"When did you say Owen and Charlotte were coming?" Rory asked Logan as she was munching on some parmesan chicken tenders with the amazing marinara sauce Maya had made them a jarful of.
"The 15th," Logan replied swiftly, having just now finished making the salad to go along with the chicken, while Rory was already halfway through with her dinner, having been starving. "Oh, and I forgot to tell you that they're staying with us for that night," he added casually, not expecting that to be a big deal.
"Where do you think they'd stay exactly? I mean one thing is to find some couch corner for my mother to sleep on…," she exclaimed, unsure herself why she was having this Emily Gilmore moment. Sure, the comparison was spot on - Lorelai Gilmore would gladly sleep on a park bench to be by her, but having Logan's brother and his new wife over so they could sleep on the pull-out day bed they had in the nursery was a different story. The purpose of that bed had been to set up a reading corner much like they had made for Finny but this one would actually fit all of them sitting side-by-side, not to replace the guest bedroom.
"I didn't want them to have to go to a hotel. I'm sure the nursery is fine," Logan replied.
He was probably right - it was not like Owen had minded a couch before in the Maine house either.
"You know, Logan," Rory began, worrying a little about his reaction. She'd been thinking about this for a few times, yet this was the type of thing she considered overindulgent and didn't particularly feel proud to admit. "I mean sure, I'm sure it's fine with Owen, but I was thinking that maybe we need to consider getting a bigger place at some point," she disclosed with a sigh.
Logan could see in her face and hear from her tone that this hadn't come easily across her lips, hence instead of laughing a little at her expense how she had been the one who'd almost gone for the 4-bedroom apartment that would've included the study, let alone two, in the same building a few floors down, he decided to hold his tongue.
"I think that might be wise," he replied, trying to keep a straight face, while feeling rather amused.
"What - seriously, that's all you're going to say?" Rory reproached, having expected at least some mocking.
"What do you want me to say exactly?" Logan smirked back at her, clearly struggling to not outright laugh.
"Just get it over with - I know - I was the one who insisted this place was too big for us, I almost had us get a place much smaller than this. I was the one determined that this was overindulging," she listed.
"Well that's all true, but clearly now that you've lived here for a while and with our family getting a sudden increase from three to five, which you couldn't have known at the time, you are beginning to see the reasoning behind getting a slightly bigger place," Logan discussed, as calmly as he could.
"So you agree?" she inquired.
"I do, I guess the main question is whether you want to do that now or wait until the girls are a little older, I'm guessing moving with two newborns isn't exactly the preferred scenario," Logan replied.
"Yeah, and I mean we just got their nursery all set up here, it would make sense to wait, right?" Rory reasoned with a slightly hesitant tone.
"Well I could have Olivia look into things for us now, if you'd like. Maybe places that have 360 degrees videos of the places so you wouldn't need to go see everything. And I mean it might well be that we have to wait until we find what we like," Logan discussed rationally. Finding the perfect place might take a while.
"It couldn't hurt to see what's out there, I guess," Rory shrugged, even surprising herself how strongly she felt about this. She just kept thinking at the time once the girls were born and any one of her family wanted to stay over - having them stay at the hotel just didn't seem right.
"Alright - for that I would need to map out our requirements. Would another bedroom suffice or...?" he asked, wanting to hear her say it.
"Maybe two? In case the twins would like their own rooms someday," Rory replied.
"So six bedrooms and two studies," Logan replied.
"Thought…," Rory hesitated. "Maybe it'd be good to have one more - for Gigi," she added.
Logan raised his eyebrows at her, having now quite been aware she'd gotten that far in that thought process yet, but apparently with the time in her hands, she had.
"I was just thinking, that maybe the place could have like a separate unit or something for her - dad could probably chip in for that part even. I just… If I'm going to do it, keep an eye on her, I'd feel better if she was close, not living somewhere across town," Rory reasoned.
"Not a bad idea, I guess," Logan agreed. That seemed like a very responsible adult kind of thing to do. Take her sister in, give her the freedom she must crave but keep her close by so she wouldn't get in trouble.
"So this probably leaves us with townhouses mostly…," Rory pondered, beginning to think about Paris's place without the elevator and how many problems that had caused for them
"Elevator is a must," Logan replied, knowing too well what she thought of this subject.
