After the Christmas party and introduction to society, Rory and Logan spent the rest of the holiday season quietly at Lorelai and Luke's house. Pregnancy was hitting Rory a bit harder. She wasn't sick, but was perpetually exhausted. The doctor assured her and Logan that it was normal and Rory's body would bounce back as the pregnancy progressed. So, instead of pushing it, they enjoyed the lazy time.
Their only real outing since the party was when they ventured to the Huntzberger mansion for Christmas Eve with Mitchum, Shira, and Honor and her family. They hadn't stayed too long, but it was a nice time. They had a nice dinner and exchanged gifts. Luckily, Henry was eager to get home and set out cookies for Santa, so they all made it an early night.
Christmas Day was spent at home in pajamas. Everyone slept in late and then leisurely opened gifts. Luke made a brunch for everyone while they lounged around watching television.
Emily and Richard didn't even complain about making the trek to Stars Hollow for Christmas dinner. Their great grandchild was more important than a formal holiday meal in their immaculate dining room. Luke cooked again. That night he made a full turkey dinner. But instead of eating at the table, they ate it while watching "It's a Wonderful Life" in the living room. Lorelai had been in shock as she watched her parents eat off of tv tables on the couch. She kept pestering Rory to test them more to see what else they would do "for the baby".
The rest of January was similar to their Christmas break. Everyone was pushing Rory to take it easy. It would be months before the baby would arrive, but it was spoiled already. Mitchum and Logan had talked and come up with a plan for Rory to work from home until she felt better and had more energy or until after the baby came. Rory only joined Logan in the office one day a week. The rest of the days, she reviewed articles from home between naps. At first Rory felt strange, like she was getting special treatment. But after a week or two, she realized how much she could get done and contribute by working on her own schedule. Since she tended to take a nap mid-afternoon, she had trouble sleeping at night sometimes. On those nights, while everyone else was asleep, she was very productive. She wrote some very good, well researched articles. Already she was gaining a following writing for HPG.
Pressure and additional money from Richard and Mitchum prompted Tom to begin the house. Since the large snowstorm, the weather had been surprisingly tame with little additional snow. The house was a long way from being completed, but it was further along each time Rory and Logan went to see it. The last time they saw it there were studs up outlining rooms. Rory couldn't see it as a house yet, but Tom assured her it would look just like the plans.
"I am kind of excited to get out of the house and see people again!" Rory said to Logan on the last weekend in January. They were packing for Stephanie and Colin's wedding. As planned Steph and Colin agreed to have a formal wedding for their families. The wedding was to be held at Winvain Farm in Morris, Connecticut. The farm was a 113 acre estate with a banquet barn, five star dining, and eighteen cottages. Steph's parents had attended a wedding there and fallen in love with it, so they convinced Steph and Colin to have the ceremony and reception there. They had rented the entire thing for the weekend. Steph and Colin insisted all of their friends stay in one of the cottages for the night. Rory was gathering together some last minute items and zipping up her dress bag.
It was just over an hour's drive to Morris. Finn and Rosemary were picking them up on their way from Hartford so they could all travel together.
Logan zipped his suit bag and said, "All set. Finn should be here any minute." He turned towards Rory and said, "We don't have to ride with them, you know. Maybe we should drive separately. What if you start to get tired or don't feel well? Maybe I should call Finn and tell him to go on without us."
"Logan! I am fine! Besides, we have our own little cottage. If I get tired or sick, I'll go rest. Really, I am looking forward to this! I have been lounging around doing nothing for too long. I need to get out!" Rory insisted.
Logan looked at her skeptically. He sighed and said, "Alright, but you'll tell me if you want to rest? I'll go back with you to the cottage."
Rory kissed him and said, "Yes, I will tell you. But I am really looking forward to this. It will be fun."
Still looking slightly unsure, Logan grabbed all the bags and carried them to the front door. As he put them down, he heard a car pulling in the driveway. He opened the door and waved to Finn and Rosemary.
Finn came charging up the driveway with a rolled up poster of some sort. He stormed past Logan and marched directly into the house. "Where is that difficult, stubborn woman?" he demanded.
"Me?" Rory asked wondering what was up with Finn this time.
"No, not you. The one that spawned you," Finn said.
Walking into the room, Lorelai offered Finn a huge smile and said, "Oh, you must mean me."
"Yes, you," Finn said grabbing Lorelai's hand and pulling her towards the couch. He gave Lorelai a slight nudge to sit as he swept his arm across the table to clear it.
"Well, that was dramatic and unnecessary. You just knocked my monkey ashtray on the floor. I hope you plan on cleaning all that up," Lorelai said.
Logan, Rory, and Rosemary followed them into the room and watched the scene. "What's going on?" Rory whispered to Rosemary.
Rosemary whispered back, "Finn has been obsessing about the baby pool. He has made an official chart and is insisting on pleading his case to Lorelai."
"Oh boy," Logan said going to sit in an armchair closer to the action.
