Logan opened the door slowly, streaks of early morning sunlight penetrating the window, bathing the small diner in warm hues. Luke's was nearly empty except for a handful of patrons. It was still early, the breakfast rush had yet to begin. Luke had his back to the counter,fiddling with the coffee pot.
"I'll be with you in just a. . ." Luke called as he turned around. "Logan?"
Logan forced a smile onto his face. "In the flesh."
Luke blinked in disbelief. "I. . . I. . . didn't expect to see you here."
"I practically live in Stars Hollow part time nowadays. . ." Logan replied, trying to make a joke.
Luke's expression remained deadpan. "Did she send you?"
Logan sat down on one of the worn leather stools and picked up a menu. "Rory doesn't know I'm here, and I'd like to keep it that way. I came to see you."
Luke looked at him puzzled. It was never a good thing when anyone from the Gilmore's world swung by the diner "just to see him". He motioned towards the kitchen "Can I get you something?"
"I'll take a rainbow chip cake with homemade cream cheese icing."
Luke groaned. "That's not on the menu."
"Luke, it's her birthday and all she really wants is your rainbow chip cake."
"It's her birthday? I must have forgotten." Luke lied, the date on the calendar had been haunting him for weeks.
"I don't believe that for a second."
"Did you come here just to pester me about a free cake?" Luke huffed.
"It doesn't have to be free. Name a price and I'll pay it."
"I lost the recipe." Luke retorted.
Logan sighed at the man's stubbornness. "You've made her that cake every birthday for thirty years. I think you know the recipe."
"I don't get why you want this for her so bad?"
"When she came to my house the other day, she was talking about you. . . .The look on her face. . . she was just so. . . deflated. It was one of those heartbreaking looks that made you want to do everything in your power to make sure it never crossed her face again."
Luke lowered his voice. "How can you be so forgiving? She kept your child from you Logan. She lied to you. She lied to all of us. Not only that but she made you out to be the bad guy."
"I love her Luke."
Luke stared at him in disbelief. "You love her?"
"Yes I love her. I always have and I always will. If you gave me the choice to go back in time and never meet her, knowing all the pain and heartbreak it was going to cause, I still wouldn't take it. Even if we never get back together, there's always going to be a piece of my heart that belongs to her. You don't just stop loving someone, because you're hurt by a mistake that they made. So yes, I love her, and I know you do too."
Luke turned back to the coffee pot, muttering and grumbling under his breath.
"C'mon Luke. I know you still care about her. Yes, she did something unfathomable, but holding on to all that anger? It only hurts you. Her lying to me, making me miss out on so much of my daughter's life? It hurt. . . it still hurts, but I'm trying to move past it. Not just for Rory, but for me. . . for Orie. Rory hurt us, but that doesn't mean she deserves to be hurt."
Luke remained silent, not acknowledging Logan. Logan stood up and walked around to the other side of the counter. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness. I'm just asking for a cake."
"You're not supposed to be on this side of the counter. . . No one is allowed on this side of the counter."
"Please Luke, I'm begging you. You're her dad! I'm new at this whole dad thing, but I could never cut my daughter out of my life, no matter what she did. "
"I'm not making her a cake." Luke grumbled as he walked into the kitchen. He pulled out a large mixing bowl, placing two eggs on the table next to it. He grabbed the sack of flour, measuring the right amount out with a measuring cup. He then sat out perfect amounts of sugar, butter, and vanilla. He glared at Logan as he assembled the rest of the ingredients, placing a small recipe card next to it. He glanced at Logan, "Cesar will be here in about forty minutes. You should probably get started."
A smile spread across Logan's face as he realized Luke's plan. "Thank you Luke."
...
"Logan?" Rory said as she opened the door, surprised to see him standing on her porch.
He thrust the cake forward. "Happy birthday!"
Rory gasped, caught off guard. "Is that. . . .a rainbow chip cake?"
"With homemade cream cheese icing! I know it's ugly, but I've never made a cake before so be nice. "
She glanced down at the misshapen cake, The icing was thick in spots and sparse in others. There was a whole container of sprinkles on top, more than Luke had probably used in his entire life. "You made me my cake?"
"It's Luke's recipe, but I made it with my own two hands." He puffed his chest out proudly.
"You made me a cake!" A smile spread across her face and his heart skipped a beat. He was immediately lost in her smile, bringing him back to a happier time, when she had been a more permanent fixture in his life. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. The brief hug felt like an eternity to Logan, her body welded to his like some kind of fever dream.
"I'm glad you like it." he replied sheepishly as she pulled away.
"Like it? I love it! It's perfect!" She beamed, holding the cake in front of her. "Logan you're the best!"
He shrugged. "It's no big deal."
"It's not a big deal? Logan YOU made me a cake! A rainbow chip cake at that!" Rory exclaimed. "You gotta try a piece! Come in!"
Logan stepped inside the small one story house. It was cozy and bright, with one wall dedicated entirely to books. A heavy wooden desk sat over to one side of the living room, almost too big for the small room. With its opulent carvings and impeccable Georgian craftsmanship, it stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the sea of second hand furniture. Rory carried the cake into the kitchen, holding it as tenderly as a newborn baby. "Orie! Your dad is here!" she called.
