Living Next Door To Alice

4/ Three Year Anniversary

After all she had no idea what he was going through so she would never judge him for his coping mechanisms. She'd be there for him in every way she could.

"Should we take a break?" She offered, feeling that both of them needed a moment out of this room.

Archie nodded gratefully and followed her out of the bedroom and were met by Alice who was standing in the kitchen.

"Just in time, I made coffee." She perked up at the two and grabbed the both of them a mug and poured them some of her fresh brew.

"You know the paint is supposed to go on the walls, right?" She said with a smile as she looked her daughter and neighbor up and down, seeing that the paint was all over them.

It made her wonder if the walls were even touched yet. It was meant as a joke, but neither of them could crack a smile.

"Is everything alright? You two seem a little down." She asked them worriedly, wondering if maybe they had gotten into an argument when she was at the store.

Betty looked at Archie, telling him with her eyes that it was up to him whether he wanted to share what was going on. If not, she'd come up with an excuse quickly enough.

But Archie wasn't going to hide why he was feeling like this. That had been one of his mothers lessons. People don't know what is going on inside your head but all you can do is be honest about your feelings and hope they will understand.

"It's been three years since we lost my Mom... Betty and I were just talking about that." Archie said quietly, staring at the coffee in his mug that slowly started to get cold.

"Days like that are always a little harder." He added, and looked at Betty as he felt her hand on her shoulder.

"Do you look a lot like her?" Alice asked sweetly, as she wasn't even sure what kind of comfort to give the boy.

"Yeah, got my red hair from her, actually." He smiled proudly and Alice knew she had done good with her question.

They were interrupted when there was a knock on the door, making all three of them look up.

"Come in!" Alice called, and a second later the door opened, revealing Fred.

"Hey, just wondering if you got some milk? FP wants to make us cappuccinos but we don't have any." He asked politely as he walked further into the living room.

"Sure, grab some." Alice gestured for the fridge and Fred gladly grabbed the milk he had been stopping by for.

His eye fell on Betty and Archie in the overalls that used to be blue, but now looked more orange.

"How's the room doing?" He smiled at them and chuckled a little. It looked like they had been in a huge paint fight, which indicated that they had fun.

"Archie has been a big help." Betty smiled at Fred and looked back at the redheaded boy, who returned the same gesture.

All the talking about his mother had gotten Archie to think, and since they were growing closer to their neighbors he felt like sharing with them more. Tonight looked like a great night to be together. He needed that, and he knew his Dad needed that too, no matter if he would admit it or not.

"Dad, I was thinking.... could we have a special dinner tonight, for Mom?" He asked him, his voice full of hope. Fred's face softened as he heard the proposal of his son, his heart warming instantly.

"That's a lovely idea, Archie. I'll start making her signature pie." Fred smiled at his boy and gave him a comforting wink.

Today was hard on him too and sometimes he had no clue how to talk to his son about his mother, but lucky Archie knew that he needed a bit of help every now and then.