AN: Thanks for all the reviews!
"Logan, I just got a call from Christy at PR. Why exactly is my attendance required at the Christmas gala? This would mean I would be flying across the ocean three times in a week and that's not really what I had planned," Honor complained as she called her little brother, catching him off guard as he'd just returned from his morning run, still panting and sweaty, desperately missing his Icebug sneakers which he'd forgot to pack but hadn't gotten around to purchasing from London. He hoped he wouldn't have to, hoping to be back home until things got more snowy.
"Ah..," Logan sighed, as he walked down the carpeted hallway towards his hotel room that he was beginning to hate. "Hold on," he added, not wanting to discuss the sensitive details out in the hallway.
As the door closed behind him, the electronic lock making a buzzing sound, he unzipped his sweatshirt and prepared the words in his mind how to reply to his sister.
"Owen is becoming the pro tempore CEO and we're announcing it at the gala. We're expecting some…," he began.
"...scandal of the century?" Honor finished his sentence.
"I wouldn't say that. Some talk, I'd rather say," he tried to downplay it a little. "The PR team just thought it'd probably be good to have you guys there as well so we can all show our support," he explained.
"But that would assume that I support it," Honor said bluntly.
"What's your problem with this? It was your choice, you don't know the guy," Logan accused, being a little surprised to get such an opposition from his sister who rarely ever cared what went on with the HPG.
"Logan, you've known the guy - what - a year? You're seriously trusting someone who doesn't even have the basic business administration degree with a multi-billion dollar company?" Honor questioned him, clearly having done a bit of googling herself too.
"What do you want me to do? I want to just go home and focus on my family. Besides, it's not like we're just handing him the majority of shares or something - and there'll be a team. I'll keep an eye on things," Logan defended himself, frankly just wanting to shout at her at that moment, but didn't have the energy to do it, not after the 10 miles he'd just ran, having little other to do with his Saturday morning besides work. He'd even done his Christmas shopping already, he was almost packed, dying to get home.
"It's not for forever, right? Rory and the kids could move," Honor insisted, as if trying to convince him to reconsider. Logan had called her a couple of times to catch up during his time in London so she definitely knew that Logan missed home. He'd listened to her complain about everything that was wrong with Frankfurt, and talk about some things that were better, how the kids were doing and how she was slowly going insane at Josh's office functions where she couldn't understand more than three words.
"I'm not asking Rory to move!" Logan protested, knowing how complicated that would be. He wasn't going to ask her to do that.
Honor huffed.
"I'll have to explain this to the kids, Logan," she added.
"And so will I, if not now - then in a few years time," Logan argued. There was enough sketchiness in his history that his kids would have to grow up with - gossip about him being a cheater and swapping wives like socks, whispers on Rory being his mistress. In the midst of that, Mitchum's past was no big deal.
"What's this really about, Honor?" Logan asked, sinking down on the grey velvet bed bench.
"I've just been thinking about mom a lot," Honor admitted, hesitantly. "And I'm not really sure this is really such a good idea… is that really respecting her memory?" she disputed.
"Mom's gone, Owen's mom is gone too - if anything this is making some things right," Logan explained, raising his voice, doing his best to not say what he really wanted to say - that why wasn't Honor stepping in if she wanted to keep the company to themselves. "He actually wants this. He has a right to try," he insisted, instead. He truly believed Owen had the right to try what he would have been meant to be doing all along if things had been different. As he'd thought it, though, he couldn't help to recognize a tiny bit of his father in himself, making him finch for a moment. Maybe there was something in the Huntzberger men that made them crave this type of challenges? Clearly they all had it.
"So what is he like?" Honor said, after several seconds of silence, sensing his brother felt very strongly about this. She really didn't like admitting Logan had a point. But now… as meeting Owen was becoming more and more inevitable, she had to admit going in at least more or less prepared had always been to her liking.
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this," Jess complained as he stood in Rory's bedroom while Celeste and Rory were going through Logan's wardrobe to find him something to wear to accompany Celeste as she met with her mother.
