Chapter 36

November 8th, 2022

Logan stood at a familiar spot by the Barker center, the same one she'd met Rory for the first time since five years ago. The surroundings were a lot more bleak - the leaves having fallen by now and overall the streets around him looked like they had been wrapped in a blanket of gray. There could've been better weather for a date, there could've been better moments for a date too - some more romantic evening date perhaps instead of this lunch date that really wasn't all that different from their weekly lunches they'd been having. But still - even despite that - Logan was still a lot more excited to see her this time, the fact that this was a date not just another lunch to talk about Em making a surprising difference.

While Rory had admitted to wanting to date him, or well - go on 'a' date, technically - she had been a little awkward when it came to actually doing so during the evenings because she didn't feel like she was ready to answer her family's questions about her whereabouts or whom she was out with. And that Logan actually kind of understood - after the first impression from her family, her family in its current format, he'd gathered that they had been both a little cautious, especially Gigi, and excited about his presence, the latter being even a little flattering for him to be honest. So even Logan could feel the expectations from the brief time he'd spent with them. Rory didn't want the pressure and she wasn't ready to introduce the topic to Em yet either. And he got that, he really did.

So for now, they'd agreed to start with their lunches and make them slightly longer, Rory having come to work a little earlier that day to make sure she could have a longer lunch break.

Logan knew better than to complain. His whole Boston experience was his second chance - and that even if the rest of his life was still a little unsettled.

And Logan certainly didn't feel like complaining as after having stared at a bird in the distance for a while, immersed in his thoughts, and then turned - just feeling like he should, sensing a strange almost warm radiating heat from that direction . at the sight of the gorgeous head of auburn hair approach. He'd never shared his Finn's obsession for red-heads, but in this context, with the full package that Rory was, maybe the man was onto something.

Rory had given the hair some attention to look vibrant and bouncy, adding some waves, and Logan appreciated it, not that he thought she needed it. Rory made a hasty step towards him, already a minute or two late.

The hem of her black flower-patterned dress, one he'd seen on her before, could be seen from underneath her coat, and it looked like she'd just touched up her lipstick - an understated tone of mulberry - which flashed especially attractively when she smiled humbly, when she noticed him from afar.

Logan was oblivious to the way his own face lit up too.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Rory said, fretting about being late more than she had in a while. She'd really wanted to do this right, and she was no longer that girl who intentionally let guys wait. Besides, it was not like besides going to the bathroom and freshening her lipstick she had had a lot of getting ready to do if coming from work.

"I'll live," Logan replied, almost wanting to say that he'd waited for much longer than these couple of minutes if he would be talking in the grand scheme of things.

They hugged in greeting, and Logan got a whiff of her perfume. Nothing too eccentric or overwhelming, but a light citrusy scent with a hint of orange blossom.

"So, what's the plan Huntzberger?" Rory found herself asking, having been at a fast pace all morning. Truthfully, she was struggling to come down from the high, having been very nervous all morning - and no, not just because of Logan but also because she had had a deadline to meet at work.

"Ah, right.., a plan, let's see," Logan settled into a familiar banter, for a moment trying to play it cool and pretend like he'd come unprepared.

He offered her his arm which Rory happily accepted, having already felt utterly comfortable with him in that position. It was easier than trying to watch her every move with him as she had been for the past few months.

"By the way, you look gorgeous today, Rory," Logan said, biting back on the use of her nickname. He still felt like calling her that but since she had explained it - how it reminded her of something that hadn't worked out, he didn't want to rub it in either, even though to him the term had long ago lost all of its original meaning. To him it described her character - her tenaciousness, decisiveness and diligence.

"Why, thank you," Rory replied. "You're not so bad yourself," she added with a flirtatious smile.

There had been very few times when she'd seen him look anything less than good - a few hungover mornings and after his accident perhaps when his color hadn't been right. But he was the kind of guy who could look good in a potato sack and crocs if needed, so she was really not complaining over his gentlemanly attire of a polo-neck cashmere sweater and a classic coat.

"You seem pumped up somehow… just nerves or?" Logan decided to ask, sensing even her breathing being a little breathy, as they walked down the street.

"Well, nerves too, obviously," Rory admitted, blushing a little, but knew that the very fact that he was mentioning it was calming her down considerably. "But we just had a lot going on this morning. There's this grant deadline at the end of the day tonight… I'm just a little buzzed," Rory admitted. She'd indeed come in early to work that day, and being there this early had also meant that she'd fallen back to her old habit of caffeine by a gallon for that morning. She mostly just stuck to a cup or two a day these days, so the excess caffeine in her system was also making her this bouncy.

