Chapter 36

After they were through with lunch, Shelby went over to Rachel's for the rest of the day and did not want to come home. Since Luke had early deliveries the next morning and Shelby was tired from playing with a new dancing video game Roger had come home with, she stayed the night. Rachel assured she would get Shelby to school the next morning. Luke tried to offer to pitch in for gas money, but Rachel politely declined.

While the diner was at a lull that evening, Nicole called to check in and asked how the conference went. Luke filled her in on everything, including the out-of-line comments Mrs. Dawson made. Nicole wasn't too happy about the way the teacher handled the situation either and would have told Mrs. Dawson off, right then and there. In fact, Nicole offered to have another little chat with her when she dropped Shelby off at school the Monday after her spring break. To put things on a positive note, she pointed out at least they finally had answers why Shelby was struggling so much. Luke had to agree with her, there. It didn't make things easier for him, but it helped to have some kind of answer.

If things could not get any worse, Nicole admitted to seeing Mrs. Dawson's point regarding art-related career choices that weren't society's norm and told him she had discussed with Shelby what Shelby wanted to do when she grew up. It was normal to not really know at her age, but when Shelby admitted to the possibility of wanting to be a singer like Reba, Nicole shed a light of reality, and instead suggested a career in the veterinary field since she liked animals and had a slight interest in science.

Luke could not believe the hits kept on coming.

Nicole tried her best to explain her reasoning and reassured she wasn't trying to shoot down Shelby's dreams in a harsh way. She cared about the kid a great deal and did not want to see her fail, and went on a rant of her own. For the past decade, adults were telling kids to "follow their dreams" and they can be "anything they wanted to be," setting unrealistic expectations for them when the kids grow up and find themselves unemployed and living in their moms' basement, which Luke made a joke of, by pointing out Rachel didn't have a basement, and neither did he. Nicole did not seem to sound amused by the joke.

Though Luke saw her point and felt Shelby should have some stability with a second career choice, he still wanted Shelby to know she could at least try to do something she wanted to do. If it was one thing he knew best, it was trying something, even if he did not always succeed with it.

Luke went to bed that night with all those anxious thoughts, heavy on his mind. It took awhile for him to fall asleep as he tossed and turned until stopping on his back to stare up at the dark ceiling. He was glad to be alone in his own bed. Although he wished he could hear Shelby's music softly playing from her side of the room.

Draping his arm across his forehead, Luke took in a deep breath and let it out through his nose. Deep down, he knew this wasn't the life he wanted to be in or for his little buddy. So far, the only good thing to come out of this was finally finding out why Shelby struggled so much in school. Though, he couldn't help wonder why none of her teachers at Stars Hollow Elementary had noticed anything, especially when Jess could see it. Or if they did, why hadn't they mentioned anything.

At first, Luke thought to ask Madison like he has done several times already. But it's been almost a year since he last talked to her. Should he really keep bothering the woman every time a problem arises? Technically, she wasn't even Shelby's caseworker anymore and probably had other important matters to deal with.

Then it hit him. Of course! Miss Kelly should have been his first choice. She was the one to finally diagnose what Lorelai and Rory had researched regarding Shelby being selective mute. Would she know anything about a learning disability and if it made sense, why she struggled so much?

Some time while Luke was deep in thought, turning things over in his head, sleep finally overcame him and soon heard his alarm clock buzzing loudly in his ear. Shutting it off with an aggressive smack, he moaned before wiping his hand down his face as if to wipe away the sleep.

After a few minutes, Luke forced himself into a sitting position and tossed back the covers. He placed his feet on the floor and sat there for another minute to wake himself up more before heading over to grab himself a drink of water.

Later, after he opened, the diner was soon packed with the early morning breakfast rush. The diner was so busy, Lorelai and Kirk ended up sharing a table together. Of course, he had to tease them about it, remembering Kirk asking her out about a year ago. Lorelai ignored it while also ignoring the No Cellphone rule. But Kirk felt compelled to point out he had a girlfriend now, which only added to Luke continuing the jokes.

As Luke walked away the second time, he couldn't help notice Lorelai had suddenly stopped talking when Luke returned with the coffeepot, like she didn't want him to overhear what she was saying or something. He had little time to think about it because the next thing he knew, his sister, Liz was charging up to the counter just after he set the coffeepot back in its place, greeting him with glee.

