Page 31 of Pity Play

“You’re still coming to our wedding, aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” I tell her. “In fact, I still want to assemble your gift bags as my gift.”

“You’re the best!” She claps her hands together loudly which causes me to jump. “We love you!”

“I love you too,” I tell her while giving her a wave. I walk out of her office and decide to stop by the gift shop one last time. I almost cry again when I see a little girl buying herself a candy bar. One of the things I loved about working here was being surrounded by people on vacation. I liked being part of their getaway story, even if it was just selling them some sunscreen.

Turning around, I walk out the front door. The next time I come back I’ll be nothing more than a guest. Getting in my car, I drive over to Rosemary’s, hoping Allie is there. Right now, I could really use a friend.

Allie isn’t at the counter when I walk into the bakery. Instead, I see the owner, Faith. “Hey, Lorelai!” she calls out. “Teddy told me he bored you with pictures of our girls. Sorry about that.”

“I wasn’t bored at all,” I tell her truthfully. “If I had kids as cute as yours, I’d have their pictures printed on sandwich boards that I’d wear around town.”

She laughs. “Don’t tell Teddy or he’ll probably do the same.”

“I don’t suppose Allie is around,” I say, wondering why I didn’t just call my friend instead of stopping by.

“She just left. She was only scheduled for a couple of hours today.”

“Did she say where she was going?” I ask, although I’m guessing she went back to her parents’ house.

Faith shakes her head. “I’m sorry, she didn’t.” She holds up one finger before saying, “I’m glad you’re here though. My grandmother brought in a bag full of old sheets that she wanted me to give to Allie for you.” She walks into the back before returning with a giant Hefty bag. “What do you do with old sheets?” she wants to know.

“I cut them into strips and then knit them together to make rugs.” I explain, “They love them down at the Humane Society.” With a smile, I tell her, “Every dog that gets adopted comes with his own rug.”

“That’s about the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” she says, and darn if it doesn’t sound like she means it. “I don’t suppose you’d like some help with that sometime?”

“I didn’t know you knitted,” I tell her.

“I’m not great but I don’t imagine the dogs would mind. Plus, I really want to do something for the community. You always seem like you’re in the middle of the action and I want a piece of that, too.”

“I would love your help,” I tell her sincerely. “I’ll give you a call and we can set something up.

As I walk away, I can’t help but think that Faith’s life has turned out nicely. She grew up working in this bakery and now she owns it. Not only that, but she married a movie star and gave birth to their gorgeous twins. If things can work out so well for her, who’s to say the same won’t happen for me?

Once I’m outside, I take my phone out of my pocket and call Allie, but she doesn’t answer. I briefly consider going over to Pop’s to see if Luke is around, but we’re not really friends and I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear about my troubles. So instead, I get back into my car and call my brother.

The phone rings three times before he finally answers, “Lorelai, hi.”

Not bothering with niceties, because let’s face it, I’m not overly pleased with my brother right now, I demand, “I don’t suppose you’ve talked to Mom and Dad.”

He sighs loudly. “They finally told you, huh?”

“So, youdidknow.”

“We talked about it last month.”

“And you didn’t tell me!” Not only am I mad, but I feel betrayed.

“Look, Lorelai, Mom and Dad love you. We all do. They told me first because they didn’t know how to break the news to you.”

I turn the heater up to high. “They said I only have three months to get out.”

“I’m sure they didn’t phrase it like that.”

“No,” I tell him. “They told me they wanted me to get everything ready for sale, and then they told me to get out.” I’m making this harsher for dramatic effect. I just can’t believe that Noah and my parents have been keeping news like this from me. Did they think I’d fall apart?

“You knew you couldn’t stay there forever.”

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