Finding Rory

Chapter 65: The Escape

"It was good seeing you, man. Hopefully I'll get to meet your girl the next time I'm in town," Logan said as he and Tristan walked toward their cars.

"Good to see you, too," Tristan replied, purposely ignoring the last half of Logan's remark.

"Before I forget, I'd like for you to be one of my groomsmen. I've always considered you to be like a little brother to me. It would really mean alot," Logan said.

Tristan looked at him in surprise and thought quickly. "Umm...let me talk with Mary about that and I'll let you know," he said. He knew that he and Rory couldn't hide their relationship from Logan forever, but he wasn't ready to put all his cards on the table yet. If he had his way, he and Rory would be married before Logan ever found out about them - there was less chance of him or any of the rest of the Huntzberger family meddling at that point.

"Sure, just let me know. The wedding is in London in January," Logan replied. "Well, I'll let you get out of town. I'll see you soon, Tristan."

Tristan bid Logan goodbye, loaded his golf clubs into the back of his Escalade and climbed into the driver's seat. As he drove home, he couldn't help but reflect on the morning. It had been quite a shock to see Logan, and he was grateful that he and Rory had already planned to go out of town for the weekend. The last thing he wanted was for them to run into Logan unexpectedly. It would probably be best for he and Rory to sit down and discuss how to handle telling Logan soon.

He pulled into their driveway and quickly made his way into the house.

"Mary?" he called as he walked through the door and the dogs greeted him with excited yips.

"In the bedroom!" she called back.

He walked into the bedroom and laughed as he saw her rearranging her suitcase, trying to fit more clothes in it.

"What do I need to pack?" Rory asked.

"Running shoes, sandals, bikini, and comfortable clothes, babe. You don't need a ton of stuff," he told her as he eyed the overstuffed bag.

Rory added a sundress, her new white jacket, a pair of capris and a top and then zipped the bag closed just as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Tristan said, walking toward the door with the puppies following him. "Hey, guys. Come on in," Tristan said as he opened the door.

Luke and Lorelai walked into the house, and she immediately bent to pick up Romeo and Juliet.

"There are my adorable little grandpuppies," Lorelai cooed at the puppies. "I think you two just get cuter every time I see you."

"Thank you for inviting us along this weekend," Luke said, looking around their house. "This is a nice place."

"Thanks, Luke. I really love it, and Rory seems to as well," he said as Rory joined them in the living room.

"Hey, guys! Here, we'll show you around the house," Rory said. The house was a beautiful four-bedroom, two and a half bathroom Cape Cod-style home on just over an acre of land. The family room has a beamed ceiling and beautiful original hardwood floors. The floor plan was open and the house gets tons of natural light. The eat-in kitchen had maple cabinets and beautiful granite countertops along with a center island. After the tour, they all returned to the living room.

"Are you guys all ready to go?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah, we just need to move our bags to your car," Luke answered.

"Great, I'll start loading everything up," Tristan said, moving to where his and Rory's bags and the puppies' things were packed and waiting. He and Luke carried everything out to the Escalade and then took the puppies out and clipped their harnesses onto the seat belts in the backseat when they were all loaded up.

"Why in the world do you need three bags?" Rory teased when she looked into the back of the Escalade.

"Hey, you never know when I might need a different pair of shoes," Lorelai defended.

"Even I managed to pack everything I needed in one bag, Mom."

"And I will still share with you when you have a shoe emergency, despite the fact that you're giving me a hard time," Lorelai said with a smile.

"You two get in and let's get on the road," Luke said.

"Luke, you take the front seat; I'll ride back here with Mom," Rory said as she got into the middle seat with Lorelai.

They took the short one-hour ride to Ocean Beach. The drive was filled with lively conversation, and Lorelai couldn't help but warm toward Tristan considerably as she listened to him interact with them all. He seemed to be a genuinely good man, and she found herself regretting giving him and Rory such a difficult time at the beginning of their relationship.

Before they knew it, they were pulling into the driveway at the Dugrey family's beach house.

"Wow, this is beautiful - it's so peaceful and serene," Rory said as she looked around at the beautiful grounds. It was a large home on the Long Island Sound, and you could see four lighthouses from the front yard.

The moment their car doors opened, Michelle and Chandler walked outside the door to greet them.

"Welcome to our home away from home! We're delighted that you could join us for the weekend," Michelle said warmly as she approached their guests.

Michelle and Chandler embraced Tristan and Rory and then Tristan turned toward Luke and Lorelai.

"Mom and Dad, I'd like to introduce you to Luke and Lorelai. Luke and Lorelai, meet my parents, Chandler and Michelle," Tristan said.

"It's so nice to meet you. Thank you for inviting us to your home for the weekend," Lorelai said.

"Oh, the pleasure's all ours! We're just so excited for Tristan and Rory and want to come together as a family to support them. "Come, please come in."

"Actually, Rory and I need to take the dogs for a quick walk. You guys go ahead and go in and we'll be in shortly," Tristan said as he clipped the leashes on the dogs.

Luke, Lorelai, Michelle and Chandler all walked into the house while Rory, Tristan and the dogs set off for a walk down the beach.

"I need to talk to you about something," Tristan said as soon as they were alone.

"Okay. That sounds serious," Rory said.

"It is, or least it felt like it was. While Colin and I were waiting to tee off this morning, we ran into Logan and Josh."

"Oh. Oh, wow! I didn't know he was in the States," Rory replied quietly.

"Neither did I. It was...awkward."

"I bet it was. Did it go okay?" asked Rory.

"Yeah, everything ended up being fine. I told him I was engaged, but I just used your nickname. I didn't want to tell him it was you without talking to you about it first, and I don't know if either of us are ready to deal with the Huntzbergers, but I think it's inevitable that we'll have to sometime soon," Tristan said.

Rory was silent for a minute before speaking. "Yeah, you're probably right. I think we should tell him together, whenever we decide that it's the right time."

"That's probably a good idea. He also asked me to be in his wedding. I told him that I wasn't sure and that I'd have to talk to you," he added.

"Do you want to do that?"

"I don't know. If you weren't in my life, I wouldn't hesitate. He and I were really close growing up, and we've maintained a friendship over the years. But with you - I don't really want to put you through that," Tristan answered quietly.

"Don't worry about me, Tris. As long as you're by my side, I'll be fine," she reassured him.

"There's something else you should know. He was asking Colin about you, and he said he was going to Stars Hollow this afternoon to try to find you."

"Oh. I guess it's a good thing I don't live there anymore then, huh?" Rory replied.