Celeste had insisted he'd come along, in case she crashed again, but when he'd driven from Stars Hollow bringing a change of clothes had hardly been a high priority in his mind not even knowing they were staying the night. While showing up in yesterday's sweaty t-shirt would've been a little rebellious, the Palm Court at the Plaza hotel actually had a dress code. And unless Celeste dragged Jess shopping that morning, which he would've hated even more than this, Logan's wardrobe was his best bet.
Celeste wasn't terribly surprised by her mother's choice in places, meeting in semi-public was usually a sure way to ensure a civil conversation. None of the shouting nor breaking of dishes she felt like doing.
"I think a suit of some sort would be a safe bet," Rory suggested, pulling out a dark marine blazer out of Logan's closet. The lack of walk-in-wardrobe had been a disadvantage of this master bedroom, so they'd made a separate off-season and special occasion wardrobe upstairs in one of the smaller guestrooms.
"Yeah, but I don't think it'd fit - Jess has broader shoulders, but shorter body," Celeste argued, being actually a little bit more experienced, though a little rusty, with the etiquette of men's attire.
"But you're right, a sweater wouldn't be ideal either…," Celeste added, looking over Logan's sweaters. The man certainly had plenty to choose from but most of his favourites were with him in London.
"Just try this," Rory suggested, picking a Faherty Reserve blazer out of Logan's wardrobe that she recalled being a little too wide for him, Logan not having had the time to get it fitted properly just yet.
Jess tried the dark grey wool-blend blazer on, and actually wasn't too unhappy with the fit. Though as he glanced himself in the mirror, he was almost about to say that he looked like some middle-aged book-salesman, before realizing that he actually was one.
The two women looked over him with a judging eye.
"Yeah, I think it works," Rory commented approvingly.
"Alright, so now we need a shirt," Celeste continued. This whole thing was frankly a nice distraction for her, while inside she was reliving a lot of what she'd managed to put behind her almost three years ago. It was also for this reason Jess was putting up with this.
"Shirt off!" Celeste demanded.
Jess glared at her for a moment, checking whether she really meant it. Undressing in Rory's bedroom with both his ex-girlfriend and his wife present wasn't exactly a situation he'd ever imagined to be in.
"Off!" Celeste repeated, while Rory paid no attention to him, continuing to check over Logan's shirts.
"Is every one of his shirts some type of checkered pattern?" Jess grumbled at the selection Rory kept suggesting.
"It's called tattersall, and excluding a couple he has with him and the slim fit ones, which won't fit you, I'm sorry, this is what you'll have to live with," Rory replied, tossing the shirt she knew had a bit broader fit to him. Jess had definitely aged - his body looking sturdier and broader these days, having gained back the weight he'd lost in the spring, mostly to the muscles in his upper arms and chest, and while it was definitely not a bad look on him, it was just another thing that even from one brief glimpse reminded Rory of the passing of time. They'd all changed.
Thankfully Jess had worn his own black vintage-found corduroy pants and a decent pair of boots, which would work as such, allowing the two women to sigh in relief, almost as if congratulating themselves for a job well done.
After Rory had handed Jess Logan's spare shaving kit, and Jess headed upstairs to get ready, Celeste, who'd herself thankfully had some spare clothes in their apartment upstairs, had already changed into a minimalistic black midi dress, stayed behind, wanting to inquire Rory about G. She'd told Jess simply that she'd betrayed G's confidence on something, knowing Jess really didn't care about the details - it was all some teenage girl stuff to him which he preferred to avoid as long as he could.
They'd spent most of the evening talking about Celeste herself or Evie instead, Celeste having struggled to go to sleep after all the excitement of the day. Thankfully, Rory had texted Celeste a simple, "She's home," once G had gotten back, which had actually enabled her to get some sleep.
G had scattered to her quarters that morning, wanting to have breakfast without Celeste around, feeling unwilling to face her. And as Rory had had breakfast with Maya and the kids, Rory and Celeste hadn't really talked all morning besides some casual banter.
