Chapter 37

The new year started off smooth. As soon as school started, Luke cut down video games to thirty minutes a night during the week as long as Shelby finished her homework. Shelby seemed to be doing a little better in school. Miss Kelly gave weekly reports on her progress over the phone, keeping Luke up-to-date. Mrs. Avery had eventually been brought in with their sessions once Shelby was comfortable with Miss Kelly. By the end of January, Mrs. Avery was able to work, one on one with the sounds they were learning in class and the ones Shelby struggled with, Miss Kelly took over.

Digraphs and words ending with a T was still Shelby's greatest struggle to articulate and Miss Kelly's main focus. With reminders from everyone, including Luke, she slowly started to shy away from using the word, no, and using the correct words like don't or not, though the T sound in those words weren't heard, of course. Now and then, no would sneak in, as old habits can be hard to break. What surprised Luke was how most of their friends got involved. The usual recurring faces around the diner finally were able to hear the kid speak and help her with her words. It was soft and mostly whispers, but no one really pushed the kid. In fact, Miss Patty was finally successful in hearing Shelby sing.

"Luke, you got a prodigy on your hands," she told him one day when he came to pick Shelby up from her lesson.

"A prodigy?"

She nodded, "Oh, yes, dear. The way she sings is so beautiful I almost cried. It's so...innocent and sweet. I'm sure Shelby can melt any stone-cold heart." Of course, word spread too quickly of the talent the kid's been holding back from everyone. A few tried asking to hear, putting Shelby on the spot. But only a select few were able to hear it as Shelby only shared it with those she was most comfortable with. Unfortunately, word had reached the school around the time the first graders were practicing for their spring concert. The music teacher tried talking the kid into having a solo part, but Shelby refused and Luke ended up having to have a talk with her when he picked his daughter up that afternoon and she was still in tears. So, it was decided Shelby's talent would be kept in the family, along with close friends.

Shelby did still have to participate in the school concert, though. The kids practiced all through the month of February, in music class, and performed for the parents and relatives the first Monday night in March. Somehow, Shelby talked Jess into coming which Luke tried to ask about while they were waiting for the concert to start.

"I don't want to talk about it," was all he said.

"Seriously, how is Shelby talking you into these things when I, or anyone else, can't?" When it seemed like Jess wasn't going to give an answer, Luke just dropped it. Didn't stop his mind from wondering, though.

At that moment, Rachel showed up, along with her parents. "Hey, sorry we're late. It hasn't started yet, right?" she asked, taking the seat next to him, quickly making sure her camera was ready.

"Nope. You're right on time," he assured her. When Luke saw she had brought both her parents, he couldn't help feel his skin crawl. It bothered the guy a whole lot that Rachel's father couldn't let Shelby warm up to him first and let her speak at her own pace. Leaning over, Luke whispered to her, "What's he doing here?"

"When I told Mom about Shelby's school performance, she wanted come see it. When I got there, Dad mentioned he wanted to see it, as well, since he hasn't seen her since last summer," she explained. When Luke showed his discomfort about the idea, Rachel added, "don't worry, I told Dad if he said anything about Shelby not talking, he wouldn't be allowed to come to any other school performances."

Looking up, Luke caught a stern stare from the man sitting on the end of their group.

At that moment, Babette, Morey, Miss Patty, Gypsy, and a couple others slid into the row behind theirs, sitting down. Luke was surprised to see them.

"What are you all doing here?"

"We came to see the show," Babette told him. "You didn't think we'd miss seeing our little Shelby's performance, did ya?"

That made his eyebrows rise, impressed. It probably shouldn't be a shock, considering they did come to a couple of Shelby's t-ball games, as well. Luke thanked them when Lorelai and Rory appeared, sitting on Jess' other side, in their row. He heard Rory also ask what Jess was doing there. Not even Rory could get an answer. Luke figured Shelby had asked for them to come, but asked anyway. Sure enough, he was right.

