Chapter 154
April 19th, 2022
"Hey, Em?" Rory called her daughter from the doorway of the kitchen towards the living room where the girl had been playing with Loki, simply pulling on a chew rope having provided the entertainment for the past 20 minutes. Rory hadn't known the girl had patience like that, but apparently she did. "Logan and I would like to talk to you about something," she added, hesitantly. Her pulse raced, her heart thomped. Em had already been such a champ but she knew this was different.
"Did I do something wrong?" Em asked, sheepishly.
"Oh, no. No, you didn't do anything, we just have some news," Rory explained, inviting her to take a seat with them on the lounge couch they usually watched movies on. Rory could tell just by glancing at Logan that he was growing nervous too.
Rory and Logan took a seat with her, and Em climbed onto the couch, pulling her legs up, just perhaps a little defensively. There hadn't been that many formal interactions like this, and she was definitely sensing that something was up.
"I got you something," Rory handed the girl a rolled up piece of clothing. It was a T-shirt in purple, with 'big sister' written in big pink letters on it, Rory having gone with her favorite colors just to be safe.
"Thanks?" Em replied, not getting it.
"Em, what this means is that by fall, you are going to be a big sister," Rory confessed. "We're having a baby," she added, choosing to say 'we' on purpose so it wouldn't be just her having it, or just her and Logan but the three of them. She needed to have Em feel as a part of this. She showed her the sonogram pictured as well.
Em went all quiet, clearly processing.
"Just like Honor is my big sister," Logan pitched in.
"And I'm Gigi's big sister," Rory added. To them it sounded a little rehearsed even.
"Is it a girl or a boy?" Em asked, after several minutes.
"We don't know yet," Logan replied and shrugged.
"It's a surprise," Rory added, unsure if this was a good thing or a bad thing in her daughter's eyes.
"Okay," Em replied.
"You know I love you, right? I will always love you just as much as I always have and that's not going to change," Rory added, assuringly. She wanted to say that nothing was going to change, that she'd still have the time and energy to be there for her, but she knew there were going to be moments when that wasn't going to be possible.
"I'm not going to have to share a room with the baby, do I?" Em asked.
"No, that's what the little bedroom is for," Rory replied.
"Okay," Em replied, and excused herself to play with Loki again.
Logan was genuinely hoping that having Loki around would actually help - it must've been some kind of a replacement as the idea of getting a dog had first been to him. Now Loki was theirs, and if excluding the training and the jogs, the dog was probably more Em's than his, since he slept in her room on most days, and even the dog clearly missed Em when she was at Jess'.
Rory and Logan glanced at each other, not really knowing what to think and this was what Rory had feared. Em tended to take in a piece of information and then just mull it over and over, often along with insecure thoughts and fears. She wanted to take the fears down, say something more…but she didn't really know how. This was certainly something both she and Logan were both new at.
"Another one down, three to go," Logan sighed, having a plan to tell all the key people that same day.
After a few hours of mild tidying up, which was mostly about putting Em's toys away and Logan cooking them a modest feast of scallops and a spring salad along with pepperoncini chicken, when Gigi and Christopher arrived.
They were about half way through with dinner, the topics having ranged from Logan's business ventures, that made up a way broader portfolio of things than it had been a few months ago, and Christopher's newest hobby - boat shopping.
"So I'm now choosing between this barely used Grand Banks 54 and Pardo E60 Endurance," Christopher said, realizing Logan actually had some boating experience even if it wasn't very recent.
"I think one of my father's colleges used to have the Pardo. He has a summer place in Gouvia Marina," Logan replied. "He adored both the place and the boat, wouldn't shut up about either...That's in Rhode," he added, seeing Gigi all clueless.
"Yeah, but it's a little… I don't know… unsexy?" Christopher pondered out loud, along with a chucky. "But just getting a sailboat, I don't know - a lovely dark marine Nautor Swan or something… it really has its appeal, you know," he continued. "Would it be all weird if I just used the motor on it?" he chuckled.
Logan reflected his laughter, genuinely.
"Well, a sailboat is definitely meant to be sailed. I know a few teachers if learning is what you're after," Logan suggested.
Em was sitting at the end of the table, eating quietly. Rory had kind of hoped she would be excited enough to wear the shirt, but she didn't want to push her either. Rory also thought it would've been kind of cute had she spilled the beans, but she'd been quieter than usual, making Rory worry even more.
"I may think I am young, but I am not quite that young to be bossed around by some boat captain as 'a part of the training'," Christopher laughed.
"Oh don't remind me - Captain. Sörensson was definitely very skilled at being bossy," Logan added, recalling his own sailing training years ago, making Gigi and Rory exchange glances at how similar the men seemed to be in their banter. They had the same energy about them, but Rory knew that in the ways that it mattered, they weren't the same. "But seriously, if you do get one nevertheless, I'm sure you could just get someone to sail it for you… or I could teach you the basics," Logan offered. He had to admit, he kind of missed it, his own boat that he'd had in Saint Tropez having gone to Odette after the divorce.
"I might just take you up on that," Christopher replied.
"So what's been up with you?" Rory asked Gigi, curious to hear what was going on with that guy of hers.
