Luke searched for Lorelai. Two years passed him by while doing so. He told no one of his quest and would disappear from Stars Hollow for weeks at a time. He'd always return in a even fouler mood than when he left. Those missing weeks were spent in Washington D.C. He'd stay in a hotel downtown and then use all the resources available to him to search for the love of his life. He came up empty each time. Apparently Lorelai, or Amy as she is known as now, was very good at disappearing. Everyone that he talked to either didn't know who she was or where she was. He Luke was growing frustrated with every wasted trip. He needed to see her. Needed to see a daughter he knew nothing about.
His eyes were glued to the Potomac from where he sat in a small café over looking the historic river. Luke felt tired. Maybe he should just give up? It was obvious that she didn't want anything to do with him so why bother? His eyes shifted from the river to the picture that lay, face up, on the table. It was a old picture of himself, Lorelai and Rory taken at the start of their relationship. He couldn't help the tears that were prickling the back of his eyelids. They looked so happy. So content. He absentmindedly sipped his cold coffee, lost in thought.
Marie Tolesky had been a waitress that the Potomac Café for eleven years. She served hundreds if not thousands of people. She spoke to nearly half of the people she served but one man caught her attention. For two years he had been coming into the café and in those two years she had never seen him smile. Never seen him happy. She had tried to speak to him on numerous occasions but his heart wasn't in the conversation so she left him be. A smile, friendly, smile slid onto her lips as she brushed off the front of her black and white outfit. The tray she was carrying held one of their famous muffins that she always gave to the man as a gesture of kindness. Marie made her way over to the man and sat the muffin down beside his coffee. "Good morning, stranger." Her voice was soft.
Luke blinked as his thoughts were interrupted. Over the two years he had been coming to this café he had noticed one waitress being extra nice to him. Now he found himself face to face with her once again. "Good morning." Came his equally soft reply.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" Her curiosity was getting the best of her. Marie's eyes were drawn to the picture on the table. "Oh. Are you friends with Mrs. Sinclair?" This kinda surprised her since he didn't look like the type of person Amy Sinclair would associate with.
His eyes shot up to search hers. "You know Lor...Amy?" Luke seemed shocked. "I knew her, yes." He needed more information from the waitress before he could say anything else.
"Of course I know who she is, silly. Everyone who lives here knows who she is." Marie eyed the picture once again. "She looks different in that picture. Never seen her look like that before."
Luke felt his hope go right out the window. She knew of her but not her personally. "Oh. I knew her a lifetime ago." He looked down at his hands. " I knew her before she married Mr. Sinclair and I thought it would be nice to see her again. Catch up on things."
"You came all the way for Washington State to see her again? You must have been best friends." She slipped into a chair across from him. "She used to come in here every day with her husband and kids. Then after Mr. Sinclair died, I saw her once or twice. She lives up the street in one of the royal penthouses so they would walk. You could hear the giggling of the kids before they arrived. Mr. Sinclair would always challenge them to a race to see who could get here the fastest. He'd always let them win. You could tell by the way his eyes would twinkle when they gloated at the victory. He was a good man. A good father. This is more proof that only the good die young." Marie stopped talking and blushed. "I'm Marie by the way. Now about my question...do you have a name or do you like being called stranger?" She smiled.
He listened to her. He finally knew where she lived all thanks to this very kind, talkative, waitress. "I'm Luke." He took another sip of his coffee. "Mr. Sinclair sounded like a good man. I wish I could have met him. When I knew..Amy..she wasn't that good with men. I think they scared her to a point. I'm just glad she found someone that was good to her. God only knows that she deserved it." He kinda felt guilty now after hearing how good of a man Daniel Sinclair was. He was the kind of man that Lorelai deserved. He gave her the world while Luke couldn't even give her Stars Hollow.
"Hey, are you alright? You don't look so hot?" Marie noticed that Luke looked paler than when she sat down. She looked up towards the door after hearing the bell ding. "Well, speak of the devil." She mumbled, amused. "Here we are talking about Amy Sinclair and she walks in the door. You want me to tell her you're here?" She stood and grabbed her tray off the table where she laid it when she sat down.