AN: As always, thank you for your lovely reviews and PM comments. Life is extremely busy, but somehow I still get around to do this. All I ask is for your patience. At the same time - I feel like I should start preparing you we're coming closer to the wrapping up of this fic. It's a little sad but a little happy too, only a selected more to go.
So happy you enjoyed meeting Aiden, you'll see more of him in the upcoming parts.
Just a quick comment: I know many of you (or at least based on PM and the reviews posted) are sad to skip the whole pregnancy part. I always try to do right by this story, and pick the best scenes important to the characters and that serves the plot and the story I have in mind... So I leave that part completely to your imagination.
Enjoy.
Part 39
March 2016
Seattle
"Oh, damn it. I know I have it somewhere." Rory frantically emptied the polka dots hot pink bag content onto her old desk, "These things always get lost…. Aha! Found it!"
Rory handed her set of keys ceremonially over to Kate. The now palatine blonde-haired rattled the keys in front of the boy in her lap to capture his attention.
"This is so wrong. Please tell me it's fake." Shiri stated, standing in the door. Her eyes followed as Rory went throwing random items back into the leather case. A phone charger, light detector, small packages of wet wipes, pencils, energy bars, film rollers, two unused disposable diapers, and a pacifier.
"Why?"
"Because it hurts my eyes to see you abuse this beautiful piece of fine leather."
"It's not fake. Its looks like the original label." Kate determined being the closest, "And it smells new. That Logan has good taste."
"life is unfair." Nicole agreed, rubbing her swollen stomach, "Say, if I put it on the baby shower Wishlist, will Logan get me one too?"
"I'm seriously considering bearing his next one if that's how he expresses his gratitude."
Rory's head snapped up from the task of rearranging all the items back inside, "Can we please stop talking about him like that?"
"Chill Rory, they're joking." Kate smiled at Rory while bouncing the baby on her knee.
"Oh, I wasn't joking." Shiri clarified. "You give the man a baby, and he buys you a Birkin bag? These days you just have to know who to get knock you up by, don't you? Do you know how much these things cost?"
"I don't. And please don't tell me." Rory pleaded to Current's office manager, "I didn't have the heart to tell him this is the most unpractical back-to-school present I ever got."
She had already figured out it cost a small fortune. The bag inside the bag, inside the box inside the giant paper bag, had pretty much gave it away at first glance. The way her three friends drooled over the pink item had sealed it.
Rory would have happily accepted a new calendar book or one of that trendy Ffjallraven Kanken backpacks everyone was walking around with lately. Now that was practical. It wouldn't clash with her camera. It could easily hang on Aiden's baby jogger.
Shiri looked pained, "My god. Just promise me you won't ever put liquids or pens in there."
"I'm officially envious of your ability to breeze through life so obliviously to how lucky you are. You skipped the whole first-trimester icky-ness, not even knowing you're pregnant. Then you walk around with the most photogenic pregnancy bump ever; you didn't even get swollen feet! And six months later, you're actually skinner than you were before…"
"Nic is feeling very pregnant today, Aiden. She's not always that grumpy. No, she isn't." Kate turned Aiden, who grown uninterested in the keychain and placed raspberries on his cheeks.
The blonde baby giggled, grabbing at her nearly white hair. A collective involuntary 'aww' escaped out of the mouth of every female who was not his mother.
"Pfft, I have to pee." Nicole huffed heavily, maneuvering herself out of her chair, "I hope mine turns out to be as cute as yours, and my man is half the hands-on father Logan is…. Otherwise, I'm not sure all this pain and suffering is worth it."
Rory smiled timidly at her friend; she had no words of comfort. She was acutely aware of her fortunate circumstances and the role Logan played during and post her pregnancy. Or the way she bounced back into action so soon.
She was excited about the prospect of going back to creative writing classes, directing workshops, film history lectures.
"God, I love how fresh they smell at this age. It nearly makes me want to have a go at another one." Kate sniffed the baby deeply. "Thank god, my ovaries have closed shop."
"My ovaries swoon every time Logan parades this beautiful baby around the office. Men with babies are just so sexy." Shiri said.
"Ahem. Good to know." A clear of the throat made Shiri jump startled, her face coloring red at the sight of the man standing behind her.
Rory's face broke into an uncontrollable smile.
Logan and his impeccable timing to walk on inappropriate comments. He looked half-embarrassed himself. This perhaps why he was gracious enough to offer the curly woman an oddly immediate out, "Phones don't answer themselves."
