the town and the city (j. mariano)

CHAPTER 2

The diner was exceptionally busy by the time the Gilmore girls arrived. Taylor was already at the counter with his boy scouts and Luke was doing his best to not blow a fuse as Mandy helped the other customers. 

"Everybody, listen up! Decide what you want, place your order, and then proceed to the end of the line," Taylor ordered. His boys started to order until one started an argument with Luke over crispy fries, and eventually the latter grew frustrated.

"Get him away from me, Taylor," Luke growled as Mandy giggled slightly while pouring coffee for an older couple at a table. "Glad you find this so amusing," he shot at the girl, glaring as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Have some respect," Taylor replied, ignoring the girl behind him. "These boys have just completed the first leg of their outdoor survival training."

"Meaning you had them sit under a tree and glue rocks together for two hours." Mandy let out a snort that she quickly covered as a sneeze when Taylor looked her way. 

"You're a very jaded man, Luke. What happened to you as a child?"

"He was dropped on his head repeatedly until his cynicism became permanent," the waitress added, winking at Taylor. 

Ignoring his employee, Luke continued to glare at his nemesis. "Some creepy guy in shorts and knee socks tried to sit me under a tree and glue rocks together for two hours." One of the boys tried to take the top off of one of the donut containers, and that was when Luke was finally fed up. "Put that down," he practically seethed. 

"Why?"

"Because otherwise, you're going under it."

"He won't fit, Luke," Mandy teased, kneeling next to the boy and wrapping her arms around him while mockingly giving her boss puppy eyes. 

"Oh yes, he will. And watch it or you're going under there too."

Finally, Lorelai stopped the conversation as she asked for donuts, and Mandy got back to serving the people around her. She walked up to the designated of Miss Patty and Babette and immediately poured their coffee the way they liked it. 

"Mandy, dear, you're an angel," Miss Patty gratefully said. "How have you been?"

Mandy knew that the town was still on edge, even though "the accident" was over a year prior. They still walked on eggshells around her, but the last thing she wanted to do was say something and offend them. Finally, she settled with the typical lie she always told. "I'm great!"

"How's school, hun?" Babette asked, joining in on the conversation with a bright smile. 

"Really great, I just got an A on a really hard paper." The two ladies always loved to hear about her accomplishments, no matter how big or small. "And tennis has been really great!"

"Mandy," Luke bellowed from behind the counter, interrupting the conversation. 

"The devil calls," the young girl joked, leaving the two women with a grin and an extra pack of sugars for Babette's coffee. She walked up to Luke, who had finally ushered the boy scouts away. Lorelai and Rory had left by then, and she knew she needed to get to school within the next few minutes or she'd be late. "What is it?"