Chapter 106
January 2nd, 2022
Logan watched as Rory moved from room to room with an incredibly serene look on her face, feeling like he himself hadn't really needed to see the place at all. The look on her face was all he needed.
It was something about the way these light-colored walls lit up as the sun shone through the white gridded windows. The place had all these little nooks built in white-painted bookcases and bumped out window-seats, just like Em had dreamed about. It was easy to picture the rooms with their furniture, a lit up fireplace - much like their holiday in Nantucket had been, minus the nautical knick-knacks. The main living spaces were more open than in the other places than they'd seen, and many of the rooms on the main floor were walk-through, but as Em dashed through these spaces it showed a glimpse of how it livened up the space rather than being an inconvenience.
The place wasn't impeccable, needing little repairs here and there and it did lack that fence which Logan had initially set as a criteria with Loki in mind. But in light of the energy in this place oozed, those seemed like minor bumps on the road, nothing they couldn't overcome.
They'd already been to the second floor, and while the place was significantly larger than Rory's current home, there was just something about that upper floor that didn't make the place seem as lavish as most people would've expected from Gimores or Huntzbergers. Being where they were in their lives - it was something they sought after. Some of the rooms upstairs had vaulted ceilings and the main bedrooms all overlooked the backyard. It fit their more humble aspirations - no flashy walk-in wardrobes or jaccuzis in their bathroom, yet was in no way hiding their net worth from anyone who knew anything about real estate. The place had good, historic, bones and an abundance of details to liven their immagination.
The owner had been a guy to whom both of their family names had been familiar, though not too directly, something about having played a few rounds of golf with both Richard and Mitchum at one point, though not at the same time. It wasn't uncommon to play with friends of friends or sometimes just matching up with whomever was about to head for the green. What was refreshing though was that the man didn't seem to bow or be particularly reluctant to either of their names. It was the way Logan always hoped things would be. That the name would be just a name.
"You're surprisingly quiet considering it was your idea?" Rory pointed out, as she watched Logan staring out of the sun-room window that overlooked the vast green space in the back, his mind clearly having been elsewhere for the moment.
The greenery in the back wasn't all part of this property, but it blended effortlessly together with the neighboring properties which almost gave the feeling that there wasn't another neighbor in sight.
It blended the qualities of what they were used to, or at least Logan had been, and those they'd once dreamt about - that particular trans-Atlantic phone call coming to mind during which they'd discussed certain themes and details of what they hoped their home to have someday. They hadn't put it in exactly the context of having that together - it had always been spoken about as their personal dreams even though they overlapped to a degree, leaving joint dreams unspoken at that point. What Rory didn't know was that Logan had chosen several holiday destinations for the two of them based on that conversation over the years, the place in Scotland and even the place in New Hampshire being just a few of its derivatives.
Logan smiled at her, and for a moment glanced through the door of the adjacent room where the study was and where Em was currently twirling around in place, observing her shadow on the floor and wall. It was becoming natural for him to keep an eye on her just like Rory always did, the entire day with the girl having left that habit with him.
"It's all pretty clear to me. What matters is what you think?" Logan said, stepping close, and giving her a little peck. She looked nice like that, in that light, wearing no excess make-up, her hair loose, just wearing casual pair of jeans and her dark green parka. Effortless beauty.
"I don't know…," Rory replied, downplaying her enthusiasm playfully.
"Hmm…?" Logan frowned in surprise, but saw through her.
"It is pretty perfect, isn't it?" Rory asked in an exhale, shrugging her shoulders.
As the owner was essentially just packing the few last things into his own car he hadn't been on their tail the entire time, enabling them to speak honestly and privately.
"Best we've seen, definitely," Logan agreed, humbly, keeping his business sense. They'd need to get an evaluation, for sure, just to make sure the place didn't have any major issues that were impossible to notice without deeper constructional knowledge.
"It's kind of big though," Rory added, hesitantly. She definitely saw the perfectness - she could picture herself working in the study, cozy dinner parties at the sunroom on lazy summer nights, Em playing with the dog in the yard, and perhaps even a baby. There was clearly a bedroom upstairs designated for that purpose, she could tell. But she kept seeing the extra bedrooms as pressure, still. She still had a few weeks to go until they saw her doctor, and she just kept cautioning herself to not get her hopes up. What if she couldn't even have a baby? What would they do with all this space in that case? Would it just be a painful reminder? Those thoughts were nothing new.
Logan nodded, unsure what he was reading from her face.
"Just think of all the books this place would fit," he replied with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. He was thinking of a number of other things - birthday parties, their extended families and friends staying over, having space for Loki to play in, but naturally he thought of kids too. Having seen Rory's place now at also at it's natural state a number of times - he could even imagine the toys everywhere. But it was that he was after - a home that was lived in, a place that was alive and enabled him, her, them...to be happy.
"I guess it doesn't hurt to explore," Rory said, feeling relieved he hadn't hinted at anything else.