Kate chuckled at the remarkable speed the sassy office manager made her way back to her desk. The baby in her arms squealed as he recognized his father, wiggling his limbs towards him.
Logan was more than ready to relieve his child off the graphic designer's hands.
"No baby hogging," Kate warned Logan sternly refusing to play along, "You get to take him home at the end of the day."
Logan looked at Rory for help. She just shrugged in response, "She's right."
"Stop by before you leave?"
"I've got classes." Rory checked the golden watch resting next to her string bracelet, "He's all yours starting forty-five minutes from now."
Logan left, the two friends finally getting a moment of private conversation for the first time.
"Seems like you guys have it all figured out," Kate commented once he was safely out of hearing range, "It's odd."
"Yeah. We have the whole schedule rearranged for the upcoming semester. Things are great, better than great, actually." Rory answered truthfully. "Logan… I don't know… he just has this confidence. It just makes everything so much easier."
Kate nodded in understanding, "So you're happy?"
"Of course," Rory said shortly, "Um. Kate, what did you mean by 'closing shop'?"
"Oh, that." Kate brushed Aiden's soft hair tenderly, "I went to the doctor and asked for an intrauterine device. Best decision I ever made – do you know how great the sex is once you never have to worry whether you're safe not? If it's up to me, it's never coming out."
~W~
July 2016
"What is he doing?" Ben questioned worriedly as the nine-month baby shifted himself from sitting position to all six. Aiden had Completely disregarded the other toys spread on the blanket. at the sight of the tennis ball
"We are practicing our swing and leap before we hit the golf course." Logan said, a sly smile on his face, "Just watch."
"Your leap?" Ben frowned his eyebrows, "You hate golf."
Logan placed the tennis ball on the wooden floor and slowly swung the driver back and forth to build his swing. Aiden's eyes moved from the metal to the ball in anticipation.
"I can't humiliate myself on the country club green. The whole Hartford will talk."
Ben tilted his head sideways thoughtfully, "I think the good tongues of Hartford will talk once they spot you pushing a baby-stroller containing a baby you had hidden under the radar. Regardless of the current state of your swing."
"Hardly under the radar. According to Honor, my dad can't shut up about it."
"Never thought I'd see the day Mitchum bragging about something other than how he was short-listed to Pulitzer." Ben's said from his laid-back position on the yellow couch in Logan's Seattle office.
"Imagine how much worse it would have been if he actually won," Logan muttered.
As the club's light edge hit the ball and sent it flying towards the door, Aiden charged forwards - crawling excitedly to catch the yellow object.
"Go get it, Tiger!" Logan cheered him on.
"That's child abuse," Ben mumbled under his breath, horrified.
The door brushed open, revealing a furious office manager. "Logan, what the hell?"
Aiden stopped crawling and stayed rooted in place. His nose quivered, his mouth starting to twitch in a manner that left no question of the upcoming wails. Logan hurried to scoop the boy off the floor; Ben hurried to throw the pacifier at his business partner.
"Oh," The curly woman was caught off guard, "I didn't know you had him in here; I thought you were just gossiping."
"It's okay; he's just a little startled." Logan bounced the boy in his arms, offering him a different tennis ball he had on his desk.
"Logan's practicing his swing. He's rusty." Ben answered bemused. Logan's father mode was such a contract to the snarky way he usually tended to Shiri. "What do you need?"
Ben's question seemed to spark Shiri dismay back.
"What makes you think it's humanly possible to co-ordinate a meeting with all the local data analysts present? There's absolutely no way I can get Japan, Brazil and Spain together within their reasonable working hours."
"Just set it up at 11 am, London time," Logan instructed.
The local data analysts were his baby-project. The fruit of the mission statement he spent writing in the wee hours of the night during his and Rory's weird funk after California. A better grip on markets required better understanding and deducting the correct conclusions by relying on context. You had to go local to get the best fit. It was wiser to employ a worldwide specialist to do the market research for the client.
But it was a lot of work, and Logan was running out of time.
Shiri looked at her notes, then at Logan suspiciously, "It'll be 4 a.m. here."
"That's alright. I'll be up anyway."
"Aw, he keeps you guys up?" Shiri looked somewhat sympathetic.
Ben rolled his eyes; people found staying up all night due to a baby legitimate. It wasn't the case here. "He doesn't keep him up. Aiden here is a sleeper. Logan just stopped taking his sleeping pills."
