Jess's Girl

Meddlesome

"Jess can you fry up some french toast for the table in the corner there?" he asked as he poured some more customers some coffee. Jess sighed, "I'm sorry okay-but right now I'm trying to get three other tables their meals!" he said upset as he hurried himself over to another table by the side window. 

Luke frowned, "This is impossible that it's been this busy-where is Lane?"

"She doesn't work here anymore Luke, remember?" he grunted and went to take the plates from the back counter window and carried them back to his first table. They had been waiting for about thirty minutes more than his other table. He set it down in front of them; filled them up on coffee and taking his new orders back over to Caesar in the back. 

"Luke-it's time you hired more people." he gruffed before going back to his spot in the apartment. 

"You think I don't know that?" Luke shot back before he was bombarded with more customers. He sighed and rubbed his head slightly, "Okay..." he prepared himself for another wave and grabbed his notepad out again. 

By around three o'clock the rush was dead and everyone remembered that there were other options to eat. Luke sat down at the counter and tried to catch his breath. Jess did the same, plopping himself down at a seat near a table in the middle of the diner. Luke rubbed his head, "Okay. We'll start hiring. With more money coming in, we can afford to hire more people." he admit. 

"You think?" Jess sassed. 

"Shut it." he said exasperatedly. 

Jess looked back at him. "Hey," he spoke up, "Is there anything up with Lucy?" Luke looked up and scoffed, "What isn't." he said.

"What's that mean?" he asked, "Something happen?" Jess sat up a little straighter.

"Besides her grandpa passing?" his eyebrows cocked up a little and he shrugged, "I don't know. She's on her own, I'm pretty sure she's  little shaken by that." he said. Jess furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "Aren't you all gung-ho on making sure she's okay?" he asked.

Luke sighed, "Not recently, no."

"Strange." Jess commented.

"What?" Luke looked at him. Jess got up and shrugged; shoving his hands in his back pockets as he leaned back on the table, "Just that I wouldn't have guessed you to be that person to leave her to do things by herself."

"Might as well." Luke said with a reluctance, "She's been making a point of telling me she's not a kid anymore. And I'm not her dad. High time she learned to do things for herself. She's needs that space I guess.." 

Jess sensed there was a conversation he missed between them that gave Luke this sudden revelation. He eyed him slightly suspicious, "Now though?"

"Yes now." Luke spoke before he got up and went to count the cash in the register. Jess looked at him before nodding, "I'm gonna head out. You good for the dinner shift? Or should I come back?" he asked. Luke shook his head and waved his hand slightly, "Nah you're good, thanks for the help." he assured him. Jess nodded and slid on his jacket quickly from the back.

"Hire somebody." Jess ordered him as he left the dinner. Luke shook his head and smiled smally before he went back to counting. 

Jess went ahead and walked down the streets of Stars Hollow and knocking on to Lucy's house. When he was there he noticed a man he hadn't seen in town before right at her porch. Almost as if he had just gotten there himself. He was a tall burly man with a hazel brown beard and hair on his head to match. 

There were some questions in his head as to who this man was and why he was at Lucy's house of all places in town. He did look somewhat familiar to Jess somehow. He stopped at the foot of the steps a little below the man and looked up at the man's wide back.