“Mrs. Robertson?”
“Caroline Robertson’s mother.”
Oh. That woman.
“Listen, I can explain. I know I snapped, and I’m sorry, but then again, I’m not actually sorry. You know why? Because she and her daughter were both extremely disrespectful toward Lorelai and I stand by everything I said.” I paused. “Well, maybe calling her daughter a little bitch was out of line, but I do stand by the fact that the mother was a bitch. And I’m sorry, but—”
“Eleanor,” Greyson said sternly.
“Yes?”
“You’re rambling.”
“Yes. Sorry. I’m just… I want you to know that even though I know I’m in a lot of trouble, that I stand by it. I stand by my words, and I know it was wrong of me and childish to snap in public, and I know it paints you in a bad light, but I just couldn’t hold it in. I know you’re probably also wondering why there’s a big mess in your living room, and I’m just going to tell you now because whatever, I’m already in trouble, but Karla had a really shitty hard day too, and I took her out of school and we binged Harry Potter movies and ate sugar, and okay, I’m sorry.”
He lowered his brows, staring, not really showing any type of emotion. Not anger, not disappointment—nothing really. I wished he’d stop that. I wished he’d at least give me something to go off of, just a few context clues.
“Thank you,” he finally said.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I said thank you. Thank you for being there for my girls.”
I cocked an eyebrow, baffled. “You aren’t…you aren’t mad?”
“No. I called you in here to just say thank you for standing up for them. I know I’m not always able to be around, and I know I’ve been distant over the past few months. I’m not…” He took a breath and looked down at his hands. “I’m not myself. I’m trying to be myself to get back to normal, but I’m not there yet. So, thank you for being there. They needed you today. I needed you today.”
It was the complete opposite of what I’d thought he was going to say to me. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure how to react.
I sat back in my chair, so thrown off. “Oh, well…okay. You’re welcome.”
“Just keep me in the loop a little next time. If you’re going to take Karla out of school or cuss out a woman in front of the whole elementary school, just give me a heads-up.”
“Yes, of course. It won’t be a normal thing, and I am really sorry for it all, especially for snapping at Lorelai’s school.”
“Don’t be. Mrs. Robertson is a bitch.”
I smiled. He smiled back.
Greyson smiled at me.
It was the kind of smile I remembered, the kind of smile that had made me look at him time and time again in wonderment when we were younger, the kind I hadn’t known I’d missed until I saw it on his lips.
My lips parted, and I spoke softly. “More of that, Grey.”
More of that.
42
Greyson
After Eleanor left that evening, I continued working in my office for a while, and when Landon’s call came through, I actually answered. “Hey, Landon. What’s up?”
“For the love of all good things, is that what you sound like nowadays? I swear your voice got deeper,” he joked.
“I just saw you at Lorelai’s party.”
“Still, it feels weird having you pick up my calls. For some reason, I didn’t expect you to answer.”
“Yeah, sorry about the missed calls—you know, all five hundred of them.”
“Meh, I figured you’d answer when you were ready.”
“Yeah. How’s being back in California treating you?”
He updated me about how filming for his next movie was going, how crazy the paparazzi was, how he’d slept with half of Hollywood. You know, the basics.
It was crazy how different we’d become, but still, in many ways, we were the same—like how Landon couldn’t keep himself from sleeping with any woman who looked his way.
“But can we talk about Eleanor for a minute? That was kind of amazing what she did for Lorelai’s birthday.” Landon mentioned.
“Yeah, she’s been pretty amazing. Better than I deserve, actually. She’s really helped the girls more than I could say.”
“Yeah. So, have you seen Shay since Eleanor—” Landon started, but before he could finish, there was a knock on my door. Then it opened, and Karla was standing there.
I was somewhat stunned.
Karla never came to my office.
“Hey, Dad,” she said, clearing her throat. I couldn’t remember the last time she’d said Dad without anger in her voice. This was beyond strange. I was definitely going to proceed with caution. “Can I talk to you real quick?”
