"Hi?" I asked, not sure what to say. He held me by my shoulders and met his lips to mine, kissing me hard. "Now's the point I ask what your doing here?"
He walked through the doorway and sat on the nearest bed. He started to wring his hands together in hesitation. I'd come to learn that was a nervous habit. "I don't know. I miss you, I guess. I was at the train station, just watching people out of boredom, and I saw a train headed this direction. So I cleaned out my piggy bank and here I am."
"Chris." I had no idea what to say to something like that. I took a seat next to him. "That's a sweet gesture but I was actually leaving soon."
"I can see that." He stood up. "I'll just go." He started towards the door.
"No. Wait. I can go out another night. I mean, it's not every night you come to a place like Stars Hollow."
He turned to look at me. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'll show you around town."
"Okay."
I called Luke and told him I couldn't go to dinner. I could hear the disappointment in his voice as he politely accepted.
I decided to take Chris to see a movie. We saw the Bride of Frankenstein and decided on Chinese afterward. We got take-out and took our dinner to the gazebo in the square.
"See it's moments like this that remind me why you're my best friend." I said after we sat down at a bench.
He bent and kissed my forehead. "You just realized that now?"
"Nope," I replied. "I've always known." I smiled up at him.
We sat in silence for about a half hour, enjoying the comfort of each others embrace.
He walked me back to our room.
"I've had fun." He kissed me lightly. "I'll see you later."
All I could do was nod. I was elated but confused at the same time. I went to bed and tried to sort my life out in the process.
I hoped to talk to Luke at school that Monday. I still felt bad about canceling. I looked for him at lunch because I hadn't seen him that morning but Rachel was sitting by herself with the exception of some other of her girlfriends. I figured he was just absent. When he didn't come to school the entire week I began to get worried.
That night my father asked me to run to the grocery to grab a couple of things for dinner. As I walked down the sidewalk to Dooses I spotted Lorelai walking through the park with a boy about my age. I stopped and stood hoping to be able to get a better look at who he was. I didn't recognize him, I hadn't seen him around town before.
They took a seat at the gazebo. My temper hit a breaking point when I saw him lean over and kiss her. I ran in the direction of the market, I couldn't watch them any more than I already had. I took a back way home to avoid anymore frustration.
I was used to waking up in the morning to an empty house. My dad usually got up early and took Liz to work with him so he could take her to school later. That morning I woke to a little pain in the butt jumping up and down on my bed.
"Luuuuuuuuuke!" she whined, "Wake up! Something's wrong with daddy!"
"What?" I groaned, rolling over and placing a pillow over my head.
"Its six thirty and dad's not awake yet." She explained, plopping down at a spot near my head. I figured he just forgot to set his alarm clock.
"Then go wake him up." I muffled.
She wiggled around. "I did and he yelled at me to get out."
She dragged me out of bed and down the hall to my father's bedroom. When I walked in he was still in bed, buried underneath a mountain of blanket. I walked to the edge of the bed and dug deep enough for me to see his head. He was very pale; his skin almost matched the white of his beard. I did the fatherly habit of feeling his forehead. He was burning. Liz peeked in and asked if he was alright. I told her he was going to be fine and for her to gather her stuff because I was going to take her to school. I showered and ate. Before I left, I ran a washcloth under cool water and placed it on his head. I kissed his cheek and closed the door quietly behind me.
