Chapter 6: Rhett is My Gentleman Friend
Logan sat alone on the patio pondering the strange situation he found himself in. He wasn't quite sure what whim had made him offer this particular plan nor could he fully explain the sense of disappointment when she had turned him down.
It wasn't as if he ever needed to bribe or bargain with a girl to get a date. He had more than enough girls that were ready to fall at his feet when they saw his charming smile and his big trust fund. He had his pick of women, young, old, beautiful and fun and daring but lately he found himself bored with their similarities.
Rory was unique, she was an enigma. Maybe it was the fact that she seemed unimpressed with his status, seemed in fact to have taken an instant dislike to him that was so intriguing and made him want to rile her up but he figured it couldn't hurt to have a little fun with her as long as it continued to be so entertaining.
He had always like puzzles and he had always been a sink or swim kind of person. Why bother doing anything if you weren't going to jump in with both feet and experience life. If you sank, well then there was always the next game to be won but if you succeeded usually you got something that was worth winning. Lorelai Leigh Gilmore was a riddle just waiting to be solved and there was nothing that he disliked more than an unsolved puzzle.
He watched her from afar, the play of emotion over her face was entertainment all by itself. He snickered to himself when he caught her stifling a yawn and quickly lost count of the number of times that she furtively checked the watch at her wrist.
This was a waiting game now and he was almost certain he was going to be the victor. He had to admire her fortitude though, she had lasted twice as long as he would have predicted. She caught his eye across the room and he saw the stubborn lift of her chin, the resolute set of her jaw.... it was going to be a battle to the death.
Then, something tipped the balance in his favor. He could only imagine what shocking topic of conversation her current companion embarked upon that had her eyes widening like a deer caught in oncoming headlights but suddenly she was frantically gesturing to him and calling his name in a syrupy sweet voice. That was his cue.... chivalrous gentleman to the rescue. He took his time, milking the sweet moment of victory for as long as he could.
He hardly noticed the other boy leave and quickly fell into his seat enjoying the frustration in Rory's face. After the hammered out the terms of their pact they grasped hands and he was surprised at the small shock he felt from the touch.
The moment was broken when her attention was drawn to something behind his shoulder and the slight smile that quirked her lips made him twist to see what had caught her interest.
Coming towards them with a gleeful look in her eye was an older version of Rory, with black curly hair, blue eyes and an exuberant energy that radiated from her as she advanced across the room, there was no doubt that they were related. He was ready to turn on the charm but she beat him to the punch giving him a long appraising look before she turned to Rory. There was something in the knowing sparkle in her eyes that told him that somehow she saw through his carefully constructed facade, there was recognition in that startling blue gaze that unnerved him slightly.
Rory jumped in "What took you so long, I had almost given up hope. What did you do walk here?"
Lorelai just rolled her eyes and said "It is a long story, I mean I am talking Iliad long so lets stick to the condensed version. The giant hot dog formerly known as Kirk fell and broke a lantern that was going to be used in the town festival of lighting and I drove over the glass and got a flat tire which is currently being fixed by Gypsy who as you know only works until 4 pm on Fridays. So, since my usual buggy is in the shop I was stuck driving Coffee boy's green machine which apparently defies all laws of gas consumption and is incapable of traveling over 3o miles an hour...its sort of like the story of Cinderella only with a really incompetent fairy godmother."
Logan was watching the rapid-fire exchange of words with a bemused expression not quite certain that they were actually speaking English when Lorelai turned to him.
"Enough about me though, on to more important topics." She stuck out her hand "I'm Lorelai, I've been hearing lots of stories about exactly who you are." She leaned forward and dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper "News travels fast in this crowd. I'm going to assume for the good of us all that the one about Rory bearing your love child is grossly overstated at the least."
Rory snickered at his expression before turning to her mother "Rhett is my gentleman friend" she said in a fakes southern accent "Ah, perfect use of an appropriate quote...and so fitting an occasion." Rory and Lorelai were struggling to stifle the laughter. Rory finally calmed down enough to continue the introductions
"Alright enough fun, this is Logan, Logan Huntzberger, his father is a wealthy newspaper magnate and he is" she made air quotes "a reporter, with me on the paper at Yale. I told you about him, he was the one who took me to the secret outing with the Life and Death Brigade"
Apparently Rory and whoever this mystery relative was had no secrets. That was strange enough a concept in his world but he was even more off balance when he saw the gleam of humor in the woman's eyes, it was not the usual covetous look he got form society women when they found out who his father was. Instead it looked disconcertingly like the mischievous joy of woman who was concocting an evil masterplot.
"Ah" the older woman said with a knowing voice "The master and commander, I presume. Not a bad nickname by the way, I would give it a 7 on the scale, of course its too early to tell whether it is just empty boasting or truth" she turned her head and assessed him for a moment "I can see a little Russell Crowe in you but I wouldn't get too ahead of myself if I were you."
Forging ahead he gallantly gripped Lorelai's proffered hand and kissed the back of it..."I'm Logan, it is nice to meet you Lorelai, you must be Rory's ?" he expected her to be flattered a bit by this classic sucking up line but instead it only seemed to amuse her further and he saw a wicked flicker of laughter in her animated face.
"Ah, dear boy, good try but the way to my good graces is not paved with empty flattery, if you survive long enough maybe someday I will tell you the secret key to our hearts."
"If you are anything like Rory I am guessing it is coffee, she has an unhealthy addiction to the stuff." Lorelai raised her eyebrows in a tacit acknowledgement at his clever deduction.
