Rory's life settles quickly back into its little routines: skimming headlines over coffee at her breakfast bar, catching up on emails on her subway ride to the office, writing, re-writing, and edits, socializing with friends or attempting to date (she's still a girlfriend girl at heart, but has gotten better at dating around), and the occasional weekend trip to Hartford to check in on her grandmother or to Stars Hollow to see her mother.
The routines help relieve the ache left by her grandfather's death; help her focus on something other than how much she misses him. How much the Gilmore girls relied upon him to keep the peace between them.
Several months after the wake, she strolls into the trendy Chelsea restaurant after work and spots the familiar blonde head at the bar, already nursing a drink.
"I'll have what you're having, this has been the week from hell," she complains as she plops into her seat.
"Unlikely, Gilmore, you hate tequila and I'm drinking a margarita on the rocks. And, wow, reporting on election fraud and city council corruption must be brutal. Especially when compared to your friends who are literally saving lives and holding hearts in their hands," comes the acerbic reply.
Rory rolls her eyes at Paris. "Well, whatever has gone on in your life this week, drink up and have another. The tequila's not working fast enough. Once it kicks in you can tell Aunty Rory all about it."
Paris salutes her with her glass while Rory attempts to catch the eye of the bartender. Just as she's wondering if she should unbutton another button of her blouse to get his attention, she notices that Paris is staring at the door of the restaurant with a stupefied look on her face.
"Oh. holy. shit," she swears.
Turning to see what has shaken the inimitable Paris Geller McMaster so intensely, she's somewhat nonplussed to see that it's only Logan entering. She swings back in her chair to definitely unbutton that second button and is gratified by the bartender taking notice.
"Why aren't you upset? Or freaking out? Or…anything? I thought you'd be in hysterics. He tended to bring out the dramatic in you."
Rory shakes her head and places an order for a double gin and tonic and another round for Paris. "I saw him a few months ago at Grandpa's wake. And you sound like my mother."
When the drinks come, they sip in silence for awhile, but Paris's restraint only lasts for so long. "So you saw him recently? For the first time?"
"We had a drink together and Grandpa's wake. I hadn't seen him since graduation," she pauses to take a sip (gulp) of her drink. Despite some protestation otherwise, the memory of that day, of him walking away from her, still did sting. "We talked, briefly, and then Luke came to find me and I left. That's literally been it."
"I'm going to use the restroom," Paris announces abruptly, draining her drink. "Order us some food," she commands before stalking off.
Briefly contemplating the pros and cons of keeping Paris as a friend (a list in its 15th year and counting), she opts instead to pull out her phone, fire off a few messages to her mother, and flirt with the bartender until Paris's return.
Why do I keep Paris around again? She drives me insane.
If you weren't able to ditch her in college, you were never going to be able to ditch her. Besides, she's really hard to get rid of. I tried and failed. Even Michel couldn't do it. You'd need the mob. Although they might be afraid of her, too.
I'd need another Paris to ditch Paris for me...in some scary infinite loop. Okay gotta go, cute bartender ;)
Details later!
She slips her phone back into her handbag and makes eye contact with the bartender again, motioning for another round. She's halfway through perusing the bar menu when she feels Paris return.
"So, I'm only halfway down this list and everything looks so freaking good, I want it all," she comments without looking up. "Have you been here before?"
"I've heard good things about a truffled mac and cheese bite," come a voice much to deep to be Paris's.
"You're not Paris," she accuses, looking up to see none other than Logan grinning at her.
"Excellent powers of observation. She's holding my dad hostage and while I thoroughly enjoy watching him squirm in conversation with her, I thought I'd duck out and say hi. So, hi."
They smile affectionately at each other. Rory takes him in, noting how sinfully good he looks in a suit (some things never change, she thinks to herself) and that his blond hair is still prone to messiness. He's sporting scruff, something she used to find unattractive, but times do change, because now, well…
Attraction was never the issue between them. Still, she's relieved to be in a form-fitting blouse and skirt for this run-in.
"You holding up, Ace? I mean, I've seen you twice in eight years and both times have involved alcohol."
"Oh, you're funny. How are you holding up? I mean, having dinner with your dad?" She is completely unable to keep the curiosity out of her voice as she follows this line of questioning.
"Uh, well, we're discussing business." He shoots her that sheepish grin of his and she knows, she knows, without asking that he's gone back to the family fold in the intervening years.
The bartender arrives at that inconvenient moment and they go down the menu ordering everything she'd thought looked good before plus everything that looks good from the bottom half of the menu as well. When she realizes that they've, in fact, ordered 9 appetizers and even she can't put away that much food anymore, she muses aloud that he continues to be a bad influence in her life.
They sit in companionable silence for a bit, sipping their drinks. Rory thinks about following-up on him working for Mitchum, but then decides that she doesn't really need to know the particulars. Logan going back to HPG was inevitable.
(And she can always Google him if she's feeling desperate for details, timelines, etc.)
But what she does need to know, what has eaten away at her at times over the last few years, is not something she can research later.
"You happy?" She tries to be offhand about it, but there's no mistaking her sincerity. "With life and everything?"
His eyes dart to hers and then away before returning. "Yeah, most of the time, I am."
The first of the appetizers arrives and he chuckles at the look of delight on Rory's face at the truffled mac and cheese bites. "I told you I heard they were good here!" he laughs, popping one into his mouth and standing to make his exit. "I suppose I should go rescue my dad from Paris."
"Send over an SOS if you get sucked in, too," she laughs, pointing a chicken skewer at him. "I'd say text me, but I have no idea if you still have my number."
"Has it changed from college?"
"Nope."
"Then I still have it."
She pauses before popping a mac and cheese bite into her mouth. "Use it sometime?"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Now go save your dad from my weirdo best friend."
She feels his lips brush against her cheek and a "Bye, Ace!" called over his shoulder as he heads away from the bar and into the restaurant.
Munching happily on potsticker, she realizes that maybe the bartender wasn't that cute after all.
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