Chapter 46

The game started early in the afternoon. Before the two found their seats, Luke and Shelby stopped by the snack bar to each get a hotdog and soda, along with water to stay hydrated. Once they had their food, Luke guided Shelby through the entryway leading to their section of the stadium. Their seats were located towards the back of the lower level, climbing a few steps before Luke spotted their row.

"Right here, kiddo," he told Shelby, who stopped climbing and looked back.

"Here?" she asked, motioning towards the row right next to her.

"Yep."

Shelby headed down the row of seats. Luke told her to stop at seat nine. Using one hand, he held the seat down while Shelby sat down, sitting in the one beside her. While they waited for the game to start, Luke helped her with opening the ketchup packet, letting Shelby squeeze the sauce onto her hotdog. Some squirted onto the bottom of her arm which she licked off.

"Shelby, come on. Use a napkin." Luke passed her a napkin, though all Shelby needed to wipe off at this point was her own saliva.

"A tongue is a good napkin, too," she stated.

Luke just let out a sigh. "Not all the time, Shell."

Once more piled in, taking their seats around them, Shelby closed up, already about done with her hotdog. With the stadium full, a guy came on over the loudspeaker and requested everyone to rise for the National Anthem.

Luke rose, having Shelby do the same. She slid off her seat and removed her hat, copying her dad as he held it against his chest. A woman down below was standing at a microphone to sing, though with people standing in the row in front of them, Shelby wasn't able to see. She patted Luke on the leg, who told her to wait a minute. Afterwards, when everyone sat back down, he acknowledged her, giving Shelby, his ear.

"I couldn' see when she was singing."

"I'm sorry, kiddo. There wasn't much to see, anyway," he told her. "She was just singing. There wasn't any dancing or anything like that." That didn't make her feel better. Not until Luke offered ice cream at halftime to make up for it. Then Shelby was fine since ice cream always made everything better. In her opinion, anyway.

The game started with the first pitch by the Red Sox. With her hotdog eaten, Shelby slid off from her chair again to let the seat go up and sat on the front of it, to raise her up a little. She was now wearing her glove on her hand, hoping to catch a home run. Luke told her, not to get her hopes up as one may not get hit their way.

Throughout the whole game, Luke and Shelby cheered the Red Sox on, along with the rest of the crowd. Shelby especially seemed to be enjoying herself. By the fourth inning, she sidestepped in front of her dad to climb onto his leg.

She tapped him again.

"Yeah?" Luke lowered his ear for her.

"Am I ge'-ting too big to si' on your lap, Dad?"

Luke gave her a firm squeeze, kissing the side of her head. "Not yet, kiddo," he smiled.

Shelby smiled and turned her head back to the game. She slid off for a moment to grab her drink from the arm rest's cup holder and took a drink before returning it back in place, climbing back onto his leg, afterwards.

Even though a ball didn't get hit to their section, Shelby still had a great time at her first ball game. The kid never even got bored, though she did rest her head against her dad for a while there, when she was tired from all the cheering she was doing. When it was finally over, Luke made sure they took their trash with them, throwing it away on the way out.

Since it was packed leaving the stadium, Shelby held onto her dad's hand as tight as she could, sticking to his side like glue until they were able to get outside and head for the parking garage Luke parked in.

"You hungry, kiddo?" Luke asked as he slid in under the wheel once Shelby had scooted over to her side.

"Yeah, a li'tle," she replied as Shelby fastened her seatbelt.

"How about we grab dinner from somewhere? What sounds good to ya?"

"Um..." Shelby paused to think of what she wanted. "I wan' pissa."

"Alright then, pizza it is." When it was clear, Luke pulled out of the parking space and very slowly headed out of the parking garage. It took a few minutes to get out and onto the main street. Not too far from the stadium was a pizza and wings restaurant. A young woman led them over to a small table which Shelby continued to hold onto her dad's hand until they sat down on either side. The restaurant didn't serve juice so Shelby had to choose Sprite instead while Luke ordered a beer.

Opening the menu, Luke said, "Let's see what kind of pizza they have." He looked up to ask, "Any preference?"

"Mea'ball," she replied softly.

"Meatball? On a pizza?"

Shelby nodded.

Luke took a second to think what she could mean. "You mean sausage?"

"Um," she paused, looking up at the ceiling eventually nodding, "yeah, I guess."

Their server returned with their drinks. Luke ordered a sausage pizza along with two salads. When the young man serving them walked away, Luke tore off the paper wrapping from Shelby's straw for her and stuck it inside her drink.

Using both hands, Shelby picked up the kid's sized cup to take a drink, setting it back down, afterwards.

"Did you have fun at the game?"

She nodded, making him smile.

"Good, I'm glad." Luke then reached underneath the table and pulled out a birthday gift bag, setting it on the table. "Happy birthday, kiddo."

Shelby pulled it closer to her, asking if she could open it now. Giving her the okay, she looked inside and pulled out a dinosaur figurine set.

"You said you wished you had dinosaurs, right?"

Shelby nodded. "Cool," her eyes scanned over the whole toy set with interest. "Tank you, Dad."

