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~~~ Still Quarantined Day # I don't even know anymore ~~~
What day is it today? Is it Thursday, Friday, or Saturday? I honestly keep forgetting.
This chapter was pretty fun to write. I was cracking up when I started it. It ended up going differently than I originally thought it would, but I think it turned out ok. Let me know what you guys think.
"Mrs. Huntzberger, I have your Husband and children here to see you." an aide said as she escorted the Huntzberger family into Shira's suite at her rehab center.
"Hello hello!" Shira greeted, kissing Mitchum on the cheek, and hugging him with one arm, then moving to Honor. "Honor, Honey! Look how cute you look! Look at that belly!" she said excitedly, hugging her daughter, then reaching to rub her stomach. "Hi Maxwell! I'm your Grandma! I can't wait to meet you Sweetie!"
"For real?" Rory mouthed, looking to Logan, who just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Joshua! Hello Honey! You look great! Are you excited to be a Daddy?"
"Hi Shira. I am excited, yes." Josh said as Shira gave him a one armed hug.
"Rory! Sweetheart! Look how great you look! Oh honey, pregnancy definitely agrees with you!" Shira said pulling Rory into a hug, then holding her at arm's length to look her over. "Sweetie, how far along are you now?"
"19 weeks." Rory answered.
"Almost halfway! That is so exciting! Can I feel the baby?"
"Uh, sure." Rory said as Logan gave her an amused smirk.
"Hi sweet girl! Grandma is so excited to meet you! I bet you are such a beautiful little girl! We are going to have so much fun together, you and I!" Rory bit her tongue to keep from laughing, while looking at Logan, Honor, and Josh who all shared the same amused, yet frightened look.
"What the hell?!" Honor mouthed from behind Shira.
"Logan! My sweet little boy! I am so happy to see you Honey!" Shira said excitedly hugging her son next.
"Sorry, allergies." Rory said, suddenly rubbing her nose, and covering her mouth with her hand, trying to cover up the laugh that started to slip out.
"Honey, you look so happy! Are you ready to be a daddy?"
"I am Mom." Logan smiled as he reached for Rory's hand. "How are you doing? Are you doing ok?"
"I am doing wonderful! Thank you so much for asking Sweetie. I am so happy to have you all here! How was your flight? I hope it wasn't too bad."
"It was good Mom. We took the jet." Honor told her.
"Mitchum, Dear, how are you? How are you feeling?"
"I'm doing well Shira." Mitchum answered. "You look nice today."
"Thank you Dear! It is so nice to see you all! Come come, sit sit." Shira said holding her arms out and gesturing to the couches in her sitting room. "Would anyone like something to eat or drink?"
"I'll take a bottle of water if you have some." Honor said as she took a seat on one of the couches, with her husband.
"I cannot get over how amazing you girls both look!" Shira gushed as an aide brought her a bottle of water for Honor. "I never looked as great as either of you while I was pregnant. You two are just absolutely radiant!"
"No laughing." Logan whispered, reaching his arm around his wife and pressing a kiss to the side of her head, trying to cover up his own laughter as they both took their seats on the couch opposite Honor and Josh who were both smiling and biting their tongues to keep from laughing.
"Mom, you look wonderful! California definitely agrees with you." Honor said, trying to change the subject. "How is everything going for you out here?"
"Oh, it is all just wonderful! Every morning I wake up at 7, do some yoga, eat a delicious breakfast, then I go for a walk with Marissa, have a couple counseling sessions, eat a scrumptious lunch, then do another session, play some tennis, go for a swim in the heated pool, have dinner, then it's one more session before bed. It's been so wonderful! It is so beautiful out here! Did you see the gorgeous flowers outside?"
"You're doing yoga?"
"I am! It is the perfect way to wake up every morning. It's very peaceful. Very calming."
"I've heard that about Yoga. It's supposed to center you for the day," Logan commented.
"So you like it here then?" Mitchum asked as he took a seat in a chair to the side of Honor.
"I really didn't think that I would, but the view outside is just incredible, and it's so relaxing. I see why Logan enjoyed living out here. Was the view from your apartment as amazing as it is here?"
"Not at all." Logan answered. "You've definitely got me beat."
"Really? I thought for sure you had an incredible view from your apartment."
"I lived in downtown Palo Alto. I was in the middle of the city. My view was a bunch of buildings."
"Oh no! I'm so sorry Honey! I didn't know that."
"That's ok." Logan told her. "I'm glad you like it here. Maybe you and Dad should retire out here. We can find you a place just as great nearby. You can do yoga, swim and play tennis every day."
