It didn't take Lorelai too long to get where she was going, even though she lived a decent walk from her destination, seeing as she ran and could run for a long time before getting tired it took her no time at all. She rounded the final corner, slowing down in an instant, going from a full-on run to a slow walk within a second, taking a sip of her smoothie before walking up the stairs to knock on the door of 198, Pecan Street. It was Mia Evans who opened the door, she was a small slender woman in her early 40s but she didn't look a day over 30, she could even pass for mid-twenties with a bit of makeup. Of course, the woman credited her good looks to her Asian Heritage and her natural Chinese skincare which Lorelai was definitely nervous about trying. However, her decline to test these skincare products was for reasons you might not think about, with Lorelai managing to politely turn Mrs.Evan down each time she asked.
Mrs.Evans invited Lorelai in as usual, but she didn't have to wait long as Lucy Ghent came running down the stairs, nearly tripping on the second last step as she put her socks on. What Lucy ended up slipping on was the carpet at the bottom of the stairs but Lorelai already saw it coming, as it was hardly the first time it happened. So without missing a beat she bent down slightly, stuck out her arm, and caught her friend before her face could make out with the floor. "Oh my goodness, thank you, bestie, what would I-do without you?", Lucy asked as Lorelai helped her back up, not letting go until she knew her best and only friend was all good.
Lorelai smiled at this, a genuine little smile, but Lucy Ghent was the only one capable of receiving one but to be fair, there was also no one like her in the world. Not only was she physically beautiful, but her sweet and bubbly personality seemed to shine even more brightly and on top of that, she was genuinely kind and giving.
Her warm and inviting smile could light up any room and her deep beige skin with a hint of pink seemed to sparkle in the sun. Her black, doll-like almond eyes always sparkled like a thousand stars whenever she spoke of the things she loved and the people she cared for. Her face was small and round, with delicate features and girl-next-door kind of vibes, but Lorelai thought she had an old Hollywood sort of look whenever she was thinking really hard, staring off at nothing. She was the type of person to either be thinking or talking, there was no in-between, but Lorelai didn't mind, this girl was a 4'11 ball of Sunshine.
Today Lucy was wearing a long-sleeved knitted sweater dress that hit at about mid-thigh, with thick colourful leggings underneath, and fuzzy bunny socks that went over her knees. Her thick curly hair was in high little space buns today, with a bunny clip on each one, with several other matching rabbit accessories completing the look. But like usual she had two other outfits with her, one for gym class and one for cheerleading practice after school and today it was the green one, as she had workout gear in every colour.
"You got everything?" Lorelai asked, with the other responding yes, "you got your smoothie?" she followed up and Lucy changed her answer, running off to the kitchen to get it. She came back with her drink, the cup being a near-perfect match for the one Lorelai had, Lucy had gotten a two-for-one deal, giving her best friend the other as a gift. Lorelai made fun of it, saying something along the lines of how it would blind her with it sparkles or how it would ruin her tough-girl rep, and things like that but she used it every day, not caring who saw and if anyone said anything, she'd give them a dirty look and they'd leave her alone. "What kind do you have, cause today mom made banana, strawberry, and veggie, it's so good!" Lucy spoke, taking a sip to double check the flavour, and Lorelai responded that her's was Caramel Apple. Lucy got excited, practically ordering her friend to give her the recipe as it sounded delicious, already knowing Ms.O'Siris was not the type to share her drink, which was fine. As expected, at least to Mrs.Evans, Lorelai showed Lucy a little card before handing it to her mother, she came prepared like always, already having the recipe ready to go. "You always add so much protein powder, where does it all go?" Mrs.Evans asked, pinching Lorelai's arm in a playful way, as in her opinion, Ms.O'Siris was too skinny, worrying for the young lady's health.
The three ladies shared a laugh between them, but it and the mood definitely took a dive once Mr.Kent Evans made himself known before walking into the room towards the front door. The man was about 5'9, not exactly that tall, he was shorter than Lorelai, of course, most people were shorter than her. However, being small in more than one way, Kent told himself that it because of her shoes that she was taller than him, because there was no way a teenager could be taller than him.
