Chapter 29
Luke still couldn't help notice the Tinkerbell mug Nicole was holding in her hands while they sat on two of the stools, talking and catching up with each other. Finally, he decided to ask.
"That isn't the cup Shelby got for you, is it?"
Nicole looked it over in her hands. "It is, actually," she said. "It was a surprise when I received it in the mail. She mentioned in her letter she included, she had found it in her closet and wanted to send it after picking it out just for me. I thought you knew."
He shook his head. Remembering the other night, the cup must have been what made Shelby go quiet for a moment.
"She also filled me in on how third grade was going, baseball, her new cats, and about her mom," Nicole added. "Sounds like things have been going well for her." She smiled.
"Yeah, she's been doing great," he stated proudly.
"I've missed her just as much as I missed you," she admitted.
"Yeah, Shelby was disappointed when I had to tell her." Luke looked away, fidgeting with the dishrag on the counter.
There was a long pause before the bell above the door broke the silence. Shelby had returned along with Rachel and Roger, talking about the festival. The commotion stopped when they noticed Luke wasn't alone, which Rachel commented suddenly with an "Oh, sorry" as if they had interrupted.
"That's okay," Nicole told her.
Shelby especially stopped in her tracks, but that usually happened with anyone she wasn't comfortable with yet. In fact, because Nicole had completely changed her hair, she seemed to not recognize the woman. Well, technically so did Shelby, but hers was temporary as she was wearing a bald cap.
Luke was the first to speak. "Hey, Shell."
Shelby waved.
"You remember Nicole, right?" he asked her to help reassure who the stranger was.
The kid's eyes widened. "Nicole?" she asked slowly, still confused.
Nicole welcomed her with a smile. "Hey, Shelby. You look... nice."
"This is a bald cap," Shelby pointed at her head. "I didn' really shave my head."
"I figured," she assured with a smile.
There was another pause before Shelby said, "I wan' to give you a hug bu' I'm covered in pain'." She was pointing at herself.
"I understand, sweetie. I'm sure there'll be plenty of other chances." Nicole gave her another smile.
Shelby looked from Nicole to her dad. Her eyes widened at the possibility of what that statement could mean.
It was Luke who told her, "We'll talk more about this later, Shell."
Roger was the first to instantly introduce himself, being friendly. Rachel followed suit. Nicole got up on her feet to shake each of their hands as they took a step towards her, stepping back afterwards, exchanging pleasures.
"We should probably head out," Rachel eventually said.
"Please, I don't want to send you away," Nicole tried to reassure her.
"No, it's okay. It's late and we should head home anyway," she also reassured and turned back to Shelby. "I'll pick you up, Friday, okay?"
"Okay," Shelby replied.
Rachel touched her on her upper arm affectionately since Shelby couldn't hug her mom either. Roger offered a good night high five on his way out, praising her on a job well done with being a part of a painting for a minute.
After they left, Luke suggested Shelby go upstairs and shower off that gunk, to get ready for bed so the three could sit down and talk about Luke and Nicole reconciling their relationship. In the meantime, Luke finished cleaning the diner so he could lock up for the night as the two continued talking. Well, Nicole did most of the talking while Luke listened.
Once he finished, they headed upstairs to wait for Shelby, who was still scrubbing off the white make-up from her arms and face in the shower until finally emerging from the bathroom, changed into her pajamas. She made her way over to where Nicole was sitting on the couch, sitting down on her right leg. The kid's eyes noticed the Tinkerbell mug sitting on the coffee table.
"You go' it?" she asked.
"Yeah, I did. It was a surprise to receive a package other than important documents at work," Nicole replied while looking down at the mug, as well.
"Tha' was the only address Taylor could give me," Shelby admitted. It seemed like she was trying to avoid eye contact with him.
"Why didn't you just ask me?" he asked with both curiosity and concern.
Shelby looked away towards the couch. She didn't answer him.
Luke decided to not push things. After going a whole year of lying to her, guess they too had some communication issues to work on, themselves.
Nicole came to the kid's rescue. "Well, it was a very welcoming surprise to receive at a boring, old law firm."
That made Shelby look back at her and gave the woman a smile as if to say thank you.
Nicole then explained to Shelby how stupid it was to rush into a divorce, even though it was just as stupid to rush into a marriage, and how they were going to try to make things work between them. For now, she and Luke were going to keep things as they used to be by dating each other first.
"I won't expect you to call me Mom, and I don't want to get between yours and your mom's relationship and compromise anything. I am thrilled to hear things seem to be going well and that you are trying to fix things between you," she was telling Shelby. "Okay?"
Shelby nodded. "Can I ask something?"
"Of course, sweetheart. You can always ask me anything."
"If it does work out, are you gonna move in with us?" she asked, hopefully.
"Let's just take things one step at a time. But yes, eventually your dad and I will discuss moving in together. Though, we'll probably need a bigger place than this," Nicole pointed out with a chuckle.
Luke stared at the coffee table as he listened to the girls. A heavy lump dropped in his stomach at the thought of having to move to a bigger place with somebody other than him and his kid.
"It was big enough when Jess lived here," he heard Shelby also point out.