"No no no sweetheart! We couldn't do that. We don't want to be so far away from our grand babies. We would never see you."
"Really Mom, it wouldn't be any different than it's ever been. We would still see you just as much as we always have."
"Oh no Honey, that won't work at all. We need to be nearby. I was thinking that we can find a place in the city. Doesn't the company still have those apartments for when people come to town from other offices? Maybe your father and I can take over one of those? We can keep the house in Hartford, and just split our time between the two homes."
"Rory and I will have to talk about that. There are a lot of changes that have been made with the company since Rory took over."
"Rory, how is that all going for you? I do hope it isn't too much for you. Hopefully Mitchum can go back soon so you can take time off to be with the baby."
"Things are going very well." Rory told her.
"Dad won't be going back any time soon." Logan spoke up. "Dad still has a long way to go in his recovery. His team won't even be considering allowing him to go back to work anytime soon."
"Logan, you are such a great doctor Sweetie. Always so concerned with our well-being, and quick to take care of your family." Shira told him. "We are all so proud of you, aren't we Mitchum?!"
"Yes Dear, we are." Mitchum agreed with a smile.
"Joshua, how is work going for you Dear?"
"It is going wonderful." Josh answered politely. "Busy as always."
"That is so good to hear Honey. Honor, what have you been doing lately?"
"I've mostly been helping out with Dad, and helping Rory when I have time."
"You are such an amazing daughter. You've always been my favorite helper."
"Sorry, something in my throat." Logan mumbled, faking a cough to cover the laugh slipping from his mouth.
"I'm sorry Honey, do you need me to go get you a lozenge from my purse?" Rory asked.
"That's ok, I'll be fine." Logan said shooting her a look.
"I am so sorry." Rory said as her phone vibrated next to her. "Work never stops." She unlocked it and looked over the message that had just come in, then opened a new message and quickly typed out 'Is this some kind of joke?!' nudging her husband, and pointing to the screen. Logan just smiled and nodded his head. "I'm sorry Shira, please excuse the interruption. My assistant is trying to finish up a project and needed my approval."
"You seem to be doing very well running HPG. It's not too stressful for you?"
"No, not at all. I have an amazing assistant, and a great team to help him out. We are always busy, but things are going very well."
"Rory is doing an amazing job!" Honor spoke up. "Everyone loves having her there. Profits are up, the employees are very happy, Rory is making a lot of positive changes. She was the perfect person to take over for Dad. Way better than Logan would have been!"
"Logan was raised to run the company though. It's in his blood. Maybe someday he can take over so Rory can have more time with the family." Shira commented.
"And here we go . . ." Logan mumbled under his breath, so only Rory could hear.
"Mom, I don't think this is a conversation that we should even be having. Especially not here. Not right now." Honor spoke up. "Logan is a doctor, and has zero interest in running the company. You said yourself that you are proud of him, so let's just leave it alone, alright?"
"Hello everyone! Good morning!" a woman said as she walked into the room.
"Hello Gayle!" Shira smiled seeing her therapist.
"Shira, is this your family?"
"It is."
"Hi everyone, I'm Doctor Simon, but you can just call me Gayle. Which one of you is Doctor Huntzberger?"
"That would be me." Logan spoke up.
"Hi Doctor Huntzberger, it is lovely to finally meet you. Here is the paperwork you requested when we talked on the phone last week."
"Oh, excellent! Thank you!" Logan said taking a file folder Gayle held out to him.
"If you still want to have that sit down you mentioned, we can definitely do that while you are here."
"Yes, please."
"Alright, we can figure out a time when we are finished today. Why don't we get started. I'll just take a seat right here next to Shira, if that is ok with everybody."
"That is perfect." Shira grinned.
"So Shira, why don't you introduce me to your beautiful family."
"Very well. This is my lovely daughter Honor." Shira said holding her arm out toward where Honor was sitting. "And her husband Joshua."
"Hi Gayle, it is nice to meet you." Honor smiled.
"It is so great to meet you both." Gayle told them. "Shira, tell me about Honor and Joshua."
"Well, Honor is our oldest. She has been married for several years now, and lately she has been a wonderful help taking care of the family, and helping her father recover from the two heart attacks he had, as well as helping out with the family business."
"And Joshua?"
"Joshua is an accountant, and works with his family."
"That is wonderful! And this must be your husband who I have heard so much about." Gayle said motioning to Mitchum."
"It is, this is Mitchum."
