Leah had fallen asleep a couple of hours earlier and Finn now sat at his kitchen table, having just finished a box of sushi, staring at the bright bluish screen of his laptop. Paris Geller's public Facebook page looked sleek and coldly sensible, mostly posting about her business, showing her as an intelligent, determined and visibly successful businesswoman. As he clicked "Add friend" and Paris a few minutes later accepted it, her profile changed into something different. Now her kids, crafts and travels were in focus, and her serious expression changed to one that was friendly and loving towards the people she cared about in life. She obviously knew herself well enough to know what she loved in life - enjoying those things to the fullest. It had been a while since Finn had really talked to anyone - Logan and Colin came around every once in a while, their banter was always something else, less serious, his family usually discussed their day-to-day lives and practicalities such as who was picking up who's kids and where they were going on a holiday next. Talking to Paris had been different. He was actually curious to what she had to say and how she'd react to what he said.
She certainly wasn't his usual type, her manner perhaps being a little straightforward, not a bad thing as such, but not something he was used to. But what he did like, was the way she didn't need anybody to rescue her. He knew that saying something like this out loud could be taken the wrong way, and this is why he never more than thought about it, but he felt it was a welcome change from Rory. He understood that Rory's depression was not her fault, but the entire time he had been with her, Rory had been the one in the weaker position and he often felt he had to tip-toe around her. Now, not having to feel scared like that felt refreshing. Still he was not fearless. This was not some just woman he'd met at an office, who looked great and seemed remotely interesting from their brief conversation. This was one of Rory's best friends, and there were kids involved. She was a person whose company he actually enjoyed to begin with, even if they were to remain just platonic. Exploring this option was risky.
"Your kid will be up in like 6 hours, why are you still up?" Paris wrote, jolting Finn enough to awaken from his thoughts.
"I only need 5," he replied, having learned his sleep-deprivation threshold already during his Yale days.
"That's one way to do it. Our nanny is coming by at 6 so I can sleep in one day a week," she said.
"Lucky you!" he typed.
"Did you get the blinds for Leah's room?" she asked casually.
"No, I did one better. Moved her bed to the other wall," he said.
"Smart!" Paris commented.
"Want to meet for dinner next week?" he asked carefully, unsure how she'd take it.
"Thursday works," she replied, "I'll come straight from work. Once I get in the house, the kids won't let me back out," she added.
"Moms are the best, can you blame them?" he typed.
"Yes, but moms need to have a life too," she replied.
Rory drove to the Dragon Fly and sat at one of the dining room tables to wait for Lorelai. She had spent too little time with her mom in the past months and she decided that needed to be corrected. It had helped that she had a small identity crisis in regards to becoming a Huntzberger, and going back to Stars Hollow was certainly one of the best reminders of who she had been before. Those were the people she had known all her life and trusted, Huntzberger or not.
"Hey kid!" Lorelai greeted, hugging her.
"Hi mom, do you have time for lunch?" Rory asked, pushing her hair behind her ears.
"I do, just give me sec," she began, walking over to the reception and leaving a few notes on the counter.
"Lukes or here?" Lorelai asked.
"Here is fine," she replied, she just wanted to talk, and going to the very center of town would just mean a lot of extra ears and distractions.
"So what brings you around?" Lorelai asked.
"Can't a girl just come to see her mom?" she asked rhetorically, adding, "I went to see dr. Burg and I still have a few hours before I am to pick up Leah, plus I've missed you."
"Me too, Ror," she said. "So dr. Burg, ah? Everything okay?" Lorelai inquired.
"It's sort of preventive at this point. I know Logan wants kids at some point and right now I guess I have some unnecessary anxiety about those decisions. There is no rush but I figure I better work on it while I can," she explained.
"That's good," she agreed.
"Oh, and I asked Emily to help with the wedding planning," Rory said.
"Lorelai, what will you guys have? The specials?" the waiter asked.
"Yes, it's fine," she replied, "we're serving this amazing chicken Bastilla today," she added.
"Sounds good," Rory agreed.
"Are you sure it was wise to give Emily the planning, you know how she can go a bit overboard?" Lorelai asked.
"I did this for a couple of reasons actually. Firstly I trust her taste and she knows far more about the etiquette of these things that I care to know, and this is the Huntzbergers we are dealing with here. I need her on my side and frankly I'd prefer if she fought the battles to come - and I am sure there will be those," Rory said referring to their experiences with Shira. "And I think she is a little lonely in Nantucket, even if she doesn't say it, I think she'll enjoy it. She has helped me so much over these past few years and I owe it to her to include her as much as possible," she continued.
"Your kid already has her name in the middle of her name," Lorelai added.
"Mom!" she scolded. "I wanted to do this," Rory added.
"So what kind of wedding are you thinking?" she asked curiously.
"All I know now is that it's going to be a lot of people. That's the compromise. But everything else Emily said would be my call," she explained.
"Never really pictured you in a huge wedding, but I guess I get it, they know a lot of people," Lorelai said.
"Mom, will you be my Matron of Honor?" she asked.
"Oh honey, of course, if that's what you want," Lorelai said hugging her daughter.
"I do," she confirmed.
"Can't wait to take you dress shopping!" Lorelai said excitedly.
"I think we'll have to go to the city for that. Not that the shops in Hartford are not good enough, but I think Honor already pulled some strings and got me some exclusive showings for December," she explained.
"Oh, fancy. Are you splitting the bill or do I need to pitch in?" Lorelai asked.
"I actually spoke to dad, and he said he'd pay for the event. Honor said the dress would be her gift to me. The smaller stuff I'll pay myself," Rort said.
