Chapter 7

Logan didn't hate fittings as much as you would expect. As a rule, he tended to dislike and do his best to avoid almost all stages of the process of attending a high society party. From the planning (if it was a Huntzberger party), to RSVPing (if it wasn't). From buying a gift to actually attending the party, and even the aftermath of it, which could involve 'thank you cards' and months of retrospective small talk about the party. But, surprisingly, he didn't hate the fittings for his suit.

If he thought about it, he really should hate it. Having to drive an hour each way to New Canaan to the tailor's studio, then having to stand there having the scraps of fabric slowly mounted on his frame like he was a life-sized papier-mâché project while chit-chatting with the tailor, should not be something he looked forward to. But, in reality, it kind of was. Logan wasn't the vainest person in Hartford, by far. He didn't really care too much about whether the suit he wore was double breasted or fully canvassed. If the buttons where mother of pearl or horn. Being a Huntzberger, of course, meant that from birth he was always dressed for parties in bespoke, hand-crafted, high-quality clothes. But as energetic a person he had always been, he had found the fitting process to be quite relaxing and enjoyable, rather than restrictive and boring.

So, when the bell over the front door of the tailor studio jingled, signalling a new customer coming in for their appointment, Logan was slightly put off by the realisation that his own appointment was nearly over. He was also not super enthused by the possibility of having to make polite small talk with the newcomer, if they happened to be an acquaintance. And the probability of them being an acquaintance was not negligible, as Dashi was the best master tailor in Connecticut.

So he was pleasantly surprised when the tailor welcomed his girlfriend's father to the studio.

"Mr. Hayden. Welcome! Please, come in." The tailor welcomed Christopher, briefly putting down his chalk and clothing pins to walk around the partition screen and shake Christopher's hand.

"Thank you, Pavli. I'm sorry I'm a bit early, but I didn't want to risk traffic on the I-91."

"Oh, no problem at all. You're welcome to sit here and wait. I should be finished with Mr. Huntzberger soon."

"Mr. Huntzberger?" Christopher asked surprised.

Logan stepped carefully down from the stand in front of the mirrors and leaned gently back to pop his head beyond the partition. "Hey Chris." He greeted.

"Logan! I didn't know you'd be here." Christopher smiled broadly.

"I didn't know you'd be here either. I didn't know Mr. Dashi was your tailor too."

Christopher clasped his hand on the master tailor's shoulders in a friendly manner. "Oh yes, the Dashis have been clothing the Haydens for generations."

"Yeah, same here. Since my grandfather, as least."

"I believe your great grandfather was our first client, Mr. Huntzberger. Otto Huntzberger, is that right?"

"Otto, yes. You're right." Logan walked closer to Christopher, and they shook hands. Christopher admired Logan's suit.

"Looking good. You got a fancy event coming up or something?"

"Yes, actually, your wedding." Logan laughed and Christopher chuckled.

"Ah right, of course. I'm here for the same reason."

"If Mr Huntzberger would please step back onto the stand, I can finish the fitting." Mr Dashi said gesturing back to the stand.

Logan did as he was told, and Christopher sat himself in one of the chairs behind the fitting area to wait.

"How are the preparations for the party coming along?" Logan asked, looking at Christopher through the mirror as the tailor began to mark the fabric of the suit and trousers with some chalk and pinned it in spots where it needed to be taken in.

"Oh, you know how these things go. No matter the amount of preparation, there is always a truck load of last-minute things to deal with. Lorelai has been getting calls from Emily and her party planner at all times of the day for the past week. I think we will all be glad when this is over."

"Well, my friends and I are looking forward to it. Rory told us about the band you guys have hired. It will be a really good change from the usual string quartet they insist on having at these parties."

"Oh yes. The band was a must for Lorelai and I if we were going to go through with this party at all. But… did you say you have friends coming to the party?"