"You said he is recovering from a heart attack?"
"Two of them. One right after the other."
"Oh my! I do hope you are feeling better Mitchum. That must have been very scary."
"Terrifying!" Shira answered. "He's had to take some time off work, to recover. Honor is taking great care of him."
"It is so great to have family who is able to be there to help out when needed." Gayle smiled. "Who do we have next?"
"Logan, he is our youngest. Logan is a doctor."
"Logan, where did you go to school?"
"I got my BA from Yale, and my Phd and MD from Columbia." Logan answered.
"Wow! Double major! That is impressive."
"Triple actually. Well, quadruple if you count Yale."
"Really?"
"I have my bachelor's degree in Journalism, PhD in Immunology and Genetics, and an MD in Internal Medicine."
"That is quite the work load!"
"It really was." Logan agreed.
"Shira, you must be incredibly proud of your son! A triple major is an amazing feat! Most students don't even double major, let alone triple."
"And he graduated with honors!" Honor added.
"Wow! Really?! Congratulations Doctor Huntzberger! You have me beat for sure!"
"Why thank you!" Logan told her.
"And who is this next to Doctor Huntzberger?" Gayle asked.
"That would be Logan's lovely wife, Rory. She has stepped in for Mitchum as the temporary CEO of our family company. And that adorable little bump there is my Granddaughter Lorelai Ayribella."
"Congratulations! Grandchildren are such a blessing!"
"They are. And we are getting two of them! Honor is also pregnant with Maxwell Logan. Due just after Rory."
"Double the fun! Shira, tell me about your family company."
"Well, Mitchum and his Father started the Huntzberger Publishing Group when Mitchum was just a little boy. Elias ran the company for years until he retired, and Mitchum took over at the age of 30, and he has run it ever since."
"But now Rory is running things?"
"Yes, just while Mitchum recovers."
"Rory is the current CEO." Logan spoke up. "Dad won't be going back any time soon. We all need to remember that we are focusing on what is best for Dad, and his continued health and recovery. There is absolutely no need for him to try to rush anything. Rory is doing an amazing job running the company. Like Honor said earlier, she's a better CEO than I ever could be."
"Rory, what does the Huntzberger Publishing Group do?" Gayle asked.
"Well, we are a major publishing house with our headquarters in Manhattan, and several satellite offices throughout the country, with another 5 overseas. We publish a large number of newspapers, both print and online, and we are spreading out into books and magazines this year."
"Wow! That is excellent! How many newspapers do you publish?"
"When I stepped in as CEO in October, we owned 327 newspapers throughout the United States and 100 overseas, with plans to expand to a total of 500 over the next year. Currently, we are up to 350 papers, and we are working on acquiring our first book and magazine, so we have a lot to do this year."
"That is very impressive! You definitely have your work cut out for you, don't you? I can't imagine doing all of that and having a baby at the same time."
"Rory is quite the overachiever." Shira chirped.
"We are very proud of her." Logan smiled, hugging his wife to him, and placing a kiss on the top of her head. "You'll have to excuse her if her phone rings and she needs to step out. Rory is in the middle of a big project and took time off to be here with us."
"Oh yes, for sure."
"I am so sorry, I'll just apologize now." Rory spoke up.
"No no, Sweetie, it's ok!" Shira told her. "I've lived that life for the last 30 years. I completely understand! Mitchum was rarely home before 10pm, and always on the phone. It's the price your family has to pay for having such an important job."
"Yeah, but Rory isn't like that. She is always home by 6, if not earlier. She's made a lot of changes in the company. She is doing an amazing job!" Honor told everyone."
"Ok then!" Gayle said cheerfully. "I am so glad you could all make it here this weekend. I am sure that you all know about what we do here at the Betty Ford Clinic. We are a nationally recognized treatment clinic, founded by former first lady, Betty Ford, with 17 locations throughout the country, and our main focus is the whole body well-being and recovery from drug and alcohol addictions. I work with Shira every other day, and she is doing very well in the program Doctor Huntzberger requested. We have talked a lot about your family, and Shira's goals for total recovery, and I think that we are on a great path right now. Why don't we start by talking about what concerns you all have had about your wife and mother, and what goals and outcomes you would like to see her achieve while she is here."
"Mom has always been one of those people who doesn't deal with stress very well." Honor spoke up. "She is kind of a people pleaser, and tries to be the type of person that she thinks other people expect her to be, even if that is not at all who she is."
"What do you mean?" Gayle asked.