"Now, Lorelai," Finn began as he unrolled his poster and began to spread it on the coffee table, "I know you want to be involved in this baby pool. I understand the desire. But I have more experience in this. I have come to show you my planning and preparation and to offer you a prominent role in this."
"I have a prominent role. I am running it!" Lorelai said hopping up and dashing into the kitchen. She returned a moment later with an old cigar box. She held it for Finn to see. She said, "Look! I have all my notes and bets in this box. A cigar box. Get it? When babies were born, men used to stand around smoking cigars. Cute, huh?"
"It's darling, love. But what are all the bits of paper inside?" Finn asked.
"These are everyone's bets," Lorelai explained. She pulled out one and read it, "Babette has girl, 8 pounds, 7 ounces."
"Yes, love, that is very nice. But if you will just have a look at the chart I made here..." Finn gestured to the table. His chart was actually a huge calendar, with dates three weeks before Rory's due date to two weeks after. On every block of the calendar was a name of the person placing the bed in the date they selected, the guessed sex of the baby, and estimated weight weight of the baby. "You see, everyone chooses a date first, then the sex, then the weight. As you can see, several people can pick the same date, but have different guesses as to sex and weight. It makes the betting a little more intense and offers many more options for people. And, while your cigar box is wonderful, this is slightly more organized than your system."
Lorelai huffed, but looked at the chart. Rory leaned over as well. "Holy crap, Finn! Who are all these people? 'DJ' bet it will be a girl and 7 pounds even. Who is DJ? A record spinner at one of your clubs?"
"Oh no, DJ is an avid reader actually. She is a dear friend of mine, lovely woman, fantastic sense of humor, and very insightful," Finn explained. "I've told her your story from the beginning. She deserved to have a little part in it."
"I see," Rory said shaking her head at all the people Finn somehow got to bet on her baby.
"Ok, ok, so maybe your system is a little more organized than mine. But I have all these bets! I can't just ignore all the people that want in on this!" Lorelai said.
"I am suggesting we add your bets to this chart, love. We will leave no one out," Finn said. "We can keep the cash bets in the cigar box," Finn added hoping Lorelai would be pleased to still use the box.
"Hmmm, it might work. But I didn't get dates. I only got sex and weight," Lorelai said.
"We won't be back until tomorrow. If you could get the guesses, we could add them all tomorrow when we return," Finn suggested.
"I'll see what I can do," Lorelai said.
Pleased, Finn rolled up his chart and said, "As soon as all bets are placed, I will make a copy and send you the official chart, co-bookie." At Lorelai's smile, Finn offered his hand. They shook hands briefly before Finn pulled her in for a hug.
"I am so glad that is resolved! It is all he has talked about!" Rosemary sighed with relief. Shaking her head she continued, "He is a grown man and has been totally consumed with a baby pool!"
"It's sweet. I am pretty surprised Mom gave in. She isn't very organized though," Rory said.
"Alright, now that this important matter is settled, can we get on the road? I was hoping we could get in and settled so Rory could rest before the wedding," Logan said impatient.
"Relax, Mother Hen. The chickie will be just fine. And, if my bet is correct, she will have a perfectly healthy seven and a half pound boy on August 26th!" Finn said.
A short while later, the foursome arrived at Winvain Farm. Although it was winter and the farm was renown for it's landscaping, it was still stunning without the lush foliage. Instead of overflowing flowering gardens, pine trees and evergreens were showcased along with the magnificent buildings. Rory could see the strings of lights discreetly hidden in the branches and just knew it would look amazing at night all lit up.
Immediately attendants ran out to direct them to their cottages. Luckily, they were assigned to two cottages next to each other. They parked the car behind the small buildings and excitedly rushed to explore. Rory and Rosemary ran into her and Logan's cottage first. The front door opened into a small sitting room with a large stone fireplace. The walls were wood, giving a log cabin type feel. Thick boards of hardwood lined the floor. There was a leather couch positioned in front of the fireplace under a braided rug.
A small refrigerator was tucked over in the corner by the sliding door on the side of the room. The doors opened to an open field. There was a light coat of snow on the landscape making it look like a postcard. "I'll bet we see deer romping around out there later!" Rory said.
"This is so cute!" Rosemary yelled from the next room.
Rory went to see what she assumed was the bedroom. It took her a minute to see what Rosemary had been yelling about. She saw a large room with a huge bed. The wooded walls and floors continued in the room, but were offset by deep hunter green curtains and thick rug on the floor. There was another fireplace against the outside wall. The rustic looking cabin was cozy and beautifully decorated.
"I gotta go check out my cabin!" Rosemary said darting off.
Logan came through the doors with all their bags. He said, "I talked to the attendant. He will be bringing over a light snack for you soon. I think you should rest before the ceremony."
Touched at his concern, Rory didn't argue his wishes. "That sounds good. We have a few hours. Want to build a fire and take a nap with me?" she said wiggling her eyebrows.