CHAPTER 19
Tristin knew that when he revved up the engine, the one-day magic he shared with Rory had to come to an end. In this entire time, he had to face the reality that he had fallen fast and hard the second time around with the brunette sitting next to him. She was brooding; maybe even contemplative in the silence that passed between them. He glanced at her as they reached I-90 on their way back to Connecticut.
Tristin decided to drive them back to Hartford. Rory was happy to oblige. She hated driving in snow. Having Tristin do the driving also gave her time to focus on other pressing matters like why is she all of a sudden smitten by the once King of Chilton.
Rory thought she was going insane. She tried to convince herself that her state of emotional imbalance was caused by Logan and his mind games. But why did Tristin have to be her knight in shining armor? She wanted to hurt Logan but not this way. Not with Tristin being the brunt of subliminal anger Rory brewed from within.
All she could think about was the kiss. It wasn't just the one that took place at the park that morning. The memory of his lips on hers when he met up with her in Yale made her tingle to the core. She could admit that she was obsessed with the event like a lovesick teenager. At twenty, she needed to hold her composure better than that! She pondered why in blazes she felt overwhelmed by the whole thing. If only the words didn't get in the way...
"Want to tell me what's on your mind?" Tristin asked trying to break the silence.
"Huh?" Rory asked. "Were you asking something?"
She could not tell him that she is having feelings for the man that she knew so little of and at the same time knew so much of in a short period of time. She blamed it on the 'rebound' effect of dating. However, she was scared that this time if she didn't play her cards right, she was going to end up more hurt than the last couple of relationships had gone through.
"Do you know you look so adorable when you're thinking?" Tristin flashed her a dimpled smile. "You have this frown..." he said as his hand went to his face to try and describe her facial contortions. "It's so... serious."
"Cut it out," Rory chuckled punching him on the arm. "I bet you look different, too, when you think."
"You mean you never even tried looking my way when we were in school?" Tristin asked in mocked hurt. "Low blow, Gilmore."
"Einstein, you always sat beside or behind me. Rarely do I have to look around me unless the teacher was walking in class, you know," Rory pointed out.
Tristin let out a loud laugh in the little Prius. The timber of his voice made her shudder in delight.
"So what do you say we party in this car?" Tristin asked as he turned on the radio. What came on was the National Public Radio.
"Oh, Rory, how square can you get?" Tristin moaned playfully. "The only people that listen to this station are people who are old and with insomnia. I am surprised you didn't fall asleep driving to Boston!"
"There was a commentary on the history of Christmas that I found rather fascinating," Rory tried to defend her station as her cheeks turned crimson. "Anyway, why should I defend myself to you?"
"Alright, alright. No need to get upset," Tristin chuckled. "Hey, what if we make the first Christmas song come on be like a theme to remember this day by? What do you think?"
"That is so childish!" Rory said. 'Once bitten, twice shy' rang in Rory's head. She's still paying for her song with Dean after she chose "The Candy Man" as their intimate theme.
"Besides there is no 'us'," Rory retorted.
"So wouldn't now be a nice time to start having an 'us'?" he said with a half-serious tone. "What's the worst thing that could happen? There would be one song throughout Christmas that you can or cannot stand listening to at least until Christmas day. No harm, no foul."
"You're incorrigible!" Rory replied.
"Why are you so hell-bent on making this drive home monotonous and boring?" Tristin asked.
"I'm not!" Rory said indignantly. "Here. I'll be the DJ," she volunteered.
The first stationed scanned was a country station. They both laughed at the sound of Johnny Cash crooning a very dark and brooding song.
"Care to commit suicide with me?" Tristin mocked.
Rory giggled and continued on scanning. The Latin station was playing some salsa beat that listened to for a few moments before deciding on skipping it.
The third station was a charm. The soothing voice of Karen Carpenter filled the car with her rendition of "Merry Christmas, Darling".
For the next three minutes, both of them were mesmerized by the lyrics of the song. Singing about logs on a fire and wishing to be close with someone just made them realize that there's more than just chemistry happening between them. Neither of them looked at each other in fear of revealing what they truly have started feeling for each other: attraction.
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"This is madness!" Richard Gilmore exclaimed when he opened up the paper to the Society page. "Emily, did you read this?"
"Surely, Richard, if I already read it, that means I've gotten to the paper before you and that has never happened in the history of our marriage," Emily said dryly.
On cue, the doorbell rang. Richard and Emily looked at each other. Neither was expecting guests and they were quite curious to see who visited them at this hour.
They heard murmurs being exchanges with Loretta, the new housemaid. A baritone voice filled the air in conversation. Emily was first to descend the steps. On the foyer was Logan, searching the sitting room with his eyes.
"Logan, to what pleasure do I owe you that you are standing here in my home?" Emily asked sarcastically.
"I was hoping that Rory was here, Emily," he said.
"Why would Rory be here? She should be with her mother in Stars Hollow," Emily said, starting to get alarmed.
"She's not with Lorelai. I already drove there. When I didn't see her car, I was hoping that she was spending time with you instead," Logan responded with urgency.
As Logan was giving his explanation, Richard came bounding down the steps. The sight of Logan made the old man see red.
"What are you doing here? Get out!" Richard said violently, as he tried to reach out for Logan's neck.
"Richard, what's gotten into you?" Emily wailed, trying to prevent her husband from lunging into Logan.
"Wait! I came to explain!" he said, trying to get away from Richard.
"What is there to explain? You made a mockery of my granddaughter. You scandalized the Gilmore name. I knew it the moment that you were dating Rory that you would be trouble but that was something I expected your grandfather to pull. I see that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Richard said in biting words.
"Richard, what are you talking about?" Emily asked. She was now in full panic.
