The Simpler Life

4

Chapter 4

One box after another Rory's new apartment filled up with things, putting Rory's mind at rest at least on the fact where she was going to live for the foreseeable future. Defining her home as 'where she hung her hat' for years had made her forget how many things she actually had. Now with the help of Zach and Luke doing most of the heavy lifting, the apartment, right upstairs from Steve's flower shop on Cherry Street, conveniently just a block away from Luke's, was transforming into something that was to become her home.

It was a small two bedroom, extending through the building with living room windows opening to the street and the bedrooms to the yard. The walls could use a fresh layer of paint, and hardly any furniture matched, but Rory was actually surprisingly happy with the mismatched result. It was authentic at least, and practical. Rory actually found a lot of her old furniture from her childhood room useful in this place - her old dresser finding its way to her new bedroom, as well as the armchair. Lane had donated her old antique bed with oddly high corner posts from Mrs. Kim's, plus there were a few odd items from Luke's old apartment. The nursery was mostly boxes of books for now, but thankfully there was still time with that. Her grandmother wouldn't have approved, but she wasn't aiming for that, not right now at least.

"It's looking good, kid," Lorelai commented, catching her daughter looking over the apartment that they'd finished moving into. Largely unpacked, but still 'moved in'.

"Yeah," Rory exhaled with relief.

"It's going to be alright, you know? I know it's all big and scary to be going this alone, but you're not. You know that, right?" Lorelai assured.

"Yeah, I know," Rory sighed, feeling a little sentimental.

"Any word from Lo...," Lorelai dared to ask, correcting herself quickly, "...Didi?"

Rory made a face, hating the reminder that she'd ever had to lie about him to her mother like that.

"I'm surprised you made it this long to ask," Rory commented, knowing how her mother must've been dying of curiosity. It had been a busy time at the Inn and they hadn't really had much chance to truly talk with everything with the apartment taking precedence.

"Well?" Lorelai inquired, revealing how she was dying to know.

"He called at New Years Eve. And... I don't know how he took it. He was shocked, I guess. Who wouldn't be?" Rory explained.

"And?" Lorelai continued to probe.

"And - nothing," Rory shrugged. "He knows how things are. He knows I am doing this regardless of.... anything. He at least didn't sound mad, which was a relief," Rory explained, focusing on the superficial part of this. She wasn't naive, she just didn't want to confess her deepest worries to her mother right now.

"Does he want to be involved?" Lorelai inquired.

"He didn't say much," Rory said.

"It would be good to know when you're going to see grandma's lawyer, just saying," Lorelai shrugged.

"Since when are you so pro lawyering-up?" Rory teased.

"All I think is it doesn't hurt to know your rights," Lorelai added.

"And his, you mean?" Rory shot back, finding it a little offencive how little her mother trusted Logan.

"And his," Lorelai reflected, agreeing with her.

"He's not going to make demands. He just got married. I really don't think their PR team would look too kindly on something like this either," Rory added, rolling her eyes, defensively.