Jess had left for work twenty minutes ago hurrying to a breakfast meeting in Williamsburg a little earlier than he usually left. Celeste was just packing up her purse to and hang out with Rory for the day, the meaning of hanging out containing also assisting her in whatever she needed, as Logan was flying to Portland for Owen's wedding that day.
Evie had by now slowly gotten used to having Celeste around more. The trouble was she'd become clingy, almost as if fearing she would leave for a longer period again. In a way she found this endearing, she loved her cuddles and how she picked her over everyone in the room these days - the perks of motherhood. But at the same time Celeste had grown to appreciate the benefits of having a nanny at hand, even if it was just three days a week, and having the possibility to make plans for the day that didn't include Evie. There was still some guilt involved with that but she did what she could to make it up to here when she was there - making sure their time was quality time.
"Alright, I'm off," Celeste announced, mostly to Kathy, but she knew Evie would be soon there as well. She'd just clicked 'request' on the UberX, knowing she was running a little late. Maya had a dental appointment that morning and Rory, being as understanding as she always was, had naturally told her she could go, having agreed that Celeste was going to be there before Logan headed off.
Evie clung to Celeste's neck after she'd hugged her, mumbling, "Mommy stay," making her heart wrench. Pretty soon tears followed as she tried to pull herself away, handing Evie over to Kathy. She really hated this part.
The cry still echoed in her mind, as she took a deep breath and closed the door behind her, hastily stepping down the brownstone stairs. It was only then she checked her phone and sighed dissapointedly. The car had already been there and ditched her. She was sure she hadn't been late, but as she looked at the car's info she briefly recalled that it might have been a car she'd once stood up herself, the guy having seemed a little creepy. She requested a new car, but as it was still quite early and people were busy getting to work, and there was no other car available.
"Shoot," she grumbled, realizing she might have to take the train.
She took a deep breath, figuring she'd just walk a little towards the next train station, try again there. But still, time was ticking and there wasn't an available car on radar. Taking the train would've taken an hour or a little more, leaving Rory potentially alone for half an hour or so. She tried to request a car once more - not even an Uber black was in sight. She really didn't want to fail Rory or cause Logan to miss his flight.
"Fuck!" she muttered to herself.
It was then she noticed it. A tiny, but to a French woman, utterly normal sized, car2go, just waiting there, just 20 ft from her. She knew she could drive, it was just surviving the traffic that was the issue. She didn't want to leave Rory alone, in her condition, with Finny if she could help it. She needed to try - right? If it was awful, she'd just find a Uber closer to Manhattan - right?
The ride was utterly nerve wrecking - but she got there. No lives lost, the car undamaged and now laws broken, a few testy horn beeps, but nothing she couldn't live with.
As she hurried up to the elevator at Rory's and Logan's place, she was greeted by Logan who was just getting out of the elevator. Clearly he hadn't been able to wait any longer, it already being ten minutes or so later than he would've liked.
"Good, you're here," he sighed in relief.
"I'm sorry, traffic," Celeste replied quickly, not beginning to elaborate. "Have a nice trip!" she waved him off.
Rory was just rolling her hips on an exercise ball, as Celeste walked in, a little out of breath from the last few hasty steps and the nerves, happy to see Finny quite happily doing a wooden puzzle on the floor.
"You'll never guess, what I just did..," she began, suddenly feeling incredibly proud of herself.
"Leo, time to get up! You'll be late for your last day of school!" Lorelai called out as she was turning on the coffee maker.
There was still no reply from Leo's room. Lorelai put a couple of poptarts into the toaster, beginning to wonder why he wasn't replying.
"Leo?" Lorelai knocked on the door. "Last day of school is the only good day of school, you wouldn't want to miss it now…," she added.
"I don't feel well," a low muffled voice said.
"What's wrong?" Lorelai inquired as she went to feel his head. "Boy, you're burning up!" she reacted. "Does it hurt anywhere?" she asked.
"Here," he mumbled, feeling the underside of his jaw with his fingers.
"I'll just get a thermometer and call Dr. Murray, okay?" Lorelai said, heading back to the kitchen. She took a deep breath before dialling the doctor. Her heart raced. She hadn't been in this position for ages. Besides, this time this wasn't just about her kid, this was someone else's kid, this was a kid that had been trusted into her care.
It was safe to say, Lorelai had not gone to work that day - instead waiting for one of the doctors from Dr. Murray's office to come over, as Leo really didn't have a permanent doctor in the area. Lorelai had cared for him to the best of her abilities, trying to get Leo's 101.6 degree fever down and providing him with liquids. She'd offered to bring their smaller bedroom TV to his room, but the poor kid had been so exhausest he just wanted to sleep.
"Any update?" Luke asked a little worriedly as he arrived home, carrying a bag of takeaway.
"The doctor just left and the fever is down a little, but apparently he's got mumps," Lorelai explained.
"Don't they vaccinate for that? I think even I'm vaccinated for… what was it...MMR or something?" Luke recalled.
