Don't own Gilmore Girls
Hello, this should tie together some loose ends for Logan and Lorelai before starting to jump forward in time. Have been plotting out a schedule that Rory would follow for the Obama campaign and realized that the job she has decided to take is a lot! Wow, had no idea the type of schedule the reporters are on. With no further delay ...
"So?" Sookie draws out her words as she hands Lorelai her cup of coffee, "did I see you kissing?"
Looking sheepish, but very happy Lorelai just drinks her coffee.
"Does that mean you are back together, for good?"
"I hope so." Lorelai starts biting her lower lip, she really wants this to be 'it' with Luke and move forward. "I mean he did all of that work for Rory."
"For both of his Gilmore girls," Sookie reminds her with a big smile.
"Yeah, both of us. You know Sook, I just dropped off Rory and am feeling kinda overwhelmed. Hey, Rory is going to use a pen name when she writes for this online magazine for Hugo, she asked Luke if he is ok with her using Danes, Leigh Danes."
"Oh, my gosh, that is so awesome" Sookie is practically crooning.
Lorelai looks at her and Sookie follows up, " it would be kinda cool if her Mom went by Lorelai Danes."
"Yeah, it kinda would, but I think it will take some time," Lorelai confesses.
"Hmm, wonder which Gilmore girl will have the longer engagement?"
"I'm not even engaged yet."
"Details, details." Sookie gives her the eyes saying it is just a matter of time, "so you want to be, hmm, maybe a little birdie needs to."
"Sookie, don't you dare." Lorelai looks indignant
"Not me." Sookie tries to be innocent.
Logan is about to knock on the door when it opens and Honor comes jumping out and starts to hug him. "She said yes?"
"Yes, she said yes." Logan hugs her back
Honor is practically jumping up and down, "Oh, can I help plan? I'll do the shower. This is so exciting. We aren't telling Mom until she gets an invitation right?"
"Hey, slow down. Can I come in? I need to talk." Logan steps back.
"Um, pretty serious for a guy who just had the love of his life say yes." Honor comments, but pulls back and walks with him into her house. She asks the maid to get them coffee and walks with him into the living room. It is a comfortable space, designed to be hospitable but not ostentatious with soothing colors and big chairs. It is clear that Honor and Josh are well off, but not into flaunting power. Once the coffee comes she hands Logan a cup and settles down, taking off her shoes and pulling her feet up under her, ready to hear whatever Logan has to say, and by the look on his face, they will be awhile and serious.
"So, Little brother, what is going on?"
"Honor, she did say yes."
"Good. And you are still going to California?"
"Yes."
"And Rory is going to California?"
"Well, sort of."
"What does sort of mean?"
"Rory is going on the road, being a political reporter for Hugo's online magazine following the Obama campaign. So, she will only be coming to California a handful of times, because it is solidly Democratic and they really only come out to fundraise and not campaign; although, Obama might need to come out more if he wants to upset Hilary. But, yeah, I mean she is having her stuff shipped out there. So when there is a weekend off she can be there."
"Oh, wow, oh, Logan, this is going to be hard."
"I mean it is only May 2007, and if Obama wins the Democratic nomination, she would be on the road until November 2008."
Honor looks a little sad for her brother, "well, she wanted a long engagement. I think the earliest you can plan for a wedding will be 2009 if you want a spring or summer wedding that would be expected of you. Of course, you could do something small and sooner, but there wouldn't be time for a honeymoon, and honestly, Logan, after having gone through the wedding stuff, the honeymoon is absolutely necessary - you can't skip it and it needs to be long. A minimum of 2 weeks, but I would recommend taking a month."
Logan's shoulders have slumped. "Well, I did this to myself."
"What do you mean?" she queries.
