Chapter 5: Movies and Lights
Luke picked me up around six the following Saturday for our movie date. I watched him walk up the front steps from my bedroom window. He was dressed in khaki pants and a dark blue, long-sleeved t-shirt.
I heard my dad open the door. "Well hello young man. How're you doing?"
"Umm good...I mean, well, sir."
I looked down at them from the top of the stairs. They were about the same height, but in his nervous state Luke looked somewhat shorter. He twisted his hands together and shuffled a little on his feet.
"Wonderful. Well, Rachel's around here somewhere. Rachel? Rachel?"
"Here Dad. Coming..." I ran down the stairs. Luke's face brightened when he saw me.
Suddenly I was shy again. "Hey."
"Hi."
We were quiet, just staring at each other. I heard Dad sigh. "Okay," he said. "Come on you two." He pushed me towards the door. "Have fun. I'll probably be asleep when you get back, so see you tomorrow."
"Bye Dad." I kissed him quickly before he kicked us out.
"That was the weirdest movie I've ever seen," Luke said.
"Well I think they wanted it that way," I told him. "When you saw the title "Children of the Corn," what were you expecting? A picnic?"
"It was worse than that pizza you made me eat."
"I didn't make you eat anything. You're the one who suggested it in the first place."
He chuckled. "Well I didn't think you'd actually accept my first offer."
"What kind of American girl would I be if I turned down pizza?"
"Maybe one who wants to live past fifty."
"I hadn't figured you as a health nut."
"Well I guess you really do learn something new everyday."
I slipped my arm though his as we walked home. It was a clear, warm night in Stars Hollow. I had learned a lot of new things tonight. I was happy. He liked me, and he was the first guy who had ever treated me this way. He was a good person and that was all that mattered. I looked up at him as we walked. He had his face turned up slightly, into the breeze. With my eyes I followed his profile down his forehead, down his nose, over his beautiful lips, then back around along his jaw to his ear. He was also a very, very handsome person.
We were nearing the corner with Luke's dad's store. Luke slowed his pace. He had a confused look on his face.
"Why is Dad still here? It's late," he muttered under his breath.
We came around to the front of the store. Luke gently freed his arm and walked up to the door to peer inside. He turned around to me. "I'm sorry. I'll only be a minute. I just want to see why he's still here. Make sure everything's okay. If you come in and wait I'll still walk you home."
"That's fine," I assured him and walked inside behind him.
"I'll be right back," he promised and slipped into the back storeroom calling for his father.
I had just started to browse a random aisle when he came back out again quickly. "Not there. Let me check upstairs. I'll be right back, I promise." He was so cute to be worried about offending me.
I continued to browse as he ran up the stairs. It was so quiet I could hear the glass rattle in the office door as he swung it open. Luke's boots clomped around a little.
Then I heard him scream, "Dad! Help! Rachel!" The box of nails I had idly picked up fell to the floor and burst open, flinging the tiny, finishing nails all over the floor.
I bolted up the stair two at a time. An awful knot was forming in my stomach. Luke was kneeling over the body of his father. The look on Luke's face was a grotesque, disturbed version of the one I had studied earlier. I froze in the doorway.
"My God," was all I could utter. "Is..."
"No," he answered quickly, as if he didn't want to consider that possibility.
I finally leapt to action and reached for the phone.
"No," he said. "An ambulance'll take too long. I've got to drive'im myself." He tossed me a key. "I'm sorry. Will you lock the front door as you leave?"
"Luke, no. I'm going with you."
"Rachel..."
"Shut up, Luke. Come on, I'll help you get him up."
We managed to hoist him up onto Luke's shoulder. I helped Luke down the stairs and locked the door behind us.
