"Yes Grandma," Rory was saying into the receiver as Tristan walked into her office to go for lunch as they had planned that morning.
"Grandma, I have to go. It is the middle of the day on a Tuesday, I am in my office and I need to get back to work."
"I know that you don't appreciate my tone, but my boss would not appreciate me using my work time to plan a party."
"We told you that you and Francine can plan the engagement party and we will go along with whatever you decide, in exchange for us having the small wedding we want. The point of giving control to you was so that I would not have to answer color scheme questions."
"Okay Grandma, I really have to go, my client for my planned lunch meeting is here."
"Just send me the details, I am sure it will be fine. Bye Grandma." Rory hung up with a sigh, rolling her eyes as she set down the receiver.
"So our plan to make this easier on ourselves isn't working?" Tristan asked, walking over to her and pulling her in for a hug.
Rory rubbed her face into his chest, inhaling his familiar smell. "No, she still wants to tell me about every choice, if we hadn't asked for her help she would probably be trying to make all these decisions without telling me."
"It will be okay. Where do we want to get lunch?"
"How much time do you have?"
"I have an hour or so. Do you want the italian down the street or something from the deli and a picnic in the park?"
"Italian if that's okay with you?"
"Italian is perfect. I really wanted the chicken parm," Tristan said with a smile, pressing a kiss into Rory's hair as he released her to grab her bag.
"Another email from Emily?" Tristan asked, hearing Rory sigh over her laptop.
"This one is from Francine, it's copies of the invitations to the engagement party. They have made more than one."
"You mean more than one proof?" Tristan asked, confused, getting up to see what Rory was looking at.
"No, I mean, they are sending more than one version out," she answered, turning her laptop so he could see the screen.
Tristan was looking at them and he realized why there was more than one. A Rory Gilmore. Tristan DuGray one, A Lorelai Hayden/Tristan DuGray one, and even a Lorelai 'Rory' Gilmore Hayden/Tristan DuGray one.
"So are you coming out as heir to the few people who don't know at this party?"
"It looks like it. I hope no one is close friends with someone who gets one with a different will look like you are into polygamy." Rory said with a laugh.
"Don't even joke about that. I couldn't handle more than one of you." Tristan said, then jumped out of the way as Rory swatted at him.
"Oh baby, you know I love you. But you are just the perfect amount of trouble for me," he said, pulling her up and into his arms. He quickly pressed a kiss to her forehead before tickling her until she was in fits of giggles.
"Tristan!" she managed to squeak out between wheezy giggles.
"Just showing you I know how to handle trouble making Lorelai's," Tristan said as he picked her up and carried the laughing Rory over to the couch. "Maybe I could show you some of my other control techniques," he whispered, before capturing her lips.
"Logan, I need you to be seen at a party." Mitchum demanded the second Logan answered the phone.
"Why Hello Dad, how are you? I'm doing well. Are you busy? I am."
"Cut the crap Logan, this is business." Mitchum said in an exasperated tone.
"When is this party?" Logan asked, pulling up his calendar.
"Saturday night."
"No can do, I'm going to an engagement party for a friend." Logan replied honestly.
"Who's? The event I need you to attend is an engagement party, maybe it's the same person. This is for the Hayden's." Mitchum asked curiously, hopeful that Logan was already attending.
"It's Rory's."
"Rory Gilmore?" Mitchum asked, shocked. "Why are you attending that?"
"Because we are friends, Finn is dating one of her best friends, and I know her fiance now too." Logan said with a sigh.
"Okay. Strange that Emily is having it the same night as the Hayden's, but I suppose there was always some animosity between those two families."
"So am I off the hook?" Logan asked, beginning to type a reply to an email.
"Yes, just this once. I'm sure there will be some associates at the Gilmore party you can schmooze while your mother and I attend the Hayden one."
"Yeah, yeah. Okay I need to go and finish up this report."
"Nice to hear you are actually working." Mitchum declared, hanging up before Logan could respond.
Logan looked at his phone to check his father was disconnected before throwing it aside in irritation.
"Hi Poppy," Logan greeted as he helped her out of the car, while Finn excited the other side.
"Hello Logan, Colin," Poppy greeted, spotting the other man hanging back.
"What about me? What am I?" Finn whined, as he shook hands with Colin, before looking in disgust at Logan.
"We have been trying to work out what you are since we were Freshmen!" Logan quipped, pulling Finn in for a half bro hug.
"Come on gentlemen, Rory has warned me about the crowd at this thing, I know I will need a martini at all times to handle it." Poppy said, as Finn wrapped his arm around her waist and they made their way into the country club.
"Which room is it in?" Colin asked.
"The Rose room," Poppy said. "Rory told me but I wasn't quite sure what she meant at the time."
"Maybe I need to discuss building a hotel around here," Finn stated, as they made their way through the club.
