–WFI–Chapter 13 Saturday, July 31
With the party tonight, you would think that the Huntzburger house would be hopping at 8:00 in the morning. You would be wrong. Everyone was still asleep or at least still in their rooms. Rory and Logan had their door locked.
About 8:15 the doorbell was ringing. No one hurried, thinking that someone would be downstairs, but after the third ring, Ricky grabbed his shorts and started downstairs. When he got to the door and opened it, Logan was just coming down the stairs.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" Tristan asked.
Ricky ran his hands through his hair. "No problem, Come in" He stepped back to let Tristian in. He waved Jill off, he could see her approaching the front door.
"Tristain, what brings you round this early in the morning?" Logan asked. Ricky headed to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.
"I was out for a run, noticed your gate open. Decided to check on it. When I got on the deck, I noticed something in your pool. I tried knocking on the sliding glass door, but I guess no one could hear me." Logan was up and headed to the deck to see what Tristain was talking about. When he got to the pool, he didn't see anything unusual.
"What was in the pool? I don't see anything." Logan asked, before Tristain could answer, Karson and Rory came down the stairs.
"I fished it out," Tristan said and pointed to a beach chair sitting beside the pool. Logan walked over to the chair and examined it. He then looked back at Tristain. He wasn't wet.
"This is one of the old deck chairs. I think they are in storage in the garage." Logan turns around and looks at Tristain, then heads to the garage. The door to the storage closet was open. They didn't keep it locked while they were on the property. "Okay, this doesn't make any sense. Why would someone get an old deck chair out of storage and throw it in the pool?" Logan said, looking at Tristain. He just shrugged his shoulders. The question going through Logan's mind was how could someone enter the garage without security noticing. Something was not right here.
"Well come on in and have a cup of coffee, we are getting a late start," Rory said. "I've got to get to the yacht club, make sure the party planner is doing what I asked," Rory said. She was pouting herself a cup of coffee.
"Party? At the yacht club?" Tristan asked.
"Yeah, our engagement party," Karson said. "You should come," She was curled up in Ricky's lap, almost asleep.
"Yeah, hold on, I got an extra invitation here somewhere," Rory said as she went to the office to get it. Ricky and Logan exchanged looks. Rory returned with the invitation.
"Thanks, Let me know what you find out about the chair being in the pool." Tristan said. Logan nodded as he left to finish his run down the beach.
"Hey, go get ready and I will take you to breakfast," Ricky told Karson. She got up and headed upstairs. Rory followed. She needed to get to the Yacht Club.
When she was gone, Ricky looked at Logan. "Chair in the pool? Did you notice that he wasn't wet?" Ricky asked.
Logan nodded. "Yeah, something doesn't sit right with me about that. How do you figure the chair got from the garage to the pool without security noticing? I wished Rory wouldn't have invited him to the party." Logan said.
"May not be a bad idea. This way we can keep an eye on him." Ricky said.
Logan nodded "No, you keep your eyes on Karson tonight. I will make sure Dillon, Ryan, or Jill is at the party. Maybe all three." Logan said.
Not too long after Ricky and Karson left to go get breakfast, Rory left to go to the Yacht Club, leaving Logan and Honor to get the kids breakfast and be entertained for the beginning of the day.
When Rory got to the Yacht Club, Sharon was there. She and the wedding planner were talking. Sharon was motioning in several directions and Cathy, the wedding planner was making notes. Before Rory could get to them, Katie came out of the kitchen with her mouth full of food. This got Rory's attention also. She turned to see Katie stuffing something else in her mouth.
"Hey guys," Rory said, "Sorry I'm late. Had a problem at the house this morning." Rory stated.
"Where is Karson?" Katie asked or that is what Rory thought she asked, couldn't tell with her mouth full.
"She and Ricky went for breakfast," Rory said with a smile, remembering Karson curled up in Ricky's lap. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch what you were saying," Rory said when Katie interrupted her thoughts.
"I said, we wanted to thank her for the appointments but we canceled them. We can fix our hair and nails." Katie said.
Sharon asked, "You don't feed them at that big fancy house you got."
Rory plastered her society smile on. "Yes, there was plenty to eat at the house, but I think they wanted to spend some time together today before tonight. They both will be thankful for it when the chaos starts tonight."Rory said.
