Unfortunately no one got the books! The first was A Confederacy of Dunces, and the description probably sounded familiar because I lifted it from Rory's Graduation Speech. The second was East of Eden, IMO Steinbeck's greatest work!

Thanks to my betas Conny, Orbit, and Excentrik Chick! For those of you waiting for more L/L (Orbit ;), Emily will be chapter 6, then chapter 7 will be Lorelai.

And thanks to everyone for the reviews. They make my day.

Logan

One day before D-day

"Hey Ace, it's me. Just thought I'd see what you wanted to do this weekend. I thought we could make some plans to take our minds off all the stuff with the boat. Call me back when you get a chance."

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D-Day

"Hey Ace, it's me…again. I never got a call back from you yesterday about this weekend. Call me this afternoon, and maybe we can meet up after you have dinner at your grandparents."

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One day after D-day

"Uh, Ace. What's going on? This is the third message I've left you in as many days. I'm starting to think you're blowing me off. Call me."

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Two days after D-day

"Rory, what's going on? Leaving me a message at 6:00 in the morning telling me you're staying at your grandparents for the summer? Call me. We need to talk. Stop blowing me off."

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Three days since D-day

Four messages. Four fucking messages. And I get one returned call at 6:00 in the morning. She is completely blowing me off.

This is just not going to work. I knew there was a reason I didn't like relationships.

My cell phone rings, and I look over in the passenger seat of my car to see who it is. The caller ID flashes Finn, and I decide that I'm not in the mood to talk to him right now.

Why is she blowing me off? This isn't like her. My stupid father. Bastard.

I shake my head as I pull into the Gilmore's driveway. At least I know where she is now. If I just show up, she'll have to talk to me.

I ring the bell and the maid answers the door. It's a different maid than the night of the disastrous dinner. I hope she wasn't fired because of me…

"Yes?" she asks.

"I'm looking for Miss Gilmore. Is she in?" I ask, hoping she is actually here.

Suddenly, I hear a voice in the background "Who is it, Helena?"

The maid, Helena apparently, steps back and says, "This young man is looking for Miss Gilmore, Mrs. Gilmore."

As soon as I see Emily, her eyes narrow as she looks at me suspiciously. "Logan, Rory is staying in the pool house. Is she expecting you?"

"Hello Emily," I say, flashing my best smile. "How are you? Actually, my visit to Rory today is a bit of a surprise – I've had some trouble getting in touch with her the last few days."

"Yes, well, she's been settling in," Emily says, making no move to invite me in. This is bad. Very bad.

"Do you think she would mind if I surprised her with a visit?" I ask, trying to charm my way past Emily.

"No, I'm sure that is fine," Emily says coolly. "Helena, take Mr. Huntzberger back to the pool house so he can see Miss Gilmore." She turns sharply and walks away.

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"Rory," I say quietly. "Why was your grandmother so cold to me when she answered the door and saw me?" I am concerned about her demeanor.

"Well, probably because I stole a boat with you," she says, stating the obvious.

"Okay…maybe. But it seemed like something more."

I step back and put my hand on her cheek, drawing her in for a soft kiss.

"So why haven't you returned any of my calls?" I ask, hoping for some explanation.

"Well, technically, I did return one…"she tries weakly.

"Rory," I say seriously. "Remember, this whole 'relationship' thing has to go both ways."

"I know," she says, her lip starting to tremble. "But I just couldn't bring myself to feel anything. I just need to figure some things out. I just…"

I reach out and wrap my arms around her. These tears, this scenario, seems all too familiar lately. I start to wonder what I may have gotten myself into.

She pulls back and looks at me, her eyes shining. Suddenly I remember a big part of why I got myself into this. I reach over and touch her chin, trying to coax a smile to her lips.

"Ace, do you want to go grab some lunch?" I ask. "It might do you some good to get out of here for a bit. How long has it been since you've gone anywhere?"

"Well, I was in the house this morning for breakfast," she says, her tone giving away a weak attempt at humor.

"Ace."

"You said anywhere."

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We pick a nice little café for lunch. Lots of choices, good food. After we've been seated, I decide that I have a lot of questions that need answers.

"So if you're not going back to school in the fall, what are you going to do?" I question. "I can't very well see you sitting around doing nothing."

"My grandfather is making some calls to find something 'suitable,'" she sighs, and she is suddenly staring intently at her coffee cup.

"Your grandfather is choosing a job for you?"

"No, he is going to come up with some alternatives for me, and I'll pick amongst them. I'm supposed to start whatever it is tomorrow," she says. She closes her eyes and begins to rub her forehead.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I've just had this headache for a few days and I just can't seem to get rid of it," she responds.

"Anything I can do? Do you want to go home now?"

"No, I'm fine. Let's just eat."

She's almost silent through the entire meal. A few times I lunge at her with verbal punches, but she doesn't even bother trying to parry.

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We walk back toward the pool house, and I decide that I'm going to try to see how far I can push.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not now," she says, shaking her head. "Not yet."

By this point we have reached the door, and I sigh audibly.

"What?" she asks sharply.

"I just wish you'd talk to me," I plead softly, trying to see if I can temper her mood.

"Logan." She breathes my name almost like it's a statement. "I'm not ready to talk – to anyone. I just need some time to figure things out."

"I can respect your needing time to sort things out, but have you interacted with anyone except your grandparents since all this started? Have you talked to your mother about anything since she told you her big news?"

"Stop. Just stop," she says tersely. "You've passed the boundary already. Stop trying to push it."

I drop my head, looking up at her sheepishly. I guess I'm pretty transparent. "Do you blame me?"

"Look, I just need some time. I'll call you once my grandfather and I have talked about things – talked about my job and my plans for the summer."

"And will said call come at a time of day when it is generally assumed that I will actually be awake?" I say, raising my eyebrows toward her.

"I guess I deserved that," she responds, looking at the floor. "I'll call you tomorrow night, that way I can tell you about the job and how the first day went all at once."

I nod as I lean in to give her a quick kiss before leaving. "Oh, Ace," I begin.

"Yeah?"

"No more Steinbeck. Or at least read Sweet Thursday if you can't live without him. I mean, he's brilliant, but not exactly an upper most of the time," I wink as I walk out the door.

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I smooth my hair as I prepare for my next challenge for the day. I walk up to the information desk and ask the attendant, "Can you tell me where to find Richard Gilmore's office, please?"

I gather my courage as she gives me directions to the office. On my way up in the elevator, I plan what I am going to say once I get in there. I hope that he's not as upset about the boat incident as Emily seemed to be – if so, it could all backfire.

As I enter the office, Richard's assistant looks up and asks, "May I help you?"

"I need to see Mr. Gilmore, please."

"Is he expecting you?" she questions, flipping through what appears to be an appointment book.

"No, I'm afraid I decided to drop by at the last minute. I'll understand if he isn't available."

She nods. "Who shall I say is calling?"

"Logan Huntzberger."

She disappears for a few minutes.

I look up as I see her reappear in the office. "Mr. Gilmore is on a conference call and will not be available for some time. Would you like to make an appointment for a meeting at some later date?"

I sigh and rub my forehead for a moment. Looking up and smiling, I say, "No, thank you. I'll wait until he has finished his call."