Nicole gently touched her shoulder. "I'm sure it was great for the three of you, but to me, it seems a little small for three people, and you should probably have a separate room from us." Luke understood right away what Nicole meant by that statement.
Shelby, on the other hand, did not, of course. She blinked in confusion. "Why is tha'?"
Nicole awkwardly exchanged a look over at him before switching towards her lap. "Well," she looked up at Shelby again, "sometimes, we all need some privacy."
Shelby pointed out the wall divider despite it only blocking half of her room. Not wanting to be the one to explain what Nicole was referring to, she just asked that Shelby just trusted them on needing a bigger place whenever the time came. Fortunately for the kid, Shelby ended up somewhat understanding what Nicole meant that weekend while at her mom and Roger's house. Rachel had to break the news to Luke once she sent Shelby upstairs to unpack.
"What? Are you nuts?" Luke could not believe their daughter had finally learned the "Birds and Bees."
"I didn't really have a choice, Luke," she told him. "We've been watching Reba together and sex is mentioned in some subtle form or another. Of course Shelby's gonna ask eventually, and she is at that age kids start finding out. I'd rather she hear it from us. Wouldn't you?"
Luke let out a defeated sigh. If he had it his way, Shelby would never have to know about sex. But, of course, he knew that was unrealistic. She had to live in a secluded area away from other people for that to happen. Or at least secluded from boys.
"Yeah, I guess," he reluctantly agreed.
"Oh, and nice explanation on how babies are made, by the way." Rachel snickered at him in a teasing way.
"It was the best I could do on very short notice."
"I'm sure it was," Rachel continued to poke fun at him. She got serious to reassure him, she made sure to explain to Shelby why he chose to lie instead of telling the truth, explaining it was best to let kids believe in imagination until they were old enough to learn the truth, like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. "I'm sure a lot of the jokes said on the show are still gonna go right over her head."
Someone had come over asking for mustard while Rachel was talking. Having seen Shelby watch the TV show, he knew it was probably one of the better ones she could be watching, and the kid really loved the country singer. So, he let it slide that Rachel had to have The Talk. On the positive side, at least he didn't have to go through the awkwardness.
Rachel also confessed the two had talked about the upcoming years every girl had to go through. It had slipped that Lorelai already explained puberty for Shelby, but they still talked a little more about it as another way to bond. She also added Shelby, telling her about Luke being uncomfortable when the doctor brought it up.
"I was not... uncomfortable," he tried to deny, losing confidence halfway through. "I just... didn't think it was the right time for the doctor to be talking about it."
"Luke, you had never been so red than you were that day," Rachel told him what Shelby had said, before Luke insisted on changing the subject. "Alright then. So, you're dating again, huh?"
Luke had begun clearing off the counter when Rachel changed the subject. "Yeah, so? You're married," he pointed out, defensively. "You're the only one who can have another relationship?"
"I'm not saying you can't date, Luke. In fact, I'm happy you are. It's just not who I would have expected considering..."
Luke suddenly grew nervous. "Nicole's a great lady. I can be me around her and she likes Shelby," he said while trying to skirt away from what Rachel was going to say before he cut her off.
"I'm sure she is, and I'm glad she likes Shelby." Rachel shrugged while watching him wipe down the counter. "She just... She doesn't seem like your type, that's all."
It surprised Luke to hear Rachel say that.
Thankfully, she dropped it when he continued to press him seeing Nicole again. "Anyway," Rachel continued. "Roger's mom and stepdad invited us over for Thanksgiving. I figured you might already have plans, but they said Shelby is invited if she wanted to come. I hadn't told her yet, though. Thought I would bring it up to you first."
"Shelby and I have out-of-town plans," Luke stated quickly without any thought.
"Okay, like I said, I just wanted to bring it by you and make sure before asking Shelby."
"Thanks," he replied softly.
"No problem. I'll see ya later." With that said, Rachel turned to leave.
The next day, after Shelby got home from school, Nicole stopped by to see the both of them. Shelby got to fill her in more, on how third grade was going and baseball, and about her new cats.
"Felix almost never leaves me whenever I'm at Mom's house," Shelby was saying when Luke had to head into the back to do some inventory.
When he returned later, Nicole mentioned Lorelai stopping by but didn't stay. It seemed like she had rushed right out. However, she returned later that evening while Luke was rushing around the diner, tending to customers. Shelby had already gone upstairs to get ready for bed, wanting to get in some more guitar practice. Actually, with how much use the kid was getting from his old guitar, Luke was thinking of just letting her have it. He rarely played it anymore. Before Shelby came along, the thing was collecting dust in a corner. Luke also made sure to teach her how to take care of it, including how to tune it.
Lorelai ended up following him around the diner, arguing if there was anything new in their lives until she finally got it out of him, he was seeing Nicole again. Like Shelby, Lorelai also brought up if they were moving in together, except Lorelai was a little more pushy about it than Shelby was, and also tried to ask about taxes despite it not happening for another few months. The argument continued until Lorelai became very heated and stormed out of the diner with a childish remark about the new coffee pots he tried to use, to divert from Nicole being back.
Luke just shook his head as he watched her storm away from the diner through the windows, knowing there was probably a chance they wouldn't see her there for a while.
