Chapter 73
It had been a long time since Luke heard from Madison. Which was understandable since Shelby wasn't even one of her clients, or kids, as she referred to them as, anymore. There wasn't a reason to keep in touch, and with how busy being a case manager was in the social services field, those out of the system can lose touch because of life. Doesn't mean anything. It just happens. Not to mention, Luke thought things had been going so well, anyway, everything else took the lead in his day-to-day activities. So when Luke called her up after so long, Madison was surprised to hear from him after all this time.
"Luke, it's been a while. How are you and Shelby doing?"
"Uh, to be honest, not so great," he rubbed at the back of his neck while leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is everything alright?" she asked, concerned.
Luke ran a hand down his face. "There was a huge blowout between me and my nephew, the other day, and it all spiraled downhill from there." He then explained further. Luke couldn't help feel a little hesitant about sharing what he had done to both Rachel and Jess' father, but he really thought he was doing the right thing and was only trying to help.
"Yeah, I hear ya," Madison said, afterwards. "You try the hardest you can to help the ones you care about, even going in blind and not thinking of the consequences. Your nephew, though, he's an adult. He has that right to know his father is in town and wants to see him, even if it throws things further off track. I do agree, however, about having the deal. If he's gonna be staying with you and has agreed to go to school and graduate, then he needs to honor that, and if it's broken, then you have the right to kick him out. He broke the agreement, and that was his choice."
"Yeah, I know." Even with both Lorelai and Madison reminding him of that fact, Luke still felt like a failure. He even wondered if taking and hiding Jess' car was an even worse idea. If Jess ever found out it was him, Jess was going to be ticked off, that was for sure.
"As for Shelby, well, you are her father and full legal guardian. You have every right to tell Rachel, she can no longer have contact with her. I can't stop you, and neither can anybody else. That's your decision, and me, personally, I think you gave Rachel more than plenty of chances. My only gripe on the matter is the fact you chose to keep this from Shelby."
He shrugged. "Shelby would have hated me if I told her the truth."
"Would she, Luke?"
Luke stared at nothing in particular, in confusion. "Well, yeah, I mean, that's her mom."
"Luke, I've been working this job for over a decade by now. I've worked with thousands of children to know you gotta give them more credit than most adults give them."
He thought on that statement.
"A lot of folks say that kids are dumb, but really, they're not, especially not Shelby. Yeah, she might have been mad at you for a while, but she would come around because she would remember who's been there for her when she needed it. I mean, yes, it was you who told Rachel, to get lost, basically, but it was her idea to leave, in the first place. Taking a vacation just because you're upset from your child saying they hate you, sounds very... childish, in my opinion. I'm sure there's probably more to it, but that's how I see it as an outsider's opinion."
"No, I get what you're saying," Luke replied. "And, believe me, I wouldn't have thought to have done something like this if Rachel hadn't of left. I was just so mad, and then Rachel finally calling, on Shelby's birthday no less, as if nothing happened? Like all of this was another planned trip. It tipped me over the edge, and I felt I had to protect my kid from getting hurt again, even if it's from her own mother."
"And I get that, Luke. I do. I'm not saying what you did was wrong, nor am I here to judge you. Me, personally, I wouldn't have done things like that, but that's just me," she quickly pointed out. "Like I said, my only concern is with Shelby. Really, she's the only one I care about." Madison chuckled into the phone at that.
Luke smiled. "Yeah, me too. Rachel is willing to try the therapy idea you gave me last year, which is why I called. To get that information."
"That's good to hear she's open to trying different options, at least. I actually just left the office for the day, so I don't have the contact info with me. Do you have an email? I can send it to you when I get back in, in the morning."
"Uh, no," he said. "I don't really do that computer tech stuff. I'm barely learning this video game technology stuff because of Shelby."
She snickered at that. "You sound just like my father."
Luke stared unamused to be compared to another adult's father. "Thanks," he replied in sarcasm.
Madison snickered some more, reassuring she would call him first thing in the morning to give him the contact information for the family counseling center. Afterwards, she asked how he and Shelby were doing prior to the unfortunate mess they were in. She was glad to hear Luke had resumed dating and being careful since he was also a father. Pretty much Luke brought her up to speed of the entire year, mostly highlighting the most important milestones in Shelby's life.
Madison was good on her word the following morning. The second call was cut short due to somebody on the other line.
"Luke's," he said once Luke clicked over.
