Chapter Thirty One – Pre-Dinner Showdown

31.1

The dinner had been set for the six of them but Rory still worried. Logan was impressive to match up to if you took him at face value. He was rich, popular, led the business well, was ambitious, and then had countless stories which he could share. He might not bring to mind the ideal father but Rory didn't consider herself an ideal mother.

She turned to the side as she looked at her pregnant belly and placed a hand over where the baby bump was. She had thought that going with a flower blue dress and white cardigan would be perfect but her clothes were starting to go around the baby bump and not over it.

It made everything seem so much real.

"Hey, Ace," she heard a voice from behind her and turned to see Logan with a silver necklace with sapphires behind her. "Turn around," he requested. Rory smiled to him and Logan placed the necklace on her. He kissed her cheek. "I'm right here."

"I'm glad that you are, it'll keep my boat hijacking to a minimum," Rory teased him and Logan laughed softly. "So your parents have made the reservation at the restaurant and you're sure that you gave my parents the information?"

"Everything is all set for us to step in there and have a hopefully uneventful night," Logan told her he saw her turn around and grinned as he looked at her. He kissed her forehead and then her lips and then placed his hand on her belly softly. "How's our little guy or girl doing this morning?"

"I'm sure that they are not the reason I want to hurl….this time," Rory said. She hummed, "I'm scared that what I have in there is not really a baby and that we'll have to do a lot of clean up when my -"

"I am ninety nine percent sure that that's not an alien species that's coming out," Logan said before Rory turned, checking her belly in the mirror. She bowed her head and sighed before feeling Logan's arms wrap around her.

"So, what are you most nervous about?" he asked her, "Going back to Yale next month or this dinner."

"I wish that there was a test to distract me from this dinner," Rory said before holding onto Logan's hand. She kissed his shoulder and let her head rest upon his chest. "You think that I can hide?" she asked.

"You say the word and I'll cause a distraction to get you out of there. You say the word, Ace, I've got a lot up my sleeve," Logan tried to reassure her and Rory smiled before putting her heels on and Logan looked at them, he knew that they had a pair of white sneakers in the car or otherwise he would have said something about shoe choice. From what he had read, women's ankles were killers when they were pregnant.

Logan saw Rory walk towards the car and stood in the doorway of their house, just watching her. He grinned as he saw her turn to look at him. She was gorgeous. They were right when they said it was like pregnant women were especially bright and shiny, Rory was so golden right now.

31.2

As they pulled up to the fancy restaurant, Logan went to open the door for Rory and helped her out. He looked to see a few of his parents' friends. This restaurant was one of the 'hip' places to be for the upper elite. Somehow Christopher had been here many times but Lorelei had either blocked it out or it was new to her.

"Are you cold?" Logan asked as he held onto Rory's hand but looked ahead where his mother was smoking. At least she was smoking outside of the restaurant and wearing another expensive dress.

"I'm doing okay," she said and then gestured that they should just go and bite the bullet and start the meal. She looked around for Mitchum but he wasn't there.

"My father's probably giving orders at the table, making sure that the wait staff know his specific orders for tonight," Logan commented and saw Rory getting a little more nervous. Logan hated that his family had such a negative impact on his future wife. He wanted to be her support and the person she relied on but he had to admit his 'spectacular' family wasn't that spectacular.

Logan nodded before they approached Shira. "Hi," he said as Rory smiled and nodded.

"Hello, Shira," Rory said before raising her chin in a determined manner. Shira looked to her and then to her belly before putting out the cigarette.

"Darling, you should know better than to come to the smoking section when you're pregnant," she said and Logan put an arm around Rory instinctively. "I mean, you do have a Huntzberger in there," she stated. "Exposing the little one to smoking. Only us who have already had our babies can indulge," she laughed.

"I'm glad that you enjoy it," Rory replied trying to be civil with her. Inside she wanted to turn around and cough but that would just make Shira happy that she was right.

"Is Dad inside?" Logan asked as he moved his hand over Rory to stop Shira from touching her belly without asking. Yes, Logan would often move his hand there and then after placing it over the baby bump, turn to Rory as if to ask for permission but he was the father and the future-husband, his hand had access to where others' did not.

"Yes, inside with that awful woman," Shira said before pausing and looking embarrassed as Rory stared at her confused. "I'm so sorry, I'm sure that your mother doesn't mean to be awful, it's just when you reject one class of people."