"Yes, Finnegan Morgan and Colin McCrae." Logan said. At Christopher's black expression, he added. "Rory invited them. She had printed invitations and everything."

"Oh, no no. Don't worry. They are more than welcome." Christopher assured him. "In fact, I'm glad you're bringing some friends. Neither Lorelai nor I have a lot of friends in Hartford, so if it wasn't for you and Rory, there would only be the usual old farts there." They laughed. "You said McCrae. Any relation to the Honourable Judge McCrae?"

"Yes, Colin is his son."

"Ah. Then I think his parents were also invited. Judge McCrae was a close colleague of my father's. I haven't seen him or his wife since I was a teenager."

"Well, Judge McCrae might be there, but not Colin's mother. They divorced years ago. The judge has remarried a few times since."

"Oh. That's good to know. I likely would have put my foot in my mouth."

"Oh, you would have noticed. His current wife is closer to my age than to his." Logan shared a look with the tailor, who had a knowing smile on his own face.

"Well, thank you for the heads up anyway." Christopher chuckled.

"I have to say, Mr. Hayden." Pavli started. "That I was very happy to hear that you and Miss Gilmore have finally found your way back to each other. I have been watching and hearing about you from the side-lines since you were children. I always felt that you were meant to be."

Christopher responded with a genuine smile. "Thank you, Pavli. You really have been there from the beginning. It took us, or rather me, a while to get it together, but I got there."

"Sounds like you have some stories to tell, Mr. Dashi." Logan said.

"Oh, Mr. Huntzberger. You'd be surprised by how much I hear between these four walls." The tailor kidded, fiddling with Logan's lapels. "And Mr. Hayden here has been head-over-heels for Miss Gilmore since he was only a child. I remember he came in for a suit once, he must have been around 10 years old, and he announced to me that one day he would marry Lorelai Gilmore."

"No, really?" Logan was incredulous. "You've loved her that long?"

"If I'm honest, I have loved Lorelai since we were six. But I think I attended my first wedding at ten, so that's probably when the idea first came to me."

"And Lorelai?"

"You'd have to ask her, but we were best friends from the moment we met. And she kissed me first, when we were 14."

"Really?"

"Yes. Best day of my life." Christopher said without hesitation.

"Can I ask, Mr. Hayden, how did you propose?" Mr. Dashi asked.

"I don't know if proposed is the right word for it. We talked about it many times over the years, because of Rory, you know, our daughter." Christopher explained with a sigh. "If there's one thing I know about the Gilmore girls is that you don't spring these types of things on them. They don't respond well to being put on the spot. Lorelai was never one for grand public gestures. She always liked the thoughtful, intimate gestures much more."

Logan nodded along, recognising the same pattern in Rory.

"And the one time I brought it up by surprise, definitely didn't go well even though we were alone at her house." Christopher continued, rubbing his neck with a hand. "I'm sure it would have gone a bit better if I had brought it up more as a topic for discussion, so we could talk about all practical aspects of it. But ultimately, it was a timing thing. She's always been the only one for me. But I needed to get my shit together and unfortunately it took a couple of failed tries and some 22 years for us to be in the same place at the same time."

"I dare say you don't regret any of that time though." Pavli turner Logan around to pin the fabric around his shoulders.

"Do I wish we could have gotten together earlier? Yes. But if we had to go through all we went through to finally be together again, then it was worth it. I'd wait forever for my Gilmore girl."

All three men were silent for a few moments, each considering their own luck in love. Eventually, Mr. Dashi broke the silence.

"I'll be ready for you in a moment, Mr. Hayden. You can already start getting dressed." The tailor said while he rolled out a mannequin wearing a nearly finished dark suit and trousers and a light grey vest. "You'll be very pleased with the progress, I believe".

Christopher inspected the mannequin, touching the fabric here and there. "This looks great, Pavli." He complimented. "But it looks nearly done. Do you really need to fit it again?"

