8 years in the life

Chapter 24 - 4th July 2009

Colin asked Steph to organize this emergency meeting. The Yale gang hadn't been reunited all together for a year now. They were thrilled to see each other, even though the unexpected circumstances made them feel awkward. Because of the short notice, that the 4th was on a Saturday and Robert had only the weekend, she finally opted for her parent's Martha's Vineyard estate. The Vanderbilts, as well as the Huntzbergers, were at THE society wedding of the year, in the Balearic Islands, so Logan was sure he wouldn't run into his parents. Stephanie was worried about her friends and in particular Logan and Robert, mainly because she always had been very close to them. She developed a special bond with Robert when the Stooges left to sink a boat in Fiji. She had this quality of listening that make people able to share their deepest thoughts with her. She knew that he was extremely sensitive and that behind his womanizer ways that he got spending time with Finn, he was just a soft teddy bear, not armed to deal with a jealous Logan. Her childhood friend was loyal, generous, caring but was terribly territorial concerning Rory. Therefore, she feared the reunion between the three enamored guys.

Rory drove by herself to the vineyard. If Paris hadn't had to spend the weekend with Doyle's family, she would have asked her to tag along. She didn't know what to think about meeting Logan after two years. She was madly in love with him back then, but so many things had happened and now she was going to see the three last men she had slept with. She cursed herself, how could she let herself get into this awful mess? She hadn't talked much with Robert since her visit in DC. They texted, but neither of them had the opportunity to talk and moreover, they had promised each other not to do anything before they could talk to Logan. Now that Finn and Robert had done it, the situation was even worse. Robert had called just to ask her to book her Independence Day weekend when they would see each other and said that Steph would let her know all the details. Except that it wasn't just the two of them, but all the Yale gang including her three last lovers. She then thought about her mother being overly protective. Lorelai had always been a role model for her. The way that at sixteen she took her life in hands and decided to raise her daughter by herself which she successfully did as well as developed her own career from the bottom. She, in turn, was sheltered from any difficulty, so what did she know about life? Was her own experience being enough to make a wise decision? Could her mother be right when she said that their feelings might not survive in the outside world? After all, that's kind of what happened with Logan. They were truly in love but when they had been confronted by his family and their jobs, everything blew up and their commitment wasn't enough anymore. Was it possible that with Robert the same story would be repeated? She wondered if her inexperience in men was showing its limits. She was almost twenty-five and only had three boyfriends and slept with four men, a very low score for a millennial. The appraisal wasn't good at all. Three failed relationships and she was far from being an innocent bystander.

Colin, Steph, Rory, Juliet, and Rosemary arrived early on Friday afternoon. Finn and Logan flew directly from San Francisco and would arrive later in the evening. For the past year, everybody had the opportunity to reconnect with Rory except Logan. When Colin left for the airport to pick Robert, the girls sat with Rory who looked worried and tried to calm her mind.

"It will be okay, Ror. It could be worse - you have three of the most eligible bachelors on the east coast pining for you. Can you tell us how do you do that?" Rosemary asked wanting to lighten the mood. Rory's face turned pale, she knew her friend was joking, but she was so tense she couldn't think straight. A tiny lump had formed in the pit of her stomach while waiting for Logan, and over the course of the evening, it had gradually grown larger.

"I'm sorry Ror, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." Rose sat next to her and put her arm around her shoulders.

"It's fine Rose, I'm the one that should apologize for ruining your holiday weekend."