Logan gave Ben his best dirty look.
Shiri looked unfazed by the reveal of her boss's bedtime routine, "What about the US analysts?"
"Set up a separate meeting. Make sure Ben sits in as well."
"Okay." The click of her heels accompanied her out the door. Not in the same speed as she came.
"I know what you're trying to do, and I'm not okay with that." Ben informed Logan.
Ben was still hesitated of the idea of going international. But Logan knew his friend; sometimes, he just needed to be thrown into the water.
"Ah, you'll be fine."
"Says the guy who's going to be permanently in New York."
"Let's not talk about New York."
~w~
March 2017
New York
"Aiden, come on, here's Maureen. Daddy is really late for a meeting." Logan pleaded, trying to shed Aiden off. He was uncharacteristically grumpy this morning.
"Rory is not back yet?"
"Tomorrow. The nanny will pick him up today." Logan gently pried Aiden's fingers off his shirt collar. Aiden tightened his grip, clinging to his father like a Koala bear. "He refused to wear socks or eat breakfast. I'm so sorry; it's been an off morning."
"Oh, He's Just missing Mommy. Right, Baby?" Sharon, Aiden's favorite daycare staffer, offered as she took the sobbing boy off his father's hands. Her hand expertly wiped the remaining tears. "Daddy is going to work, and you'll see him again at home."
It was the perfect moment to leave; Logan just couldn't master his legs to go.
"Go." Sharon instructed firmly, "We'll get something into him. Don't worry."
Logan worriedly caught a glance at his watch before planting a kiss on the boy's wet face. "Have a good day, Sputnik 1. I love you."
Logan Huntzberger literally had to tear himself away from his son and shut down the bubbling guilt. Some days Logan really hated his job.
Xx
"They started without you." Natalie greeted Logan outside the elevator on the 28th floor of Huntzberger publishing group headquarters, a stack of files in her right hand, a breakfast pastry in her left.
Natalie was a lifesaver.
"How much did I miss?" Logan reached for the pastry first, keeping his strides wide and hurried.
"Not much. Approximately seven minutes." His assistance trotted hurriedly on his heels, glancing at her watch. "Coffee and complimentary pastries kept them occupied."
"Good, great." He munched on the jam-filled treat while skimming the file for the necessary details as he walked. "Anything important I should know?"
If only he hadn't forgotten this particular one in the office yesterday.
"Your father decided to sit on the meeting."
"He what?" Logan nearly choked on his mouthful. Jam trickled into the files as he sharply turned to his trusted secretary. "Why?"
Natalie quickly pulled a wet wipe out of nowhere. Her ability to anticipate his needs in advance has only heightened since he came back full time to the New York office.
On occasion, it freaked him out.
"They didn't send the CTO. The CEO is here herself." Natalie moved to wipe the stain on his shirt quickly. "He wasn't happy that you're late."
"He's never happy," Logan muttered, his back turned to the door of the conference room. He pressed the handle down with his elbow, just about to enter. "Wish me luck."
"Logan –" Natalie called out his name, delaying his entrance.
"What?"
"Pen." She held out a blue pen.
"You're a lifesaver!" Logan pushed the door open with his back, already making the appropriate apology to the room as he beeline to the first available seat, "Sorry I'm late everyone, my kid and I got our wires crossed this morning. No need to recap, I'll just jump in when…."
"Glad you could join us." Mitchum gave his son a scolding twist of the mouth. A gesture Logan has long ago filed as his father's go-to 'how unprofessional of you, Logan' gesture. "Please excuse my son, Ms. Walsh."
"That's quite alright." The woman dressed in a fresh floral print under a lilac jacket sitting next to his father smiled pleasantly. Her hands remained clasped professionally in her lap. "I'm Viola Walsh."
"Logan." Logan ignored his father's disapproval at the unformal introduction of himself. The woman asked for the meeting – she knew who he was.
Mitchum was courting Viola Walsh's business for months. Her digital platform was niche but a hit with minority groups and younger demographic. She was an influencer. And the word was she is in dire need of cash flow but uninclined to sell. She had been refusing to meet for months. There's nothing Mitchum loved more than sinking his teeth into a hard nut to crack.
When the small business owner repeatedly snubbed his office and returned out of the blue with a request to meet with Logan's team - Mitchum saw red.
"Good, we're all acquainted. Mark, if you care to continue." Mitchum cut the pleasantries short, "We were just getting to where our shared interests collide."