"Well, to be quite frank, Mom kind of fakes it in a lot of areas. She is a completely different person depending on who is around her. She'll be one way if it's just us kids, another if Dad is around, completely different whenever Grandpa happened to be there, and then another different person in societal situations."
"Can you elaborate for me?"
"Just a moment ago, when mom was introducing all of us. She seemed very pleasant and upbeat, but then when it came to Rory and Logan, she started to slip back into her societal personality, where she expected things to be a certain way. More stepfordish."
"Meaning?"
"In a lot of upper class families the role of the wife is to be the care taker of the husband. The husband gets to work at a high powered job while the wife stays home taking care of the children, and going to different charity, school, and children's sporting events. Mom tends to forget that it's ok to not be that Stepford wife and mother. It's ok that Rory likes to work, and that she is Logan's equal. It is perfectly ok that she has a high powered, high profile job that keeps her insanely busy. Rory wasn't raised with nannies, and fancy events the way Logan and I were. Rory was raised by a single mom, who owns her own business, and she's always had lofty goals for herself. Rory doesn't want or need a man to take care of her the way a lot of upper class women do. Rory is perfectly capable to taking care of herself, and in the societal circles our family is often surrounded by, that is frowned upon. A lot of the time, mom forgets that Rory and Logan are doing things differently, and they don't give a damn what society thinks, and that is perfectly ok. Logan doesn't need the perfect submissive Stepford wife with the pearl necklace who lives to cater to him and their children. This isn't 1940, and it is perfectly acceptable for women to be an equal partner in their marriage. Rory and Logan didn't marry out of obligation, or for money the way that a lot of societal families do, and Mom has a hard time accepting that, and putting aside the ridiculous societal expectations that crazy people seem to think we should be following. Mom will be a little more nurturing and motherly to us, more Stepford to Dad, and then definitely a societal ice queen to grandpa and other people. She puts aside who she is to be who she thinks other people expect her to be. Sometimes I honestly wonder if Mom even knows who she truly is as a person, outside of being a society wife."
"What do you think Doctor Huntzberger?" Gayle asked.
"I completely agree with my sister. I think she put it perfectly. Mom acts differently depending on who is around her. One specific example that comes to mind was our video call on Christmas. All of us were there, as well as Rory's grandparents. Mom has always been the societal ice queen when it comes to me and what is expected of me. Growing up, it was always expected of me to follow in my father's exact footsteps, just as he followed his father before him. I am Mitchum's apprentice, and someday it was expected that I would take over HPG. But as I grew up with that expectation, I came to despise it more and more. But it never mattered what I wanted. All that ever mattered to my parents was what society expected. Marry the perfect Stepford wife, have the perfect two children to raise in my shadow, and take over the family company. That has never been the life that I wanted, and my parents never understood that."
"But you became a doctor. That is still a very noble profession."
"Please, tell them that! They didn't even come to my graduation."
"Mom and Dad never supported Logan's aspirations." Honor explained. "The way we were raised was very societal. I think Mom tried to be a little bit different because she definitely wasn't raised that way, but with the Huntzberger family expectations, mom was expected to follow the Stepford plan. Logan always hated all the expectations. I never got it as harsh as he did, because I'm a girl, and most of the expectations for girls involve being a quiet submissive wife. But Logan was expected to be just like Dad and Grandpa, and he's never been that person. He's been rebelling, trying to be his own person, his entire life. And then he met Rory, who is just absolutely wonderful, and a perfect match for him, and that was the beginning of the end for our parents. Rory brings out the best in Logan, but they refuse to see that, because Rory doesn't want or expect Logan to follow those stupid outdated societal roles. Rory has always encouraged Logan to be who he is, and to do what makes him happy. Logan tried to follow our parents' plan, and be like Dad, but he crashed and burned, very dramatically if I do say so myself. But it was always expected of Logan to just fall in line, and when he refused to do that, and told Mom and Dad to piss off, and that he was done with all the ridiculous expectations, and that he was going to live his own life, the way he wanted, they completely cut him off. Logan went to medical school because he wanted to, and Josh and I paid for it because we refused to allow him to go into debt with student loans when Mom and Dad refused to help pay for it. Logan is a doctor because that is what he wanted to be, and Josh and I helped him get there. We gave him a place to live, we fed him, and I stayed up with him night after night while he studied. Mom and Dad act like they're proud of Logan for an audience. But in all honesty, they're faking it. The only people in this family who are actually truly proud of Logan, are Rory, Josh and I."
