Chapter 70
Once they finished all they could, Luke and Shelby packed up to leave, letting Lorelai know they finished for the day. On the way out, though, Shelby stopped to ask Lorelai an out of the blue question if she knew if she was born early or on time. When Lorelai stated she was pretty sure she was right on time, to her knowledge, anyway, they heard the kid go, "Darn i'," under her breath. But when Lorelai tried to ask why she wanted to know, Shelby just said, "No reason," and dashed out to her dad's truck.
Luke tried to ask about the random question on the way home, but Shelby refused to tell him, not wanting anybody to know what it was she was up to until Friday night. That was enough for him to understand it had something to do with Lorelai's party Rory invited them to at Miss Patty's dance studio.
Since Jess had to work that night, Shelby got to be home alone again while Luke met up with Nicole to go see a movie. Luke reminded her of the emergency numbers on the fridge before kissing her good-bye. He really hated leaving the kid alone, but with Miss Patty and Taylor nearby and John downstairs, Shelby reassured she would be okay, really wanting the place to herself to work on a project she was working on. When Luke left, Shelby was sitting sideways on her bunk, with her back to the wall with his guitar on her lap and her headphones over her ears. She was still in the same position, three hours later when he returned.
Catching some singing, Luke noticed she kept repeating the beginning of Reba McEntire's song, I'm a Survivor, along with similar phrases like she was trying to rewrite the song, groaning in frustration quite a few times, and using the pronoun she instead of I. After a while, Shelby just moved on to the chorus and practiced that part once more.
Hating having to disturb the kid's song-rewriting, Luke had to go over and playfully smack her foot to get her attention, letting Shelby know he was home.
She opened her eyes, surprised to see her dad home. "You're back already?"
"It's been three hours, kiddo," he pointed out, nodding over at the alarm clock on top of Jess' stereo.
Setting the guitar on the bed beside her, Shelby got up onto her knees to lean on the railing, seeing the time for herself. "Wow, time wen' by fas'," she commented.
Luke smiled, leaning a hand on the railing. "What happens when you're busy. Time moves a lot quicker when you're doing something."
"Nuh always. I' doesn' when I'm in school."
He chuckled. "It also depends how much you enjoy what you're doing, too." At some point, though, Shelby must have taken a break long enough to change into her pajamas, so Luke let her return to her music.
"Since you heard wha' I'm doing, you can' tell Lor-lai. Okay, Dad?"
"I won't." Changing the subject, he asked, "hey, do you know if Jess made it home from work or not?"
Shelby shook her head. "If he did, he would have said something to me," she shrugged.
Nodding, Luke left her alone. Shelby returned her headphones over her ears and resumed where she left off, changing her radio back to the same song. It was nice to listen to as Luke sat in wait for Jess to get home. By the time he did, it was late and Shelby had fallen asleep by then with her headphones still on.
"You're home late," Luke commented.
"Traffic," Jess explained, heading right for his and Shelby's side of the apartment.
Luke stared at his hands as he muttered, "Great. Okay." He then quickly got to his feet. "So, you hungry?"
"I'm meeting Rory," the young man replied, setting his keys on the desk and removed his jacket.
"Want me to make you some sandwiches?"
"So we can brown-bag it on our date?" Jess questioned with sarcasm. "I don't think so." He tossed his jacket over on his bed.
"Just offering." Luke walked over, working up the nerve to have the discussion he knew they needed to have, and lay down the law. Confrontation was never the guy's strong suit. "How was work?"
Jess had gone over to grab a change of clothes from his side of the closet. "Well, the clean up version of The Eminem Show seems to be selling real well, so most of the world is basically coming to an end." He then headed over to his dresser to gel up his hair.
Luke stood up from where he was leaning against the bunk bed, clearing his throat. "So, listen," he held his hands on his sides as he stared at the floor, "I wanna talk to you about something."
"Talk," Jess told his uncle while working on his hair.
"Could you stop grooming for just a second, please?" Luke asked of him.
Jess looked back long enough to tell him, "I'm already late," before resuming.
"Look," Luke rubbed his hands together as he tried to force the words out, returning them to his sides. "I was doing some thinking about your situation."
"My situation?" he repeated.
"Yeah, you know, you're working here, you're working at Walmart, you're dating Rory, you're going to school while trying to squeeze some time in for your cousin. It just seems like a lot." Luke couldn't help watch and stare as his nephew lathered the gel into his hair. "You ever worry if a bird flies into your head, it might never get out again?"
"I got everything under control," Jess quickly reassured his uncle.
