Disclaimer: Anyone you recognize does not belong to me. Mickey and Elizabeth belong to Lindsay. She thought this bad boy up and told me to write it down. I just do as I'm told.
Mickey followed the directions Luke had given her to a charming little spot on the other side of town. The sign proudly proclaimed, 'Dragonfly Inn' and she smiled a little as Elizabeth dozed in her carrier.
She'd left the suitcase at the diner as Luke had suggested and now she felt naked without it. Worries plagued her. Everything she owned was in that suitcase and she'd just left it with a stranger. Trying to ward off the dark thoughts, Mickey purposefully ascended the stairs to the porch.
The door before her was exquisite. Clearly an antique, it had been lovingly restored to its original beauty. It was so pretty, that she hardly wanted to touch it. Elizabeth squirmed a little bit, though, and Mickey was reminded that they needed a place to sleep. She eyed the barn warily. It'd do in a pinch, but she hated to even think about it.
Grasping the handle firmly, Mickey pushed open the door and made her way to the front desk. An impeccably dressed man with skin the color of chocolate mousse stood at the counter shuffling paperwork. She stood before him and cleared her throat. Without looking up the man said, "We ahhr full. Try elzewhere."
"Sorry?" she asked, confused.
"Don't be zorry, be someplaze elze," he replied, still not looking up.
"I…I don't need a room, I need a job," Mickey clarified.
At this information, the man's head rose and he looked her over. His face registered bored contempt and with just a look he made it clear that she was not the sort of person they would hire unless a gun was to their head. His lip even curled a little.
"Indeed," he sneered, glancing down at Elizabeth in the carrier.
"Indeed," she said, trying to be engaging.
"Eet'z feelled."
"What do you mean?"
"Zee job. Eet'z feelled."
"But you don't even know what job I'm here for," she argued desperately.
"Eet doesn't matter. Eet'z feelled."
"But Luke sent me."
"Zen eet'z even more feelled," he said pleasantly, as if he were really enjoying the moment.
"But he told me I should talk to Lorelai. Is she here?"
"Zere is no Lorelai here," he told her firmly before looking back down at his paperwork.
At that moment a tall dark-haired woman came out of the office behind the counter and said, "Michel, I told Tom to get those sconces back in working order last Friday. Why are they still out? Does no one listen to me? Am I only imagining that I can speak? Because if so, I've got one incredible imagination. And it makes me wonder, if I can imagine speaking why can't I imagine that I look like Heather Locklear and am married to Tommy Lee? On the other hand if I were married to Tommy Lee my name would be Lorelai Lee and that would be the same as Rory's. But not exactly the same because her Leigh is spelled differently. But still it would be weird," she finished thoughtfully. She opened her mouth prepared to continue on when she finally noticed Mickey. With raised eyebrows, she joined the guy – Michel – at the counter.
"Can we help you?" she asked.
"No," Michel replied. "Zee urchin was jhust leaving.
"I was talking to the urchin, thanks," she fired back.
"I…" Mickey began. "Luke sent me. I'm looking for Lorelai. He said she might be hiring a maid."
"Well, you found Lorelai, that's me," said the woman with a friendly smile.
"Nice to meet you," Mickey said as she lifted her hand to shake the woman's.
Lorelai took in the bedraggled pair, clearly mother and child – and young, too – and her heart melted a little.
"Why don't you come into the office and we'll talk about qualifications and stuff, okay?"
Mickey gave her a relieved smile and said, "Okay. Thanks."
Lorelai led the way into the little office and closed the door behind them. Mickey sat down in a chair in front of the desk and adjusted Elizabeth in the carrier. Lorelai sat down behind the desk and stared at the two of them thoughtfully.
"So Luke sent you?"
"Yeah, he said you might be looking to hire a maid," Mickey explained.
"Do you have any experience?"
"Uh, not really," she confessed nervously, "but my mom worked a lot and so I kept our house really clean when I lived at home."
"How old is the baby?" Lorelai inquired with a thoughtful look.
"Three months. Her name is Elizabeth."
"That's a nice name."
"Thanks, it took me forever to decide. I actually called her 'Baby' for the first week. I wanted something normal, you know? My name is very bizarre."
"You're talking to a Lorelai, so I understand about names that are different," Lorelai laughed.
Smiling ruefully, Mickey said, "My full name is Mick Jagger Stone. I think I might have you beat."
Lorelai laughed hard at that and said, "Wow, you can say that again. No wonder you wanted something mainstream for your kid."
"Exactly," Mickey nodded.
"Okay, well, look. How about if we do a trial period? I definitely have a need, but with no experience I'm concerned about how well you'll like it. Why don't we bring you on for a month and at the end of that time you and I can sit back down and decide if this is really something you want to continue with?"
Nodding, Mickey adjusted a sleeping Elizabeth and said, "I just have one little problem."
"What's that?"
"We don't have anywhere to stay. Is there a boarding house that you could recommend or a someone who rents rooms?"
Lorelai stared at the girl, this tiny slip of a girl with a three-month-old kid on her lap and had to remind herself that this was really happening. It was surreal. There was no choice involved if she were honest. The decision was made. Without pausing for further reflection, she felt the words rush out of her mouth. "There's a room here that's too small to put people in. We've been using it for storage up until now. I think it used to be a maid's room back when this was someone's house. Why don't we put you and Elizabeth there for the time being? It's on the third floor and it has it's own bathroom, so you'll be out of the way and the baby noises won't bother anyone. And that way, too, your earnings won't be eaten up by rent."
"Really?" Mickey was incredulous. "Are you sure?"
"Why not?" Lorelai shrugged, trying to sound breezy. "At the end of the month we'll reassess and go from there."
"I…I don't know what to say," Mickey stammered. "You won't regret it."
"I'm sure I won't," Lorelai told her with a warm smile. "Let me show you the room."
