A Father's Love

Chapter 48

Lorelai and Rory kept Shelby all day Tuesday. Not only did they take her shopping for new clothes, they also went ahead and got her school supplies since Rory also needed stuff for the upcoming school year. It was obvious the kid was now going through a new phase as everything she picked out was basketball related. She even turned down a Pokemon folder for one with a basketball being shot into a hoop. The clothes Shelby picked out were basketball related t-shirts or jerseys. Though, Lorelai admitted to Luke, she tried convincing Shelby to at least glimpse over at the cute little girls' clothes, bribing she'd give her a million dollars to which Shelby had shaken her head, stating she didn't have a million dollars.

"Well, she is my kid," Luke replied afterwards.

The girls also did some other shopping. Shelby made sure to inform her dad it was the most boring part, spending most of the time sitting and/or lying on a bench in the dressing room's waiting area while the other two tried on clothes. They also got lunch and caught a movie. Shelby wanted to see Lilo and Stitch again and wanted Lorelai and Rory to see it, too. So they did.

"So she conned you too, huh?" Luke snorted out a laugh when they told him. He was standing at their table, holding the coffeepot in his hand.

"No. If that was what the kid wanted to see," Lorelai told him. "We were okay with that."

"Besides, it was kind of cute," Rory shrugged. "I enjoyed it."

"Did she spend the drive home, quoting lines from the movie?"

"No," replied Lorelai. "She spent the drive out to Providence, quoting lines."

"You know you didn't have to do that," Luke repeated what he had told her when Lorelai had asked for directions to the cemetery where Bailey was buried. "I planned to do it this weekend."

"I know, but I figured it would be better to get it done sooner, and we even got to hear all about Bailey." She smiled over at the little girl.

Luke couldn't help smile. "Well, thank you," he thanked both Gilmores and turned his attention to Shelby. "You have fun, kiddo?"

Shelby nodded.

"Good, I'm glad." He hunched over and kissed her on the cheek. Shelby got him back on his cheek. Luke couldn't help catch both Lorelai and Rory smiling as they watched the two. He then rubbed a hand over the top of her hat before walking away.

On Sunday, Luke had to leave the diner for a few minutes to run Shelby over to the church for her Sunday class. A few weeks back, she came to him, wanting to go to church like she used to in foster care whenever she stayed with Madison and her family. Personally, he wasn't a "church" kind of guy, but if that's what Shelby wanted, Luke agreed to at least drop her off.

"Why don' you wan' to go?" she asked. Luke then explained his reasoning why he didn't care for church without admitting he was skeptical about the whole God thing, not wanting to burst her bubble.

The first time Luke dropped her off, it was a surprise to everyone to see him there and had to explain he was just dropping Shelby off. The worse was when he ran into Lane and her mother, though Luke could not tell if the woman was surprised or not.

"What are you doing here?" Mrs. Kim probed.

Pointing over his shoulder, he replied, "Uh, I was just dropping my kid off for Sunday school." It didn't end there. The first question was shortly followed by a bunch of other questions that Luke could barely keep up with. Thankfully, the service was starting and saved the poor guy where he could get back to the diner.

On the way home, Shelby would share what she learned that morning with him, which Luke pretended to sound excited for her. Besides wanting to go to church, he also noticed how much more the kid seemed to be praying. The Sunday school teacher gave her a children's bible on her first day, and Luke found her curled up a few times in the armchair they had put on hers and Jess' side of the apartment.