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‘Love is calling,
It's time to give to you, something you can hold onto.
I dare you to try.’
~ ‘Andromeda’ Weyes Blood
♉︎
Lorelai couldn't make her eyes open. The alarm blared and she reached out blindly, knocking several things off her nightstand before managing to turn the stupid thing off. Patting the other side of the bed, she frowned. It was empty but still a little warm.
“Rory,” she murmured groggily into her pillow.
Groaning, she swung her feet to the ground and began to stumble blindly to the sink over the other side of the little shed. Without warning she landed on something unexpected and she lost her footing, yelping as she tumbled to the ground.
“Mommy!”
Lorelai groaned. “Hey Kid, what’s with the booby trap?”
Rory giggled. “Sorry. I was deciding.”
“Hm,” Lorelai squinted, blinking until her eyes adjusted, and found the cause of her fall; lined up at the foot of her and Rory’s bed was every single pair of shoes Rory owned, from her battered ballet slippers to her purple sparkly rain boots. “Ah, you are my daughter, after all, the early rising gave me pause for a moment. I was worried the goblin king had stolen you away and replaced you with some perky doppelganger.”
“Heh?” Rory replied, squinting at her in confusion.
“Nevermind. Did you make a decision yet?”
“I think…” Rory paused, pursing her lips tightly and tapping her chin, “the flashies.” She reached out and grabbed the pink and iridescent sneakers Mia had gifted her for Christmas last year.
“A fine choice.” Lorelai nodded approvingly as she lifted herself onto her knees. “I’m assuming there’s an outfit coordinated with these.”
“Uh huh, my rainbow patch jeans and my Wish Bear sweater,” Rory announced.
“You’re gonna be the Jerry Hall of the first grade, my friend,” even as Lorelai joked her gaze softened on her daughter. “Seriously though, why are you up so early? I have to be up but you can sleep in, Hon, you’re only going in for the afternoon today.”
“I know. Couldn’t sleep.” Rory crossed her legs and folded her arms. “My brain was thinking.”
“A common side effect of having one. Exciting or scary thoughts?” Lorelai asked sympathetically.
“Not sure.” Rory shrugged.
“Maybe both?” Lorelai suggested.
“Maybe both.” Rory nodded in a solemn, considered way that was a pretty funny expression on the face of a six-year-old.
Lorelai tried to hide her smile. “Okay, well, how about we mull those feelings over with some breakfast.”
“I do love breakfast,” Rory said, her eyes lighting up.
“Finally, evidence we’re related. Get your sweater and shoes on.”
Rory jumped up with a whoop.
Within five minutes the pair were barreling through the back door of the Independence Inn, taking the first door on the right.
“Ah, who are these beauteous visions I see?” A short, skinny, middle-aged man with bushy, dark eyebrows and a crooked smile looked up from where he was bent over the stove. “Take a seat, I’ve got something special for you both this morning.”
The Independence Inn’s head chef, Baz, had lived in Stars Hollow for at least a decade but still had a distinctive Polish twinge to his soft voice. Over the past five years, it had become one of the many sounds of home, alongside the rush of the stream in the Inn’s gardens and the laughter and soft music that emanated from elegant evening parties. The whirr and chug of the laundry and the crisp sounds of fresh sheets and fluffed pillows.
Lorelai raised an eyebrow at Rory and ushered her to the corner by the storeroom. A tiny plastic play table and two chairs were set up there for them.
A minute later Baz was standing in front of them flourishing two plates of pancakes. Five each, stacked high and topped with banana slices, strawberries, and caramel.
“You knew!” Rory exclaimed, “Thanks, Baz.”
Baz chuckled. ”Of course, it’s a pancake kind of day. What is a celebration without pancakes?”
“Baz, seriously, thank you, this is so sweet,” Lorelai said quietly to the chef as Rory dug in.
Before Baz could respond Rory interrupted with a gasp. “They’re funfetti, Mommy, look.”
♏︎
Luke’s eyes wouldn’t focus. He’d never been the most academic guy. He liked reading well enough and he knew he wasn’t stupid, but he’d always leaned more on his common sense than anything else. He’d run the hardware store pretty much the entire final year of his old man's life, but as it turned out running a diner was not at all like running a hardware store. Six months in and Luke was beginning to wonder if he’d overestimated his abilities. Just last month he’d messed up the orders to his suppliers and ended up with a hundred bunches of bananas instead of a hundred individual ones. He’d kept Miss Patty’s dance classes well-fed that week.
“You’re the picture of concentration, Lucas,” a gentle voice pulled him from his thoughts.
Tearing his gaze from the point on the far wall he’d be aimlessly staring at, he snorted lightly.
An elegant older woman with shoulder-length, blonde hair carefully blow-dried pulled out the chair beside him and sat, smiling affectionately. “You’re taking on too much.”
“I’m okay, Mia, I promise. I just need to get the hang of it all. Buddy’s got me sorted.”
“I don’t even understand when you have the time to run through the business with Buddy. You’re here from sunrise til sunset.”
”I make it work,” Luke said firmly. “Hey, Lou, fresh pot,” he called out to his cook, seeing one of the coffee pots sitting empty. Lou didn’t appear to hear him. “Lou. Lou! Ah, whatever.”
Mia reached out and rested her hand over his. “Look, that friend of mine that teaches a Culinary business class in Hartford-”
Luke huffed. Not this again. “Mia…”
“I know he’d be happy to take you at short notice. Buddy’s great, but Daniel has a different focus. He’d be happy to take a look at the business and help you plan further ahead. The first year’s the hardest.”
Luke clenched his jaw. He didn’t want to be rude, but it just wasn’t possible. “The afternoon class at Stephenson?”
“Yes! It’s very highly rated.” Mia patted his hand excitedly.
“And very inconvenient,” Luke grumped, tapping the butt of his pencil anxiously against the papers he’d been sorting through. “I can’t be away from the diner for hours at a time right now.”
“Oh, you should have brought in more help months ago. You can’t help with the cooking and do all the front-of-house stuff too. You need someone around to focus on your customers, at least during the lunch rush.”
“I can’t-”
Mia’s tone became a little sterner, a little more authoritative, “You will lose more money trying to avoid needing help than you will by just hiring someone for a few hours a week. Besides, when was the last time you had a day off?”
“I just don’t have time to find someone, Mia.” Luke sighed. “If you can think of someone in this town with their head screwed on straight, then fine, they’re hired. Got any ideas?”
