"I swear this place looks smaller each time I come here," Luke commented as he stepped into April's apartment, on the ground floor of Jess' and Celeste's townhouse in Brooklyn. Compared to the rather sparsely furnished apartment it had been in the two years the place had truly transformed, the apartment now had a lot of furniture, almost too much, but everything seemed to have found a purpose. There were various posters on the walls, still giving it the college student look, but it combined interestingly with more mature tastes, textiles and flower pots, that reflected Anna well or her store which she still had, just not in Woodbridge.
"Tell me about it," April replied. "I know it looks like I'm a hoarder or something, but I'm actually just holding on to a few boxes for a friend, she's sort of in between places at the moment," she added, gesturing towards the area by the stairs that led upstairs, which she hardly used these days. "The rents are crazy," she sighed.
"Oh..," he exclaimed surprisedly. He'd almost begun to think April was lonely, but clearly if she had friends whom she cared about that really wasn't the case.
"You want to go outside, I just made some Matcha?" April suggested.
"Sure," he shrugged, not quite knowing what that was.
They went through the spare bedroom that now housed Celeste's dress collection and some of the books that they had double of, into the back yard. Essentially April had a bedroom and a living room-kitchen combo to use, besides some closets and bathroom naturally. For a college student living in New York that was rather luxurious considering the neighbourhood. The garden was lush, April having taken over watering the potted plants that it contained now that Celeste and Jess had their priorities elsewhere.
"So, dad, how's the diner?" she inquired as they sat down in the pergola. She'd always loved the diner - it was something so simple, yet homey, the smell of coffee, bacon and waffles lingering in the air. It was a wonder she hadn't gained 10 pounds each time she'd been over for a holiday during her teen years.
"Good, same old. The new waitress is pretty good. There's been a bit of a shift in crowds since I set the user timer on the router," Luke explained. Things at the diner really did stay pretty constant, perhaps switching out an item on the menu here and then or some small changes in staff or vendors, nothing ever really changed.
"I told you, it would be the smart thing to do. Instead of disabling it you just hint that this is a place to eat, not work. This way people get to browse all they want while they wait for their food and then they get a gentle push to leave once they're done," April took the credit for her little hack she'd thought of over Christmas when she'd visited and made him a tutorial on it.
"And how's the internship, school?" Luke asked, as he glanced skeptically at the green drink in front of him, but took a polite sip to taste. His taste buds really didn't understand what he was tasting, and it showed in his face, making April chuckle quietly.
"Tatch has been fine, I'm not sure sleep diagnostics is quite for me though," she shared, and continued to tell Luke in way too much detail what the technological peculiarities of this job were that she didn't quite like. "I might try to get another internship at Kallyope or PWN in the winter when I'm through with most of my classes," she added.
Luke had almost zoned off, not understanding half of the words. What he did appreciate, and had done so always, was the excitement in her voice as she spoke about these things.
"Well, that's what school is for, right? - Figuring things out," he commented. It was, wasn't it? And as he wasn't really financially involved, April having gotten a scholarship it had mostly come down to Celeste's and Jess's generosity on her living arrangements, to him it really didn't matter if she took two or three years to graduate. April didn't do things to reach a goal, she liked the process of learning, and probably if she could, she could easily become one of those eternal students.
"How's Leo?" April asked. She hadn't seen him much, but she'd been really proud of his father for having taken upon a challenge like that.
"It's getting a little complicated," he explained, taking a sip of his drink. "His aunt, the one that he used to live with, showed up the other day. He didn't see her, I did. And I guess she wants contact. We just talked to Leo about her yesterday - not that she's been around but that she's been asking about him. And the boy just went white in the face and all quiet. It's like he doesn't want to recognize that that was his life or something. We're trying to be as supportive, be there for him to talk, but I'm worried bringing it up might have shut him off again. The case worker assured that he'll be with us until the end of the year, but technically if she proves that she can provide for him, they might make him go back. It sucks, that's the part of this that I don't like... I don't like it one bit," he admitted.
"I'm maybe off base here, but maybe you guys could adopt? I mean you know the boy pretty well already and he clearly prefers staying with you," April suggested, and took another sip of her tea.
