Chapter 10
"Daddy!" Corinne exclaimed with excitement, rushing from the yard to hug the tall man in glasses, who'd just stepped out of his older conservative Volvo.
Corinne was far from ready to go, having not known exactly when he was arriving, hence she was still in her bikinis, having been set on catching some sun before heading back to Boston.
To Rory the sight of her daughter like that, sounding like a kid but looking almost like a woman was a little disturbing. She was proud, amazed, and terrified - all those bits of emotions blended into one. At least whatever had gone on between her and Tucker, hadn't damaged Corinne's relationship with him – she reminded herself.
"Hey, Cory," Tucker said, using his nickname for his daughter, hugging her tightly.
"Tucker," Rory nodded politely, stepping out of the front door onto the porch to witness this family meeting up close.
"Hey, Rory," Tucker said, sighing.
No hug followed between the two, but as always, they were determined to be cordial about things. This wasn't something new, but it was always better if they treated the other like a passing acquaintance than let one-selves get wound up about this and that that might've bothered them. Rory had begun to hate the way he breathed loudly, like every breath he took held some underlining sarcasm towards her, and she was pretty sure he hated everything about this house, its locations and the way Rory had redecorated it.
"How was your drive?" Rory asked, politely, holding the door to the house open for the two. From the corner of her eye Rory could see Logan in the yard next door, having been out to his mailbox just moments ago. Apparently, Logan was also one of those few people who still subscribed to physical newspapers, liking to hold something between one's fingers as one had their breakfast.
"Long," Tucker replied, adjusting the glasses on his nose.
Rory was aware her ex-husband wasn't keen on long drives, and there had been a lot of them in the past years even if most of the year the highway was different.
The older Corinne got the closer they would get to her taking the Greyhound or driving herself between her parents every two weeks. The girl wasn't a fan of this arrangement, and she made herself heard on the fact too, there just didn't seem to be any good solution, as she was already spending two weeks at Chilton and two weeks being homeschooled. The latter generally meant she hung around her dad's work instead, while doing her homework.
"Well, I'm sorry. But you've got to admit at least the drive must've been prettier than usual," Rory said, knowing it was better not to confront him on the topic.
"Hm-hm," Tucker mumbled. He looked good for his age, he was even quite a bit taller than Logan was, for example. He was never much for working out, but he had the kind of build that just looked lean no matter what he did or ate. It was evident, though, that much like Rory's grandfather once, he felt uncomfortable in a summer setup, and getting him to wear shorts or any kind of summer clothes, was a separate challenge, leaving him always looking a little like he'd just stepped out of a classroom. Once upon a time, Rory had considered it cute in the nerdy kind of way.
"Why don't you go and finish packing up?" Rory suggested to her daughter. "Coffee, Tuck?" Rory asked, without making eye contact. Putting on her best Emily-Gilmore school of manners was the way to get through this.
"I better not," Tucker replied.
"Oh? Okay," Rory said, concluding that it must've been his doctor telling him to cut back a little.
His work at the University had come with a series of stress induced health issues - ulcers, hypertension, headaches, back problems etc. Rory could assume they were again topical, despite it being the summer. Tucker had a holiday during the summer, but it had been a rare event that he'd taken the time to rest during that time, mostly just using it to write his papers and prepare for the fall semester. It wasn't his work ethic that had bothered Rory though, Rory having once been rather similar.
"I just had a cup on my way," Tucker replied, sensing Rory already reading into this.
Rory could just sense how if she said anything more that could have be interpreted even a little bit insincere it would be reason for them to fight again, so she simply didn't say a word, not wanting to ruin her mood because of him. She had years of practice trying to keep amiable relations with him.
"Mom! I can find my charger!" Corinne called out from upstairs.
"It's over here," Rory chimed, finding it on the dining room table.
"I have waitlist committee on the morning of the 2nd," Tucker pointed out.
"She's old enough. I could just pick her up at your place or at your work," Rory replied. She didn't have the key anymore either, but surely for those ten seconds she could step foot inside their old apartment again.
"Yeah, we'll see," Tucker replied, being reluctant on those agreements. Rory already knew that ideally Tucker wanted her to pick Corinne up the night before.
"Uh-huh," Rory said, taking a sip of her water that had been waiting for her on the counter. Through her kitchen window she could see the general ongoings next door - not inside the house but in the yard. Liam and Theo were playing hacky sack, the game apparently having made another comeback, while Logan was drinking a green smoothie of some sort at the outside table, perusing through his newspaper.
Rory hadn't seen Honor in a few days, and for a moment she pondered where she'd gone off to or what the exact deal was over there. She couldn't deny she was curious, but at the same time afraid to have it spelled out for her. She clearly had spent a little too much going over the whole thing in her head too.
Rory tried to go on with her doings, tidying up the kitchen, while Tucker just stood waiting awkwardly. Like two strangers almost, who had no will to get to know each-other again. It was kind of sad, really. Rory had recently watched some Swedish drama series on so-called Bonus Families, how people made it work for the sake of the children and instead of becoming strangers or enemies formed new kinds of relationships with each other. This was clearly too much to ask from Tucker.