Mia laughed. “You’re a good judge of character, you’ll be fine. Just don’t rush into it and hire some kid who doesn’t know salt from sugar. The class doesn’t start for a month, you have some time. Next time Patty’s in here just let her know you’re looking and she’ll get the word out. I’ll get Daniel on the phone and tell him you’re interested in the class. If I give you his information can you fax him your…” She trailed off as Luke raised his eyebrows. “Or you can swing by the Inn and I’ll fax it for you.”
“Thanks, Mia.”
She grabbed her purse and got back to her feet. “I’ll get out of your hair.” Reaching out she gripped his shoulder to give him a reassuring squeeze.
Luke set down his pencil and caught her hand there, squeezing it back appreciatively. “I mean it. Thanks Mia.”
Her eyes softened. “You’ve got this. Trust me. We all care about you, Lucas. Let us help, okay?”
♏︎
“You could at least give him a trial shift,” Patty suggested from where she had perched herself at the counter.
Luke grumbled, shaking his head. Two weeks. Two weeks of trial shifts and pretty much every single one had been an unmitigated disaster. A parade of clueless teenagers and one older guy Luke had to drive to the ER after he dropped a full 22-pound can of coffee on his foot.
“I’d be more likely to bar him,” Luke said as he rang up the young woman in front of him. “That’s three seventy.”
The customer accepted her order and handed him some bills.
“Kirk’s a good kid,” Patty said. “Just a bit… quirky.”
“He’s a nutjob,” Luke scoffed. “I wouldn’t trust him with a hamster, let alone my business.”
“And you won’t reconsider the Walton girl?”
“She was rounding my prices up and down to make ringing up easier,” Luke spluttered. “My prices are my prices, Patty!”
“You might need to stop being so picky, Sweetie.”
”I’ve got some time,” Luke grumbled. “Just be good to find someone with an ounce of experience.”
Shutting the register with a clang, he left Patty sipping her coffee at the counter and grabbed some plates of steaming food from Lou.
“Corner,” Lou said. A man of few words, just like Luke, they had a pretty symbiotic relationship. Luke was starting to worry about conceding so easily to Mia’s idea of taking on someone else. Did he really want someone else coming in and upsetting the system? Still, it'd be nice to have the afternoon off occasionally.
Luke wound his way through the mass of full tables and delivered the hot plates to the corner.
Turning around he was greeted by a woman standing way too close, making him flinch. “Jesus,” he threw up a hand to ward her off, deciding it was better not to make eye contact. As soon as he made eye contact with customers he felt obligated to deal with them immediately.
“Hey,” she said cheerily.
Luke huffed, having already turned his back on her. “Look, if you’re wanting to make an order, line’s at the counter.”
“I don’t need food, just coffee to go,” she said as she trailed him.
“Line’s at the counter.”
”Please, please, please, I only have two minutes.”
“Not me, I have all the time in the world,” Luke said sarcastically, stopping in front of one of the window tables. “Hey, what can I get ya?” He asked the older couple sitting there, tuning the woman out as they ordered.
“I swear, one cup of coffee and I will be in the wind. You will never see me again! Well, maybe. No promises. Depends how good the coffee is.”
God, this girl was crazy. Luke focused on writing down the order he’d just taken and turned away from her again, marching back to the counter. Unsurprisingly, the crazy lady followed him.
“Two cheeseburgers, one with fries, one with salad,” Luke leaned into the kitchen and tacked the order to the pinboard inside.
The voice came again, “Hey, what’s your birthday?”
“I am not giving you my birthday.” Luke didn’t have to look up to know the same girl was now standing at the counter. He grabbed a plate of food from the kitchen and placed it in front of Patty.
“Thanks, Sweetie.”
“Oh, Hi, Patty,” the woman greeted the dance teacher.
“Good to see you, Sweetie,” Patty replied warmly, gathering up her first bite on her fork.
Much to Luke’s chagrin, Patty was too preoccupied with her meal to keep the woman’s focus any longer than that.
”Come on!” The woman was leaning over the counter impatiently in his peripheral vision as Luke dealt with the line of customers in front of him. “You tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine,” she said with a flirtatious lilt.
“You’re a very annoying person, did you know that?”
She ignored him, humming thoughtfully for a moment. “Fall baby, right?”
He shook his head, slightly disturbed, slightly charmed. How the hell did she know that? “You better not pull out a crystal ball because Werner Gunthor has nothing on me.”
“Well, now I wish I did bring one.” She yammered on. “Aim for Doose’s. Ten bucks and a coffee on Taylor going full Yosemite Sam. Wonder if we’d see the steam from here.”
Luke hated that he had to fight a smile. This woman was ridiculous. He clenched his jaw. “October 25th. Now will you go away?” He handed a cup of coffee and some change to a man on the other side of the counter.
“Oh, Scorpio. Wow, does that make sense,” she said with an airy shrewdness. She reached across and grabbed the pen tucked in the front pocket of his shirt.
“Hey!” Incensed, Luke turned with balled fists to face the crazy woman who’d stolen his pen.
Finally, he looked at her. Properly looked. And there, sat at the counter, scrawling something in looping handwriting onto a page of the newspaper, was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in real life. Not cute, not pretty, beautiful. Dangerous beautiful. Silver screen beautiful. Ava Gardner in The Killers beautiful. She was around his age, early twenties maybe, with dark curls spilling over her shoulders. Biting down on her bottom lip in concentration, she finished writing with a flourish and began to tear the paper.
Luke just stared, his brow furrowed.
“Here, Mr Scary Scorpio.” She held out the section she’d just ripped out.
Luke heard Patty chuckle into her coffee.
He didn’t even acknowledge the paper, he just stared back at her. She had the bluest of blue eyes, framed by thick, dark lashes, and when she looked up at him through them he felt himself stripped naked, exposed, near enough autopsied, under her gaze.
“Please,” she implored, wiggling her hand impatiently for him to take the paper.
He snatched it from her and tore his eyes from hers to read it.
It was today’s horoscope for Scorpio, but scrawled over the proceeding text in the girl’s handwriting was ‘You will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she’ll go away.’
Burying all his muddled, unhelpful thoughts, he chucked the scrap of paper she’d handed him back on the counter in front of her and grabbed a take-out cup from behind him, pouring the last of the pot into it.
“Hey, I was next!” the guy at the front of the line complained.
“Cool it, Wesley,” Luke shot back. “You’ll get the fresh stuff.”