It was Nicole, calling. "Hey, Luke."
"Nicole, hey," he returned the greeting. "How you been?"
"Busy as normal. But, hey, that's the lawyer business for ya. One of our clients has some serious legal stuff going on that I had to help sort out, which is why I hadn't called the last few days." She explained the headaches of the situation. By the sound of it, this client could put Taylor to shame. Luke freely allowed her to ramble before she cut herself off, wanting to know how he and Shelby were doing.
Luke paused, unsure what to say. Like with Madison, though, he knew he had to come clean. If everyone found out eventually, so would Nicole.
"What the hell," he gave in with a sigh. "You remember how I told you Shelby's mother took off last year after promising she wouldn't?"
"Uh huh," she nodded. "Let me guess. She came back, I take it?"
"Well... sort of."
"What do you mean?" Nicole asked, unsure.
Again, he rubbed at the back of his neck. Finally, he tossed his hand out at his side. "She did eventually call a month later, on Shelby's birthday, and I told her, she was forbidden to ever see Shelby again." Luke expected Nicole to tell him off and hang up the phone. He remembered the argument regarding the surrogate mother she had with her father during their lunch.
"Okay...?" That was not the response Luke was expecting at all. "And she came back anyway against your word?"
"You're not mad I kept my kid's mother away from her?"
"I mean, if she really did leave in the first place," she said, then asked for him to explain the story over again, this time what actually happened.
"Most of what I said is what happened, I just left out that one detail," he shrugged and explained the rest, including the current drama.
"Okay, here's the thing," Nicole said once Luke finished, "you gave her plenty of chances. Yes, a mother should have access to her child, but for a mother to freely walk out on her child? Even if it's to take a trip? Yes, it's good to walk away from a situation and take some time to breathe and calm down, but not on an out-of-town trip. And to not set a date when she'll be back? I'm sorry, Luke, but when it involves children, you don't get to pick and choose something like that. That is very immature and you're right. She probably was looking for an excuse to go off on some adventure."
"So you think I was right in closing her off?" he questioned.
"Well, if you think that was best, sure. I think you should have at least told Shelby and explain to her, if her mother couldn't decide on whether to stay or leave, then you have to make the tough decision to do what's best for Shelby. She may not understand it right now, but you two seem to have a close enough relationship that she would accept that. Shelby seems like a smart girl. She knows who's truly there for her."
"That's what her old caseworker told me," he pointed out. It was strange both Madison and Nicole were basically telling him the same thing. Nicole was more upfront about the situation.
A pair of customers sitting at the counter got up to leave, leaving the money there. Luke stood up from where he was leaning to clear the plates, setting them in the tub underneath the counter, and stashed the money in the register as he explained what Madison had told him.
"I haven't had much experience with children. I'm an only child with no cousins, myself. But I have friends and co-workers who have kids, and heard stories around the water cooler and during lunch breaks of the stories they share. Kids are definitely not dumb from what I've heard, and Shelby's no exception. She understood her mother didn't like Jess being there, even though it made her sad. From what I can understand is, it sounds more like a control issue than a safety thing."
"What do you mean?"
"If her mother truly cared for Shelby's safety around Jess, she wouldn't have left in the first place. She would have taken every precaution to make sure Shelby would be alright, where they were, for how long, stuff like that. Even if she thought Shelby hated her. Not to mention, if a grown woman can easily have her feelings hurt by a child, there is something wrong there. Yes, I understand that child is her own daughter, but still."
"And I told Rachel that she should have known Shelby better than that," Luke pointed out, now wiping down the counter. "Not only is that kid the sweetest, kindest kid you will ever meet, she's also very protective of those she cares about."
"Right, and I can see that from getting to know Shelby in the short time I've known her. Obviously, it's her mother who's not getting to know Shelby for the person she is," Nicole pointed out. "But, that's just my opinion on the matter. Like I said, the only problem I have is, you should have been honest with Shelby. And, hey, if she needs to, Shelby's welcome to come stay at my place if she needs some respite from the chaos. I've been meaning to ask if I could have a day the two of us can hang out, one on one. I wasn't sure when the right time was. I don't want to overstep anything."
"No, you're fine," he assured her. "Like I mentioned, Shelby's spending some time at Lorelai's place for the rest of the week. But I can ask her when she finally does come home." Through the window, Luke caught sight of Rachel and her boyfriend walking by. Roger opened the door to the diner, letting Rachel in first. "Hey, Nicole, I gotta go. Shelby's mother just walked in."
