When October Goes

Chapter 17

Logan arrived at my house around six with Chinese food in tow.  He held up the bags to show me, and it looked like he'd gotten more than enough.  He remembered how much I love the cuisine.  I noticed his other hand held a bottle of wine.  I've come to really enjoy wine as I've gotten older, and it's become quite the habit between the two of us.  I don't know if it's to help us move beyond the state of discomfort that lingers because of my decision, or if there's some unknown reason Logan relies on it in my presence.  Although, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't using it as a bit of a crutch myself.

"Looks like you've got enough for ten," I said with a smile.

"As I recall, this was par for the course.....unless your appetite has shrunk," he rebutted.

"Not in the least," I replied with a chuckle.

I showed him into the kitchen, and he set the bags on the table.  As he arranged the boxes, I got out plates and utensils.  Logan looked a little surprised.

"Getting all fancy, Ace?" he asked pointing at the plates.

"I just figured you were used to eating on real plates."

"Not Chinese.  Eating out of the box is part of the experience.  Without it, there's no mystique," he explained.

I laughed because it sounded just like something my mom would say.

"You're absolutely right!  It's like feng shui for noodles, and as an added bonus, no clean-up!"

I moved the dishes to the counter and grabbed some wine glasses.  I retrieved the bottle opener, handed it to Logan, and he opened the bottle.  We sat at the table in the kitchen as we ate from the cartons in true Gilmore fashion.

Over the course of the meal, we chatted mostly about work.  He told me how he'd been reading my book and was enjoying it.  I was impressed because it definitely was not his kind of book, but assumed it was mostly because it was my story.  There was still this attraction between us, and I could feel the sexual tension building the longer we were in the same room together.  It was like two magnets pulling towards each other, but I couldn't let myself get sucked into something like that right now.

Once we were finished eating, I put away the leftovers and suggested we switch venues.  The living room seemed the most logical since I had everything set up in there.

"All of my photo albums are in the living room," I said.

We started walking, and I noticed he didn't bring his glass with him.

"Don't forget your glass!" I recommended.  "Oh, and could you grab the corkscrew?"

"Going for a second bottle already?" he joked.  "Am I really that bad?"

"No, but I like to be prepared," I replied with a smile.

After grabbing his glass and the corkscrew, he met me back in the living room.  While he made himself comfortable on the couch, I took the albums from the bookshelf.  I set a few on the table, keeping them in chronological order.  I opened the first book, skipping the first few pages.  They contained pictures of my baby shower and me looking as big as a house.

"I don't think you want to see these," I said quickly moving onto pictures of Richard.

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked with a soft smile.

"Because I was as big as a house.  Trust me, you don't want to see that!"

"Let me be the judge of that," he countered.

Reluctantly, I went back to the beginning of the book.  Mom made me take weekly pictures starting at twelve weeks when I first started showing.  I watched Logan as he began turning the page.  I sat nervously wondering what he was thinking.  He had a slight smile, but I couldn't tell if it was a mocking expression because he'd never seen me fat before.