Chapter 34: Busy, Busy, Busy
Rory arrived back at her apartment after a long day of classes and newspaper business and set her books on the table. She pressed the button on the answering machine.
"Rory, it's your grandmother. Why haven't you been at any of the DAR meetings lately? You haven't been to one since your induction a month ago. Quite frankly this is embarrassing for me. How am I supposed to explain to the other ladies that you don't have time for the DAR? I'll expect to see you at the meeting on Thursday night. I'll pick you up at your apartment at 6:30. No excuses this time."
Rory rolled her eyes while the answering machine beeped signaling the end of her grandmother's message and the beginning of the next one.
"Rory, it's Logan. I was hoping to catch you at home. Listen, Dad and I are catching a flight to LA tonight for business. I'll probably be back late Friday. I'm sorry I missed you. Give me a call on my cell when you get this message. I'll keep my cell on until we board the plane. I love you."
Rory immediately grabbed the phone and dialed Logan's number.
"You've reached the voicemail of Logan Huntzberger. Please leave a message, and I will get back to you as soon as possible."
"Logan, it's Rory. I'm sorry I didn't catch you in time. Give me a call later after you land. I have that paper due tomorrow so I'll be up for most of the night. I love you."
She sat down on the couch and sighed—it had been a hectic month since the DAR induction. She had managed to come up with one creative excuse after another to avoid the DAR meetings. Obviously, her grandmother wasn't going to take no for an answer this time. She sighed. She and Logan had barely seen each other—they were never at the paper at the same time and when they weren't in class or at the paper, Logan was with Mitchum and Rory was usually in the library or in Stars Hollow with her mother. Rory sighed. She and Logan had barely had time to talk at all—not since the drunken pizza night as Rory affectionately thought of the night following the DAR induction. She sighed and picked up her cell phone and dialed a familiar number.
"Honor? It's Rory."
"Hey Rory. What's going on? Any fun with vodka lately?"
Rory laughed. "I decided to quit cold turkey. Listen, were you planning on going to the DAR meeting this Thursday night?"
"No, I wasn't. Wait, did your grandmother finally not buy your excuse this week?"
"I think at this point even if I was really in the hospital, Grandma would bring the DAR ladies to my hospital room and hold the meeting there."
"Want company?"
"Yes, I'd love company. But maybe we should steer clear of the vodka this time."
"Well, that won't be any fun, will it? I suppose your grandmother is escorting you there as a precautionary measure to ensure your presence?"
"Yep."
"Well, I'll see you there then."
"Thanks Honor."
"Hey, isn't that what almost sisters are for?"
Rory smiled as she set down her cell phone, pulled out her laptop, and began work on her paper. A few hours later, frustrated with the direction her paper was gong in, she decided to take a shower and clear her head. As she came out of the bathroom, she realized that the answering machine was flashing again. She pushed the button.
"Rory, it's Logan. We just landed and I got your message. I guess you must have decided to go out. Call me. I love you."
Rory groaned—she had missed Logan's phone call yet again. She was really hoping to have a chance to talk to him. She picked up the phone and called his cell phone and resisted the urge not to fling the phone across the room upon hearing the familiar message.
"You've reached the voicemail of Logan Huntzberger. Please leave a message, and I will get back to you as soon as possible."
"Logan why is your cell phone off? I'm sorry that came out wrong. I miss you—I just wanted to hear the sound of your voice. I love you. Call me when you get this."
The next morning, Rory got up and walked into the kitchen and noticed her cell phone flashing. She picked up the phone and noticed immediately that she had a missed call from Logan. She wondered why she hadn't heard it ring but then realized she had put her phone on vibrate while at the paper the day before and had forgotten to turn the ringer back on.
"Rory, it's Logan. I was hoping maybe I could catch you on your cell phone. I love you. I just wanted to hear the sound of your voice. Dad's in such a crabby mood…It's like I can't do anything right. I…I don't understand why he's so hard on me…I mean….I'm sorry I shouldn't do this in a message. Call me. I talked Dad into letting me have my own room so even if it's early here, you won't wake him. I love you."
Rory immediately called Logan back and was shocked to hear the sound of his voice.