"Yes, sure, of course, as you can see…" Logan went back to his notes, only half tuned to Mark describing statical graphs, "our market analysis shows that Y generation peers are willing to pay more for good services if they deem them quality. They also willing to pay for slightly more costly packages and premium products - if they can get it under one roof."
The woman's soft voice soon cut off Mark's resumed speech.
"How old is he?"
Logan's head snapped up at the unexpected question. Viola Walsh looked anything but interested in listening to business strategies.
"17 months." Logan was so accustomed to answering he didn't even have to calculate.
"It's a great age."
"It is." He charmingly flashed a smile at the well-dressed woman.
Aiden was already steadily walking, nearly running, which kept Logan on his toes. He played a lot more babbling to himself as he did. A little incoherently at times – which had Logan slightly worried. But the best part about Aiden was his eagerness to receive and give cuddles. However, his newly found independence and enthusiasm to help get dressed and the sudden change in his food preferences messed up the morning routine Logan has perfected to a tee.
"Does the Huntzberger Publishing Group have a parent-friendly policy?"
Out of the corner of his eyes, Logan noticed the tips of his father's ears start to go red. "We do."
"Does it include flexible hours, maternity leave, sick days from day one?"
"We had daycare on property." Mitchum quipped tightly. Everyone in the room could tell his father was less than pleased with the turn the meeting took too.
"What about spousal rights?"
"We meet what is required by law. And some more." Mitchum forced out, trying to steer the conversation back to business. "Our health insurance covers spouses, to a certain degree. We can get to that later when the time is right."
Viola Walsh nodded uncommittedly but wholly ignored the older Huntzberger. "What does your wife think of it?"
"I can assure my wife very content with her benefits." Mitchum countered vaguely.
"Actually, Mr. Huntzberger, I was asking Logan."
"My ex-wife would find it discriminating." Logan responded with a jest just to see the steam coming out of his father's ears, "I'm not married."
"You see, Viola; Logan has an unconventional approach for marriage and parenting." Mitchum failed to remain diplomatic. His dismay with the way Logan chose to handle the Rory situation - as his father preferred addressing it – was a source of constant disagreement between the two men. "I can guarantee you it doesn't affect the company's commitment or viability to your brand."
"I have a few conditions if I'm to sign on." The woman brushed her fingers over her forehead briefly before she went to name them, "One – I am to keep my brand name and all revenues from using it. Two - I want to review your spouse and parent-friendly policy."
"We'll have to run this by the lawyers, of course…" Mitchum interjected quickly, feeling the train leaving the station without his input.
"Three- " The enterpriser looked straight at Logan expectantly. "I work directly with you."
xx
"What was that?" Mitchum blasted Logan with the question as soon as he stepped into his office, after biding Viola Walsh and her entourage goodbye.
Logan took a brief moment to assess how agitated his father was. In his hand, Mitchum was rotating the small red toy card Aiden left who-knows-when on his desk.
"That was me escorting a potential business partner to the elevator, as a Huntzberger should do, doesn't it?" Logan moved around his father to fire up the computer on his desk. "Linda from HR should have the paperwork about what she wanted, right?"
"Are you sleeping with her?"
"When? Between working ten hours a day and trying to navigate my unconventional family life?" Logan couldn't help getting sarcastic, "I have never met Viola Walsh before in my life."
"She's playing us." Mitchum determined.
"I think once she looks over our parent-friendly policy, it's in the bag."
"The woman avoids meeting for months, and she spends the meeting she requested discussing maternity leaves and sicks days instead of possible business outlets. She's wasting our time." Mitchum argued.
"She's a seasoned businesswoman who can do her market and strategy inquires. If I was in her shoes, and warming up for the possibility of the company I spit blood to build being swallowed up by a huge conglomerate - I'd discuss my benefits too."
"What are you talking about?"
"She's pregnant."
"No, she's not." Mitchum quickly dismissed his son but then backtracked, "How the hell do you know?"
"Well, she had her hands on her belly during the whole meeting, and her face is covered with dark pigmentation. Rory has that too when she's pregnant." Mitchum clamped up at his son's observation and unexpected private revelation.
The man's lack of response caught up with Logan.
"What?" he said guardedly.
"You used the present tense."
"Don't," Logan ordered his father firmly. Damn him and his Spidey senses and perfect pitch ear training to pick up on grammar, "Don't assume anything."