He stuck the steaming cup in front of the crazy woman, leaning in close and muttering pointedly, “On the house.”
Her expression morphed into something vulnerable. She looked stunned. “Oh, I can’t-“
“Go, please,” Luke implored her. “And take your-”, he motioned at the newspaper, “-and your…” he gestured to all of her.
She grinned at him, her cheeks dimpling. “Thanks, uh…” she held out a hand for him to jump in as she clambered off the stool; an unspoken question.
“Luke.”
“That would make sense,” she said, tucking the newspaper under her arm. Stuffing her hand in her pocket, she drew out a few crumpled dollar bills, more than the cost of the coffee, and stuffed it in the tip jar. Then she placed a couple of fingers on the horoscope and slid it across the counter toward him. “I’d keep it. I have a feeling it’s lucky.” With that, she spun on her heel. “Hey, look, it came true! Must be.”
“Hey, what’s-”
She interrupted him as she sipped her coffee and let out a loud, appreciative hum, “Oh this is really good. Bye, Luke.” The bell on the door jingled as he watched her leave. She didn’t look back as she ran across the street.
“-your name.” Luke finished lamely.
“Lorelai,” Miss Patty offered from where she was still sitting at the counter stabbing at her salad.
“Huh?” He flinched. He’d all but forgotten she was there.
“That’s Lorelai, Honey. Lorelai Gilmore.”
Luke had heard the name plenty. Everyone in town knew the story; the girl who’d turned up on Mia's doorstep with a baby. He’d heard about her in passing over the years, from Mia, Taylor, whoever, but never given much thought to the person behind the name. “Lorelai Lorelai. As in, Mia’s Lorelai?”
“You two never met before?” Patty raised one perfectly penciled eyebrow.
Luke was pretty sure he would have remembered it if they had. “I don’t think so. I mean, I guess I don’t stop by the Inn much.”
“She helps with all the town charity events. You’ve never run into each other?”
“Oh, you know me, I’m not much for all that town stuff. I just donate.” He swallowed, thinking about the way Lorelai had been with him. The way she’d smiled. He wasn’t sure what to think. Had she been flirting? More likely she was just always like that; a friendly, flirtatious whirlwind. Miss Patty certainly hadn’t commented on it, and she’d never held back before. “You know her too then? Lorelai?”
“Oh yes, her little girl comes to dance. Darling little thing. Looks just like her mother. Those incredible eyes,” Miss Patty mused. “She’ll make one hell of a ballerina if I have any say in it.”
“Uh huh,” Luke said, not sure how to reply to that.
“Luke, come on!” Wesley called out to him, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
“Damn it, will you chill out, I’m coming,” Luke snapped. “See you, Patty, and, uh, ear to the ground on the job thing.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Thanks.” Luke went to the cash register, busying himself with Wesley’s order. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the torn-out horoscope Lorelai had left on the counter. Without thinking too much about it, he grabbed it and slipped it into his front jeans pocket. If the crazy lady said it was lucky, he wasn’t gonna argue. He could use a bit of luck.
♉︎
Rory was sitting on Mia’s desk, nibbling a cinnamon and oatmeal cookie she’d been handed by one of the kitchen staff.
“Good?”
“Yummy.” Rory nodded enthusiastically. She held it out to Lorelai.
Lorelai made to take a huge bite, earning a yell of annoyance from Rory that made her laugh before he took a slightly more modest bite. “Very yummy.”
Rory held out the cookie for Mia to have a bite.
“No, thank you, Honey,” Mia said. “Do you get snack time at school?”
“Yeah, no cookies though.” Rory stuffed the last bite of the cookie in her mouth and Lorelai took a napkin to her daughter’s fingers. “Maybe there’ll be cookies today,” Rory said through her mouthful.
Lorelai grabbed her off the desk and pulled her into her lap where she sat in the chair across from Mia, earning a screech of joy. ”You never know. You excited?”
Rory nodded enthusiastically. “Mrs Perry said it’s good I can read out loud. Sammy couldn’t read out loud. He’s very good at drawing though, much better than me.”
”We all have our talents, Kid. Mine, for example, is my ability to ingest copious amounts of ice cream without ever getting brain freeze. And talking so fast I confuse people into doing what I want. You know, just round ‘em up, like a verbal sheepdog. Or General Cheeseburger. No survivors.” She winked at her daughter, earning a giggle.
Mia chuckled, shaking her head at Lorelai’s antics as she sifted through the letters in her hands.
Rory nodded approvingly at her mother. “You are very good at that.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Can I go now?”
“Yeah, I’ll come find you in a bit, okay?” She let the little girl wriggle free so she could run off and do her own thing. Lorelai would likely find her curled up in a corner reading a book in an hour or two.
Watching her daughter disappear out the door, Lorelai turned and faced Mia. Unfortunately, without Rory as a distraction, she now had to face the actual reason she was in Mia’s office so early in the morning. “So…”
“So,” Mia responded in kind, folding her hands in front of her. “Are you alright?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah,” Lorelai waved Mia’s concern away, “it’s not a big deal, I just was thinking…”
Mia nodded, a patient expression on her face.
“Thinking, um… well, wondering, really…” Lorelai sighed, folding her arms defensively despite herself. Despite knowing Mia would do whatever she could to help her. “I need more hours.”
“Oh,” Mia said simply, pursing her lips in thought.
“Sorry, Mia. I know you have the second floor remodel right now, and I wouldn’t ask but I’m working towards getting us a house and I just didn’t realize how expensive Rory starting school would be. I mean, it’s public school, I just assumed-” Lorelai stopped short, her head dropping into her hands, embarrassed by her own naivety. “I should have waited to get the car. I don’t know what I’m-”
“Don’t be silly, you needed that car, Honey,” Mia said softly, shaking her head. “How many more hours a week?”
“Not that many. I think maybe eight,” Lorelai admitted quietly. That was a minimum. If she was honest she needed twice as many if she was going to make any inroads on getting them out of the shed in the next couple of years.
“Right,” Mia got up from behind her desk and came to sit on the chair next to Lorelai. She placed a warm hand over Lorelai’s. “I won’t say right now, I know they wanted to tell you themselves, but a senior member of the staff will be leaving us soon. I’m thinking about bringing in a less experienced replacement, someone to bring something a little different. I’ll be looking to start them on a lower salary so maybe, in December, we could look at extending your hours?”
Lorelai was despondent.
“I’m sorry,” Mia looked heartbroken.