The concert eventually started with the kids from all three classes walking up on stage and climbing onto the choir platforms. Being one of the shortest in the first grade, Shelby was in the very front row, on the last step, surrounded by the kids in her class while Ethan, Alan, and Toby were over on the other side with their class.

Luke waved at her which Shelby waved back.

Rachel leaned over to ask, "You didn't have Shelby dress nice for this?" she asked. Most of the kids were dressed up for the occasion while Shelby wore a long sleeved, striped shirt, along with a pair of jeans.

He shrugged, "I wasn't aware this was a formal thing. Besides, that kid's wearing a Batman shirt," Luke pointed to a kid in the back, looking like he was digging in his nose.

Shelby's main focus was the floor, holding her hands behind her back. Rachel had to rush over to kneel in front of the stage, to snag a picture when she couldn't get her to look up long enough. When Luke had waved, it had been very brief when Shelby waved back, returning her gaze, downward. The school auditorium was semi full of families and friends of each kid, there to see them sing.

It began with the music teacher coming out to stand at the microphone and give the introduction.

"Welcome, parents, as well as family and friends, to our first grade performance. I am Dory Freedman, I am the music teacher here at Stars Hollow. The students have learned so much this year and have put together some great songs for you so I hope you will enjoy. Our first song will be "Let's Go Fly a Kite.'" Leaving the microphone, the teacher headed over to sit at a piano sitting on the side of the stage. As she started to play, the kids began to sing, moving their hands in motions to the words. All except Shelby, that is.

Shelby continued to hold her hands behind her back as she stared at the floor. Her body looked tensed and uncomfortable. Luke was afraid the kid would get so nervous she'd wet herself right there which would make things feel worse for her. Halfway through the song, he started trying to get her attention, without being too loud, but loud enough she would hear him. Even though Shelby had caught onto the hat trick, Luke still figured if she used her hat to cover her eyes, it would make things easier so she couldn't see the audience watching.

"Shelby," Luke called out for her for the seventh time.

Rachel kept looking at him each time Luke called for their daughter. Finally, she asked, "What are you doing?"

Luke glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to get her attention. Shelby!" he tried one more time. Finally, Luke barely made out her eyes lifting towards him with her head rising just a bit. He reached behind him and pulled his hat around so it faced forward over his eyes before lifting it to tell her, "so you won't see anyone, kiddo."

Relief washed over him when he saw Shelby had caught onto what he was trying to tell her, doing the same with her own hat, pulling it down over her eyes, just in time for the next song. There had been a brief pause before the kids started to sing, "Tomorrow," still moving their hands in motions to the words. Luke's idea worked, somewhat. It got her hands to come out and semi move. Not as much as the other kids, but it was something. Shelby wasn't singing either, at least not out loud. Luke was just glad she was participating, along with Rachel.

Lorelai reached her head forward to look around Rory and Jess, to grab his attention. "Good thinking there," she told him.

Luke smiled and thanked her before turning back to his daughter.

Rachel's mother had been recording the whole performance, using an old fashioned camcorder, mostly recording Shelby. Even though most of his attention was on Shelby, Luke couldn't help overhear Rachel's father share his opinion, pointing out now they couldn't see her face.

"Dad, I've told you a thousand times, Shelby has anxiety. Her hat is what helps relieve some of that tension. Also, remember our deal? If I let you come, you have to keep your opinions to yourself," she told him, trying to hold a calm demeanor.

Luke saw the man face forward again, clearly not fine with the agreement, but kept quiet anyway. He did make a comment about anxiety not being a thing when he was growing up and how it was a poor excuse of today's parents not parenting right. Just because nobody talked about it or understood, didn't mean it wasn't an issue. Luke was sure the guy probably wouldn't see it that way.

Rachel let out a frustrated sigh, turning back to their daughter's performance, snagging another shot when she had a good one.

