Chapter 111

July 27th, 2024

Rory and Logan were just getting ready to face their day, having just showered, their children already fed an hour ago and being entertained by their nannies and other kids, which were plentiful around this place thankfully. Their giggles could be heard through their bathroom window, the slightly windy but sunny weather promising a pleasant Sunday. It was also Celeste's birthday later that evening, but she hadn't wanted anything more than a joint dinner in the garden - there having been plenty of partying already.

Logan was shaving while Rory was gently fighting him over mirror space to moisturize her skin and make sure her eyebrows were even. It was harmless fun, mostly teasing.

Logan ran his razor under hot water and placed it on the vanity, continuing to pat his skin clean with a warm moist towel, before applying some after shave gel. The room suddenly filled with one of Rory's favourite scents (if one didn't count newborn baby smell) and she inhaled audibly.

Logan chuckled and kissed her cheek.

"You seem cheerier today," Logan noted. He hadn't missed Rory being a little more emotional yesterday with Celeste, but he didn't want to pry to her reasons.

Celeste had even once before told her that sometimes women just need to vent, and that not everything that was said while venting was intended for the husband's ears. He kept repeating it as a mantra to himself that just because there were things she kept to herself, didn't mean she loved him any less. It didn't mean they were disconnected. Some things, some thoughts, were kept to oneself because one knew that those thoughts were flawed and would only hurt. It was perhaps that part that made him apprehensive - knowing one might have hurtful thoughts but didn't spoke them seemed worse somehow, so he focused on the part of them being flawed.

"Yeah, I am. It was good seeing Celeste again," Rory replied and ran a comb through her damp hair. She hated that she sometimes got these negative thoughts and broke down like that. Thinking back she couldn't even understand where those had come from.

"You can talk to me if you want, you know that right?" Logan assured her, standing behind her as he'd put his shaving kit away, and kissed her shoulder. He wasn't even prying to know what it had been about, but he did worry about her.

"I know…," Rory replied, squeezing his hand on her shoulder with a weak smile.

"Good," Logan exhaled, observing her. He was about to head over to the dresser to get fully dressed, but Rory stopped her.

"You know I'll need to do therapy when I go back, right?" Rory began. She just wanted to make sure he knew that. She wanted to make sure he knew that she wasn't fine yet - that she needed help. She wanted him to know that normal didn't apply to her just yet.

"If that's what you need - anything," Logan said, and kissed her hand that held his on her shoulder.

"I might need you there with me on some of those times. I know you don't like it much, but just… for me?" Rory suggested, hesitantly.

"I pretty much figured that already, Ace," Logan said, and kissed her temple. "Anything..," he assured.

Rory felt relieved, naturally, that she wouldn't have to fight him over it. They'd done this before, and she could tell how over it Logan felt whenever he sat down on a therapist's couch. His mind worked so much faster than any therapist could talk. But as her thinking was less than perfect, she couldn't help but to feel a little undeserving of his understanding at the same time. Again with the flawed thinking - she scolded herself.

"I mean it - I've put myself first for too long. I'm happy to go live in the City, get you to have all the opportunities that you want close by," Logan added, seeing her being a little sceptical of it.

"I was actually thinking of taking Jess up for his offer on editing his book, and it's not like I intend to be around HPG a lot… I don't really need to be in the city," Rory began, having given the topic some thought. New York felt like a lonely place if one didn't know what one was doing or wanted to do. Besides, it was not like she had a lot of friends there, especially after several years at Beeney. There was Hugo, who was a neighbour, and on occasion Paris. That was it if one didn't count casual aquaintances.

"Good," Logan said to the first part of her statement. He liked her working with Jess, those two seemed to have a good working dynamic where they brought out some former version of her, you know, the kind that saved Yale Daily News. The Rory Gilmore that was full of 'can do' spirit and wouldn't be stopped by a steam roller. "But I'm not sure about Beeney… It's just too much like going back," Logan admitted. He was secretly scared of going back to their former day-to-day life too.

"I know you miss it," Rory said, gently stroking his freshly shaved cheek.

"And I know you miss the City," Logan insisted.

"So what - we split the time 50-50?" Rory snorted, almost enjoying the argument.

"Or we move - start somewhere new?" Logan shrugged.

"Finny needs to start school - we don't exactly have that kind of time right now to decide on some place new," Rory argued, knowing the limitations of this plan. Besides, it wasn't like she really wanted to go through with this whole choosing, decorating and moving phase.

"But it'd be a fresh start. Adjoining studies, like we used to have in the Upper West Side… Maybe even closer to Finny's school. Closer to Jess so it'd be easier to work together. You'd be around some more people, you'd have more options if you weren't stuck in the middle of a forest. I could keep Beeney, it'd be easy to go check on the place, but none of us would actually have to live there," Logan continued.

"So what are you suggesting exactly? Hartford?" Rory asked with a puzzled gaze.

"It'd also be closer to dad," Logan added, not needing to say it was closer to Stars Hollow too. After all, Mitchum wasn't doing all that well either healthwise, and even if he didn't plan on going around daily, perhaps Mitchum having a chance to see the kids more often would be beneficial.

"Would that mean we'd have to sell the townhouse?" Rory pondered. She was the most attached to that place, even though they'd only been there for a little while.

"I don't think that'd be wise in this economy - it's not like realestate is getting any cheaper in the City," Logan discussed. He didn't like the idea of spending resources to keep up four estates - Greenwich Village, Martha's Vineyard, Beeney and another one, but if that was what was needed at this point, he was willing to consider it. His logic behind this was that their family was sizable, and any one in their extended family was welcome to use any one of those estates.

"But we could afford it...?" Rory asked, realizing she really didn't need to ask if he was suggesting it. Logan always thought these things through.

"Beeney is self sufficient, financially also. And with the main building's guest rooms free, maybe I could even hire a few more people to manage it," Logan explained. "The townhouse depends a little on whether G will go back there, after all of this… if its all empty, there's less point to having a place that big. If it comes to it we could just downsize in theory. But Harford is highly Manhattan in its pricing," Logan continued. "And if you're feeling really adventurous we could even move in with my dad," Logan chuckled, not meaning that with an ounce of seriousness.

Rory punched his shoulder at that thought. They both knew that was never going to happen.

They agreed to think about it, and to browse at some places. But the idea did leave the two with a new sense of direction, some excitement, very similar to the way they'd felt when looking for their first place together.