“No, God, don’t apologize,” Lorelai rolled her eyes at herself, “I just… I don’t know if I can wait that long. I don’t want the other kids to notice. I don’t want her to be the one kid who doesn’t go on the museum visit… or to after-school clubs. I don’t want her to be the kid who doesn’t have a proper house. Their own bedroom.” Lorelai’s eyes filled with tears, and for the first time in a long time, she second-guessed leaving her parent's house. She never would have had to worry about this there. The thought was quickly dispelled when Mia placed a gentle hand on her head and stroked her hair, reminding her that she wouldn’t give up what she’d found here for anything. “Sorry, I didn’t mean the shed’s not enough. I love it, you know I do, and I’m so grateful.”
Mia shushed her gently, rubbing circles on her back. “Lorelai, going through the business, it gets complicated. Please, just let me-”
“No.” Lorelai drew away. “No, you’re not paying for anything.”
“It’s not charity, Honey, that little girl’s a granddaughter to me,” Mia argued.
“I need to do this myself, Mia. I need to know I can do this myself. When I finally get wherever I’m going I need to be able to look back and say ‘Hey, you did this yourself.’ And maybe that’s selfish, but if there’s another option I want to try and find it.”
Mia patted Lorelai’s knee. “Okay. Let’s see what we can figure out.”
They sat in silence for a long moment.
Lorelai let out a shuddering breath. “It’s Baz, isn’t it? It’s Baz that’s leaving.”
Mia’s eyes gave the truth away.
Lorelai felt her heart sink. “Should have known, he’s been treating us lately. Cookies every day.”
Mia smiled sadly. “I’ll let you talk to him.”
“Maybe later. I need a walk.” Lorelai leaned into Mia’s shoulder slightly. “Thanks, always. I really am so grateful. I just need to figure this out myself.” She looked over at Mia.
The older woman had her eyebrows knitted together in thought, a tiny smile playing on her lips.
“Mia?”
“Hm?” She snapped out of it, meeting Lorelai’s eyes. Shaking off whatever thought she’d been having, Mia squeezed Lorelai’s knee. “Yes. Go take that walk. We’ll talk again some other time.”
Blowing out her cheeks, Lorelai slid out of the office, marched straight through the foyer, and out the front door, dropping onto the front steps of the Inn. She pulled at her smart, white shirt. It was too tight. The air was too close. She felt like someone had wrapped her in cellophane. Even in the frosty morning air, her skin felt hot and sticky all of a sudden. “Get a grip,” she commanded herself. Running her hands through her hair, she pushed it back from her face.
”You okay?” A low voice found her.
Lorelai jumped, her hand going to her heart. “Jesus.”
Standing several feet from her was a man. The sunrise made it hard to see him, but she could tell that much. Lorelai raised a hand to shelter her eyes.
He stepped towards her and the sun disappeared behind him, setting his outline alight.
“You my guardian angel or my stalker?” Lorelai quipped.
“Feel that’s a matter of perspective but let’s go with the first option.” The guy from yesterday, Luke, diner Luke, Luke with the great coffee, was standing in front of her, glowing, in his flannel and backward baseball cap.
“I don’t see any wings.”
“Budget cuts,” he said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb at the beat-up baby blue Chevrolet she’d seen parked in town many times. He smiled at her and it seemed almost… warm, a far cry from the guy who’d given her an entire 16-piece orchestra symphony of dirty looks yesterday. She supposed she couldn’t hold that against him too much. She had been a pain in his ass yesterday. The need for caffeine had overtaken reason, as usual.
“Well, you’re too late, I’ve converted to Buddhism. I gave up on you when my prayers for Live Aid tickets went unanswered.”
Luke came to stand a few steps away from her, looking down with a quizzical expression on his face. “Why you sitting out here? It’s freezing.”
“Just getting some air.” She shrugged, looking him up and down. “Seriously, are you stalking me?”
He appeared to fight the urge to roll his eyes. ”Yes, I’m stalking you. And, as stalkers often do, I brought paperwork.” He lifted the black ringbinder he had tucked under one arm. “No, I’m looking for Mia.”
“Oh, she’s in her office,” Lorelai said, gesturing at the Inn. She hadn’t been aware they knew each other, but it made sense, she supposed. Mia went to the town meetings, she knew all the local business owners. “You need a tour guide?”
“No, no worries, enjoy freezing your ass off,” Luke held out a hand, motioning for her to stay where she was. “I know where I’m going.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” he replied, not moving.
She raised an eyebrow at him and thought she saw a little flicker of confusion or… fear in his eyes. She wasn’t sure. Luke was running a bit hot and cold on her and reading him was proving a challenge.
“Um, Lorelai, right?”
She tilted her head at him, her eyes searching his face. She hadn’t given him her name. “Yeah.”
“It was nice seeing you, Lorelai.”
“Uh huh, you too, Luke.” She smiled up at him.
“I gotta,” he motioned in the direction of the Inn.
“See ya.”
He raised a couple of fingers in a small wave as he made to walk up the steps.
She watched him leave, a little fascinated. He couldn’t be more than five years older than her, but he had a maturity about him. Maybe it was the owning a business thing. That just seemed so mature and adult. Who in their mid-20s owned their own business? Sure, she’d grown up in a world where plenty of people grew up to take over businesses from their parents, or got loans from them so they could ‘strike out on their own’, but this wasn’t that world. Luke wasn’t some private school kid who’d just been handed half a mil. She’d heard Luke mentioned in passing by people in town, but from the way they’d spoken about him she’d always just assumed ‘Luke’ would be some guy in his forties, minimum. Not some lanky George Michael lookalike in a backwards baseball cap. He was also softer than she’d heard him described. Sure, he was gruff, and he didn’t say too much, but he clearly wasn’t a stranger to smiling. Yesterday had been less than fruitful, but she’d managed to get multiple smiles out of him today, and it suited him. He had a nice smile.
Lorelai tore her gaze from the door he’d just walked through and turned her attention to the sunrise, pursing her lips.
She gave up on her walk after five minutes, finding little distraction in the autumn leaves and golden light. She was too preoccupied by thoughts of diner boy and what he could possibly want with Mia. He'd brought paperwork. What kind of paperwork? Maybe she should have just asked him that. She ran back up the steps of the Independence Inn, pushed through into the foyer, and wandered over towards where Wendy, the head of housekeeping, was standing over the coffee table in the center of the foyer.
“You seen this?” She asked.
Lorelai shook her head, and then peered down at the furniture, noting the fracture in the table’s elegantly carved leg. “When did that happen?”