"And maybe some place that wouldn't need two much renovation before moving - I mean I really wouldn't want to worry about construction noises with Emma and Leigh," she replied.
"You chose Leigh?" Logan asked surprisedly.
Rory had slowly been trying on these names in her mind, and this option had stuck for her.
"I'm testing it out," she replied with a smile. She wasn't going to take the decision away form Logan, she was open to his suggestions.
"I'm sorry, I'm late, the event ran a little late," Celeste apologized as she reached the secret alley bar with the 'Shhh…'-sign on the back wall. She'd dressed up a bit for this, thankfully having had her red ruffle-dress packed just in case, and she'd worn her red Jimmy Choo's. She'd missed having an occasion to wear them.
"That's quite alright," Sarah replied, gesturing to her to join them.
"Damn girl, that's a fine pair of heels you've got there," one of the women commented.
"Thanks," she replied, beginning to realize she'd overdressed, seeing two of the other women in jeans and sneakers, the third in a modest summer dress and wedge espadrilles.
"Sorry, this is Heidi Berry," Sarah gestured towards the blonde perky looking woman, who'd worn the dress. "And this is Lela Cho," she added, as she pointed at the other, taller-looking woman.
"Celeste, Celeste Mariano," she introduced herself.
"Why do I know that last name?" Lela asked Sarah, looking puzzled.
"She's married to Jess. Jess Mariano? Think!" Sarah urged, waiting for Lela whom she'd gone to school with to recall.
"Oh…," Lela exclaimed in astonishment. "Oh my, I feel hot," she chuckled, waving her hand like a fan.
"Don't worry - she's not always like this," Heidi added apologetically, feeling slightly embarrassed by her two friends who'd already had two martinis.
"It's just," Sarah began, clearing her throat, "that back in high school Jess was sort of the bad boy that most of us drooled over him, but he was so unapproachable. There really wasn't anything there besides looking from our part," she explained.
"Oh, really," Celeste laughed, momentarily feeling strangely proud.
"So are you and Jess living here in Stars Hollow? I haven't seen him around recently," Heidi inquired, and took a sip of her Prosecco.
"Let the girl get a drink first," Lela waved over the waiter.
"What can I get you, ladies?" the hunky looking waiter asked.
"A new round for us, and Celeste, what would you like?" Sarah answered.
"Any chance you could make me pomegranate juice with some sparkling water?" Celeste asked.
The waiter left and Celeste felt relieved that the women were not pushing her or asking for explanation on her choice.
"So, where were we - oh whether you lived here, right?" Lela inquired.
The women continued to talk well into the evening, Celeste's mocktail soon turning into another. They talked about their jobs, husbands and kids, down to the details of the daycare and school system in Stars Hollow, making Celeste she was really behind on her planning when it came to these things in Brooklyn. It came to Celeste as quite a surprise that Heidi had had a fairly aspiring career before settling down in this small town, and Lela still did as she commuted to Hartford on weekdays. Yes despite some having accepted a simpler life - they didn't seem unhappy at all - clearly having the freedom to enjoy their lives. When it came to herself - she stuck to her cover story, as Jess had written it - surprising herself how well she still remembered it, having not really needed to use it much.
It was at some point Celeste got a text from Jess.
"What are you wearing?" it said, and Celeste couldn't help but to grin widely at the message. Things had definitely gotten interesting last night as well, their once frequently practiced habit of sexting having picked up again.
The women exchanged slightly envious glances, Celeste' face clearly speaking of the refound excitement she had with her husband.
She texted something back, turning her attention back to the women - Jess would just have to keep anticipating until she got back to the diner apartment. She'd missed company like this, and while she realized she might be getting ahead of herself - but she could almost imagine doing this again someday.
It was Saturday morning and the weather in New York was promising to be hot - over 85 degrees at least - the rain that had poured down during the night evaporating before the City really came to life in the morning.
Logan, however, had a plan. Rory really hadn't been expecting to go anywhere other than the Marriott to swim like she usually did, but as she realized Hallam had instead headed to Park Avenue South, she felt puzzled.
"Logan, why are we here?" she asked, as she climbed out of the car in front of Bank of America.
"We're going to visit Finn," he smirked.
"I wanted to swim," Rory complained disappointedly, swimming having seemed like one of the few things her aching body wanted.
"You'll swim, he has a pool. He just moved here," Logan explained.