"Oh Honor, don't be ridiculous. You are so dramatic! We never put that kind of pressure on Logan." Shira spoke up, trying to defend herself.
"Oh really?! Ok Mom, why don't you tell us what your whole plan for Logan was." Honor told her.
"While it was expected that Logan follow in his father's footsteps, we never forced anything on him."
"A year in London Mom. Remember that?" Logan spoke up.
"I don't remember that at all." Shira told him.
"Of course you don't." Logan said rolling his eyes.
"Right after Logan graduated from Yale, he was forced to move to London to work in the HPG office there." Honor explained. "He left when? A couple days after graduating?"
"The very next day." Rory spoke up. "6:00 in the morning, he left to get on a plane. And he was gone for months."
"Logan was gone for almost a year, only getting to come home to visit if he happened to have business back in New York. And we suspect part of the reason that Mom and Dad sent him there, was to get him away from Rory, because in their minds, Rory was never 'good enough' for him. He was supposed to marry some snooty Stepford wife."
"That Fallon girl." Logan commented, rolling his eyes.
"Yes, that Fallon girl, who mom absolutely loved. The perfect pearl wearing Stepford wife who has hired surrogates to carry her babies because heaven forbid she should ever gain a single ounce of weight."
"Damn, I knew I should have done that!" Rory joked as she rubbed her stomach.
"Right?!" Honor laughed. "We wouldn't have stretch marks, or be getting huge had we been smart enough to hire a surrogate."
"Next time!"
"Yes! For sure!"
"Mom and Dad never approved of Rory." Logan explained. "Rory was raised differently that we were. Her mother comes from a high society family, but Lorelai broke away at 16 when she had Rory, and she raised Rory differently, on her own, away from her family and all of their money. Rory never had the nannies, or fancy schools and parties that Honor and I had growing up, and because of it, Mom and Dad see her as being too different, and more 'trashy'. But the reality of all of it is that Rory is actually much better than all of us! She knows more than us, and is way more well-rounded than all of us combined. Rory is very aware of the reality of money, and wasn't raised in a family where they threw money at stuff to fix it. She actually fixes things herself, rather than throwing a wad of cash at it. And that right there, is actually what makes her the perfect CEO for the family business. Rory knows how to run things and speak to people like they are human, and doesn't treat others like servants, or like they are a faceless number. Our employees actually matter to her. She knows everybody's name, and most of the people in the office she knows their family situation, and she treats them all like they are her friends. Rory actually cares about everyone around her, and goes out of her way to help them out. Rory is a completely different CEO than Dad and Grandpa were. She does not just do the CEO job, but she is also doing a lot of the editing, and writing several articles a week for our papers, as well as reading the book submissions, putting together transition teams for the new papers we acquire. She is traveling to meet with different papers, putting together their financial plans for the new year, and helping them budget. When Dad was the CEO, he had just his secretary to help him. Rory has a secretary, me, and two assistants. And then, every department has a team captain for each project they work on, who reports directly to her. Dad and Grandpa never had any of that. Like Mom said, it was rare for Dad to get home before 10pm. Rory is rarely home after 6. She actually works from home about half the time, because it's quieter there, and she is able to get more done. Both of her assistants have a key to our house, and come over to bring her files, and to help when needed. Or to bring her a meal, to make sure that she's eating while I'm at work. But in the societal circles that our family has always associated with, none of that is ok. Rory is expected to be that perfect pearl wearing Stepford wife, and our parents have a really hard time understanding why I don't want that, and why I refuse to be Dad's shadow."
"Now Mitchum, you've been awfully quiet. What do you think about all of this?" Gayle asked.
"It's what is expected of our family, and I think that Logan has completely thrown everything he was raised to be, in the trash can, and stomped all over his obligations, and our family name."
"Ouch!" Honor mumbled to Josh, while shooting her brother an understanding look.
"Alright . . . Mitchum, Shira, why don't you tell me a little about how you thought things should be for your family."
"Our family has certain expectations and obligations that we need to uphold." Shira started. "Logan was supposed to follow in his father's footsteps. Taking over HPG is his destiny."
"Logan was raised in the family business. He has been going to shareholder meetings since he was ten years old." Mitchum spoke up.
"That is awfully young." Gayle commented.
"I was going at age five. It is what you do in our family. You follow in your father's footsteps. I helped print papers, I delivered them, and earned $5 a day as a young boy. Logan didn't even have to do that. He got to be a child. But it was expected that when he was old enough, he was attend shareholder meetings, and that he would take an interest in the family business so that he could take over and run it when it was my turn to retire. But then I had a heart attack, and he handed the company to his girlfriend."