Mr.Evans did, however, tower over his wife and stepdaughter, seemingly twice their size in overall build as he was quite a wide-set guy. He wasn't the fittest man in the world but he was far from obese, as his job, working in construction kept him decently in shape, with muscular arms and legs and a bit of a beer belly. Kent was a bit of a drinker but not compared to the serious, booze hound as gambling was his real vice, made obvious as he spent nearly every night after work with his buddies at a different Casino.
Mrs.Evans said goodbye to her husband and he did the same, using little nicknames the way couples would do but Lucy didn't say anything which was very unlike her. Even Lorelai said hi and goodbye to Mr.Evans but there was a sort of air to her tone, an even colder expression on her face than usual, with less than pleasant thoughts running through her mind. The man got in his truck, quickly driving away as he was most likely already running late, with Lorelai and Lucy joining in on the possible latest if they didn't get moving too.
Before Lorelai could get out her phone to check, Lucy had her cell out and the transit app open, almost jumping out of her skin when it showed the bus was two minutes away from their stop. The two high school students headed for the door with both of them saying a polite but quick goodbye to Mia, with one saying "bye mum, see you tonight," and the other "goodbye, Mrs.Evans, have a pleasant day". They rushed down the steps, with Lucy nearly tripping on one of them, proceeding thereafter to run in a similar fashion to a penguin. Luckily for their poor time management, the bus stop in question was just around the corner and seeing as a few of their classmates were still standing there, they knew the bus hadn't come yet.
The bus was seemingly running late, that or it came early, both options were not good as Lucy hated being late and noticing how upset she was getting, Lorelai quickly asked about her weekend. Lucy turned to look up at her friend, with a big smile on her face, before taking a deep breath and telling her best friend all about the 2 and half days they were apart. "Okay so on Saturday I visited Coral Mountain Retirement Home and I did my homework in the evening, oh I brought the old folks the Chilenitos I made at my Friday YMCA baking class, and on Sunday I did my workout and practiced my routine, oh but I also practiced it on Friday afternoon, before babysitting the same 5 kids as last week, it's three different families so I get 15 dollars per kid, per hour, it's great and I'm so excited, I made another 300 dollars, and seeing as I watch between 3 and 8 kids every Friday for 3 to five hours I should have enough money to fix up and move into my Grandparents old house, I told you they left it to me right?" Lucy paused, thinking hard trying to remember if she told Lorelai that, with her friend responding almost immediately. Lorelai then proceeded to place her free hand on her friend's head, patting lightly telling her to take a breath, before saying that yes, she did inform her about the farm.
Lorelai knew the property in question was about 10 acres just outside of the city, it belonged to her father's parents and it's where her parents got married. Lucy loved to recount the story of how her parents met, it was so romantic and classic, like a movie or romantic novel. Mai Fāng, her mother was an aid worker and Cameron Ghent, her father was a soldier stationed nearby, and he protected her and her team during an attack. Mai had treated his wounds and they got to talking, finding that they had a lot in common, with Cameron coming to visit every case he had, remind Mai to take a break, even when he worked just as hard. It really was romantic, but unfortunately, their love story was a tragedy, as Cameron died in the line of duty shortly after Mai was pregnant, he never even got to meet his child. Lorelai had seen a picture of Lucy's father, comparing him to a young Luther Vandross, who she may or may not have seen Live at Wembley in 1987. The only real difference was that Cameron had slightly sharper facial features and his build much more muscular, but being a soldier on the front lines, one had to be in shape.
Lucy continued talking about her plans for the old farm after Lorelai inquired about it further, she already knew what her friend was planning but watching her young friend light up like this was something she lived for. By the time the bus arrived, Lucy was pretty much out of breath, she was so excited, explaining every little part in detail that she forgot to breathe. Lorelai pulled her along as the driver wouldn't wait forever with both girls quickly hopped on the bus, peering all around to find a place to sit down but like usual, there weren't any open seats today. So after finding an open spot to stand together, Lorelai would grab onto the bar with one hand allowing Lucy to hold on to her arm as she wasn't tall enough to reach it so she used her friend instead. Once they were settled and the bus was moving again, Lucy remembered to ask Lorelai what she did over the weekend while also apologizing for not asking sooner. However, Lorelai just smiled to herself, a wicked, sly little grin, that didn't last long as her expression returned to normal, as she told her friend what she did while they were apart.