Chapter Three

"You could always just move back. Lots of New Yorkers do it," Lorelai spoke, the words directed to her daughter as the younger Gilmore girl approached her mother and her son. Rory resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her mother had been trying to get her to move back to Stars Hallow, or at the very least Connecticut since November of 2008 when she no longer had to follow Barak Obama around on the campaign trail.

"I love the train, and Ricky's life is in New York. You could always move there. Lots of hotels in need of a stellar manager," Rory shot back, her tone light and playful. Her mother would no sooner move out of Stars Hallow than Rory would move back.

Lorelai ignored the comment, wrapped her arm around Rory's shoulder and began to steer the threesome out of the depopulated train station. Ricky skipped on ahead of the two, his book tucked under his arm and his rolling suitcase trailing behind him.

"What would I do with Luke? Or Michelle? Neither one of them can live without me," Lorelai finally responded as they walked up to her trusty jeep. She ended her statement with a dramatic flourish to emphasize her obvious importance.

"I'm sure Michelle would love New York. He is much better suited for it, I think." Lorelai's right-hand man had often seemed out of place in quaint, small town Stars Hallow. He was focused on the latest food trends, much more concerned with what he ate and his figure than any other person in Stars Hallow and cared about celebrities and trends. New York was definitely the place that one would readily associate with Michelle, not Stars Hallow.

"Michelle maybe, but can you picture Luke in New York. It's a none-starter. You'll just have to move here."

Rory chuckled as she pictured the grumbly, stuck-in-his-ways Luke in trendy, fast-moving New York. "How has Luke been lately? You haven't said much about him. You are still together, right?" Rory was only partly concerned. Luke and Lorelai's relationship was definitely a saga; it could fill books with their break ups and make ups, their romantic tension and romantic entanglements. However, they had spent the better part of the last decade together, moving into Lorelai's house, which they had renovated when they were engaged shortly after Rory had left.

"Luke is fine. The diner has kept him pretty busy," Lorelai responded, her tone strangely cold and clipped. Was there something going on with them? Rory would have to keep her eye open for it that weekend.

Whenever Rory visited Stars Hallow, she made sure that she carved out some time to visit her best friend, Lane. The two girls had grown up together and Rory was dead-set against them growing apart despite the fact that they no longer lived in the same small town. Thankfully, social media had come around at just the right time.

"So, you'll never guess what happened at work," Rory mused as she lay sprawled across Lane's couch. Lane was curled up on a chair across the toy-strewn room. The soft sounds of boys' playful shouts acted as a background soundtrack to the conversation, letting the two women know that their sons were still fine and getting along.

"Did Miranda finally come out and say she is threatened by your potential and has been actively keeping you down with inconsequential stories?" Lane inquired. She had met Rory's editor Miranda only once, at a New York Times staff Christmas party about four years before, but the dark-haired musician had taken an instant dislike to the brunette journalist. Lane was convinced that Miranda was keeping Rory down because she didn't think there was room for multiple women in the editor field and knew that Rory would outshine her if given the opportunity. Rory just thought Miranda didn't like her on a personal level.

"No. No such confession. Though she may have proven you wrong, because she did finally give me a major story." Rory tried to make her tone sound excited, the proper emotion for the current situation. However, she couldn't help the slight edge in her voice that came through. It was a major story; she just wasn't happy about the subject of the story.

"Well, it's about time!" Lane squealed excitedly. However, when the Korean realised her friend had not joined her excited squealing she stopped and stared worriedly at her friend. "This is a good thing, isn't it?" Lane asked, her tone concerned.

"Finally getting something above community interest is fantastic. I've felt like a mouse on a wheel these past few years. I've put in all this work, ran like crazy, and yet haven't seemed to get anywhere." Lane gave the brunette a look at her statement, clearly intending Rory to interpret it as Lane proclaiming her correctness at Miranda's fear of Rory. The young Gilmore simply pushed on. "It's nice that my work is finally being appreciated. It's just the subject of this piece that I'm not thrilled about."

Rory paused. She had to be careful about how she proceeded. She couldn't give too much away, explain the real reason she didn't want to write a story about Logan was not their past relationship, but their son. Rory had told no one who Ricky's father was. Not Logan. Not Lane. Not her mother. She couldn't afford to trip up now and reveal her deepest secret, even if it was to her best friend.

Lane leaned in closer, a fish on the line as Rory slowly unwound her story. "What's the piece about?" Lane asked when Rory was quiet for a moment too long. Rory took a deep breath and carefully forged on.

"They want me to write about Logan Huntzberger and his new company. Apparently, there might be some shady and possibly even illegal business practices happening." Rory hoped that by not saying any more, Lane would interpret Rory's hesitance and not make Rory spell out why writing a story about Logan took some of the thrill off of her first major story.

For her part, Lane made a pained face and let out a whistling breath of air. "You're going to have to investigate your ex-boyfriend? The boy who was almost your fiancé and husband? That's going to be awkward. Do you think you'll have to interview him? I don't think it will matter though. Once your story comes out, he will definitely reach out. Well, I'm here for whatever you need."