Shelby still wasn't fully participating, not even when they started singing, "It's a Small World After All." That song was enough for Jess to comment, "please me kill now," under his breath as the kids marched along in place while swinging their arms. Living with both her dad and cousin, even with the hat covering part of her face, Luke could tell Shelby didn't like the song as much as they did. The kids sang more songs similar to the first three, lasting about half an hour before the music teacher stood up and returned to the mic.

"As an added bonus, the kids wanted to do a fun little dance number to wrap things up. Parents and families, you are highly encouraged to participate." She had the kids step down from the platform and spread out on and around the stage. Shelby moved off the stage and over to stand in front of her parents, facing them.

Luke held a thumb's up to her which she returned, shyly as the hip hop style music began. As with the rest of the performance, Shelby moved along, shyly until Lorelai jumped in, moving right next to her, to join in. Lorelai encouraged her, trying to get the kid to do more than what she was doing as the kids performed "The Cha Cha Slide". Most of the other parents also joined in with the kids, including siblings, and even some grandparents attempted the dance.

Lorelai tried getting Luke to do it, too, but the guy was a mule, of course, and refused. Rachel did though, stepping over to Shelby's other side. It was quite a sight, watching as the girls did as the guy on the soundtrack said to do, putting smiles on most of their faces. When it was over and the guy finished with I'm outta here, y'all. Peace!, the kids, including Shelby, held up two fingers before they piled towards the exit.

After the performance, the parents waited for their kids right outside. Shelby came dashing over when Luke spotted her and called out to her. He lifted Shelby up, squeezing her, tight before setting her back on her feet.

"Great job, kiddo," he praised her, grabbing at the top of her head which Rachel agreed.

"Did you like it?" she asked.

Shelby nodded.

Jess nudged the kid in the leg with his foot. "Remember, you owe me," he told her.

She grinned from ear to ear at that before motioning for his ear, whispering something to the older boy.

"Got'cha," he nodded which Luke caught a slight smile from him. Rachel watched from where she was standing, but didn't say anything. Thankfully, she didn't seem upset or uncomfortable that time.

Lorelai and Rory came over, giving Shelby some flowers wrapped in plastic. The kid stared at them with a puzzled look and looked up at them, motioning for Lorelai's ear, to whisper something to her. Lorelai's gaze slowly went straight for Luke.

"What?" he asked, confused why she was looking at him the way she was.

"Your kid just asked me the same thing you ask, every year when we bring you flowers on Thanksgiving," she told him and turned back to Shelby. "We really need to have you hang out with us more often."

Luke actually found it amusing.

Suddenly, Rachel's father spoke up. He had no idea they had even been standing there. Not that Luke wanted to pay any attention, at least to her father.

"What do you say?" he asked of Shelby.

It must have scared her because Shelby nearly jumped out of her skin and clung onto Lorelai's legs.

"Dad," said Rachel.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot stand around and let my granddaughter be rude when somebody just gave her something. Now that I heard where she gets it from, I can see she doesn't have the best role models to enforce respectful behaviors."

Anger was starting to build up inside of Luke as his blood began to boil. Before he could speak up, Rachel beat him to it.

"Dad, I warned you. Keep your opinions to yourself or you won't be allowed another chance ever again."

But the older man would not stop. Not this time. "I told you, Rachel. I told you several times, getting involved with him," he motioned his head towards Luke, "would lead to nothing but trouble. Him and that father of his."

That time, Luke finally spoke up, full on furious. "Leave my dad out of this," he responded, firmly.

The guy scoffed. William never did get along with Rachel's father. The two men couldn't see eye to eye on anything and when their kids started getting interested with each other, that ignited the flame even more than before. "I can't believe they gave you custody."

Luke glared at the guy.

Rachel stepped in. "Dad, that's enough. This night is for Shelby. Please do not ruin it with your old fashioned, close minded thinking."

He just started in on her instead. "If you hadn't of gotten involved, we wouldn't be having this problem."

"What problem, Dad?" Rachel shrugged her hands out to the sides. "You're the only one that sees there's a problem."