As Aiden turned one, Logan could not put off the Huntzberger destiny any longer. Moving to New York was inevitable. The Seattle bubble burst, and the real world of intruders crept in. All the invisible strings he tried for years to avoid. Their families, his Huntzbereger obligations. Her career. Rory's agent - Vinnie Van Dyke – who Logan absolutely loathed.
And that's when things started to get complicated between them.
"Your mother said Rory didn't respond to the RSVP for the May weekend in Martha Vineyard."
"Because it's March, dad. Who knows what project will come in."
"You know how your mother is with my birthday." Mitchum set down the red toy car back on Logan's desk and tapped his knuckles on the top of the dark wood, "Push her on it, will you?"
"Huntzberger obligations don't apply to…" Logan started.
"Logan, do me a favor when it comes to this - can you lose your argumentative shtick?"
~W~
"What? Babe-magnet not joining us today?" Colin's commented, surprised Logan showed up for lunch minus the baby-jogger occupied with a child. "Do you know what I had to do to score us this extra room for stroller table?"
"Slip the hostess a fifty-dollar note?" Logan replied, unbuttoning his suit jacket lone bottom to sit down more comfortably. "Dropping him off this morning was a sordid affair; I don't have the energy to go through it twice a day."
"That bad, ha?" Colin moved his neck around to spy on the restaurant entrance, "Where did you say Rory was?"
"Toronto. They are filming some T.V. pilot." Logan recited the current explanation.
He tried to keep up with Rory's schedule, but to be honest, all the film locations, projects, post-production stuff at one point become a blur. They usually were sporadic small gigs, here and there, as Rory was still new to the scene. She then landed this independent foreign film that surprisingly won what appeared to be a very prestigious award.
Suddenly pace was picking up. Logan was happy for her. New York was a clear path for him, familiar even. Rory had to forge her part. But each time her phone rang and Vinnie Van Dyke was on the line, Logan could feel a jolt of a panic attack kicking in.
Then came the T.V. pilot, and… it was the longest she and Aiden ever been apart.
"Right." Colin's response was an obligatory once.
Logan eyed his friend suspiciously. He was acting more neurotic than usual before noticing the table is set for four, "Are we waiting for someone else?"
"Finn."
"Finn's never on time." Logan opened the menu. Colin was always quite anal about keeping time. The Australian was the complete opposite. "Let's order. I'm starving. Do you know what you're having?"
"I met someone." Colin blurted out.
Logan blinked at his friend. "Okay –"
"She just entered with a client. Don't turn around!" Colin hissed at Logan's instinct reaction.
"What kind of client?" Logan resisted to turn but couldn't help his smirk from spreading on his face teasingly. Colin's reputation for hooking up with girls who had an inappropriate day-job description was notorious.
"Not that kind of client." Colin hissed, less amused, "She's a lawyer. She has her own firm. She's sharp and funny, and so-help-me-god sexy as hell."
"Does she has a name? or are we sticking to pronouns?" Logan questioned, starting to turn his body to locate the women in question, curiosity getting the better of him. "Who am I looking for?"
"Brunette, layered hair, red jacket." Colin folded his napkin to a smaller square.
"She's pretty."
"She has kids."
"Does she have cooties too?" Logan asked jokingly. Colin was petrified of jammy hands, snot, and mud, making it all too enjoyable to trust Aiden in his friend's arms when all dirty.
"Older kids."
"How old?"
"Like college old."
"Are you banging college birds again, Colin?" The lawyer jump at the hard slap on his back that accompanied the Australian's arrival. "What did I miss?"
"Nope. Their moms." Logan offered lightly, "He went cougar."
Colin shoots his blonde friend his best 'thanks-a-lot, jackass' dirty look.
"Colin always had a thing for moms. All those hot new moms had to scramble up to something." The Australian reached for the pitcher of water on the table; he stopped midway as if something was missing, "No Aiden today?"
"I don't always bring him along." Logan protested.
Colin breathed in disagreement.
"Being a helicopter dad is the privilege of having just one." Finn rolled his eyes knowingly, "When you have three, you just want them occupied and not attached to your hip."
"Well, it's not my fault you just sneeze her way, and Kim gets pregnant," Logan answered snippily. The topic was sensitive on a regular day, but after the brief encounter with his dad earlier this morning, even more so.
"Hey, hey, stay on topic." Colin refereed, shooting Logan a warning glare, "Either talk to her about it – or get over it. Now, let's talk about my problem."
