Though it wasn't as bad as she originally thought it would be, it was still rather rough once the announcement of her and Logan's marriage hit the papers. She and Logan were inundated with phone calls, e-mails, and texts from reporters, family and friends. None of that was more evident than with Logan's family. Outside of his sister Honor, who called each of them to congratulate them on their nuptials, neither Shira or Mitchum were thrilled.
Surprisingly, though, Mitchum was a bit more accepting once he and Logan met and discussed the entire situation.
"So, your dad didn't kill you since I'm talking to you," Rory said when Logan answered her call later the same day as the press release.
Logan chuckled. "Are you sure? I might actually be Logan's ghost that couldn't let go once Mitchum finally lost it."
"Logan! Please! Don't joke. I was really worried earlier when you said Mitchum was already requesting a meeting with you so soon after the announcement hit the papers.
"Ace, come on. I have to joke to lessen the stress I'm feeling right now."
Rory immediately felt bad. "You're right," she started, contrite. "I can only imagine the stress you're feeling right now with this. Tell me everything. Do I need to dig trenches around the house until you're able to come stateside? Fortify the windows?"
Logan laughed. "I think you can hold off on the trench warfare, though I would probably expect some sort of visit from Shira. All I know is she immediately fainted at the sight of our announcement and had to be taken to her room."
"So, she's chain smoking and doped up on Valium. She'll probably be by tonight at the earliest, but most likely tomorrow morning. I'll warn Grandma."
"See, you're already fitting in. You know exactly what my mom does!"
"Logan, please, stop stalling."
Logan sighed. There was a pregnant pause over the phone line as Rory waited for Logan to gather his thoughts. It sucked that she was in the States and Logan was still in England. At least in the same room, they could help each other with comfort and could read each other to better deal with whatever issues might arise. Through a phone, you can't tell anything except that they're, maybe, still breathing.
Eventually he continued. "Well, as expected, he was fire and brimstone when I walked into his office. Demanded I explain the meaning of the announcement and demanded to know what I was doing to counteract this obviously fake announcement on your part."
Rory gasped. "You're joking! He tried to say I made it up?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. He went off on a tirade about how this could ruin everything he's worked towards with Odette's family and that I needed to call her immediately to apologize. Of course, he stopped once I placed our wedding certificate on his desk."
"How'd he react to that? Blow a blood vessel?"
"Pretty close to it. Are you sure you weren't spying on us during the conversation? Anyways, he looked at it, saw the date of our marriage and started at me for several seconds. He called one of the company lawyers in the room to look over it. Guy didn't have too much to say about it except that it was authentic and he was shaking in his boots while saying that. I actually felt a little bad for him since we all knew that wasn't what Mitchum wanted to hear."
"Did the lawyer at least get to leave with his job in tact?"
"Yes, he wasn't fired. Anyways, Mitchum dismissed him and asked me how we came to meet back up and get married. So I gave him the CliffNotes version that he surprisingly accepted with few questions. After that, he asked what I wanted. So, I told him that I wanted to stay with the company but that I was also prepared to find employment elsewhere. I know what an asset I've been to him. I then laid out my terms: an office in New York or Hartford with telecommuting whenever possible so I can be with you and our child. Minimal traveling. Minimal overtime."
"How did it take it? Considering you're saying he took the marriage fairly well, I think better than we thought?"
"You're right. He immediately got on the phone with our stateside office to discuss my immediate transfer. They're going to put me in Hartford for now, though I might have to transfer to New York in a few years depending on how things progress with the company. But, we think that within the next two months I can train my replacement for the European division and be back in the States."
"Two months? Isn't that a bit long?"
"It is. But, I will need to train whoever my replacement is. I'm not sure who it'll be. If it's something within the division that I've been working with then the transition will be quicker and smoother. But, if it's not, then I'll have to get them up to speed on everything and probably escort them around for a few days. The good thing is I can come to the States for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but not New Year's. If you don't want to spend it in the States, then we can see about you coming here instead."
Rory was silent for a few seconds. It was so much better than they had wished it would be. They thought Mitchum would certainly throw Logan out immediately. But, for him to accept his terms surprised her. So, she had to be willing to wait a bit longer, though it certainly wasn't in her nature. She had to understand that things move at their own pace in the business world.
"Why don't we do Thanksgiving here and Christmas in England. If we do that, we can spend the holiday in Hartford with family and hopefully find somewhere to live. Then, when we're in London we can go through your apartment to see about what we want to keep and ship and what we want to get rid of."