Her father pointed over where Shelby was still clinging onto Lorelai. She must have sensed this was going to get even more ugly because she interrupted the guy, "I think Rory and I should take Shelby, and start heading towards the diner."

Luke nodded in thanks at her, relieved for Lorelai's quick thinking and told Jess to go with them, as well while they sorted this out. Rory had to help her mom peel Shelby away so they could walk, talking to her with comforting words. Babette and them were coming over to congratulate Shelby on her performance, too, walking alongside the four of them.

"I never should have let you come," Rachel blurted out once their daughter was out of earshot. "I should have known you couldn't keep your opinions to yourself. You never did and you never will."

"Lloyd, please stop this," his wife tried to reason with him when he tried to counter their daughter's statement. "You're making a complete fool of yourself."

"Edna, we raised our children to be respectful especially towards their elders. To show gratitude as soon as they receive a gift, no matter if they like the gift or not. To speak when they are spoken to. I expect those manners to be passed down to our grandchildren as well. However, I see the message, of course, did not stick with our youngest, whom you continued to baby throughout her whole childhood, and now it's getting passed on to our youngest grandchild."

Rachel held her face in her hand, pinching the bridge of her nose, while Luke could feel his blood continue to boil, his fists clenching at his sides. "Dad, we do not baby Shelby," she informed him, slowly, trying hard not to explode. "We do what we can when we can. I had to learn that. Now, if we have to, Luke and I will force her out of her comfort zone but in a loving way. And Shelby is the most grateful kid I've ever known, she just doesn't communicate it, verbally."

Luke managed to add to her thoughts, also trying to remain calm. "Lorelai is Shelby's pal. They're always doing funny little things like that. It doesn't mean Shelby is ungrateful for the flowers, she just has her own way of showing it." He shook his head, not sure if that statement made any sense and asked Rachel if she understood what he was trying to explain which she assured him it did make sense.

Lloyd wasn't accepting it, though. "Adults and children are not what you call pals," he used the term, pals, sarcastically. "Adults have a higher authority than children, as children are meant to obey adults.

"Yes, I can understand that and we put that first before anything else, but there are moments where I give Shelby charge over certain decisions or situations. Yes, I'm her dad first and we're buddies, second…"

That didn't sit well with the older guy. In fact he glared back at Luke as if he had said something offensive. "As fathers, it's not our job to be our children's pals or buddy. It's not our job to be liked. It's our job to raise our children, right. Obviously…" Lloyd's eyes moved over to Rachel. "Somewhere down the line, I must have failed with one of my children. Why else would we have a bastard grandchild."

Luke practically lunged towards him. Thankfully, Rachel thought fast and held Luke, back.

She gave her father a cold stare. "That is the final straw. You are never allowed in our daughter's life, ever." Rachel was still holding Luke at bay. Not another word was said. After another minute of dead silence, Lloyd broke it.

"Then you are not a part of this family." His words were emotionless and cold.

Luke looked down at Rachel, who looked like she was trying to keep up a front in front of her father.

Stubbornly and full of too much pride, Lloyd turned and walked away. Her mother tried to call after him, reason with both Lloyd and Rachel, but neither one budged an inch. Rachel held her eyes closed at the ground. Soon, Edna hurried after her husband, continuing to plead with him. When they were gone, Luke was able to find his words.

"Rachel...you okay?"

She just shook her head. However, she did manage to assure him, she was even though she didn't look it. Turning towards the direction she had parked, Rachel added, "tell Shelby I'll pick her up for school in the morning," before walking away without another word. Luke couldn't even find the heart to mention, Jess had been leaving early for school, letting Shelby tag along, and pick her up as well. He didn't know where they went but apparently the two had a secret spot they hung around. For now, Luke just watched as the mother of his child walked away. Why did things have to be so complicated? How can life be so ugly when family should be there for one another?

Luke got back to the diner to see Lorelai had gotten Shelby happy again, playing that dot and line game Shelby liked a lot, where each player connects the dots and tries to form a box. Whoever finishes a box gets to claim it and writes their initials inside. The player with the most boxes, wins. Sending Caesar home, Luke worked until he closed down for the night.

