Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LORELAI
A strange sensation comes over me after hanging up with my parents. It’s a cross between full-tilt boogie panic and blinding optimism. While this is still my home, at the same time, I can tell I’ve started to disconnect. I have no future here. The hourglass has turned, and the timer is on countdown to a new life that hopefully won’t include me eating out of garbage cans.
I try to forcibly shake thoughts like that out of my head. I’m smart, talented, nicer than most, and I am not a loser. I’m tempted to pick up my phone to tell my brother that, but I decide not to waste my time.
I visualize a thousand memories from my life. This is the room where my family rehashed our daily adventures. We watched television here; we played charades and competed in Nintendo dance-offs. Our Christmas tree has been in the same corner since I was born. How can all that end? Am I supposed to go to Florida for Christmas now? Will we drink our eggnog poolside next to a Speedo-wearing Santa? I shudder at the thought.
I remind myself that I’m twenty-eight years old. I’m lucky to have had my family home for as long as I have. I repeat that sentiment three times like a mantra. Yet I can’t help but think that family homes are supposed to remain in families. To make matters worse, I’m not even being given the option to create a new home with my parents, because they aren’t going to have room for me in Florida.
I’m embarrassed to even be thinking like this. I’m a grown woman and I need to start acting like one. Not only do things not always stay the same, but I cannot control everything. Therefore, if I do not bend, I will break. Grow. Up. Lorelai. While that may not sound like the best peptalk, it’s actually working a little bit. I have always liked a challenge and this one should be no different. Except now, I have a credit card that I won’t be responsible for paying.
Pulling out my phone, I open my notes app and start typing.
Call painters
Pick out paint colors
Call movers and get quotes to move my parents’ things to Florida
Look and see how much apartments cost in Elk Lake, Madison, and Chicago
Try to figure out what job I can do to make more money
Carpeting?
I suppose I’ll have more clarity prioritizing tasks after talking to the realtor tomorrow. But no matter what, I’m going to be busy.
Even though I’m off today, I decide to go into the lodge and give my notice in person. I feel bad about deserting them, but it appears I have no choice. Hurrying upstairs, I change into something more presentable before tossing my Mickey Mouse sweater into the garbage can. Not only doesn’t it fit, but I suppose it’s high time I lighten my load as well.
Getting into my car, I sit and let it warm up while I stare at the front of my family home. I love this house. It’s a classic two-story colonial with dove-grey siding and black shutters. The dormers on the second story windows give it an obvious charm. It will make some family a great summer house. I just wonder what they’ll do with it when they’re not there. That’s when a thought hits me. Maybe they’ll let me be their caretaker.
Even as I consider this, I know that’s not an option. I could never live here with someone else’s things. Without fully understanding why, I know that would ruin my memories.
By the time I pull into the lodge’s parking lot, a trail of tears is making its way down my face. I don’t know how to stop it, so I simply park my car and get out. The air is freezing cold—which strangely I didn’t notice when I left my house. The shock of the windchill halts my tears and effectively keeps any new ones from falling. Today is an emotional rollercoaster I did not expect.
I experience my normal feeling of joy when I walk into the lodge. I really do love this place. Striding around the front desk, I wave to clerks on duty and keep going until I’m standing in front of my boss’s door.
I give it a quick knock. When I hear Trina say, “Come in!” I follow instructions.
Trina used to host a television show called The Midwestern Matchmaker , which is why she came to Elk Lake in the first place. They filmed their last season here. When that ended, she rented a cottage on the lake for the summer. That’s where she met her fiancé, billionaire Heath Fox. They opened the lodge together.
Trina smiles when she sees me. “What are you doing here, Lorelai?” She indicates a chair for me to sit on.
Once I’m situated, I tell her, “I have some bad news.”
The look of concern on her face causes my eyes to once again fill. “No one died or anything,” I say. “I just need to give my notice.”
“No!” She sounds as devastated as I am, and honestly that gives me a boost. It’s nice that someone sees me as valuable.
“My parents are selling their house.”
“And?”
“I’m going to oversee all of the renovations for them to get it ready to sell,” I tell her. “I live there so I’m really the obvious choice.”
“I didn’t realize you still lived at home.” Is that judgment in her voice?
“My folks are in Florida most of the time, so I’m kind of their caretaker.”
She nods her head. “Well, if they aren’t here much, I suppose it makes sense to sell their house.”
I feel a weight on my chest. It physically hurts when I tell her, “I don’t know how much notice you need, but I’m here to give it.”
Trina turns on the computer in front of her and clicks around for a bit before saying, “Josie just asked for more hours. I told her I wouldn’t have them until the summer, but now I can give her your shifts. You can leave now if you want to.” Now she looks like she’s going to cry.
“I’ve really loved working here,” I tell her while standing up.
She jumps up from her desk and wraps her arms around me. “We’ve loved having you!”
“Thank you. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”
“I hope you’ll consider coming back,” Trina says. “You know, once your parents’ house sells.”
“Maybe,” I tell her, although unless she’s going to give me an insane raise, I don’t see it happening.
Trina reluctantly releases me and walks back around her desk. Opening her top drawer, she hands me a plastic card. “Please take this with our gratitude. You’ve been a wonderful employee.”
I look down and see that she’s given me a gift card for the lodge’s restaurant for two hundred dollars. I don’t know how I’m ever going to use it because I’d feel so sad being here and not working here. “Thank you,” I tell her. “That’s very generous of you.”