“Yeah, of course.” I went back to the phone call. “Landon, I’ll have to call you back.”
“Okay! And now that I know your phone works, don’t ignore my calls anymore. Otherwise, I’ll start calling more. Tell the girls I said hi. Bye!”
I hung up and looked back to Karla. She seemed nervous for some reason, which in turn, made me nervous. “What’s going on?”
“Listen, I know Eleanor screwed up today, and I’m pretty sure you’re going to fire her or whatever because you’ve fired nannies for a lot less than what she did today, but…well, I just thought you should know she was just looking out for me and Lorelai. She’s a bit weird and stuff, and way too nosey and interested in my life, but for the most part, I think she’s pretty okay at her job. She’s pretty good with Lorelai, too. So, if you could not fire her, that would be great.”
I brushed the palm of my hand against the back of my neck. “You like her.”
She did; I could tell. Karla didn’t stand up for things or people she didn’t like.
She shrugged. “She’s fine, I guess.”
“I’ll keep her on if you tell me where you went during the school days at the beginning of the year.”
Her whole energy shifted and her face dropped. I saw a flash of worry wash over her and then she composed herself and sighed. “Just forget it, alright?”
I had to try. My mind hadn’t stopped thinking about the possibilities and the danger Karla could’ve been involved with. Each day I wondered where she had gone. Each day I wondered about the battles she faced with herself.
She turned to walk away, and I called after her.
“Yeah?” she huffed.
“I think you’re right—I think Eleanor is good for our family. So, I’m going to keep her on as the nanny.”
A weight lifted from her shoulders as she released a sigh. “Oh, okay, cool. Because like I said, she’s okay.” Karla shrugged. “You know, for a Hufflepuff.”
I made my nightly stops to the girls’ rooms, and when I passed Karla’s, her bedroom light was still on, but she was in bed, reading a Harry Potter book. I couldn’t think of the last time I’d seen her read. She used to do it all the time. It had been almost impossible to find her without a book in her hands, but after her mother passed away, Karla had kind of tossed aside all the things she loved.
That was when I knew it was happening. Eleanor was doing that thing she was so good at doing, slowly sliding into a life and making it better without the person even knowing it was happening.
43
Eleanor
Greyson did his best trying to show up for his daughters. For the most part, it was easy with Lorelai. She welcomed him back with arms wide open. He stopped working as late each night, and made time to attend her karate practices every now and again. I swore every time he walked into the class, Lorelai’s eyes lit up as if her biggest dream had come true. She’d perform better, too, and always looked back toward Greyson to make sure he was watching.
Then when dinner came around, he’d sit down with us and talk. Lorelai, of course, led most of the conversations, but Greyson was there. He was engaging. He was becoming a part of his family again.
Karla wasn’t having it at all, though. Whenever I invited her
to dinner, she didn’t even reply anymore. She simply walked off and never looked back. There came a point when it was too much for me, and I finally followed her into her bedroom one evening. She was sitting on her bed, eating her dinner with her headphones on.
“You have to stop doing this, Karla,” I told her.
“Doing what?”
“This. Shutting everyone out. Your father is trying.”
“I don’t care that he’s trying. He had a million days to try. I waited so long for him to try, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I just don’t care.”
I walked over to her and inhaled deeply. “Come to dinner tonight, Karla.”
“Are you deaf? I said no already. I’m pretty sure I made that really clear every single night for the past four months.”
“Yes, I know, but I’m asking you right now to change your mind.”
“I’m not changing my mind for him,” she scolded, rolling her eyes.
“I’m not talking about for your father. I’m talking about for Lorelai.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Lorelai really misses you, Karla.”
“We live in the same house—I see her enough.”
“She needs you,” I told her.
“She’s fine,” she replied.