Since Jess had Shelby's mornings and afternoons, Rachel didn't see their daughter until the weekend when she came to pick her up. In fact, the cousins were spending a lot more time together. Doing what, Luke had no clue. Some days, they would be gone for hours. Her homework was getting done at least so it wasn't like Luke was complaining. Besides, if the two were staying out of trouble, what harm could it be? It also cut the kid's screen time in half and got her outside more.

Shelby still found time to work in the diner, still wanting to earn her allowance for her games. Though, now she would save for other things. If there was a toy or something she wanted, Shelby worked hard and saved for it. That had been one of the perks to come out of her sticker chart. Even with Rachel stepping up more, it was still a challenge for the kid, not to want to quit and come home, not wanting to lose a badge. Shelby struggled through it and earned each one, eventually earning all eight and gained her prize.

Pokemon cards were easiest to save for since a pack of them only cost around a few dollars. A deck of them cost around ten dollars so a lot of her allowance went into her new trading card collection which Shelby ended up picking out a binder with sleeve sheets, to organize them better. Her favorite card ended up being a holographic card of her favorite Pokemon called Charizard. At one point, Jess asked to see it which she asked, "Are your hands clean?" holding the card out of his reach. The stuff that came out of the kid's mouth could be quite amusing at times. The most hilarious part was the fact Shelby wasn't even trying to be funny, nor was she even aware of it. It showed best when she innocently asked questions Luke felt Shelby should never know the answer to, especially during a time when Rory stopped by with her friend, Paris.

Things were harmless at first. Shelby was happy to see Rory, who introduced the kid to her friend. Not long after, Paris started in on how diners were breeding grounds for prostitution and drug dealers.

Luke suddenly stared at her.

"Have you ever seen anything like that?"

He tried to point out his six-year-old was within earshot but Paris wouldn't stop, asking about the reverend that was sitting over, enjoying his coffee. With irritation at record height, Luke asked Rory how much she liked her friend which Rory assured him he could do what he had to.

At that point, Jess came downstairs which Paris pointed out, wanting to know where he came from, asking if that was where he kept the girls.

Jess of course went along with it. "Wow. I think she got you, Uncle Luke. You better give up now."

"Do not add to this insanity," he told him, firmly, trying his best to remain calm.

Jess however kept going with it. "Innocent kids like me and Shelby should not be raised in an atmosphere like this."

"Jess!"

He threw up his hands in front of him. "I want to be good. Life's just not letting me."

Done with the whole thing, Luke turned back to Rory. "Rory, get her out of here!"

Rory quickly stood up off her stool and pulled her friend out of the diner as Luke crossed his arms tightly. Once the girls were gone, he turned and glared at his nephew until he felt a tap on his elbow.

Turning to his daughter, Luke asked, "Yes, Shell?"

She leaned forward to whisper, "Wha' ta girl talking abou'?"

"Nothing, Shell. Don't worry about it, okay. Those are what we call, crazy people and you should avoid them at all costs," he explained.

"Oh," she plainly replied, but still held a puzzled look on her face. Once the two finished their shift, the cousins disappeared for an hour or two, returning after it had gotten dark.

With spring gracing its appearance in Stars Hollow once again, the temperature was nice enough it was considered picnic-weather. Luke could care less about picnics but he found out later from a source who called herself Lorelai that Shelby liked the idea of making a picnic lunch for someone to bid on and come find out the kid was experiencing her first crush already.

Somehow, even though he despised picnics and town events, Luke found himself suckered into bidding on a basket with two stale pop tarts and a slim jim, costing him fifty-two dollars and fifty cents, all that he had on him at that moment. He at least insisted on sitting on the bench inside the gazebo instead of on the ground. Luke wasn't comfortable whenever Shelby willingly sat on the ground. There was no way he was. Finally, he got up and headed back to the diner to bring back some real food, promising brownies when Lorelai playfully acted offended he didn't want to eat the lunch she had packed. When he returned the two chatted which Luke asked who she wanted to bid on her basket before admitting it was somewhat nice sitting there, having a picnic outdoors.

