Chapter 8: Gut Feelings
As Liz peeled out of Stars Hollow I was at a loss for what to do. I stood up quietly and took Luke's quickly cooling tea into the kitchen. Maisie stood at the sink washing some dishes. I set the mug quietly on the counter next to her.
"Oh, hello dear," she said in a hushed voice.
I didn't answer her and she continued scrubbing.
She sighed. "It's so nice to wash dishes. Don't you think?"
"Um, yes, sure." Was she crazy?
"They're all covered in food, but just a little water, and soap, and scrubbing and they're good as new. All better." She paused for a minute, placing a plate on the drying rack. She looked down for a minute, then back up at me. "I don't know what we did wrong," she said. "I tried to be here for them...after their mother died. I couldn't replace her though." I had an image of her trying desperately to scrub the pain off young Luke and Liz.
My brain was racing, trying to think of how to reply to that, when Buddy came back into the kitchen. He clapped me on the shoulder as I came in.
"Oh, are you still here?"
"Yes sir." I paused. "Is...Where is Luke?"
"On the front steps. Why don't you go out and try to talk to him."
The porch was dark except for the faint light coming through the living room windows and the flickering street lamp. There was no moon, but the sky was starry. There was a chill in the air this late at night. I sat down on the top step, close to Luke, hoping to stay warm with the help of his body heat. He didn't look at me, but he shifted a little bit closer.
"Hey," I whispered.
His voice was quiet, but I could hear a slight break in it. "Hey."
I wasn't sure what to say. "Are you okay?" I finally decided on.
"Yeah," he said, trying to convince himself as much as me. He dragged his arm across his eyes.
"I'm sure she didn't mean those things she said, Luke."
He turned to me now and I could see the light reflecting off the tears in the corners of his eyes. "No. She meant it. Everything. I just...I wish there was something I could do to make her feel differently."
I remembered Liz's last words to me. "I think she'll come around eventually."
"You think?" He needed to hear it again.
"Yeah, I just have a gut feeling about it."
He smiled a little, finally, and pulled me in close, under his arm, my head on his shoulder. I wrapped my arms around him tightly. "It seems like just yesterday you were hanging around the track taking pictures of me," he said.
"I know," I agreed, laughing into his shirt. "Hey Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"When did you know that you liked me?"
"That day when we first talked," he answered quickly. "I just had a gut feeling about you."
I smiled and snuggled closer, the warmth of his embrace cutting through the hovering chill.
