The next day we went to the cemetery to bury my father. If FP weren't there I wouldn't be able to stand on my own legs.
Hermione had to return to Riverdale in the morning because Veronica fell ill and Hiram had a business trip. I didn't blame her for not staying with me at the funeral. It wasn't her duty.
After the funeral ceremony, my mother came to us. I still felt hurt by her.
"You organized the funeral quickly," she said, and I nodded.
"Yes. FP has helped me a lot," I replied and looked at her.
"Thank you," she said, and FP nodded. "Are you staying in Greendale?"
"No, we're going back to Riverdale," I said and hugged FP's shoulder tightly. "I have to go back to my daughters and FP has to go back to his son," I added. My mother nodded.
"I hope you'll visit me soon, Alice," she whispered, her voice trembling with restrained crying. I swallowed hard.
"I will visit you, mother. Together with your granddaughters" I replied.
"Are we ready to go?" FP asked and I smiled at him.
"Yes. I want to make it before night"
"See you later. And I'm sorry, Alice." My mother grabbed my hand.
"See you" I replied and together with FP we went to the car.
We returned to Riverdale before dark. FP drove me to Hermione's house, where I greeted my daughters.
"Where were you?" Betty asked, hanging around my neck.
"In Greendale" I replied with a smile.
"What did you do there?" Polly asked, lollipop in her mouth.
"I helped your grandpa," I answered quietly.
"In what?"
The children were very curious.
"You know, he went to heaven and I was with him" I patted Betty on the cheek.
"He won't come back again?" Polly asked with tears in her eyes. I hugged her tightly.
I was sorry to say that my children did not have good contact with their grandparents because we did not go to Greendale with them often. For many years I felt sorry for my parents for what they did to me when I was a teenager.
"He will always be with you. Deep in your heart" I kissed her forehead and looked into her eyes. "Grandpa will be with you forever," I whispered, refraining from crying.
"My teacher said that people who go to heaven are happy" Betty pat Polly on the shoulder. "Grandpa doesn't suffer anymore." she smiled.
I was very happy with my daughters' accounts. One comforted the other and was always supported.
When I returned home with the girls, I promised them that as soon as they changed we would go to pizza.
When my daughters went to their bedrooms, I sat on the sofa and grabbed my stomach. I've had too much stress over recent events, so I completely forgot about my child. Nobody knew about it except Hermione. No one.
I took courage and called FP. I had to tell him that I'm pregnant. He answered after a few seconds.
"Hi, Alice. Miss me?" he asked and I smiled.
"Definitely. I have to tell you something, so I'd like to meet with you tomorrow," I said.
With my free hand, I began to wrap and unroll my frill.
"Alice, is this something serious? I'm afraid" I felt panic in his voice.
"No, no. Don't worry. FP. I think you'll enjoy it," I laughed softly.
"Oh, that's good." He sighed.
I heard Gladys's voice in the background. I frowned.
"What does Gladys do at your house?" I asked and he sighed.
"Damn. She came to visit Jughead. That's all," he said, and I bit my lip. I didn't want to believe that she came to FP only for that. "Hey, Alice. Are you there?" he asked, and I sighed softly.
"Yes," I answered dryly. "I am," I added.
"That's good. Alice, really ... Me and Gladys, it's all over. You know that!" he said louder.
"Yes, I know," I said without enthusiasm. "FP, I have to go. I promised my daughters dinner out. We'll meet again some other time," I added and hung up.
I didn't want to be jealous and controlling. I was just angry that Gladys was in the same room as FP. Did that mean I was toxic to FP? I didn't mean to be toxic.
After a short while, I texted FP that I wasn't mad at him.
~~~~
"Hey, girls. Are you ready?" I screamed.
"Ready!" Betty said and ran to me.
"Me too," Polly added, going down the stairs.
"Are we going for a pizza??" I asked.
"Yes!" they screamed and ran to the car.
We sat at a table in the corner of the pizzeria. My girls were delighted and I was glad to spend some time with them. Recently, I neglected them a little and had to compensate them. Nor I didn't want Hal to comment unnecessarily on my educational methods.
