Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
LORELAI
Luke’s comment from this morning runs through my head on a loop. We make our own opportunities. We make our own opportunities. We make our own opportunities. And darn if he isn’t right!
I didn't love my first job out of college, but I took it because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. Then I followed my boyfriend to a city I didn’t want to live in and got another job that didn't excite me. I didn’t make my own opportunities. I settled, and I’m going to call a do-over.
I know I want to live in Elk Lake, which means I have to figure out how to make that happen. The only problem is that I like so many things, I’m not sure what to focus on. Having said that, I need to pick something that will pay the bills so I suppose that limits my options a bit.
I think about it while picking up paint samples. I toss around several ideas while brushing different shades on the walls. I ultimately conclude that nothing I enjoy has anything to do with my English degree. Unless someone is willing to pay me to read romcoms. Why can’t that be a thing?
As much as I don’t want to leave this house, I love the thought of renovating it. I’m having the time of my life picking out colors and planning how to update and rearrange the furniture once the walls are painted and the new carpet is laid. I even look into how much it will cost to convert the wood-burning fireplace to gas. I make a note to call Anna and see if that upgrade will add enough value to make it worth doing.
I hate the thought of leaving my childhood home, but I adore turning it into my own vision. I don’t know if anyone would hire me as an interior designer, but if this place turns out like I think it will, I’m going to have some great before and after pictures to show clients. Luckily, the day my parents told me they wanted to sell, I took a bunch of pictures so I could always remember how it was when my family lived here.
Now that something has clicked in my brain, I’m experiencing an invigorating new sensation. I can make my own opportunities. And I will . I don’t know all the nitty and gritty details yet, but I’m determined to keep moving forward.
After washing down the built-in bookcase, I dab a small amount of Oyster White on the first shelf. I enjoy watching the dingy old paint get covered up by something brighter, shinier, and newer. Before I know it, I’ve covered half the shelves, and I’ve run out of paint. It’s like painting has become a metaphor for my life. I can make change by simply making a change. It really is that easy.
I go back to the hardware store before the day is over, and I stop by the carpet store to get samples there, as well. When I get home, I spend the rest of the day on Pinterest looking for inspiration. The thing about old houses is that they’re full of so many little details that newer construction never tries to replicate. So that’s a win. The hard part comes with trying to create an open concept that everyone seems to expect these days.
On a whim, I call Allie. I know her parents are on a cruise for a few more days, but her dad’s a contractor and I want to pick his brain about an idea I have. After explaining my vision to my friend, she demands, “You want to do what? ”
“I want to see if the wall between the living room and dining room is load bearing. If it’s not, I want to take it down.”
“What do your parents think about that?”
“I’m not going to tell them.”
“Lorelai, have you lost your mind? I know you’re creative and all, but you can’t knock a wall down and not tell your folks. It’s their house! Not to mention, how are you going to pay for it?”
With a smile on my face, I tell her, “My dad added me to his credit card. I just got my copy in the mail yesterday.”
"You’d knock a wall down and charge it to your parents without telling them first?”
“Why not? They put me in charge, so I’m taking charge.” The more I think about this idea, the more I like it.
“Okay, Lor, but I think you’re crazy.”
Borrowing one of my mom’s favorite sayings, I tell her, “Crazy like a fox.” I’m not even a little concerned about what my parents are going to say when they find out. They want me to be a boss, so that’s what I’m going to do. I’m certainly not going to let one little wall get in my way. And if I’ve learned anything from my HGTV addiction over the years it’s this—knock that wall down!
I just have to keep them from finding out until after the deed is done. And the only way to keep them in the dark is to make sure my brother doesn’t come home. He’s just the kind of blabbermouth that would tell them everything. “I need to go, Al,” I tell my friend. “Let me know when your dad gets back so I can make an appointment to talk to him.”
Once she hangs up, I call Noah. “Hey, bro.”
“Lorelai.” His tone and lack of verbiage make it clear he’s still upset about our last conversation.
“I got to thinking about how busy you are.”
“And?”
In a burst, I tell him, “I can’t expect you to come home and pack your room without much notice. I’ve decided to do it for you.”
“How much?” he wants to know .
"You don’t have to pay me,” I say magnanimously.
“Why?” Why is he questioning my motives?
Lying through my teeth, I tell him, “It’s as unfair to you as it is to me that Mom and Dad are selling our family home out from under us. I’m here, so it wouldn’t take me more than a day to pack your stuff for you.”
“Lorelai, what are you up to?”
Scoffing a little too loudly, I answer, “Nothing. I mean, what could I be up to other than getting our house ready to sell?” Which is the truth, although somewhat of a convoluted version of it.
Noah inhales deeply before exhaling loudly in my ear. “Fine. Thank you. I mean it. You’re doing me a big favor and I won’t forget it.”
He’s doing me a big favor too, but of course I don’t tell him that. “Maybe you’ll let me visit you in Chicago. Luke has invited me to come to his restaurant sometime.”
“You’d come all the way to Chicago to eat at Capon, but you don’t want to date Luke? Something isn’t adding up here, Lor.”
Oh, I’m interested in Luke, but not if he’s going to live somewhere other than Elk Lake. So I tell him, “It was nice of you to think about setting us up, Noah, but Luke really loves living in the city and he has no intention of leaving.”
“Why can’t you move to Chicago?”
I pull a throw off the back of my couch and snuggle under it. “I’ve never wanted to live there.”
“Yet you moved to Madison because Michael got a job there.”
“Yeah, and look how that turned out."
“But you’ve loved Luke your whole life,” he reminds me.
I suddenly experience my second epiphany of the day. At this rate I’m going to have the issue of world peace locked down by tomorrow. “I’m done making choices based on other people’s dreams,” I tell my brother. “I’m going to make choices based on making my own dreams come true.”
“Not to be rude, but what dreams? ”
How could he have meant that any other way than rudely? “I have dreams,” I assure him. “And the biggest one is to keep living in Elk Lake. I love it here.”
“Even if it means nothing can ever happen between you and Luke?”
“Even then.” Somewhere between this morning and now, I’ve become the champion of my own life. I know what I want and I’m not going to put any man’s desires above my own. Not ever again. I know a lot of women who have met their husbands right here in Elk Lake, so it’s possible. I might not fall in love with a movie star like Faith did, but who knows, maybe Teddy will have a friend visit, and I might!
“Well, good for you, little sister. I’m proud of you.”
I’m proud of myself, too. “Thanks, Noah," I tell him. “I’ve got to go. I’m meeting a friend for dinner.”
“Okay, sis. And thanks, again. Just put all my stuff in the garage and I’ll come and get it before you put the house on the market.”
After we hang up, I run upstairs and get ready for my dinner with Luke. I know I just said I wasn’t going to date the guy but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to look good for him. And if I’m being honest, I don’t have to date him to want to kiss him. One kiss as payment for years of devotion doesn’t seem too much to ask, does it?