"Not bad for a first timer, I would watch the disparaging remarks about coffee though Mini Crowe since I am the one who proudly taught her all she knows about maximizing ones caffeine consumption. I am Rory's mother by the way, the second Lorelai, and you, I assume, are the evil influence that led my pure and innocent daughter to jump off a tower with nothing but an umbrella. I won't even ask if there was any running around in circles in your underwear...some things a mother just wasn't meant to know. "
She gave a mock shudder as she glanced at Rory and gave her a teasing wink, "At any rate, that is a discussion for a different day, I'll cut you a little slack this time since apparently you have managed to take the heat off of my daughter and make yourself the brunt of my mother's formidable irritation. I can only hope that since according to the town criers you have been "dating" for some time you have concocted some sort of reasonable explanation for the lack of previous knowledge of this relationship and by reasonable I mean one that appeals to the convoluted mind of one Emily Gilmore. I wish you luck. Greater men than you have gone that way and perished. Speak of the devil, here is my dear mother now."
Rory leaned in quickly as her mother turned to greet Emily and whispered in his ear "One last condition Huntzberger and this one is a deal breaker.... the name is Rory, not Ace."
"Well here you are, I have been looking for you everywhere. There are a lot of people waiting to meet you, it just isn't proper for the guest of honor to disappear in the middle of the party and then I hear some outlandish rumor about you dating some boy I have never even met" Emily began her scolding the minute she was within hearing range but turned her attention to her daughter the minute she caught sight of Lorelai standing to one side of Rory.
"Well, Lorelai, this is a surprise, I thought that you were unable to make it tonight due to your previous arrangements with your diner man." This was said in a snide condescending tone that would have cut most people off at the knees but Lorelai just rolled her eyes.
She matched the snide tone when she replied "Well, mom, if you must know I was having a lovely dinner with Luke, that is his name you know, despite your seeming incapability to remember it, really it is just one syllable shouldn't be too hard to keep in that organized head of yours. In any case, I was having a delightful dinner with my boyfriend when I get a call from my daughter informing me that there was a party going on and not just any party might I add but a party that is apparently designed to marry my daughter off to the first eligible bachelor that will take her. Imagine my surprise when I hear of this gala event and have to admit to my total ignorance of the said party. Perhaps my invitation was lost in the mail?"
"Really Lorelai you jump to such ridiculous assumptions and exaggerations. This is simply a get together of some of Richard and my close friends who are Yale alumni, we just thought it would be nice to introduce Rory to them and to some of their children who happen to attend Yale with her. The only reason I didn't mention it to you was because I knew you already had plans and I assumed that Rory would tell you about it after we had spoken."she dismissed the line of conversation despite Lorelai's skeptical look, knowing there was no battle to be won there.
"Now Rory..." Emily stopped short when she saw the tall blonde young man standing behind Rory "I'm sorry I don't believe that we have met. Rory, perhaps you could introduce me to your friend."
"Oh, of course, grandma, this is Logan, Logan Huntzberger, he and I are on the Yale Daily News together. Logan, this is my grandmother Emily Gilmore."
" Huntzberger did you say, would you by any chance be related to Mitchum Huntzberger?" he could see the calculation in Emily Gilmore's eyes, this he was accustomed to.
"Why yes Mrs. Gilmore he is my father."
She was clearly thrilled by this revelation "How wonderful, Richard and I have met your father several times over the years, a charming man, it is so good to know that Rory is making such distinguished friends at Yale" she clearly approved of him and he could tell that this was only going to further tarnish his image in Rory's eyes, little did Emily Gilmore know that behind the well respected name Logan was the troublemaker in the family, threatened with exile more than once.
He figured he might as well milk this for all that it was worth since who knew when he would get another chance. He wrapped a casual arm around Rory's waist and though she tensed initially he could feel her relax incrementally, lowering his voice he leaned towards Emily as if imparting something in confidence.
"Actually Mrs. Gilmore, Rory and I have been dating for a little while now, we were kind of keeping it quiet but since I would hardly want to tarnish your granddaughters good name or get her in trouble for spending too much time with me during your lovely party I guess this is probably the appropriate time to let the cat out of the bag."
Rory almost laughed at the guileless, doting expression that Logan seemed to have perfected.
Emily looked skeptical and turned her scrutinizing gaze on Rory. "Is this true Rory? Why were you hiding this from me...it seems you have learned one too many lessons from your mother."
She sent a steely glare in Lorelai's direction. "I suppose you knew about this as well, as usual I am the only one to be made a fool of."
Rory felt a moment of panic, could she lie to her grandmother? Then she saw Logan catch her eye and give her a conspiratorial wink over Emily's shoulder, she forced herself to relax and faced her grandmother's inquisitive gaze. It was sink or swim time.
"Its true grandma. We have only gone out a few times though and we just hadn't really told anyone yet." Well that was at least mostly true.
Lorelai interjected in a consoling voice "This is the first time I have heard about it as well, although I did hear a rather interesting story about umbrellas that I am thinking might have involved our young man in question."
Rory gave her a pleading look and she sobered "But this is the first time I have heard about the dating. I swear on the waterford crystal." She held up a hand as if swearing on the bible and Logan had to swallow a chuckle....her mom was definitely a kick.
Emily eyed the three of them for a moment as if testing their story for holes. Then she relented. "Well Rory, I hope in the future that you will feel as if you can tell me about these kinds of things in your life."
Rory could only think "Yeah, Right."
Emily continued as if she had not seen the look that passed between Lorelai and Rory.
"I am thrilled to hear about this, you seem like a very fine young gentleman Logan. Can I steal you for a moment Logan, I am just dying to introduce Rory's new friend to Richard, he will be thrilled to meet you."
As she was dragging him away by the arm he sent a rather barbed glance back at Rory and her mother and the wicked twinkle in both their eyes confirmed his suspicion, they had set him up. "You owe me" he mouthed to Rory but she just sent him a little finger wave and an ingenuous smile.
