Chapter 12

The next morning, Lorelai woke to find her stomach protesting that it wanted breakfast. She dressed and put up her hair, glancing at the clock as she did so. It was about ten, so she went downstairs and sat at the counter. "Good morning," she said happily to Luke.

"Hey," he said. "What'll it be this morning?"

"Hmm," she murmured, looking over the menu. She rattled off a long list of food, and once again Luke rolled his eyes, but filled her order. "Oh, and, of course, coffee. Decaf, naturally," she added. "I've gotten used to it." She saw a slightly hopeful gleam in Luke's eyes. "Not that I'm going to drink it forever. As soon as this kid is born, I'm going back to the leaded stuff." Luke sighed and went to wait on other customers.

She finished her breakfast. "Luke," she asked. "Can I use the phone upstairs?"

"You don't have to ask permission," he told her. "Just use it for whatever you need."

She grinned and blinked innocently. "You mean I can call my pen pal in Australia?" She laughed out loud at the look he leveled at her, and went back upstairs. She dialed the numbers for the apartments she'd circled the night before, and set things up with the realtor (who handled all of them) to look them over for one that afternoon.


~*~

After three that afternoon, Lorelai slid onto one of the stools at the counter, smiling. Luke greeted her with a mug of decaffeinated coffee. "I take it the apartment hunt went well?" he asked. She nodded.

"I filled out an application for two, one furnished, one not. I hope I get the furnished," she confided. "It cost the same amount as the unfurnished, because that one is bigger. But I don't need three bedrooms, a full kitchen and a bath and a half, do I? The rent in Stars Hollow is kind of high. Oh," she added. "Is it okay that I put you down as a reference? 'Cause I only had two, with Janet and Larry, and they wanted three. And they had to be adults."

"No problem," he said.

"Thanks," she said. "I tried to call, but the phone was busy."

"Probably at lunch: I get a lot of pick-up orders at lunchtime." She nodded sagely, and sipped her coffee.

"So when does Jess get out of school?"

"Just about now," Jess said from behind her. She spun and grinned up at him. "You're happy," he added, and sat on the stool next to her. "I guess you found an apartment?"

She nodded. "Well, if they take my application. I'll have a furnished apartment. Two bedrooms, one bath, and a living room slash kitchen. It's a nice little space, perfect, really. And even the furniture's nice," she added. Jess smiled.

"Sounds great," he said. "The other bedroom going to be a nursery?" Lorelai nodded, smiling.

"I really hope I get that apartment," she said. "I don't know if I will, though, or if I'll get an apartment at all. I'm not sure whether my being emancipated will help me or not."

Jess slid an arm around her, though the angle was a bit awkward from separate stools. "We'll think of something, Lor, don't worry."

She leaned into him gratefully, her hand unconsciously covering her belly. The phone rang, but she was too content to even move her head, so she ignored the sound.

"It's for you," he told her, an eyebrow quirking.

"Oh, thanks," Lorelai said. She moved behind the counter to take the phone from him, and tried to position herself so she'd be out of everyone's way. "Hello?"

"Is this Lorelai Collins?" the person on the other end asked.

"Yes, this is she," Lorelai responded politely.

"This is Mr. Kingman. I'm calling from the Independence Inn, to see if I could schedule an appointment for an interview."

"With me?" Lorelai nearly squeaked.

The man on the other end laughed slightly. "Yes, with you. When would be good for you?"

"Oh," she said, thinking quickly. "Anytime is good. Do you have any specific openings?"

The man made a humming noise and in the background she could hear pages being flipped. "How about eleven tomorrow?"

"That sounds great," she said cheerfully. "I guess I'll see you then. Oh," she added when he'd almost hung up.

"Yes?"

"Where should I go? Do you have an office?"

"Just ask the front desk clerk to direct you."

"Oh," she said. "Thank you."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good bye."

She hung up the phone, feeling as if her face was going to split apart from smiling so hard.

"Who was that?" Jess asked.

"A man who works at the Inn. He called to schedule an interview."

"That's great!" He swept her up in a hug, and grinned at her. "Now what?"

"Well…there's lots to do," she said. "I have to find the copy of my resume I've got, and I've got to make sure the professional clothes I packed in the duffle bag are clean, and then I've got to rehearse the interview until I know exactly what I'm going to say."