"I think I like that idea, Ace. Eat at your grandparent's?"
"Yes, I know they would love to spend the time with both of us. Do you think I should see about inviting Honor to spend it with us?"
Logan was silent for a few moments. "Yeah, ask them. Once we have an answer, I can call to invite her and see if she wants to come. I imagine if we get an invite to the Huntzberger dinner we won't actually make it to the food portion."
They continued to chat for a few minutes about various things, including what they wanted in their Hartford house, before they hung up. Checking the clock, Rory noticed that it was almost time for dinner and went into the bathroom to freshen up. She washed her face, brushed her hair and changed into something a little nicer for dinner since she knew her Grandmother was funny about clothing for dinner. That done, she made her way downstairs.
She had just reached the bottom of the staircase and was walking into the sitting room to join her grandparents when the doorbell rang. She smiled at her grandparents and accepted a club soda from them before sitting down on the couch. At this point, all three Gilmore's turned to face the front door where they could hear a commotion.
"What on Earth?" Emily asked, rising to go towards the door. She was stopped short by the appearance of Shira Huntzberger stepping into the sitting room.
"Richard, Emily, lovely to see you. Rory," Shira greeted.
Rory sighed, knowing why Shira was here.
Emily and Richard greeted her back. "What are you doing here, Shira?" Richard asked, dispensing with the pleasantries.
"I'm here to talk with this tart."
Emily gasped as if she had been shocked while Richard's face clouded at the insult. Before either of them could react, Rory interjected, "I assume you're referring to me. Won't you please have a seat?" Rory indicated a seat on the couch opposite from her.
Taken aback by the politeness coming from Rory, Shire did as Rory asked. She was silent for several beats as Richard and Emily retook their seats on their respective chairs. "I would like to speak with Rory alone," Shira stated once she regained her equilibrium.
"I'm sorry, Shira, but that won't be possible. You've barged in on a family dinner and I won't allow you to dictate what happens in my grandparent's house. Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of them."
Shira's mouth settled in a hard line, which in turn made her age several years. It allowed Rory to just see the toll that her life has taken on her. It was obvious she had some work done to maintain her looks. Knowing that she smoked man cigarettes in a day and the stress she probably felt being married to Mitchum, Rory felt a little bit of pity rise up within her. It didn't change her opinion of the woman, but she felt like she might understand her a bit better.
"Fine. I want to end this charade you are engaged in with Logan."
"What charade is that, Shira?" Rory asked.
"This…this…marriage! I cringe to even call it that."
Rory cocked an eyebrow at her. "I'm not sure I'd call my marriage to Logan a charade. I could call it many things, but that isn't one of them."
Shira rolled her eyes. "Please. It's obvious that this is just a ploy by you to get your claws back into him. He's engaged to a lovely French girl and they are meant for each other."
"A ploy?" Rory asked, playing dumb. "Grandpa, can you go get something for me from your safe?"
Richard nodded and left the room. While they waited for him to return, the three women sat in silence. Rory could tell that Shira was uncomfortable with no talking, but Rory wasn't about to put her out of her misery. Rory well remembered her Grandmother telling her about her confrontation with Shira the USO themed DAR benefit when she was taking a break from Yale. She imagined Shira remembered it as well.
After several minutes, Richard returned to the sitting room and handed Rory a document. "Thank you, Grandpa."
"Of course, Rory," he said as he sat down again.
"Shira, what I have here is a copy of the marriage license. You can look over it as long as you'd like. In fact, this can be your copy if you'd like to have a lawyer look over it as I have several in the safe."
With that, Rory handed Shira the license and watched as she looked over it. She closely watched the older woman for indications of what she was thinking while she looked over it. Eventually Shira looked up at Rory. "I would like to take this with me, since you offered. I would like our family lawyer to look over it."
"Of course," Rory said. "I completely understand. In your shoes, I would also want to make sure it was legitimate. Of course, you'll discover that it is. If you look closely, you'll notice who our witnesses were."
Shira looked at the document again and looked over at Emily and Richard. "You two knew this entire time?"
"Yes, we did. They told us of their plans right after they made them," Emily gloated. "And, it was lovely. I have pictures if you'd like to see them sometime. I think I might even have a video of it."
They lapsed into silence again. When it was obvious that Shira had nothing else to say, Rory rose. "Shira, if that's all, I would ask that you please leave so we can all return to our evenings. I know dinner will be ready soon and I'm sure you have your own plans with this evening."
