The Maine Event

Chapter 26

The long awaited bed, the final piece missing from their home, finally arrived that morning to the penthouse. So it was obvious why Rory spent the consecutive hours packing up the final things they still had at Odette's hoping to surprise Logan by moving them to their own place by the end of the day.

Odette was home, watching Rory gather up their items from their room. They'd had several rooms for them to use there, but only really occupied the bedroom and the kitchen nook, spending the rest of the time in the common rooms on Odette's side. In a way they had indeed become a family of sorts, but the place had never really felt as much like home as the their new place did. Still leaving was a little bittersweet for both of them.

"Can I help?" Odette asked, feeling uncomfortable, looking at Rory pack, while she did nothing.

"Thank you, but I think I have things covered here," Rory replied, gathering up their chargers. There really wasn't much left - toiletries, some clothes and shoes, tech, a few books and other smaller items.

"I'm going to miss this, you know. It just felt nice to have people around the house," Odette confessed. She had always been very independent and quite used to living alone, but having the possibility to talk to someone, had been quite pleasant. Like some form of room-mates that she never really had when she was grown up as even in college she'd always had her own place.

"I'm sure you won't be alone long," Rory said hopefully, thinking of her plans for a baby.

Odette's mouth curved upward slightly and together with a light blush on her cheeks, her mind enjoyed the thought of that possibility. She tried to help Rory anyway, needing something to do, and pulled down Rory's luggage from the top shelf of the cupboard, placing them open on the bed so Rory could throw in the last of their clothing items.

"God, I really hope so," Odette exhaled a moment later.

"You look a lot happier, you know," Rory noted, packing up her small selection of spring shoes, she still had around.

"Thanks, I guess I am. It's been nice living a life that isn't constantly monitored, assessed and commented on. I can hang out with anyone I want, date anyone I want, I could even go make embarrassing and public mistakes right now," Odette laughed, amused by the thought.

"You know, you're starting to show a little," Odette gestured at Rory's slim form with a tiny, barely visible, bump that her leggings were soon no longer able to hide, a few minutes later. "When do you have your appointment?" Odette added.

"Thursday," Rory replied.

"Hey, I know I'm not a doctor or anything, but I have a good feeling about this," Odette assured, rubbing her upper arm. Rory really appreciated that, there were only a handful of people that knew, most of them knowing how much of a gentle topic this was, said very little, and hearing positive notions outside of her therapy did make her feel a little less anxious.

"When do you have your next IUI?" Rory asked with genuine interest, not wanting to only talk about her.

"I was supposed to have it next week actually, but I postponed it for now," Odette said, adding, "I'm not really sure if I should say much more, it's kind of new, but I'm actually seeing someone. I decided to give it a real chance, without the added pressure of the insemination," Odette confessed.

"That's great. I really hope it works out," Rory replied a little surprisedly, tossing the few final items into the suitcase. She zipped the suitcases closed and rolled them to the foyer.

"So we'll see you in the weekend at the party?" Rory stated, hugging Odette goodbye. It did feel a little like the end of an era and she wondered for a moment whether Logan would've wanted to be a part of that moment. She brushed the thought aside, as it really was just a moment rather than anything grand - after all Odette wasn't going anywhere, but they were moving on to their own independent life. It was a strange friendship that had formed between the two, one that Rory would've never imagined half a year earlier.