“Not sure. Maybe someone sat on it.” Wendy suggested, grimacing as she knelt to examine the crack. The foyer was blissfully quiet as the two women appraised the coffee table, most of the guests not yet up.
“It’s vintage, right?” Lorelai sighed. “And it matches the chairs, replacing the set would probably be an insane amount of money. I can sweet talk Jonny into having a look? Don’t think furniture’s really in his remit but…”
“If you need a bribe, he loves raspberry blondies.”
“Right, so, sweet talk Baz first, got it.”
“I’m gonna go track down Donna, see if we can get this shifted right away. It’s a safety hazard,” Wendy said, patting Lorelai’s arm as she left.
Lorelai released a long breath, bending at the knees slightly to get another look at the crack.
“I could fix that,” a male voice said behind her.
Lorelai jumped, swearing loudly and then clapping her hand over her mouth.
Luke had reappeared. His expression, whilst otherwise stoic, was undercut by the glint in his cool, slate-blue eyes. “We really have to stop meeting like this.”
Lorelai raised an eyebrow. ”Getting your own back, huh?”
Luke shrugged. “Something like that.”
“Lucas,” Mia called out as she entered the foyer, smiling as her gaze landed on the young man standing across from Lorelai. “Are you sure you don’t need the originals back today?”
“Nah, I have to get back for breakfast. I can swing by and get them some other time,” he said.
‘Lucas’, Lorelai mused, the pieces falling into place. Lucas was Luke. Diner Luke. Why had she never put that together? She’d heard Mia mention some guy from Stars Hollow, some guy she'd known when he was in diapers, ‘Lucas’, was opening a diner, and lo and behold a diner called ‘Luke’s’ had opened in town. Yet somehow, some way, Lorelai had never made the connection. She folded her arms and shifted her weight to one leg, peering at him. “Lucas, huh?”
Luke side-eyed her. “‘Luke’ is fine.”
“So, definitely not Mr Scary Scorpio?”
He just blinked at her.
She felt heat rise in her cheeks. Why did this stuff just come out, it was like her mouth didn’t consult her brain at all. The joke hadn’t even been funny the first time she’d said it, and here she was saying it again.
“Just Scary is fine, Mr Scary Scorpio was my father,” he replied dryly.
“Ha,” she said. Out loud. Who said ‘ha’ out loud? A wave of relief passed over her at him leaning into the joke rather than treating her as crazy.
“I see you know my Lorelai, Lucas,” Mia said with a hint of pride, coming over to put an arm around Lorelai. “I didn’t know you’d met.”
“Oh, yeah, briefly.” Luke stuffed his hands in his jean pockets, averting his gaze.
Lorelai wondered if he was mulling over her annoyingness again. She felt a stab of regret. She really could have been more polite to him before.
“I harassed him for coffee,” Lorelai explained awkwardly.
“Well good, I thought you two should meet.” Mia mused cheerily. “This feels like fate.”
“It does?” Luke said, clearly unconvinced.
Mia began her explanation excitedly, “Well, yes, I was just thinking about you both. I think you could solve each other’s problem.”
Lorelai looked to Luke, who, if anything, appeared mildly horrified about where this might be headed. How flattering…
“Lucas, you need an extra hand at the diner, and Lorelai has been wanting some extra hours here that unfortunately I can’t offer right now.” She squeezed Lorelai to her side reassuringly. “You could do your morning shift here, work a few hours at the diner during the afternoon, and then be back here for any evening shifts you have. It’s just perfect!”
“But… Rory.”
“Oh, if school gets out before you finish I’m sure Lucas won’t mind having her at the diner. She’s a good girl. She can read or draw or do homework for a couple of hours. You wouldn’t mind that, would you Lucas?”
“Uh,” Luke had the wide-eye expression of a cornered animal, “No, I don’t-“
“Well, there we go then,” Mia interrupted. “I promise you, you can trust Lorelai. She’ll be great.”
It was kind of perfect logistically. Lorelai would be going in and out of town during the day anyway because of Rory. The diner was right across from Rory’s school, Lorelai would be able to take her break, go and pick her up, and then Rory could sit and entertain herself in the diner until Lorelai was finished. Even if it was minimum wage, a handful of shifts a week could make all the difference. Plus, the diner had great coffee. Better coffee than the Inn. That was a big tick in the Pro column.
Lorelai looked to Luke, unsure what to say. She had no objection to it, but maybe Luke did. He looked well and truly Shanghai’d; mouth open, brow dented, rigid as a board.
“Hey, um, how about a trial shift before we decide anything?” Lorelai said, throwing Luke a metaphorical lifebuoy. “Who knows, maybe my coffee-related talent lies only in the drinking and not the making, in which case you can throw me out on the street before I poison too many people.”
He visibly swallowed. “Yeah, I guess.” His eyes darted between her and Mia. “When works?”
“No point waiting around. How about today?” Mia suggested.
“T- today?” Luke stammered.
“Lorelai has some work here first but she’ll be dropping Rory off at school around noon, she could stop by the diner then. You don’t have plans, do you, Honey?”
Lorelai shook her head. “Only a thrilling afternoon of laundry and Golden Girls, but that can wait.”
“Well, then,” Mia said triumphantly.
“Well then,” Luke repeated, his expression distant.
“Well then,” Lorelai concluded awkwardly, twisting her hands together.
♏︎
It was just after eleven that same morning when the bell on the diner door alerted him to someone entering.
Luke hesitated to look up. He was running through the contract for Lorelai to sign. He was still vaguely uncomfortable at the prospect. He wasn’t stupid, he knew he was attracted to Lorelai, and having her around for hours on end every week didn’t seem like it would help fix the issue. He didn't want to complicate things. He had stuff going on and so did she, hell, she was raising a whole kid. He didn't want to be that guy. What is he lost his concentration and stared for a little too long? What if he made her uncomfortable? The thought made him want to set the oven to four twenty-five and crawl inside.
“Hey, Lucas,” an infectiously happy voice jolted him from his train of thought.
He steeled himself.
“Don’t call me that,” he said gruffly as he looked up. Standing in front of him was one Lorelai Gilmore, smiling brightly at him, all wrapped up in an oversized Snoopy jumper and chunky scarf. Balanced on her hip what could only be described as the espresso to Lorelai’s americano. A tiny compact Lorelai, with dark hair that was straight instead of curly and giant blue eyes. Both of them had pink cheeks and noses, brought on by the late September cold front that was coming off the Atlantic.