Rory wasn't sure if he got it - really got it. It was fear that she felt, fear of failure, potential repeat of her loss and the fear disappointing him. She knew he would never say that was the deal breaker, she didn't even believe he'd let it become one - but she desperately didn't want that chance to be taken away from him. And indulging the thought of this place almost felt like giving him that extra hope and raising his expectations, which could potentially be crushing down from even higher up.
They left the place with withheld excitement - happy to have found 'something', and it certainly helped that Em seemed to have liked the place, even if the whole concept of actually living there hadn't been directly suggested to her just yet. There was no point getting her hopes up before it was a done deal.
As they left, saying a friendly goodbye and promising to be in touch on Monday, Logan already instructed Rory to text Josh and find out who they'd used for the house inspection, eager to get the ball rolling. The place in Martha's Vineyard hadn't sold yet, but Rory had agreed to pay for it now, if it came to it - it was more about the pride of being able to chip in from day one than anything else, and Logan felt he was too old to be offended by something like this, hence he didn't let it bother him.
The drive to the kennel was slow, the roads being a little icy, but Em kept talking through the drive and kept everyone entertained with her cuteness. Mostly it was about the puppy. Naturally she was excited. She spoke of all the things she wanted to do to Loki - simple things such as carrying him or petting him needing to be mentioned more than twice. But she was also eager to groom him, play with him, feed him - almost treating the idea of a dog like a toy in that sense. But that was understandable, and it only really took Rory one try to explain to her that a dog had a personality, just like Robin and Paula Anka had, and that she understood. It seemed to be that puppies and dogs didn't quite connect in her mind, puppies resembling something more than a toy than grown up dogs to her. Em may have been wise beyond her age, but there were still these occasional reminders that she was just a child.
While Logan went to get the paperwork signed in the office, Rory and Em waited at the kennel, observing all the puppies in their pen, including Loki. It was easy to find out which one was Loki - one just had to make a noise and see who reacted, and he'd be the one that didn't.
"We'll have to be careful with him, you know," Rory explained to Em.
"How come?" Em asked, innocently.
"He can't hear us, remember. We told you about that," Rory continued. "This means we can't sneak up on him, he can just sense the vibration of us walking and he might get upset if he gets scared," she added. She truly hoped he wasn't one to bite.
"So I can't call him by his name?" Em noted, sounding a little confused.
"You can, we'll probably do too," Rory sighed, unsure how to explain this.. "But he just won't hear us. He might learn to read out lips or we could use some hand signal. Logan is going to learn all about that and then teach us," Rory added. She hadn't really read too much about that.
"Okay," Em said, the concept being a little hard to grasp.
They watched the puppies a little while longer, Loki actually coming up to Rory with interest, perhaps recalling her scent.
"Is he going to miss his mommy?" Em sympathized, seeing the older dog move around, licking one of the other puppies.
"Probably, but Logan said he'll come and visit, it's not that far," Rory added.
"Here we go…," the kennel owner returned from the office with Logan a few minutes later and climbed inside the gated area to retrieve Loki, giving him a moment with his mom, not that he really seemed to grasp what was happening. This was definitely the sad, and at the same time anxious part.
The puppy was handed to Logan, and thankfully he seemed to recognize him, already beginning to sniff him thoroughly but in a friendly manner, rather as a greeting.
"Can you help me with this?" Logan asked Rory, nodding towards his pocket that held the collar and leash that was wise to use. He had a harness at home to use with him as well, knowing that Shibas were famous for their escapes, but just to get him to the car and out of once they got back to Hartford this would do.
Em was patting the dog's fur already, admiring how soft he was, completely in awe of him.
Everything was promising until they got to the car, put Loki in her cage, and got in their seats. The second the car engine roared, not even terribly loudly - the Volvo being a fairly humble car - it was when worrisome howling and weeping began.
"I'm sure he'll calm in a minute," Rory replied to Logan's questioning look. Between the two of them Rory actually had a little bit more experience from Paul Anka's time.
But Loki didn't stop, not for the first five minutes at least. And Logan was already beginning to think that there might be something seriously wrong. All his plans about coming to visit seemed to go just down the drain the way this was going. He felt guilty for taking the puppy away from his mother, and now clearly into a contraption that he didn't seem to enjoy.
This was the type of stress Logan wasn't used to. He could work long hours, travel across the ocean twice a week, go without food and work out until he broke - but it was this mental, almost emphatic stress, he was unfamiliar with.
"He'll be fine, it's just like a screaming baby. Em used to not like cars either," Rory commented, being entirely calm. She was able to deduct that the puppy clearly wasn't hurt, he was fed and had done his business outside just minutes ago. He was just scared.
But before she had a chance to really suggest anything, mostly thinking of the small bag of kibble they had in the bag, the whining stopped, and the two glanced back just for a brief second, Logan pulling the car aside for a moment.
Em's little fingers were reaching inside the cage, scratching the puppy behind his ear. A little love went a long way.
AN: Huh... Just haven't been feeling it. Not only has there been a lot going on in the work front but today I sprained my ankle so it just got even "better".
I won't be continuing this at this snail-pace much longer, aiming to have them hop over some weeks to get to more action. But I felt this little bonding moment needed to happen before we go on.
