Luke could not believe it.
There was a family in this house now, a family. Mother, father and a kid.
This beautiful, old house that seemed more like a museum than a playground for kids, was now occupied by some snobs who didn't know what kind of history this house held.
Luke crossed his arms and watched the movers carrying a huge, modern and white couch into the Twickham house.
Modern. Thus place didn't go with modern.
Besides that, Luke had wanted it.
As Joshua Twickham had been dying, he had went straight to him, talking to him. But the old man had already set up his last will and apparently he had given his house to his cousin's son.
And this son obviously had a family. A wife and a daughter.
Luke watched them, the kid was carrying a lot of books inside. The dark haired woman was just standing and watching, while being on her mobile phone. Great. Another rich family with a spoiled brat, a hard working man who probably had an affair with his secretary and a fancy woman who was banging their gardener.
Or something like that.
Okay, to be honest the girl didn't seem like the typical wild child which was running around all day, screaming and shooting water at everyone with water pistols.
He turned around and went back to the diner. He knew he would meet this family soon enough and shouldn't make up stories about then.
He honestly couldn't wait to meet the family who had been lucky enough to inherit his dream house.
•
Time passed by.
It was a Wednesday afternoon in October, the year of 1996.
The leaves were orange and Luke was cleaning cups, deep in thoughts. It was a little after four in the afternoon and he was alone in the diner, which was rare to that time.
He appreciated the silence, though and used the free time to think about some stuff. Mostly he thought about Rachel. She wa gone for a year now and Luke missed her madly.
She called him a lot. She sent him pictures and postcards. But she never visited.
Luke had given up hope of her return already, yet he wasn't able to think of having a relationship with another woman than Rachel.
Until that afternoon, seven minutes after four, as the door went open and a woman entered.
She looked a bit lost to Luke, despite her sunglasses that made her face not completely visible to him.
"Are you open?" she asked and Luke huffed.
"What does the sign say?"
"Open," the woman answered and walked to the counter, sitting down on a stool far away from him. She took off her sunglasses and pulled out a book, opening it and starting to read.
Luke walked over to her. "What can I bring you?"
"Coffee," the woman replied quietly and without looking up from her book.
Luke turned around to start preparing the coffee and as he was done, he shoved it over, along with a donut. "That one's for free, cause you seem sad," he pointed out and the woman looked up.
And Luke's world stopped to move.
Her eyes were the deepest ocean blue he had ever seen. The most beautiful blue for sure. Dark like a stormy sea yet light like the sky in summer. She smiled lightly and due to this breathtaking smile, he really forgot to breathe.
She was beautiful. She was breathtakingly gorgeous.
Luke had never believed in love at first sight - and now he was experiencing it.
"Thank you," she said gently and returned to her book. Luke went back to his cups, his eyes not leaving her.
Rachel was completely forgotten by now.
The woman's flat, dark brown hair looked so soft and silky, he wanted to touch it. If it was her natural colour? If she was wearing contact lenses?
What was she reading?
What was her name?
Where did she live?
Luke wanted to start a conversation but he didn't know how.
So he waited until she took a sip of the coffee, eagerly waiting to ask if it was good.
But it wasn't necessary - the woman's wide, blue eyes turned to him once she had nipped on the mug.
"Wow, this is by far the best coffee I've ever had!" she said and finally the smile of her lips reached her eyes. Now her eyes were shining too, which made her even more beautiful.
"Thanks," Luke breathed. He was scared that, if he said more than that, his voice would break.
He was shaking. His heart was beating. Who was she?
It was making him crazy. He needed to know. What if she wasn't from here and he'd never see her again?
He had to ask. Now!
"Are you ... from here?"
"Stars Hollow?"
Luke nodded.
"No, I'm from Hartford."
"Oh." At least now Luke where to find her.
The woman sighed. "But ... I recently moved here. Against my will." She grimaced and Luke felt hopeful again.
"Moved to Stars Hollow against your will, hm? I feel you, this town is crazy."
"No, it's not that, it's ..." The woman sighed again. "We had a beautiful house and my daughter went to a great school but then my husband inherited this old house over there and decided we should move here."
Oh.
Oh!
Luke's heart was stinging at the mentions of a daughter, a husband and the Twickham house. Now he also saw the golden ring shining on her left hand. How had he not seen it?
She was the fancy woman on the cell phone.
"It's a beautiful house," was all he could say to hide his disappointment.
"Sure, it is. But now I can go an hour to work and back and my daughter is going to a new school and she'll need a new babysitter and won't be able to see her grandparents as often anymore and ... everything just turned out to be complicated. And I wasn't allowed to say anything against it, my husband decided everything. When I said I didn't want to move, he just said I should give it a chance." She took another sip of her coffee. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't bother you with my problems. You're no barkeeper." She chuckled.
"That may be true but the counter gives the diner a kind of a bar feeling." He smiled at her. "I don't mind. Go on."
"No, I'm done. I mean, of course I'm used to the fact I'm not allowed to say what I think. Ever since we got married, it feels like I've done a mistake."
"So ... why don't you get a divorce?" Luke asked carefully. "You don't need to answer that if you don't want to."
"Honestly, I don't care to whom I'm saying this." The woman stared at her donut. "It's because of my daughter. She's my everything and I don't want to disappoint her. I want her to have a happy life with her parents and everything she deserves. She's the best kid in this world and she'd die if her parents would divorce. She loves me and she loves her dad and she thinks were the best family out there." She laughed dryly. "She's a dreamy kid. Doesn't see the cruelty of life."
"How old is she?"
"Twelve," the woman replied with a small smile.
"Twelve? But you're only like twenty-five!"
The woman laughed loudly. "I appreciate that, really. You did a good guess, though, I'm twenty-eight."
Luke started calculating and came to the conclusion that she had been sixteen when she had had her child.