During an awkward pause that was when Lorelai told him, "By the way, Shelby's having her first date."

"What?" Upon hearing Lorelai's statement, the guy shot up like a rocket, looking around at everyone else who was enjoying their picnics. He nearly dropped his container of carrots in the process. "She's not allow to date until she's thirty."

"Relax. It's just Kirk."

Luke searched around, trying to find where Shelby was. He quickly looked at Lorelai when she said who she was with. "Kirk? Really?"

"Yep," she answered with a smile. "Rachel says Shelby's got a tiny crush on the guy and wanted to make him a basket just for him to bid on." Lorelai then added, "Rachel's supervising the whole thing, don't worry. So sit down already."

It took a whole lot of effort for the guy to relax and sit down. Slowly but surely, he lowered himself back onto the bench.

"I think it's cute, actually," Lorelai snickered at the idea of Shelby having a crush on Kirk.

Dean interrupted them, needing to speak with Lorelai about something so she stepped away to speak with him. While she was away, Luke couldn't help search around for his daughter, spotting her over on the other side of the park, indeed sitting with Kirk. Rachel sat nearby watching the scene, no doubt getting pictures of it. At least it was ol' harmless Kirk she liked. Not to mention, it was a harmless, innocent kid crush. After all, Luke had an innocent crush on his fourth grade teacher as a kid, didn't mean anything. Not that he would admit that to anyone. The fact that his little girl was already starting to take an interest in boys is what scared the guy to death. Before Luke knew it, Shelby would be reaching that age to start going on real dates with boys her same age and wanting to kiss them, and before long that boy would be replacing him. Him! The most important person in her life. In fact, the feeling made him feel a little choked up but Luke managed to fight it, masking the feeling deep within.

Lorelai eventually returned. All she did was say, "hey," and it was enough to make the guy jump out of his skin, coming back out of his thoughts. She must have caught onto what he was thinking because she assured him, "it happens eventually. It's always inevitable and there's nothing you can do about it," as she continued eating her fries.

Luke stared down at his carrots. Now and then, he stole a look over at his little girl. "I know."

Changing the subject, Lorelai asked if the situation with Rachel's folks resolved itself or not, yet.

"Rachel won't even talk about it," he said. It had been good Jess had started willingly taking Shelby to school that following morning after her performance. Luke found out later Rachel ended up hungover and overslept that morning. Really, he couldn't blame her. Luke had felt he needed a few beers after the whole ordeal. If it wasn't for the fact he had to be up early the next morning to open the diner and make sure Shelby was ready for school, he might've.

"Well, I told her if she ever needed a friend, I knew a thing or two about difficult parents."

Luke chuckled to himself at his food. "Thanks," he told her.

She smiled. "No problem." Changing the subject once more, Lorelai started to tease the guy, enjoying it all the way. "So when's the wedding happening?" she asked, referring to Shelby and Kirk. "I'm invited, right?"

He just rolled his eyes as she continued with the harmless jokes.

The following week, Luke's ended up in one of its lulls that happens, occasionally, where very few customers comes by. Of course, the Gilmores still stopped by, trying to decide where to sit. Jess and Shelby had already left so it was just the three of them. He was saved when the phone rang after Lane had called for Rory.

"Luke's."

"Luke, it's Miss Kelly. Is this a bad time?"

"Oh, hey," he greeted his daughter's speech therapist. "No, I've got time."

"Great," she replied, cheerfully. "Well, I was calling to give you an update on Shelby's progress. You must be practicing hard, nonstop at home."

"Well, actually things have been a little hectic lately here at the diner. We've haven't really been able to put in a whole lot of attention with her speech practice," he admitted. "But the diner seems to be slowing down right now, so Shelby and I can get some more in."