"Yeah, I'm sure you do." He let out a sigh. "I just thought maybe I could make things a little easier."
"How?"
"Well, I could give you a raise at the diner."
Jess suddenly twisted around to stare at him in surprise. "A raise."
"Yeah," Luke nodded, "and maybe help out with some of the, you know, bigger money burdens," he swung his arms back and forth, raising one towards Jess, "like your car insurance."
"Why would you want to do that?"
"So, you can quit your job at Walmart," he said.
Jess replied with a definite, "No way."
"But you'll still be making money," Luke pointed out, "and this way," he held out a finger, forcing a chuckle, "you can spend more time on Rory," quickly adding, "and school."
Jess just stared at him before grabbing his clothes. "I'm fine."
"Jess, come on."
"No," he insisted, heading for the bathroom.
"Take the deal," Luke tried to insist.
He stopped long enough to say, "I have to change."
Panicked, Luke blurted out, "I know you're not going to school."
Jess stopped once more to turn back around. "What?"
"I saw you drive right in the opposite direction."
"You spying on me?" he questioned with a confused shrug.
"You lied to me," Luke told his nephew.
"Once in a while, I take an extra shift. It's nothing."
"You have to go to school, Jess," Luke reminded his nephew.
"I go enough," the young man assured him.
Luke shrugged. "What does that mean?"
"It means I go enough," he insisted. "It's public school. My history teacher is also the football coach. Get the picture?" Jess made to turn right back around towards the bathroom.
"Jess, we had a deal. You go to school," Luke pointed towards the floor in emphasis, "you graduate."
Jess stopped, turning back once more. "I know. Relax. I got it all under control. I have to change." With that said, he walked away one last time to finally make it to the bathroom.
Luke let out a tired breath of air, placing his hands on his sides once more. "Jess!" he tried one last time but the young man didn't emerge until he finally changed, and even then, there was no getting through to him. So, Luke just let him head out to meet Rory. By the time the young man got home, he had gone to bed.
The confrontation was still heavy on Luke's mind the next day. Shelby cheered him up for a while without even trying until she had to leave for school. He worked through the morning as best as he could before Luke had to leave for New York, for the lunch date with Nicole's parents. Nicole introduced the three of them as they exchanged handshakes before sitting down to talk. Mostly, Nicole and her father had one of their usual disagreements, a topic Luke wasn't so keen on, especially when Nicole mentioned about how one shouldn't force a mother to give up her child when his own child was given up at birth. Thankfully, she remembered what he told her on their first date and apologized if she had brought up any painful memories. Luke reassured her it was fine. He had been able to move past Rachel's decision and finally forgive her. What's done is done. He had their daughter now, and that was all that mattered, and Shelby had been able to overcome a lot in the last few years with him. Though, Luke barely listened to the argument anyway, still spacing out on Jess breaking their agreement.
"So, Luke, I feel like we've been ignoring you," her mother said with a hint of guilt.
He waved her off with his hand. "That's okay."
"Nicole told us you've never been married." The older woman seemed to hint at the married part.
Nicole quickly tried to change the subject. "Or, we could talk about how he owns his own diner," she suggested, looking at Luke before switching back to her parents. "That's a good opening topic."
"Hush, sweetheart," her mother told her. "You just sit there and pretend to be ashamed of us."
"Uh, no, I have never been married," Luke answered, staring around at the floor.
She nodded at him, "But someday, maybe, right? Marriage, more children?"
"She means eventually, and with the woman of your choice," Nicole reassured him as Luke took a drink from his glass of wine. "They will not be involved in the picking."
Her mother continued. "Because there is nothing more wonderful than marriage." she said and smiled lovingly at her husband, who did the same.
As Luke set his glass back down on the coffee table, Nicole pointed out, "You know, the others escaped out the bathroom window. Just a tip."
"And the children. There is nothing more rewarding than children as I'm sure you're already aware," she smiled at Luke. "Nicole says you have a little girl of your own, already."
He smiled proudly at that last statement with a little more confidence. "Uh, yeah, I have a seven-year-old who will turn eight in a few months."
"Oh, those are the wonderful ages," Nicole's mother gasped as if in nostalgia. "Where they are just starting to be independent but not quite there yet."
"I remember when this one was going through that stage," her father said, holding a hand out to Nicole. "Insisting on doing things by herself."
"The whole experience of raising children is like the most fabulous rollercoaster ride you can imagine. From the time they're born to that first step, the first word, the first time they hug you." The woman melted in a sentimental puddle of emotions over the raising of children. "The first time they pick out their own outfits."
