It Was Never Really Goodbye - Gilmore Girls

Chapter 4

For some reason, Logan was still a bit in awe. His father had showed up in his usual fashion, but there was something else. He hadn't been able to quite put his finger on it immediately, but then his father never showed his entire hand willingly anyway.  Logan had tried to tell him to go the hell away, but somehow he found himself agreeing with him.

"Dad."

"Logan."

"You can't just barge in here. You don't have any superiority to hold over anyone."

"That may be true, but you wouldn't answer my calls. I had no other choice."

He sustained an eye roll, "it's almost as if I have no interest in talking to you dad."

"Logan, I didn't come here to fight."  Mitchum finally sat down in front of him. 

"So why did you come here?"

"I need you to come back to the company."

Logan started laughing, "funny, dad."

Mitchum glared at him, "it's not a joke, Logan, I need you."

It was at that point that Logan realized something wasn't right.  Normally, Mitchum would have told him to stop being childish or petty or something of the sort.  "Ok, I'll bite.  Why should I?"

"Well Logan, you know how much the publishing industry is changing.  I need someone that can make the most of those changes...someone that can keep the company relevant in these changing times."

"You can hire anyone to do that."

"I could, but they aren't you."

"I realize that you would like to keep it in the family and I'm the heir and blah blah blah, but I thought we covered this when I left.  I'm done being the dutiful Huntzberger son."

"Logan, I'm not going to lie to you and say that this has absolutely nothing to do with you being the rightful heir to the company.  If you were still slacking off like you did in college and refusing to work, it wouldn't matter that you're my son.  However, when you left HPG and started working here, you showed everybody what you were made of.  I am immensely proud of the man you have become.  The work you are doing here is exactly the kind of experience we need.  I thought you were an idiot when you left, but now I know that it's the best thing you could've done."

Logan tried to digest everything his father had just said to him.  He never expected to hear his father say most of it, not even on his deathbed.  "Why?  Why now?"

"Because it's time, Logan."

"No, that's bullshit.  You wouldn't come here unless something bigger was driving you.  What is it?  Is the company in trouble?"

Mitchum took a deep breath, "Alright, here it is.  The company is fine.  It does need someone at the helm that can roll with the changing times, but it's not imperative at this very moment.  What is imperative, or so I'm told, is that I'm not that person anymore."

He was slowly putting the pieces together.  "Why?"

"Because the doctors say that if I don't retire, that my heart is going to give out on me."

Deep down, he knew that it had to be serious to drive his father to actually say these things.  "How bad is it?"

"If I don't eliminate as much stress as possible, I won't be around at this time next year.  I thought about just throwing your mother out, but she seems to think that it will be good for both of us to slow down.  I promised her that I would work harder on our marriage and that I would retire."

"Holy shit!"

His dad finally grinned a little, "never thought you'd see the day, huh?  Proof that I actually have a heart?"

"Dad..."

"Logan, we all knew this would probably happen some day.  The important thing is that I know now, before it's too late.  Believe it or not, your mother and I were once very much in love.  I would like to find that part of us again, it feels like we lost it a very long time ago.  I also don't want to miss watching my grandchildren grow up.  Leaving the company to you means leaving it in extremely capable hands.  The board is in agreement with these changes."  His father looked down, then back up, "I need to know that everything I've worked so hard to build over the years is going to continue thriving.  I know it will with you."

Logan sat back and thought about everything his father had just told him.  It was a huge change.  Everyone in his life would be affected by this, there was no doubt about that.  It wasn't exactly a shock.  His grandfather had died two years ago from a heart condition.  They had found out later that he hadn't seen a doctor in years because he didn't want to show any sign of weakness.  Knowing that his father was suffering from what was probably a hereditary condition also reminded him that he would have to be careful. 

"What kind of timeline are we talking about dad?"

"Well, you'll need to move back to Connecticut or New York."

He nodded, "New York."

"I would like to host an event to announce it.  Do you think we could make it happen within a month?"

He took a deep breath, "probably.  I'm not going to give up my stake in this company."

"I wouldn't want you to give up something you've worked so hard to build."

"One month?"  He stood up and put out his hand.

Mitchum stood too and shook, "one month.  I'll see you soon."

His world was basically turned upside down.  It was now early Saturday morning.  Ever since his father showed up yesterday afternoon, he had been waiting for it to completely sink in.  He finally picked up the phone and called someone that he could share his shock with.  He figured he'd be waking him up, but that was nothing new.  The fact that it was 6 AM for him and 9 AM for Finn made him ok with it.  He hadn't slept well at all. 

Finally, he heard a groggy Australian's voice, "bloody hell Logan!  Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Since it's earlier here, I don't really care," he replied with a chuckle. 

"And to what do I owe this displeasure?"

"I need to share some big news."

"Well get on with it then."

"It seems that I am moving back and taking over HPG."  He heard Finn spit out what he assumed was coffee.

"Shit, did I miss the funeral?"

Logan chuckled, "not exactly.  It seems that Herr Huntzberger has a heart condition.  If he doesn't retire, he'll be gone within a year."

"Well I'll be damned...I thought the man was born without one."

"You're not the only one.  I'm going to get started right away on finding a place to live.  One month and I'll be there for good.  I don't know how much I'll be there and back, but I may want a place to stay every so often.  That ok?"

He thought he heard him hesitate, but then he said, "sounds good.  I better get going man.  Keep me in the loop."

"Will do.  Hey could you keep it to yourself for now?"

"Sure thing.  Bye."

Well he felt a little better.  He wasn't the only one that would be shocked by it, that's for sure.  He wondered what Rory would have said if they were still together...she probably would have said the same thing.