This did plant a seed of 'what if?' in his brain, having not really dared to think of it. There was probably a lot of paperwork and from the course he'd taken about foster parenting he knew that it wasn't just a simple form to fill out. This meant that it would have to be considered in Leo's best interest not to ever return to his aunt. And Luke really wasn't sure that was the outcome he had the right to think of as the positive outcome. At one point surely, his aunt had cared for him, probably still did, but he too didn't really know enough about her to decide whether she'd just gotten caught up in drugs or had she neglected him knowingly.
April observed Luke ponder internally. That's what he often did - disappear into his own thoughts like that.
"Listen, dad, I wanted to tell you something else actually," April began, clearly gathering her courage, and placed her cup down.
"Sure, what is it?" he asked, returning his attention to her.
"Ugh.. Sorry, I'm a little nervous," April exhaled, pushing her glasses up her nose.
Luke raised his eyebrows at her, waiting expectantly. Surely she couldn't be pregnant if she was just talking about internships in the winter - he thought, trying to think of what this could be about.
"Dad, I'm bi," April blurted. "Those boxes inside belong to my girlfriend Jodie. She's been living with me for some weeks now. We haven't really figured out what we'll do - stay here or move," she added, not really daring to leave a pause to see what he thought of it. Jess and Celeste had never stipulated who she had over - so in that sense there wasn't an issue - she just hadn't really shared this part of her with anyone before.
"Wow, okay," he managed, really now having thought of this scenario. What was a dad supposed to say in a situation like this?
"You okay there?" she inquired, feeling relieved.
"Yeah, I am. It's just a surprise. But hey - as long as you're happy," he shrugged. He wasn't a huge active LGBT supporter or anything but he generally was the 'it's nobody's business what people do in their bedroom' kind of man, which applied well here as well. And really all he wanted as April to be happy, which she seemed to be.
"I haven't told mom yet, but I will," she added. This, however, made Luke feel a little special - it felt like confirmation that his role in her life was not minor. Maybe he had done something right after all?
"So what's she like, Jodie I mean?" he continued.
"Jess, have you seen Evie's blankie?" Celeste called down the pole hole to Jess who was at the fire station's garage accepting the door delivery. The benefit of having a garage downstairs meant at this point that deliveries could be unloaded directly into the apparatus bay.
"It's down here in the stroller," Jess replied and finished signing for the doors, nodding to the man appreciatively at the same time.
"Right, thanks," she called back, having been looking for Evie's favourite Elephant blankie upstairs. She was aiming to take Evie for a quick stroll for her nap that day, so they could have her sleeping outside in the closed off backyard, in the shade, while Jess planned on drilling a few holes into the wall to begin installing their wardrobe. Evie wasn't a fan of the drill.
Jess then noticed a man glancing in from the open doorway of the garage' just before he was beginning to close the garage door again.
"Andrew, was it?" Jess approached him, recognizing the man as he got closer.
"Yes, hi," Andrew replied, waving his hand hesitantly in greeting.
"Anything I can help you with?" Jess inquired. He knew Andrew owned the Stars Hollow Books, but other than going to school with his son, who had been a bit of a snitch, he really knew very little of the man.
"I heard from Taylor you're planning to make this into a book store of some sort," he said, the end of that statement forming into a question.
"Technically it's a multipurpose space that also happens to sell some books," Jess corrected. He really didn't like labels much, and hoped to keep this whole thing as flexible as Taylor would allow it.
"You realize that the book business isn't exactly something that's blossoming around here, right?" Andrew stated, clearly feeling a little threatened.
"Look, I'm really not looking to take your business. The selection that I'll sell is very specific, more of a destination bookstore than something for the locals. I'm really not aiming to make this into some sort a large 'cater to the masses' kind of business," Jess explained.
"Right," he sighed, not sounding very convinced.
"I'm not even quitting my day job for this," Jess assured. "Besides I didn't come to this town to raise conflicts with people or to cause trouble, okay?" he felt the need to add, knowing that he was probably one of those people who had formed a less than admirable image of him in their head.
"So what other functions were you thinking besides books, if you don't mind sharing?" he inquired.
"I wouldn't be a very good businessman if I told you everything now," he teased with a smirk, finding it a little amusing that the man worried about him as competition, while he really had no intention to compete with a store that focused on Diana Palmer or the 'For Dummies' series.
"Fine," he relented, seeing the man genuinely worried, "we were thinking a gallery and some event space, that's all," he added.
"Thanks, I just… I was just going to call my distributor, and didn't quite want to dig myself into a whole," Andrew admitted, sounding quite sincere.