"Traditionally, two fittings are enough. But since you'll be the star of the show, second only to the bride of course, it is smart to have a third fitting, to make sure everything is perfect."

"Well, you're the master for a reason. So I trust you."

"Please try on all the pieces. Did you bring a shirt?"

"Yes, I brought the actual shirt I plan on wearing." Christopher pulled the shirt off the hanger he had brought with him.

"Three pieces, nice." Logan observed.

"Yeah, I managed to talk myself out of a morning suit, but Emily put her foot down at three pieces."

"I'm all done now, Mr. Huntzberger. How does it feel? I will take it in a bit more on the shoulders and the waist, so it is more fitted."

"Thank you so much Mr. Dashi. It looks perfect, as usual."

"That's great to hear. You can go get dressed back into your own clothes. Just be careful not to hurt yourself with the pins." Logan stepped off the stand and let the tailor help take his suit off then strode to the changing area to take off the trousers.

Once dressed, Christopher stood on the stand and admired the tailors amazing work. He looked really good in his new suit. At the tailor's request, he moved his shoulders and arms around a bit to make sure the suit would allow him to dance. There was definitely going to be a lot a dancing at this shindig.

After what felt like years spent on party-planning meetings, cake tastings, invitation browsing and colour scheming, it was finally time for the wedding party that the Gilmores were throwing for Lorelai and Christopher. The planning process had been arduous. Mostly Lorelai arduously resisting Emily's ideas and suggestions and Emily arduously trying to keep Lorelai's jokes under control. But not even Lorelai could deny that the final result was beautiful. In the end both Lorelai and Christopher had taken some active role in the planning of the party, to ensure that it was going to be at least marginally fun for them and their guests. But the vast majority of the planning had still fallen to the hands of Emily and her star party planner Randall Farber. Lorelai had been more than a little worried that the whole thing would be too extravagant, but in true Emily Gilmore fashion everything ended up perfectly elegant and graceful without being flashy or excessive. The colour scheme that Lorelai had decided with Randall of buttercup and buttercream (or in Lorelai's terms: yellow) worked perfectly to bring some cheeky and playful joy to a party that would otherwise probably end up very serious and pretentious. The lack of a theme also helped with downplaying the whole thing.

Of course, everything was still outrageously overpriced, but you have to choose your battles.

One of these overpriced items was, of course, Lorelai's dress. She had stood firm and declared a hard no at wearing a dress that resembled a wedding dress. Absolutely no white dress. But she had ultimately agreed to wear a light yellow/cream coloured dress, to match the colour scheme ("You chose the colours yourself, Lorelai! Don't act like this was some mind controlling conspiracy."). Christopher looked dashing and sophisticated in his custom-made three-piece suit, white shirt, and blue tie. Randall had arranged for him a pocket square in the same shade of yellow as Lorelai's dress, so they could match a little bit. In a both serendipitous and carefully calculated twist of fate, Christopher's blue tie also perfectly matched the blue in the dragonfly-shaped brooch that Emily gave Lorelai as a something blue and something new. Lorelai was actually really touched by that gesture and didn't even try to hide her watery eyes when her mother had gifted her the brooch.

The party started with some cocktails and mingling. Lorelai and Christopher had to stay near the entrance to welcome the guests and receive all the "best wishes", "congratulations", "finally-s" and presents. A lot of the guests where old friends of the Gilmores and the Haydens, people that Christopher and Lorelai had met once upon a time and had heard of throughout their lives but were not at all friends with. But there were some people they had invited themselves, like Sookie and Jackson, Michel, and a couple of Christopher's friends from work. Rory had helped inflate her mom's list and invited Paris and Doyle, and Lane and Zach. Rory had also invited Logan's friends, though some of them were already in the guest list because they were also Hartford society, like Colin and Stephanie. The welcoming of the guests lasted the first hour of the party, so Rory and Logan helped by keeping Gigi entertained and making sure the servers went to them carrying drinks and appetizers. After that, all the guests were led into the dining hall where the dinner tables and the dance floor were set up.