"That's good to hear. Her TH still needs some work and she still can't grasp the ending T sound, but I gave her an assessment test yesterday and she did really well with her ch and sh words."

His eyebrows rose at that. "Really," he said, impressed. "She goes with her mom on the weekends so her mom must be picking up the slack for me. Plus some friends also help out when they can get her to talk."

"Well, who's ever doing it is doing a terrific job. Normally, my students don't get their sounds down for a while after they start seeing me. Shelby's shown amazing, quick progress at least in the last couple of weeks. You oughta be really proud of her."

Luke smiled into the phone, staring at nothing. "I am very proud of Shelby," he stated, proudly. "And we will make sure to work harder on her other sounds." The two finished up their phone conversation before hanging up. Once Lorelai and Rory's breakfast was ready, Luke brought them their plates.

"Who was that?" Lorelai asked, curious.

"Who was what?" he asked.

"On the phone?"

"Oh, uh, that was Shelby's speech therapist at school. She calls me once a week with weekly progress reports on Shelby."

"How's she doing?" Rory asked, already starting on her breakfast.

Luke stood there, holding his hands on his sides. Like a proud papa, he shared with them what Miss Kelly had told him.

"That sounds awesome," Lorelai praised, sounding proud herself as if it were something her own kid had accomplished. "Congratulations."

He thanked her.

"Soon, she'll be a little easier to understand," Rory added. Come to think about it now, Luke had noticed Shelby's speech was starting to sound more smoother. In fact, since he was able to close up early, Luke struck up a conversation to see for himself, that evening.

"How was school, today?" he asked, relaxed on the couch. They had already gotten ready for bed.

Shelby was leaning against the arm of the couch. "Good." That was not a complete answer he was hoping for.

"Tell me about it," he encouraged her to go into more detail.

"Um, I don' know," she shrugged.

"Did you do anything fun?" he continued to press on.

"Uhhh…" Shelby held that word for a long time as she stared up at the ceiling. "Naw really. Jus' a bunch of work." Hearing the ch sound in bunch got his attention but Luke didn't draw attention to it. At least not yet.

"Did you have any tests?"

"Naw till Friday. On Friday, we have a 'pelling tes'." Suddenly, Jess loudly cleared his throat as if he had something caught in it. Luke didn't think much of it until Shelby tried to correct herself. "I mean...sss-pelling tes'."

The thought crossed his mind if it was Jess' doing that Shelby was excelling in her speech. After all, the kid was spending a lot of time with her cousin and Luke still did not know where it was the two goes off to or do.

"Well then, how about if we study your words," he suggested and had Shelby fetch her backpack. Since some of the words also had the sounds she struggled with, Luke threw in some speech practice along with the spelling practice, having her sound out the word before and after spelling the word. They practiced Thursday night as well. With all of the studying, Shelby ended up coming straight home from school, Friday, all excited, as she waved her spelling test in the air.

Not saying a word until Luke kneeled to her level, she showed him the half sheet of paper. At the top, in red ink, was a great big 100%, circled, along with a smiley face.

"Awesome. Great job, kiddo," he praised her, proudly.

Shelby was beaming from ear to ear, proud of herself, as well which Luke was very glad of.

"How about we go out to eat, tonight, to celebrate you getting a one hundred on your spelling test?" Luke suggested.

Shelby nodded. "Are we going to Maisy and Buddy's?" she asked.

He touched his forehead to hers. "Of course." That made the kid even more excited. Aside from Lorelai and Rory, Maisy and Buddy were the next ones Luke had told he had a kid, though they had never met Rachel, just heard about her. They did meet Shelby eventually and of course fell in love with the kid at first sight. Since then the couple had come to be Shelby's surrogate grandparents. Like everyone else, it took some time before she warmed up to them, but eventually they started getting a few words.

Shelby talked Jess into coming along as well. She showed Maisy her spelling test, proudly holding it up.