"Well apparently he never was," she replied, lowering her voice. Clearly whoever had been his guardian at the time hadn't remembered or bothered.
"Wow, where does one even get something like that these days if everyone is vaccinated?" Luke pondered as he unpacked their dinner, including some chicken soup.
"Haha… that's when I went back to my inbox and found that a few news letters the school sent me, and apparently there was another case in his class a few weeks ago. I never thought much of it, but apparently I should've," Lorelai explained, feeling a little guilty for not paying more attention to these things. She'd never really been very good with keeping up with the stuff the school sent her, as mostly it was just talk of school events which really concerned her very little these days.
"Leo, do you want some soup?" Luke asked and was relieved to see Leo emerge from the bedroom. He looked weak, pale in the face and there was definitely some swelling around his jaw and neck.
"Thanks, but I'm not really very hungry," he mumbled and sat down at the kitchen table nevertheless.
"Just try, a few spoonfuls… you need your energy to fight this," Lorelai urged.
He slowly scooped up a few spoonfuls of broth and some bits of chicken that he liked.
"I think I'll just go back to bed," Leo said after perhaps ten minutes.
"Alright, I'll come in in a few minutes and apply a cool compress," Lorelai added, as they watched him disappear into his room.
The two ate the rest of their meal wordlessly. It had been such a long time since either one had been this worried about one of their kids, Luke recalling the time April had gotten appendicitis. Strangely enough, despite Leo having only been there a few months, they did consider him as theirs, even if just for the time being. The worry was genuine.
Logan had driven from the airport to the house on Cousins Island just to quickly change into his suit, a suit specifically instead of a tux according to Rory's recommendations after she's done some research on the wedding venue which was supposed to be rather casual country slash hipster type of place, a barn of somesort.
He glanced over himself in the upstairs mirror once more, recalling involuntarily how just a few months ago they'd spent some time here with Rory. He missed her already, having just left New York three hours ago. At the same time he was excited, a little nervous and a little sad that he had been unable to bring Rory along, which he was sure would've taken a lot of the anxiety away.
His watch indicated that he should be on his way, and after grabbing his phone and wallet, he was out the door in no time. The place really wasn't very far - perhaps twenty minutes and quite conveniently closer to Cousins Island than Portland. He was glad he'd taken a SUV due to the rough gravel roads that lead to the parking lot that had space about twenty cars or so. The placed on the edge of the forest, large trees and flowering bushes decorating the yard.
Logan could already see some other wedding guests, the older ladies fussing about their dresses being a little wrinkled as they climbed out of their cars, some carrying gifts, some not. So far there were no familiar faces though. He felt bare handed somehow - without his wife at his arm or gift to carry, he really didn't know what to do with himself. He'd made a respectable financial contribution through the virtual platform they were using, unsure if Owen was going to accept his other gifts concerning London.
He hesitantly followed the lead of the other guests, who were heading in the direction of white colonial that was attached to a beautifully decorated barn that was set up for the reception.
"Logan! So glad you could make it," Catherine said, as she noticed him, having been just making sure the caterer was set up alright. She was wearing a linen boatneck dress with quarter sleeves, her hair twisted into a long braid.
"Hi, and congratulations," Logan replied.
"Thanks!" she replied. "Was your flight okay? I'm sad Rory couldn't make it, Owen told me she's not feeling too well," she said caringly, breaking some of the ice. They weren't strangers, she knew quite a lot about him and his family and he just wanted to overcome all of that awkwardness that they still had without having Rory around as a neutral filter.
"Yeah, it's went okay. And Rory, well all I can say that the twins are really playing a number on her, it's a lot harder for her than the last time," Logan explained.
"I'm sorry to hear that. And I'm sorry about you mom," Catherine said.
Logan looked down, momentarily in the haste of the day having nearly forgotten about the recent events. "Thanks," he replied, getting a momentary lump in his throat. Briefly he tried to imagine what it would've been like if he had had Catherine as a step mom. It would've definitely not been a bad prospect, especially compared to all the step moms Colin had had.
"You want to go up to see Owen?" she asked, after greeting a couple of the other guests that were heading inside.
"I'm sure he's got his hands full," Logan replied modestly.
"Nonsense, I'm sure he'd love it. He was just talking about you when I last saw him wondering if your plane got in alright," Catherine insisted.
"Well, okay then," he added with a slight chuckle, unsure if he was really wanted in the groom's quaters.
"He's upstairs on the third floor, it's the only room there," Catherine instructed, gesturing up the stairs, and soon engaged with some other quests who had some questions for her.
Logan walked up the stairs of the humble but homey colonial, the stairs a little squeaky under his feet. He noted a few giggly bridesmaids, dressed in light green relaxed chiffon dresses, rushing from one room to the other across the landing just before the stairs leading up to the third floor began, the two of them definitely giving him a curious look.
He soon knocked on the door.
"Mike, you really don't have to knock…," Owen's voice said, before he opened the door.
"Oh, it's you!" Owen exclaimed. "Hi!" he said.
"Your mom told me I should come up to see you," Logan replied a little apologetically.