"Yes," the woman said bitterly as she saw his face. "I was that young. Are you gonna judge me?"
"No, never," Luke said quickly. "I was just reminded of something. My sister was the same age when she had her son."
"Oh. Okay, sorry, I didn't know."
"Of course you didn't. Her son is kind the brat, though." Luke chuckled.
"Oh, I'm lucky, I know." The woman smiled. "Rory is so sweet and well behaved and she reads all day, is superb in school and she wants to study in Harvard. That's her dream."
"High expectations," Luke agreed. Rory. What a unique name - especially for a girl. He had went to school with a Rory, but this one had been a boy. Now - what was her mother's name?
He opened his mouth, eager to ask, but the woman was faster. "I should go now. What do I owe you?"
"Nothing," Luke replied without thinking. "It's on me. Thanks for the nice talk."
The woman shook her head and pulled her wallet out of her purse. "I don't do that." She placed a five dollar bill on the desk. "For the coffee. Keep the rest. And please keep the donut, I can't eat sweet stuff."
"Why, are you allergic?" Luke asked and put the donut back to where he had taken it.
"No," the woman said quietly and stood up. "Thanks for the talk ... what's your name?"
"Luke," Luke replied, still wondering why she couldn't eat sweets.
"Luke, like Luke's?" the woman asked and Luke had to grin.
"Indeed."
"You are the Luke?" Now the woman grinned as well.
"It seems so," Luke chuckled and now the woman reached back into her purse.
"Here," she said and gave him a small card that looked like a business card.
After taking it, Luke realised that it was a business card.
He swallowed as he saw the photo of her, about five years younger, and just as beautiful as in reality. Her blue eyes were shining even on the photo.
Below it said:
Lorelai V. Hayden
Event and hotel management
Executive Director at Candlewood Suites, Hartford
And below that an address and telephone number.
Luke stared at the card. "You're a manager at this hotel in Hartford?" he asked. "Wow."
"Thanks?" Lorelai chuckled.
"Okay, so if I ever need a room for a night, I'll contact you." He winced at how strange that sounded. "So then, Lorelai V. Hayden - thanks for your company. I enjoyed it."
"Thanks for listening," Lorelai replied and put her sunglasses on again. "I might need it again someday."
"You're always welcome here."
Lorelai smiled and left the diner.
And Luke was left speechless.
Lorelai.
Lorelai Hayden, a hotel manager. Beautiful, gorgeous, somehow sad hotel manager.
He needed to see her again soon.
•
Luckily he didn't have to wait long.
Only two days later, on Friday, she entered the diner again. It was rush hour and Luke was really busy, but as he saw her, time seemed to stand still.
She smiled at him and he froze in his tracks, smiling back at her. He hoped she would sit down at the counter again, but she looked around and then headed towards a table at the window. The table was already occupied by a young, brunette girl.
Her daughter!, Luke realised as Lorelai dropped a kiss on the girl's forehead and then sat down opposite of her. The girl was already drinking a lemonade that one of his employers had brought to her.
Luke quickly went to their table before someone else could.
"What can I bring you? Coffee?"
Lorelai laughed. "You know me well already, Luke."
Luke noted it down and looked at Lorelai's daughter. Rory. She had light brown hair and besides her bright blue eyes she didn't look at all like Lorelai, which bothered him a bit, because it meant that she probably looked like her father.
"I'm Luke," he introduced himself to her. "Can I bring you a piece of cake?"
Rory's eyes started shining. "Can I, Mom?" she asked and Lorelai nodded lightly.
"Okay, but don't tell yiur father about it."
"I won't, Mom. I won't," Rory promised and Luke swallowed. Was that the reason why Lorelai couldn't eat sweet stuff? Her husband?
"Do you want something to eat as well?" he asked her carefully and Lorelai nodded lightly.
"I'll have the Caesar salad, please."
"Good choice," Luke said and returned to the kitchen, deep in thoughts.
Was that guy prohibiting his family from eating cake and donuts? Why, health reasons? Or did he want them to stay skinny?
Luke didn't know Lorelai's husband but he knew for sure that he hated him. Alone because he was married to Lorelai.
He could be the nicest guy alive and Luke would hate him with a passion.
Just for being married to a woman he barely knew.
Luke was back to his usual grumpy mood as he returned to Rory's and Lorelai's table. He placed down the plates and mug without a word and returned to the counter, watching Lorelai V. Hayden and her daughter interacting for a while.
They seemed to get along great.
They were laughing and talking non stop, sharing memories of their day.
At some point Lorelai gave her daughter a twenty dollar note, stood up and hugged her, before leaving the diner with a wave into Luke's direction.
The diner was less filled by now and Luke went to Rory's table, taking the bowl (Lorelai had only eaten half of the salad). "Your mom's gone already?"
"She had to go back to work. She's got one and a half hours off and she works in Hartford, so driving here in her lunch break already takes more than half of her break, so she only stays here for twenty minutes. I told her she didn't have to come here every day, I have the babysitter as a company, but she said it's the only time of the day we get to spend alone together."
Luke was fascinated by Rory's way of talking. She seemed so grown up for her age already. "Alone ... without your dad you mean?"
Rory's eyes widened. "Don't tell her I said that."
"Of course not," Luke promised. "What's with your dad?"
"Nothing," Rory said quickly. "My dad is super cool and he loves me and my mom."
"Okay," Luke mumbled, not missing how nervous Rory was all of a sudden. Had she lied? Was her father mean to her?
Violent? Did he hurt them?
Was he an alcoholic? Drug abuser?
Luke hated him more and more and - without even wanting it - an urge of protecting those gorgeous and nice Hayden girls bubbled up inside of him.
And he would.
He would befriend them and - if needed - save them from Mr. Hayden.