A Father's Love

Chapter 73

It had been a long time since Luke heard from Madison. Which was understandable since Shelby wasn't even one of her clients, or kids, as she referred to them as, anymore. There wasn't a reason to keep in touch, and with how busy being a case manager was in the social services field, those out of the system can lose touch because of life. Doesn't mean anything. It just happens. Not to mention, Luke thought things had been going so well, anyway, everything else took the lead in his day-to-day activities. So when Luke called her up after so long, Madison was surprised to hear from him after all this time.

"Luke, it's been a while. How are you and Shelby doing?"

"Uh, to be honest, not so great," he rubbed at the back of his neck while leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is everything alright?" she asked, concerned.

Luke ran a hand down his face. "There was a huge blowout between me and my nephew, the other day, and it all spiraled downhill from there." He then explained further. Luke couldn't help feel a little hesitant about sharing what he had done to both Rachel and Jess' father, but he really thought he was doing the right thing and was only trying to help.

"Yeah, I hear ya," Madison said, afterwards. "You try the hardest you can to help the ones you care about, even going in blind and not thinking of the consequences. Your nephew, though, he's an adult. He has that right to know his father is in town and wants to see him, even if it throws things further off track. I do agree, however, about having the deal. If he's gonna be staying with you and has agreed to go to school and graduate, then he needs to honor that, and if it's broken, then you have the right to kick him out. He broke the agreement, and that was his choice."

"Yeah, I know." Even with both Lorelai and Madison reminding him of that fact, Luke still felt like a failure. He even wondered if taking and hiding Jess' car was an even worse idea. If Jess ever found out it was him, Jess was going to be ticked off, that was for sure.

"As for Shelby, well, you are her father and full legal guardian. You have every right to tell Rachel, she can no longer have contact with her. I can't stop you, and neither can anybody else. That's your decision, and me, personally, I think you gave Rachel more than plenty of chances. My only gripe on the matter is the fact you chose to keep this from Shelby."

He shrugged. "Shelby would have hated me if I told her the truth."

"Would she, Luke?"

Luke stared at nothing in particular, in confusion. "Well, yeah, I mean, that's her mom."

"Luke, I've been working this job for over a decade by now. I've worked with thousands of children to know you gotta give them more credit than most adults give them."

He thought on that statement.

"A lot of folks say that kids are dumb, but really, they're not, especially not Shelby. Yeah, she might have been mad at you for a while, but she would come around because she would remember who's been there for her when she needed it. I mean, yes, it was you who told Rachel, to get lost, basically, but it was her idea to leave, in the first place. Taking a vacation just because you're upset from your child saying they hate you, sounds very... childish, in my opinion. I'm sure there's probably more to it, but that's how I see it as an outsider's opinion."

"No, I get what you're saying," Luke replied. "And, believe me, I wouldn't have thought to have done something like this if Rachel hadn't of left. I was just so mad, and then Rachel finally calling, on Shelby's birthday no less, as if nothing happened? Like all of this was another planned trip. It tipped me over the edge, and I felt I had to protect my kid from getting hurt again, even if it's from her own mother."