"You're welcome, kiddo." Luke let her look at her present until their salads arrived first. Then he had her put it back in the bag where he put it under the table so they could eat. Shortly after they received their salads, the pizza arrived. Shelby ate most of her salad before starting on her pizza slice Luke placed on a plate for her, beside her salad bowl.

Since it was still early enough, Luke and Shelby caught a movie before heading home. Shelby picked the newest Disney movie, Lilo and Stitch, that was out at the moment. Since Shelby had soda at the game and the restaurant, Luke got them each a bottled water along with popcorn, to share between them. He let Shelby hold it in her lap since it would be easier for Luke to reach over than it would be for her.

Through most of the last half of the movie, things got emotional for Shelby. Thankfully, Luke noticed and wrapped an arm around her, to comfort her. Even though he didn't get emotional over the movie, some of the words the characters were saying, did stick out in his mind. Both of them were glad the movie ended happy and on the drive home, Shelby stated Lilo and Stitch was her new favorite movie and how she was going to convince Jess to take her to see it, too. There was no way Jess would agree to go see a cartoon but with this kid, Luke really couldn't put it past her to succeed.

With it being a long drive home, Shelby slept most of the way. When he finally pulled up to the diner, Luke figured he would carry her upstairs, but when he undid Shelby's seatbelt and started to lift her, she stirred.

"Are we home?"

"Yep, we're home, kiddo," Luke told her.

Shelby rubbed at her eyes, waking herself up. She then slid off her seat and climbed out of the truck. That was another thing reminding Luke his little girl was growing up. Before, he always had to help her out of the truck, now she was doing it herself without his help.

They headed inside and upstairs where Jess was still awake.

The young man turned his music off when Shelby came bounding over to his bunk. "Hey, you have fun?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Dad took me to a Red Sox's game, then we had pizza, and saw a movie before we came home."

"Oh, yeah? What movie you see?"

"Lilo and 'titch."

"Never heard of it," he said.

"Don' worry. We can go see i'," Shelby assured her cousin with a big smile.

"I'm good," Jess tried to decline. "Besides, you don't want to see the same movie, twice."

"Yeah, I do. I's my new favor' movie." Shelby was leaning her hands on the edge of the bed. "I love 'titch! He's so cu' and fluffy," she repeated what Stitch says in the movie. Jess did state he wouldn't go see it, but everyone knew, including him, he probably would get suckered into going.

Jess went over to his dresser, pulling open the top drawer. He pulled out a birthday themed wrapped present and held it out to Shelby. "Since you got me something for my birthday, I got you something."

Shelby went over to her cousin and took it from him. Ripping the paper away, she tossed it into the trashcan.

Luke headed over to the kitchen to rinse off and stick the dishes from the sink, into the dishwasher.

"You said you enjoyed the movie, so I thought I'd get ya the book," he heard Jess explain.

"Bu' I can' read harder chapter books," Shelby pointed out.

"I will if you stop making me read those Captain Underpants books." Jess really hated getting suckered into reading those books to Shelby and reading all those weird names. Like his uncle, he too did not understand why kids were obsessed with a bunch of books about a guy who ran around in his underwear, fighting crime.

"Deal."

Once Luke finished the dishes, he pulled a cake out from the fridge and had Jess help him light seven candles. Both guys sang Happy Birthday for the kid before Shelby blew them out, making a birthday wish. They each had a tiny piece before Luke told Shelby to go take her bath. While she was in the bathroom, Jess took the private moment to pull his uncle to the side while out of the kid's earshot.

"You and Scout got two phone calls while you were gone."

"Okay," Luke shrugged. "From whom?"

"The first one, surprisingly, from her mom."

His eyebrows rose at that. "She called?"

"Yep," Jess answered. "Called to wish her a happy birthday and to say she'll be home in a couple of days. She apparently had called up her old editor and took a job, or some crap like that. Not really sure what that means."

"She's a photojournalist. She makes stories out of photos for magazines," Luke explained.

"Huh," he nodded, trying to sound interested but knew it was his usual sarcasm. But Luke didn't really care at the moment. Instead he thought about one particular line from the movie. I know you're trying, Nani. But you need to think about what's best for Lilo, even if it removes you from the picture. Luke couldn't help ponder on those words as he thought about Rachel coming back.

It had taken so long to help cheer Shelby up, at least where the kid wasn't down so much. And how he and Rachel spent more time disagreeing than agreeing, and having to fix things, yet again. Luke did not want to go through that again. To put their daughter through that again.

Concealing things for now, he managed to ask, "So who was the other person who called?"

"Uh, someone named Madison?" Jess replied.

Luke nodded. "Yeah, that's Shelby's old caseworker."

"I think she mentioned something to that effect."

"So, what did she want?"

"She was calling to make sure she still had the right address so she can forward a letter to Shelby that was sent to her."

"Letter? From who?"

Jess glanced towards the closed bathroom door. Luke glanced over as well, confused. "She didn't give any details since she didn't know what it says, but the lady said it was a letter from the parents of Scout's mentor."

"You mean that Bailey girl?"