"Okay. Are you up for dinner or a movie, tonight? Help take your mind off things? I understand if you're not up for it. I don't want to push anything on ya."
"It's fine," he assured her once more. "Dinner sounds great, actually. I'll call ya this evening on the details."
"Sounds good." Before they hung up, Nicole told him, "and Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"Next time, just be honest with us, especially Shelby. I know you don't want to look like a bad father keeping your daughter's mother away. I get that, but sometimes there are legitimate reasons for doing so."
"I know, and I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking, I guess," he shrugged.
"All is forgiven. Just wanted to point that out," she assured.
He smiled into the phone. "Talk to you later."
"Talk to ya later," she replied before they finally hung up.
Luke turned back around to see Rachel and Roger standing on the other side of the counter. The greetings were short as they shared small talk. Very small talk.
"I was telling Roger how you have the best coffee in town," Rachel told him. "Thought I'd bring him by to prove it."
"For here or to go?"
"Uh, to go, is fine," she replied.
Luke grabbed the pot behind him and two paper to-go cups. Once the coffee was poured, he set the pot back in its place and grabbed two lids from underneath.
Roger tried his first. "Mm, not bad. Guess you're right about this, too, Rachel." He chuckled.
She snickered. "I told ya."
Luke grabbed the rag he used to wipe down the counter, taking it over to tend to the tables John cleared.
Rachel followed. "So, Luke. Were you able to talk to Madison?" she asked, curious.
"Yep. She called me back this morning and gave it to me."
She forced a smile. "Great."
Luke continued wiping down the tables.
Roger spoke up at that point when she exchanged a look with him. "Are you gonna acknowledge our presence or are you going to ignore us?"
Luke finished wiping down the table he was cleaning, finishing with a quick swipe, and looked over at the guy. "I'm busy. I responded, didn't I?"
"You could at least make sure we have your full attention," he pointed out.
"Well, you do. I have the info. Now we can discuss when to set up an appointment. But in the meantime, I have to get these tables wiped off for the next customers," he explained in the most calm manner Luke could muster. "So talk."
Roger wanted to press further, but Rachel stopped him, which he apologized to both of them. "It's just, after seeing Rachel the past year going through that deep depression. I can't help feel angry over it."
Rachel snapped at the guy at that. "Roger," she hissed. "I told you not to say anything."
"The guy deserves to know what he put you through," he pointed a hand over at Luke.
Luke suddenly stood up from wiping down another table. "Get out," he told Roger, trying his best to hold his tongue.
"Why?"
"Why?" Luke repeated. "You seem concerned for Rachel, but what about our daughter? What about how she felt?"
"You are very much to blame as she is, if not more," he said.
Rachel stepped in front of Roger. "Roger, please," she urged him. "We're in a public place. Please don't make a scene."
Thankfully, Roger seemed to settle down. "I'm sorry," he said once more and said he would go wait in the jeep, heading outside.
"Sorry about him," Rachel also apologized.
"No problem. Not sure if I want him around our daughter, though. Seems to have quite the temper." Luke went back to wiping down the table.
"Roger's not like that around kids. Believe me, he loves kids. He doesn't even mind at all being a stepdad."
Luke's head shot up when Rachel mentioned him being a stepdad. "Come again?"
"Well," Rachel ran a finger around the lid of her coffee. "Roger and I have talked about, one day, getting married. So, of course, that would make him, Shelby's stepfather. If you were to find someone and get married, she would be Shelby's stepmother."
Luke headed back over behind the counter, tossing the rag on the end. "He better not expect her to call him, dad," he pointed in the direction Roger had gone.
"Of course not, Luke. Roger wouldn't want that."
"Why would you bring that guy here, anyway? I called for you, not him," Luke blurted out.
"He was with me when you called," she shrugged. "Roger came for moral support. I didn't think he would try to pick a fight with you. He really isn't normally like this. I'm sorry, Luke. I had no part in that, I promise. Can we just stop fighting for one second and discuss a time we're both able to meet with the therapist?"
Forcing himself to calm his nerves, Luke agreed. "Early afternoons are easier to get away from the diner, but I can do late mornings, too."
"Any time's good for me," she said. "I was thinking, though. Since Shelby has out-of-state plans, and Roger and I had already made our summer plans prior to this, with everything booked. What if we picked this up afterwards? If that's okay. I mean, I'm sure you would want to do something with, what was her name again? Nicole?"
