The Simpler Life

11

AN: I am glad some of you caught on to the parallel between Christopher and Logan - I am not pusuing that line too much but I think it's a cool note on how life situations tend to repeat themselves in some form or another. But I am not half as angry at Logan as some of you seem to be, I guess I am trying to be understanding. He knows Rory would never keep the baby form him (even if the relationship is not traditional), but he doesn't trust Odette to do the same. That's quite valuable, I think.

Chapter 11It took several weeks for Rory to come to terms with things, mostly leaving her feeling silly she'd ever entertained the idea of something more happening. Not even romantically, but just, thinking of her daughter. She'd very nearly believed her daughter and Logan were going to have a father-daughter relationship. Now the outlook wasn't as positive - at best she'd get to meet him and him her, introduced as some old friend. This change, however, was one thing she'd kept to herself, not even telling her mom or Lane what was going on. She wasn't quite sure why - embarrassment? Shame? There were some of those emotions mixed in there for sure. But at the same time, she found himself trying to make excuses for him. She couldn't really expect him to choose between two children, was she, especially when one was born into a marital agreement and the other wasn't. One could be kept from him and the other would not. Rory had every intention of still keeping him in the loop as much as she felt able to be in contact - pictures, milestones, news. She felt like she owed him that for complicating his life, and for simply to honor what they'd had. She had also sensed the deep sorrow with which Logan had told her the news - there hadn't been any sense of relief or casualness in his tone. She could tell he'd put serious thought into this and was doing what he felt forced to do. Was a part of her also angry? Envious, maybe - but not angry. Not yet anyways. The only answer to overcoming anything emotionally challenging for Rory had ever been work-centered. So, after a weekend of self-pity, which was no doubt a step back to those early days when she'd first found out she was pregnant, Rory dove right into Jess's book, alternating editing it with putting words in a row also in her own document that held her manuscript. She was using the 'forced writing' method - telling herself it didn't matter what she wrote as long as she wrote. Hence it was becoming a manuscript of ramblings. But even she knew that there were some good ideas mixed in there. But that day Rory was on a different kind of mission. She was on a trip. First, she'd stopped by Paris's place in the city, simply wanting some different type of interaction and a good meal at some place that weren't limited to the options she had between Hartford, Woodbury and Stars Hollow. Rory was a well-traveled woman, after all, and she wasn't about to claim she didn't have some sophisticated tastes alongside her love for burgers. Besides, it was useless denying that there weren't some parts of big city life that she'd already grown to miss in Stars Hollow. And now, after a night in the familiar townhouse in the Upper East Side and breakfast at the Penrose, Rory continued to drive herself to Philadelphia where she was supposed to meet Jess. It was just work. But still, going to see him at his place of work, something she hadn't done since college, maybe even getting a hint of what kind of life he was living there, was exhilarating. It was a welcome change of pace.The Truncheon, that had by now made Jess a partner in the independent publishing house, consisting now of three guys who all were writers and editors as well, had moved from its original location into the Northern Libertines, and housed a trendy red-brick loft-style place. It was no longer one put together from curbside found furniture, even if antique and eclectic pieces still held a prominent place next to the more modern office furniture. "I'm here to see Jess, Jess Mariano?" Rory asked the heavily tattooed and pierced, butch office-assistant, hesitatingly, for a second there doubting she was in the right place. It was the right publishing house, but for some reason it was just a lot nicer than she'd anticipated. She speculated that the reason for her low expectations were due to the way Jess was whenever he visited, looking very alternative, and still behaving like he didn't really have any real money. Not that having a nice office automatically translated into it. But as a journalist, as she still identified herself personally, she was programmed to read people and to understand the things that weren't directly spoken of."Hold on," the woman said, and let Jess know of her arrival.This allowed Rory to look around even more freely, taking in the space and how far Jess had come. She doubted even Luke fully grasped how well he'd done for himself, especially considering he hadn't gotten his GED until he was 25. Jess had never really fit into any system - not the school system, nor had he followed the traditional path in anything. This made Rory think back to the time she'd visited the Springsteens, the Harvard alumnus, and that perhaps she too had in some ways been put on the conveyor belt even without realizing it. She wondered, what the middle child of the Springsteen's.... Karen? Katie? Carol... that's it, recalling her name having taken her a long second, was doing these days. Was she happier for the way her life had turned out compared to the predestined future many of her acquaintances had followed through the hollow halls of the Ivy league.She glanced at her phone, and typed in Carol Springsteen, naturally getting a few more than a handful of results of various people with the same name. She clicked on a couple of social media sites, trying to identify the right person by photo, but it really wasn't that easy after all this time. Rory had quite a determined frown on her forehead by the time Jess emerged."Trying to solve a mystery or something? Tell me you didn't start writing spec scripts!" Jess teased."Hi," Rory's frown softened and she chuckled, and hugged her friend briefly. "And no, no I didn't," she confirmed."Huh! What a relief!" Jess continued to tease. "How was the drive?" he asked, politely."Fine, fine," Rory replied, despite it being evident on her that it had also been rather tiring."Are you up for discussing business now or you want to get lunch first?" Jess asked, getting straight to the point. It was his book she was there for, after all, one being able to convey only so much through phone calls and e-mail."Honestly, I'd just rather do anything that doesn't involve more sitting," Rory replied."Okay, how about we start with a little tour of the neighborhood then?" Jess suggested."Sounds good," Rory replied, and appropriately to someone in her second trimester added - "Just after I find the bathroom in this place," apologetically.She was definitely no longer hiding her