"What chaos?" Sharon asked. Cathy started explaining the significance of the party.
"Wait," Katie said. "How many did you just say?"
"Close to 150" Cathy responded.
Kathie looked at Sharon. "I didn't think she knew 150 people," Sharon said.
Rory answered before Cathy could. "She and Ricky will know a good portion of the people attending, but they will not know all." Rory said. She didn't really want to explain that because of her and Logan's social status, a large engagement party was expected. There will be lots of business contacts at the party.
"They want a small wedding, so they agreed to a big engagement party to satisfy mostly work relationships." Rory explained. "The reception will also be big."
They walked around, talking about different decorations. Katie and Sharon were quick to give their opinion on what should or shouldn't be done. It was getting late when Katie and Sharon left to go get ready. Rory had to run around, making sure that everything was where it should be. She also talked with Cathy, explaining to follow her instructions, not Katie nor Sharon.
When Rory returned to the house, Cynthia and Jessi were getting the boys ready. Logan was finishing up. Gigi was helping Karson get ready. They had a spa day courtesy of Christopher and Leslie. Ricky was in the office. Logan said he was hiding, trying to stay out of the way.
Rory was running around in the bedroom after getting out of the shower, hurrying through her routine, when Logan walked in. "Hey beautiful," He said. "You got time. Slow down."
"We need to get there before the guest to make sure Sharon and Katie don't change things around. They were there when I got there, I had to get Cathy to go back and change some of the decorations." Rory explained from the closet. She stepped out for Logan to zip up her dress.
"Wow Ace, has Karson seen this dress? You are going to outshine the bride-to-be and the bride-to-be's mother." Rory smiled. "Thanks, but Karson picked the dress out for me."
"I want to talk to you about Tristain, but I have a feeling we will not have time for a discussion, so you are going to have to trust me." Logan told her.
Rory was sitting on the bench at the end of the bed putting her shoes on. She stopped and sat up. "Logan, not sure what you are talking about, but I do trust you. What happened? What did I miss?" she asked.
"I don't trust Tristain. Neither does Ricky. The chair in the pool? Something's not right about that. Let's just say, I checked some stuff today… For now, don't trust him. Okay?" Logan asked, kissing her lightly on the lips. He didn't want to mess up her lipstick.
"Okay," She said, nodding her head. She was now worried about Tristian and what he could be up to.
When they got downstairs, Honor was in the living room with the boys and Em. They were all sitting on the couch. Sitting up straight. Honor was telling them that they are old enough to know how to behave and that she expected them to have respect and to use their manners. Honor's nanny, Jazzy, is meeting them at the Yacht Club. Honor had reserved a suite at the Yacht Club so that Jazzy could take the kids after supper.
Josh had just got in and was finishing up, upstairs. "Mommy, you look beautiful," Em said. Will and Chris both nodded their heads. "Daddy, did you get a haircut?" Em asked. "
Yes, I did, sweet pea. It is so nice that you noticed," Logan said. Rory was staring at him. She hadn't noticed.
"I'm sorry I didn't notice," Rory said.
Ricky and Karson had already left, Rory and Logan left shortly after them. Honor was waiting on Josh, then they would bring the kids. Lorelai and Luke were picking up April and Jamie at the airport. Jamie's parents had Ashleigh. Rory was not sure about everyone else.
When they pulled up to the curve, there was not a line yet. Logan hopped out and gave the valet his key and helped Rory out of the car. Ricky, Karson, April, Luke, and Lorelai were the only ones there.
Rory was relieved. She kissed Logan on the cheek, "I'll be back shortly" she said and she fluttered around the room checking on everything. Rory was coming out of the kitchen when she noticed two well-dressed guys and a beautiful girl. She looked at the watch. It was still a little early for non-family. The invitations for the family said 6:00, the invitations for non-family is 6:30. Rory walked toward Logan who was talking with the group. When she got closer she realized it was Ryan, Jill, and Dillon, then she saw Agent Hanna Horn coming from the bathroom. She and Dillon had been dating for a good while.
"Welcome," Rory said, greeting the group.
"Ace, this is part of the 'Trust Me' we talked about," Logan said.