“It’s nothing,” she says. Then she opens her drawer again and pulls out another card. Handing it to me, she says, “This one will get you a complimentary weekend in one of our suites along with meals and a massage. ”
“Wow! That’s really generous, Trina.”
“We take care of our own,” she tells me. “And you will always be part of the Elk Lake lodge family, even if you aren’t working here.”
I wonder if Trina would call my parents and brother and tell them what she just said. Seriously, this is the kind of appreciation I need. “Thank you for everything, Trina.”
“You’re still coming to our wedding, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” I tell her. “In fact, I still want to assemble your gift bags as my gift.”
“You’re the best!” She claps her hands together loudly which causes me to jump. “We love you!”
“I love you too,” I tell her while giving her a wave. I walk out of her office and decide to stop by the gift shop one last time. I almost cry again when I see a little girl buying herself a candy bar. One of the things I loved about working here was being surrounded by people on vacation. I liked being part of their getaway story, even if it was just selling them some sunscreen.
Turning around, I walk out the front door. The next time I come back I’ll be nothing more than a guest. Getting in my car, I drive over to Rosemary’s, hoping Allie is there. Right now, I could really use a friend.
Allie isn’t at the counter when I walk into the bakery. Instead, I see the owner, Faith. “Hey, Lorelai!” she calls out. “Teddy told me he bored you with pictures of our girls. Sorry about that.”
“I wasn’t bored at all,” I tell her truthfully. “If I had kids as cute as yours, I’d have their pictures printed on sandwich boards that I’d wear around town.”
She laughs. “Don’t tell Teddy or he’ll probably do the same.”
“I don’t suppose Allie is around,” I say, wondering why I didn’t just call my friend instead of stopping by.
“She just left. She was only scheduled for a couple of hours today.”
“Did she say where she was going?” I ask, although I’m guessing she went back to her parents’ house .
Faith shakes her head. “I’m sorry, she didn’t.” She holds up one finger before saying, “I’m glad you’re here though. My grandmother brought in a bag full of old sheets that she wanted me to give to Allie for you.” She walks into the back before returning with a giant Hefty bag. “What do you do with old sheets?” she wants to know.
“I cut them into strips and then knit them together to make rugs.” I explain, “They love them down at the Humane Society.” With a smile, I tell her, “Every dog that gets adopted comes with his own rug.”
“That’s about the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” she says, and darn if it doesn’t sound like she means it. “I don’t suppose you’d like some help with that sometime?”
“I didn’t know you knitted,” I tell her.
“I’m not great but I don’t imagine the dogs would mind. Plus, I really want to do something for the community. You always seem like you’re in the middle of the action and I want a piece of that, too.”
“I would love your help,” I tell her sincerely. “I’ll give you a call and we can set something up.
As I walk away, I can’t help but think that Faith’s life has turned out nicely. She grew up working in this bakery and now she owns it. Not only that, but she married a movie star and gave birth to their gorgeous twins. If things can work out so well for her, who’s to say the same won’t happen for me?
Once I’m outside, I take my phone out of my pocket and call Allie, but she doesn’t answer. I briefly consider going over to Pop’s to see if Luke is around, but we’re not really friends and I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear about my troubles. So instead, I get back into my car and call my brother.
The phone rings three times before he finally answers, “Lorelai, hi.”
Not bothering with niceties, because let’s face it, I’m not overly pleased with my brother right now, I demand, “I don’t suppose you’ve talked to Mom and Dad. ”
He sighs loudly. “They finally told you, huh?”
“So, you did know.”
“We talked about it last month.”
“And you didn’t tell me!” Not only am I mad, but I feel betrayed.
“Look, Lorelai, Mom and Dad love you. We all do. They told me first because they didn’t know how to break the news to you.”
I turn the heater up to high. “They said I only have three months to get out.”
“I’m sure they didn’t phrase it like that.”
“No,” I tell him. “They told me they wanted me to get everything ready for sale, and then they told me to get out.” I’m making this harsher for dramatic effect. I just can’t believe that Noah and my parents have been keeping news like this from me. Did they think I’d fall apart?
“You knew you couldn’t stay there forever.”
“It’s not like I thought I was a character in a Jane Austen novel that could spend her spinster years living at home polishing the silver while waiting for an early death from consumption,” I snap at him.
“Of course not, Lorelai.”
Now that he feels bad, I tentatively say, “I don’t suppose you’re looking for a roommate in Chicago.”
“I like living alone.” So much for sympathy.
When he doesn’t say anything else, I know it’s time to cut the call short. “Let me know if you want to visit and see the place before it doesn’t belong to us anymore.”
“I’ll be back,” he says. “I just don’t know when.”
“Okay. Bye.” I hang up before he can respond.
Sitting in my car, I feel like I’m in an episode of my grandfather’s favorite television show. He used to watch The Twilight Zone which was essentially a science fiction program about how nothing is the way you think it is. Which is exactly how my life currently seems. I wouldn’t be too shocked if a portal opened in front of me and I drove into a parallel universe .
I wonder what my life would look like there. Wouldn’t it be nice if I was hugely successful and owned my own home? Maybe even the one I’m currently being evicted from? I might even have an adorable family like Faith and Teddy have. Maybe even a great husband. And once again, my mind creates an image of me and Luke together. But instead of being a couple at the senior prom, we’re adults.
I remind myself that I shouldn’t believe in pipe dreams. I’ve lost my home, my job, and my town, all in one day. And as much as I know I can overcome all of that, I cannot allow hope as big as me and Luke into my life without opening myself up to total devastation.