Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
LORELAI
My stomach feels like a herd of butterflies has invaded it. Scratch that. Whatever is going on in my gut is nothing as innocuous as butterflies. I’m hosting a vulture convention. Great big birds of prey are pecking at my insides. How am I going to share my house with Luke Phillips and still keep my sanity? The long and short of it is that I’m probably not.
I grab my car keys and head outside where I climb into my newer/old Volvo. Unlike my high school ride, which was twenty years old when it became mine, this one was only ten. After getting in, I blast the heat and sit there for five minutes while the frost melts off the windshield. I have no idea where I’m going, I just know that I can’t be in the same house as Luke. Not without throwing myself at him and begging him to marry me and cook for me for the rest of my days. That was one crazy good omelet.
Pulling out of the driveway, I point the car in the direction of downtown. Most people I know are at work so there’s no sense in calling anyone. The good news is that my best friend from high school works at Rosemary’s on Main Street. Allie came home after her marriage ended. She also lives with her parents and is in the throes of trying to figure out what she’s going to do next. She’s only been back for a couple of months so I’m sure it’s going to be awhile before she knows.
I park the car across the street from Elk Lake’s oldest and best bakery. Even though I just ate a delicious breakfast, I immediately start to salivate for a blueberry scone. The bell rings as I walk through the front door and I spot Teddy Helms, movie star extraordinaire and husband to Faith Helms, the owner of the bakery.
Teddy raises a hand in the air when he sees me. “Lorelai, good morning!”
“Hey, Teddy. How’s Faith? How are the twins?”
He smiles at my bringing up his favorite subject in the world. “They’re at toddler ballet.”
A smile spreads across my face. I remember hearing that Faith and Teddy were told they were going to have a boy and a girl, so they were surprised when they wound up with two daughters. “Are they even two yet?”
He shakes his head. “Not quite. I know what you’re thinking. What could they be learning in ballet class at that age?” I don’t bother to confirm that’s exactly what I’m thinking because he continues, “I’m pretty sure Faith takes them to show off the dance wear she’s bought for them. They’re the most adorable things you’ve ever seen.” His eyes twinkle like every father in love with his children.
“I’d love to see a picture sometime,” I tell him. I want a family someday, too, but at the rate I’m going, I’m not sure that’s going to happen. Elk Lake is not exactly overrun with eligible bachelors. Although, Teddy and Faith met right here in the bakery, so it’s not unheard of that love can be found in a small Wisconsin town.
Teddy pulls out his phone and hands it across the counter. “Keep swiping until you run out of pictures.”
I’m so enraptured by the images of Teddy and Faith’s family that I hear my friend before I see her. “If she does that, she’ll be here for a month.”
Looking up, I smile at Allie. She’s gorgeous as ever with her wavy brown hair and green eyes. Yet there’s a quality about her that makes her seem like a skittish cat, which is not something she had when she was younger.
My friend hasn’t gone into much detail regarding her ex, but I’ve gotten the impression he was not a nice man. I never met him because Allie and I lost touch during college. It wasn’t until she moved home that we resumed our friendship.
Teddy reaches for his phone. “I won’t bore you any more for now, but all you have to do is ask and I’ll show you the latest.” Smiling toward me and then Allie, he says, “Allie, I’m going to go meet Faith and the girls. Are you going to be okay here alone?”
She nods. “I’ll be fine until the lunch rush. Abigail will be coming in to help around eleven.”
I shake my head as Teddy walks out the front door. “Who would have ever thought we’d be talking to Teddy Helms like he was a normal guy?”
Allie laughs. “I know, right?”
“It gives me hope that some fabulous man will walk into town someday and sweep me off my feet.” Luke Phillips’ face immediately pops into my head. “Can you take a break?” I ask her. “I have something to tell you.”
Allie looks around at the empty bakery and replies, “No problem. Can I get you something to eat first?”
“I’d love a blueberry scone if you have any left.” While she goes to the counter to grab my order, I sit down at a nearby table.
Waving off the five I try to hand her, Allie places my scone in front of me. “What’s up?” she asks.
I inhale deeply before saying, “Luke Phillips.”
Her brow furrows slightly before recognition hits. “Your brother’s best friend from high school?”
“He’s back in Elk Lake.”
“Why?” she asks, sounding like coming home is the worst thing she can imagine. Although I’m sure that in her case, it kind of feels that way—like she’s going backward instead of moving forward .
“His dad fell off a roof.”
“That’s terrible! Is he okay?”