Luke let out a deep sigh. The last time he saw his sister was Shelby's sixth birthday party, which he still couldn't believe she even came, and that led to his nephew coming to live with them. As excited as he wanted to be, Luke already had enough on his plate as it was.

Liz was her overly cheerful self, telling him how she had so much to tell him and how great life was going for her, and she could not wait to tell him. Luke tried to say he was busy at the moment and this wasn't a good time. Of course Liz wouldn't take no for an answer, so he reluctantly sent her upstairs until he had time to sit down and "catch up."

Why did everything have to happen at once? Luke was so frazzled with everything being thrown at him, he ended up knocking stuff over and breaking a few dishes. So, since he wanted to speak to Miss Kelly as soon as possible, Luke left his current crew in charge while he drove up to the school.

He stopped by the front office to check in and make sure Miss Kelly was there before heading to her room. Taking a deep breath in, Luke nervously knocked on the door. When he heard Miss Kelly say, "Come in," Luke opened the door, sticking only his head in first.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked.

Miss Kelly looked over from checking e-mails on her computer. "Luke, hey," she greeted him with a bright smile. "No, come on in."

Luke stepped inside the rest of the way, shutting the door gently behind him.

"How are you? How's Shelby liking her new school?"

"Uh, well…" Luke rubbed at the back of his head. "Not great, but we're still hoping things will get better."

"Things usually do," she replied in a lighthearted tone. "So, what brings you here?"

Luke nervously wrung his hands as he stumbled on his words. "I, um, needed to… Wanted to ask your input on something that came up at a parent-teacher conference yesterday."

"Oh? What about?" She offered him to pull a chair up.

Luke looked over where she pointed her hand at a plastic chair, thankfully his size. He pulled the chair out from a table by the wall and moved it to sit near her desk. The room was a lot smaller than a normal classroom, so he didn't have to move it, that far.

Once he was sitting, Luke explained for the second time what Mrs. Dawson had told him and Rachel. He was a lot more anxious about sharing, this time around. Thankfully, Miss Kelly was understanding and compassionate, nodding in response as he filled her in.

"Anyway," he breathed once Luke finished his rambling, "I was just wondering what you thought about this and if there was any kind of truth to it?"

"Well…"

Luke interrupted to add, "I mean, none of her other teachers thought to look more into this. Not even her second-grade teacher, and he was helping her, one on one a lot."

"This kind of thing is still new," Miss Kelly said with a shrug. "This school still has a lot of the same teachers they've had for the past thirty years or so, and unfortunately, we don't even have a special education department."

"Special Education? You mean, like, special ed?" he asked. Old jokes kids used to make like "riding the short bus" suddenly rushed to his mind. How has he not passed out yet?

Miss Kelly must have caught onto his stereotypical thoughts and reassured him special education wasn't the way kids can be portrayed on TV or like it was treated when they were kids, themselves. "It's pretty much like Mrs. Dawson said. It helps students to succeed in school."

"So, you think Shelby really does have a learning disability?" If this school doesn't have a special education department, does that mean Shelby will have to stay at the charter school, regardless of how she feels after she finishes third grade?

"In all honesty, I do see the possibility," she answered, folding her hands in her lap. "At least with math. With the help she's getting at home, I was hoping she'll be able to get through school without an IEP. But the extra help this school can provide will also be a huge relief, not only for her, but you and her mom, as well, I'm sure."

"I really don't think Shelby's gonna want to stay," he admitted and filled her in on what Shelby has shared with him so far, including Mrs. Dawson picking on her for not speaking.

Miss Kelly looked surprised. "Haven't they looked at her file? Shelby should be able to communicate with her flashcards."

"Mrs. Dawson hasn't paid them any attention and ignores even when Shelby nods or shakes her head."

"Have they at least gotten her to see the speech therapist or do they not have one?"

"Shouldn't all schools have a speech therapist?" he questioned in confusion.

Miss Kelly shook her head. "Not all of them, I'm afraid. Sometimes parents have to go through a separate agency on their own. I personally had been working here for three years when I started meeting with Shelby." As a small town, Stars Hollow was usually late on a lot of things. It made sense it would also include education.

