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Chapter 4: Coincidence

"Do you want a drink? I have water, juice, coffee, martini or champagne," Rory said looking through her cupboards.

"Not a big drinker?" he asked, noticing the lack of alcoholic beverages.

"Not really but I do normally have more than this in. I haven't gone to the shops since getting back. I did however manage to swipe some champagne from the main house earlier, want some of that?" she asked.

"Sure," Logan said sitting down on the sofa.

"So, don't you think it's a strange coincidence that we met on a plane and now we're being pushed together?" asked Rory as she handed him a glass and sat on the sofa opposite him.

"Totally," agreed Logan.

"I should have known something was up when gran kept going on about my hair. I hate wearing it up like this," and she immediately pulled the hair ties out and let her hair free.

"For the record, I think it looks better loose like that," said Logan.

"Thanks," blushed Rory.

"Is that your mom?" Logan asked, noticing a picture on the coffee table of a young woman with a little girl in her arms.

"Yeah, it was taken when I was about 3," explained Rory.

"The Independence Inn? Was it on a trip?" he asked.

"No. That was where we lived, well in a building out the back that was more of a shed than a room by all accounts."

"You didn't always live here?" asked Logan, surprised seeing as though Rory had said on the plane that her parents were both very young when they had her.

"No, but my grandparents don't talk about that. In fact they don't really talk about her at all. She didn't like this sort of life ... society life, I mean. They tell me the good things, like how she was pretty and smart, stuff like that but not about how she rebelled against them."

"How do you know about it then? If they've never mentioned it?" asked Logan. "Sorry, I'm over stepping the mark again," he said quickly. He didn't want to upset Rory if it was a tough topic to talk about. But Rory just shook her head and started talking.

"When I was 15 I was searching through some cupboards trying to find my tennis racket because I had to choose a sport for Chilton and I found a box of my mom's things stashed at the very back. It had pictures ... letters ... and diaries. She kept them right up to when she ... well anyway I spent ages reading them all. My grandparents don't know that I've got them. My mom wrote all about her life ... how she felt trapped at home and needed to get away. Eventually she just snapped and stormed out, leaving a note. She went to a small town near here called Stars Hollow and got a job as a maid and the owner of the inn took her in and gave us a place to stay. She wrote about how everything would be different from her childhood. She'd do things the way she wanted, not my grandparents. She wanted me to have a proper childhood and fall in love and ... be happy."

"It's nice that you got to read about her life," said Logan, smiling over the table at Rory.

"Yeah. It made me feel close to her, you know? Before then I only knew what my grandparents told me which wasn't a lot. Then I read the diaries and some of the things she'd written ... it was like I had wrote them. Like my love of junk food, my love of coffee and hatred of sport and healthy food."

"Have you ever visited the place? Where you used to live?"

"Stars Hollow? Yeah. The day after I got my car I got directions off the internet and went after school. I told gran I was studying at the library and took a change of clothes so I wouldn't stand out. I drove out there and just walked around. It was beautiful. They were setting up for some kind of town festival whilst I was there. Everyone was talking about it and getting excited. I just kept thinking ... what if my mom and I lived there? We would be going to the festival and I would know the people around me."

"Must have been tough."

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Since then I've been every now and then. My mom talks about it loads in her diaries ... how great the people were and how fantastic everything is."

"Sounds nice." He noticed that Rory was trying to conceal the tears and discretely wiping her eyes so he stood up and moved round to her sofa. "I'm sorry ... I shouldn't have brought it up," he said. "You don't even know me really."

"It's fine. I just ... I just think about what could have been, you know? How different my life could have been."

"That's understandable."

"I've never told anyone about that," admitted Rory. "Not even Paris knows about Stars Hollow and I've known her since kindergarden."

"Why not?"

"I was just something I had to do. It felt private and I knew that she wouldn't understand. She doesn't get on with her parents. Plus she can be a bit ... full on. I just feel like I can ... talk to you. It feels so comfortable even though we don't know each other. It's weird."

"I've never met anyone I've connected with so quickly," said Logan.

"So it's not just me," laughed Rory, relived.

"You know, ever since we parted at the airport I've wanted to arrange to meet up with you," admitted Logan. "And now my parents have done it for me. I honestly thought about calling you to arrange something."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I thought I was only going to be over here for a week or so and then I would be back off to London," explained Logan.

"What do you mean thought?" asked Rory, noticing his choice of words.

"Well I had a meeting with my father earlier and I'm being relocated back to the good old USA."

"Really? Where about?" asked Rory, knowing that HPG had offices all over the country.

"New York."

"And ... are you happy or sad about that?"

"Sad to leave London, it's a great city but happy to be back in the same country as my friends. Finn is actually based in New York so I'll get to see him lots, especially as his apartment is in the same building as my family's penthouse which is where I will be living."

"That's good then."

"And of course, it's not so far away from here so maybe we could meet up and go for lunch or dinner, now that I'm staying in the country," smiled Logan.

"I'd like that."

"Good." They both smiled and Rory felt Logan hesitating in getting closer to her. Before they could say anything else though, the intercom buzzed.

"Rory? Can you come back to the main house? Mitchum and Shira are getting ready to leave."

"You have an intercom to the house?" laughed Logan.

"Not one of my favourite aspects of this place," smiled Rory. "It was here before I moved in."

"Well it sounds like I'm leaving. I'll phone you about the date."

"Rory, before we go, would you be free for a meeting next Tuesday, say 11 o'clock at the Hartford Gazette office?" asked Mitchum.

"Umm ... sure," smiled Rory.

"From all the stories I've heard from your grandfather and from reading your Yale Daily News articles I think you would be a wonderful addition to the HPG team."

"So, Rory, how did you and Logan get on?" asked Emily.

"Good," shrugged Rory.

"And you'd already met him?" asked Richard.

"Yes. We sat next to each other on the plane a couple of days ago and we just ... started talking. Partly because I was so nervous."

"Will you be seeing him again?" asked Emily eagerly, wanting to know if their plan had worked.

"We'll see," smiled Rory.

It was nice seeing you again tonight. What's your favourite restaurant type? Chinese? Italian? Indian? Other?

Rory had barely entered the pool house when her phone buzzed, she quickly replied.

As long as it's unhealthy then I like it. But I do like Chinese in particular.

Interesting. Your grandparents grill you about how we got on?

Yes. I told them that we'll wait and see whether we'll see each other again – keep them guessing.

Great minds think alike. They'll all be over the moon I'm sure. But we shouldn't let that stop us.

So, when we will be going on this date?

Wait and see. x