Jess blinked. "Okay," he said. "Let's go and do all that stuff. You can help me with my homework when you're done."

She smiled. "Sounds good. Are you working tonight?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Slow night. Caesar's the only one really needed."

They headed upstairs to get to work.


~*~

She was so nervous she almost didn't eat breakfast. "You have to eat something," Luke insisted. "Just have a bowl of cereal or something to tide you over until you get over the nervousness."

In the end, Lorelai succumbed to his demands and ate a bowl of corn flakes. It was endearing most of the time that Luke was so worried about her health, and the health of the baby. It would no doubt get a little annoying, she knew, but for now it was sweet.

"Wish me luck," she said as she left the diner.

She calmed somewhat on the walk to the Inn, and was grateful for the time to collect herself.

"Hello," the woman at the desk said, and Lorelai recognized her from before. "Pierce told me there was someone coming in for an interview this morning. I assume you're it?" When Lorelai nodded, the woman said with a smile, "You're early."

"I'm always early when I'm nervous," she confessed. "I rush myself because I'm afraid of being late. Should I wait here, or is there a waiting room outside where the interview is?"

"You can just take a seat in the lobby, if you'd like," the woman said. "I'll let you know when Pierce is ready for you."

"Thank you. By the way, I'm Lorelai Collins," she added, and reached out to shake hands. The woman made a strange face. "I know it sounds like a nickname, but it's really not," Lorelai said, knowing the question that was coming. "My boyfriend didn't believe me the first time he heard my name, either. He made fun of it."

"All names have their good and bad qualities," the woman said. "My name's Stephanie. I'd say it'll be a pleasure working with you, but I am leaving in just a few days." She smiled slightly. "I'm almost sorry."

She was obviously about to say more, but customers converged on the front desk, and Lorelai moved to sit in one of the comfortable antique chairs. While she sat, she went over the answers she had prepared in her mind, and made sure once again that her resume was in her possession. She also checked her outfit one more time: Nice slacks that didn't look maternity but were, and a loose blouse and sedate vest over it. Professional looking, and it hid her bulging stomach, at least for now. Very soon she would be unable to hide it.

"Ms. Collins?" Stephanie said, sounding formal. Lorelai looked up. "Please follow me." Stephanie led her down a hallway towards what looked like a couple offices. There was no nameplate on one door, and on the other was the name Pierce Kingman. "Right through there, please," Stephanie continued. She smiled as Lorelai passed her. "Good luck," she murmured before turning and moving back down the hallway.

"Ms. Lorelai Collins?" a man asked. He adjusted the small wire-rimmed glasses perched on his nose and looked at her through watery gray eyes. His skin was pasty, as if he'd spent his entire life indoors, and he was preternaturally thin, almost emaciated.

Lorelai nodded, and held out her hand. He introduced himself and gestured for her to sit. "You have your resume? I saw there wasn't one with your application, but I thought I'd ask."

She nodded. "I do," she said, and handed over the paper. It wasn't an impressive resume, she knew. All she'd had were a few babysitting jobs and a short-lived stint at a coffeehouse, where she'd drunk more than she'd served. But that had been before her parents' deaths, New York and Jess. But everyone needed to start somewhere, she reminded herself.

It didn't take Mr. Kingman long to look over the resume, and he set it aside in short order. "So, Ms. Collins. Please tell me how you heard about this job availability?"

"I'm newly arrived in town," she began. "And Luke Danes at the diner recommended I talk with Miss Patty for information. She mentioned the Inn was under new management and that some people were leaving. She thought there might be a job for me somewhere here."

"I see," Mr. Kingman said, his tone so steady it made her want to squirm. She had no idea whether the response was good or bad. "What kind of position were you looking for?" he asked her, yet again pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Quite honestly I'm looking for steady employment. I'm a fast learner and can do anything I put my mind to. I was told there were maid positions open. I would be happy to be a maid in a beautiful establishment like this."

Mr. Kingman repeated his noncommittal response. "Well, I can see you've gotten your GED. Mind if I ask why?"

Lorelai bit her lip, not really expecting that question. "I couldn't attend public school any longer for personal reasons, and private school was out of the question. Getting my GED took a lot less time, and it seemed a better idea than simply dropping out."