"So, you think that's why Shelby hasn't met with one at this new school? Because they don't have one?" Why hadn't they mentioned anything when he had informed them of Shelby meeting with a speech therapist? To be fair, Luke only told them she saw one at her old school. Maybe it wasn't implied enough for them to say the school did not have the same services. Communication wasn't exactly Luke's strong suit, after all.

"It's possible. If you want, I can continue working with Shelby, one or two afternoons a week," Miss Kelly offered.

Luke sat up straighter upon hearing her offer. "You'd do that?"

Miss Kelly nodded with a warm smile. "I love my job, Luke. I love getting to help these kids be able to overcome their language barriers. If Shelby's not receiving the help she needs, I'd be more than happy to take time out of my afternoon, so she does receive that help."

A smile automatically appeared. "Wednesdays might be good since Rachel picks Shelby up for their therapy sessions. She can drop her off here and you can meet with her, then?" Every other Wednesday, he'll probably have to pick her up from school since they still meet with Lauren every other week.

Miss Kelly wheeled her chair back towards her desk to check the calendar on her computer. "That works for me, too." So it was agreed.

After Luke stood up and pushed his chair back where he got it from, he couldn't help wonder out loud, "Would Shelby really have a hard time making it in college?"

Miss Kelly had stood up with him. "I'm sure Shelby can accomplish anything she sets her mind to," she said with full assurance. It actually latched onto him a little. "If Shelby does end up wanting to come back here for fourth grade, I can speak with the principal and superintendent, to see about hiring a special education teacher. Heck, I'd be willing to do it."

"You can teach other subjects?" he asked, surprised.

"I have to have a teaching certificate in order to practice speech therapy in the school system. Though, I originally did want to be an early education teacher," she admitted.

"So, how'd you end up a speech therapist?"

"When I saw the need for it," she said. "Like I said, I love being able to help kids overcome barriers."

"Well, you certainly been a great help for Shelby." He smiled with proudness in his voice.

Miss Kelly shrugged modestly. "I was only part of it. Hearing how much of a support system she has at home helps just as much, if not more. Her cousin deserves a lot of the credit."

Luke looked away towards the floor when she mentioned his nephew and how much of a help he was. Things hadn't been the same without him, even with both Rachel and Nicole being back and filling in for him.

He thanked Miss Kelly for her time and help before leaving.

It felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders. At least part of the weight, anyway. Luke hoped Miss Kelly could convince the school to get more resources so his little buddy could return in the fall if she wanted. Not just for Shelby, either, but for the rest of the students who needed the help. Their schools ranked low in Connecticut, not just in sports, but in academics as well. Usually, the gifted ones ended up going to a school over in Woodbridge, if not a school like Chilton.

Luke headed out to where he parked, to head back to the diner. It suddenly occurred to him, his sister was still waiting for him, upstairs, in the apartment. He should probably get that over with, whatever the reason Liz was there for.

Just as he turned onto Plum Road, one of those expensive-looking foreign cars appeared as if from nowhere, laying on their horn.

Luke looked up into his rearview mirror to see some guy behind the wheel. His bumper was basically kissing Luke's rear bumper. He tried to turn onto another street but the guy followed him, still honking at him, all the way until Luke turned onto his street and parked.

Finally free, the guy sped off towards the residential part of town.

As Luke got out, he glared after the speeding rude driver. "Jerk," he cursed out loud.

It wasn't the last he saw of the jerk, unfortunately. Not an hour went by before Luke happened to glance out the window after taking a customer's order and noticed Lorelai's jeep parked right outside. Upon further inspection, the same guy who was tailgating Luke's truck was sitting there in the passenger seat. The guy ducked when he noticed Luke was watching them.

Eventually, Lorelai drove a few feet forward and stopped again before finally driving away. Luke felt his heart sink at the assumption Lorelai was also seeing someone again. But why a jerk like that guy?

By nine O'clock, the last of the breakfast rush left and the only one who was still there was Kirk, who had been sitting there all morning. Luke wasn't really surprised to see the young man still sitting there when he had returned from the school. Kirk was always there. Almost as much as the Gilmore girls, if not more.