The highlights of the party were definitely the band, which Lorelai and Christopher had chosen, and the food, which was catered by Sookie. It seemed that the only thing that could keep people off the dance floor was the food and the only thing keeping people away from the tables was the band. Even the poshest of Hartford society, like judge McCrae and his fourth wife, were seen on the dance floor, something that made Colin take three shots of whisky in a row. Finn was only too happy to accompany his friend on his drinking binge. The problem was that a drunk Finn was way more likely to insist on hitting the dance floor himself. And a drunk Colin was way more likely to let Finn convince him to do anything. Which meant that for the first and likely last time in his life, Colin found himself sharing a dance floor with this father (and 3rd stepmother).

Lorelai and Christopher: bringing families together since 1984.

But before all the dining and dancing there was a round of speeches. Originally, Emily wanted Lorelai and Christopher to exchange vows, since she didn't get to see them do it for real during their actual wedding. Lorelai really really really didn't want to do that, so they agreed to open the floor for the guests to give speeches instead. This appeased Emily and Richard quite well, as it gave them the chance to stand and say a few words. And considering the fact that both the Gilmores and the Haydens were old staples of Hartford society, a lot of people had fun and cute memories of Lorelai and Christopher as children and teenagers. Thankfully, no one dealt into the teenage pregnancy and subsequent disappearance from society part of their story too much. After Richard and Emily's opening speech and a couple of spontaneous speeches from old school friends and Christopher's work colleagues, it was time for Rory to give her speech.

She went onto the stage as the master of ceremonies called for attention and address the guests. "Hello everyone! I'm Rory Gilmore, Lorelai and Christopher's daughter." Colin and Finn applauded loudly, making others around them laugh and clap along. "Thank you, thank you." She smiled at them patiently, waiting for them to stop before she continued. "When my parents decided to open the floor for speeches for their wedding party, I instantly knew I wanted to stand up and say something. I mean, this wedding, this marriage has been on the table one way or another for literally longer than I have been alive. In the beginning, a lot of the reasoning behind the idea for their marriage was actually the fact that I was alive, that I existed." She took a moment to let the chuckles from the guests to die down and turned to face her parents. "Mom, Dad, you know how happy I am that you guys finally made it here. This is every kid's dream, that their parents would get back together. But as much as I wished you were together when I was growing up, I'm actually really proud of both of you that you only got together now. You took the time to work on yourselves and grow and mature and get on the same page. And you didn't let society or what people thought was the right thing to do get in the way of actually doing the right thing for both of you, and ultimately for me. Because I got to grow up with the example of two independent parents that were imperfect but aware of it and doing their best to work on themselves. You taught me that it's ok to not be perfect, to be a work in progress, and to do what is right for yourselves rather than what is easier for everyone else to accept. You taught me that loving each other means putting in the work to be right for each other, even if that means being apart. That love waits. I also think that all the work that you guys did and all the time that it took to get here clearly shows that you guys are here because of you and not because of me or anyone else. I know you love me. I know you love Gigi. You'll always have me, and you'll always have Gigi. But now I know, you know and everyone in this room knows that you guys are here today because you love each other and want to be together. And I think that's really powerful and really beautiful." Rory smiled down at her parents who were sitting side by side, Christopher's arm around Lorelai, Gigi on Lorelai's lap.

"So, let's all raise a glass to Mom and Dad, Lorelai and Christopher. To taking the time to get it right." Rory led the guests into raising their glasses and they all chanted "To Lorelai and Christopher" before drinking and applauding Rory on her way off the stage. Her parents stood up as she walked towards them and they all hugged, Gigi squeezed between all their legs. Lorelai could not hold back one of the sobs that had built up in her throat as she wrapped her arms around her daughter.