"This," Richard said handing her the Society page. In dark bold letters the Front Page section announces "Bells Ring for Newspaper Mogul's Son". A grainy black and white photo of Mitchum, Logan and Sydney accompanied the caption.
"Is this some sick joke, Mister Huntzberger?" Emily asked. Fury emanated from the inside.
"Please, allow me to explain…" Logan said in desperation.
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"Where are you going?" Rory asked when they drove down a road Rory had memorized like the back of her hand.
"I am going to make the first step in making you and me an us," Tristin replied mysteriously.
"You are demented, aren't you?" Rory asked as her heart skipped a beat. "Did you sleep well last night? Did you bump your head somewhere that I didn't know?"
"Rory, you're rambling," he said, reaching out to touch her hand and calm her down. Her nervous habit was endearing to him.
"I told you not to play with anyone's heart," she said nervously.
"I'm not," he said. "I am simply going to set things straight with your grandparents. I don't want to be in their crap list because I stole you from your Thanksgiving party and all."
"Oh," Rory said.
"Besides, I don't live far from your grandparents so it's not like it's out of the way when you drop me off, right?" he tried to lighten up the mood.
"I'm skeptical," she said.
When she said that, they came upon her grandparents' driveway. A silver BMW sat on the far right near the pool house. Neither of the two thought more of it other than a visiting guest of the elder Gilmore's. Tristin turned the keys in the ignition in its off position. Tristin then turned and undid his seatbelt to face Rory.
"Are you ready?" Tristin asked.
"For what? Taking my grandparents for a ride? I know you can twist my mom and Gigi around your finger but I think my grandparents would prove to be a challenge," she warned him.
"How about you? Can I wrap you around my finger?" he asked in a whisper, his face, inches away from hers. His eyes focused between her eyes and her lips, which he wanted to kiss the moment he got into the car with her. The whole time he drove them home he couldn't stop thinking of kissing her since the park that morning! All he wanted to do was wrap her in his arms and hold her where he believes she should be forever.
Rory lowered her lids and bit caught her lower lip with her teeth. "Uh, maybe we can talk about that later."
Tristin sighed. "Fair enough."
They both exited the car and walked on the freshly salted front steps. They could hear yelling. Tristin and Rory exchanged looks. Rory took a hold of the knob and walked through the door. There they witnessed Richard and Emily pacing furiously in front of their seated guests. The intense conversation rendered them invisible to the house owners.
"Why did you not tell Rory why you dislike me so much?" Logan asked.
"What are you talking about?" Richard asked taking a defensive posture.
"You never told her about Pennilyn Lott. Why?" Logan asked.
"That is none of your business," Emily responded.
"It is when Rory thinks that I've done her wrong," Logan emphasized.
"You did and there is no excuse to your behavior, young man," Richard responded.
"Why? I didn't stand a chance to really have an honest relationship with your granddaughter because of what happened between you and my grandfather," Logan pointed out.
Emily was silent. Richard stood in front of Logan, arms akimbo. Rory and Tristin stood frozen on the spot. Other than feeling Tristin's fingers lace between hers, she was numb to the expose being revealed.
"Rory knows all she needs to know about Penny Lott. She is a woman of little importance to this household," Emily answered Logan's inquiry.
"Did she know that Richard was engaged to her?" Logan asked.
"Yes," Richard answered.
"Does she know that you were engaged to her after you stole her from my grandfather?' he asked again.
"I did not steal anyone. Penny left Elias long before I started courting her," Richard defended himself.
"My grandfather was in love with her, you know. He vowed that he would destroy you if he could," Logan said.
"That was his loss. I never told Penny who she should be with after she and I broke off our relations," Richard said.
Pennilyn Lott did not date Elias Huntzberger again after Richard proposed to Emily not because Elias didn't want her back. He wanted her to admit she was wrong for leaving him in the first place to be with Richard and Penny was too smart to grovel. Any man that would force a woman to choose loyalties, to Richard, is ruthless and vindictive. All this and more Richard dared not to share with Emily after all the luncheons he and Penny shared throughout the years.
Rory could see her grandmother's expression blanch at the mention of the woman's name. Pennilyn Lott was the reason Emily and Richard almost got divorced. She was the reason Emily almost lost her sanity at Trixie's funeral. Rory never felt so sorry for her grandmother. She hated the fact that Logan already hurt her. He had no right to hurt her grandmother in the process, too.
"When I fell in love with Rory, I experienced life in a way I never would've known if I stayed in the social circles I learned to associated with all my life. If it weren't for her, I would just be cold and heartless," Logan said with reverence. "She was my everything."
"So why do this to her?" Richard queried.
"Because of you, I have no choice but to marry Sydney," he said. "All because of you and grandfather."
Richard flashed him cold, steel blue eyes. "Don't blame us for your incompetence."
"I was not allowed to see Rory because of what transpired between you and grandpa and Penny."
"But you already have, Logan. Two years! You could've told her the truth," Richard scolded Logan. "You could've stood your ground when Elias and Mitchum told you to break it off with Rory."
Rory could see Logan hang his head in defeat. She felt like jumping in and defending Logan but now, all she felt was empathy and sorrow for the misguided man she thought she loved. Suddenly, she felt compassion for Sydney and how awkward things could be between her and Logan.
Richard shook his head. "Oh son, you are so blind. If you think you can blame your doomed relationship on the feud your grandfather and I had, you are so misguided. You will just be a puppet if you don't learn to stand up on your own."
Logan clenched and unclenched his fists. He was supposed to pawn off the problem to someone else. It's not his problem, not his!
"Fine. If you think you can get away…" Logan spun around and saw Rory and Tristin staring at them. "Rory!"
"Get out of this house right now or I swear to God, I will take you out myself," Rory threatened.