"She heard us downstairs," Rory said to Celeste, knowing she was dying to ask what G's disappearance act had been about.
"Fuck," Celeste muttered, suddenly realizing on how many levels she'd screwed up.
"So she knows, she's angry, feels betrayed and just wishes everybody stopped treating her as a kid - her words," Rory summed it up, continuing to add a few more details she recalled.
"I should really talk to her," Celeste began, almost wanting to head up there right now, but she knew that they were on a tight schedule as it was.
"Just let her cool off, yesterday was a lot on her… I honestly think it's better just to leave it for now," Rory pleaded. It wasn't that she minded Celeste interacting with her, she just wanted to have more control over what was going on, not wanting to be left in the dark again.
"Now tell me, how are you doing?" Rory insisted, focusing on Celeste. Frankly, having everybody else around her having bigger problems than she had - balancing work and home, and some minor body image issue, hardly seemed like anything in comparison - was a welcome distraction just the same, making time pass faster while she and Logan had developed texting the exact time how long it would be until Logan was back in New York.
"Nervous. But I guess if it's her that looked me up, legally I shouldn't have anything to worry about. I haven't admitted to being myself…," she explained.
"What did you write to her?" Rory recalled her mentioning it to Jess in passing.
"I explained my reasons, some bashing - but mostly dad- and Henri-bashing I guess. I also explained that I wasn't being ungrateful, that this was just what I needed to do. I told her I still sing Clair de Lune to Evie sometimes - she used to sing it to me sometimes," she explained. "But I don't think she actually got it, I just sent it on Friday," she added, wishing she could now just unsend it.
"Can you just tell G for me that I'm sorry - if I don't see her today," Celeste added a moment later, unable to put G out of her mind.
"You probably won't be able to follow much, but I'll translate if it's important," Celeste assured as he looked over her husband after they handed over their coats. Even if it was a little late for 'meeting the parent' it was still the case.
"You can do this - whatever this is - you've got this," Jess assured, knowing better than to attempt to kiss her when she'd just applied her lipstick. Instead, he squeezed her hand and a moment later, with his other hand on the small of her back, led her into the Palm court, following the hostess that led them towards the table in the back corner.
Stepping into the Palm court felt like travelling to a different country coming from the streets where the asphalt was covered in sleet and wrapped in greyness, the morning traffic having created a very different mood than this. For a Saturday morning the place was quite empty, surprisingly, but numerous reserved signs at the nearby table suggested this was also a part of the Aubertine way.
"Mère," Celeste stated in greeting and observed the frailness of the woman who sat opposite the table from her, a cane leaning onto her chair's armrest. Her short and wavy hair was almost completely white, having never gone grey as such, dressed in an emerald green. It was strange for Jess to see someone else whose features were in many ways similar to Celeste's, the only person who'd he'd seen it on until now being Evie. Something about the mouth, and the shape of the eyes, the shape of the face and shoulders, despite clearly belonging to a much older woman in her case.
"C'est Jess Mariano, mon mari," Celeste introduced him. "Jess - Sabine Armelle Marguerite Aubertin, my mother," she said to Jess, going with the full name, knowing how insistent her mother was on details like that.
"Bonjour," Jess said, getting a brief acknowledgement back in the form of a nod. While he didn't need to impress her, he couldn't help feeling like he wanted to anyways.
"Bonjour Odette," was the stern response not for a second hesitating on the choice of names.
Celeste simply wanted to roll her eyes, withholding the initial reaction.
What followed next, seemed to Jess like the most common conversation of catching up, picking up on the 'ça va'-s and a few names - first Henri and several minutes later also Evie. He also caught the 'Pourquoi' with what Celeste was probably asking about her reasons for being here which was followed by a lengthy monologue. Jess had expected Celeste to handle this poorly, at least so she had expected of handle it herself, but he had to admit, she had one hell of a poker face if she wasn't handling it. Celeste was cool and composed, sounding like she was constructing a business deal. But it was the casual laughter she let out at some point which seemed a little eerie to him.
