When October Goes

Chapter 20

Once Logan had finished his meeting, he went into the kitchen to find his daughter making a snack for herself.

"Hey, Dad," she greeted him.  "Can I get you anything while I'm in here?"

"That looks really good, Viv," he said pointing to the food on her plate.

"Say no more," she replied and grabbed a second plate, filling it like hers.  Viv brought it to Logan, who was seated at the table.  They shared an awkward silence as they each nibbled at their snack.

"So, how was your meeting?" his daughter asked attempting to make conversation.  She wanted to continue her push to get him to come clean about Ritchie, but she had started to feel defeated by her dad and brother.

"Oh, you know, the same old stuff.  It's just work," he replied and sat in nervous silence.  He wanted to tell her about Richard, but the words were elusive.  "I, um, wanted to talk to you about something."

A feeling of elation swept over Viv as she imagined that he'd finally tell her the truth.  Her mind started running wild when she thought of how she'd react.  Taking a deep, calming breath, she asked, "About what?"

"It's kind of a delicate subject," he continued trying to find his confidence.

"Ok, I'm all ears," Viv said.

Fuck, how am I supposed to tell her? he thought.  Why can't I just get the words out?  What is so hard about this?  Logan sat for a while going over scenarios in his head as he struggled to find the words to confess the truth.

She could see her dad lost in thought as he tried to tell her something important.  Why won't he just tell me? she asked herself silently.  It's not that freakin' hard!

After a few minutes of quiet, she broke his tense silence.

"Dad, what did you want to tell me?"

Snapping back to reality, Logan looked at his daughter.  "Your grandparents want you to visit before school starts in the fall," he blurted out.  It wasn't a lie because they had written about wanting to see her.

Is he kidding? she wondered.

"When do they want me to come over?"

"I meant going to Paris to visit your mom's family," he clarified.  He'd been putting off talking about it because of the whole Rory and Richard situation.  He was also painfully aware of the tense relationship his daughter had with his former in-laws.

"Oh," she replied.  She had zero desire to go to Paris and had never really been fond of the city, even when she was younger.  Her grandparents had been horrible uptight and proper.  Their idea of a good time was to criticize her every move and word.

"I know you don't get along with them very well, but you are all they have left since the accident," he reminded her.

"What about Mom's girlfriend?" she asked pointedly.

"You know they never accepted that relationship.  It will never belong in their world no matter how much your mother wanted it to," he explained.

"Do I have to go?"

"Maybe, I could invite them here instead?" Logan suggested.

That's not going to change the fact they are horrible people! she thought exasperatedly.  I don't think that's what he was going to tell me, and it seems he's not going to tell me the truth!

"Fine, do whatever you want," she huffed, crossed her arms across her chest, and pushed the plate away.  "I'm not hungry anymore."

He watched his daughter exit and he let out a sigh.  Why did I have to mention them instead of Richard?  I just need to man up and tell her, he thought.