"When did you have the first heart attack?"
"The end of September."
"She's my wife." Logan said sternly.
"Logan, when did you get married?" Gayle asked politely.
"October 8th. And in case you've been told any different, Rory had nothing to do with Dad's heart attack. Mom and Dad had no idea that we were even together until the heart attack was already happening. Rory and I had broken up after college, and hadn't seen each other for years until we ran into each other and got back together in September. Dad's heart attack had absolutely nothing to do with Rory. He had a major blockage in an artery, and had been having problems for years, which he hid from all of us, and I only found out about after requesting his past medical records when he happened to have the heart attack at my hospital."
"I see . . . Shira, your daughter mentioned that you were raised differently than your children. Can you elaborate on that?"
"I was raised on a farm, in Oklahoma." Shira said softly.
"You were?"
"I moved to Connecticut when I was 18."
"Mom met Dad at a bar in New York when she was 17, got pregnant with me, Grandpa forced them to get married, so Mom moved in with Dad, and as soon as she turned 18 a few weeks later, they got married." Honor explained. "That is literally as much as we know about Mom's past. It's one of those things that no one in the family speaks about. We were never allowed to ask as children."
"Shira, can you tell me about how you were raised?" Gayle asked.
"Well, my Momma was mostly a homemaker. She liked to bake, garden, and sew. And my Daddy was a farmer. He was always busy in the fields and with the animals."
"Do you have any siblings?"
"I have 6 brothers and two sisters."
"You do?!" Logan asked in a shocked voice.
"Where do you fall in with your siblings?"
"Right in the middle, after Jameson Bradley."
"Where does your family live?"
"As far as I know, they're still in Oklahoma. I haven't talked to them in years."
"When is the last time you saw or spoke to them?"
"I haven't seen my parents since I left home at 17. They sent letters a couple of times, but it's been years."
"Why did you lose contact?"
"It's just what you did when you marry in to a family like the Huntzbergers. You get so busy raising your children and taking care of your husband, and all of our other family obligations, that you just don't have the time for anything else. Plus, they always thought that they deserved some of our money, and expected us to hand it to them whenever they thought they needed it, and Elias just wasn't having any of that nonsense."
"Who is Elias?"
"That would be Dad's father." Honor answered. "Grandpa ran a tight ship. You either fell in line, or suffered his wrath."
"So you got married, and never talked to your family again? That must have been very hard for you. Were you all close?"
"We were growing up. We went to church every Sunday, worked on the farm with Momma and Daddy, went to school, and did our chores. We spent a lot of time together."
"So why did you leave?"
"I was pregnant, and it was the right thing to do."
"So you became a Huntzberger and never saw your family that you were so close to, ever again?"
"I didn't have time. I had a lot going on."
"In thirty something years, you didn't have time to ever call your family?"
"Well, if I called, they asked for things."
"What kind of things?"
"Usually money. They knew that Mitchum's family was well to do, and they figured since I married into them, and I came from nothing, I owed it to my family to help out."
"And did you?"
"Once or twice. But they always wanted more. Nothing we did was ever enough."
"They always asked for more and more." Mitchum said, breaking his silence. "Dad would buy them a tractor, send money for groceries, and to help keep the farm going. No matter how much we gave, they always wanted more. So we cut them off. People like that have a way of taking and taking, always feeling as if those of us who are more well to do, owe them the world. They refuse to take care of themselves, and instead insist on mooching off of those of us who have worked hard for our money. It wasn't right. We helped a lot, but it got to be too much, so they were cut off. It took several years, but we haven't heard from them since."
"So let me see if I understand this correctly . . . Your family felt that those who didn't come from families such as the Huntzbergers, don't work as hard for their money, and therefore feel entitled to help from others?" Gayle asked.
"Well, yes." Shira answered.
"Alright . . . So is that how you feel about Rory marrying your son? Because Rory was raised similar to the way you were, Shira, it automatically meant that she was after your family's money?"
"Well, isn't she?"
"Wow! Ok, I'm done! I can't do this." Logan said standing up, and reaching for his wife's hand to help her stand from her seat on the couch. "It's time for us to go."
"Logan, where do you think you are going?!" Mitchum asked, raising his voice.
"Away from the people calling my wife a gold digger. After everything that Rory has done for this family, this is the way you treat her . . . I'm done with you! Rory deserves better than this!" Logan told him, then stormed out of the room.