I tell my friend everything I know about Luke’s dad before sharing more interesting personal news. “He’s staying at my house.”
“Ex-squeeze me?” I giggle at her usage of our old middle school vernacular.
“Yup. He and his dad are on the outs, so he doesn’t want to stay with his parents. Noah asked if he could crash at our parents’ with me.”
Allie blushes when she hears my brother’s name. As much as I used to crush on Luke, she felt similarly about Noah. But instead of asking about him, she wants to know, “Is Luke still single?”
“According to every article I’ve ever read about him, he rarely dates. Although Noah did say he just broke up with someone, which apparently never hit the papers.” Because if it had, I would have most definitely seen it.
Allie’s eyebrows arch so high they nearly reach her hairline. “Is he still as gorgeous as ever?”
I release a long, slow sigh as I answer, “Even though I haven’t seen him in years, I practically jumped into his arms when he showed up this morning.”
She looks from the right to the left like she’s afraid someone is eavesdropping. When she sees that the coast is clear, she leans in conspiratorially and asks, “Did he seem interested?”
I laugh aloud. “I was wearing a purple bandana on my head and an old flannel night gown that practically buttoned to my chin. I looked like some kind of gangster nun.”
Cringing, she accurately guesses, “So, no?”
“He seemed mildly less repulsed after I changed. He even made me breakfast,” I tell her.
Her eyes brighten with interest. “A man who cooks breakfast … That’s a novel thought.” Once again, I assume Allie’s husband was a real piece of work. Yet she’s made it clear she doesn’t want to talk about him, so I don’t pry .
“He made me an omelet. It was amazing!”
“When are you going to see him again?”
“I don’t know. He’s here to spend time with his family.” I almost tell her he’s going to cook at Pop’s, but I remember Noah’s warning. “I told him to come and go like he would at his own house, but I am hoping to see him at least once a day.” And if I know me, I will. But only because I’ll sit by the front door if I have to so I can welcome him home.
“Girl, you have to keep me posted. In fact, you should invite me over some night so I can catch a glimpse of him for myself.”
“Done,” I tell her. “Now, what do you have going on other than work today?”
She rests her elbows on the table with her hands under her chin. “I’m here until three and then I’ve got nothing.”
“You want to go to Pop’s for dinner with me? I’ve been craving a cheeseburger lately.” And who knows, maybe we’ll see Luke there.
“That sounds great. My parents are leaving next week to go on a cruise and they’re busy packing. They have stuff all over the house.” She rolls her eyes. “They asked me to go with them.”
“You totally should!” I say excitedly. “Get out of the cold and put on a bikini, girl. You’d have a blast!”
“It’s from Quebec to Boston.” Rolling her eyes, she adds, “It’s a seniors’ cruise.”
I involuntarily shiver. “Why are they doing that? It’s going to be cold.” The only place anyone should cruise in March is the Mediterranean.
“The cruise line is hosting a pickleball tournament that my parents are all gung-ho about.”
I swallow the last bite of scone before saying, “You can play pickleball at home. Why would you waste a cruise on that?”
Allie shakes her head. “If I knew why people made the choices they did, I’d have put my life savings into Beanie Babies back when that meant something. All I know is that I’m looking forward to ten days without anyone asking what my plans are for the future. Why can’t people just let you figure things out for yourself?”
I push my chair back and cross my legs. “Family is the worst.” I’m not talking about her parents, either. I’m talking about my brother and his impression that I’m wasting my life living in Elk Lake.
“We should have cocktails with dinner tonight,” Allie decides.
“I’m in.” On that note, I stand up and give my friend a tight hug. Then I tell her, “We’re both young. We’re going to figure everything out in our own time.”
“Or not.” She sounds like she couldn’t care less either way.
“No matter what, we have each other, okay? We’re not going to let the doubters doubt and we’re not going to let our families push us. We’re going to take life one day at a time.”
“And we’re going to drink lemon drops and eat cheeseburgers,” she reminds me.
“Absolutely!”
As I walk out of Rosemary’s, I wonder what would have happened had I moved back to Madison after Michael and I broke up. The reason I didn’t is because most of our friends were his friends from work and I feared that I’d have to restart my life from scratch. If I was going to do that, why would I do it in a city that I only moved to because my boyfriend’s job was there?
I’m home now, and I like being here. So what if there’s a tiny failure to launch. I’ll do that when I’m good and ready and no one is going to make me doubt myself. You hear that Noah? I’m talking to you!