Jess nodded. "It should be here by Wednesday or Thursday, she said."

"Why would her parents send something? She owes Shelby an explanation, herself."

The young man gave a slight shrug. "Not sure. I'll tell ya one thing, it better be a darn good explanation." Jess then moved around Luke and headed over to drop down on his bunk.

After her bath, Shelby grabbed her new book and crawled into bed with her cousin.

"Hey, what have I told you about this?" he reminded her, annoyed.

"Please, Jess?" Even though he couldn't see it, Luke knew Shelby was trying to butter her cousin up with a puppy dog look. He heard the guy let out a loud sigh before giving in, but told her to keep a foot apart. Jess then started reading the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. After he finished the chapter, Shelby climbed up the ladder to her own bunk. Her dad stood beside the bed to say, happy birthday one last time and to say good night.

"Dad," she said.

"Yeah?"

"Don' leave me, okay?"

Luke realized she was repeating Lilo. He smiled, touching his forehead to hers. "Family means nobody gets left behind."

Shelby smiled in return, kissing her dad on the nose like she saw Lilo do to Stitch when he said it. Luke kissed her on the forehead before heading over to his side of the apartment, going to bed, himself.

Rachel calling was still on his mind the next morning as Luke went along with his morning routine. Having been turning things over in his head, over and over again, he waited until Shelby had finally woken up and got picked up by the twins' mom for a play date until her basketball practice, to call Rachel back.

It rang a few times before finally Rachel answered. Up till then, any time Luke called her, she never answered.

"Hello?"

"You got some nerve." He could not help let the bitter feelings he felt slip out.

"Luke?"

"So after a month of taking off once again, proving the gossip true, by the way. After a month of not answering any of my calls. You finally decide to call?"

"I needed time, Luke. What Shelby said really got to me. It hurt," she tried to say.

"How do you think Shelby feels?!" he shot out that time. Calming down a little and lowering his voice, Luke said, "You were attacking her cousin, Rachel. Whom she sees as a big brother. Not to mention, arguing with me. You know the kid hates seeing me upset."

"So that gives her the okay to say she hates me?"

His blood was starting to boil as his heart raced inside of his chest. "Shelby was upset. She didn't mean it and you know it."

Rachel was silent. "I didn't, actually."

"Really, and how long have you known her?"

"You know her better than I do, Luke. It really seemed like Shelby did not want me there."

"Or, maybe you were just looking for an excuse to take off again, just like you always do," he told her.

"That isn't it, Luke," Rachel argued. "Yes, I miss getting to travel all the time, but I told Shelby I'd never leave her again."

"But you did." His voice was quiet and firm, full of anger.

"I fully intended on coming back, I just didn't know when. I needed time."

"You have an apartment to take all the time you need, Rachel. It didn't mean you needed to leave."

He heard her sigh under her breath. "What about when you took Shelby camping that weekend after the accident? Hm? You did the exact same thing, Luke." she pointed out.

"We had that camping trip planned for weeks. At least we weren't gone for a whole month!" he shot in return.

"It's still the same thing. I needed to take some time away, hoping a break between us would do us each some good," Rachel said.

"Shelby was ready to apologize later that same day, Rachel. She was even broken up when we couldn't even find you. Nobody knew where you were, not even your sister. You're a mother, Rachel. With a kid. You can't just take off and expect Shelby to not be affected by this. It took me and Jess, days to put a smile on her face again."

More silence followed.

"You know what, though."

Finally, she said, "What?"

"I'm done."

"You're...what?"

"Done."

"What do you mean, you're done?"

"I mean, I'm done, Rachel. With everything," he reiterated. At this point, he tossed Lorelai's words about keeping the door open for his kid's sake, out the window. He did not want to put the kid through this all over again. "Wherever you went, stay there. Don't even come back. If you do come back, I want you to stay away from her. Don't come within twenty feet of her. You hear me, Rachel? I don't ever want you to come near my daughter again."

"Luke, don't do this. Please! I'm sorry for taking off, okay? Just, please, don't shut me out of her life."

"I said I didn't want to do this. I did not want to put her little heart through more heartache, and yeah, it'll always be inevitable, but not if I can help it. That little girl does not need the crap you seem to keep putting her through."

That did it. Soon, Luke heard Rachel burst into tears. He felt his eyes close at the floor. Steeling his heart, Luke stared over at a framed photo of Shelby's school picture on the wall above the couch. The smile the kid held as she looked back at the camera. If he could stop at least one heartache, he would do it. "I'm sorry, Rachel. But I can't watch her break apart every time something happens between the three of us." That said, Luke removed the phone from his ear and hung up.

Falling backwards, Luke dropped down on the edge of the bed, dropping his face in his hands. He hated himself for what he did, nor did he take any pleasure in it. It was too much watching Shelby go through another heartache and he didn't even want to think about what would be in the letter that was on its way. He hoped it would be good news, but if it was, why couldn't Bailey send it? Or better yet, call like she had promised to?

Luke rubbed his face along his hands, once. He surely could not tell Shelby about this.

Aw, jeez! What had he done? Protect his kid, that's what he did. Or, so Luke told himself...