Jo's POV
As always, things are crazy. The renovations aren't done, and now Uncle Louie died. I never got to meet him, but I've heard a little about him, mostly from Luke.
This morning my alarm didn't go off, so I woke up a little late. Luke put me to work making calls on the upstairs phone, while he was downstairs.
Jess was watching TV, so that left no one to help. Lucky for us the Gilmores came to help. They helped after school as well.
Rory just poured Taylor more coffee as he mutters to himself. Lorelai takes Luke up some food. I checked on him earlier and found out most of our family wasn't coming.
Business is slow, and Rory is here, so after a few minutes I head up again. I open the door.
"What's the news?" I ask.
"Petey is sick," He replies.
"The gorgeous one?" I joke, taking a seat next to Lorelai.
"So Frannie isn't coming? Wait, that thing is still alive?" I question.
"No one is coming."
"No one is coming?"
"Nope."
"Our family is weird."
"Luke referred to them as disturbing," Lorelai says.
"That fits too."
Rory comes to get Lorelai.
"Hey, Luke, where's Jess?" Rory asks.
"I don't know. He's probably out playing basketball, or something."
"That little punk."
She leaves and I laugh.
"I like her. Do you need me for anything?"
"No. Thanks though."
"Okay, I'll get back to work then."
I get to the door and turn back around.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Luke," I tell him before heading downstairs.
Rory had found Jess and dragged him all the way back to the diner.
--
Louie's funeral ended up just being Luke, Lorelai and I. Luke in the middle with me to his left and Lorelai to his right.
"You okay?" Lorelai asks.
"Yeah. I'm not big on funerals in general," Luke replies.
"Nobody is."
"He passed away in his sleep, so the end came peacefully for Louie, which, I'm sure, is a great comfort to all who knew him," the pastor says.
"The passing away part was a great comfort for all who knew him," Luke says.
"I didn't know him..." he continues.
"Good thing," Luke comments and Lorelai shushes him.
"...But I understand he was a fine man, destined to be missed by many."
"Especially the ones that were suing him," Luke adds again.
"Stop. Sorry, Father," Lorelai says.
"Reverend," he corrects her.
"Right."
"Now let us witness Louie Danes, as he is interred and brought to the Lord."
"It was a nice service. Nice, and, um... intimate," Lorelai says.
"I guess everybody deserves something at the end," Luke says.
"Thanks for coming," he tells Lorelai.
"I wouldn't have missed it," she replies.
"I think Grandpa would have been happy with this," I tell him.
"I think so too," he replies.
"That ain't me, is it?" he asks.
Lorelai and I look at him confused.
"What are you talking about?" she asks.
"What Taylor said about me being like Louie. A loner, never being married, and stuff. I mean I'm getting crankier as I get older. He's not so far off."
"You are not your uncle. I mean... would Louie ever build someone a Chuppah, or help fix things around someone's house without being asked, or make a special coffee cake with balloons for a girl's 16th birthday?"
"Rory told you about that?"
"Yes, and would Louie have taken in his sister's kids without asking for anything in return?"
"No one would have trusted Louie with their kids. He probably would have forgotten to feed them, or something."
"You get my point."
"Yeah, I get it."
"You are awesome, Uncle Luke," I tell him.
"Thanks kid."
Then we hear drums.
"What's that?"
We see a man come into view banging his drum, wearing his Stars Hollow war reenactment uniform.
"Is that Andrew?" Luke asks.
"I believe it is," Lorelai replies.
We see the rest of the guys march up the hill, being led by Taylor.
"That's all of them," he says.
"Company... Halt! Company... Salute!" we hear Taylor.
Lorelai and I both have tears in our eyes.
"Thanks," Luke says to Lorelai.
"It's what your dad wanted," she replies.
"Yeah. And, oh, Louie would have hated this."
"That's just a fringe benefit."
Lorelai wraps her hand around his arm, and I rest my head against his shoulder. He wraps his arm around me, pulling me a little closer.
We watch as Kirk desperately tries to play the trumpet.
--
We get to the diner and there are a bunch of people and there are all different kinds of food on the counter.
We walk in and see Rory.
"Hi," Lorelai says.
"What's going on?" Luke asks.
"It's kind of like a wake."
"A wake?" Luke replies.
"For Louie?" Lorelai asks.
"I thought you set up," Rory tells her.
"I didn't set it up."
"Well, it's going well, anyway. People brought a ton of food, if you guys are hungry."
"This is unexpected," Luke says.
"Very."
"Don't you have wakes for people you like?"
"Uncle Luke, I think all these people are here for you," I tell him.
"Am I dead?"
"Face it, Luke. People like you," Lorelai tells him.
"Shut up."
"With charm like that, god, how could they resist?"
I split off to get food and find Rory teasing Jess about helping make this happen, even if it was just unlocking the door.
There are a bunch of people standing and sitting around a table. I stand and listen to them tell stories of Louie.
--
Things are winding down and I walk up to Luke.
"Hey, Luke."
"Hey, Jo," he replies.
"I just wanted to say thank you," I say.
"For what?" he asks.
"For not being completely like Uncle Louie. For taking us in. For actually caring. For showing that you're doing this because you actually want to and not because you have to," I tell him.
He pulls me into a hug. After a minute he looks down at me.
"It's my pleasure," he says.
I smile and squeeze him tighter. We pull back away.
"Am I your favorite, Uncle Luke?" I Joke.
"Definitely... Josie Lu," he replies.
I gasp.
"How dare you," I reply.
\\ AN // -- All grammar, punctuation, and spelling corrections are helpful, encouraged, and greatly appreciated.
Thank you
-- Izzy