“Okay, I get it. You’re mad at your father, and I understand. You feel like he abandoned you, and you’re fully allowed to take as much time as you need to work through those feelings. But you have to understand that if there is one person who understands what you are going through, it’s Lorelai. She lost her mother, just like you. Please don’t make her lose her sister, too. She needs her sister, Karla. She needs you.”
Karla’s stare shifted, and she looked down to her shoes as she fiddled with her hands. Then, she got to her feet, picked up her plate, and grumbled. “Whatever. As long as it gets you to stop bringing this up.”
I smiled, pleased, and walked back to the dining room with her.
She put her plate down at the table, pulled out her chair, and plopped down. Greyson seemed beyond puzzled, and Lorelai’s eyes lit up when she saw her sister.
“You’re eating with us, Karla?” Lorelai inquired, clearly stunned.
“Looks like it,” she mumbled with her cell phone in one hand and her fork in the other.
“That’s good. I missed eating with you,” Lorelai said slurping up her spaghetti. “Mom missed you, too,” she said, nodding toward the untouched plate of pasta left out for Nicole.
Karla rolled her eyes. “Mom’s not here, Lorelai,” she said. “There’s no such thing as angels.”
“Karla,” I snapped, but Lorelai shrugged her shoulders and leaned in toward me.
She whispered, “It’s okay, Ellie. Mom knows Karla doesn’t mean it.”
Karla rolled her eyes again then she looked toward Greyson. “Just to be clear, I’m not here because of you,” she stated sternly. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“Duly noted,” he said, putting his hands up in surrender.
Greyson looked my way and mouthed, Thank you.
I nodded once and went back to eating.
As we ate, a big part of me wanted to tell Karla to get off her phone, but at least she was sitting down at the table. At least she had showed up, even though I was sure it was hard for her to do. I was almost certain it was hard for every single person to show up to that table that night.
One step at a time, Eleanor.
One step at a time.
“I can’t believe that after all this time, I finally get to see him,” Shay remarked as we drove over to Greyson’s house for the baseball game. “I mean, I know you’ve told me about him, and I’ve been tuning in the best I can to your reality show, but actually seeing Greyson after all this time is going to be surreal. It’s as if I’m an extra on your show,” she exclaimed.
I laughed. “You’re so ridiculous.”
“Does he look the same?” she asked.
“Um, yeah, but like, in a grown-up way. You’ll see.”
“So this is gonna be your new home when you marry Greyson, huh?” Shay said as we pulled onto the property. “Not too shabby.”
“For the love of God, I just hope you avoid saying all these things in front of him.”
“No promises. You know me—I’m a talker.”
We parked the car, and as we began walking toward Greyson’s front porch, he came out wearing a backward baseball hat and a White Sox jersey. “Hey ladies!” He smiled and hurried down the stairs to greet us. “Shay, it’s been a long time. It’s great to see you.” He pulled her into a hug, and Shay stood still as day.
When he let go of her, she gave him a tight smile and then turned back to me and whisper-shouted. “What the hell, Ellie?!”
“What? What’s wrong?”
She pulled me in closer and turned her back even more to Greyson. “Um, how in the ever-loving-shit did you forget to inform me that Greyson, oh, I don’t know, grew up to become a Greek god? Seriously, are those real biceps? Those can’t be real. People don’t look like that. People don’t look like that!”
“Shhh, he’s going to hear you. Stop being weird.”
We turned back to Greyson and smiled. “Are you guys ready to head out? I figured we could all fit into your SUV,” I said.
“Yeah, let me go get the girls. We’ll meet you out here.”
He turned around and started walking away with his hands in his pockets, and Shay moaned.
She moaned.
“Do you see it, Ellie?”
“See what?”
“Those cheeks of steel. Left cheek, right cheek, cheeks cheeks cheeks, oh how cheeky Grey’s cheeks can be,” she said, mocking Greyson’s butt.
“Oh my gosh, Shay, shut up, will you?”