"I had put out feelers after Rory didn't get the Reston Fellowship, it didn't make any sense. Turns out that our relationship was well known and the New York Times was surprised she had applied, as they just assumed she was going to be picked up by an HPG paper, but Rory didn't apply to any of those and well the Times had no way of knowing, as they didn't ask. Plus, the whole industry is struggling and there are just so few jobs out there. Hugo contacted me, he knew I had been in London and wanted to know if I was going back and if Rory was going to be joining me or if he could offer her this position. I told him about leaving HPG and he confirmed what one of the editors at the Times had said. Everyone was expecting her to go with an HPG paper, but with me quitting now she was available, but most of the entry positions had already been filled. So, I told Hugo I was going to ask her to marry me and he said he could wait 72 hours to offer her the job until he had to offer it to someone else as they needed someone on the campaign. Honor, I wanted her to come to California with me so badly, but after I asked her, she almost said no. She was really upset that I had planned all of this without talking to her."
"You think?" Honor interjected with a no-duh look on her face.
"Yeah, I figured that out after I went over to her place. I realized I was giving her an ultimatum and because of my name and our relationship doors that should have been open were closed. I felt so guilty. I should have been supporting her and making sure everyone knew she was a great writer and reporter and not applying to HPG, but I was being selfish. She needs to find her path. Rory is not a society wife, just sitting around to make me look good."
"Well, now you are starting to make a little sense." Honor acknowledged.
"I texted Hugo and told him to offer her the job. She said yes, she wants to get married, but not right now. A long engagement. Well, I certainly have that." Logan was definitely feeling guilty now that he realized that he had closed doors for her, he hadn't closed every door, but more than Rory was aware of and all because of his name.
"Honor, how do I ask her to be my wife knowing that this will be her future? Linked to the Huntzberger name."
Honor reached out and patted his hand, " Well, you have to tell her. She has to hear all of this."
Logan groaned. He wasn't sure if Rory loved him enough to realize the limitations his name brought. He looked up, "Dad did suggest she use a pen name. One that has no relationship to Gilmore or Huntzberger so she can establish herself as a writer and she thought that was a good idea."
Honor's eyebrows went up, "Dad suggested a pen name?"
"Yes"
"Ugh, you know that means he is hoping to draw you back in eventually? By having Rory make it with a pen name then you can't use her as an excuse to stay away." Honor reminded him.
"I know, but maybe that will be like 5 or 10 years from now and it won't be such a big deal. But, yes, I know he has an ulterior motive. It is Dad."
She looked relieved that Logan understood all of the implications.
"Look, Logan, for now, talk to her every day. Get her schedule and show up at every stop you possibly can. The good news is that you can both concentrate on your careers and getting established and not feel guilty about not being home by a certain time and having dinner together. It is hard on Josh and I, I mean my work is non-profit and the days are generally around 6 hours, while Josh sometimes works a 10-hour day. It sucks to know we won't be having dinner together most nights and it gets lonely. At least you both will be working long hours and not making it home for dinner. When you do get together, make sure you focus on each other. Talk, share, laugh, and well." Honor trailed off. Logan was looking a bit better. "But you really need to tell her everything with the HPG stuff. Encourage her to make lots of contacts on the road and network like crazy so any future offers are clearly due to her talents and not her 'name'". Honor finished up putting name in air quotes.
Logan nodded. "Thanks, Honor, I knew talking to you would help. I will tell her. I have her schedule, she will be out west in July, August, and September for at least a weekend each month. She will be here in Hartford on June 23rd, maybe I will come and stay with you and sneak in a dinner with her."
She smiled, "I would like that. How about you check with her, and we could hold a dinner here and invite her family over? That way she doesn't need to go everywhere and I like to think my place is comfortable for anyone."
Logan agrees with a smile, "I think your house is very comfortable for everyone. We can have her whole family over and I will include Colin and Steph if that is ok?"
"Absolutely, we will run the grill"
"Just not Mom and Dad."
"Mom and Dad who?"
The two laugh and Logan leans over and hugs his sister. "Thanks, I don't know what I would do without you."
