On the Brink of Proximity with Nothing to Smoke

April 2016

New York

It was 2 am by the time Logan and Odette returned to their hotel suite. As soon as they walked in, Odette made a beeline towards the sofa and took off her shoes. She then laid down, allowing herself to relax.

Having taken off his jacket and tie, Logan sat with her, taking her feet to massage. "Oh, merci mon amour." She said with a slight moan.

"You're welcome. That was some party."

"Yes, it was. Did you even know all those people?"

"Not at all," Logan said with a smirk.

They had just returned from Logan's Uncle David's sixtieth birthday. David was Mitchum's younger brother and a prominent attorney specializing in international law. He was head of the Huntzberger Media's legal team and well known in the world of international finance. Needless to say, with all his connections, the birthday party was no small gathering. Logan and Odette spent most of the evening mixing and mingling in "corporate mode" as the gathering seemed more like a networking event than a birthday party. Logan and Odette spent most of the night being introduced and reintroduced to the New York corporate and society set. It was exhausting, but something they had a good amount of practice. For them the conversation of the night focused on two subjects; their jobs and upcoming wedding. "Shira told us about the event, you must be so excited!"

"Yes, we are" Logan and Odette would answer the various guests throughout the night.

In reality, it was a lie. They were not excited. Getting married on such a grand scale was not their preference, but relented for the sake of the family.

Luckily for them, there were also enough Huntzberger cousins and friends to form a sub party, in this case in a hotel suite booked by Darby, Logan's "black sheep" cousin and David's daughter. This gathering was full of food, booze, and a smattering of weed, cocaine, and X.

"Oh, I can sleep for a week," Odette stated as Logan continued to rub her feet.

"Yes, a long sleep sounds great right now. We have been going nonstop for a while. Perhaps we should plan some time off." Logan proposed

"Yes, we need to do that. Too bad it can't be for now. Remember? We are pretty much committed until the middle of May."

"Well then, let's plan for May! Gives us something to look forward to."

"Well you know, that rafting trip to Vietnam that your cousin took sounds like fun. I've haven't been to Vietnam, we could maybe work in a side trip to Cambodia also."

"Maybe not Vietnam."

"Maldives? Your mother's friend's daughter, what's her name, Fallon? She invited us to join them on their trip in May."

Logan made a face and shook his head with an emphatic "NO!"

"Ok, " the somewhat exasperated Odette asked, "what would you like to do?'

"Roller coasters."

"Excuse me? Roller coasters?"

"I was thinking we could rent a car, drive across the US, hitting all the amusement parks and riding roller coasters. We could take a couple of weeks, no set itinerary, just drive to the next park. We could sleep in cheap motels, eat in roadside diners, hang out in dive bars. What do you say."

"It sounds, ah...interesting?"

"You don't like the idea."

"Logan, when have I ever been an amusement park person? I could barely handle that carnival and circus we brought Charlotte and Theo to last year."

"Yea. Well, no roller coasters, how about we just drive, see the interesting sides of the US. Graceland, Branson, see why Wall Drugs is such a big deal .."

"We could..."

"You don't' sound that enthusiastic."

"Well, it's just we have so little time, I would like to be a bit more adventurous. Driving across the US does not appeal to me. Rafting in Vietnam? That's interesting."

"Yea," Logan said somewhat resigned

. "I'm sorry. If that's what you want to do, then we can..."

"No, I want you to have fun too. We should consider Vietnam."

"Ok, I'll start inquiries when we get back home."

Odette smiled, leaned over and gave Logan a quick kiss before rising from the sofa.

"I'm going to get ready for bed. We are meeting your sister and everyone at noon tomorrow correct?"

"Yes."

"Ok, are you coming?"

"Yes in a minute."

Odette headed towards the bedroom, while Logan sat, collecting his thoughts. The mention of traveling in Asia made Logan think of Rory. They were planning to travel to Asia after he graduated from college trip. However, being shipped off to London put the kibosh on that idea. He had been to Asia a number of times for various reasons since then, but for some reason traveling there without Rory this time did not sit well with him; it just didn't seem right.

Logan could not help but compare Rory and Odette. While he and Odette shared the same sense of adventure, when it came down to having silly fun, he and Odette had different ideas. In a way, Odette was more serious than Rory. Do things off beat wasn't in Odette's wheelhouse. Logan shook his head as if to rid his mind of that thought. So what if Odette and he didn't agree on vacations? Not every couple agree on everything. Yes, there were some ways that he and Rory were more compatible, but Odette had one major advantage over Rory, she wanted a commitment; he proposed and she said yes. Odette was his fiancée, not Rory. That time had passed. Whatever he and Rory were doing at that moment was temporary, something they needed to work through. Odette is the future, he told himself, the more you focus on that, the more settled you would be. He again contemplated breaking things off with Rory once and for all. He resolved to do so the next time she was in London. This is ridiculous, he thought to himself. It's not going to happen between us, it needs to end.

However, two weeks later, the moment Rory stepped into his flat, all thoughts of breaking up were immediately forgotten.