Liz finally came back down. Since Kirk didn't want anything else, Luke had no choice but to follow her back upstairs. She headed straight for the closet where Liz had once hid her pot stash since it was one place their father wouldn't find it. Luke quickly snatched it out of her hand and hid it in one of the kitchen drawers to get rid of later without anyone else finding it. What if Shelby had come across that stuff?

Liz made him sit down and chat while she poured herself a cup of coffee she made. "I haven't seen you in two years. Wow. How's Sharon doing?"

Luke sat there staring at the table with his arms firmly folded across his chest. He stared over at his sister. "You mean Shelby?"

"Yeah, her. How's she doing?" She pointed around the apartment. "I was looking at all the pictures you have around. She's getting big."

"Yeah, they tend to do that," Luke said in a monotone, unenthused tone.

"Still can't get over you having a kid. Man, that's something." Liz shook her head towards the table. She took another drink. "How old is she now? Ten?"

"Eight," he corrected, glancing over at her again. "She'll be nine in July." In another year, she'll reach double digits. Seriously, where does the time go?

"Oh, the age where you start seeing her less and she won't need ya anymore. When you don't exist unless they need money or something, and even then, they'll get that elsewhere," Liz stated, nodding, as if she was the expert on raising children.

"Shelby earns her allowance, downstairs or around town doing odd jobs," he told her. "And she still helps me whenever I pitch in around town and we go camping together."

"Yeah, but not for long. Sooner or later, she's not gonna want anything to do with you, big brother." Liz said it with full confidence, like she could predict the future or something.

Scoffing, Luke brushed her off and changed the subject, asking why Liz was there. His mind could take a few guesses, having bailed her out on multiple occasions.

"To see you. I missed you," she said.

Luke wasn't buying it.

"I did," Liz insisted. "Plus, it's my twentieth high school reunion this Saturday. I thought maybe I come back and check out what the rest of the class of '84's up to."

Luke stared at her in disbelief. "You're going to your high school reunion?"

"I even sent in a picture for the program. Wrote a little thing about myself, about how things are going good. I have a great job." She said that last part with sudden excitement. "I just moved into a really cool apartment with a big patio so I can finally get a dog. Plus, I have got…"

Luke jumped in to finish for her. Just like with Rachel, coming in and out of his life, he had heard the same story over and over from his sister, as well. "W-w-wait. Let me guess. A new boyfriend."

"Yes!" she nodded, excited.

"And this one, let me guess, is different from the rest."

"Yes, he is."

"I dare say, he might even be the one."

"Well, yeah."

Luke slammed his hand down on the table as he shot to his feet. "Come on, Liz," he said, remembering how things always turned out in the past.

"You should meet him," she told him.

He went inside the fridge to grab the jug of orange juice. "Well, as long as, unlike the others, he leaves your TV when he takes off, I'll love him." Luke grabbed a glass from the drying rack on the counter.

"Okay, fine," she reluctantly said. "You have good reason to think…"

"Good reasons?" he questioned while talking over her. "Liz, every time you find the one, you wind up with your bank account cleaned out, your stuff missing, and crying on the phone to me to bail you out. Which I do happily." Technically, that was partly a lie. He wished it didn't keep happening, but Luke would always help the ones he loved if they needed it. Even if they kept making the same mistakes. He hoped he could teach Shelby to make better decisions, but when it it came right down to it, Luke would always help her if she needed the help, especially if she was going after her dreams.

Luke sat back down in his same spot while unscrewing the lid off the orange juice jug. "But you'll understand if I hold off on planning for the bachelor party for a while." He poured some juice into the glass and took a drink.

"Sure," he heard Liz say softly. She shook her head. "Well, anyway…" Liz suddenly changed the subject, wanting to talk about something else.

"Yes, let's talk about something else," he agreed while screwing the lid back on the jug. "You said you had a new job?"

"Yes, I do. I'm making my own jewelry, beaded necklaces and earrings. Some crystal. Getting into feathers now."

Luke looked at her, confused. "Feathers?"

"I'm really good," she told him with confidence again. "Very big on the Renaissance Fair circuit."

"What's that?"