"Final stretch of school, I feel like time's running out. There's so much to get done," Gigi explained.
"Oh I think I remember those times. There was the year book, the prom, dress fittings, finals, returnal of the library books, we were getting ready for our trip to Europe, writing speeches… I almost thought I'd lost that copy of 'Medea' so I spent hours, days, looking for it… I finally found it under the seat in my mother's car," Rory described.
"I am actually not going to prom," Gigi admitted, looking down.
"I didn't go either, but I wish I had… Why are you not going?" Rory asked, kind of guessing the reason, but she did genuinely believe Gigi sould embrace her graduation for everything it was as well, even if she just went with a girlfriend instead of Eric, who she could well understand might not want to go to a high school event at his age.
"Yeah, she's throwing her own graduation party apparently. She's to cool for prom," Christopher added sarcastically, but not in a mean way - rather - teasingly.
"None of my friends want to go with someone who goes to our school, and the prom is for students only," Gigi rolled her eyes. "So we're renting this small rooftop venue, some live music, food we actually like… you know," she added, clearly excited by it.
"Well you're quite the event organizer, aren't you?" Rory said.
"Tell me about it, I have enough to do already and then I just created more for myself. But it feels totally worth it," Gigi elaborated.
"And I got to meet that boyfriend of hers, too," Christopher added, clearly feeling glad to have seen the guy. At least now they had talked.
"And?" Rory asked, glancing back and forth between the two. She'd already asked Colin about Eric and at least from that end Colin couldn't really tell her anything that would raise a red flag.
"He's…," Christopher began, slowly, picking his words very carefully.
"Dad!" Gigi scolded him.
"He's okay, but I have my reservations… but I mean he seems to treat you well. Smart, well-read, doesn't look like a drug dealer or a playboy, so I guess he's got that going for him at least," he added, teasing her a little.
"Do you think I'll get to meet him at the graduation?" Rory asked, being curious herself.
"Yeah, he'll be there," Gigi confirmed, sounding very serious for someone only seeing the man for a mere month to be talking about him attending her graduation in two months time.
"Okay, good," Rory sighed, and could feel the glance from Logan, wondering how long they were going to hold off telling them. "Actually, Gigi…," Rory began hesitantly. God, how she hoped Gigi was distracted and happy enough with that man of hers that she wouldn't feel the pang of hurt when she mentioned being pregnant. She knew that pang well.
"I was hoping you'd have time to go dress shopping with me one more time. Honor's coming too, and probably my mom…," Rory continued.
"I thought you already had a dress, what happened?" Gigi asked.
"Well.. it turns out that I'm pregnant and I am not too sure I'll fit into the one I got, even if I did choose it with some reservations, hoping it'd fit," Rory confessed.
"Wow, congratulations!" Christopher chimed in.
"Congratulations," Gigi said as well, but Rory could tell the news wasn't that easy on her.
"So will you? Come with me?" she asked again. She tried to show compassion in her eyes.
"Of course… just maybe we can make it a weekend?" Gigi replied, having gathered herself, more cheerily.
"Great," Rory exhaled.
"And you're going to be a big sister, aren't you?!" Gigi continued, speaking to Em, excitedly. "You must be so excited," she added.
But at that question, Em dashed out of the room up to her bedroom, her little feet stomping the stairs.
"Em?" Rory called after her, feeling like she was on the verge of tears herself. This was what she'd feared.
"She's been a little quiet since we told her…," Logan explained to their guests.
"I'm sure she's just adjusting," Christopher tried to sooth Rory.
"I should go talk to her," Rory replied, wanting to get up.
"Maybe I should try?" Gigi offered, out of the blue. Rory didn't really know what her sister could add, she didn't really have some big source of wisdom on the topic. She wasn't the older sister, of she'd never had something that big happen to her… oh wait - that was when Rory realized her sister did know a thing or two about parents splitting up, living far away and accepting change when it came to both parents finding new spouses, even if no younger siblings had ever been a topic.
"Sure," Rory exhaled, "I'll talk to her later, I guess," she added, taking a deep breath.
Gigi made her way upstairs, leaving the other's waiting hopefully.
"I'm sure she'll be fine," Christopher added.
"I hope so," Rory replied, as Logan drew circles on her back.
"There was actually something else I wanted to run past you," Christopher added.
"Sure, what's up?" Rory asked.
"Do you think it'd be weird of me to have some PI run a background check on this Eric guy?" he asked, catching Rory by surprise.
"Um… what? Why?" Rory asked.
"I'm pretty sure Colin's firm already runs basic checks, he could probably just tell you the verdicts. If he doesn't go into detail there's nothing illegal in that," Logan added.
"I guess that'd be one way…," Christopher replied. "But I just… I get that he's a nice guy, but I'm kind of worried of him taking advantage of her and not even in that sense," Christopher continued, referring to sex, which he wasn't oblivious to the two were by now probably having. "But Gigi has money, and there's more coming her way… I just don't want her landing on someone who's after just that," he explained. "I just feel like if I do that… she's going to hate me. But is it not my job as a father to protect her?" he added, leaving the question up in the air.
