Chapter 35
Since Jaiden still had her food from the night before, they agreed to eat the leftover Chinese for dinner that night, sitting at the table this time as Lorelai filled them in on Jaiden having to go to summer camp next month.
"Well, they just want to make sure these kids have a great time who otherwise wouldn't have the chance to go to camp," Rory tried to look on the bright side, giving a slight shrug.
"Yeah, I get that, and I think that's great. But we had plans," she protested.
"Remember, we were told to expect the unexpected when we signed up for this," Luke reminded her.
Lorelai sighed into the container of the rest of the chow mein noodles she was eating after everyone else had their fill. "I know. It just frustrates me, I'm not gonna have anyone here with me that week."
Rory was the one to point out, "You'll have Paul Anka."
"Yes, but he doesn't talk back. At least not in human language." An idea popped into her head and directed her attention towards the youngest in the room. "Hey, what if you pretended to be sick, sweetheart?"
Rory tilted her head to the side to stare at her mother. "Very nice, Mom," she replied, sarcastically.
"What? It might work."
"Have you considered asking Jaiden what she thinks about going to camp?" April spoke up for Jaiden, stealing a look with the kid.
Rory agreed and looked over to ask Jaiden. "What do you think, Jaiden?"
Jaiden was twirling the chow mein noodles around her fork, repeatedly as she stared at it. Rory reminded her it was okay if she was fine with going even though their mom wasn't. "It's okay," she admitted without looking up. "I like the horses, but I'm too afraid to get on."
"Maybe Aunt Liz will be able to help you with that on Sunday," April pointed out that time.
Jaiden's small form seemed to tense up. "I'm too scared to do anything," she admitted some more, unable to lift her gaze. "It all looked fun but I can't do it."
"You can do anything you set your mind to," Rory encouraged the kid. "If you want to have fun with everyone else, you have to take a chance. I believe you can do it."
April agreed. "Me too."
"And we can get you a camera so you can take lots of pictures to show us all the fun things you will get to do," she added, excitedly.
"And, if you want, I can take you camping before you leave, and teach you all the wilderness stuff you need to know," Luke also inputted from beside her, nudging her arm with his elbow.
"And we'll make sure to write to you every day," April also nudged her other arm. "Even from where we'll be."
Rory got an idea that time. "Hey, maybe we can make you a care package to send while you're there." She looked over at Lorelai. "Right, Mom?"
Lorelai forced a smile. "Yeah, that sounds great." Even though she was putting up a front for Jaiden's sake, Lorelai couldn't help feel like a nervous mother hen. She couldn't help feel like something bad could happen up there. Hopefully, the next trial would be done and over with and Howard would be locked up by then. That way, she'd feel a little more at ease about the whole thing. It was only wishful thinking, though.
She noticed Jaiden giving her a concerned look.
April must have caught it first because she asked, "What's wrong, Jaiden?"
Jaiden switched between her and April before she asked Lorelai, "Do you not want me to go?"
Lorelai swallowed the noodles she had been chewing. "I just want to make sure you're not being forced to go somewhere you don't want to go, sweetheart. Like we talked about the other day, remember?"
"That's understandable, Mom, but lying and saying Jaiden's sick to get out of going isn't the solution. That just might put you in a bad spot with being able to adopt her," said Rory.
She sighed some more.
"Besides, Celia will be there, Jaiden's last foster parents will be there and will be her cabin counselor. And Jaiden has us this time around. It'll be great, I promise." Rory smiled over at Jaiden at the last part. "Right, Jaiden?"
A small smile appeared on the kid's face unable to hold it back. Looks like things were settled then. Didn't mean Lorelai would stop worrying, though.
Jaiden wanted to watch her movie Rory had gotten for her when they first met before the family headed to bed. She also still wanted to sleep in Luke and Lorelai's bed, asking for permission, this time.
"Of course, sweetheart," said Lorelai. "We will always have an open-door policy whenever you're afraid. Even in the middle of the night after we've gone to sleep, our door will be wide open. Luke and I will chase those little terrors right out the door." She snickered at that.
So, for the second night in a row, Jaiden climbed into their bed.
When Jaiden was situated, Lorelai felt inclined to ask, "You sure about wanting to go to camp, sweetheart?"
Jaiden nodded.
"I mean, I can find some way to try and get ya out of it. I can be very persuasive when I have to be." She gave the kid a wink.
Luke came out of the bathroom, shutting the light off. "Lorelai, stop."
"What?" she questioned, shrugging her hands up. "I'm just saying I am."
"Just because you don't like the outdoors, doesn't mean you should be trying to talk Jaiden out of what could be a great experience for her and might even help make friends, or a friend."