"You got everything done, I assume?" Logan asked, feeling a little guilty for stealing her away if her work friends, some of whom he too had by now met, were picking up her slack. But this was Rory - so that would've been highly unlikely. But as said - Logan would've much rather preferred an evening meal but he took what he got, knowing beggers couldn't be choosers.

"Yes, pressed send just before I left," Rory replied happily, poking her nose ever so slightly in the air.

"Good," Logan exhaled, feeling relieved because he didn't want her glancing at her watch all through their date because she had other obligations breathing down her neck.

His tone was a little lower these days, perhaps just a part of aging, but Rory couldn't really argue that it had an added draw.

"Can I ask you a work related question though? I know it's not maybe a 'fun' topic but…," Logan said, as they made it down the red-paved sidewalk.

"Of course," Rory replied, despite struggling already with getting work off her brain a little.

"If you guys have a grant deadline like today. I'm just trying to understand what you do in the process. I know you've told me a little about how you assist with manuscripts and events, scheduling and things like that. But grants sound different to me," Logan inquired. He was by no means about to minimize what she did - even if he on occasion felt she wasn't quite doing what her potential might've been.

"Well, in this case, the authors explained to me their main idea and now it was my job to study the requirements, put all what the authors had thought out into the grant format. Basically I wrote it, they revised it to see whether the core idea was still intact. There's a pretty specific type of language used in grants so, this is something I've become pretty good at if I say so myself," Rory explained, smiling a little at the fact. It was evident to Logan she was proud of this particular skill.

"And the whole thing also involves budget calculations, partnership negotiations, calculating work hours needed to complete a project and so on. I don't lead all of these things, but I am a part of them," Rory added. "And today we just put all the files together and uploaded them into the system and that's that," Rory said.

"Right. So basically you now have the skill of asking and getting money? That's not a bad skill, not bad at all," Logan discussed, appreciatively.

"Well, getting it is never a certainty, I'm afraid. But we do our best, and then just keep our fingers crossed…," Rory explained with an inhale.

"Right," Logan reflected, having read something about that. Though to someone like him, coming from an entirely corporate background he really had begun to forget what it was like for public institutions, NGO-s and the likes to get by. A lot happened through project writing and application procedures. Someone, somewhere sat and read those applications and decided who got the money and who didn't. But there were similarities too - a grant was essentially like an elevator pitch and those he knew well.

"As we're on the subject. How's work been for you? Is the end getting any nearer?" Rory inquired, as they turned on to Brattle Street, allowing Logan to guide her in a not-so-slow pace, which had she been wearing heels she might've actually minded a little. But there was always something exciting about being whisked away by Logan, wasn't there?

"You know… I have to admit.. It was the plan, and I guess I am still slowly moving towards it. But I haven't gotten a good enough idea of what else to do yet. So I've kept at it concerning some things. I just don't know if I know how to not work anymore… and this is already a big adjustment going from 12 hour days to more like 4," Logan admitted.

"Well… I think it's good you're consciously reducing your workload. I wouldn't want you to break…," Rory replied, having become recently a lot more aware of his health issues. Apparently he still took some heart medication, sort of a precautionary measure, but considering he was also really fit his issues seemed really well hidden.

"I'm not going to break," Logan argued, nearly regretting telling her about his issues. But he knew he would've had to sooner or later, so it was just something he needed to come to terms with just as well as the condition itself. Too much stress, too much emotion, grief… it wasn't always good for him.

"Suppose you won't," Rory replied, knowing she couldn't just turn around and become all protective. That had never worked with Logan, why would it now? But Rory also knew the other side of this - Logan had a self-destructive streak, both back in college and later, as it had appeared. Knowing so much about the other was actually kind of heavy...

"Can you just… um…," Rory began, not wanting to ask too much too soon. As much as she'd wanted to date him, almost like making a fresh start, there was so much familiarity between them, it almost seemed like an impossible task.

"Can I - what?" Logan asked, as they crossed Brattle square.

"Can you just not try to deal with everything by yourself if something is up? If you're having a tough time with… anything. Health, settling in, work… whatever," Rory requested, as she came momentarily to a half.

The look on her face was dead serious.

"I can try…," Logan chimed. There had always been so much he'd kept to himself - even with Odette. At first it were his secrets concerning Em and Rorry, later it had been his other struggles - to do with work or family, even his own odd grief for his mother after she'd passed, while he'd not wanted to burden his already sick wife with his stuff. He knew he hadn't done a particularly good job with this in the past with Rory either.

"Good," Rory reflected, and urged him to lead the way forward.

Thankfully it was only a quick turn left when Logan opened a door for her to a place that really hardly showed itself to the world.

