Chapter 221

August 27th, 2022

Logan and Lorelai were sitting across from each-other at Lorelai's kitchen table. If there hadn't been things to hold and stir - cups of coffee and bowls of ice cream in this case, after a big dinner, one might have seen it as a potentially dangerous confrontation.

It wasn't wasn't quite as bad, thankfully, but not entirely innocent either.

"So this is the first step at moving my daughter and granddaughters all the way to New York?" Lorelai asked Logan. Her tone held a mixture of accusation and light teasing.

Rory had excused herself to go off to watch Em outside, where Loki and Robin were playing, because it had been too hot and stuffy for her inside, having struggled to find a comfortable position for herself and her growing belly, large portions of food giving her some heartburn. Before that, however, they'd gone over the pictures and video tour of the place in the Upper East side that they'd made a decent offer on the day before. The realtor had been very optimistic and the owners eager to sell quickly. They hadn't even really planned on showing the place to Lorelai until the sale was final, but it had been Em that had spilled the news and then it had just been easier to show her.

The apartment was a 4-bedroom on E 74th Street, a pretty modern-looking place that was move-in ready and also dog-friendly. It also came with a gym and had its own indoor playroom, which certainly didn't hurt. They'd felt it was pretty borderline whether they'd need another bedroom or not, as that really depended on how much time they'd end up spending there. There was a windowless office space and spare den that would work as a guest bedroom if need be. Mostly they'd just thought about the need to factor in a nanny that would have the space to sleep over on occasion if they ended up being out late. But overall it was everything they'd wanted, including its location at a walking distance from Logan's office. Rory would be getting what she'd wanted too - even the house was perfectly no-descript, nothing that would draw too much attention to them. If it hadn't been Manhattan, she could've almost believed it was a regular upper-middle class apartment.

Logan gave Lorelai's question a moment of thought - trying to make sure he was reading her correctly.

Surely it was better that he was buying a place in Manhattan rather than one in London? - he thought.

"It's so we wouldn't have to drive all the way to Hartford late at night if we have business in the City or if Rory has a meeting with her editor or something it'd be easier to have the kids somewhere where they're… comfortable," Logain explained, biting his tongue a little, nearly having mentioned that they'd factored in the place being convenient for babysitting. He knew better than to mention they were interviewing nannies too, the kind one employed full time and got to sign non-disclosure agreement to protect their privacy, but didn't aim to actually use as much, but had the convenience of a person on stand-by if need be.

"Why not just get a hotel room or bring the kids to work with you?" Lorelai inquired, finding a flaw in that logic.

"Because it'd be much more convenient to have a comfortable space with everyone's things in right there so I… we ..wouldn't have to live with a suitcase in the trunk," Logan explained.

Rory and him had talked about this in length - there were a lot of scenarios where that would come in handy. Impromptu work-days running late, surprise business dinners, Rory simply not wanting to air herself in a different environment on occasion, recalling well how Hartford sometimes felt a little stuffy if one was home alone with a baby all the time. They might just want a fun night out on the down - a date night. And Rory also thought further down the line - if she did eventually decide to do something else - New York certainly held all the opportunities. But essentially this was just like having a second home base over there.

"That place with the things, you know… it's called a home," Lorelai said.

"A second home, sure," Logan agreed with a light shrug.

"So how does that thing with your work actually…um… work?" Lorelai continued to inquire. "I mean, the way you get up and quit, build a company, do something else for a while and then just waltz back into the first place like nothing happened. Don't the people mind?" she asked.

"Well if you're referring to the people at HPG, I'm certainly under the impression that they're happy to see me back. And at the startup my COO will just take on a few extra tasks. No-one's losing their job over what I decide to do," Logan discussed, sounding very much like he was on top of things. Generally speaking it was just a redistribution of tasks, and Logan was threatening very cautiously when it came to taking on any further tasks, knowing he wanted to be very hands on these first couple of months with the baby.

"Oh really? And those people that used to work at the office over in London? Their other halves?" Lorelai replied, skeptically, having heard Rory mention something about relocations earlier. Rory had hosted a dinner for Sebastian and his wife a couple of days ago and it had come up, even though she'd tried to make it sound like no big deal. But in Rory's state, organizing anything seemed to be pushing things, so they'd agreed with Logan to avoid any such invites until much later.

"They got a lot of advance notice, opportunities to relocate, severance packages if they didn't, for some we just found other types of jobs within the company. These things happen all the time," Logan explained. He didn't feel guilty for turning things around to benefit himself, it was his right and he'd done everything to make the change as convenient as possible for everyone involved.

"I'm not sure everyone would agree on that," Lorelai decided to stay skeptical, being convinced she saw the side of the 'little guy' better than Logan did.

"That's not what the polls say," Logan shrugged, sneakily, happy to have that argument on his side.

