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"OOH OOH OOH! Turn here!" Eileen directed excitedly. The duo's drive was finally coming to an end as she recognized the familiar turnoff.
It was a small, quaint lake — what she knew to be called "Maple Cove" — about an hour outside of Stars Hallow. It had a wooden dock, lots of shade from surrounding maple trees, and a flock of swans that would come and go as they pleased throughout the day. Eileen knew of Maple Cove because of her father, who had taken her there often when she was a little girl. He would drive them out in his '71 Chevy Camper, a foam football and water guns in hand, blasting the Eagles as the wind blew through Eileen's short pigtails.
Because of that, because of the dear nostalgia and heartfelt attachment she associated with the cove, it became their place. Eileen had never taken anyone else out there — not even Mabel, her best friend of 10+ years.
Until now.
Dave pulled up the car next to a sandy inlet and brought it to a stop. His face lit up at their surroundings; it didn't seem real. "Eileen, this is amazing."
She smiled at his reaction to her favorite spot. She knew he would love it. Who wouldn't? Maple Cove felt like it was pulled out of a mystical fantasy novel and dropped into a random corner of Connecticut. It felt like heaven on Earth — or, at least as close as she could get.
"Right? This, my dear friend, is Maple Cove, the coolest spot east of the Mississippi," she said with a smile, unbuckling her seatbelt. Dave was quick to jump out of his seat, running around the front of the Bronco to open her door. It was a small gesture of kindness, but Eileen noticed it and appreciated it nonetheless. She thanked him with a small nod.
"How did you find it? It's pretty far out here."
"My dad used to bring me out here," Eileen explained. Her and Dave both went to the backseat to grab the broad assortment of "super-fun-last-day-of-summer" supplies she had previously piled in. "It was back before the diner was any popular. Business was slow most days and we'd get bored of Stars Hallow pretty easily. Maple Cove was my dad's go-to spot when he was a kid."
Dave took notice of the way her eyes lit up when she reminisced on the time spent with her father. Dave had always lived in a big house — filled with two loving parents and hyper siblings and little cousins bouncing off the walls. Each dinner sat rows of warm Polish food to feed the masses. Each morning was a zoo of chaos as everyone tried to get out of the house. He had never imagined what life would be like for the Danes with such a small family. It was just Eileen and Luke. It always had been; until Jess came along, of course. But, where they lacked in blood, they made up in chosen family. People like the Gilmores, the Lauriers, Kirk, and Miss Patty. Like Babbett, Sookie, and, as much as they hated to admit it, Taylor Doose. No wonder Eileen had so much love and joy in her heart, Dave figured. She had so many people to share them with.