“Alright, Grumpy. One of the other dwarves spit in your soup?”
The little girl in Lorelai’s arms giggled as Luke sent her a withering look.
“Luke, this is Rory. Rory, Luke,” Lorelai said, shifting the little girl higher on her hip.
“Hello,” Rory said cheerily.
Luke couldn’t help it; he cracked a small smile. “Nice to meet you, Rory.”
Lorelai set Rory down on one of the stools at the counter. “Sorry, I know I’m a bit early. I thought before lunch properly started would be easier for the actually talking part of this.”
“No, yeah, that’s great,” Luke waved her apology away, “you want some lunch? I know it’s early but by the time it comes out it’ll be almost noon. Plus, you probably eat breakfast early, right? Before your shift.”
Lorelai looked taken aback. “Oh no, don’t worry,” she patted the satchel at her side, “came prepared.”
“Don’t be stupid, it’s freezing out, you’re getting a hot meal. Anything you guys don’t eat?”
“No, we eat literally everything,” Rory said, emphasizing the ‘everything’. She looked so deadly serious Luke couldn’t help the amused expression that surfaced.
“Alright then,” he said, “Lou, one adult, one kid's cheeseburger, with everything.”
“You got it, Boss,” Lou said. He got up from the corner table and folded the newspaper he’d been reading, tossing it on the counter as he passed.
“Yum, cheeseburger,” Rory muttered to herself, distracted slightly by the plastic horse she was making gallop across the counter.
Lorelai started to argue, “You don’t have to-”
Luke cut her off. “You work here, you get meals on the house. Not special treatment, just a perk. If we’re doing a trial then this is part of the experience.”
“Alright, I guess,” Lorelai said. “Thank you.”
Luke cleared his throat and turned around, grabbing a mug and filling it with coffee. He turned and nodded towards a corner table. “Let’s sit there. Rory need anything to drink?”
“Hon, you want anything?” Lorelai asked her daughter as she led her to the table, getting her settled on a chair.
“Apple juice, please.”
“I got you,” Luke said, heading back to the kitchen to grab it. He came back to the table with the juice and the coffee he’d poured. He placed the juice in front of Rory and sat, pushing the coffee towards Lorelai.
“Oh, thanks.” She took the mug in both hands, warming them on it.
He had to take a moment to pretend to fix his cap so he could look away. “Alright, let’s just go through some stuff. Not an interview, I don’t do those, I can’t really stomach how corporate it feels, but we should get an idea of expectations.”
“Sounds good.”
“Alright, so, I was thinking three six-hour shifts a week, bi-weekly schedule. As in, you’d only work every other Saturday, the other week it could be a Friday maybe if that works. Noon til five as standard. Plenty of opportunity for overtime but honestly you’re already working, what? Thirty hours a week at the Inn, I don’t want you overdoing things.” Luke paused to check she was keeping up, glancing up from his notes to see her nodding. “It pays 5 dollar 50 an hour, not including tips-”
“Oh,” Lorelai said softly.
“Oh?”
“Nothing. Generous,” Lorelai said simply.
“What can I say, my blood runs red,” Luke joked.
“Poster of Karl Marx in your bedroom? Lipstick kisses all over it.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Luke said through a smile.
Lorelai’s eyes lit up, a smirk on her lips. He could see the comment that was just sitting there between the two of them, waiting to be made.
He shied away from it, thinking quickly to get their conversation back on track. “Uh, perks. As mentioned, free food and drinks for staff and dependents. Lou lives nearby and walks in so the second parking space outside is all yours.”
“Great, because I think I’ve been parking in it anyway,” Lorelai admitted.
“Three weeks paid leave, but I do need a month's notice for any significant time off, more if possible. We don’t have a sick leave policy, there’s no limit, if someone says they’re puking their guts up then I believe them. I don’t want sick people handling food anyway.”
Lorelai had one hand wrapped around her coffee and the other holding her chin up, a tiny smile playing on her lips. “Endless leave for puking, got it.”
“That extends to Rory too. Other than that, she’s welcome here anytime,” Luke said. The little girl across the table played quietly, only looking up when her name was said.
He leaned in closer to Lorelai as Rory attempted to braid her horse's mane, lowering his voice, “I’m not gonna be an ass and lecture you about how to make that work as if I have any idea, we’ll just figure it out as we go. Mainly you’re here to help out during lunch and give me or Lou a break before the dinner rush, so hopefully it shouldn’t be too busy when Rory has to be in here. Saturdays are busy, but I’ll be here for those so just let me know if you need a minute. I understand it would be crazy of me to say you have to prioritize getting someone coffee over your kid.”
Lorelai was just staring at him.
“All good?” He asked.
She blinked, shaking her head. “Yeah, all good.”
“All of that sound okay?”
“Yeah, um, sounds great honestly.” She looked genuinely nervous and she didn’t seem like the type that got nervous easily. “I just wanted to check. This is all front-of-house, right?”
“I wasn’t planning on giving you access to the stove, no,” Luke reassured her, “you’ll pour coffee, deliver food, take orders, handle cash, etcetera.”
“It’s for the best,” she promised him. “Julia Child, I am not.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Luke said.
They finished chatting about the job and when Lou brought their food, Luke left Rory and Lorelai to it, heading back to work.
Lorelai delivered the plates and cups to the counter when she was done. “Alright, just need to drop Rory off. I’ll be back in about twenty minutes.”
“I’ll see you then. Nice to meet you, Rory,” Luke replied, smiling warmly at the little girl where she was hanging off her mother’s arm.
“Bye,” Rory said, biting her lip shyly and half hiding behind her mother.
“Say thanks for lunch, Kid,” Lorelai reminded the little girl.
Rory perked up. “Oh yeah, thanks. Best cheeseburger ever!”
“I’ll give your compliments to the chef.”
“Give my compliments to the coffee maker,” Lorelai said. “You think you could train up the guys at the Inn?”
“Come on. I’m gonna be late.” Rory said, pressing her chin into her mother’s arm as she glared up at her.
Lorelai feigned disgust. “Urgh, how did I produce someone so punctual? Can you unlearn how to read the time? It’s freakishly advanced of you anyway.”
Rory tugged on her mother’s arm. “Both hands point up. It’s time to goooo.”
Lorelai was dragged out the front door by her straining daughter and Luke returned to wiping down the counter. He got done with that and went to the storeroom to grab some more coffee and other lunch supplies. As he was restocking the coffee filters, the bell tinkled.
