𝓛𝓾𝓬𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓼 𝓗𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀

51. The first step of moving on

 The quiet in the living room was deadening as Lorelai and Rory sat on the couch with Emily in a chair next to them and me on the other side.

"Say something," I mouthed to Rory.

She nodded and began, "So Grandma, Grandpa's traveling again, huh?"

"Yes he is," our grandmother responded.

"Business must be good, then," I added. Lorelai refused to partake in the conversation or even acknowledge her mother.

Emily took a sip from her drink. "Seems to be."

"That's good." I smiled. "Isn't that good, Mom?"

"Outstanding," she murmured.

Rory and I exchanged a glance before my sister continued. "Mom's business is good, too. Not that it's without it's problems, you know, but they're funny problems like—."

"The mouse," I said.

"Yes!" Rory continued. "Mom, tell Grandma about the mouse!" Lorelai reluctantly told Emily about the mouse, a frown on her face, then the conversation mutation into discussing last week, when Lorelai walked and I walked out of Friday night dinner.

The conversation ended with Lorelai and Emily talking about some woman who shot her husband. Emily said—and I quote—, "At least she had a husband to kill."

"I'm not going in," I told Rory and Lorelai as we stood in front of Luke's.

"Lucy," Rory groaned, "just come in. It'll be fine."

I shook my head. "He's in there. If he's in there, I'm not. Going. In."

Lorelai sighed. "Your loss then." And they walked in. Jess was behind the counter, serving people coffee. I sighed. I should be done with this. Accept it. He was with Shane, not me. Since I had gotten back from the city, this is all I had thought about. Which is ridiculous, because I was starting school at Chilton soon. I had better things to worry about. Part of me also knew that I would put this silly crush behind me once I got to Chilton and met some new, cute boy. I was sure of it.

"You going in?" Asked Lisa coming up next to me, holding CeCe.

I shook my head. "No."

"Luce, it's not that big of a deal. You have to go in at some point."

I shook my head again. "I'll be fine. I don't need the coffee IV as much as Mom and Rory."

Lisa patted me on the back. "Okay. But you do have to go in at some point."

I finally nodded. "Yeah, I know. How about ten years? You think he'll have forgotten by then?"

Lisa chuckled. "Yeah."

"Lucy! Time to wake up!" Lorelai said at a volume that was not okay for this hour of the morning. "You slept in late. Rory's all ready to go."

I stood up groggily and went to my closet where my brand new Chilton uniform was. "I regret doing this."

Lorelai came over to me. "You'll do great. Just tell those Chilton kids to fuck off if they give you shit."

I groaned in response and kicked out my mother to change.

When I came out, Rory was at the table eating cereal out of a mixing bowl. "Want some?" She asked.

I sat down, took a spoon, and started to eat.

"You ready for school?" Rory asked.

My silence was a good enough response.