Jess sighed, pondering if it was his place to bud in. After all, in some small insignificant capacity he was competition. But as a gesture of good faith, he did it anyway. "You know distributors rip you off, right? You should go straight to the publisher, or if your stock is small, which I assume it is, go to a wholesaler. There's one in New Haven that has good deals," he added.
"I guess you're right, I've just been loyal to this one guy, whom I've been dealing with since the beginning," Andrew replied, tucking his hands into his pockets.
"Up to you," Jess shrugged. It wasn't his problem what he did with the advice. He sensed that there was a certain numbness this town created, he'd seen it back when he'd first moved here too - people formed bubbles around themselves and were perfectly content within them, not wanting things to change. What he didn't want was getting wrapped up in that bubble himself - he wanted to be immersed with the world, things that went on outside of this place, things that pushed one to develop further. He needed to find a way to make sure he figured out how to do that, for this to work.
Andrew soon headed off, and Jess closed the garage door behind him. Celeste was just coming down the stairs, Evie on her hip, taking her for her stroll.
"Would you mind putting the safety gate to the third floor stair as the first thing, I just had a bit of a scare with this one. She's getting so fast," Celeste pleaded, giving him a peck on the lips before heading out.
"Okay," he replied, kissing Evie goodbye as well.
"And I'll get us some stuff for dinner, okay? What would you like?" she reason why Celeste wasn't too eager to get herself a car was the fact that other than an occasional jog in the morning or walking Stars Hollow really didn't offer much in terms of exercise, excluding Ms. Patty's dance class. And as they'd mostly been eating at Luke's or ordering takeout, she had a feeling living here wasn't exactly doing her weight any favors. So she walked, and tried to cook as much as she had the energy for.
"Anything you choose is fine," Jess replied, making her grumble from frustration, having to think for herself what to make, like almost every other time that week. But she forgave him on the spot. He was doing enough.
Logan took a deep breath, as he rose to sit on their bed as the morning light was just beginning to shine through sheer roman shade in front of the window. It was just barely 5.30 AM, not too unusual for him during his working week. However, he was on leave, but clearly the habit was difficult to break. But then again he considered that perhaps it was better to maintain the routine, knowing soon enough little sleep would continue to be the norm.
It was the tenth hottest July on record, and therefore that time of the day was really the only time he would have a chance to get some exercising done. Despite Rory struggling to sleep very long these days either, Logan knew that he had at least a few hours before she would probably wake. He got dressed on autopilot, not really needing to think what he wore out of his mostly Nike collection of running wear - in the summer the choice was pretty obvious. He made sure Rory had her phone nearby and left her a small note about where he was - he even reused the note he always used. On his way out he grabbed a banana and a glass of water.
He loved early summer mornings like this, the air still a little damp and one could almost sense the vegetation giving off the moisture in the sunshine, the 78 degree temperature, that his Hermes Apple Watch that Rory had gotten him for his birthday, indicated promising to reach 95 by the afternoon. His earphones blasted a fairly calm running mix including Vampire Weekend, Klondike and The Tin Pigeons among others. It felt like the beginnings of a good day.
Logan ran down Bethune Street towards the Greenway, hitting some new road construction on the way. It was dusty and it made him reluctantly slow his pace. He made a mental note to avoid the crossing on his way back. He knew the way well by now, the Greenway even better, even many of the faces that ran there this time of day were vaguely familiar. He jogged all the way to The Battery, doing a few pushups and a few reps of plank on a spot he usually used for it. Being by the water felt like a breath of fresh air. That brief part of his day enabled him to switch off from his other worries - it was his therapy.
He recalled the dusty patch on his way there, and after following the same way back for a few miles he decided to give the smaller streets a try, taking an early right turn. He soon realized the road he'd chosen wasn't ideal - a little sketchy even. The moment he thought it, it was like faith hitting him in the face.
"You got the time?" a voice that was barely audible to him over the music and the traffic that resonated in the background, just as he was passing through a passage underneath a large building. He knew what this was - nobody just asked for the time these days, and knowing that many mugging guidelines recommended - to keep moving if possible, and he had a good momentum already, that's what he attempted to do - ignore and run hoping the guy wouldn't bother chasing him. The next moment a sudden distant fire truck siren followed by the jump and hiss of a stray cat as a response distracted him and it only really took a fraction of a second until he found himself on the asphalt. Someone had tripped him.