"What is your problem exactly? Are we ordering or just gossiping?" Finn questioned.
"I've been invited to dinner." Colin adjusted the tightly tied tie in his collar, swallowed hard as he continued to talk. "Family dinner. After her Georgetown undergraduate walked in on some illicit…"
Neither Logan nor Finn could contain their chuckle.
"Apparently, it's the half-term break." Colin was obviously reliving the mortification all over again, "I mean, who comes home for a half-term break anyway?"
"People with reasonably functioning families?" Finn suggested while browsing the drinks menu. "Do you like her?"
"Yes, I like her; I – unlike other people –" Colin countered with a pointed look at a bemused Logan. "Don't have a problem admitting I like someone and want more."
"Don't take any advice from Logan's page. Logan's a chicken."
"Logan is choosing his battles wisely. It's called strategizing."
Colin slumped back in his seat in defeat, "I'm going to have to suffer through the 'I know you're the guy fucking my mom' glare throughout dinner, aren't I?"
"Oh, most defiantly. Take it like a man."
"Bring wine," Finn suggested with a smile.
~W~
Rory stood at the entrance of the star-light flooded bedroom. The night sky map bursting out of the turtle stuffed washed the room with dimmed light reflecting on the walls and ceiling.
It was a gift delivered from California upon Aiden's birth.
Rory secretly hoped it'll get lost or left behind when they packed their lives in Seattle. But after the stupid lamp proved helpful to ease Aiden into the strange New York setting during their first nights in their new reality, Rory was less resentful of the item.
Logan had loved it from the get-go.
"Don't read too much into it. It's just a nice gesture."
"If she thinks sending gifts is appropriate, then she's very, very mistaken." Rory huffed. "Send it back."
"Just think of it as his first planetarium," Logan offered after the room flooded with stars. His eyes lit up with excitement when he opened the box.
"Logan," Rory said in disapproval. The lamp was not staying.
"What? It's a cool gift. What does it matter who sent it?"
Frictions of glitter washed over the man on the bed and the toddler thrown over his father almost possessively. Rory moved towards the bed, putting away the 'goodnight moon' book placed over the covers on the bedside table, and tucked the abandoned stuffed pink elephant known as Alferd under her arm.
Next, her arms moved under the child's armpits.
The man on the bed stirred. His hand shifted to rest firmly on the child's back protectively.
"Don't get up." She whispered guiltily, stroking his face gently. She felt bad for waking him, knowing he'd never be able to go back to sleep.
"You're early." Logan drawled drowsily with his eyes closed.
"Filming wrapped up, Toronto's blend." Rory nuzzled her cold face against his warm neck, I drove all night to get to you."
"Rory Orbison," Logan answered, blinking at her, his eyes adjusting to the land of the wakes. His fingers instinctively sink into her loose hair locks. His other hand remained, unmoving, on Aiden's back.
"Cydney Laufer." Rory countered back, picking up their usual game-banter, "We agreed he doesn't sleep in our bed anymore."
"I wanted him close," Logan mumbled, unapologizing.
Rory held in her sigh. Getting Aiden to sleep the whole night in his bed proved to be a lot more challenging than she anticipated. And it wasn't just the toddler finding the adaption challenging. Logan's unspoken reluctance was feeding their son's separation anxiety.
Tonight, it looked like her baby partner didn't even try to put up a fight against putting him to sleep in the bed big.
"I'm going to take a shower," Rory kissed his neck with a promise, "if you put him back to bed, I'll make it worth your while."
~W~
April 2017
"So, I stopped by daycare today to see him," Logan said nonchalantly into his glass of wine, ignoring Rory's shake of the head. "And then I tried to sneak out because Mitchum was cruising the floor."
Logan playing hooky to watch Aiden play through the one-way mirror installed on the daycare wall during the workday was the worst-kept secret in the Huntzberger Publishing group.
He loved being the fly on the wall watching how Aiden acted when they weren't around.
"He caught you, didn't he?"
"He was there first."
Rory suppressed a smile. As much as Mitchum battled Logan on the daycare issue, the elder Huntzberger seemed to end up there quite a lot as well. She didn't know to say for sure which man was more taken with Aiden.
"He crashed my lunch date," Logan said sourly. There was nothing he hated more than someone intruding on his time alone with Aiden. "We splashed puddle water on him."
"I can imagine the dismay. And the glee." Rory commented.