"Oh, wow. A one hundred percent calls for something special," said Maisy. Once she had their orders, the older woman left, returning shortly with her husband, wanting to see this "special spelling test" as well. Both of them knew about Shelby's anxiety and had been just as kind and patient with her as Luke had been. Though Maisy always pointed out how much Shelby reminded her of him at that age.

To finish out the evening before bed, Luke let Shelby have thirty minutes of game time, somehow finding himself playing along too. He had chosen the green hat guy before they chose the track. Going easy on him, Shelby chose the easiest track, showing him how to drive. Thinking he was a great driver in real life, this would be a piece of cake. Wrong!

The race started with Luke messing up as soon as the light turned blue. Then once he got his cart going, Luke kept bumping into walls and zig-zagging all over the track. At one point, he thought he was doing good until he realized he was driving in the wrong direction. That's when he realized driving on a video game was not the same as driving in real life. Not even close. But he had to admit, it was fun in its own weird way. The important part was Shelby was happy.

Saturday, letting Shelby sleep in, Luke opened the diner. Lorelai stopped by at her usual time, alone, though Rory was with her, she just had to run a quick errand. He couldn't help notice something was on her mind, asking if she was okay, pointing it out to her and offered to play bagel hockey with her. She humbly passed on it, stating she had one of those moments where a person stepped in quicksand before having an anvil dropped on their head.

"I've had one of those," he said and offered to bring her some coffee before turning away.

Shelby came downstairs, wide awake. He assumed she had been up for a while, probably watching her cartoon before coming down. Saturdays was when the network aired new episodes so Shelby had come to not sweat it if she missed Pokemon during the week since they were always reruns.

Kneeling to her level, Luke asked if she wanted something to eat which she nodded. "Sleep good?" he asked.

Again, she nodded.

"That's good," he smiled and told her Lorelai had just gotten there and looked like she could use some cheering up. Shelby was happy to oblige, dashing over to give the woman a hug while Luke poured coffee for both Lorelai and Rory. When he brought them over to their table, Rory had come in. Shelby ended up moving over to the counter, to climb up onto one of the stools on the end.

"You're not sitting with Lorelai and Rory?" Luke questioned in surprise.

Shelby shook her head and whispered in his ear, "Lor-lai said she needed to talk to Rory, alone."

"Ah," he said. "So, what was Ash and the gang up to, today?"

"Tey me' a guy who could talk to Pokemon and tey could talk back to him," she told him.

An eyebrow rose in confusion. Talk to Pokemon? Didn't those things just growl or say variations of their names? Luke didn't know that was an actual language. "He could, huh?"

She nodded. T'ese o'ter guys said tey could too bu' were lying. Tey were jus' tricking people. Ta cop said they were 'cam ar-tis'. Wha' ta'?"

Luke had to decipher what Shelby was saying. "Cam are kiss?" It took a few tries until he told her to sound it out, slowly.

"Sss-cam ar-tis'," she enunciated as slow as possible.

He sounded it out with her. It was difficult considering she was also whispering. Suddenly, a loud outburst interrupted the deciphering, getting theirs, especially Luke's attention. Actually, it got the whole diner's attention. With the lull passed, the place unfortunately was packed once again.

Looking up, Luke saw Rory's father had come in, now sitting where she had previously sat, catching Rory talking to some lady, outside. The guy's voice was extra loud as Lorelai just sat there, trying to defend herself. It seemed like they were in some kind of argument that sprang from something Lorelai had mentioned to him. Eventually, he stood up, finishing with one final note before storming from the diner. A wave of protectiveness had washed over Luke, ready to pounce in case things got even more ugly but when Lorelai's gaze met his, afterwards, Luke quickly looked away, acting as if he were looking over past orders.

Shelby, on the other hand, climbed down from her stool and slowly made her way over, stopping beside where Lorelai was sitting. Luke lifted his head more just as the kid wrapped her arms around the woman as if to comfort her.

"Thanks, sweetheart," he heard Lorelai thank the kid, holding an arm around her. At least one of them was bold enough to go over there.