"I love that ring, it's so you," Lorelai said, taking her hand.
"He's always been good with stuff like that," she agreed.
"How's school?" Lorelai inquired as the waiter arrived with their lunch.
"Watch out the dish is very hot," the waiter added.
"Thank you," Lorelai called after him.
"School is fine, the classes I like, professors are nice and I started with the research part, so according to plan," she said.
"But..?" Lorelai asked, sensing a 'but'.
"It's a bit weird. Ever since the press stuff, and how Logan warned me to be careful to whom I talk to, it's really hard to trust anybody at school, Gwen even. Am I supposed to check everybody's ID and run a background check?" she explained.
"You've got to go with your gut," Lorelai suggested.
"It just takes all the fun out of it, having to watch my every word," she complained.
"I get it, but just think - what is the worst that can happen if you tell her about your current life?" Lorelai said.
"She'll sell the information to the highest bidder," she replied.
"And if you see it in the press, you'll know how they got the information and hence you know who supplied it. You don't need to go into the sketchy details of the time before you got pregnant or the history you guys have, keep it present tense and I am sure it'll be fine," she lectured.
"I am pretty sure Shira is also babbling to all her friends about the wedding," Rory added.
"So let her, it's not like telling her 'no' would change anything, just stop reading the news," Lorelai suggested.
"I can't stop reading the news, mom, I'm a Journalism management major. But sure, I can pick and choose what I read I guess," she added, feeling uncomfortable having to filter what she saw.
"Let's eat, this dish is like chicken pie with powdered sugar, yummy," Lorelai suggested.
Paris stepped out of her Hartford office wearing a completely different outfit she had walked in with that morning. Instead of a blue power-suit she now wore a pale pink wrap dress underneath her grey wool coat together with black suede 4.5" heeled ankle boots. As she was only 5'3'' heels were her go to accessory.
They'd agreed to meet just around the corner at a Japanese restaurant, which she knew well. As she arrived through the brisk fall weather, he sat waiting at the counter table, looking at the fish in the aquarium behind the chefs.
"Craving fish?" Paris asked, removing her coat and taking a seat next to him.
"There was just some action a little while ago, I think the grey one is trying to eat the yellow one," Finn explained.
"Live show, excellent," she commented, excitedly.
"Did you have a good day?" he asked, glancing her over.
"One of the best, got to give a very high profile couple some of the best news - triplets," she exclaimed.
"Not quite sure if three times less sleep in the first months is the best news," Finn replied, making a face as he recalled the sleepless nights.
"They'll get three nannies, a wet nurse or two if needed, they'll live," she replied.
"What can I get you guys?" the female waiter asked, after a few minutes.
"I'll have a vodka tonic, miso and onigiri," Paris ordered.
"Sake and udon for me, thanks," Finn added.
"So Finn, what do you do when you are not at work and not hanging out at playgrounds?" she asked.
"I have a scotch collection, though there's been a lot less drinking these days, and for a few months now I've actually been planning a trip," he explained.
"To go where?" she asked.
"I have been thinking about the Azores and Morocco," he replied. "I've never really travelled much on my own except for business, but I think it might be interesting."
"That's a bit off the beaten path," she noted.
"I felt like I could use a break, I'll probably go in the spring sometime. Now Leah is finally old enough and I am sure Rory can take care of her with the help of Lauren while I am away," he explained.
"Travelling alone, well without kids at least, is an experience alright. I just went to Spain with my babies over the summer. I think I got back more tired than I went in," she commented laughingly.
"I haven't really been anywhere much with Leah yet, but I suppose soon it's time for Disney World and Zoos," he replied.
"So Finn, tell me, what's the favourite trip you've ever been to?" Paris asked.
"Hard to say. I've been to a lot of them with my mates, some more reckless than others," he smirked, "But I guess Brazil or Bali probably," he added.
"I'd say my best one probably was a tour of South-Eastern Asia. We did it with Doyle though," she replied, unsure if this was the time and place to keep mentioning her ex. She wasn't really sure what this was.
"It seems to me you are the sort of woman who has achieved everything she wants, are you set or is there something you still aim for?" Finn asked, carefully exploring her mindset, after a brief pause during which they got their meals.
"I've been thinking about this lately, actually. And I don't think I have an answer for you yet what it is, but I am sure, I won't be able to sit still long enough to watch my life idle by," she replied.
"Just before I got together with Rory, I decided I wanted to change my life around, and I did," he explained, "I'm not particularly proud of who I was before, I had fun, but there was little that I'm not ashamed of, other than my work," he added.
"Well I am not too proud about my breakdown while I was the editor of Yale Daily News either, we all have our history. It keeps the biography interesting at least," she added confidently.
"You're going to get Rory to write it?" he asked laughingly. He'd never heard anybody plot out their biography in their thirties, except of course except Rory herself in her book. But that was different.
"Probably, she knows me best, I'd probably go into hyper-edit mode again if I were to attempt it on my own," she replied with a smile.
They continued to talk for an hour and a half and had two more rounds of drinks. He told her about him growing up and his sister. She talked how her crafts, now having moved on from plastic breads and glue guns to silver smithery, keep her grounded, her kids and her own maternal role models - her nanny and Lorelai.
To Finn Paris seemed like one of the strongest women he'd ever met. Powerful, smart and confident. To people who didn't stop to talk to her for more than two minutes, she came off arrogant and pushy, but to him she had morphed into something softer. He could imagine it had not been easy growing up like she had, constantly striving to succeed, and in that sense it was admirable that she was able to thrive as well as she did even outside the workplace.