She taps his knee, "Here is to never finding out."
Logan walks up to the second door in one day, he sees the lights on in the living room. The last time he was here, he was asking for Lorelai's permission to marry Rory. Now he was coming in to let her know that a moving van would be arriving in two days to pick up Rory's stuff, mostly books, to take to California. He thought he had been nervous before.
Logn knocked and the door opened, but instead of Lorelai, it was Luke.
"Hey Luke" Logan stuck out his hand.
Luke took it. "Hey, um, come in." Luke shakes and then releases him stepping aside to let Logan in. "Lorelai, Logan is here."
Logan is aware that he is losing sensation as he becomes a bundle of nerves. Remembering all of the training he has had plus trying to understand why this is worse than facing his father and asking permission of Lorelai, he realizes as she comes around the corner from Rory's room, it is because this is a real change. The books will no longer be living here.
"Hi Logan" Lorelai is guarded in her tone and feeling defensive.
"Hi Lorelai" Logan tries to extend his hand, but she makes it clear they will not be touching and he lowers it putting his hands in his pockets.
"Um," Logan starts, but Lorelai interrupts.
"Yeah, Rory told me you would be stopping by to arrange for the pick-up of her stuff to take out to California. You know, her schedule will have her here on the east coast more than on the west coast, I think she should just leave her stuff here."
Logan starts to respond, but Luke looks between them, "You know, it would be nice to have that room a little less crowded with all of the books so that April can also sleep in there when she comes to visit. Maybe we can put in a full bed?"
Logan looks at Luke with a grateful smile. Lorelai sees that if she can let go of some of Rory's stuff and make it a little bit more neutral that would be a good thing for Luke, so he can have April here and not try to make the space above the diner work. While it is breaking her heart to have Rory completely out of the house, this sounds like it might make it better for her relationship and after texting with Rory she knows that she really wants it to work for her and Luke. Both men are standing and waiting to hear her response, "Yeah, that would work. So, Rory has identified the things she wants to have go to California. Mostly summer clothes and books." She says.
Logan breathes a sigh of relief, "well, put in some winter clothes, January can be in the 40's in San Francisco area and with the damp it can feel really cold."
Lorelai nods, "Ok, here, let me show you what she has tagged."
He follows her into Rory's room and remembers his time with Rory in there, while he is listening to Lorelai and making a list in his mind of the items. He notes that there really isn't that much, as most of the furniture will stay here since he already has the California house pretty much furnished except for the master bedroom, living room, and Rory's office. He wanted to do that together, with his plan being to sleep in the guest room until Rory can get out there and have input.
They discuss the best date for the pick-up along with the time because Lorelai wants to be there to make sure they don't take anything that isn't to go and Logan agrees that is smart. As he is about to leave he remembers the invitation from Honor, "Oh, hey Lorelai, um, Rory has shared her itinerary with me and she will definitely be in Hartford on June 23rd. Honor wanted to have her come for dinner and we thought it would be nice to have you and Luke join us, and if Emily and Richard want to come, please invite them. It would be a bbq and casual, like jeans ok casual. She thought it might be good to make sure everyone gets together. I already checked with Rory and she has it on her calendar and told me to let you know and let you decide on Emily and Richard. Anyway, here is the address and phone number, just let Honor, or me, know how many."
Lorelai accepted the piece of paper, "That sounds better than dinner at my parents' house two nights in a row because we all know that is what Emily would try to orchestrate."
Logan smiles, and they exchange farewells, it is not as awkward as he feared, but definitely not feeling like he is one of the family.
AN: Hi, hope you aren't too upset with the conversation between Logan and Honor. I thought it was important for Logan to start to admit to the complications it is going to cause for Rory being associated with Huntzberger name and not just acting like it is going to be easy. The conversation also demonstrates why Rory was right to ask for a long engagement, she can't possibly plan a real wedding - society or not - while on the road like this. Next chapter there will be a time jump.