"Hey Ace," Logan said, making an effort from his side as well. It was never about not wanting to call her 'Ace', but just at some point during the past few years he'd begun feeling like it was no longer appropriate. Somehow the mother of his children deserved more and he also wanted to be sensitive about the course her journalistic career had taken. But today, he just felt he'd needed to say it, the softness of the single syllable name feeling almost comforting. He needed nostalgia right now to keep him sane.
"Hey," she replied, a weak smile creeping onto her lips, and excused herself to go speak privately in the study. The nickname was a flash from the past, having definitely rather the positive than the negative effect in this moment.
Rory had spent the morning just catching up with Celeste, talking a little about Celeste's genetic tests she was having done and how in disbelief she still was about the whole thing. Rory unwinded a little about Logan too, but Celeste couldn't really offer her many answers.
"How's everything?" Logan asked, as he sat in his hotel room, alone, considering whether he should go take a walk or go for a second run that day. He was just at that age, where all of his former friends in London were either throat deep in work or at home with their families. Charlotte usually kept Owen pretty occupied during the weekends, as he usually worked long days during the week, still exploring the city. And unless Logan wanted the company of a couple of divorcees he knew, which was almost too horrible of a prospect to foreshadow if he couldn't pull him together, he really only had his own company to be around.
"Good, feels good to be back here for a change," Rory began, continuing to describe how they'd had dinner with everyone and how she'd seen Lane that morning also. "Oh, and last night Emma sat up - but I didn't get a picture or video. She refused to do it again, but we're keeping a close eye on her," Rory added, speaking excitedly, feeling proud.
It was a bit of a gut punch for Logan, but not the first one of its kind. He'd missed Leigh turning to her stomach, Emma pushing her chest off the ground and many other small development milestones by now. But it was almost expected - the twins hardly did these things at the same time - even if he witnessed one, he was likely to miss the other - even if he had just been working in New York.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to rub it in," Rory added, correcting her excited tone, hearing Logan go all quiet. She'd meant to ask how he was doing next, despite almost expecting him to say that he was 'fine' and to her follow up question on what was going on in London him to reply with a 'nothing much' like he often did these days, but he spoke first.
"It's fine," Logan exhaled. "I could use your help with something actually...," he said, Rory feeling some disappointment as this wasn't just a call to catch up. At home things like that usually meant sending him some files from his old laptop or scanning some physical document that he'd discovered that he needed - there really wasn't much he couldn't do from where he was or that his assistant couldn't do for him.
"Sure, though I'm not sure if I can help from Stars Hollow," Rory said, hesitantly.
"No, I know. That's why it's kind of perfect actually. I'll text you an address and I was hoping you couldn't go and look at the place. Just tell me what you think. I'll let you know once I know how you can access it, they said you wouldn't need to agree on a time with anyone," Logan said.
"But why…?" she began to inquire.
"Just look at it, okay? I'm just considering investing in something," Logan said, choosing his words cautiously. It wasn't about splurging, but not about cold-headedly investing either, he had other reasons, but those were at this point too all over the place for Rory to grasp them on the go like this. These required a longer explanation that had been developing in his head over the past few days.
On second thought, Rory felt good that he was speaking to her about things like this. This may not have been a deep heart to heart about what he was feeling, but he was a man - men were more practical most of the time anyway. It had truly been ages since Logan had involved Rory in his business and financial decisions, unless they involved the house they lived in, Rory having said herself that he didn't need to talk everything through with her. But on her defence she'd been physically exhausted being pregnant when she'd said it. She was surprised by how nice it felt to be asked for her advice on something like that and to feel like her opinion was trusted.
"Okay," Rory exhaled.
"Great, thanks. Call me when you're there or later, take some pictures maybe," he suggested, before saying his goodbyes.
Rory emerged from the study, noting Celeste looking at her expectantly. Right now it was just Celeste and the babies in the house - G having gone swimming with Jess, Doula, Finny, Evie and Leo.
"Are you up for a little road trip with me later?" Rory asked Celeste, having jut searched the address and gotten as a result that it really wasn't very far, just 45 minutes from Stars Hollow. She could ask Lorelai or Lane to watch the kids for a while, and besides, Finny and Evie were probably going to be fast asleep the minute after they finished their lunch, usually being exhausted after their swim, so they wouldn't really be very gravely missed if they went out for a few hours.
"What is this place?" Celeste exclaimed, as Rory returned to the car having fetched a remote and a key from a key lock box inside an antique mailbox at the end of the driveway.
"I have no idea," Rory noted. Right now, after the snowy drive through the countryside north of New Hartford, having taken a wrong turn a couple of times as the reception came and went. The roads around here were narrow, barely fitting two cars if one would drive past, but during the entire 15 minutes they'd been on the smaller road, they hadn't seen a soul, just a couple of houses with hardly any signs of life. "Logan should know I'm not much for wilderness, especially when it's this cold outside," Rory muttered, closing the car door behind her, still not thinking much of this whole thing. But she was humouring him, and becoming increasingly curious about what this place that he was interested in investing in was.