"Somewhere new for Logan to get caught out in rooms of." Colin joked.
"That has only happened once," Logan started.
"In this building," Finn finished with a laugh.
"Oh, I want to hear that story," Poppy said, her eyes lighting up with mischief.
"I don't think that's a story for tonight," Logan said, as they made their way into the ballroom.
"Are they here?" Poppy asked, picking up on the subtext that Logan was implying.
"Yep!" Colin added. " Martini and 3 scotches?" At everyone's affirmative nod, Colin went to the bar to order, leaving the trio to continue talking.
"So one of Rory's friends?" Poppy asked, Logan rolled his eyes at her continuing to question him.
"Closer than that luv," Finn stated, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Rory?" Poppy exclaimed. "No way!"
"Shh! Someone will hear you." Logan hissed, looking around anxiously.
"But seriously? You and Rory got caught here?" Poppy asked, quietly. She could keep quiet in the interest of gossip.
"Not having sex but more in a compromising position." Logan admitted.
"Ah Ah, that's not the best part, why don't you elaborate Logan?" Finn smirked. "Tell Luv who caught you."
"Who?" Poppy asked, wide eyed.
"Her Mom, Luke -"
"Oh no, he's scary."
"And her Dad." Logan finished in a whisper.
"Oh the full trifecta! This is better than the drama I write for my books." Poppy smirked, enjoying Logan's discomfort.
"And it was the first time he met any of them." Finn chimed in.
"Seriously? This is awesome, anything else that can make this story better?" Poppy asked, as Logan tried to hide his embarrassment.
"Where is Colin with those drinks?" Logan asked, trying to change the subject.
"I'm here, I'm here," Colin answered, handing everyone their drinks. "Are you still trying to avoid telling the story of when you and newspaper girl were caught at her grandparents wedding?"
At this addition to the story Poppy lost it, and progressed from mocking Logan to full blown laughter, almost spilling her drink.
"This is amazing. I wish we were here for a different reason so I could mock Rory. I feel like it would be in bad taste, considering what we are here for."
"Yes, so if we could change the subject," Logan said, exasperation in his tone.
"Finn, who are all these people?" Poppy asked, hoping he would tell her there was no one they needed to schmooze tonight, and they could just relax.
"I see some contacts of my Dad's but not people I deal with, so hello if we bump into them, but we don't need to seek them out," Finn said reassuring his girlfriend.
"I see quite a few people from that quirky town Rory and Lorelai live in," Logan said looking around.
"I think I just saw my parents," Colin said, looking confused, while trying to see over more people's heads to confirm.
"I thought they were going to that Hayden thing that my parents were going to?" Logan asked, trying to follow Colin's line of sight.
"Same here."
"Honestly Gilmore, is there anyone in Connecticut that your Grandmother's didn't invite?" Paris asked, as her and Doyle greeted Rory and Tristan.
"Pretty sure most of Massachusetts is here too," Tristan added.
"I'm not sure if that was Grandmother, or your parents who did that," Rory said looking at the crowd of people gathered.
"At least the presents should be good," Doyle muttered.
"How long before you two get dragged up for some kind of speech?" Paris asked.
"Not long," Rory said, leaning into Tristan, as his arm squeezed her waist in support.
"Is that Mitchum Huntzberger?" Doyle exclaimed, having not fully outgrown his fear of him from college.
"Oh God, who invited them?" Rory exclaimed, burying her face in Tristan's shoulder.
"Probably your Grandmother. You know how she is always trying to one up them. This is her perfect chance to get over them for how they treated you back at Yale." Paris stated as though it was an obvious conclusion.
"I doubt they care," Rory replied. "I'm more surprised that they actually came, unless Grandma Francine invited them. That might explain it."
"Who cares?" Paris said, "It's your night. Well and Tristan's I suppose. There better be cake later Gilmore."
"Thanks Paris," Tristan said with a small scoff. "Come on Mare, we probably should start the rounds, it might mean we get mobbed less after the speeches."
Before Tristan and Rory knew it, a hush was falling over the crowd as their mothers made their way onto the stage. Rory still wasn't sure how they had managed to talk the grandparents into letting them do the announcements.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you all for coming tonight to help celebrate." Lorelai started. "I have been watching this young couple since they were sixteen years old and both were cast in Romeo and Juliet back at Chilton."
"I remember when Tristan came home and told me all about the new girl who had transferred to Chilton, he was mesmerized from the start. I don't think anyone else stood a real chance from that day forward." Tristan's Mom Victoria said.
"I for one could not have been happier when they reconnected and started working their way towards this moment. Just watching them together you can see the love and the strength of the bond between them." Lorelai stated, before stopping to let Victoria continue. They had agreed to let her finish so Lorelai could fully take in everyone's reactions.
"Please join me in congratulating Tristan DuGray and his fiancee Lorelai Leigh 'Rory' Gilmore-Hayden the third."