"Yes, it just shows how uncivil you are," Logan commented as his mother stared at him rather taken aback by his saying that. It didn't seem that Logan really cared though. Rory turned to him feeling a bit impressed that he tore down his own mother in defense of hers. "Shall we go in?" Logan asked.

"Yes, all together would look most proper," Shira said before linking arms with an unexpecting Rory. She pushed Logan ahead of them slightly. "So, you must let me help you select a fantastic wardrobe now that you're showing. I know that this whole look," Shira waved her arm in the air as she mentioned Rory's clothes, "Is very prairie girl but you need to proudly show off the goods. After all this is a very special child that you're having birth to."

"One quarter Hayden, one quarter Gilmore," Rory coughed.

"And one half Huntzberger," she announced before waving at someone a few feet away. Logan stopped as if he were trying to save Rory but she shook her head. They both shared a look wondering whether Shira was actually drunk or not.

"Come here, Edwin!" she said loudly to a man with a high class designer suit, "Edwin Lord, this is my son and my grandchild," she said as she pointed to Rory's body.

"Logan," Edwin laughed in shock. "Congratulations, and congratulations to you, young lad-"

"May I introduce Rory Gilmore, my fiancée," Logan said and Rory's eyes widened as Shira gasped and started to clap her hands. Logan froze and paled a little. They had been planning on waiting for the right time and he had just let the truth out in front of the wrong woman.

"You're engaged?" Shira asked.

"Uh, well," Logan said with an apologetic look to Rory who nodded. "Yes, we're engaged but we haven't done it formally so I'm not sure if it's official yet."

"It's official in sentiment," Rory smiled to him and Logan exhaled in relief. He moved over to Rory and slowly moved her away from Shira.

"You have to let me help you set the date then, and the engagement party and then there's so much to do before the wedding," Shira said as Rory started to feel more overwhelmed about this. "I mean, I'm sure the two of you don't want the baby to be born out of wedlock. No I can't have a bas-I can't have a grandchild like that, it would be the wrong type of gossip."

Logan offered Rory another look of apology but she shook her head and quickly kissed Logan's cheek. As they came into the restaurant, Christopher stood to shake Logan's hand and Rory knew as soon as she looked at her mother that Lorelei knew something had happened outside. Christopher was still not aware of Rory's mannerisms with something like this.

"You look beautiful, kiddo," Christopher grinned to Rory. He looked at the bump and smiled more. "I'm sure that you're taking great care of the child."

"Of course," Rory nodded.

"And if you have any advice on things that I could do," Logan said as he looked towards Lorelei, "I want to take care of Rory the best that I can. I know that my working internationally has been tough on her."

"That's why I think it's important that we do a wrap up meeting whilst we're here, maybe in New York and then you will be able to work from home," Mitchum said and Logan stared at him in surprise and excitement. "You will be expected to complete any meeting or work that we assign you but we don't need you in London. I'll have somebody at the company pack up your desk and apartment and send everything back here. I expect that it will take a few weeks to have everything shipped and delivered."

"That's great, th-thank you," Logan said as he saw Rory getting excited too. They'd be living together before she would have to go back to Yale. He would be able to give her the full amount of his support.

"I repeat that if you do not maintain the quality of your work and the high output, we may have to move you to one of the offices, this isn't me unleashing you from the company, you still have certain duties to do, you are not a free agent," Mitchum said as Logan listened. He had to admit that he was too excited to make a scene with his father. What he wanted was to be with Rory and truly experience this and now he could go to their own home and just sleep there.

"This will be perfect now the two of you are engaged," Shira said.

"Good man," Mitchum nodded, "It was ridiculous for you not to propose to her at once. I think that that was a good decision, raise a baby in the right situation. Nobody wants a father who leaves and nobody looks in good judgements on a woman who has a baby out of wedlock."

Rory's eyes widened as she saw how deflated that made her father who had started to move around the napkin and water glass and Lorelei who looked furious.

"Women don't need to be married to be good mothers," she whispered.

"Please tell me they're not causing a scene," Shira said and Logan looked at her.

"No, mother, that would be you with your drinking. You're with good people, could you please treat them with more respect. "

Rory looked down at the table.

Dinner had only just begun and it had opened to such a clash of emotions.

End of Chapter Thirty One

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Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Thirty

December Jeffries2, KathyMesser, mvnlaredo, Rori Potter