Logan pulled Finny to his hip and grabbed the bag with their swim gear along and the three headed up to the penthouse floor.
"My god, darling, you look radiant," Finn exclaimed gallantly.
Rory was frankly getting a little tired of people lying to her face, hence she only sighed in response. She appreciated the effort but she knew well enough that everybody saw she was very far from radiant.
"Hi, Finn," she replied, hugging him.
"And there's the little ankle-biter!" he declared, tossing the toddler up in the air a few times, the little boy's giggles filling the room.
"It's quite a place you've got here," Logan commented as he observed his floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Empire State and Chrysler buildings, the apartment having 24' ceilings and wonderful white marble accents.
"I'm not complaining," Finn commented casually.
"Drink anyone?" he began, the sentence being so Finn despite it being before noon. "I just made ice tea," he added, surprising the two pleasantly.
"Sure," Rory replied.
"Excellent, two… three ice tea's coming right up," he replied, glancing at Rory whether Finny was having one too, who shook her head.
"Just some water for him," Rory replied.
"You know, Finny, what they say?" Finn began, speaking to the toddler like her was an adult. "Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over," he added, getting a bang of laughter in return. Finn placed their drinks and some fruit into the Dumbwaiter and pushed the terrace button.
"Now, the stairs can be a little tricky, but you can hold onto me, Rory," Finn replied, offering her his arm.
This was infinitely better than just the Marriott - the breeze on the 15th floor cooling Rory off nicely. The terrace offered both, a sheltered corner for Finny to play in and a few spots in the breeze, suiting the day perfectly.
Five minutes later, Rory was in the water, feeling pretty sure she didn't want to leave.
"I feel like a whale, in the very best sense of the word," Rory chuckled, as she allowed the water to carry her, extending her arms as far as she could. This was completely pain free.
Logan lounged on the edge of the pool, his elbows resting on the outside, while he watched Finn make attempts to teach little Finny to swim. The kid had the basics, he just seemed to not really bother, preferring to be towed around the pool.
"We're thinking about finding a bigger place," Logan said, making casual conversation.
"Already?" Finn asked.
"We're missing a guest room or two, besides the girls might want separate rooms at some point," he added, as he watched Rory float, her face looking incredibly relaxed.
"There are a couple of 8-bedroom condos I've seen on the market, but I think that mostly leaves you with some larger Greenwich or Upper East Side townhouses," Finn replied, having just recently been browsing the market. "You might actually get it for cheaper than your current place, though your place might take some time to sell," he added.
"Yeah, that sucks - I should learn by now that buying brand new apartments hardly ever ends with making profit on it," Logan commented realistically. It was like driving a brand new car out of the dealership's and the price plummeting 15-20% in the next year. Though still - Logan wasn't really concerned, having sold his grandfather's estate just a few years ago, leaving him flexible to wait for a decent offer.
"True, but still - I think the kids would love some safer outdoor space, before they start climbing on the terrace railing," Finn added practically, thinking of their current place. Surprisingly enough, neither Rory or Logan had really thought of that aspect. Sure, they always had someone around and there were safety nets below - but with three little ones all running in different directions - there was a chance that one would on occasion be without close supervision, the thought only really adding urgency to their plan.
The guys had headed out of the pool and Logan had wrapped Finny up in a towel under the sunshade, and gave him some grapes to snack on and he was staying put surprisingly well while Logan kept his eye on him from the distance, Finn having done downstairs to get some more ice tea.
"You want something to eat, Ace?" Logan asked across the terrace, considering what to bring over to the table by the pool.
"Watermelon would be great," she replied, and did one last lap before she began to emerge from the water herself. As she did, she suddenly felt much lighter than before and at first she didn't quite realize what that feeling was.
It took her a moment to grasp, that the stabbing pain from under her ribs was gone.
"Hey, Logan!" she cheered. "I think Leigh just moved positions," she added, looking down on her bump, that was definitely less lopsided now.
"Are you feeling okay?" he asked worriedly, placing the bowl of watermelon on the table.
"Yeah, much better," she replied with relief. She was still huge, but all in all both babies seemed to be positioned much more reasonably now, even her breathing feeling a little easier.
"Now I just have to hope she's head down, because I don't think there's really room to turn around again in there," she added.
Jess arrived in Stars Hollow just before noon, having decided to spend the day escaping the New York heat, the forecast predicting higher temperatures that were to his liking.
