pages stained with coffee and ink • j. mariano

viii. lost and found

"is it going well?" lorelai rhetorically asks.

"it's going fine."

"you have a sock on your shoulder. is it helping you look?" lorelai points out and luke rips the sock off of his shoulder a little embarrassed.

"what are you doing up here?"

"rory and i are starving. we need you to cook us breakfast." she walks into the apartment and sees the mess. "oh my god." lorelai gasps out of horror.

"caesar can make you breakfast." luke tells the stubborn woman.

"what happened to this place?" lorelai asks as she ventured further into the room.

"nothing." luke grumbled.

"this is what i always pictured the inside of my head to look like." lorelai quips.

"see if you can find a brown leather ledger. emilia was going to help me but she had to run to the store for something apparently."

"i've never seen so much stuff. it looks like a white trash hearst castle in here."

"on second thought, i'll find it myself." luke grumbles to himself seeing as the woman next to him is being no help at all.

emilia walks in, more like runs into the apartment and throws open the door to the bathroom. she stands in the doorway and throws a small bottle of hair gel to jess. 

"don't say i never did anything for you. also if you ever page me a 911 message about hair gel ever again i will kill you. i can think of six different ways right now." and she slams the door shut.

she turns around and notices the two adults in the room staring between her and the bathroom door in confusion.

"oh hey guys."

"hey...?" luke and lorelai both hesitantly greet her.

"what are you two doing up here?"

"i'm looking for the supply ledger. which you were supposed to help me with by the way." luke tells the girl in his annoyed tone. 

"i'm just here to beg luke to make rory and i some pancakes."

"oh yeah, caesar sucks at making pancakes."

"hah exactly!" lorelai points at luke but he gives her a face so she changes the subject. "anyways, where'd all this come from?"

"jess. liz shipped the rest of his stuff last week. he finally unpacked."

"well, he did a very nice job." lorelai sarcastically points out.

"i know it's crazy now, but i just have to get it all organized, figure out where to put everything, buy another dresser, a portable wardrobe, some storage bins." luke tells the woman.

"can of gasoline, box of matches." lorelai continues.

"did i mention that caesar can cook you breakfast?" luke tells lorelai, trying to get her out of the apartment so he can actually focus.