Rory smiled warmly at her friend. Lane had done exactly what Rory needed her to do. Her friend would stand by her through this potentially rocky time and her secret was still that. Maybe Rory could write this story, be around Logan, and have no one figure it all out. Maybe.

Rory, Ricky, and Lorelai walked down the leafy treed streets of Stars Hallow. Living in New York, Rory and Ricky were used to walking to get where they wanted to go. Rory didn't own a car and saw no point. There was always so much congestion on the streets of Manhattan that it was quicker to walk and take the subway. But walking in New York City and walking in Stars Hallow were completely different experiences. New York walking was a convenience, and a way to get where you wanted to go quicker. Stars Hallow walking was almost like a luxury and it slowed you down, made you appreciate the small town charms that overflowed from every square inch of the small Connecticut town.

Rory took in a deep inhale of fresh air, definitely not something she could do easily in New York, and turned to her son. Her mother had been trying to convince Rory to move back to Stars Hallow. Was she robbing Ricky of fresh air and outdoor space by not doing it? Was her son missing something?

Rory wondered when she would stop worrying and second-guessing all of her decisions involving her son. Ricky looked healthy and happy. He didn't really seem to notice the differences between New York walking and Stars Hallow walking. He was skipping ahead of her, his head darting quickly around just as he did when they walked in New York. To him, it didn't seem to matter where he lived. And, Rory figured, they came back to Stars Hallow frequently enough that it wasn't like he never got fresh air or outdoor spaces.

"You seem a million miles away," Lorelai's voice broke through Rory's thoughts. She turned to her mom, expecting to see a concerned look on the older Gilmore's face. Instead, her mother wasn't even looking at her, but was looking in front of the trio, a far-away look on her face. Had Lorelai spoken to Rory or had she someone unconsciously voiced an observation about herself? Rory wasn't quite sure.

"How are things with Luke?" Rory asked, figuring that changing the subject was the best course of action. Things were strange between her and her mom at that moment and that was not a normal occurrence for the mother-daughter duo.

"Things with Luke are fine," Lorelai responded robotically. She didn't even turn to look at Rory. Had Rory been so lost in her own thoughts, about Logan, about raising Ricky, about her own problems, that she hadn't realised there was something wrong with her mom? She wanted to press Lorelai on the issue, but they had arrived at Luke's Diner, their destination. Rory felt a little strange talking about Luke behind his back in front of him. Her inquiries into her mother's life would have to wait until they were back home and Luke was still at the Diner closing things down for the night.

Luckily, Rory didn't have to wait that long to get to the bottom of her mother's strange, distant behaviour. Not seconds after they'd sat down, Luke hurried over to them. He seemed to be buzzing, a strange state for the normally deadpanned diner-owner. Rory was now extra suspicious.

"Have you told them?" Luke whispered to Lorelai, though calling it whispering might have been a bit of a stretch. Despite the sound of Caesar cooking, the other patron's eating, and the light din of conversation, Rory heard Luke's words perfectly clear.

"Told me what?" Rory asked at the same time that her mother said, "No. I was waiting for you." Rory gave her mother a suspicious look. Aside from one very big secret, the two Gilmores did not keep secrets from each other.

A ridiculously large smile broke across her mother's face, one mirrored by Luke. They both turned to Rory, trying to look serious but being far too happy and excited about their news to accomplish it.

"Would somebody tell me what is going on? You two are acting completely ridiculous. Mom, you were in another world on our way here. Luke, I don't think I've ever seen you this cheery. I'm half expecting you to break out into song and dance. Spill." Rory couldn't wait any longer.

"Well, Rory, darling, light-of-my-life, apple-of-my-eye," Lorelai began. Rory levelled her with an annoyed, exasperated look but didn't say anything. If she interrupted her mother now it would only drag things out further. "Luke and I have, after many years, many tears, and a lot of thought, decided to get married."

The word hung in the air between the two women. Rory half expected her mom to do that stereotypical fling-her-hand-down-and-show-off-her-ring move. Lorelai just continued to look at Rory, expectantly.

A smile to match Luke and Lorelai's broke across Rory's face. "That's fantastic! Isn't it Ricky! Grandma and Luke are getting married." Rory turned to her son who had his nose buried in the menu and hadn't been paying attention. Rory wasn't sure what was so enthralling about the menu Ricky had read a million times before, but her son was captivated and hadn't heard what Lorelai had just said.

With obvious effort, Ricky lifted his head. He smiled warmly at Lorelai and Luke but didn't say a word. Having done his duty, Ricky returned to the menu. Rory chuckled at her son's antics. He was a truly unique boy.

"That's not all," Lorelai said, drawing Rory's attention back to her mother and the man she considered her second father, the one who had been there for all the important parts of her life when her actual father hadn't been there. Rory saw that there were tears in her mother's eyes. Tears of happiness, Rory assumed, but she wasn't positive.

"I want you to be my maid-of-honour."