"Okay," she said, turning back to the group. "I guess that means you are working, but I still hope you have a good time." She said smiling. "Hanna, Jill, wow, You both look exquisite and Dillon, Ryan it is always a pleasure. You clean up great." Rory said with a smile. She turned to Logan. "Ricky is aware?" Rory whispered in Logan's ear. He nodded.
The party was in full swing, the non-family guest had started arriving about 35 minutes earlier. Karson and Ricky were stationed close to the door so they could greet everyone. Henry, Sharon, and Katie came in. Katie walked in with a smile on her face. When she saw people that were there, she stepped back into the lobby. Rory saw this. When she realized that she had not come back in, Rory went looking for her.
She found Katie sitting on the bench in the ladies' room. "Hey, You okay?" Rory asked. She could tell that she had been crying.
"I….I guess I didn't realize it was going to hit me like this. My baby is getting married." Katie told her.
"Yes, she is," Rory said smiling.
"I didn't know the party was going to be like this," Katie said.
"Like what?" Rory asked. "You heard us talking about 150 or more guests. I'm confused. What did you think was happening tonight?" Rory asked.
"I thought you were just trying to impress me. I didn't think there would be this many people." Katie said.
Rory just looked at her. "Okay, I'm not sure what is going on here, but your only daughter is out there with her fiance. You need to step up and be the mother she can be proud to introduce. Get over yourself, Katie. Now, what can I do to help you clean up before entering this party with your head up?" Rory asked
Ten minutes later Rory and Katie left the ladies' room to join the party. As soon as Rory entered, Logan grabbed her, "Let's dance." They danced to several songs. She danced with Mitchum and Christopher, Ricky and Josh. She had to make Luke dance with her. She danced with both the boys. Tristan asked her to dance, twice, both times they were interrupted before they could finish the dance.
Logan danced with Em several times. Ricky was dancing with Cynthia when he noticed Tristain moving toward the patio door. He stopped and was standing off by himself with a drink in his hand. Ricky watched Henry walk up to him and then they shook hands. After the dance was finished, Karson grabbed Ricky. She wanted to keep dancing. She had been dancing with Will and Joshua. As they were dancing, Ricky kept an eye on Henry and Tristain. The handshake was all he had seen so far. He danced Karson over to Rory and Logan. When Ricky got closer, he caught Logan's eyes. Ricky looked toward Tristian and then he looked at Henry on the other side of the room. Logan raised an eyebrow and Ricky nodded.
When that dance was finished, Ricky and Logan both bowed out and asked the girls if they would like a drink from the bar. After taking their orders, Logan and Ricky headed that way.
"I saw Tristian and Henry shaking hands. They talked for a minute and Henry walked back to Sharon. Tristan stayed where he was. He turned down several females that asked him to dance. I just think it is strange" Ricky said.
Logan nodded. "Okay, I will pass this off to Ryan or Dillon. Maybe Jill or Hanna can ask him to dance." Logan said. He gave Ricky Rory's drink and headed to find the security team.
When it was time for the toast, Logan stood up and got everyone's attention. "On behalf of myself, my wife Rory, and the rest of our family, I would like to welcome you to the engagement party for Ricky Greene and Karson Nicolas. Congratulations" Logan said with a smile as he raised his glass.
Rory stood up. "I'm Rory Huntzburger. I am step-mom to Ricky and Karson has lived with my family for over eight years. I think you and Ricky make a perfect match and I hope you are as happy and Logan and I are. We love you both." Rory said.
Ricky and Karson stood up. "As Logan said. We want to thank everyone for coming and hope you enjoy it." Karson said. She and Ricky stepped down and continued to mingle.
Almost everyone was gone. Ricky and Karson were still dancing to a slow song. Rory was smiling, she didn't think they even noticed that most everyone had left. Rory and Cynthia were overseeing the clean-up. Luke and Lorelai took the kids home about an hour ago.
Ricky and Karson were getting ready to leave. They were talking with Logan and Honor. Logan picks up the Wedding Card box. "Don't forget this," Logan said.
"I know, I couldn't believe all the cards I was handed. I bet I made at least 20 trips to this box tonight. I was like they wanted to make sure I knew what they gave." Ricky said.
"They did," Logan said laughing.
"You guys go home, take your money box with you," Rory said. "We will be right behind you."
"When did moma and them leave?" Karson asked.
"They left right after the toast. She said to tell you that she would see you tomorrow." Rory said.