"Is this it?" Rory replied, sounding a little disappointed.

"This is it," Logan declared, studying her. "I do believe I still owe you for Asia," he added, somewhat regretfully, explaining his choice. It was a well-hidden boutique restaurant, that he'd convinced to open for them several hours earlier than they usually did - but he wasn't about to tell Rory that unless she asked, wanting to keep some mystery alive.

While the statement had been intended as something fun and light, to Rory this was a sign of them drifting even more down memory lane, which wasn't really what she wanted. At least in theory, she wanted to build something new.

"Hey…," Rory said, as she stopped him just inside the doorway, the smell of steamed rice, caramelized sugars, sherry, vinegar and spices - ginger, garlic and peppers - hitting her all at once, nearly distracting her.

"What? You don't like this?" Logan asked, almost sounding upset.

"No, that's not it. And while you cannot ever go wrong with Chinese with me, I just wanted to ask you that maybe we can try to do this without building this...," Rory began, gesturing between the two, "...on what was, what we were… Could we somehow just turn a new leaf? I feel like we're not the same people anymore, and I don't want to always think about what you would do in the past… Can we just get to know each-other as the people we are now and try to not assume or lean too much on what we already know or think we know? I know, maybe it's just silly… but honestly - I think it's our best bet," Rory requested, resting her hand on his chest on top of his coat.

That touch alone was almost paralyzing. In a good way.

Logan didn't really know how to do what she asked, nor did he quite as directly see the reason why he should. But if those bright blue eyes asked, her pleading tone only added to it - how could he object?

"I'm not sure I know how…," Logan shrugged.

Her hand dropped from his chest, but she maintained her closeness.

"I don't know either..," Rory admitted, the hesitation being evident in both her face and tone.

Instead of replying that technically trying couldn't possibly hurt, Logan jumped right into the game.

"Care to join me for a meal?" he asked gallantly.

Rory could tell in an instant that he was going along with it, deciding to ignore the tiny cautioning voice in her head about how this could easily turn into mocking the whole idea.

"Why, yes," Rory replied, applying her own rule and wrapped her hand around his arm, and stepped forward to be seated.

The beginning was a little bumpy - Logan worrying a little whether things like not being surprised by her love for Chinese food and the variety of which she loved to consume it in, ordering way more than she could eat, would be disappointing her. Clearly - they were both overthinking this, desparate to do this right.

But little by little they began with ordinary date subjects - Rory telling him a little about the relationship she had by now with her father and half-sister whom she'd largely spent her weekend with. Rory almost managed to feel like she was telling this to someone new, while she didn't go into the lengths of explaining the complicated nature of those relationships as if he didn't already know it.

Logan replied with similar things - her sister, his nephews. He talked about places he'd seen, business projects he'd done.

But at the same time, Logan showed his playful side of him too - telling Rory as if for the first time how he was new in town and dozens of little things he'd found this city interesting or weird for. For a first date - there was no doubt that they ticked all the boxes for each other, each smile, sparkle in one's eyes or even a passing, not too directly romantic touch, even without their history.

The anticipation was already in the air as they began to leave - maybe a good date could possibly end with a kiss?

But it was then Rory got the call.

"Um, yeah?" Rory replied, just as Logan was finishing helping her coat back on.

Logan could just observe her face go pale for a moment, the low mumble on the other side of the phone call, certainly not a calm one, being somewhat audible to him too.

"I'll be back in 5, I was just on my way back…," Rory said, apologetically.

"Everything okay?" Logan asked, seeing her put the phone back in her pocket.

"I got to get back, like NOW…," Rory said, her voice shaking noticably.

"Yeah, sure," Logan replied, understanding the urgency.

"I… um… I made a mistake, I got to get back," Rory explained, seeing Logan's questioning glance, and rushed through the door.

Logan rushed through the streets behind her, understanding how Rory's head was already in full on panic mode. No matter how much he tried to predent this had just been their first date - he knew she was spiraling, the past years seeming now utterly impossible to erase from his brain.

Whatever this was, was clearly time sensitive and Logan had in the moments of silence, simply watching her, realized it must've have something to do with the grant proposal. This couldn't have been anything less than that, something with big money at stake.

The goodbye they had was not really adequate for the end of a good date, a pretend-first-date or not, unless one had suddenly gotten violently ill during a date, that is. There was barely a hasty hug, but Rory's mind wasn't in the right place and Logan knew it. So there was no scenario in which he would've blamed her for it, mostly it was just concern from his side.

Was this new and improved Rory actually capable of pushing through a crisis better than she had before? He genuinely hoped she was.