"Where's Luke?" Taylor Doose asked Caesar as he sat down on a stool near the counter. The usual patrons were sitting in their usual places, lingering over the last morsel of their breakfast. Kirk was sitting further down, ripping up sweetener packets and dumping them into his coffee. Miss Patty and Babette were talking excitedly as Morey forlornly drank his coffee, listening to the inane chatter.
Jess sighed and leaned against the counter. He really needed to get out of here. He looked at his watch. He had to be at school in ten minutes. It wasn't where he wanted to be but it was better than this. He wondered if this was what it was like to be Holden Caulfield.
"He's not here," Caesar grunted as he rung up an order.
"What do you mean?" Taylor asked dubiously.
"I mean he's not here."
Taylor frowned and then turned to Jess, looking for further clarification. "Young man, where is your uncle?"
Jess examined his fingernails, bored. "Not here."
"I know that," the older man replied, annoyed. "But if he's not here, where is he? Luke is always here in the morning attending to his customers. What kind of a man would leave his business and wander off?"
"You're here," Kirk pointed out.
"Yes but right now, it's not peak time at Doose's. You see we usually get an influx of people between ten and twelve. The time when the mothers have dropped their children off at school and have done most of their housework - that's our peak time. The numbers vary depending on the day. Like yesterday for instance, it was a Sunday and because of the wedding hoop-la there weren't a lot of customers at Doose's throughout the day. But our peak is mostly until twelve. Then at noon people take a break and head over to Luke's for lunch."
"It's not noon, Taylor," Babette reminded him from her place.
"I am aware of that. So what, Babette?"
"All I'm saying is it's not noon and the diner seems to be crowded."
"Yes, the diner is also crowded at this time."
"But it's not noon."
"I'm aware of that." The vein in Taylor's forehead looked like it was about to burst.
Fed up, Jess scoffed at the older man. "Is there a point to all of this?"
"My point is that Luke should be here, minding his business. He's here everyday at this time." Taylor looked indignant. "He has a responsibility to his customers. Do you know where he is? Is he still asleep? Did he leave a number so we can contact him?"
Jess was about to lunge over the counter and strangle Taylor when the door opened, the bells chimed and a blonde haired woman walked in, smiling. Everyone stopped what they were doing for a second, stared at the stranger and then started murmuring amongst themselves. Kirk took a sip of his coffee, eyes focused on the newcomer.
"Hello," the woman said to Jess as she sat down on a stool, placing her purse on the counter. "I'm Sarah."
He was surprised that she had addressed him, so it took him a second to recover before straightening up. Her eyes were kind of…unnerving. She looked him in the eye when she talked to him and the smile never left her face. Very few people in this world fazed him. Sarah was going to be one of them, he knew instantly. "What can I get you?"
She looked up at the chalkboard on the wall above his head and scanned the items quickly. She shook her head and then returned her - that gaze, towards him. "A chocolate muffin and tea with milk."
He nodded and wrote the order down on the pad. "Coming up."
"Is, um, Luke here?" she asked, as Jess was about to turn around.
Hmm, she knew Luke. This surprised him because she didn't look like the kind of person who would willingly talk to his uncle - or his uncle would talk to. He wasn't sure if there was a kind of person who would get along with Luke. "No, he's not here. Can I take a message for him or something?"
"No that's okay," she replied and he could tell she was a little embarrassed.
Before Jess could say anything else, Patty, Babette and Morey had flagged her on both sides. The redhead smiled widely, extending her plump, manicured hand. "Hello. I'm Patricia. Miss Patty to most. I haven't seen you around here, dear. Are you new in town?"
Sarah indulged them with another bright smile and started to introduce herself and answer their questions. When Jess came back with her order she was listening politely as Babette rattled on about the town and its inhabitants. He set her muffin and teacup in front of her and she took a moment to give him grin over Babette's chatter.
He walked out of the diner, interested and feeling a little - it was weird, happy.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Luke dug his hands in his pockets and stared down at the tombstone, pensively. He didn't expect anything to change each time he came to visit his parents' grave (give or take a few flowers or patches of moss). It was comforting that this place, the cemetery, did not change. In a morbid kind of way.
His eyes roved over the letters carved in the stone; the simple epigraph.
William Albert Danes
1925-1993
May he rest in peace.
"Hey Dad," Luke said as he squatted down beside the tombstone. "It's been awhile. The business is great. Jess is helping, if you can believe it. He's calmed down a bit, I guess. Rory's good for him - you remember, I told you about her. Lorelai's kid. Liz hasn't called in about a month and although he doesn't say much, I'm sure it's worrying him."
