"Emily! How nice to see you!" Honor Huntsberger Sanders stopped by a table at an upscale restaurant in Hartford.
"Honor, hello! Its just lovely to see you!" Emily replied as she rose from her chair to hug Honor in greeting.
"Thank you! Emily, do you know my mother in law? This is Josh's mother, Mrs. Mary Sanders," she said as she gestured to the woman to her left.
Emily reached out to shake her hand, "Its a pleasure to meet you, Mary." She gestured to her dining companion. "This is my friend Karen Anderson."
Karen rose and shook hands with both Honor and Mary. Honor asked, "Hello, Karen. Are you a member of the DAR?"
"No, my son is engaged to Emily's granddaughter. We are getting to know each other better. It turns out we have a lot in common. I'm visiting from Boston," Karen replied.
"Oh, you're kidding. Rory is engaged?" Honor gasped.
Emily replied, "She is. Karen's son is Dr. Stewart Anderson. He recently proposed to Rory - we are so excited that she accepted."
Honor smiled. "Wow! That's terrific. I haven't seen her in years. Please give her my best!"
"I absolutely will. Thank you, Honor. Please say hello to your parents for me," Emily said as Honor and Mrs. Sanders walked off.
Karen almost shouted, "Huntsberger?! Is she one of THOSE Huntzbergers?"
Emily frowned at Karen Anderson. "She is. Honor is the oldest of Mitchum and Shira's children."
"Are they close friends of yours?" she demanded.
Emily sighed, "Well, to be honest, Rory dated their son for about 3 years. Once they went their separate ways, things became strained and our families are not as close as we use to be."
"Rory? Our Rory dated that disgusting excuse of a man for 3 years?" Karen got red in the face she was so shocked.
Emily recoiled at this. "I beg your pardon? What problem do you have with Logan?"
"We've all seen the things he does in the news. He's not a good person." Karen slapped her hand on the table.
Emily's voice became louder. "Karen, I can assure you. Logan was a wonderful suitor during their courtship - he was just a gentleman to her. You can't believe everything you see in the tabloids."
Karen's voice lowered to a normal level again, "Hmm. So what happened?"
Emily sighed and said, "He proposed to her when she graduated from Yale. She refused and they broke up. It was terrible. We loved Logan - we still miss him. He is a fine boy."
Karen smiled triumphantly, "Well, I'm sure you were thrilled once she dumped him."
"No! Not at all. They lived together for a couple years. We were hoping that they would marry and have a family. Logan is delightful - but I guess it wasn't meant to be," Emily said wistfully.
Karen was indignant again. "I can't believe that OUR Rory lived with that man! Is she still in contact with him?"
"I don't know for sure, but I don't think so. She hasn't mentioned him much since they broke up." Emily shook her head in sadness.
"Well, I'm sure you're thrilled that Rory is with Stewart now. They are obviously a much better match." Karen said as she picked up her fork to finish her salad.
"Yes, obviously. Much better," Emily said as she narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips.
"So, then she went on and on about Logan being a Lothario and all of these things," Emily exclaimed. "I know he was rumored to be an experienced young man, but I've never seen anyone go on and on in the middle of the Tea Room."
"Man of the World, Emily," Richard said as he brought her a filled wine glass. "I wouldn't worry about it. People make assumptions about people all the time, especially people they don't know."
Emily frowned, "I guess that's true. I just don't want the Andersons to get the wrong idea about Rory because of her past with Logan." She sighed loudly. "Well, we are going to see them again at the Yale Gala so that will give us a chance to smooth over anything that needs smoothing."
Richard nodded, "Oh, that reminds me. I received an email from the director of the planetarium today. They are completing the upgrade of the projection equipment - we are receiving state of the art upgrades to the audio and visual equipment just in time for the gala."
"Richard, that's terrific. I want the instruments there to be the best in the world."
"They will be, My Dear. They will be," Richard nodded as he stroked her hand. "So what else did you ladies discuss?"
"Richard, she wants to take control of the wedding. I don't think she realizes that the bride's family traditionally organizes the wedding, not the groom's," Emily huffed.
Richard consoled, "Well, I'm sure you informed her thusly." Richard chuckled.
"Absolutely. A wedding with BOSTON undertones will not do. She even suggested incorporating colors from Harvard. She wanted crimson! Can you believe CRIMSON!?" she exclaimed.
"Oh boy," he laughed, "Crimson with Yale blue will make that wedding look like the Fourth of July. I can't imagine anything more garish."
Emily laughed a hearty laugh. "I certainly hope she doesn't bring Logan up to Rory. And I hope Karen having this information doesn't cause problems for Rory and Stewart."
Richard nodded, "I hope so too, but we have to assume that he knows she has a past. Logan is part of her past."
Emily sighed, "I suppose that's true, although I had truly wished they would reunite some day. Logan is exactly the kind of man I wanted for Rory. He's a real man, like you."
"Now Emily, the girl has made her choice," Richard told his wife. "We have to support Rory. And - the Anderson boy is a fine choice too. He's in a noble profession, he's educated and kind. He will be a wonderful father to Rory's children one day."
"Very true, Richard," she nodded and leaned over to kiss his cheek.