"I want pizza without corn," said Polly, looking through the menu.
"And no onions. Bleh," Betty added.
"Okay, how about a double cheese pizza with salami and mushrooms?" I asked.
My appetite has increased a lot lately. I had to start eating fairly regularly for my child to develop properly.
"I have to tell you something" I smiled slightly and looked at my daughters.
"What?" Betty asked.
"What happened?" this time it was Polly.
"I recently found out that ... You will have a brother or sister in a few months," I said with a smile.
"Are you pregnant?" Betty asked.
"Yes," I nodded.
"Daddy know about this?" Polly looked at me shrewdly.
Daddy? Oh, they meant Hal. How could I tell them that Hal is not the father of this child? At the moment I couldn't do it.
"He doesn't know yet, but I'll tell him myself," I whispered.
A waitress came to us and I placed an order.
"Are you happy?" I asked quietly, a little afraid of their reaction.
"Yes!" Betty shouted, which drew the attention of the couple sitting near us. "And you, Polly?" I swallowed hard.
"I'm glad, but I'm sad that daddy won't live with us."
"Come on, Polly! Daddy did the wrong thing." Betty pleased her sister. I felt that if I didn't intervene, my daughters would argue.
"Hey, stop it," I asked gently. "Daddy and I broke up. Sometimes it happens. But that doesn't mean we won't see each other," I said.
"Do you love daddy?" Polly asked, and I nodded.
"I love him and I will love him, but I know I will not get along with him anymore," I added, and Polly nodded. "I know it's hard for you because of this situation, Polly. I know you are trying to deduce something, but you should let it go. You are only eight years old, you have a whole life ahead of you, honey. You should be glad that you are good at biology, that you want to be a vet in the future and that you finally got to the cheerleader team."
"I am happy, mom. But I don't want to live in our house"
"Why?" I asked, starting to get nervous. Polly has always been smart, but she often exaggerated with her wisdom.
I felt that in the future I would have big problems with her.
"I don't know," she shrugged. "Maybe... You meet with Jughead's dad and you forget about us"
"That's not true at all" Betty punched the table with her fist.
I got angry at Polly. She shouldn't say that.
"We're friends," I said gently.
"Friends don't kiss!" Polly shouted and Betty burst into tears and ran out of the pizzeria.
"See what you did, Polly?" I hissed loudly.
"She needed to learn the truth."
I didn't know what got into my daughter. I got up from the table and ran after Betty. I caught her before going outside and hugged her to me.
"I hate her," she whispered in my ear. "Someone has replaced my sister," she added, and I shook my head.
"Don't say that. Polly rebels, it will pass.," I whispered and kissed Betty on the cheek. "Don't cry, okay?"
"Is it true that you and Mr Jones are meeting? Will this baby be his baby?" she asked and looked into my eyes sadly. I sighed heavily and nodded.
"Yes, Betty. It's true," I murmured in tears.
"Do you love Mr Jones?"
"I do"
"And does he love you?"
"Yes," I replied with a smile.
"Can you get married now to let Mr Jones and Jughead live with us?" she asked and I laughed.
"Maybe someday it will happen," I replied.
"But not now," Betty muttered.
"Why?" I asked and she called me by hand. I leaned over her and she grabbed my neck.
"Because Polly is in love with Jughead and he doesn't want her! She's angry at me because Jughead gave me a flower and didn't give her. Polly is a nerve!."
Now I understood Polly's behaviour. I felt stupid. I returned to Betty's table and looked at Polly.
"Polly, you have time to find a boyfriend," I said and she looked at me.
"I know. I recently kissed Jason Blossom," she shrugged, and I opened my eyes wide.
"You did what?"
"I kissed him. You kiss your friend, so why can't I?" she looked at me with a challenging look and I took a deep breath.
I was shocked and Betty apparently too. The indifference and coldness I felt in Polly's voice hurt me. I felt like someone had changed my daughter. It wasn't my Polly.
A/N: Finally, I brought this story back to life.