Luke waits by a tree. Lorelai soon meets him. He really did go to the pharmacy, because he wanted to keep up the pretense, so he bought whatever. It's a pack of cigarettes. Luke holds up the necklace, causing Lorelai to go back to being the stilted, brain damaged girly-girl she was when he gave her the earrings. Luke says that they match the earrings, which Lorelai's wearing right now. She thanks him and says they're a perfect match. They lean in to kiss and then...suddenly...it's the parade! Oh, comedy! Here it comes, marching through, celebrating...cider. Dancing apples and scary clowns. Huzzah! Michel's leading the Fake Kids through the parade. "This band," he says. "So subtle. Like a polo mallet hitting your head." The Fake Kids yell "come on!" for the nine hundredth time, and Michel growls at Fake Kid not to pull him. "This town," Luke says. "This is our town. It is so glamorous," Lorelai finishes. Hey, you know another lyric in that song? "We're all dreamers -- we're all whores." Maybe Rory can say that next week. Lorelai and Luke agree to "hook up later." Luke moves pretty fast. Lorelai says she loves the necklace. Luke leaves. Lorelai bumps into a man standing right behind her holding a giant bundle of red balloons. He lets go of the balloons and they blow away. Lorelai offers to pay him for them, but then remembers that she doesn't have any cash, so she invites him to the Dragonfly for some food. She hands him a pack of cigarettes.

Rory has decided not to wait around for her mother, and...I don't know, does this mean Rory knows about Lorelai and Luke? Because I would have liked to have seen that damn scene. Rory knocks on CuteDean's parents' front door. CuteDean answers. "Hi," Rory says, not acknowledging his awesome haircut. CuteDean shuts the door behind him in silence. CuteDean must have picked up all his clothes from the lawn and shoved them in a box, because he's wearing an incredibly wrinkled t-shirt. Rory says she didn't know how to reach him, because she didn't want to call because this town doesn't understand phones. She asks him if he's okay. Hey, you guys might want some damn privacy. Anyway, CuteDean snorts and asks if she's seriously asking if he's okay. She asks how he feels. CuteDean laughs, and Rory apologizes for asking a stupid question. CuteDean says he feels like an idiot. He was married and he threw it away "for someone who dumped [him] once, and then just bailed." Rory says she didn't bail. CuteDean: "I hurt everybody. I hurt Lindsay, I hurt her parents, I hurt my parents. And now I'm back at home when you're in Europe with your grandmother. And what was I thinking? I mean, what am I doing? What's wrong with me?" CuteDean says he has to get ready for work. He walks into his house. Rory stands there, speechless. She looks up to see the bundle of red balloons floating overhead in a rather anvilicious, heavy-handed moment.