"Oh, my god. That's remarkable." Sookie gaped as she stared at the photo. "She looks practically identical to Rory."
"Freaky, isn't it?" Lorelai replied as she slipped the photo back into her wallet.
"She's the one you're going to adopt?"
"Yeah. I think so. I mean, if everything works out of course."
"Can I see it again?" Sookie asked.
"Sure." Lorelai removed the photo from her wallet a second time. "Here."
Sookie stared at the photo and shook her head. "Incredible. But she looks so sad." She ended gloomily.
"I thought so too. She was just given up for adoption this month. Not a lot to be happy about."
"Aw. Well, when she sees you walk into that orphanage she'll brighten up in a heart beat. All the other kids will be so jealous." Sookie smiled. "They'll have to call security guards to escort you out of the building."
"Sookie… they're kids. It's not going to be that extreme."
"Hey, you give enough kids scissors and glue, it can become extreme. Trust me." Sookie smiled.
"Her name is Sarah Cheyenne Walker."
"Pretty."
"I've been wondering all day about her. I'm nervous. We're flying out to meet her Wednesday and I keep thinking what it will be like. Will she be shy or very outgoing? Will she be lively? Or worse, is she going to be depressed?"
"Oh, I bet she's lively. Oh, and I bet she has one of those adorable southern accents." Sookie laughed. "Aww."
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I thought about that too."
"She looks so tiny. So skinny." Sookie held up the picture again "How old is she?"
"Eleven." Lorelai answered. "Her birthday is September, 24th though. So she'll be twelve soon."
"Yeah, just a few months. Oh! We could have her a party! That'd make her really feel welcome!"
"Of course. We're great at birthday parties. As I have proven over and over again."
Sookie shook her head, "No, I mean when she gets here. We'll have a "Welcome to Stars Hollow" party."
"Oh, Sookie… I don't know. That could be a bit much."
"She'd love it."
"Or she'd hate it."
"You think so?" Sookie's smile faded.
"Well, it just depends on what kind of personality she has."
"You'll call from West Virginia, right? I want to know the moment after you meet her."
"Sookie…"
"Okay, not the moment after. But very soon after!"
"I promise. I'll call you."
"And…"
Lorelai smiled, "And if I think it'd be okay, I'll let you have the party. But just to be on the safe side, keep it small."
Sookie's bright smile returned, "Oh, this is so exciting!"
"Be sure to keep a close eye on things here while I'm gone." Lorelai added. "And also, make sure Michelle doesn't do that thing where he pretends he can only speak French to avoid dealing with the customers."
"Roger." Sookie replied.
"And if it's not too much trouble. Have Jackson watch over the house. Oh, and if I get any phone calls here at the inn, don't tell anyone I've flown down to West Virginia to adopt a child. Especially my parents. I haven't got to talk to them yet."
Sookie's eyes bulged. "Oh, sweetie, you'd better tell them soon. If they ever found out before you told them…"
"I know." Lorelai interrupted. "I just want to wait and make sure of this before I let them know about it."
"Okay. Well, no worries. I won't say a word to anybody."
"I know you won't. Thank you, Sookie."
"You'll be leaving tomorrow morning?"
"Around 10:00 I think. It's just an hour and a half flight. No big deal. I'd better get home and do some light packing though."
Sookie glanced over at the clock. "Oh, wow. It's 5:00 already. I'd better get these rolls of bread into the oven before 5:30 or Manuel will be behind on evening shift." Sookie too off towards the oven. "Remember, call me!"
"I will." Lorelai smiled as she walked out of the kitchen. Lorelai was walking by the desk to gather her things, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Luke standing by the computer. "Luke?"
He turned quickly, "Lorelai… Hey."
"Hey."
"Um, I hope you're not busy."
"I was just getting read to leave, actually." Lorelai grabbed her folders and purse. "Did you need something?"
Luke hesitated for a moment, "Could we talk?"
"Sure."
They walked outside of the inn and onto the pathway that lead to the parking lot. They stopped a few feet from Lorelai's jeep.
"Look, I… I feel like an idiot." Luke began. "Over the other day."
"You mean nearly two weeks ago? At the diner." Lorelai replied. "When you freaked out over the idea of me adopting."
"Gee, has it been that long? Gosh. It doesn't seem like it's been that long…" Luke stammered. "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it." Lorelai replied in a simple tone.
"No… No. I am worrying about it. You've gotten coffee to go ever since it happened and… and well, I just want you to have your coffee there at the diner some." Luke paused. "I mean… I don't want you to be mad at me."
"I'm not mad."
"It's big news, Lorelai. It's huge news. I wasn't expecting or prepared for it."
Lorelai gazed down at the ground and then back up into Luke's eyes. "Okay. Maybe I did kind of spring it on you."
"But that still doesn't give me a reason to act like I did. So, that's why I'm here. I want to let you know that I support you 100. If you want to adopt. That's great. In fact I think it's fantastic." Luke smiled.
"Really? Like Angelina Jolie fantastic?"
"Absolutely."
Lorelai smiled, "Thank you, Luke."
"Don't mention it."
"That makes me feel a lot better about tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'm flying out to an adoption agency in West Virginia tomorrow." Lorelai replied easily.
Luke stared at her for several seconds, "You're adopting a kid tomorrow?"
"Well, I don't know for sure." Lorelai answered honestly. "But maybe. Yeah. If things go over well. Obviously, everything can't be handled in one day, but tomorrow could the start of it all."
"Wow. I had no idea that soon." Luke nodded his head several times. "But hey, I'm not freaking out." He held up his hands.
"Don't lie." Lorelai teased. "You're freaking out on the inside."
"That noticeable, huh?"
"Yeah. It is." Lorelai smirked.
"Well, I'm still really happy for you."
"Thanks. I'll pick you up a souvenir from West Virginia." Lorelai added. "Maybe a nice possum hat or sawed of shot gun."
"I don't think you should go into West Virginia with that kind of a stereotype." Luke forewarned.
"Relax, I'm just kidding." Lorelai replied. "I've been to West Virginia before. I know what it's like."
"Really? When did you go to West Virginia?"
"My parents and I have spent some weekends there before. We'd go in the fall. My father loves the foliage of the mountains. My mother enjoyed the antique shopping."
"And what did you do on those weekend getaways?" Luke asked a smile ready to creep onto his face.
"I sat in my room and read mostly." Lorelai paused. "I mean we were up in a cabin on a mountain side so what else was I going to do?"
"I would have went exploring." Luke replied. "Climbed the mountains. Rocks. Look for arrow heads. Kept a close eye out for an old moonshine steel."
"Yeah, see I was a 12 year old girl. Not a 12 year old boy."
"Right. Well in any case. Have a safe trip."
"I will." Lorelai smiled again. "Thanks, Luke."
"No problem."
"I'll see you, Friday." Lorelai walked over to her jeep and pulled out of the parking lot.