Chapter 12
Sharing a meal, more so a very simple meal of splitting a medium-sized pizza with everything on it, had done the trick once again, shifting Rory and Logan from heavy conversations into lighter ones. Discussions such as whether pineapple or peach belonged on pizza had transformed into the greatest pizzas, they'd ever had; from there they'd covered a whole other range of fast-food topics such as realizing they'd actually shared their favorite Italian place in New Haven. The only reason they'd never run into each other there had been that Logan had mostly had stuff delivered to his apartment. Rory had her share of local food recommendations to give him, which he accepted happily.
"Which way from here?" Logan asked, having come to the crossroads about 10 minutes before their expected destination.
"I think, right?" Rory guessed, not wanting to admit she didn't really know this area as well as Logan probably thought. But she knew that from the direction they were coming from, the ocean was to the right, so it seemed more logical to turn right in most major turns.
Logan eyed her suspiciously, reading right through her doubtfulness.
"What? It's not like I have a boat," Rory replied.
Logan simply mused, loving that she'd wanted to come with him regardless of her local geographical knowledge. Sure, on most of the road their phones had reception, but here and there the maps didn't seem to be updated or the internet was a little slower than ideal.
"You know, I half assumed we'd be taking my car. So, I could drive it back," Rory said, wondering what arrangement Logan had thought for the way back.
"I was actually hoping to talk them into delivering the boat, but the guy on the phone wasn't very easy to talk to. But sometimes it's a matter of coming over and having a talk in person," Logan explained. Very few people tended to say 'no' to him, if he figured out the right things to say.
"So, what? Are you planning on flashing some bills?" Rory teased, knowing well how these things were done usually.
Logan found it curious that she didn't seem to approve of this way of doing things many women in his experience had lived for. Buying flashy things, fancy jewelry and handbags… and making a statement, had been very much his go-to his entire life.
"Hopefully not just that," he replied.
Rory sighed, sensing how they weren't through with the heavier topics. She just had to explain herself, knowing it was something she tended to do. She knew it to be a character flaw and now that she actually felt something happening, something that wasn't entirely shameful or careless… she just had to explain herself.
"You know, I'm not really condescending like this...," Rory replied, feeling like perhaps Logan was actually offended by her casual money jokes. "I just tend to ramble sometimes," Rory admitted, not mentioning she was nervous.
"It's fine," Logan replied.
"It's just the way I was brought up. There's been this constant pull and push with everything money related," Rory decided to share, wanting to explain herself and some of the things she'd said to him at the market the other day. "I'm just not comfortable with money... And trust me, I know that not all people who have money are worse for it. It's like I still have my mother's voice embedded in my brain… she hated that world, the society standards, the pretense everyone puts up. And all my life I've just tried balancing between the two worlds. And even when I accepted all the things that came with it, the great schooling, the opportunities I've had, my inheritance… I just never felt comfortable with it, like I am supposed to feel guilty about it somehow. So, the way I deal with it is through jokes and teasing… my therapist once said it was actually better than most alternatives, so I'm sorry if it makes me sound like a hypocrite," Rory blabbered. "And great, here I go admitting I've done therapy," she added, laughing at herself.
"Who hasn't?" Logan replied, wanting her to relax. "And I sort of figured it was something like that. And honestly, I'm not sure we don't deserve to be talked down to," he added.
"I just… I don't think it makes you a horrible person," Rory admitted.
"How do you know?" Logan asked, challenging her a little.
"It's just a feeling I've got," Rory replied, being unsure herself why she thought that. Surely, it wasn't just about the fact that she liked him.
"Then I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I've done a lot of crappy, stuck-up things. I've been all those things you said about me the other day. And sure, it stings to hear it. Especially from someone like you," Logan said, continuing to drive.
Rory was curious what those things were, but she wasn't about to inquire into it right then and there.
"I have learned to live with it. And I'm trying… I just get nervous," Rory confessed.
"Around me?" Logan asked, adding a smirk. Somehow this little moment made this whole thing a little better.
Rory looked down and smiled, not quite feeling like saying it out loud. But Logan read her well enough.
Soon they saw signs, pointing them towards the boatyard.
"I'm just gonna go see if I can find someone who knows anything," Logan said, excusing himself, as Rory stepped out of the car as well, wanting to stretch her legs a little.
Rory wasn't proud of herself for having returned to her former ways of having issues with money. In fact, she'd believed she was over it. The highlight of her feeling like she was over it had been, in fact, buying her house here in Maine. God, Tucker had hated the idea. Living next door to someone of the likes of the Huntzbergers, even though they hadn't really known who exactly lived next door. She wished, those things she'd said hadn't surfaced like that, and she promised herself to try to put them aside, not wanting to become a recurring issue. She did wonder, however, for the first time, having really a moment to think about it - what did this mean? Did she actually want to impress Logan? Did she want him to 'like' her? He flirted with her a little, acted like he liked her… but did he really want her like that?
