Tea Parties in Boston

17 - Trust Is The Glue

Chapter 17

October 8th, 2022

Rory was getting ready in front of her bedroom mirror, being just in the process of applying some light finishing powder onto her skin as finishing touches. Her makeup was a lot braver than she would've worn on a regular work day or even to a date - dark blue smokey eye makeup and luscious lashes. She'd kept her lips fairly natural with some matte lip ink.

Learning to experiment and not be afraid of spicing up her makeup according to how she felt was one of the things she'd learned over the years. She'd actually taken a few classes and watched numerous tutorials to get to this point. She no longer felt like removing the makeup she'd worked on for 45 minutes five minutes before leaving, feeling it was too much. She felt more confident in her body and that only reinforced how good she felt. She loved how the blue resonated with the kimono-sleeve satin dress that highlighted her long legs and hips, while giving her upper body some volume for balance. That she'd learned when her paternal grandmother had gifted her a gift card she apparently found no use for to Saks - a stylist consultation and shopping money. Rory could imagine there was some insult hidden away in that gift, but she was beyond that and had used it to test out some new things which in the end had certainly made her more confident while staying clear of the business-suit section that Francine had probably been hinting at, having concrete ideas how a mother should dress. Francine was a lot like the earlier Emily, while Emily herself had mellowed out considerably in Nantucket.

Wanting to be ready for a night of fun and not pain, Rory had opted for a pair of not-too-robust compat boots, however, not quite feeling like watching her every step on some sexy pair of heels. She did look hot - but she looked hot for herself, not aiming to woo anyone today, and that included Logan.

Much like they'd talked last weekend - she was a firm believer in needing to maintain a friendship with Logan, and she was fully aware that that would take a great deal of determination. She knew how easy it was physically, even if it was just the casual flirt, to slip into something with him - that tone of his voice when the wanted to be persuasive, his smirk - god, that ridiculously attractive smirk, he never seemed to dress badly and she did wonder how he stayed in shape that well as through several years of seeing him on and off, she'd never once seen him work out. He was still smart, witty and intelligent. But then again Rory knew that stability for Em took priority.

Rory had in no way been a nun all these years. She had apps, she sometimes met people through work and Angie was an incredible source of acquaintances - many of the men she'd dated, or dated - she'd met through her. But so far she believed she didn't really require a man by her side, actually sensing how her father was being a pretty decent role model for Em and she herself found the cure for her own loneliness, sometimes late at night alone in bed, from books and a trusted vibrator in her nightstand drawer. Like both her therapist and Otis, her life coach, had told her, and she by now believed in it too - she didn't need a man to complete her or to make her happy. She needed to create her own happiness and then when it was the right time and she felt ready it would be the time to let someone in. She wanted to believe she'd know the time when that moment came. And having already Em, that had surprisingly taken off a lot of pressure for her to settle down - she didn't have to race with time.

"Hey, Rory! Angie's here!" Christopher called upstairs from the foyer.

"Just a second," Rory replied, and attached a pair of delicate dangle pearl earrings that completed her look. She'd mastered dressing up in a way that looked hot, but not so it screamed wealth. She was wealthy now, little by little the realization was setting in and besides living a fairly normal life where she still worked and took the train - it were the little treats she gave herself and Em, and knowing she didn't need to worry about that kind of things until the end of her days, that made all the difference, lifting an imaginary heavy weight from her shoulders. She no longer needed to measure her success in the money she made.