"Rory?"
Before Rory could say anything in response, the line went dead. In confusion, she looked down at her cell phone and realized that her battery had gone dead because she had neglected to charge it the night before. She ran over to her land line and tried to call Logan back. But every time she called, she kept hearing the familiar message.
"You've reached the voicemail of Logan Huntzberger. Please leave a message, and I will get back to you as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, she was sure that Logan was only receiving a busy signal. She set down the phone and stood by it waiting for a while. Finally, she looked at the clock and realized she had less than a half hour to get to her first class and launched into a frantic rush to get out the door—reluctantly leaving her cell phone behind so it could charge in the meantime.
After running around all day, Rory didn't arrive back until late that night. The answering machine again indicated to her that she had messages waiting.
"Rory, it's me again. We got cut off. I'm not sure what happened. Call me when you get this. I love you."
Beep!
"Rory, it's your grandmother. Just reminding you about the DAR meeting tomorrow night. I'll be picking you up around 6:30."
Beep!
"Rory, it's Honor. I tried you on your cell phone but got your voice mail so thought I'd try you at home. I know vodka is out but I was thinking. what are you thoughts about tequila? Call me and let me know."
Beep! The answering machine signaled the end of the messages.
Rory immediately picked up the phone and called Logan again.
"You've reached the voicemail of Logan Huntzberger. Please leave a message. and I will get back to you as soon as possible."
"Logan, why are you never there? I'm sorry—I know you're in meetings with your father. Grandma is forcing me to go to the DAR meeting tomorrow night. Honor's bringing tequila though. My cell phone battery should be charged now so call me. I love you."
Rory sat down and sighed again. She took out her laptop and began working on her column for the paper for the next day. The phone rang a short while later. She picked it up in eager anticipation.
"Rory, it's your grandmother. Listen I assume you have gotten my messages?"
"Oh, Grandma. Yes, I got your messages." Rory desperately tried to hide the disappointment from her voice.
"Who were you expecting the President? Good, I'll expect you dressed and ready to go tomorrow night then."
With that, her grandmother hung up. Rory sighed. She picked up the phone and called Honor back.
"Hey Rory."
"Tequila sounds great."
"Into living dangerously?"
"It's just really been a long week. And I can't seem to get a hold of Logan…"
"Sounds like you need a friend."
"I guess…"
"Come over. You can bring your cell phone in case Logan calls. Stephanie, Rosemary, and I are just hanging out—having fun. I think you need to take your mind off of things."
"You're right. I'll be right over."
With that, Rory grabbed her purse and cell phone and hurried out the door.
When she arrived back later that night (or more precisely early the next morning), much more giddy and relaxed, she noticed that yet again, she had missed another call.
"Rory, it's Logan. It's late there. I thought you'd be home by now. Sorry about the DAR meeting. I love you. Call me."
Rory immediately called Logan back.
"You've reached the voicemail of Logan Huntzberger. Please leave a message, and I will get back to you as soon as possible."
"Logan, it's me Rory. I guess you turned off your cell tonight to get some sleep. Call me when you get up. I miss you. Honor, the girls, and I were doing shots and then Finn and Colin came over. We missed you. We need to have another Life and Death Brigade event soon and… I'm sorry I'm rambling. It's the alcohol. I love you."
Rory got up the next morning with a splitting headache. She groaned as she stumbled into the bathroom to get some aspirin and take a shower. When she got out of the bathroom, she noticed that to her dismay, she had managed to miss yet another call.
"Rory, it's Logan. Go easy on the tequila tonight. Maybe you should call your mother and have her on standby in case. We're in San Francisco now. My Dad insisted we share a hotel room, so we could do business at all hours. Lucky me. So I have to keep my cell phone off now. I love you. I don't like all this business…I'm missing college….I'm missing shots…..You're right we definitely need to organize a Life and Death Brigade event soon. Something big…something elaborate….I…. I'm sorry I should stop rambling. I don't even have alcohol as an excuse. The meals here are terrible. We need to go to Luke's when I get back…I'm really craving his pancakes right now…I love you…"
Beep!
Rory called Logan back and was not surprised when he didn't answer.