Logan was quite used to Lorelai doubting him - his intentions, his family's reputation, his ways… whatever. And with time their banter had actually grown less cautious. He wasn't as needy for her approval anymore either - especially now as he felt his wedding ring on his finger. It was kind of similar to the way he and Rory, on occasion, like to debate things. And he certainly saw where Rory got that ability from. Lorelai just kept him on his toes, and while one would have considered her as being unsupportive, like he knew Rory to some extent did, he decided to just accept it as one of Lorelai's personal traits. He saw no point in fighting over it at the very least. Naturally he knew there were real feelings underneath these discussions, Lorelai's insecurity amongst other things. But since it was not up to him to solve the relationship problems that were between Rory and her mother, it had transformed into some almost healthy way of airing some of these feelings.

"You did polls?" Lorelai asked and squinted her eyes at him, along with a light chuckle, holding back on a nerd joke.

"I didn't, the HR did. Everyone gained from this, I assure you," Logan replied, knowing this to be the truth, especially with the ongoing Brexit mess.

"Right," Lorelai replied, skeptically, pretty much assuming that at least a part of these people hadn't dared to be completely honest in their answers in that case.

"You still don't like me much, do you?" Logan asked with a smirk, but being a lot more serious than when the conversation had started out. While they did this all the time, after all Friday night dinners were still a thing, even if he didn't participate every single week, today felt like Lorelai truly had a bone to pick with him.

"I like you fine, but I'm not particularly fond of the way my daughter turns into a completely different person every time Logan Huntzberger is on her horizon. One time she's up, then she's down, the next moment she's making decisions that aren't like her…," Lorelai began but Logan interrupted her.

"Let me stop you right there. First of all It's Logan Huntzberger-Gilmore," Logan said sternly. "And I don't think she's on a rollercoaster here, she's just working through some long overdue things, and I'm sorry if that's not something you appreciate. But I don't think it's up to you to say what decisions your 37-year-old daughter should be making. I for one am suggesting she should figure out what she wants out on her own and my job as a husband is to stand by her side no matter what," Logan said, less sternly. After all, it was him that went to therapy with Rory and understood a lot better how her brain worked, even if it hadn't even been a year yet since they'd been back together.

"Fine, sorry…," Lorelai chimed, with a slight roll of her eyes.

"I know you don't like this whole not working thing, and just taking her time to be with the baby for a while. I know you were busy working when she was a baby, but thinking back - wasn't there even a small part of you that would've just liked to just enjoy those years with her?" Logan discussed.

"Well, yeah," Lorelai reluctantly agreed.

"But you know she is working, you know? She's always working. Even if it's just something for that book of hers or her notes… She's always working a little. Why not just let her enjoy the freedom she has to not have to worry about a paycheck," Logan discussed. He was fairly certain Rory was not going to be able to sit still for very long at home either way. So even if it was just a couple of months - he wasn't stuck on some idea of his wife being at home with the kids. But he did pay a lot more attention to Rory's wellbeing, not wanting a similar situation like had happened with Odette when the society life had taken over her entire life, despite having tried to balance these things.

Lorelai was just about to say something but Logan opened his mouth first, deciding to continue.

"Just because she throws an occasional dinner, accompanies me to certain events doesn't mean she'll turn into Emily Gilmore. I've heard the stories, I've read the book..," Logan added, taking a comparison out of Lorelai's mouth.

Lorelai hadn't read the book, not in full, which certainly made her feel a little left out.

"Well.. all I'm seeing is that with every passing day this path she's on is just putting more and more distance between us. She hardly talks to me anymore. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she didn't want me around when the baby comes, I'll be lucky if she'll let me babysit," Lorelai explained, shedding some light on her real worries.

Logan knew what Lorelai yet didn't. That the plan was just for Logan to accompany Rory in the delivery room, if at all humanly possible. But it was not his place to tell her that.

"Why do you see that as a bad thing? Maybe that just means that she's mature, grown up. That she doesn't need to ask for your opinion on everything and is able to make decisions herself now. And wouldn't you prefer she talked to you because she wanted to not because she felt an obligation to do it? What you two have on your worst day is a million times better than what I have with my mother, and that's never going to change unless you start demanding for things to be like they once were. And I'm sure that you'd much rather babysit because you want to or when the kids want you to, not because you have to, wouldn't you?" Logan applied one of Birdie's alternative ways of thinking-aids to get them through this tough topic.

"You ever think you're in the wrong business?" Lorelai asked, deciding to go onto a different route of suggesting alternative career ideas to Logan based on his negotiation and convincing skills, laughingly, without actually admitting to him that he'd had a point there.


AN: def. not the easiest chapter to write. Just in case it didn't come across well enough - I wanted to show some growth in their relationship - that they can argue and talk about hard topics in a way that isn't all big drama. And I want to give Lorelai some growth too... she's still her, but maybe little by little she'll start to see how good Logan is for her.