Christopher, with actual tears in his eyes, kissed Rory's temple as he hugged both his Gilmore girls. "We love you, kiddo."

"I love you too, Dad."

The rest of the party went really well. Lorelai and Christopher were surprised to find that they actually had fun. The band they had chosen was of course amazing. But they were gladly surprised to see that the snobs of Hartford society also enjoyed the band and seamed to let go of some of their stuck-up behaviour enough to enjoy the party as well. One example was Mitchum and Shira Huntzberger. None of the Gilmores had really wanted to invite them, particularly not Emily or Richard. But they agreed that by the looks of things Logan was going to be a part of Rory's life for a while and so it would be better to be civil and polite to the Huntzbergers. It had actually been Lorelai who insisted on inviting them. She had spent too long resisting liking Logan, disliking his friends and family, not really wanting Rory to date him. But since Logan's visit to Stars Hollow and their heart-to heart in the kitchen, their relationship had taken a new course, and Lorelai was determined to be supportive of both Rory and Logan. Mitchum and Shira were their usual stuck-up selves for the first half of the dinner but started to mellow out with some drinks and eventually ended up on the dance floor like everyone else.

Another person that had a blast at the party was Gigi. Rory had been a little worried that her litter sister would hog her boyfriend the entire time. And she had, in the beginning. Logan had had to dance four consecutive dances with Gigi, until Finn came to his rescue. Thankfully, Gigi was just as enamoured by Finn's eccentricities ("I'm exotic!") as she had been with Logan. On Finn's side, he was happy to take in all the attention he could get, even if it was from a 6-year-old.

"Oh oh." Rory said, her arms around Logan's neck while they danced nearby. "I think you might have some competition for Gigi's favourite person in the world."

"Don't break my heart, Ace." Logan glanced at his friend who was dancing with the little girl standing on his feet. "Bloody Finn… I wonder if I can get him deported."

"He would probably just flirt with the ICE agents and charm his way back into the country."

"What about reporting him to the CDC? I'm sure he must have some sort of nefarious contagious disease."

"Eww, don't say that. He's dancing with my little sister!"

"I know! We should go rescue her right now!" He made to step away from Rory, but she held on to him.

"No way! I have shared you enough already tonight."

"Aww Ace, are you jealous?" Logan teased Rory.

"I just don't want to end up dancing with Finn after hearing he might have some contagious disease. I know you were mostly joking but now thinking about it, it does sound fairly plausible."

"I loved your speech."

"Really? It wasn't too cheesy?"

"It was a beautiful speech, Ace. I specially loved your not-so-subtle dig at all the Hartford snobs that judged their teen pregnancy."

"Yeah… I thought about not mentioning that. But I knew that it would be hanging over the room like a big fat pink elephant and no one would mention it. And I kind of grew up feeling like the big pink elephant was me, you know? I didn't want to have a dig at my grandparents, but they were part of that pressure group… I hope they aren't offended."

"I don't think they took it personally. And at the end of the day, we are here at your parents' wedding. It's a happy ending."

"That's what I wanted people to take from it, for sure. Except it's not an ending. They finally get their beginning."

"They look really happy." They both glanced to Lorelai and Christopher, who were also on dance floor, arms around each other, whispering in each other's ears and laughing, probably making jokes at the expense of other people.

"You know, my parents got married because my mom got pregnant."

"Really? With Honour?" Logan nodded. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I wouldn't have talked about that in my speech if-"

"No, no, Ace. Don't worry about it." He interrupted her. "I mean, they might care, but I certainly don't. It's not widely known either. They got married quickly and Honour was born 'premature', you know? I only know for sure because I have heard it being thrown around during their fights when I was growing up. Grandpa also loved bringing it up whenever dad did something he didn't approve."

"I'm sorry" Rory said again, rubbing Logan's back as they danced.

