Chapter 19
October 9th, 2022
Faded giggles, that ticklish feather boa against her skin, sounds, tastes and scents, little touches - glimpses of memories - and a low throbbing just around her temples accompanied Rory's waking process the next morning. Her mouth felt dry, her eyes itchy - her ability to take off her makeup having been somewhat hindered last night. This was definitely what the doctors sometimes referred to as veisalgia, the medical term for a hangover. The beginning from a Norwegian word 'kveis', referring to an 'uneasiness following debauchery', and the end 'algia' fittingly translating from Greek as 'pain'. It was yet another useless fact in this moment that was swishing around in her head - all thanks to some visiting professor having included it in his linguistics lecture last week.
It had no doubt been a fun night. The end of the night had been a little fuzzy, and what she was feeling now was certainly proof of that.
Unwilling to move much just yet, she stretched out her arm to reach for her phone. There was a brief message from Angie, already up and about with her kids, on a day trip to see her parents' in Vermont, posting pictures of some incredible foliage and checking if she was still alive.
Rory shot back a quick affirmative and closed the conversation for now.
There was a brief message from yesterday morning from her mother - another constant - wishing her happy birthday, but no longer at the wee hours of the morning like she'd grown up with. Her mother hadn't disowned her, but everything between them was withheld, cautious and cordial - much like it had been for years between Emily and Lorelai.
From downstairs Rory could already hear Em and Christopher interacting, nothing specific, just the usual banter she was used to waking up to on weekend mornings, her father allowing her those mornings to sleep in. She might have boosted her confidence a great deal, learned to accept doing whatever she did as well as she could as success, appreciate what she had and make better choices over the years, but in the end - she still loved to sleep late, devoured her morning coffee and on mornings like this there was nothing more she craved than hangover food.
She groaned at the headache, and forced herself to get up, having a good guess that the kitchen was likely going to have some cheesy egg dish waiting for her. Not quite Tito's but good enough. It was certainly quicker than ordering anything.
Rory showered, allowing the hot water to numb her throbbing head a little. That or the glass of water she'd gulped down before stepping under the shower, having helped significantly.
Little by little the walk back home with Logan was coming back to her. Those 10 minutes had definitely had brought back a lot of memories, though in her memories those walks had hardly ever ended at the doorstep with a hug. The hug! - she suddenly remembered what she'd thought as she'd done that. She hadn't actually said that to him, had she? A shutter of embarrassment went through her, but she shrugged it off, deciding to not believe she could've been quite that drunk. Perhaps it was better that she believe that.
She pulled on some sweats, an interesting conflicting combination of Harvard's leggings and a Yale hoodie, and made her way downstairs, having towel-dried her hair just a little.
"Eggs and bacon?" Christopher asked, hearing her steps. It seemed he was overcompensating a little on the weekends, it seemed now that Gigi was in Yale most weekends.
The downstairs as well as every mantlepiece on each of the floors was decorated by the pumpkins they'd bought last weekend, along with dried flowers and electric lanterns - mostly Camilla's doing, but Rory truly appreciated embracing the fall spirit like this. It was the part of Stars Hollow she wanted Em to grow up with.
"Good morning," Rory tried to sound cheery and nodded to her father but her face showed signs of the lingering hangover. She slid her hand over Em's little head, her hair a little messy - clearly not having been Christopher's first priority.
"Hi, mommy," Em said. "Did you have a good party?" she asked.
"Aw, it's so sweet of you to ask, baby," Rory began, adding, "And 'yes', the party was great." She made her way towards the coffee maker, and said to her father, "Thanks for babysitting."
"No problem. We had a lot of fun, didn't we, Em?" Christopher replied, noting with amusement the slight headache Rory was exhibiting.
Em went on to describe their selection of movies, snacks and games they'd gone through last night, but right this minute Rory only really had ears for the coffee machine, awaiting for its sweet nectar.
After she'd had her half a cup, and hungrily swallowed several bites of bacon, the world made much more sense, and she was able to focus on being in the moment.