Luke, who had still been partly thinking about his nephew, suddenly interrupted, "The first time they tell you they're going to school, then you follow them all the way to Walmart."
"Walmart?" Nicole's father questioned in confusion.
"And they think you don't know," he continued, bitterly. "They just think you're a moron, thinking, 'hey, they must be telling me the truth, right?' And they don't think that maybe you know that they are lying to your face, and that you really are mad because you guys had an agreement."
Nicole's mother was very concerned by this point. "Oh, dear," she said, and exchanged a look with her husband.
"And that agreement was clear, very clear. And they know that breaking that agreement is a violation of everything you had talked about, not to mention what this would do to his own cousin who she sees as an older brother. Oh, yeah, that is cute. That's just darling. I can't wait to experience that again." Once his outburst had blown over, the room was awkwardly quiet as no one said a word. Now calm again, he asked, "I'm sorry, did someone mention cheese?"
Nicole and her parents just stared at him, lost and confused. The rest of the lunch date didn't go as anyone had planned it would, or hoped, for that matter. Nicole tried to help Luke out by explaining about his nephew living with him and his daughter and the whole situation there. It helped a bit, but they were really careful the rest of the time. Thankfully, Luke had to leave early to make it for the end of Shelby's soccer practice so he could pick her up.
When Shelby climbed into the truck, she asked how the lunch date with Nicole's parents went. Luke just told her not to ask, that it wasn't as great as they hoped.
"You didn' tell the fish 'tory again, did you, Dad?" she asked with a concerned look, reminding him of the story that made Shelby smack her head to her forehead every time he told it to someone.
"No, I did not tell the fish story," he told her. "Are you ever gonna let that go? It was a simple mistake, you know."
"Yes, bu' you're the one who keeps telling i'," Shelby pointed out.
Luke couldn't help smile at how smart his little buddy seemed to become and reached over with one hand to playfully grab at her side. They then changed the subject to how school and soccer practice went and talked about that until they got home.
The next morning, Luke and Nicole talked about what happened at lunch over the phone.
"I really am sorry, Nicole," he was pleading with her, still feeling guilty over it as Luke paced back and forth behind the counter since he couldn't go anywhere else with the phone. "Your parents must think I'm a lunatic."
"No, I don't think lunatic was one of the words they used," she replied. "But they have a very extensive vocabulary, so there may have not been enough time."
"It's the first time I meet them, and I just..." Luke shot out and paused on his words. "Jess was driving me crazy, and..."
"I know this," Nicole reassured him. "I told them this."
"I swear, when they come back into town, I will do better," he insisted before Jess came charging right by, stating he was going to school. Luke just watched, letting the young man pass.
"They may not be back in town for several months," she said.
Luke just shrugged a hand up. "Whenever."
"Whenever. So I can make another lunch date with my parents even though it's several months away?" Nicole asked.
"Sure, make it," he shrugged once more.
"Okay, I'll make it."
"Tell'em I've gotten some medication, I'm much better now," he smirked.
"I'll do that," Nicole replied, sounding like she was smiling. "And, hey, maybe next time, Shelby can join us. I'll make sure they know not to push her to talk, though."
"Sure, that sounds great," Luke shrugged a third time.
About that time, Jess returned, storming back into the diner and ordered Luke to get off the phone.
"I need the phone. Get off the phone," he ordered.
"What's the matter?" Luke asked, confused.
"Someone stole my car," Jess told him, which Luke had to let Nicole go so he could call the police, dialling the number to the local station.
"What do you mean, somebody stole your car?"
"I parked it right around the corner, and now it's gone." He put it to his ear.
"Why would you park it around the corner?"
"Because that's the way I parked it." Jess then shrugged in confusion. "How the hell can a police department have an answering machine?" He slammed it right back on its hook before hurrying right back out.
Luke hurried after his nephew. "Look, let's just calm down."
"Who would steal that car?" Jess stopped to turn back around. "It hardly ran. I had to teach Scout how to drive just so she could steer while I pushed it to Gypsy's, once." He stared out the window as if the car would magically reappear.
"Well, you know these chop shops, they can make a buck out of anything."
Jess pointed a finger in his uncle's face. "Oh, I am gonna kill whoever did this. I'm gonna find them and kill them."
"Listen, just go over to school. I'll take care of everything," Luke assured him.
"Well, I gotta talk to the cops," he tried to argue.
"I'll do that, go," Luke insisted. "You don't want to be late for your first class, right?"