Everything had changed with the knowledge that he was indeed divorced and a free man, including Rory's worries. She exhaled deeply, feeling like she was too old to worry about things like that. She pushed her back straight and simply observed her surroundings.
Logan returned 10 minutes later, not looking quite as happy as Rory had expected.
"Any luck?" Rory asked, supportively.
"Not a lot," Logan admitted. It was not like him to not get what he wanted.
"Well, I could drive your car back, though I'd probably end up driving it at like 30 mph just to be safe," Rory offered. It wasn't the ideal way she wanted to spend an hour and a half, but she was eager to help.
"Actually…," Logan began, having come up with another type of deal.
Apparently, the boatyard manager, who'd been a grumpy old man in a wheelchair, had been very much against having some rich guy tell him what to do, no matter how much money he was offered. A real man of principles, it seemed. But what he had suggested was that his nephew could drive the car wherever needed the next morning once he was back from running some errands.
"So, if you want… we could just drive the boat back ourselves. It's longer than by car naturally, but I assume it's prettier. But of course, I know I cannot expect you to, and you're free to drive back just the same," Logan said, tentatively.
"You can actually drive the boat?" Rory asked, unsure why she had even doubted that.
"Yes, of course. I mean, it's been a while since I drove this particular boat but I can read a GPS…," Logan said.
Rory knew that if she wanted to undo any of her former downer behavior, this was definitely the way to do it.
"Hey, I mean, I'm ready for anything," Rory said, presenting her go-getter attitude by taking her bag from the car. She hadn't come here to just drive home, had she?
Logan smiled, studying her, and quietly muttered - "In omnia paratus" leaving Rory guessing why he'd repeated the phrase in Latin. He just recognized something in her that he couldn't quite place. Something familiar, despite her nervousness and feistiness. Maybe it was his own internal nervousness that he sometimes overcompensated for with his charisma and boldness, not daring to let it show for the life of him, but at the same time he just loved that she was willing to just jump with him like this.
Rory felt energized, despite at the same time a little unsure about what she'd gotten herself into. If she had been going with anyone else that she barely knew into the middle of the ocean, it wouldn't have seemed like the wise thing someone her age should do. That was the type of thing she specifically told her daughter to never do. But yet somehow, she trusted him, or was she simply blinded by his charm?
The boat had been already released onto the water, and was waiting for them, and the manager even chimed how he'd added a complimentary six-pack of mineral water.
They continued down the pier, and Rory kept thinking which one of the many luxury yachts and sailboats was theirs. She expected it to be equivalent to the house Logan and Honor lived in here in Maine at the very least.
But for once, she was wrong.
"This is she," Logan eventually said, stopping at the far end of the pier.
"Who?" Rory asked, having gotten distracted for a moment about everything around them.
"The boat," Logan replied. "You know, one of those fun nautical traditions - every boat is a 'she'," he added.
"Oh yeah, of course," Rory chuckled nervously.
Rory really felt stupid at this moment, as the Four Winns boat was not the celebrity of this boatyard as she'd expected based on Logan's reputation. It was quite sensible in fact, something one might use for pleasure cruises, having no cabin, and seating for just about six to eight people. But there must've been something in her physical reaction as she took in the sight, that gave her away.
"Sorry to disappoint," Logan added.
"Disappoint?" Rory asked, trying to give an impression that she hadn't expected anything fancier.
"Trust me, if it had been up to me, I would've bought something nicer, too," Logan added, perfectly shifting things around in a way that actually showed his flashy and privileged side. Logan went on to explain how it had actually been Josh who'd bought the boat and how he considered the guy a real door-mat, despite loving him like family.
Strangely enough Rory found it kind of cool he wasn't ashamed of it or at the very least knew how to make fun of himself in that context. Someone with his kind of money could've just snapped his fingers and bought something flashier, for all she knew.
"So how far are we?" Rory said, having never really navigated these waters before.
"150 nautical miles, give or take?" Logan made a rough estimate.
"English, please?" Rory requested.
"Well, it's a lot longer by water than it was to drive here. My guess is around 170 miles," Logan made a rough guess.
Rory was clueless as to how fast a boat like this could possibly go, even though she'd seen similar boats do quite quick moves on the bay sometimes. Was that something these boats could do the entire ride? Did the seascape even enable that?
"I'm hoping not much more than five hours," Logan added, explaining it in a language also Rory understood. It also made sense to her how this could've been the possible reason why the manager hadn't been interested in having someone of his own to deliver the boat for them. If he was short-handed, having someone be away for a whole day did not always have an easy fix.
"Oh," Rory reacted.
"It's okay if it's not what you had in mind. You can back out if you want," Logan added.