"No, it's ok. Really." He smiled genuinely at her. "I just realised, after listening to your speech, that I never really questioned it, you know? I grew up with my mom nagging both me and Honour about pregnancy before marriage, that it if happens we'd have to get married to that person and regret it forever. And we saw it happen to a number of other people. It just seemed… normal, you know?"

They turned on the dance floor a bit to be able to look toward Mitchum and Shira. They looked like they had been having fun a few minutes earlier, dancing along to the band. But now Shira was sitting at their table again looking forlorn, while Mitchum was standing some feet behind her near the wall of the hall, talking on the phone.

"Hearing your speech, I also realised that so many people in society marry so… young. Almost as soon as we hit 20, parents start with the meat market, you know? Remember that party at your grandparents? The one with only their friends who had sons? I couldn't tell you how many of those I have had to go to. I don't think I have ever been to a wedding of people in their late 30s or 40s, not unless it was their second or third wedding."

"Exactly. What's the rush?"

"Rory!" Lorelai, who at this point was just one drink away from tipsy, approached them interrupting their conversation. "Please dance with me. You father won't let me lead."

They laughed and Rory let go of Logan to dance instead with her mother. Logan excused himself to the bar to refresh his drink, where he caught up with Christopher.

"Needed a break?" Christopher asked.

"No. Lorelai wanted to dance with Rory. Something about you not letting her lead." Logan smirked at him, mentioning for the bartender.

"She is terrible at leading. Steps on my toes all the time. Best of luck to Rory." Christopher joked.

"Congrats again." Logan said and they clinked glasses. "Great party, too."

"Thanks. It is a good party, right?" They leaned against the bar, surveying the dance floor. "Judge McCrea surely seems to be enjoying himself."

"I will be doing damage control with Colin for weeks after this." Logan joked. "I'd suggest base jumping off a cliff, but we already did that and it didn't end up too well for me."

"Nothing too dangerous, please. Both my daughters would miss you." They chuckled.

"I don't know." Logan grumbled, gesturing to the dance floor, where Finn was doing the sprinkler while Gigi was trying to imitate him with awe in her eyes. "Your youngest seems a bit fickle today."

"Ha!" Christopher laughed. "Hard luck there. Finn is exotic, after all." Chris winked, clearly mocking Logan.

"You won't be laughing when she gets Asian bird flu from him."

That caused Christopher to frown in confusion. "Asian bird flu?"

"Never mind." Logan said laughing and taking another sip of his drink. "I wanted to thank you guys for inviting my parents. Not that I really wanted them here, but it was nice of you."

"It was all Lorelai." Christopher explained. "I don't know your parents. I only met them today. But Richard and Emily really didn't want to invite them."

"Yeah, I don't blame them. They were awful to Rory when we first started going out."

"I've heard. But nothing will ever get better if we just ignore each other. We like you. Rory likes you. Everybody else has to get along. We are happy to do that for you and Rory."

"Thank you, Chris. I appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it. Even Richard and Emily will change their tune soon enough. There's nothing quite like the moral high ground for these people." Christopher gestured to the party guests in general. "They'll do whatever they need to be able to brag about being the bigger person at the next round at the golf club or the next DAR meeting."

Logan laughed, nodding his head in agreement. "Speaking of moral high ground, I'll go check in on my parents."

"I'll go with you. We can bring them some drinks. I'm guessing your father is a scotch man?" Christopher asked, turning to the bar and signalling to the bar tender.

"Scotch, yes. He usually takes it straight up, but we should get it on the rocks for him. I'm sure he has had a couple already. My mom will have a cosmo."

They got the drinks and took them over to Mitchum and Shira. Time to socialise with the in-laws.

Author's note:

Pavli Dashi is an actual master tailor in New Canaan, CT. I do not know him at all. I found him online when researching for this chapter. I used his real name for authenticity (and because I suck at making up original characters) but he was in no way involved in the writing of this story and any dialogue or description of him, his studio or his work is complete fiction. I own nothing.