"You've reached the voicemail of Logan Huntzberger. Please leave a message, and I will get back to you as soon as possible."
"You know you need to change your message. I mean I guess you're technically getting back to me, but we haven't actually talked. It's false advertising. Luke's pancakes would be the perfect cure to the hangover I have. Unfortunately, I don't have time to drive to Stars Hollow before my classes start today. Oh well. I love you. Give my answering machine or voice mail a call. They feel neglected. Just kidding."
Rory barely made it in the door to her apartment shortly before 6:30 that night to change her clothes in time for the DAR meeting. As she stood waiting, she noticed the ever-present and increasingly annoying flash of the light of the answering machine.
"Rory, it's Logan. I've decided to leave you for your answering machine. We've had a lot of time to bond in these last few days and….just kidding. Dad is driving me nuts. He's expecting perfection of me. I miss you. I miss Stars Hollow…I miss life before…I…I love you. Call me."
Rory picked up the phone to call Logan back.
"You've reached the voicemail of Logan Huntzberger. Please leave a message, and I will get back to you as soon as possible."
"Logan, I'm sorry to tell you this over the phone but your voice mail and I have become close…I love you. I just heard Grandma at the door, so I have to go. I promise, I'll call my Mom if we drink too much tequila."
Rory opened the door to her grandmother smiled and followed her quietly to the car, listening to her go on and on about responsibilities to the DAR.
When Rory, Honor, and Lorelai returned to the apartment later that night, none of the three of them could stop laughing.
"So your grandmother bought that you got food poisoning at another DAR event?"
Rory nodded seriously—her eyes sparkling. "She's even launching an investigation into the caterer at this event."
"Wow. I can't believe you managed to get away with getting drunk at every DAR event you've been to kid. I could never get that lucky. Mom always caught me."
"She doesn't expect it from me though. Honor, do you have more tequila?" Rory practically sang to her friend.
"Kid, you've had enough tequila. Trust me on this one. I'm ordering Chinese again. Honor you're in right?"
"Of course."
Rory glanced over at the answering machine. "Hey that's cool it's flashing again."
Lorelai sighed, went over, and pressed the play button.
"Rory, it's Logan."
"Hey Logan!" Rory sang out.
"I miss you. I hope you'll be home when I get there tomorrow night. I miss your voice. The electronic one on the answering machine isn't the same. I love you."
"I should try to call him back. How do I do that?" Rory asked seriously to her mother.
"You had a lot more tequila then you did vodka didn't you?"
Honor nodded. "Rory also apparently hadn't eaten all day. She should have mentioned that little fact."
Lorelai shook her head, picked up Rory's cell phone, found Logan's name in her address book, and placed the call for her daughter.
"You've reached the voicemail of Logan Huntzberger. Please leave a message, and I will get back to you as soon as possible."
"Hey, it's your voicemail again. I love tequila! I love you too. We're having Chinese again—Honor, Mom, and me. It's going to be fun. Did I mention I love tequila? Bye!"
When Rory woke up the next morning, she had an even worse headache than she had had the day before. She groaned. Then she made an executive decision to skip her classes that day—she wasn't going to risk missing any more of Logan's calls.
She picked up her cell phone and saw that she had already missed one.
"Rory, it's Logan. Listen, I probably won't have a chance to call you again until we're back. I should be back at the apartment around 3 or so. I love you."
Rory tried to call Logan back—knowing it would be a fruitless task.
"You've reached the voicemail of Logan Huntzberger. Please leave a message, and I will get back to you as soon as possible."
"Logan, it's Rory. I love you. My head hurts. I'll see you later today."
Rory got up and took a couple of aspirin and easily fell back asleep again. When she awoke again, she felt two familiar arms on her shoulders.
"Hey stranger," Logan smiled at her.
"Do I know you?" Rory asked.
"Very funny. The voice should at least be familiar."
"I missed you."
"I missed you too."
Logan took Rory in his arms and they lay together on the bed for a long time in silence. Rory sighed inwardly—they could talk later. They could talk about all the things that were weighing so heavily on their minds. All the things that….they had only been able to say to each other's voice mails…