Celeste kept driving, the driveway, if it could be called that, stretching out several hundred feet before they reached a high white plastered stone wall, roughly 9 ft or so, and Rory pressed the button on the remote opening double swing gates made of dark timber. She could see security cameras, but they didn't seem to be actively following them at least, which just would've felt creepy.
"You know, if I didn't know any better, and if it wasn't this cold outside, it almost would feel like going to my family's place in Nice," Celeste noted casually, getting a familiar memory from the secludedness of the place. They'd also had high fences and lots of greenery, though very different kind.
"Don't you mean your place?" Rory noted, with a sneaky smile.
"Right," Celeste snorted, both of them knowing how it wasn't that simple, thought technically it was the truth. She still didn't quite believe it - it was just out of touch.
The gate closed behind them and they continued to drive another several hundred feet through a snow-covered forest before the house came to view.
"Well not quite, but definitely more European looking than I would've expected out here," Celeste commented as she pulled up in front of the European-style country manor building. It was three-stories high, and almost reminded Celeste of some smaller chateaus in Central France. Most of the buildings they'd seen around here were humble wooden colonials, so it definitely stood out. It wasn't quite as stuck in time as its surroundings, several of the smaller houses, a barn or barns even, the house's modern detailing being visible even under the snowy cover - the place had new windows and doors for example.
Rory didn't really know what her take on this was. She was feeling very confused about her reasons for being there. She was eager to just pick up the phone and demand some explanations, getting a gut feeling that this wasn't just anonymous investment. She could think of Logan maybe wanting to rent this out - but it wasn't exactly a property that seemed to be in high demand. What else could he possibly do with this place that would classify as an investment?
Rory slid the key into the lock and unlocked the house, noting that the security system had already been disarmed, feeling relieved, having not gotten a code from Logan.
"A lot more modern on the inside, that's for sure," Celeste commented in passing nad turned on the lights, illuminating the Chevron patterned parquet and wood-paneled atrium. "Here," Celeste noted, picking up the folder on the foyer table, which appeared to be the sales booklet of the place, and read out the introduction, "Maple Fell Farm, 9700 square feet, 47 acers of land, 7 beds, 9 baths. Panoramic views, unrivaled amenities, wood, marble, locally sourced stone… blablabla," Celeste read over the introduction. "4-stall horse barn, 3 guest homes, studio space, orchard, historic wheat and vegetable fields...," she continued. "Pig and chicken coop?" she added, sounding now almost as confused as Rory felt, still feeling speechless.
"Oh, and there's more - tennis court, baseball field, hiking trails, two pools - one for kids, bomb shelter...," she read out and paused. "3-acre pond, solar collectors and panels, ground source heat pump, wood carvings of Winne-the-Pooh characters on the bannister?" Celeste added with more puzzlement, deciding to ignore and not mention the 16-million-dollar price tag. It harldy seemed relevant.
The two walked in silence through the house, Celeste being in charge of the lights as Rory took the place in. It was professionally furnished, mostly in a quite a modern style, some antiques left in for accents, and just like that there was very little she could object to. But it wasn't that simple.
"Like - what is this?" Rory exclaimed, feeling perplexed, running her fingers through her hair. "Does he want to get this for us? Like some - like some equivalent to the Hunzberger mansion? Put a Velasquez on that wall and start buying Venetian glass apples?" Rory huffed, the place, despite it's more modern interior, still reminding her rather of her grandparent's place or Mitchum's house. "I mean we just moved! This is in the middle of nowhere - I don't like nature, have I ever liked nature this much?" Rory rambled as she glanced out the second story bedroom window towards the vast wilderness - fields and forest and the edge of what was referred to as the pond, which really seemed a lot larger than the booklet said.
It was like Rory didn't know who Logan was anymore - in what universe would he think she'd want this - this extravagance, secludedness and the size of this. All of this. Frantically her brain was searching for other explanations - maybe he did want to produce something in this place that it was good at, hire some people and have the kids come over to ride horses in the summer, but it was just so unlike them - they were never this type, at least she never thought they were this type.
"But you have to admit, it's kind of nice," Celeste commented. She did love it. Even the interior was right her style. But she knew that Rory's goals were much different and the way Logan had served this to her really hadn't been the way to do it if that was what Logan was doing, knowing that the first Rory had heard of this place, or any interest in a place, was a couple of hours ago.
"That's it, I'm calling him," Rory said, making Celeste cringe. This was not going to be pleasant to hear.
"Wait a minute, Rory," Celeste tried to calm Rory, who was almost hyperventilating now. "Deep breaths, okay?" she breathed with her.
"God - who is he?" Rory exclaimed, very close to tears.
"He's still Logan - maybe it's not what you think. Maybe it is just an investment - fix it up and sell it. Maybe he's expecting it to increase in value - I mean land isn't getting any cheaper, right?" Celeste tried to reason. "Just don't react as strongly as you are about to, I can tell you want to…," she added, fearing that if she did that, whatever Logan was planning, reacting horribly would simply cause Logan to shut down even more. "He wouldn't do this to confuse you or hurt you, just hear him out," she suggested.