“Luke, a strong black tea to take, please, I am drained,” Patty sat down heavily at the counter. “These pageant moms are going to be the death of me.”
“Sweet?”
“Do you need to ask?”
Luke filled up a cardboard cup, dropped a teabag in, and placed a handful of sugar packets in front of her.
“Oh, while I have you, I wanted to let you know I spoke with the Walton girl again. Now, she promises me she had no intention-”
“Oh,” Luke interrupted. “Thanks for the help, Patty, but I think I found someone. Well, I don’t know yet, maybe…”
Patty looked stunned. “You did?”
“Yeah. Actually it's-”
At that moment, Lorelai Gilmore barreled back through the front door and began taking her Snoopy sweater off, revealing a tight, long-sleeved undershirt. “Hey, you got anywhere I can change my shirt?”
“What’s wrong with the sweater?” Luke said. He’d liked the sweater; it was formless. It had been a very helpful sweater.
“It’s my dropping Rory off outfit, not my work outfit,” Lorelai replied as if he were the one being silly.
“Weren’t you wearing your uniform at the Inn earlier? What is this, your third change of the day? Who are you? Princess Di?”
“Not all of us can get away with wearing the same thing every single day as charmingly as you do, Charlie Brown,” Lorelai bit back as she rounded the counter. “Besides, it’s my fourth. I changed for breakfast too.”
Luke scoffed. “That’s too much laundry.”
Lorelai shrugged. “Perks of living at an Inn. Big washing machine.” She turned to Patty and smiled. “Hey, Patty.”
“Hello, Dear,” Miss Patty replied with searching eyes, clearly drinking in the sight of Lorelai getting comfortable on the opposite side of the counter with some amount of interest. “How’s Rory liking school?”
“Oh, she loves it. She’s shown me the library five times, I’m worried she’s going to start asking to sleep there. Scary to think she’s going to start going in the mornings as well. My shifts at the Inn are going to be so weird without her trailing around after me asking why some unicorns have wings and others don’t.”
“What’d you tell her?” Luke asked.
“That she’d have to find a unicorn and ask them.” Lorelai leaned heavily on the counter, turning her attention back to Patty. “Sorry I couldn’t stop to chat yesterday. Had a meeting with Rory’s teacher and couldn’t let it overrun. Wendy had some training thing in Hartford and I promised I’d be back for the laundry delivery.”
“No problem, Honey. I should get back myself, we’ll catch up Thursday.”
“You got it,” Lorelai winked at Patty and turned back to Luke. “So, where do I go?”
“Bathroom’s through there,” Luke gestured to his left and stood back to let Lorelai pass between him and the counter.
“So… you found someone,” Patty prompted once Lorelai was gone.
Luke shrugged. “Yeah, I went to the Inn yesterday, you know, to fax that stuff I mentioned. Ran into Lorelai. Mia said she was looking for some extra work. She has a brain, and customer service experience, so she’s gonna do a trial shift.”
Patty hummed. Her eyes were sparkling far too much for Luke’s liking.
“What?”
“She’s a lovely girl, Luke,” Patty said simply. “A lovely girl.”
“Huh?” Luke looked up from organizing the condiments.
Patty took a small sip of her tea, cradling it close. “It’s been a while since you walked out with a nice girl.”
“Walked out?” Luke muttered under his breath. This was so typical of Patty. When he’d walked Lolly Telford home after a town meeting last winter, he’d heard about it for months. “Don’t make this into something it isn’t. She needed a job and I needed someone to do a job.”
Patty tipped a second packet of sugar into her tea. “How long did it take you to get that folder to the Inn?”
Luke squirmed. “I don’t know, a couple of weeks. So what? I was busy.”
“But this morning, after yesterday, you had time?” Patty probed.
“What's your point?” Luke grumbled, turning his back to her and busying himself with reorganizing the already perfectly orderly cups.
Patty simply chuckled to herself. “Tea today is gorgeous. See you later, Sweetie.”
With that she wafted back out the front door, flicking her crushed velvet scarf over her shoulder as she went. She left him with his thoughts and a powerful whiff of her floral perfume. Chewing his lip, Luke tried to focus on his work.
Much to Luke’s despair, Mia was right, Lorelai was great; she knew her way around a coffee pot, had the quirks of the old-fashioned cash register down within half an hour, and could talk to absolutely anyone about literally anything. Luke noted even his regulars were spending a bit more money than usual. Far too easily sweet-talked into a donut or slice of pie.
Lorelai appeared next to him as he reshuffled orders on the side and leaned around the corner to pin them to the kitchen corkboard.
“Hey, if I land this, do I get a cute apron at any point?”
Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, I don’t know. Do you need one?”
“Yes,” Lorelai said, “and not just because I’d look adorable. These pockets weren’t made for notepads and pens, I’m lucky if I can fit a stick of gum and some lipgloss in there.”
“I’ll take it under advisement,” Luke grumbled good-naturedly.
“Great!” She spun away to pick up the coffee pot, gearing up to circle the diner.
“Hey, Lorelai,” Luke called out.
She spun back to face him.
“You’re landing it.” He gazed at her, watching the smile spread across her face.
“Yeah?”
“Mrs Cole needs a top-up,” Luke said, turning his attention back to organizing the order slips.
Lorelai bit her lip and made to turn away too.
“Wait.” He hesitated a moment, hanging off the door frame with one arm. “You never did say. When’s your birthday?”
She laughed. “April 25th.”
He narrowed his eyes at her; a silent question.
“That’s Taurus,” she clarified.
Luke nodded slowly. “I’ll see what I can do about an apron.”
She grinned brightly at him before she walked away, the coffee pot held aloft.
♉︎
When the lull before the dinner rush finally came, Lorelai was struck by how quickly the time had gone. It had worked out even better than she imagined. She’d been able to seamlessly collect Rory and stick her on a stool at the counter to read and color for the rest of the shift as the half-full diner of people mostly just drinking coffee and eating doughnuts had all but taken care of itself. Luke had put her to work refilling the condiments as he helped Lou prep for dinner, but she found she could easily do that whilst keeping an eye on Rory.
“Mommy, what color should this be?” Rory asked, pouting thoughtfully. She held a red pencil in a tight grip as she poured over her Christmas-themed coloring book.
“Hmm, pink,” Lorelai offered.
Luke appeared, wiping his hands off with a rag. “Pink? It’s a Christmas tree?”