"Come on in," he invited. Owen was dressed in a white shirt, his sleeves rolled up, exposing his tattoo sleeves, and a grey suit vest over it with a light green tie, as he was just about to attach a small boutonniere pin to his vest.
Logan glanced briefly out of the window that faced the yard, noting the car park was quickly filling up.
He looked at owen and asked, "Nervous?"
Logan suddenly got unexpected brotherly realization - this was his little brother in fact, almost feeling like he should be giving him marital advice or how to ease the nerves. Though on the latter - he really had very little to add - he'd barely had time to wrap his brain around the fact that he was going to marry Rory when they did, before they already did. There was no time consuming planning, no other waiting except pacing around in line at town hall, and all that on the same day, having barely slept on the plane on their way there. Still he remembered it like it was yesterday.
"A little, " he replied.
"You'll do great," Logan assured, patting his shoulder. It was as simple as that, a small assuring message from a brother, making all the difference, as he replied with a smile.
An hour and a half later the ceremony was over, it having been fairly informal, some of Owen's friends standing up and whistling at the married couple's first kiss. Charlotte, Owen's wife, looked beautiful - wearing a long bohemian lace wedding dress, her own tattoos also prominently displayed. There really weren't too many guests - perhaps 40-50 people in total, the friends and families of the bride and groom beginning to get to know each other as soon as the ceremony ended and champagne was served.
Logan stood, with a champagne flute in his hand, taking a small sip, really not planning on drinking much that evening because he was driving, observing his brother accept congratulations from all the guests, hr himself having already been over to do the same a few minutes ago.
"Hi, I don't think we've met," a grey-bearded slim older man greeted him. Logan had seen him sitting at the front next to Catherine during the ceremony, hence he had a good guess who it must've been.
"Hi, I'm Logan, Owen's brother," he replied. This was now the first time he'd introduced himself as such. He still withheld the last name, knowing from experience that to many people that either rang alarm-bells or caused unneeded awe as if talking to a celebrity. He wasn't going to lie if anyone asked, but he was not going to flaunt it either.
"Caleb," he replied plainly, shaking his hand. "And that over there is my son Elijah," he said gesturing across the room to a similarly lanky young man in his early 20s, wearing a suit vest similarly to Owen.
He almost wanted to ask how long Caleb had been with Catherine - not with much afterthought other than just to begin to understand how much of an impact he'd had in Owens life, but he wasn't sure it was appropriate. Perhaps the man felt threatened by his return to their life again?
Instead he settled for something simpler, more neutral, quickly composing his mingling skills that he'd nearly thought he'd forgotten. "So Caleb, what is it that you do?" he asked.
They talked for perhaps five minutes, soon Catherine coming to pull Caleb away for some pictures and Logan was once again left alone. He was in no way offended by that, he wasn't part of the immediate family as such, it was too fresh for that. It wasn't long until a number of other guests stepped up to him to get acquainted, some even from Charlotte's side. Each and every time he'd said the same as to Caleb. Some people he'd talked to had been a little surprised to hear Owen had another half-brother, but hadn't made a big deal of it thankfully.
Soon the three bridesmaids, clearly fluttery, returned to the barn that the reception was going to be held in, the long communal table with lots of wild flowers decorating it, already waiting.
"Hey, you're new - I'm sure I've met all of Owen's friends, but I don't know you," the tallest bridesmaid, with curled blonde hair pulled back into an elegant ponytail, pointed out, not even asking.
"I guess I haven't been around much. I'm Logan, his brother," he added, offering his hand to make introductions.
"Huh," the woman reacted. "You do look a little like him, except the hair," she noted, gesturing with her finger towards his blond hair, which had a little grey in it by now as well. Clearly she was a little more intoxicated than he'd initially thought.
"And you are…?" Logan asked, becoming genuinely curious who was so interested in him.
"I'm Mae, this here is Charlotte's sister Charli," she replied, gesturing to the much younger looking blonde next to her, "and… the third one… over there talking to Mike and Rose is Izzie," she motioned towards the third shorthaired bridesmaid some ten feet away.
"So I assume you're all from Charlotte's side?" he asked casually.
"Yeah, we met in college," she replied simply. "I think we need another drink," she trailed off, not really showing much interest in continuing talking to him, and left to search for the champagne tray.
Logan stood there, alone again, really beginning to miss Rory's presence. He would've loved being there with her, knowing how good she looked in any dress she chose, pregnant or not. As it seemed the happy couple were taking their time with the pictures a little while longer he stepped outside for a moment, noting the photography session in the distance on a small white bridge over a stream, with a forest in the background. Owen looked happy, and he was glad.
He pulled up Rory's number on his phone and dialled.
"Miss me already?" Rory answered cheerily, the call clearly creating some excitement in her day as well. There was only so much there was to do when laying sideways most of the day.
"Always, Ace," he replied and they continued to talk a little about how her day had gone, including Celeste's newfound courage to drive in New York. He could hear Finny in the background mumbled something about "Daddy" and his heart almost melted.