"Oh, and your sister says 'hi'," Tucker pointed out, causing Rory to become unusually cautious suddenly. Rory cast a questioning look towards him, knowing how the two had always gotten on strangely well. He wouldn't…
"She's in my summer course," Tucker explained.
It made Rory breathe a little easier. At the very least Harvard frowned upon faculty-student relationships, so she doubted he would risk it. But she still didn't like the idea of the two of them hanging out in any form. Gigi was a free spirit, sometimes taking things a little too liberally. She was resilient, but this was a mess she hoped Gigi would know better to avoid.
"You're teaching a summer course?" Rory asked, wondering what that was about. Usually, he had the summers off, minus a couple of admissions related meetings.
"Just the one," Tucker replied, shrugging his shoulders.
The next moment Corinne came down the stairs, having changed into her city clothes, having her bag in tow. She had a bunch of stuff in Boston already, so she was used to traveling light.
"You want to go say bye to Eléa and the guys?" Rory said, purposefully not focusing so much on the one particular guy who she knew Corinne probably wanted to say 'bye' to the most.
"Nah, she's out shopping with her aunt in Portland," Corinne said, appearing strangely cold towards Theo . This made Rory wonder maybe something had happened there, or maybe she'd just given up on him.
But it was then it suddenly hit Rory - her aunt? She would've asked Corinne for an explanation right then and there, but she really didn't want to do any asking in front of Tucker, knowing Corinne was bound to reply whatever she did in a suggestive tone, liking to tease her. And it wasn't that Tucker nor Rory had never dated anyone since their divorce either, it was just that with things being thorny between them, they both knew it was better not to rub those things in.
"Bye, mom," Corinne hugged her mother, more casually and quickly than especially warmly, but it was enough.
"See you soon, Cor," Rory chimed in return, and watched the two people who'd once been her whole life pull out of the driveway minutes later.
Rory had planned on exhaling with relief the second Corinne was out of her hands, like she often did, having by now grown to be bigger than her guilt for liking her me-time. She'd always hated how mothers had been forced to second guess themselves by society, having to pretend to only live for their children.
But instead of diving headfirst into her writing project, all she felt like doing was walk over to Logan's and inquire into this little fact that she'd learned. It was annoying she cared, it was annoying to her that she felt like he deserved to inquire into the fact, having nearly convinced herself that it wouldn't matter. She, however, didn't consider it quite appropriate to go "Psst-ing" him across the fence either and demand explanations either.
Rory hadn't seen Honor or the younger kids the whole morning and half the day the day before, so maybe Corinne truly had been referring to her. Could it really be?
Rory just felt she had to know, all that appeal of mystery having gone right out the window. She picked up her phone and typed in the only combination of the name she knew - "Honor Huntzberger."
The results were inconclusive, considering the latest mention of that name was from 2006, and as she clicked on a couple of links it became clear to her that it was then that she'd married and changed her name. But at least there had been a 'Honor Huntzberger' - and that really wasn't a common name.
"So, she was Logan's sister?" Rory exhaled to herself, feeling a sudden sense of relief. She felt stupid on top of everything as well.
Suddenly Rory heard a knock on her front door, causing her to become distracted from what she'd been doing.
Trying to shake it off, expecting it to be a courier of some sort, Rory walked up to the front door, not bothering to peek before opening it. This was a safe neighborhood generally, so much that she knew the couriers by first names.
The sight of this by now well-tanned fine specimen of a man, smirking back at her, shocked her, having not quite expected him to just walk right up to her door like this. Had he just been waiting for Corinne to ride off? Has he really taken it all so literally when she'd casually mentioned hoping to have more free time once Corinne left?
"I have a proposition," Logan said, getting out with it.
"Uh?" Rory said. It was all coming very much out of a sudden.
"I need to drive to Capitol Island to get a boat. And honestly, I wouldn't mind someone who might know their way around those paths a little better. You know how the maps and reception can be around there," Logan added, knowing that both him and Rory were both aware that the situation wasn't half as bad as it had been saying a decade ago. But then again, by now, they were known to make convenient excuses to spend time together.
"Oh," Rory reacted, whilst loving his determination. "What, now?" Rory asked, sounding a little confused. Rory half assumed that he was expecting her to drive herself back later. But to her this still seemed like a good opportunity to get to know him a little better. Almost a neighborly thing to do, knowing the island was like an hour away by car.
"Now or… tomorrow if you're busy," Logan said, hesitantly. He was eager to test her impulsiveness too. Doing things that were a little crazy, or sudden, was something he'd always enjoyed, even if the things he did were less and less death defying these days.
"Um…," Rory hesitated.
"I know it's sudden. And of course, you don't have to…. You were just the person I thought to ask first," Logan admitted. "The boys started their Spider-Man trilogy" he added, excusing the suddenness of the timing a little. He could've added that he didn't generally allow the boys to drive his car either, and that Honor was away for a few days, but stopped at that for now.
"I mean, sure. Yeah, I could come. I should just get a few things sorted," Rory explained, knowing she wasn't going to leave her.
"Sure, do that," Logan urged, having had his doubts about getting her to agree to this.
"20 minutes?" Rory suggested.
Logan smiled and nodded in response, gesturing to meet her out front.