Orie was seated in front of a wildly elaborate dollhouse, playing quietly with a doll. At the mention of Logan she jumped up, running to him. "DADDY!" She squealed. He picked her up and twirled her around.
"Be careful of the dollhouse! " Rory said, pointing to the dollhouse. "It was my mom's. Jackson broke it once, but thankfully Luke saved the day. You can't even tell that he rebuilt it."
Orie tugged at Logan's shirt. "Do you want to see my room? Grandma Emily sent me a new tea set. . . it's really glass!'
Rory laughed. "It's porcelain."
Logan grabbed Orie's hand. "I would love to see your room and your glass tea set."
Orie began to pull him into the hallway. "We can have a tea party!"
Logan stuck his head around the corner. "I know you have plans with your mom tonight, but are you free now?I wanted to know if you and Orie wanted to go out for a birthday lunch? After tea of course."
Rory smiled. 'I would love to."
…
"She had Colic, really bad colic, and the only way I could get her to sleep was by driving her around. Well one night, money was really tight, and I was low on gas. She wouldn't sleep and I was desperate. So I buckled her into her pumpkin seat, and sat it on top of the dryer. I played a traffic noise youtube video on repeat. My mom came home to find us both asleep on the laundry room floor with the sounds of New York City playing."
Logan laughed, picturing an exhausted Rory asleep next to newborn Orie in her car seat. "I love these stories!"
Rory glanced over at Orie who was intently coloring a picture of a broccoli spear wearing sunglasses on the kids menu. A pang of sadness crossed her face. "You would have loved being there more."
Logan placed his hand on Rory's, making every nerve in her body electrify."I'm here now."
Their eyes met, saying everything that their words couldn't. Rory knew her stubbornness had cost them dearly, but Logan for some reason, had chosen to forgive her.
"Before I forget, I got you something." Logan said, removing his hand from Rory's.
"Logan, you didn't have to get me anything. The cake was more than enough."
"Nonsense it's your birthday." He fished around in his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, blue velvet box. He pushed it towards her. "I know I don't have the best luck when it comes to you and jewelry, but I think you'll like it."
Rory opened the box. Inside was a simple white gold bracelet, with eight tiny charms attached.
"A pretty bracelet!" Orie cheered.
Logan glanced at Rory. "Each charm is something special to us."
She fingered the delicate charms. "An umbrella."
He smiled at her. "You jump, I jump Jack."
"A rocket ship. . . ."
"Still one of the best episodes of the Twilight Zone."
She smiled." A british flag. . .I know this one! It's because we wouldn't have Orie without England right?"
He nodded. "That's it"
She continued. " a newspaper.. . a Yale bulldog. . . ." She paused at a charm of a tiny purse. "Is that?"
"A birkin bag." He laughed.
"My grandma still talks about that bag."
" I'll have to get her one for Christmas." Logan chuckled.
"The next one is a tiny lobster,"
"For all of our times at Martha's Vineyard.."
"And a gorilla head! for the Life and Death brigade!" Rory gushed.
" Let me tell you it wasn't easy to find a white gold Gorilla charm on short notice."
She leaned over and hugged him tight. "I absolutely love it!"
"Let's put it on you." he said, sliding the delicate bracelet around Rory's wrist. Once again his touch sent Rory into hyperdrive, her body craving more.
He turned to Orie, "I got you a present too!" He handed her a small gift, wrapped in simple pale pink paper.
Rory pretended to be offended. "Hey it's not your birthday!"
Orie flashed a playful smile at Rory and then opened the gift. "Lipsticks!"
"Pink, just like mommy's! None of that clear lip gloss for you." Logan cheered, peeking over at Rory.
Rory placed a hand over her face laughing.
Rory began to chat with Orie about her new lipstick when an elderly lady approached. Her cream colored sweater with a large pumpkin applique across the front was seemingly out of place in the upscale restaurant, but she didn't seem to mind. Thick lensed, red framed glasses dangled from a small pearl chain around her neck and she smelled heavily of Chanel No.5. "Excuse me kids, I hate to interrupt, but I had to stop by your table."
A concerned look blanketed Logan's face. "I'm sorry, were we being too loud? I apologize if we disrupted your meal."
"Pshhh!" The older woman said, patting Logan on the back. "Not at all! No dear, I just couldn't help but notice how you looked at your wife."
Rory spat out the drink of water that she had just sipped. "His wife? Oh. . .no ma'am we. . ."
"I'd know that look anywhere. It was the same way my husband used to look at me. We were married for fifty seven years before he passed away. Charlie and I didn't have everything, but when he looked at me like that, I had the world. " She took Rory's hand in her hand, withered and wrinkled with age. "Hold on to him dear. Hold on tight. Love like that doesn't come around every day."
Rory nodded, tears in her eyes. She didn't tell the woman, but she had already decided that she had foolishly let Logan go once before, and wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.