"I'm not trying to talk her out of going if she wants to," Lorelai told him. "If Jaiden wants to like the outdoors, that's okay. I just don't want her to feel forced into doing something she doesn't want to do, like I told her."
Luke couldn't help scoff to himself under his breath, remembering the many times Lorelai has talked him into doing things he did not want to do. But he didn't want to have this conversation in front of Jaiden. He also wanted to discuss the other topic just the two of them before discussing the matter with her, present.
With a streak of luck, April had poked her head in, knocking on the door. "Sorry to interrupt the party," she said. "Could I have a word, Jaiden? I forgot to ask earlier."
Jaiden eyed the teenager, nervously. "Did I do something wrong?"
April shook her head. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted to discuss an important matter for your opinion on something." She then added, "it won't take long," when Jaiden hesitated.
Pushing herself onto her hands and knees, Jaiden crawled over to the foot of the bed and stepped down. Luke made sure to ask one of the girls to close the door behind them and for Jaiden to knock first before entering.
"Should I put music on so we won't hear anything?" April asked, awkwardly.
It took a moment for Luke to figure out what it was his oldest was implying until Lorelai assured that's not what they were going to do. April just shut the door behind them, leaving the couple alone. Once the girls were gone, Luke looked down towards the floor, grabbing onto the back of his neck.
"So, uh, Jaiden reminded me this morning if I was still planning on having us talk, the three of us," he began without lifting his gaze.
"Then, shouldn't we wait for Jaiden?" she asked.
"I told her I wanted to speak with you first," Luke explained, forcing himself to look up at her. "So, you both had a chat, huh?"
Lorelai shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "You got to give your side of the situation. I just wanted to make sure Jaiden understood mine."
"But I thought we agreed to wait until after the trial?"
"We agreed we shouldn't be arguing," she reminded him. "Nothing was said, I couldn't talk to her about it."
"What exactly did you tell her?" he questioned, now holding his hands on his sides.
"That I felt like my mother was trying to take control of the situation and that I didn't want Jaiden to feel like she has to do everything everybody else tells her to do."
"So, basically, you told her if I tell her to do something, she doesn't have to listen to me if she doesn't want to."
"No, I did not say she didn't have to listen to you, Luke. I only said that if somebody tells her do something that is unreasonable, she doesn't have. I made sure to tell her that if she wants to go with what you talked about and feels like she doesn't need Stanley, then she can. But her and I had a deal. If Jaiden feels she needs him, no matter what, she can have it and my mother can't say other wise."
Luke had to pace across the room. "I don't understand. It was your idea to teach her how to compromise, so I went along. Then, suddenly, your mother gets involved, and now it's, Jaiden can have what she wants while the other person has to bend to whatever that is?"
"Yes, Luke," Lorelai spat. "When me and her makes a deal or a promise, I intend to make sure that is kept. Jaiden's had enough promises broken, I don't want her to have to live through more broken promises."
"That's not the way life works, Lorelai. Sometimes, stuff happens and the promises we make can sometimes break, whether intentional or not. We can't shelter her from anything else that could go wrong," he pointed out.
"No, but I'll make damn sure to try," she argued.
Luke ran his hands down his face. He'd love nothing more than to shield the kid from anymore heartbreak, too. That much he could agree with.
"Why are you even still making a big deal out of this? Jaiden took the deal. Everybody wins." Lorelai shrugged in confusion. "Why are you still upset?"
"I get what you're saying, and like I told Jaiden, I goofed at not explaining the difference between a reasonable request and unreasonable one like with dealing with her grandfather." He pointed at her, "but the fact of the matter is, not only did you go behind my back on this, you also went back on what we were trying to teach her." By this point, his tone was rising.
Lorelai also raised her tone. "I'm sorry but I am not gonna allow anyone to tell my daughter what she can and can't have."
"Don't you mean our daughter?" Luke reminded her, pointing a finger between them. "If we're gonna teach Jaiden something such as compromising, it has to remain consistent, even if that involves your mother. Now, that doesn't mean they shouldn't have to compromise with her. You're right, whatever rules are in place, should be reasonable. But even if we don't like the rules, that doesn't mean they have to be bent because we don't like them. I'm glad your mother was able to find a compromise with her, I wasn't expecting that, to be honest. Emily did basically let Jaiden keep her toy, so really, yes, we won," he shrugged. "I wasn't even sure why you were upset over that."
"Because, for once, I wanted my mother to back off and get nothing. There shouldn't be a set end goal on when Jaiden can keep Stanley."
Luke dropped onto his side of the bed, facing her. His leg was folded in towards him. "Lorelai, the whole thing about having the toy was if Jaiden was feeling uncomfortable where she isn't used to. If she get used to being at your parents' house and feels comfortable with them, then Jaiden wouldn't need the toy. I want Jaiden to be able to grow up confident in herself without help from anything or anyone. Eventually, she won't need a toy or us, for that matter, someday. That's why I went along with this compromising thing and why I came up with another solution in case your mother didn't compromise."