pregnancy, not that she could, the bump having developed nicely as weeks had passed.Following Jess around the streets of Philly's more hipster regions reminded Rory of the time they'd discovered NYC, you know, the time she'd skipped school. But it wasn't the only time they'd ever gone exploring places together, even if they'd never really gone anywhere too worldly.Little by little Rory was discovering the person this modern-day Jess was. And despite their discussions mostly staying on the casual side, keeping their eyes on the goal today of going over Jess' book. They eventually did get around to at a coffee shop down the street, wanting to skip the office setting, Rory couldn't help but to think about the 'what if'. Blame her mother for having put that thought into her head. Or even her hormones, that were simply missing the touch of a man. It didn't matter. The only thing really holding Rory back was the complicated mess of her situation and her reluctance to start something for the wrong reasons, mainly because it was easy to visit the thought of someone she'd already been with in the past. This had been a particularly common train of thought for her, because it was hardly just Logan who'd she'd fallen into bed with out of all the people she'd ever dated. Exes were comfortable for her. She was just that kind of girl - she just wasn't sure what that said about her, or whether that made her someone who used the men around her.Thankfully, Rory wasn't allowed to dwell on these impure thoughts for too long.Halfway through their lunch, sitting on the terrace at a local street food joint, Rory suddenly watched Jess' eyes dart towards a passing woman. "Hey! What are you doing here?" Jess asked the short but cute-looking woman, over the side partition, bending over to hug her in greeting. She sort of reminded Rory of Daisy Ridley, having a similar intensity about her eyes. "Ah, just came from Martin's," the woman replied. "It's good to see you again though," she added, giving Rory a hint of the fact that it wasn't just friendly between the two."Yeah," Jess agreed. "If you want, you could join us. Rory's an old friend of mine, I've been showing her around town today. Besides work, you know," he added."Um, I guess. I have some time to spare before my next meeting," she replied.Rory wasn't sure what was going through her mind. Surely - it wasn't jealousy. But at the same time there was definitely curiosity in there as well. Maybe this was yet another puzzle piece to Jess' life."Rory, this is Elodie James," Jess introduced the woman to Rory. "And this is Rory Gilmore. We have known each other, god, ...since high school?" Jess discussed, having decided quickly how to put it. That time seemed like a million years ago. "Nice to meet you," the two women said almost in unison and chuckled."Let me grab you a chair," Jess suggested, and waved down a waiter while he did that."So, how are you enjoying Philly? It's quite nice in the Spring, if I do say so myself. I grew up here," Elodie said.Rory replied with some casual politeness, going into enough detail to not sound superficial. Mostly she just observed the two, sitting across from her. There was definitely a connection of some sort there - attraction. The way Jess looked at Elodie was a look Rory recognized. It just had been forever since she'd witnessed it."So, Rory? I have to ask - when are you due?" Elodie asked suddenly, for a while the discussion revolved around her coffee order and banter between the two."Oh," Rory blushed slightly, not being too used to talking about it. Besides various medical professionals, people tended to stay clear of pregnancy-related questions in Stars Hollow. A part of her even had started wondering whether it was something her mother or Luke had told people to do."Um... I'm due early July," Rory replied.Jess was definitely paying attention too, having just like others avoided inquiring too much into it. "Aw.... a summer baby! That's the best timing you know. No stuffy clothes you need to hide that big belly under," Elodie added."Elodie, here, has two of her own," Jess added for context. "Sarah's three and Oliver will be eight in ten days," Elodie replied, and showed Rory her phone background. Rory had never really pictured Jess in the position of loving kids much, to be honest, recalling how he'd once found adorable Clara annoying as hell. But here he was, clearly infatuated by someone who came with baggage. "They're adorable," Rory commented."Hey, and make sure you nap as much as you can now! Because you never know when you'll sleep again after that. I mean, you'll sleep of course. But you'll never be in charge of when that'll be," Elodie said, not trying to scare her, but give her genuine advice."Wow, you sure making having kids sound like a blast," Jess chuckled."It is. Just comes with unexpected downsides like leaky breasts and never being in charge of your time," Elodie added, lightly. "Plus, they smell divine when they're little. Still do," she continued."I bet the father is excited too," Jess dared to say, touching upon a painful subject.But Rory tried to not show it."How long have you been holding on to that question?" Rory replied, sounding amused."Technically, not a question," Jess replied, teasingly."Oh, really?" Rory shot back, familiarly."Am I missing something here?" Elodie asked, curiously."I believe Jess is curious about who the father is... and the answer to that is - I'm doing this by myself. There's no dad who's going to be in the picture," Rory replied, looking down. For some reason he was scared to look Jess in the eye, almost as if expecting him to say 'I told you so', even though he had had no outspoken opinion on her romantic situation in the past years. But somehow, she knew he wouldn't have approved."Wow, you're so brave!" Elodie commented, not entirely accurately, but added then something Rory was actually encouraged by - "After my husband died, I thought I was going to fail miserably raising two kids by myself. But honestly, it's actually kind of easier too.""How so?" Rory asked."Yeah? How so?" Jess asked as well, as if teasing Elodie for the fact that she didn't miss having a husband in her life."I mean that there's just way less fighting about who's turn it is to do the dishes or wake up at 2 AM to change the baby's diaper. There's such a resentment that develops, I mean he is the man that is the root cause for how crappy you feel or how little time you have for yourself. Men just don't understand how tough it is. And sure, they help, but it doesn't take away the mental load of parenting. 9 times out of 10 you'll brain will be full of everyone's schedule - sleep, feeing, little league, you name it," Elodie described."Hey, there's no reason to put all of us men into the same pot!" Jess complained."I'll correct myself if I see some live proof, mister!" Elodie replied, flirting. They looked cute together, Rory couldn't deny that, even though the feeling she got that whatever this was it was rather fresh.