Jess shrugged, "Well, yeah."
"You were planning on, going to school, right?"
"Right."
"Okay, well then, just walk over to the school, and I'll take care of the rest," Luke reassured him, calmly, holding his hand to his chest.
Jess reluctantly gave in. "Fine," he said and turned to leave.
Luke followed, wrapping an arm around the young man's shoulders. "Have a good day." He playfully slapped Jess on the shoulder and told him to study hard. "Don't worry. Just leave the car to me." He opened the door and nudged Jess out in the school's direction. As Luke watched him head for school, he smiled to himself, already knowing what happened to Jess' car. Once Jess had gotten home the night before, and both he and Shelby were asleep, Luke snuck out and moved the car to his father's old garage, thinking that would force Jess to go back to school. Or so he hoped, anyway.
Jess was still upset that afternoon, especially when he found out his car still hadn't been found. Shelby tried to cheer her cousin up, singing the Don't Worry, Be Happy song. That is, until he snapped at her, not at all wanting to be happy at the moment. Shelby clammed up, looking hurt.
Letting out a sigh, Jess apologized. "I'm sorry, Scout. I know you're just trying to help." He then kissed the side of her head.
Rory also came by before she and her mother had to leave for Hartford since she was down there, helping prepare for the party, and tried to help cheer him up too.
For most of the afternoon and early evening, though, Shelby kept to herself upstairs, fitting in some extra practice for Lorelai's present. When it was about time to head over to Miss Patty's, Luke told Shelby to shower before they left so they could go straight to bed once they got home since she had a game in the morning.
While they waited for Lorelai and Rory to arrive, Miss Patty did a sound check, making sure Shelby would be all set.
"Dad," Shelby whispered to Luke at one point. "My tummy feels like i's doing flips."
"Nervous, huh?"
She nodded. "Uh, huh." No matter how many times Shelby got up to sing in front of everyone, she still felt anxious. Both her dad and Miss Patty always reassured being nervous and anxious were normal.
"Lorelai's gonna love your song, sweetie," Miss Patty told her.
Her mind was briefly taken off the butterflies in her stomach once the pizza arrived... On a crane? The pizza was so large; they had to bring it in on a crane? "Why did they make the pissa so big?" she questioned towards her dad. "Why didn' they order a bunch of normal-sised pissas?"
"What was that you told me the other day about questioning Lorelai?" he reminded her.
"Oh, yeah," the kid remembered.
Shortly after the pizza arrived, so did Rory, along with the birthday girl. Shelby ran over to hug Lorelai, wishing her a happy birthday, which Lorelai thanked her for. The presents were one of the last things they did after pizza and the cake.
While everyone hung out afterwards, Shelby made her way onto the small stage. Luke jumped up with her to hand Shelby the guitar once she had climbed onto the stool. Miss Patty got everyone's attention and adjusted the microphone for the kid.
Taking in a deep breath once, Luke jumped off the stage to go stand with Lorelai, Rory, and Lane. He helped Miss Patty step down as Shelby leaned forward to speak into the mic. "I, um, hi, everyone," she said, nervously.
Everyone clapped and cheered for the little girl to help encourage her.
She laughed, nervously. "I, um, practiced this song and t-tried to c-change a lo' of the w-words to fi' Lor-lai, be'ter." She rubbed at the back of her neck, underneath her hat's brim.
"You're gonna do great, sugar!" Babette called out from the crowd.
Luke could see the kid smile. Taking another deep breath in, she continued. "This used to be Reba McEntire's song, I'm a Survivor, bu' I call i', Lor-lai's a Survivor." With that said, Shelby positioned her fingers on the cords and strummed, playing for a moment before starting to sing. Everyone laughed, including Lorelai, when Shelby mentioned the part, "bu' she's jus' too hard-headed."
For the most part, the song was the same, though, only really changing the pronouns and adding Lorelai's name. Nonetheless, Lorelai loved it, smiling the entire time as Shelby sang the words. That's what really mattered.
When the song was over, Shelby strummed for a while longer before finally stopping. "Happy birthday, Lor-lai." She then held a thumbs up out to her, which Lorelai returned as everyone cheered and clapped for the kid.
Luke jumped back up to take the guitar from his little buddy, so she could climb down, praising her for a job well done. Shelby rushed over so Lorelai could hug her and tell her thank you. It was one of the best birthday presents she's ever received.
Seeing the kid light up that Lorelai liked what Shelby did for her birthday was a highlight for the end of a stressful week, for sure.