"So what are your plans for today?" Christopher inquired.
"I don't really know… hang out?" Rory suggested hopefully.
"I don't wanna hang out..," Em whined, her tone not doing Rory's headache any favors.
"Then what? Honey, I really don't feel up to doing anything big. I'm kind of tired," Rory tried to explain, and yawned.
"I wanna go to the museum or the playground…, or both," Em requested.
"Oh, Em…," Rory began, really not feeling up to anything quite as strenuous. Sure, going to the park may have sounded easy but it actually involved quite a lot of watching out for Em, sometimes conflict solving and sometimes following her around from one playground corner to another at least a dozen times. Going to some museum was often worse, leaving Em overly stimulated and her own nerves not in the best shape. Sure, most of the time in the end they enjoyed their day, but it usually drained Rory of all of her energy but at this point she had little to begin with.
"You know, maybe you could ask what Logan is up to. I'm sure he'd appreciate a chance to hang out if he's not busy," Christopher suggested. Christopher himself had plans that day, this much Rory knew already, so that was not an alternative at this time, also Camilla and Catalina had a day off since it was Sunday.
"Can you?" Em requested already, causing Rory to groan internally. Whatever that moment last night had been… it would most definitely be a little awkward seeing him again. But then again she knew her father was right. Besides, she realized Logan might be a little hungover himself which would've been a valid reason for declining.
It was the "Please-please-please," from Em's mouth that made Rory relent.
"He might be busy, but fine… I'll ask," Rory, not too enthusiastically chimed, not wanting Em to get her hopes up.
But like Yhprum's law Logan had no plans beyond taking a walk and having some lunch, so instead of the walk he simply made a right turn and was behind Rory's door in less than ten minutes.
It was the girl and Rory, who were perhaps not quite ready by that time, and Logan walked into what many weekday mornings looked like. "Em, did you get your sweater?" Rory called out as she packed Em's bag to go, you know - just in case, so it contained her water bottle and a change of clothes.
The girl mumbled something inaudible in return as she was picking out her weekend outfit herself upstairs, and Rory stood, somewhat awkwardly leaning against the railing, facing Logan.
"Rough night?" Logan teased, it being evident that Rory wasn't feeling her best right this moment.
"Not too bad, but bad enough I won't be able to keep up out and about," Rory replied, sheepishly, looking down.
"Anything I should know?" Logan asked.
"If she doesn't listen then the only threat that works is 'or we're leaving' but that also means you need to follow through. And if she gets too much sugar she can sometimes get quite a high or something similar can sometimes happen when she's too excited, so sometimes she just needs a minute. Like take her aside and just breathe with her or let her observe something neutral like a painting or nature, or just get some fresh air. Sometimes giving her water helps too," Rory instructed constructively.
"Is that… um… normal?" Logan asked.
"Yeah, she's fine… just her curiosity and excitement is bigger than her ability to take things in, so she might convince you she'd up for more-more-more, while really she could use a break instead," Rory explained, hearing Em return downstairs already.
The girl had picked out an outfit consisting of pink corduroy trousers, a Frozen T-shirt and a cardigan which hung open.
"Just call me if there's anything," Rory said, her hands wrapped around her waist, being not too proud of the way she presently looked. She knew she shouldn't care, but this was Logan - how could she not?
After brief goodbyes, the father and daughter made it out the door, Logan commenting, "Come on, let's give your mom a day to recharge," which definitely made Rory narrow her eyes at him behind his back.
Thankfully, Em followed the statement up with a "What does recharge mean?" clearly not focusing on the gist of Logan's statement.
Rory enjoyed a day on the couch, having not had one in ages. She drank smoothies Camilla had prepared, ordered the closest thing to Tito's she knew in this city for her late lunch and read a little and eventually dozed off watching 'Luckiest Girl Alive', not that it was a sleepy movie, but she just had needed the rest. Apparently Christopher had just made his exit around that time, and had placed a comforter on her while putting the movie on silent. He'd left a quick note urging not to wait up.
