Rory stood on the front porch in her pjs, sipping a cup of coffee and watching the antics of her mother and her brand new step-father as they prepared to leave for a short honeymoon.
"What are you bringing! We are going to Vermont, not an arctic expedition! Four days Lorelie!" Luke shouted as he brought the luggage to the jeep. "Four! You have a suitcase for each day!"
Rory smiled to herself as she watched him load the cases into the back and couldn't help noticing that even as he complained he had a smile on his face. It may be in his nature to be grumpy, but nothing could disguise his joy today.
"Options, Luke! I need options! What if we decide to go out for dinner? What if we go hiking? I need outfits. With appropriate shoes. I need to be able to pivot and go with the flow on this mountain man adventure into the wilds of Vermont!" Lorelie sang back through the open doorway.
"It's Manchester, not the Serengeti!" He retorted as he strode over the lawn back to the house.
"Leaf peeping!" She called back
"I'm not going leaf peeping!" He retorted as he returned to the porch. "Hey Rory. Tell me - four suitcases? Don't you think that's a bit much?" He appealed to her for some support.
"Unless you're ok with going clothes shopping, with her, while you are on your honeymoon..." Rory shrugged.
A look of terror crossed Luke's face. He shook his head quickly once. "Fine. But this is ridiculous." He turned and called through the open door "Can you hurry? I don't want to hit traffic in Wilmington."
"Wilmington? We're not going through Wilmington." Lorelie breezed through the door coming to a stop in front of her husband. "We're going through Chesterfield."
"We are?" Luke asked, surprised. "Why Chesterfield?"
"I just like saying it." Lorelie smirked.
"Of course." Luke mumbled, shaking his head. "See you in a few days, Rory." And headed for the Jeep.
"Ok, kid. Take good care of Paul Anka and if you need me for anything, we are only a few hours away. I can be home in a jiff if you need me. " Lorelie said, hugging Rory.
"Thanks, but we will be fine. I kinda need the time to myself to think." Rory responded. "I need to make a few pro and con lists, and figure this out."
"Making lists is fine but a couple of things I want you to take into consideration. First, don't do anything until I get back. If you decide your not ready, I want to be here for you, take care of you. And second, weighting the options, thinking it over logically is great, but this is really an emotional decision. Don't ignore your gut. Either way, you'll be living with this for the rest of your life. I know it's time sensitive, but use that time. You don't need to rush it. Ok?" Lorelie cautioned.
"I know. It's big. Either way. But I'll let you know before I do anything." Rory promised
With a final squeeze on the shoulder, Lorelie turned and walked towards the jeep. Rory stood long enough to wave them off and then went back into the house. She sat for a minute on the couch and Paul Anka came over and put his chin on her leg, gazing up at her. She gave him a scratch on the head and he whined. She felt herself welling up with tears and motioned for the dog to jump up with her which he quickly complied. He settled in next to her and she cuddled with him as she let the situation overwhelm her. She found a great comfort in simply hugging the dog while she finally let the tears flow.
"What am I going to do?"