“Yeah,” Lorelai said, the ‘and?’ heavily implied.
“It’s a Christmas tree,” Luke emphasized.
“I think green,” Rory said, picking up the dark green pencil.
“At least one of you has their head screwed on,” Luke said, raising his eyebrow at Lorelai.
“Where’s your sense of whimsy?” Lorelai said to him as she wandered to the other side of the counter to stroke Rory’s hair, redirecting her attention to her daughter. “Hey, we’re gonna go when you’re finished coloring the tree in, okay Hon?”
“But I’m almost done with all of it,” Rory said, as she furiously scribbled. “I just have to do the doggy and presents.”
“You can finish it when we get home, I promise,” Lorelai said, collecting the pencils.
“Mommy!” Rory whined.
“When we get home we can make some hot cocoa and finish it together, alright?” Lorelai promised as she gathered up her and Rory’s things.
“So, you thinking you might want to come back here in a couple of days?” Luke asked.
Lorelai stilled, her hands full of pencils. She found his eyes; cool, dark blue, and studying her intensely. “Yeah?”
She watched him reach into his back pocket as she scooped the last of the pencils into her bag.
He leaned against the counter with his forearm arm and presented a scrap of paper to her, caught between two of his fingers.
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him, the corner of her mouth curling upward. She reached out to take the paper from him. “What’s this?”
He didn’t speak, just watched as she unfolded it. It was a torn-out section of today's newspaper, the Horoscope page, Taurus. Lorelai’s mouth dropped open in a surprised laugh. In spikey, disjointed writing were the words, ‘A grumpy man will give you a job today. Don’t drink all his coffee.’
Lorelai felt a warmth bloom in her chest as a smile spread across her face. “Well played, Mr Danes.”
“What is it?” Rory craned her neck to look.
“It’s Mommy’s horoscope. I’m a Taurus. That’s the bull,” Lorelai explained, pointing to the bull’s head symbol. “Luke’s a Scorpio. That’s a scorpion.”
Rory’s eyes widened, looking at Luke. “A scorpion? That’s so cool! What am I?” Rory asked, kneeling on the stool.
“Uh, Libra. The scales, like for measuring stuff.”
“Oh,” Rory said, slumping back into her seat.
“No, they’re cool. Um, they’re the scales of justice,” Lorelai mustered all her enthusiasm.
“They’re a kitchen appliance,” Luke mumbled to her.
“Hey, she was raised in my home, she doesn’t know that,” Lorelai said out of the corner of her mouth.
Luke snorted, shaking his head. “You should go. And drive safe. If you want to come in a bit early on Thursday we can go over the contract.”
Lorelai swung Rory up into her arms to absent-mindedly give her a quick kiss before planting the little girl’s feet on the floor. “Okay, great. You, uh, drive safe too.”
Luke pointed upward. “Won't be driving. I live up there.”
Lorelai’s eyes widened. “Oh my god. It’s true after all, you are my guardian angel!”
Luke cocked his head at her, but he couldn’t hide the amusement in his eyes. “Geez, I change my mind, give me the horoscope back,” he said dryly, putting his palm out.
“Too late, you’re stuck with me,” Lorelai replied, pocketing the paper and guiding Rory to the door. “See you Thursday.”
“I’m serious, drive carefully. It’s perfect conditions for black ice,” Luke warned her. “When did you last get your tires checked?”
“Bye, Luke,” Lorelai said as she opened the door.
“Bye, Luke,” Rory called out, waving at him as her mom led her away.
“Hey, Rory,” he called after the little girl.
She tugged on her mom’s hand, stopping Lorelai from closing the door so she could hear what he had to say.
“You should make the dog red. Like Clifford.”
Rory’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! I will!”
“Oh, but my pink tree was too far-fetched?” Lorelai said to Rory as they exited the diner.
They ran hand in hand to the car, and before Lorelai drove off she looked back through the window, watching Luke throw a dishcloth over his shoulder and lean against the kitchen door frame to begin chatting to Lou. The light in the diner was warm and golden, cast out onto the street where the daylight was fading fast. Lorelai tilted her head as she considered Luke. He was grumpy, and snippy, and he didn't seem like he liked her all that much yesterday, very understandably, but today… today she couldn’t fault the guy. Underneath the gruffness and short remarks, he’d been so kind and understanding, and so much better with Rory than she ever could have imagined. Rory was easy to like though.
“This is going to work,” Lorelai murmured to herself. This job, this schedule, she could make this work. She could make it work and they could have a home. A proper home, with separate bedrooms and kitchen they would most likely never use. Maybe Luke could teach her to make some simple stuff? Lorelai winced. She needed to come back to reality. Luke was not her friend. For all intents and purposes, he was her boss. And even if he did come Mia-approved, she’d known the guy less than forty-eight hours. Lorelai sat with that thought for a moment. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense. There was an ease in talking to him, an ease that had caused her to say things even she normally wouldn't say to a stranger, and yet he’d just rolled with it. He'd barely even blinked when she'd made her stupid jokes or poked fun at him in a hundred different ways today. In fact, he’d matched her punch for punch more often than not. It was nice, she thought, to finally have a friend (or at least a friend-like figure) who was actually a similar age to her. Even if he was kind of her boss.
“Mommy, it’s cold,” Rory said from the back seat, jolting Lorelai from her revere.
“Yeah, sorry, Honey, let’s get you home.” Lorelai parked her thoughts and started the car. Her musings on Lucas Danes could wait for another day.
♏︎
Luke screwed his eyes shut to guard them against the dust. He shifted the boxes, hiking the one labeled ‘kitchen’ in faded black marker into his arms. Sniffing, spluttering, and fighting the urge to sneeze as the dust collected in his nostrils. He stumbled out of his closet and dumped the box on his kitchen table. Stepping back, he wiped his nose on his sleeve and dusted his hands off on his jeans.
“Somewhere…” Muttering to himself, he dug his fingers under the cardboard flaps and tugged the box open. Peering inside, he pulled an old ceramic cooking pot free. Placing it on the table, he opened it.
“There you are,” Luke said softly, smiling at what he’d found inside. “It’s been a while, huh?” He bit his cheek lightly as he lifted the item to examine it; a gingham bistro apron in pale blue and cream. It was still in good shape, bar the tiny stain on the upper left from where his mother used to butt her hip up against the oven door to shut it when she had her hands full.
He sighed heavily. “Talking to a damn apron now.” With it still in his grip, he pulled himself to his feet and exited the apartment.