Logan smirked, obviously pleased with his small revenge. The look on Mitchum's face when Logan encouraged Aiden to jump in the puddle while holding his grandfather's hand was priceless.
Aiden wasn't hard to convince. He had his father's mischief strike and was game to anything to do with water. Running in the sprinkles was his favorite pass time.
"You can't keep pulling him out of daycare for lunch, Logan. He shouldn't get any privileges because he's the boss's son."
"Well, he is the boss's son. If they take the liberty to call me to pick him up when he is fussy, then I'm allowed to take him out for lunch," Logan argued.
"They call because they know you'll drop everything and come running, Logan. One less kid at daycare works for them." Rory pointed out, "I'll tell them tomorrow to call me instead."
"Don't." Logan's tone turned serious. He was ready to fight her on this if needed. Aiden was his favorite lunch buddy. He didn't want to be robbed of floating leaves in fountains, feeding the ducks, and watching the model boats sailing in central park.
"So, which of the playground moms tried to hit on you today?" Rory teased, changing the subject.
Logan didn't find it funny.
Logan was a hit at the playground. A hot commodity. Colin claimed he was the kind of man self-aspiring nannies hoped to bag and stay-at-home moms fantasized about having an affair with. For a while, Logan started wearing his old wedding ring when he took Aiden to the park. That had sent the right message but had majorly backfired when he forgot to take it off one day, and Rory blew a fuse.
Since then, he made Natalie tag along to scare off the crowd. All he wanted was to push his kid on the swing in peace during his lunch break.
"No one. Dad was there. He intimidates them."
"What did your dad want?"
"To scold. The water feature at the Huntzberger Group entrance needs fixing. The ventilation is blocked or something; it costs a fortune to fix."
"And you are to blame because…?"
"You know how Aiden likes to throw coins into the fountain at Central park?" Logan's eyes twinkled, his dimples flashing out of his cheeks as the edges of his lips moved upwards.
"Yeah…" Rory said slowly, trying to follow his line of thoughts.
"We might have been doing that at work too." His smile takes a childish turn at Rory's disapproving look.
"Seriously?"
"How was I supposed to know the cents may block the ventilation?"
"Logic. Common sense." Rory Counted the same reasons Mitchum earlier mentioned, "Since when do you carry coins anyway? You never pay in cash."
"Natalie set up a piggy bank sitting on her desk. It's a non-profit cause. Dad chewed my ear for over an hour about it."
"Serves you right."
"Well, at least now he knows the security cameras at the lobby works." Logan took a sip of his wine, brushing it off, "Another?"
"Yeah." Rory tipped her own glass for a top-up. She stretched back on the comfortable stain-resistant fabric costume-made couch. "Logan, about Saturday…"
"I didn't know we had plans for Saturday?" Logan looked back at her, confused, "I thought you are working this Saturday on the indie film."
"That's next Saturday; this Saturday is my mother's birthday. You didn't have other plans, right?" Rory bit her lip hesitatingly.
"No, just golfing. It's fine."
"In Hartford?" Rory sucked her inner cheek. Golfing in Hartford meant Logan had planned to pay a visit to Aaron Rosen. "She'd be happy if you come. My mother loves huge parties. Finn will be there, too."
It was only half a lie.
"I'll pass. You guys have fun." Logan let out some undetectable sound and squeezed her sock-covered foot. One of the new print-covered pairs Honor traditionally got him for Christmas.
Things between her two Ls were civil at best, frosty when poked. Logan often voluntarily removed himself from the interaction. He didn't speak to Lorelai unless necessary, and he only made an exception to show up at Stars Hollow for Aiden's birthday and major holidays.
"Are you sure? Rory started to raise her concern.
"Don't let Aiden eat too much cake." Logan quickly deflected the subject, "What about the Vineyard?"
"You can tell your mother I penciled it in." Rory sighed in content as his fingers startled worked the soles of her feet. "Umm.. that's nice."
Moments like this - just the two of them, lounging on the couch, sharing small tidbits on their day over a glass of wine in this magnificent New York apartment that they called home – were Rory's favorites.
Just her, and the string to her kite.
Soon, her glass of wine was abandoned for his hot mouth. Their limbs tangled together as she laid blissfully trapped underneath his toned body. Her hands were already starting to release him from the confines of his pants.
"Ace," Logan breathed his nickname for her, trailing kisses up her cleavage to her neck, up to that spot behind her ear.
"Umm, don't stop..." She moaned in appreciation;
"I want another kid."