Lorelai had to look away, shaking her head.
"Trust me when I say, every urge inside of me wants to protect that little girl from every single bad thing in this world." Luke moved closer and took a hold of her hand in both of his. "But even I know that's not possible." He quickly made sure to add, "not that we're not gonna try," and gave her a knowing look that made her smile. "I'm not saying take away the toy now and say she can't have it, but eventually, I want to boost her confidence enough to start standing on her own to where she can make the decision whether something is reasonable or not. You see what I'm saying?"
She nodded and told him, "I really did make sure that if Jaiden wanted to go with your suggestion, she could, when she asked."
"I believe you," he assured her. "But judging by how confused and upset Jaiden got when she was trying to make a decision, I don't think she fully understood. That's why I was upset with you about going behind my back."
"She kept telling me she did understand." Lorelai dropped her face in her hands. She lifted it. "I even started off by saying, I didn't think you were wrong."
"But you were telling her the opposite from what I said, telling her she didn't have to do it. To a kid like Jaiden, that sounds like she has the option to not listen to me, either. I get what you were trying to tell her, but you gotta remember, Lorelai, that she's only a kid. We have to stay consistent. If you had just waited, we could have worked something out together. You're not in this parenting thing alone this time."
"I know, and you're right."
"If it helps, I'm sorry for going to Jaiden that night without you, too. I'm probably just to blame in all this," he added.
Lorelai couldn't help let out a groan. "No, it's just... My mother can really make me so crazy, sometimes."
"Hey, remember, I had an uncle that wasn't easy to get along with either," Luke pointed out with a smirk. "I put up with him for my dad's sake, though."
She looked at him, sideways. "I'm pretty sure my mother has your uncle beat."
"I don't know about that. At least your mother tolerates children. Lost count how many times Liz came running into my room growing up especially during that short time he lived with us."
"Didn't your dad do anything?" Lorelai couldn't help question.
"Didn't help Liz had a tendency to talk back and liked to use her favorite word, no and her favorite phase, I don't want to," he said.
"Still, though," she shrugged. "You shouldn't use fear to get a kid to do what you want them to do."
"Oh, I know, but that's the kind of guy Louie was," Luke shrugged. "Not that it makes it any better. I wouldn't want the guy around Jaiden, that's for sure."
"So, what are we gonna tell Jaiden about this whole situation?" Lorelai asked, getting back on topic.
"Well, apologize, for one. Both of us," he replied. "Second, she has to know, unless it's something unreasonable coming from someone like her grandfather, she has to follow their rule. And if it seems unfair to her, she can come talk to us, and if it is unfair, come up with a compromise with that person. What do you think about that?"
"But what if that person won't want to compromise? Or what if it goes against what we've decided?"
Luke shrugged. "I think all of our friends and family would be onboard with us, and now that your mother sees the full situation, I don't think we'll have anymore issues. The only other thing I honestly see is the school. There's been times I got in trouble in that school as a kid, but not with my dad because it was usually something stupid, like when Bootsy smashed my clay handprint in the first grade and the teacher busted me for it because they only saw me shove him even though three kids said they saw him do it." Even after all these years, there was still some resentment and bitterness in him about towards Bootsy.
Closing her eyes at that, Lorelai told him, "Okay, hun, you have got to let that go. That was over thirty years ago. You both are mature, grown men, now."
"Not until that guy apologizes," he pointed a finger on the bed beside him.
Lorelai just rolled her eyes in amusement.
A knock on the door got their attention.
"Come in," Lorelai was the one to call out.
The bedroom door slowly opened a little as a head shyly poked her head in. "Can I come back now?" Jaiden softly asked, politely.
Lorelai exchanged a quick look with Luke, who nodded. "Sure, sweetheart." She smiled for the little girl.
Jaiden then made her way in and climbed onto the bed again. Her hair had been surprisingly put into a ponytail.
"Did April help put your hair in a ponytail?"
She nodded. "After we talked about something."
"What did you talk about?" Lorelai asked with curiosity.
"I can't say. It's a surprise," she replied.
"Oh, okay." Lorelai smiled, knowing what was coming up, next weekend.
Luke had decided to see if Jaiden was tired or not. "How are you feeling right now? Are you up for having that talk I said we would have, or do you want to wait until tomorrow?"
Jaiden dropped her head towards the bed as if she was thinking on it.
"It's okay if you want to wait," he assured her. "We don't want to keep you up if you're too tired. We just want to make sure you understand what happened with Lorelai's mother and your toy."
"Get it over with now," she finally answered.
"Are you sure, sweetheart?" Lorelai also made sure.