Jess entered the apartment above the diner without knocking, jolting Celeste momentarily as she had just gotten out of the shower, having slept late, a towel wrapped around her chest and another pulled into a turban around her hair.
"Ugh, you startled me," she said, already then extending out her arms to hug Evie who was sprinting towards her from the moment Jess put her on the floor.
"Sorry - old habit," Jess replied, kissing her with clear indication of wanting more.
"I really wasn't sure you'd still be here," Jess added.
"The wedding doesn't start until 5 PM," Celeste replied, as she towel dried her hair.
"So what were you up to last night, you seemed distracted," Jess inquired, curiously, having noticed it from her sporadic texting.
"I went out with Sarah and some of her friends," she announced.
"Huh," he reacted, not sure what to think of it.
"What - did you guys form some new club and discussed me?" he pondered, half-seriously. Sure he was curious whether he had come up.
"Don't be so full of yourself," Celeste replied with a cocky, teasing, smile, liking to see him squirm a little. The drop of the second towel, only adding to his torture, with Evie right there. But she needed to get dressed, there was no helping it.
"You guys hungry?" she asked, once she'd pulled on her dress.
After lunch Celeste headed over to the Inn, today's wedding seeming a lot more straightforward considering everyone were locals and there was no family drama to be expected. They did, however, have a slightly challenging request list of musicians - a grumpy harpist, Lorelai had warned her about, a solo singer with a guitarist for the bridal march and a Jazz trio for the reception, which meant making sure the technicians knew when what happened and which microphones needed to be turned on. She had to admit, this wasn't really her thing, but she managed, simply focusing on her part of the event - making sure everyone knew what was happening at specific times and who needed to be where at what point.
Jess had taken Evie to a playground just after lunch, the new one on Elm Street. It was a welcome change letting Evie just explore the ungated playground between the houses freely, playing with other kids, without having to stay maximum of 2 ft form her every minute, as he followed the other parents' lead, most of them just hanging out on the perimeter, chatting.
He did a quick round around the quieter streets to get her to sleep. With the excitement, the toddler had dozed off within minutes, somehow the stroller being her preferred location for napping.
He'd printed out a couple of chapters of his book and binded them up, having gotten sick of reading it on the laptop screen. So he settled on a bench just a few blocks off the town square, hoping to get a bit more quiet environment for Evie's nap and began to read through the pages, a pencil in hand, making notes. It was about half-way through, he began to people watch. There were surprisingly many new faces, clearly the place wasn't stuck in time. He noticed a fire truck returning from a call, thankfully silently, and pulled up by the old fire station that had a big banner saying "New fire station opening July 23rd." He'd never really thought much about it - Stars Hollow hardly ever having had more emergencies than one of Babette's kittens stuck on a tree or clearing the roads from a few fallen trees after a storm. What caught his attention was the building itself - the three story red brick building with large windows on the second floor definitely standing out from the rest of the houses on the street. He knew he had a place description in his book that Lauren had suggested to spruce up a bit, and this seemed to work perfectly. He turned one of the printouts around and quickly scribbled down these thoughts, meaning to put it down properly once he got back. It was the little details that talked to him - the green-painted woodwork of the doors and windows, the slightly rusty signage and the shingle roof covered the smaller brick building in the back, that was just barely visible to him. He was curious, and feeling like stretching his legs a little and as Evie showed no signs of waking, he walked across the street, lifting the stroller down the curb carefully not to wake her.
"Mind if I take a quick look at the yard for a sec?" he asked one of the fire fighters drinking a cup of coffee along with his cigarette on the emergency stairs on the side of a building. Having Evie along definitely made him seem utterly harmless. Still he felt the need to add, "I'm curious about the smaller house in the back, I'm a writer," he replied. Saying that felt really good, despite never really being the one to flaunt it, like he was once again allowed to call himself that.
There was a small patch of gravel behind the house, and a smaller one-story house in the back had a certain classy feel to it, despite its location - the white window panes contoured by dark green shutters. There was some greenery in the back, one side of the small house having ivy running up it's side and a few maple trees offering some shade.
"That was the fire chief's place from the 1890s. It's on sale along with the firestation itself," the fireman said.
"Oh, I'm not looking to buy," he shrugged apologetically. What could he possibly do with a fire station?