A slight breeze rustled the trees, a bird chirped and everything stilled again.
Luke let his gaze wander over to the tombstone next to his father's - his mother's. As time passed, the picture of his mother's face became less clear, less distinct. He could still remember her scent; vanilla, with a faint hint of pastry from all the baking she did. He was only a teenager when she passed away, Liz just a toddler.
Mary Anne Danes
1927-1973
An angel among us.
Rest in peace.
"Lorelai got married yesterday," he told her, as if she could offer him some kind of comfort or tell him what it meant. But he wasn't stupid or silly to believe in things like that. He told her simply because he knew that it would make him feel better to tell someone.
She wouldn't answer back so it was a win-win situation.
"She's happy, though," he continued, staring at his hands that were resting on his knees. "Or I hope she is, at least." He didn't want to contemplate on her state of euphoria right now. So he willed himself to think of something else to say.
It was funny, he couldn't think of anything else.
He stood up, stared at the headstones again for a second and then slowly walked out of the cemetery.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Sarah hadn't ever been to a town quite like Stars Hollow. Her parents were rooted in a small town but after the money started rolling in, they moved to the luxury and comfort of Beverly Hills – right before she had been born. She'd grown up rich, the proverbial silver spoon and everything. It had been a relaxing life. The easy life.
A life that haunted her – would always haunt her, now.
She shook her head, trying to rid her thoughts of unpleasantness. The town was actually very picturesque and she wasn't going to think about her past. She couldn't afford to. Not when she'd finally felt like she could live without constantly looking over her shoulder for those demons, wondering if her past lurked in the bushes or in the eyes of a stranger who stared at her for too long.
The beauty of a small town where no one knew her was that she could be whoever she wanted to be and people would accept her. It had only been a little over twelve hours since she arrived in Stars Hollow and she had already had phone numbers and invitations to town festivals. She admitted that the people were quirky and a little nosy but it was a part of their appeal. They were warm and sincere.
They felt more like family than her own.
Just then, as she stepped out into the shining sun outside the Independence Inn, she spotted a familiar flannel and denim-clad man walking up to the door. He seemed to be busy thinking about something to notice her so she smiled brightly as he passed and called out, "Hello Luke."
He was startled as he looked up and she saw that it took him a minute to recall her face and name. That amused her immensely. "Sarah, hey."
"I told you I'd be sticking around," she told him as she slipped on her sunglasses. "You seemed to surprised."
"No, I'm not," he answered quickly. "Just surprised to see you here. As in here at the inn. This inn. Not that you wouldn't stay here. It's just that- "
She finally let herself grin. He didn't strike her as the rambling type of man and it pleased her that she could almost make him incoherent. "You expected I'd stay in a five star hotel?"
His lips twisted into what she suspected was his version of a wry smile. "I've offended you again."
"Again?"
"Last night," he clarified. "I didn't mean to imply anything."
"It's okay," she replied, laughing a little. It had been a long time since a man intrigued her and the fact was starting to scare her.
"The Independence Inn is a great place." He was trying to rectify his earlier comment. She liked the fact that he felt the need to do so. "Lorelai is a great manager."
She racked her brain trying to figure out which one of hundreds of people she had met today was named Lorelai. Surely a name like that would stick out. "I'm not sure I've met her."
"She's not here," he replied, shifting a little. "She's the one that got married yesterday. Probably on her honeymoon right now."
"Oh, right." Sookie St. James must've forgotten to mention the names of the happy couple. "So, everyone was looking for you this morning at the diner. It must be a rare occurrence in these parts to be late for work because everyone was talking about it."
"It's not rare. And I wasn't late," he answered, sounding a little irritated with the talk about him. "People in this town talk. A lot."
"One of the quirks of small towns, I suppose."
"The flaws," he corrected her dryly.
"It can't be that bad otherwise I might have to rethink my decision to move."
His brows shot up, surprised. "You're moving here?"
"I considering it," Sarah replied, running a hand through her hair. "Any thing else you want to warn me about before I finalize my decision?"
Luke laughed – or at least it sounded like a laugh, and it was nice. His eyes crinkled and he looked approachable when he laughed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he answered her, "Just that you should spend a few more days her before setting anything in stone."
"I'll do that." She stepped away from the entrance of the inn and laughed. "I'm keeping you from your work."
"Yeah," he answered, looking a little reluctant to go. "I better go before Sookie burns something or possibly hurts herself. I hope to see you around."
"You will. I loved the tea and I'm tempted to try out what other wonderful culinary delights you have." Flirting never came easy to her. She wondered why it did now. "Bye Luke."
"Bye Sarah," he said and then disappeared into the inn.