Jaiden nodded.
Sharing a look with each other, Luke let Lorelai go first. "So, I guess your dad and I sent you mixed messages, huh?"
Jaiden just stared back at her, confused.
"We noticed how confused you were when my mother was offering that compromise." Lorelai leaned forward, gently taking a hold of her right hand. "We didn't mean to confuse you, sweetheart. We were both trying to make the situation better. I still stand by what I told you how I thought my mother was trying to control the situation, but it really was great of her to offer to let you keep Stanley while you get to know her and my father." She smiled at Jaiden who nodded.
"I know I shouldn't have gone back on what I had been teaching you. My mom and I don't have that great of a relationship, but that doesn't mean I would want you to have a bad one with her, too. My parents were wonderful with Rory when she was a kid and I know they will love you. Now that she's willing to compromise with us and with you, and knows more about your situation, I hope we can put this behind us and move on."
"But we want you to be able to understand, especially since you will be going with my sister on Sunday," Luke spoke up.
Jaiden looked over at him.
"None of our friends and family will ever ask something of you that would make you uncomfortable, Tiger, so we would expect you to listen to them because during the time you're with them and not with us, they are in charge. Same as if we leave Rory or April with you. They would be in charge, too."
"But our friends and family are only human," Lorelai added. "They might mess up just like your dad and I did with not explaining things better. I stand by what I told you about hearing your side of a situation, though."
Luke wrapped an arm around her and told Jaiden the clay handprint story and about his dad not busting him like the school had. "As long as you tell the truth, you will never be in trouble with us. Okay?"
She nodded.
"It's okay to ask us questions if you need to, sweetheart."
"So I do whatever Aunt Liz says when we go on Sunday?" Jaiden asked.
"Yes, but I've talked with my sister," Luke was the one to reply. "She's not going to be bossy, and is willing to go at your pace."
"We've talked with our other friends and family and let them know what we could share. None of them will be bossy or unreasonable. Nobody we know will ever do anything that your grandfather has done, I can promise you that," Lorelai assured her.
Jaiden nodded.
"And Luke and I are gonna try to be better at communicating with each other and with you. I just want to let you know, though, there will be disagreements and you might hear us arguing like I'm sure you've probably already heard. Now, we'll also try and make sure not to argue around you, but if you do hear us, just know, neither of us are violent. None of our fights would ever get physical, nor would we ever take it out on you or even raise our voice towards you. It's perfectly normal to have disagreements, but we will try and come up with a compromise just like we've been teaching you. Does any of that make sense? It's okay if it doesn't. I tend to not make sense, sometimes."
Jaiden nodded. "I think so," she said softly. "Can I ask a question?"
"Of course, sweetheart. You can always ask us anything."
"What's unreasonable?"
"Being unreasonable is like your grandfather asking for a hug when that makes you uncomfortable," she explained. "Or something like that. Nobody should ever force you to hug them if you don't feel comfortable with them, sweetheart. Only you are in charge of your body. No one should ever touch you in a way that hurts you or makes you uncomfortable. Okay?"
"Okay," she nodded. "But, what about if they say I can't have Stanley?"
"We'll let them know about Stanley, and like I said, the rest of our friends and family are pretty understanding."
"If the instructor says you can't have Stanley while you're on the horse, maybe Liz can hold him for you," Luke suggested. "Do you need both hands to steer a horse?" He looked over at Lorelai whom he was directing the question at.
She shrugged. "Why are you asking me? I've never ridden a horse before."
Turning back to Jaiden, he said, "Well, regardless, just remember what we talked about. I'm sure Liz won't mind if you squeeze her hand, and the same goes for our other family and friends too. Okay?"
Jaiden nodded.
"You sure you're up for going on Sunday?" Luke couldn't help ask one more time.
She nodded. "I want to learn to ride for camp. And Aunt Liz seems nice, too."
He smiled. "She is. A little crazy sometimes. But I have complete trust of my sister with you."
"And you can spend time with Doula," Jaiden pointed out.
At that, Luke wrapped his arms around the little girl, pulling her in. He kissed the top of her head. "You are a very sweet kid, Tiger. Don't ever change. For anyone."
Jaiden smiled up at him at that. "You are the nicest guy I met," she told him.
That warmed his heart to hear her say that about him.
Watching the scene in front of her, Lorelai went into her nightstand and pulled out her camera. Once the thing was turned on, she told the two, to look over there, snagging a picture. She also handed the camera to Luke, to take one of her and Jaiden.
Jaiden crawled over to sit beside her foster mom who wrapped her arms around the kid's shoulders, pulling Jaiden towards her. They took the first of soon to be many more family pictures which Jaiden also told Lorelai, "And you're the nicest lady I met." Tears of joy surely followed.