It took him a moment to realize how serious this was - instead of one guy he was in fact surrounded by three, one of them demonstrating the tip of a knife he had just inside his sleeve and the other what looked like brass knuckles. He really didn't get a good look at the third guy standing behind him, but he figured it was better if he didn't try to look.
He attempted to get up, his knee feeling like it had gotten a nasty bang. It ached a little, probably just a scratch but he didn't bother to look. At least nothing seemed to be broken.
"Gimme what you got," the hooded man demanded without wasting time. The man was a little shaky, clearly just after his next dose.
Logan pulled out his earphones, took off his watch and with a deep sigh unzipped the back pouch that held his phone hoping he had backed up everything important recently enough. He had 20 bucks on him, no cards. He didn't even carry his ID, just having a RoadiD tag on his sneaker, which he hoped wasn't too distinct. With his name it was better to remain anonymous in cases like this, just in case. He handed over everything he had on him while keeping his other hand in the air and tried to stare at an empty spot not to give them any reason to hurt him.
"Hermes, nice," one of the guys, clearly a little more clear headed than the other, who was now holding his watch exclaimed victoriously, and thankfully the three rushed off the next without delay.
Logan leaned against the wall for a moment realizing he needed to catch his breath - apparently he'd held it at least for some of the time without realizing it. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, the situation not really registering right then. For a few steps he even attempted continuing his run. But the knee didn't feel quite alright for that. It looked like the knee was scraped, a few bruises were beginning to form around it, and probably just the shock from the impact - but nothing really serious.
As he limped towards his home, it finally hit him, how badly this could've gone. However, without his phone, he didn't really have a way to report this before he got home, but the longer he walked, the less he felt like reporting this. He knew he should, but with everything he had enough going on the few items hardly felt worth the hassle. He'd always felt safe in this city - maybe he'd always gotten lucky or known how to stay clear of trouble better than this. Clearly he'd just lost his vigilance for a moment, made a poor choice. The only time he'd been a victim of a crime had been during his college days in Barcelona when him and Colin had been pickpocketed at a bar but having been as drunk as they'd been - it really was no wonder. But unlike that almost amusing course of events in Barcelona, this had left his ego quite bruised. He knew the statistics - young men were not exactly prime suspects for crimes like this - but perhaps he wasn't anymore, despite being reasonably fit. Maybe he'd looked too well off, which was probably true as well. His reflexes had been off, he'd gotten easily distracted. He should've been smarter than this - chosen a better route, ran faster, watched where he had been going and who was around him. He hadn't even gotten a good look at them - a dark hoodie hardly being a good description.
Hence he just limped towards home a little faster, wanting to just log onto his computer and disable the content of his phone from the distance. He even had his old phone back home for backup, that he sometimes used for work calls, which would get him through the day.
He was once again thankful for the electronic key system they had installed, which also worked with a code. His laptop was in his study, just off the entrance, and he quickly logged on to iCloud. The phone had sent it's last location, but wasn't showing it anymore. He was relieved to see that he's most recent backup of files had been just a few weeks ago, hence the loss hadn't been great. He took a deep breath and clicked 'Erase iPhone' and continued to disconnect his watch along with it. He couldn't deny that his body must've still been in shock, feeling rather shaky. He realized he needed to get his knee cleaned but with a lot of their stuff still packed, he really wasn't sure where they had the first aid kit. Hence he simply headed for the parlor and took a bottle of vodka from the bar cabinet and headed upstairs to shower.
Rory was thankfully still asleep. He let the dust, sweat, and at least some of the fear his shoulder seemed to carry, now feeling heavy with tension, wash away in the shower. The scrape on his knee stung, and it stung again once he'd finished showering and poured a dash of vodka onto it. But this was nothing, he'd been through worse. He let the wound dry off on it's own, while staring at himself in the mirror. This was definitely not the beginnings of a good day.
It was then he heard Rory stir, and groan at the motion of getting herself up from her bed.
"Hey, you're back," Rory noted in a drowsy voice, having seen the note but having not quite realized he was in the bathroom, and hurried to empty her bladder. They were past the embarrassment when it came to things like that, especially when she was pregnant where the bladder wouldn't wait.
"A little early for drinks, isn't it?" Rory commented then, noting the bottle of vodka placed on the floor by the shower.
"I just had a bit of a fall, that's all," he replied, gesturing towards his knee.