I rolled my eyes at my cousin’s comments, but heck, I did notice Greyson’s behind.
A man couldn’t wear perfectly fitted jeans like that and not have his bum looked at, and Greyson wasn’t lacking in that department.
Not at all.
“Listen, I know there are rules against this, but if you don’t sleep with him, I will,” she joked.
I shoved her lightly. “You’re ridiculous, but hey, I just wanted to warn you before you meet Karla. She can be a bit hard on people when they first meet her.”
“Oh yeah! The growler, right?”
“Yeah. Karla is going to try to freak you out with her scars. Don’t react to it, because that will just make it worse. Just try to be cool about it. Pretend you don’t even notice.”
Shay went to the car, grabbed her black bowler, and placed it on her head. “I’m pretty sure you’re overthinking it. Don’t worry, it will be fine.”
Yeah, that was what I had thought, too.
Greyson and the girls came out of the house, and Lorelai was bouncing up and down with excitement about the baseball game. I didn’t have a clue if she was into sports, but the moment I mentioned cotton candy, she was fully on board.
My stomach knotted as I witnessed Karla’s stare move to Shay.
Karla locked eyes with her.
Shay stared back.
I swore it felt like minutes before Shay nodded. “I like your style,” she said, speaking about Karla’s all black attire. “Very European vibes.”
“Thanks.” Karla nodded back. “I like your hat.”
“Do you want it?”
“Sure.”
Shay took off the bowler hat, walked over to Karla, and placed it on her head.
Karla nodded once more. “Thanks.” She turned and walked to the SUV and climbed inside after Lorelai.
My jaw was on the floor.
What in the world had just happened?
Shay frowned. “That was a very underwhelming growl, Ellie.”
She then walked off and climbed into the SUV, too.
I turned to Greyson, who was standing there just as stunned as I was. “Is your cousin a wizard?”
“That’s the only logical explanation for what just hap
pened. Nothing else would make sense.”
We all drove to the game, and the whole drive there, Shay and Karla spoke like they were the best of friends, talking about music and makeup, and oh my gosh, Karla was talking more than Lorelai.
How did we just enter the twilight zone?
The baseball game turned out to be a lot more fun than I could’ve even imagined. Lorelai was on a sugar high, Greyson was locked in on the game, and every now and then I swore it looked like Karla was chanting, “Let’s go White Sox.”
“Hey, Dad. Can I get some cash to get a hot dog?” Karla said, standing up from her seat.
Greyson sat up a bit, seeming thrown off by Karla’s request. “Yeah, of course, here you go.”
“Thanks. Want anything?” she muttered.
Greyson’s eyes widened. He shook his head. “I’m good, thanks.”
“All right.”
Karla headed off to get her snack.
“Did you see that?” Greyson asked. “She asked me for money and then asked if I wanted anything.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I saw.”
“That’s one of those good small steps, right?”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “It was.” That was the thing about small steps—they had the power to lead to big changes.
When we hit the seventh inning, Lorelai was hitting her breaking point. She was coming down from that sugar high really quick.
“Just a little more,” Greyson said, holding his catching glove on his hand. We’d watched four balls fly in our direction the whole game, and he was more determined than ever to catch one, too.
“But, Daddy,” Lorelai yawned, climbing into Shay’s lap.
“Really, honey, we’re almost there. The next batter is the one who’s been hitting all those balls our way. And I have a good feeling.”
Lorelai groaned, but didn’t put up much more of a fuss.
Then, like magic, Greyson’s player delivered a ball in our direction. Greyson stood up from his seat and it all felt oddly like destiny. Greyson’s eye was on the ball, and as it started to come down, Lorelai tugged on Greyson’s jeans, forcing him to break his concentration for a split second. That was all it took, though. In the amount of time it took for Greyson to glance toward his daughter then back to the sky, his focus was shot. The ball was too close, and it hit him square in the face.
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