Chapter 81

December 13th, 2021

Rory woke to the sensation of a familiar soft and warm little hand landing on her chest, the girl sleeping next to her turning her side. Em had climbed into bed with her again apparently - she sometimes did after several nights away at Jess', having missed her, but continued to sleep soundly. It warmed Rory's heart each time.

She glanced at her Hello kitty clock on the dresser opposite the bed to get some estimate of the time, but as she'd feared it was too late to really go back to sleep, only 15 minutes remaining until her phone would actually alert her to wake up.

Em's habit of sleeping in her bed would have to stop once she moved in with Logan, but she wasn't really sure how to do that as most of the time she was unaware Em was doing it until she herself woke in the morning. She was pretty sure Logan wouldn't really mind, but she was sure Jess would, and there was a fine line between that being awkward either way. It was yet another thing to be figured out.

She had been immensely relieved to read Logan's curt texts last night about his talk with Jess - saying everything was 'fine', and that the talk they had been 'good'. It did calm her a little, but she was curious to know the details. But she got the feeling Logan wouldn't be too eager to retell all of it, it sort of being a guys' thing. She'd also gotten a text from Jess saying that the Nantucket plan was a 'go' and he'd be driving over for the 25th.

Rory was excited by that scenario - not that there wouldn't be tension or awkward moments, surely there would, but just that things were going as she'd planned and Em wouldn't have to miss out on anything, but was hopefully going to have an amazing Christmas, perhaps even better than usual.

Rory had already bought ferry tickets for everyone, even for Lorelai and Luke if they did decide to come last minute. While Berta was no longer working at the Sandcastle, she'd found someone local, years ago, who was helping to maintain the place and would also now do a quick once over to make the place ready for them. There was a lot she was going to have to do herself too - like ordering a Christmas tree delivered along with a long list of Christmas decor because she wasn't sure where and how much decor her grandmother had actually had over there. She didn't want to spend the entire time going through boxes in the attic. She'd also made sure all the food and drinks would all arrive the day of their arrival, along with everything she could imagine to make them comfortable.

It was now the prospect of that holiday that made her repeat her mantra to herself just like her students probably were - seven full days to go until school was out. This particular private school wasn't too keen on half days during the last days before Christmas like many public schools, most of the students' parents bombarding Max with notes saying how their kids must be at X location by their holidays which meant lots of holiday travel. It was just easier to give them holiday reading as many requested.

Rory turned to her side to face her, not wanting to wake Em by climbing out of bed completely. Em still looked so incredibly cute when she slept, even younger than she really was, her features showing all the innocence she had in her. That look on Em always made her smile.

She wanted to gently stroke Em's cheek - the way she'd done since she was a baby, but as she began to do that she realized that she hadn't even noticed the engagement ring was still on her finger. She looked at the ring, just like she'd spent numerous minutes in the past few days doing already. It felt safe, making her a little giddy even, not scary at all as it had felt when she was 22. She honestly felt like she wanted to tell the world.

She hesitated, whether she should just take the ring off and hide it in her drawer, just pretend that it didn't exist, but deep down she didn't want to do that. She really didn't know how Em might react. She didn't want Em to go talking to Jess about it too much either. But she didn't want her finding out from anywhere else either, she didn't want this to become this big secret.

It was at that moment that Em began to stir, and she quickly hid her hand below the covers and smiled at her little girl. Em slipped her hands around her, her one arm going into her armpit, just like she used to do when she'd nursed or bottled-fed her, years ago, and snuggled closer to her, her eyelids still fluttering between closed and open.

"I love you, baby," Rory said, kissing her hair. Em's hair smelled like the moringa bath bomb they'd used last night. It was one of those mornings that would've had a soundtrack had it been a movie - Let It Go By by Fiora and Robot Koch in this case.

"I love you, mommy," the girl whispered sleepily in reply.

After some minutes of cozy cuddling, knowing there were still a few minutes before the alarm, Rory just felt like she needed to tell her. She felt like if she didn't her relationship with Em would just not live up to what she had once had with her own mother, despite the difference in age compared to when her mother had a similar talk with her. It was about creating a bond where they talked instead of hiding things.

"Em, I want to show you something," Rory said quietly as she observed her awake fully, and drew the girl's attention to the ring on her finger.

"Wow…It's pretty," Em commented, and touched it with her little fingers.

"Logan gave it to me," Rory explained.

"Can he give me a ring like that too?" Em inquired, obliviously.

Rory laughed modestly, finding the thought entertaining.

"Not quite, but maybe he can get you something else," Rory suggested, wondering if perhaps it was indeed time to get her a piece of jewelry she could wear for special occasions. "You see, this is a very special ring. This means that Logan and I want to get married someday," Rory continued to explain. She'd left the ending deliberately unclear and seemingly distant, to ease any anxiety the girl might have about this news.

They really weren't in a big hurry having the ceremony, not as far as Rory knew at least. And Rory was surprised by how little she had really even thought about the wedding, despite having a good chunk of time already to get used to the idea itself. Surely it couldn't happen before summer anyways because she simply didn't have the time for it before that. She could only hope that was enough time but not too much so it would work for Logan too. She hadn't thought about the possibility of a wedding… god… not since Logan had asked her the first time. That time she'd for a moment even pictured what it would be like. And now she was picturing it again - but unlike when she was 22 instead of the dress and the event itself, she dreamt of the smiles on people's faces - Logan's, Em's, her mother's and father's. The fact that she had never dreamt of this with anyone else should've been a sign, going by her mother's yards stick.

Rory expected some reaction from Em, but it just didn't come, but the girl continued to feel the ring on her finger until the alarm rang, peacefully.

While normally she would've just hurried off to get on with their morning routine, she decided to not hurry, needing to say something more.

"If you have any questions about this ring, marriage or Logan, you can ask them, okay? Whenever you want," she assured. "I just wanted to tell you because I love you the most, and I am so happy," she added, getting a little emotional, and hugged her little girl. It felt so good saying the latter out loud too, realizing that she didn't recall the last time she'd said it.

Still there was no real reply on the topic from Em, the girl simply insisting she needed to go brush her teeth. This made Rory a little nervous, naturally, but at least the worst she had imagined - Em kicking and screaming, banging doors, how she hated the idea - hadn't happened. Surely this was just a little complex for Em and she just needed to wrap her head around it. But she felt relieved, not having to hide it from her and being able to continue talking about subjects concerning their future without this one big secret in the way.

The entire morning passed as if nothing was amiss - no grumpiness, no excitement, no questions. Rory texted Logan at breakfast, eating her favorite mix of cereals which still resembled Paris' secret mix to a scary amount, telling him that she told him. Logan was surprised that it had happened this soon, but was supportive naturally.

What Rory hadn't expected was how much attention to her appearance the students in her class paid to her, as she heard a few 11th graders leaving her classroom, whispering but not quietly enough - "Did you see that ring on her finger?"

That too made her a little giddy, sprucing up her otherwise tiresome day.