Rory took off her coat and took Celeste's advice about needing a few deep breaths. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...
"God, I feel like tap-dancing," Rory muttered.
"You, what?" Celeste stared at her in confusion.
"I used to have pretty bad anxiety… it helped, a little," Rory explained, reminding Celeste how she'd struggled mentally before her and Logan had sorted things out.
"Dance! Whatever works," Celeste suggested, supportively.
"I'd probably get fined for ruining these floors," Rory laughed, for a brief moment seeing the irony and ridiculousness of this whole thing. There had to be a better explanation for this - right?
"Yeah?" Logan picked up, as Rory had eventually calmed down enough to get the all clear from Celeste to call him, Celeste still observing her with caution.
"Please just tell me you didn't just buy this place for us without telling me?" Rory shot at him, deciding to start by elminating the worse case scenario, knowing how Luke had bought the Twickham house for him and Lorelai once.
"No, I didn't," Logan replied, biting his tongue at the thought of adding a 'yet'.
"Then what is this?" Rory asked, raising her voice, shaking her head.
"It's a long story - I'll happily tell you, but just tell me what you thought of the place. You don't even necessarily have to think of it as something you'd call home, just as a place, a property. The place is self-sufficient, it's a farm - it's not too far off from Stars Hollow. It'd offer the locals jobs...," he explained, raising even more questions in Rory.
Rory took a few more deep breaths, trying to focus on what he was asking.
"I don't hate it," Rory admitted, surprising even Celeste at that point. "But I don't get why we would need something like this..," she added. She was still the little girl inside, that wanted to be humble, this was far from it, so what if out of sight. Though one could without a doubt argue that there was nothing humble about their townhouse either.
"I just feel like I want to have a back up, a plan B" Logan exhaled, followed by a deep sigh. "I told you how what's going on in my head is largely about control, that I fear things that I cannot control. And this is something I can control. I can have a backup, some place that's safe, self-sufficient," he explained, continuing to explain how whatever the place did in the meanwhile held little meaning. The place had history, land was only getting more expencive - and Logan was always a pretty good salesman.
But instead of getting caught up in the idea of owning this place, Rory just felt bad for him. This was clearly his way of dealing with his fears, essentially throwing money at his insecurities. She felt powerless to tell him 'no', after all it wasn't hurting her to own this is she didn't have to move. The discussion wasn't over, but she didn't feel like it could be had right there and now. Rory almost felt like allowing him to do this was similar to allowing a husband, going through a midlife crisis, to buy a new Porsche or a motorcycle, these options being the easier way to go compared to the alternative, which in most cases involved a busty blonde. She didn't want to find out what Logan's alternative was, knowing that busty blondes really only made Logan shrug these days.
What Rory didn't know and Logan felt unable to fully explain without sounding too paranoid, was that he'd had spent the past few evenings at the lobby bar speaking to the man, Otto, whom he'd met the other day. What had first started out as a casual discussion about the inconveniences of travel and world events, had grown to deeper discussion on the very existentialism of life and among other things the potential crises mankind was facing according to different experts. When Otto had begun speaking of these things Logan had frankly felt rather sceptical, as usually topics like that were followed by suggestions to invest or simply ask for donations, when someone made the connection between his name and the wealth, but there was none of that. What Otto spoke of, in his fairly drunken and desperate stupor towards the end of the night, involved what he would do if he had the time and money and what he had already done in order to prepare himself for the mysterious virus raising its head in China. Otto for example had stocked up on face-masks. disinfectant and bought a 6-month stock of MRE-s. But besides viruses he also spoke of antibiotic resistant bacteria, most of which was way over Logan's level of knowledge, climate change - heat domes, rising sea-water levels and other extreme weather events and what type of health risks those came with. And while in most situations the man might have sounded cuckoo to Logan, like just another doomsday fanatic, Otto actually had a PhD, had published several topical scientific articles and worked for WHO - he'd googled him. Logan was pretty sure Otto wasn't even supposed to be speaking about a lot of the things he was spilling to him, the scotch having loosened his tongue.
Logan hadn't panicked or begun stocking up on food, medicine or facemasks, but he did began to think more broadly about the ways he could protect what he had and valued the most - and in that comparison the company he was in London for seemed almost an utterly insignificant factor. The thought of self-sufficiency, however, was something he'd first been introduced to in California, and it had always sort of lingered in the back of his mind, and together with the refreshed sense of caution he'd recognized in Otto's voice, he was more and more beginning to consider that perhaps a plan B wasn't the worst idea in the world. If he couldn't protect his family with the means he had, what use was he at all?
AN: I really need your reviews! Tell me what you think of Logan's version of gaining control of his life.
Also a visual for this place they were seeing (changed the location): 187 Umpawaug Road, Redding, Fairfield County, CT 06896