"Now what fun would that be of me. Though I'm going to have to find a bathroom first," Rory pointed out.
The few minutes they took before their departure were also sufficient to grab a few more snacks from the vending machine.
The boat engine roared, its sound escalating as it picked up speed. It was definitely louder than Rory had pictured, nearly having already worried what to spend the next five hours talking about, now that they were literally stuck on a boat together, with no place to escape. There were definitely no fast-food places around here to make a quick turn to if things got awkward.
But what Rory hadn't expected, were the gorgeous views. And not only that of the surrounding scenery, but also of Logan, who truly looked like he was in his element in that captain's seat, his polo shirt collar and his sun-bleached hair blowing in the wind. Every now and again she could see his eyes finding her, and that really was the cutest compliment she'd gotten in a while. And since talking wasn't overly convenient over the engine, they'd mostly just sat in an unexpected, yet comfortable, silence.
It wasn't until they made their way to Broad Sound Passage, and lowered their speed, when Rory decided to properly try to spark up the conversation again.
"So, I guess you probably grew up driving boats from an early age considering you're so comfortable at the helm," Rory said.
"Oh, you noticed?" Logan replied, cheekily. "I guess, it's kind of true. But I never really enjoyed these speedy little things," he said, referring to the boat they were on. "Sailing on the other hand...," he added, realizing how entitled that must've sounded. He was better not to mention how he'd also played polo, golf and been on the rowing team in a couple of his high schools.
"Of course, you sail," Rory exclaimed, but this time she genuinely wasn't judgmental but just lightly joking.
"I'd even like to boast about sailing around the world but I never finished the trip," Logan added, knowing this was just icing on the cake. By now he almost wanted to tease her with these things. He wasn't ashamed of any of it, but he just found it entertaining to have met someone who wasn't mainly impressed by these things.
"Oh? Too long or boring for you?" Rory shot back, playfully.
"The Pacific was indeed not as much fun as we'd hoped," Logan replied, feeling like this wasn't the best time to admit how he and his friends had actually sunk the boat off the coast of Fiji.
"Right," Rory rolled her eyes playfully.
"You ever travel much?" Logan asked.
"Not much," Rory replied, shrugging her shoulders.
Logan held back, wondering whether it was a touchy subject. What if she really hadn't been much of anywhere because of the way she'd grown up and would take it as him rubbing in all the opportunities he'd had.
"My number's 72, been hoping to make it an even 100 one day," Rory replied.
"I thought you said 'not much'," Logan chuckled, having never even counted his destinations. He was genuinely impressed.
"Well… what is much?" Rory chimed, shrugging innocently, having gotten this little trick from Jess.
"I mean… it was this big dream of mine, and I mean my mother and my grandmother made sure I had covered Europe. But everything else... That's something I've done on my own mostly, you know - my very own Eat, Pray, Love kind of journey, even if I was low on the praying and loving," Rory chuckled, not knowing why she'd just admitted to something so silly.
"After your divorce?" Logan asked.
"Uh-huh," Rory said.
Logan nodded, understandingly. "I did the Pacific Crest Trail, part of it at least," Logan said, speaking in similar context.
"You did 'Wild'?!" Rory exclaimed, not believing her ears.
"Well, it was before it became 'cool'. But something like that," Logan explained, thinking back to those times. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
"My mom always talked about doing 'Wild'," Rory replied.
"Why didn't she?" Logan asked.
"I mean… But the statement alone is ridiculous. She's the least outdoorsy person I've ever met. But she loved the book, she loved the idea of doing it. She was a force of nature, but out there in the elements she wouldn't have made it through the first night probably and not because she was weak or not resourceful. Far from it. It would've just been something stupid like lack of decent coffee or because of the hiking smell," Rory chuckled.
"The hiking smell?" Logan asked, finding her self-expression fascinating.
"She would always say that one would begin to smell, you know of nature, sweat and dirt… the second one even thought about hiking. She liked hiking clothes though," Rory added, cleverly.
"She sounds fun," Logan replied.
"Oh, you have no idea," Rory agreed. "How did your hike go? Did it help?" Rory asked, not wanting to sound insensitive.
"It did and it didn't," Logan said with a sigh.
"Sore topic?" Rory asked, tentatively.
"Nah, not so much. But thinking back… I guess it just wasn't the best way to deal, considering I had kids at home," Logan sighed. "Living the life I was living. Everything at my fingertips… it was easy to think that as long as the kids had trustworthy people taking care of them - nannies, teachers, cooks, therapists… that they were fine, but when really, they could've just benefited from having me at home with them," Logan shared, regretfully.
"Well, you're with them now at least," Rory chimed, knowing Logan would get that she wasn't talking about the present moment but now in general.
"Yeah," Logan sighed, feeling like it wasn't nearly enough, before speeding up again.