Luke was heart-warming. Monosyllabic Luke was par for the course. But Depressed Luke was completely uncharted territory.
�Jess isn�t going to school,� Luke said. He took off his hat and hit the table with it angrily before replacing it on his head. �He�s not going to school and he�s lying about it and the stupid Wal-Mart guys with their stupid blue vests think he�s a gift from the Gods or something and he�s lying to Rory because she would never let him not go to school and she is the only good thing that has ever happened to him and he�s going to screw it up.�
Lorelai sighed softly. She didn�t like Jess. She knew he was going to end up breaking her daughter�s heart. She knew that he was going to break Luke�s heart.
She really hadn�t wanted to be right.