"That's where I sell them, on the Renaissance Fair circuit," Liz explained. "It's a total trip. I wear the long skirt. I have a hat, one of those corsets that squish my boobs all up high, and I yell, 'huzzah for the tipper!'"

Now feeling very uncomfortable, Luke shot to his feet again to put away the orange juice.

"That's your great new job? You sell earrings at the Renaissance fair?" To him, that kind of thing should be a side job. Not a main source of income.

"I know it sounds flaky."

"Oh, yeah. 'Huzzah for the tipper' with your squished up boobs," he anxiously repeated in a nervous panic. "Not flaky at all. Look, I have to… Go back to work." He pointed towards downstairs, wanting to leave so badly at this point.

"Luke, come on," she insisted.

"What come on?" Luke rolled his head. "Liz. You're selling earrings in a booth, and you hooked up with another winner."

"You don't even know him," she told him, as if offended.

"What about your son, huh?" he pointed out. "What about Jess? You talk to him lately?" Luke pointed a hand behind him towards the cousins' side of the room. "You notice he's not even here?"

"Yeah, he sent me a letter. He's with his father."

"That's it?" Luke questioned. "That's the extent of the contact? My kid receives a phone call once a week from him."

Liz raised her voice. "He's nineteen. You can't tell him anything."

"Well, you definitely can't if you don't try," he argued, also raising his voice.

"I tried," she pressed.

"No, I tried. You gave up!"

Liz shrugged. "I thought you would be better for him than I was. You were doing so good with yours."

"Liz, mine was five, six years old," Luke reminded her. "Jess was a teenager, almost an adult. All I was good for, was a place to crash while he lied to me about everything. About going to school, about Walmart. You know I stole his car?"

This time, it was Liz's turn to stare at him in confusion. "You, what?"

"In the middle of the night. I break into his car, stealing it and hiding it in Dad's old garage."

Liz laughed. "Why?"

"Why? Because I'm crazy. Because I think, now he'll have to go to school. Now, he'll have to graduate."

Liz sat there smiling at him.

Luke suddenly stopped and turned away on his heel to look somewhere else. He took a deep breath in and laughed himself. "Oh, well, we saw how well that turned out. He ran off to live with a bum who abandoned him. That's how great a job I did," he said with sarcasm while pointing at himself, sitting down again, and took another drink of his orange juice.

The room was quiet for a moment until Liz spoke.

"You tried."

He set his glass back down on the table. "Well, I'm great at trying, aren't I?" He chuckled and folded his arms some more. "I'm trying to get my own kid through grade school with a teacher telling me she won't make it in college."

"What?" Liz questioned.

Luke stared at the table in defeat, still feeling like a failure.

He heard his sister ask, "What happened?"

He took another deep breath, this time through his nose. "Shelby has a learning disability that makes school a struggle for her," he told her. "Jess was tutoring her practically the entire time he was here, but it still takes her a long time to grasp whatever it is she's learning."

Liz watched him for a moment. Eventually, she moved her arm she had leaning over the back of her chair to lean on the table. "She gets it eventually, right?"

Luke glanced over at her. "Eventually," he replied. Luke dropped his gaze. "With a whole lot of hard work and persistence." That was the only good thing about it, showing how much of a hard worker the kid was.

Neither one knew what to say next. The siblings just sat there for a moment until Liz said she'll let him get back to work and stood up to leave.

"Where you staying," Luke couldn't help the need to ask.

"With Carrie Duncan."

"Crazy Carrie Duncan?"

Liz had turned back to him once she reached the door. "She's not crazy," she argued. "She just likes the boys."

"I'll say," he muttered out loud.

"You should talk, you made out with her at the homecoming game."

Luke was quick to deny the accusation, causing both of them to laugh. "I did not make out with crazy Carrie Duncan at the homecoming game." He rolled his head back before unfolding his arms and held them in his lap."

"It was really good to see ya," Liz reiterated to him in seriousness, "and you do look good."

Luke glanced at her before shaking his head at his lap once more.

"I will make sure Carrie knows that." At that, Liz left the apartment with one last laugh.

Luke managed to smile for a moment. It didn't last. The smile faded as he thought about how lousy a week it's been. He was glad it was over.

Or so he thought, anyway.