And then Jess heard his name being mentioned, which caught his attention and he glanced at Celeste questioningly.
"Oh sorry, Jess," Celeste interrupted their talk after a good ten-fifteen minutes, getting ready to translate the gist in whisper. "As I suspected, my brother's in trouble with the law and she's pretty upset with him. Image is everything and well - none of what he's done meets those criteria. He faked her signature in a lot of documents, including the documents he used to revoke my inheritage, from her side - that is. There are investigators going over a whole load of documents as we speak. He's actually facing real jail time. Henri never really explained to her why I disappeared, he just made me look bad," Celeste summed it up.
"So what does she want?" Jess asked her quietly.
While Celeste had gotten an initial response from her mother that she was out to apologize to her, she was pretty sure there was more, hence she asked it again. Again - the question was followed by a lengthy dialogue, including Celeste making it very clear it was not the money she was interested in. Her mother snapped something back at her, which Jess could only imagine meaning something along the lines of 'don't be ridiculous'.
"Je veux vivre ma vie - c'est tout," Celeste shrugged and that Jess roughly got - she just wanted to live her life, which he certainly agreed with. Even with the inheritage being back on the table - they were past that. They had each other which was way more valuable than this.
Her mother replied something more.
"He's cutting Henri off," Celeste explained to Jess.
"Parce que tu as besoin d'argent," her mother said, claiming that clearly she needed the money, referring to the sale of the dresses.
"Je n'en ai pas besoin! Je ne voulais pas m'accrocher au passé!" Celeste argued that it wasn't about the money, even though it was a little and it was rather about putting the past behind her.
"Tu te comportes comme un enfant," her mother snorted, Jess getting the gist that she was apparently behaving like a child in her mother's eyes.
"Alors quoi?" Celeste huffed back, for a second actually feeling like she was still a teenager with that sentence.
Next was a more pleading monologue from her mother, which no doubt made Jess a little curious. Jess could only observe Celeste's expressions as she listened, and clearly there were several emotions that she went through - first being defiant, angry, then her facial features gently relaxing.
"Je ne veux pas me battre," Celeste replied. She didn't want to fight, that wasn't to goal.
"Moi non plus," she agreed.
Celeste then pulled up her phone and presented her mother with a picture of Evie on Jess' shoulders during the End of Summer Madness. It was her favourite picture of the two of them, both looking like they were truly happy right there. And it represented somethign she'd never had herself - an actual relationship with her father, which Jess and Evie certainly had.
"Il t'a fait du mal?" Celeste's mother asked, inquiring if Henri had ever hurt her.
"Non! Pas physiquement," she replied.
"Est-il un bon mari?" her mother asked, glancing over Jess thoroughly, making him a little uncomfortable.
"Oui," Celeste said, squeezing Jess' hand.
The discussion continued, Jess recognizing the mention of Logan's name and something about her father.
What came next caught Jess by surprise even more, as Celeste's mother called over the waiter, who brought the three of them menus.
"We're having brunch, apparently," Celeste commented with a weak smile, seeming surprised herself. "She doesn't seem to want anything from me - she was hurt, confused, worried - but largely that was down to Henri who was feeding her partial information. She's sorry, blaming how things were largely on my dad or my brother. She's not making me do anything, not shoving the inheritage down my throat… as far as she's letting on at least," Celeste explained in a whisper. Jess could tell she was still not completely trusting but she was humouring her nonetheless. It was not like in this situation she had a lot of options - her identity was out, she had nowhere to run, but frankly he knew that she wouldn't have wanted to. This whole thing - keeping herself hidden, had been much harder for her than she'd anticipated, maybe even contributing to the majority of her issues.
After they'd ordered - smoked salmon, frittata and orecchiete, it was the first time Sabine actually turned to Jess, asking in slightly broken English, "What do you do, Jess?"