Shira nodded and rose. She murmured her good byes to Richard and Emily before Rory escorted her to the door. After she opened the door and before Shira walked out, Rory stopped her and said, "I realize this is a shock to you. Believe, it took me a bit of getting used to once we were married. But, Logan and I are happy, the happiest we've been in a while. It didn't happen the way we either wanted or intended, but it did happen. I would like for you to eventually accept our marriage, even if you're not exactly happy with it. Especially since we just found out we're expecting our first child together."
Without a word, Shira walked out and Rory shut the door behind her. Once the door was shut, Rory sagged against it. She was surprised and proud of herself for handling that so well. It was obvious that her grandmother had rubbed off on her to an extent since she hadn't completely devolved into rambling like she might have done before.
She made her way back into the sitting room and reclaimed her seat. "Well, that went better than I thought," she said as she picked her soda up and sipped.
"I'll say," Richard told her. "I saw a little bit of my mother in you then. I also saw a little bit of your Grandmother there. Gilmore's have a backbone, I'll tell you that."
Rory smiled her thanks. "Yes, Rory," Emily stated. "You handled that better than I would have I think. I can't believe the nerve of that woman! To come in here and try to start something, saying that you're using Logan. Anyone that spends any time with either of you knows that the two of you are made for each other."
"Now, Emily. You and I obviously see that. But, remember last time they were together? His family didn't like her and Lorelai wasn't all too thrilled with him either. So, I'm sure it'll take them a bit to adjust to the idea of them being together."
Emily sighed, but didn't say anything. In the lull in conversation, Rory changed the subject to Thanksgiving. "What are your plans for Thanksgiving?"
"Well, we'll invite you and Logan, of course, as I imagine you'll still be with us then. We'll say something to your mother and Luke. Other than that, I'm not certain. Why? Is there someone you'd like to invite?" Emily asked.
"Well, Logan and I were talking. We will definitely be joining you for Thanksgiving. I think we'll be in London for Christmas. Anyways, we were talking about seeing if you would be okay inviting his sister Honor and her family. She's married and has one child."
"Of course!" Richard said. "You can definitely invite them. We would love to meet another normal Huntzberger."
Rory smiled. "Thank you. Honor is definitely normal. You don't have to worry about her acting like either her mother or father."
From there, the conversation moved over several topics. Unfortunately, Rory couldn't help but feel worried about the upcoming holiday since Lorelai would be invited to it. She wondered if she would actually come to her parent's house since she and Logan would be there. She wasn't sure if she wanted her mother to come or not. On the one hand, she wanted to spend the holiday with her. But, she also didn't want to have to deal with being frozen out either. Sighing internally, Rory decided to push those thoughts to the back of her mind and try to enjoy the time with her family.
—
A week and a half later, Rory was waiting at the Hartford Airport for Logan's plane to land. Luckily, since they had a jet for the family's use, he was able to fly directly into the small regional airport. It also meant she didn't have to deal with paparazzi following her inside. Since the news of their marriage broke, any time Rory went into public, she was bombarded with reporters thrusting microphones into her face and cameramen taking her picture from a distance. She couldn't walk into a grocery store without being faced with her visage throughout Hartford and New York. She definitely hasn't accepted or gotten used to the attention, but she had gotten to the point that she knew to not leave the house looking rough so that she didn't get to see herself for the next week or so dealing with questions about her health.
Since the airport was private, Rory was waiting by herself in the hangar the plane would be parked in. Though it was small, the lounge inside was lavish and Rory found herself sitting on a plush leather couch drinking a Coke while she waited. She even had access to cable and was flipping through the stations, though nothing caught her eye. She was definitely feeling too jittery about Logan's impending arrival to sit still. But, pacing wouldn't fix anything either. So, she was sitting as patiently as possible in the lounge.
Finally, a worker came in to tell her that Logan's plane was coming in for landing, which meant he would be with her within 30 minutes. She walked over to the window that looked out over the runway and watched as his plane landed and taxied to the hangar. Once she couldn't see it anymore, she left the lounge to walk into the hangar proper. She stood and watched as the plane parked and the Customs and Border Control agent boarded the plane to check Logan's passport.
What seemed like hours later, the agent left and Logan de-planed after him quickly. She smiled and refrained from running into his arms. In fact, she was quite proud of herself for walking towards him sedately. Of course, that was thrown out the window when he gathered her in his arms.
"I'm so glad you're here," she whispered in his ear.
"Me too, Ace. Me too."