"Yes," he replied. "We hadn't talked about it yet. I guess we can hold off for summer vacation." Luke wasn't sure if they should postpone this.
"We don't have to if you don't," she assured him. "I can cancel everything if I have to."
"No, we can wait and pick this up after the summer. I'm too worried about Shelby right now to even think about sitting in a room with a therapist. So, no problem. But," Luke quickly added and pointed his finger down on the counter, "as soon as everyone is finished with their plans, we are starting this. No excuses."
"Got it," she nodded, and shook her head. "No excuses." They then shook on it just for good measure.
Shelby ended up staying longer at Lorelai's than they had expected, though. Lorelai told him she was trying to get Shelby to talk to her about it, but the kid seemed locked up, holding something back. It was Rory who had caved and assured her mother there was no hurt in letting Shelby stay however long she needed. At least until they left for Europe. It wasn't like they had Family Night Dinners to worry about anymore, which surprised Luke.
"It's a long story," Lorelai just waved the matter off when he said something. "Let's just say, I was able to pay back the loan for Chilton and leave it at that."
About a week after he had taken off, Luke got a call out of the blue from Jess, only asking if Shelby was there.
"Jess?" Luke said in surprise. "Jess, I know it's you," he added when silence followed. "Unless you're calling for a scout agent, you're the only one that calls Shelby, Scout." When more silence followed, Luke let out a sigh. "She isn't here, Jess. She's been staying at Lorelai's." At that, the call ended before Luke could even ask where he was or if the young man was okay. It wasn't until a few days later, while going through the mail, did Luke find a written letter addressed to Shelby. No return address. Just the words, For Scout's eyes ONLY! on the back.
The next morning, when Lorelai stopped by to pick up breakfast, he gave the letter to her to give to Shelby. She assured him she would make sure Shelby got it.
"You didn't read it?"
"It's a Federal offense to read someone else's mail," he told her. "No, it's addressed to Shelby, and obviously, Jess only wants to speak to her. So..." Luke just shrugged.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Luke rolled his head up towards the ceiling. "Honestly, I don't know. But Jess really does care for the kid, and knew he had to keep his word at keeping in contact with her, after what happened the last time. So, I'm trusting it'll be fine."
Lorelai accepted his decision and reassured Shelby will get it.
At least once a week, Shelby got a letter from her cousin and Luke would have to give it to Lorelai or Rory, to give to her. Nobody else knew what was being said except that Jess was checking in, making sure Shelby knew he was alright.
Occasionally, Shelby stayed over at Ethan and Alan's house, giving Lorelai a break, but she really didn't mind since Shelby was an easy kid like Rory was at that age. And Shelby accepted Nicole's offer to spend some time with her, just the two of them, getting to know one another some more. Nicole would pick Shelby up from a couple of her soccer games and let the kid spend the night, bringing her back to Lorelai's house Sunday night for school the next morning.
It was still worrisome how closed in the kid seemed to be, not wanting to see either of her parents. Though Luke was glad to hear she wouldn't mind seeing her dad since he was invited to Rory's graduation and Rory wanted both him and Shelby there.
That was also when Lorelai and Rory found out Luke had made plans with Nicole to take a two-week trip, driving through western Canada and up to Alaska for a cruise since Shelby would be gone for most of June, and Luke needed something to keep his mind off of that fact. Of course, Lorelai had to give him a hard time, singing the Love Boat theme, and pointed out it was a perfect moment to propose, which Luke insisted he had no plans to do no such thing.
"Romantic cruises say commitment, my friend," Rory also pointed out.
"I am not committing," he continued to insist. "So, drop it."
"Okay," Lorelai nodded. "It's dropped."
"Really drop it."
Looking across at Rory, she asked, "Did I not just say, it's dropped?"
Rory shrugged. "Heard it with my own ears."
"Thank you," Luke told them in relief. That is, until Lorelai started singing and told him she wouldn't do that if he got a radio for the diner. That's when Luke changed topics, making sure he had the right time and day. When he went to take their order, the two left, leaving behind their backpacks for their Europe trip, forcing him to have to move them out of the way. Their teasing ended up making Luke rethink his own travel plans, if it was a good idea or not.
At least Luke was getting to see his little buddy soon. Though, he wasn't sure if Shelby would even speak to him. Or give him a second glance, even.
He could only hope.