Lorelai fervently wished for a response other than, "I see," but she didn't want to alienate him. There were a few more questions, most of which she'd expected and rehearsed for. She was fairly confident that it had gone well by the time she left the interview, and walked home optimistic about her chances for employment.

She entered the diner again, going to what was fast becoming her usual stool and grinning at Luke. Without her ordering, he poured her a mug and raised his eyebrows expectantly. "I think it went well," she told him. "I'm not going to jinx it beyond that, but I do think I did a decent job."

"Good," Luke said. "Glad to hear it. So…what position were you hoping for?"

"Really," she said, making a face, "I'm hoping for any position. I'd be perfectly happy being a maid. It's work that you only have to concentrate on to a certain extent, and I can listen to music while I do it."

"So you think you'll get the maid position?"

She nodded. "Especially if they know or find out about the baby. I don't imagine it would look too professional to have a pregnant teenager working behind the desk."

"Well, at least you're realistic," Luke said, and went to serve another customer as she headed upstairs to get a book.

While she was upstairs, she spotted the notebook Jess had been scribbling in recently. He must have finished it, she thought, and went to pick it up. Sure enough, there were several pages stapled to the back cover. She flipped it open, and began reading.

As always, his writing hit her hard. It was so evocative, the story lines—even in the first chapter—were engrossing, and the humans in it were as real and flawed as any she'd ever met. They were better than some things she'd read published, and she didn't feel she was just being biased. He deserved to be a published author.

But he was frightened. Scared of rejection. Scared of becoming just another wanna-be who was turned down time after time. She knew that wouldn't happen to him: all his stories needed was a bit of basic editing, maybe a little tweak of the plots, but the core of the good stories was there. Any half-witted editor could see it, if he'd just send it in.

She'd push him, gently, when the time was right, she told herself, putting the notebook back as she'd found it. He always let her read the stories when she asked, valued her critique, even. But if he'd found out she'd just picked it up without him knowing about it, he'd get angry. So, she'd ask him tonight.


~*~

The next few days she got little accomplished. She'd called and made an appointment with an obstetrician in Hartford for the next Saturday when Jess could go with her, and almost hoped she'd have to cancel it because of her work schedule. She puttered around the town and the diner with Jess her first weekend in Stars Hollow.

She could hear the people talking about her, but they did it with sympathy, and in some cases, even, admiration. Lorelai had overheard one woman who talked to Luke a lot say she'd admired Lorelai for being so grown-up about it. Lorelai had smiled at the confirmation that she'd done the right thing.

Then, five days after the interview, she got a phone call. "It's for you," Luke told her.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Collins?" said a familiar voice.

"Yes," she said, heart pounding.

"This is Mr. Kingman. I'm calling to offer you a position on the cleaning and maintenance staff at the Independence Inn."

She almost felt as if she would cry from relief. "I'd be honored to accept the position," she told him. "When would you like me to start?"

"We'd like to schedule you on the first shift, which begins at check-out time, which is eleven in the morning. We like to have our employees here about fifteen minutes early to prepare. The shift is over at four."

"Sounds good," she told him. "What days?"

"Is Monday through Friday good for you?"

"That sounds great," she said.

"Can you start tomorrow?" he asked.

She began grinning madly. "Of course."

"Great. We'd like you to come in and fill out some forms for us. That might take a while."

"How about I come in at around nine? That'll give me plenty of time to fill out the forms and to prepare myself."

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, then, Ms. Collins," Mr. Kingman said.

"Thank you so much," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good bye."

She parroted the line back to him, and hung up the phone. "I got the job!" she said, nearly shouting in happiness. "Luke!" she called, in case he hadn't heard her across the diner where he was refilling a coffee mug. "I got the job at the Inn!"

He smiled. "Congratulations," he told her. "What can I get you to celebrate?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

Luke rolled his eyes and sighed, but poured her a cup of decaf without any other protest. She drank happily, thinking about what she might need to bring with her tomorrow for the forms. And she honestly had no idea. She didn't really have any forms with her.

She sobered as she thought about all she'd have to do very soon. She'd have to keep track of the grocery costs, not to mention the utility bills and rent when she got an apartment…if she got an apartment, she reminded herself. There still hadn't been any word on that. She'd have to file income taxes, now, she thought, and bit her lip. There was so much to being an adult.

She hoped she was up to the task.