Honestly, Rory had no idea how so many hours had slipped past as she finally woke up finding the outside already dark. And yet her phone, indicating time past 7 PM showed no message or call from Logan, which frankly made her a little worried.
She made her way to the bathroom to relieve herself and went by the fridge to get a pre-made salad, thinking she could use something healthy for dinner after last night and this morning.
A number of scenarios moved around in her head. He wouldn't take her anywhere far, would he? What if something had happened? What if they'd been at the door but his phone had died and maybe they'd ended up going to Logan's? What if they'd run into someone who didn't yet know about Logan's connection to Em?
About halfway through her salad, however, she heard a beep on her phone.
"We're right outside, but she's asleep in her seat," Logan messaged.
"Just bring her in," Rory encouraged. It was a few hours earlier than Em's bedtime, but considering she probably hadn't napped or had her quiet hour that day, it was really no wonder he'd worn her out. It was actually kind of impressive he was still alive himself.
"I don't want to wake her," Logan said, and that was kind of sweet really.
At that Rory put on her sneakers and slipped outside onto the street, and went around his car to the driver's side. Logan got out at the sight of her.
"She looks like she's out for good," Rory commented looking through the side window. "She's usually pretty good to be transferred to her bed like that," Rory said, going around the other side and quietly opening the door.
She was about to unstrap Em's seatbelt and just take her herself, but Logan stopped her.
"Let me. If you say she's out then…," Logan said, not liking the idea of Rory carrying such a big weight.
"I do this every day, Logan," Rory argued quietly, but relented. "Just let her head lean onto your shoulder, arms over yours and hold under her thighs," Rory instructed, and Logan followed.
Em came to perhaps for a second, the crisp outside air feeling like a sharp contrast. But soon laid her head back down on Logan's shoulder comfortably. In a way this moment right here was the closest to a real hug Logan had had with the girl, the most physical interaction certainly.
Rory opened the door for them, and instructed them to head upstairs. Logan already knew where her room was so that part was easy. What he hadn't had experience with was actually climbing stairs without seeing where he was going, so it took him a little longer than usual.
Rory assisted Logan at putting Em down on her bed, while she carefully removed her shoes and coat. Her trousers were the stretchy kind so she decided to leave them on.
The two snuck out of the room and Rory closed Em's bedroom door behind them quietly.
"I was getting worried… you were out so late," Rory commented, not wanting to outright tell him all the thoughts that had crossed her mind, but she wanted to show her concern a little.
"You could've asked," Logan replied. "But I know, I'm sorry, she was so excited to do things with me, I guess I got a little carried away," Logan added.
"Well, it's fine… just yeah, just know she'll expect the same level of entertainment next time," Rory joked.
Logan chuckled briefly, unsure if he'd really dug himself a hole.
"Have you eaten?" Rory asked, feeling well-rested herself.
"We did, like an hour ago," Logan replied. "But I wouldn't mind some water," he said.
"Coming right up," Rory replied, and walked him through the living room and kitchen. The spaces weren't new to him, he'd just never seen it set up with all the pumpkins this well before. It really did look like a home, the kind of home his family's house had never looked like, not even his home in London.
"Your dad's traveling or something?" Logan inquired, because the place looked empty.
"He's out somewhere. I actually kind of think he might be out on a date, but he didn't specify…," Rory replied, handing Logan a bottle of Perrier.
"Right," Logan exhaled and gulped down half the bottle in one go, expressing a small burp, which made them both smile.
"So where did you go?" Rory asked.
"Museum of Science… a little before her time but I think she liked it, and then we drove to lunch and a couple of playgrounds after that and then dinner," Logan explained.
"I'm sure she loved it," Rory replied.
"Listen, I don't know if you feel up to it… but I was actually hoping to talk to you alone, and preferably somewhere not in public…," Logan began, deciding to make good use of the private moment.