The rest of the day followed through uneventfully before I found myself with Veronica and Mom at La Bonne Nuit. With minimal training, alongside her previous small job at Pop's, Mom was ready to be a hostess at the speakeasy. Of course, Veronica had a few things to run past her, which is why we were here early prior to opening.
"So, hostess details to track. Who's coming and where to seat them. Ms. Danbers near Bob Potter, always. Where not to seat them, booth 11 is the worst. Enemies only."
Mom held up a hand. "Okay, hold... hold on. I'm gonna need a pen."
I shook my head. "Mom, don't worry. We're going to be here the whole time. Plus, Ronnie's being a little dramatic. I promise you're going to do fine."
The night started off smoothly, with Reggie and myself creating drink after drink with thankfully no issues. Veronica was doing her best to keep Mom unstressed with her first night, and for the most part, it was going well.
"So, what's this I hear about you training for the FBI?" Reggie asked as he wiped out the wine glass in his hand.
I shook my head. "Not necessarily to join the FBI, but I want to study criminal justice, so it's for the application bonus points. It's interesting, in all honesty. Especially when you live in Riverdale."
"Fair point," Reggie agreed, "Got any college choices?"
"A few," I hummed, "I mean, I would love to ship myself off to Hawaii and never come back home, but let's be real, you'd miss me too much, Reggie."
He laughed and swatted the wet towel at my leg causing me to dodge it with a laugh. "You've got that right, Marrows. Who else would entertain me in this shitty town?"
I smiled and pushed a completed drink across the bar to the waiting customer before turning to see Reggie with an unpleasant glare. "What?" I frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Veronica," He called out as he didn't shift his gaze. I turned to face where my sibling last stood to see Hiram and Hermosa climbing down the stairs.
I could hear Mom mutter a small curse before Veronica addressed the duo. "Daddy. Hermosa. You're not on the reservation list."
Dad frowned. "Well, I couldn't miss your mother's re-entry into the workforce, could I?"
"At the clubs I run in Miami, I always keep a table reserved for special guests," Hermosa inserted snidely.
"Same," Veronica responded in fake excitement. "Mark them down for booth 11."
Reggie and I shared a knowing smile before resuming our jobs behind the counter as my sister stepped away to escort the duo to their spots for the night.
--
Once my shift ended, I left La Bonne Nuit in somewhat of a good mood. Mocha was joyful to see me the moment I stepped into the apartment. After greeting my dog and taking him outside, I took a steamy shower before curling into bed for the night. I was in the process of doing a lovely Marvel Cinematic Universe rewatch and was about halfway through Thor when my phone rang.
"Hi, Jug," I greeted as I ran my hand through Mocha's fur.
"Hey, babe. How was your day?"
I let out a breath as I snuggled into my pillows. "Relatively uneventful, in a good way, of course. How's your preppy school?"
"Well, I've been doing some digging. I pulled copies of Stonewall Prep's literary magazine from the year that my grandpa and Mr. DuPont attended. In the table of contents, it lists, 'A story written by Forsythe the First,' but it was torn out. It's like every trace of his writing at Stonewall Prep is just gone."
I bit my lip as I thought over the possibilities. "Jug, where did your grandpa go to school after he left Stonewall?"
"Riverdale High."
"Wasn't there a literary magazine prior to Blue and Gold?" I asked.
"I'll be there in the morning."
--
Prior to meeting Jughead at Riverdale High the next morning, I had agreed on meeting Veronica at the Pembrooke to give Mom a surprise we conjured. The apartment was relatively silent as I walked in, only to spot Mom sitting at the dining table.
"Buenos días, mi madre (Good morning, my mother)," I said as I took a seat across from her, setting my bag at my feet. "¿Cómo estás? (How are you?)"
"Bien, hija, (Fine, daughter)" She responded before taking a sip of her tea.
"I have a surprise for you," Veronica interrupted as she stepped into the room before setting her purse and the gift bag on the table. Her movements to pull out the chair stopped short. "Are those..." I followed her gaze to the set of suitcases placed among the wall that I hadn't even noticed in my arrival.
"Mine," Hiram's voice answered as he stepped out of his old study. As Veronica and I turned to face Mom, she was suddenly out of words. "I'm moving back in. Your mother and I-"
I shook my head and interrupted as I held up a finger to pause him, "No. I wanna hear it from her." My sister nodded in agreement before taking a seat between us.
"Girls," Mom began, "I have invited your father back."
Veronica shook her head next to me, disappointment clear on her features. "Why? He's a murderer."
Dad's hand settled on Mom's chair as she asked in return, "And what am I?"
"I can't believe you," Veronica burst as she rose to her feet. "We were done with him."
"Mija, can we talk about what this is really about?" Hiram suggested causing Veronica to sigh in annoyance. "Your sister. But you don't need to worry. You're both still my favorites. My little girls. The apples of my eyes. So, rest assured, there is no reason for you to be jealous of her."
"This is a joke," I emphasized, my voice on the brink of exceeding into a yell. "We are not jealous of some polished girl you just brought out of Miami as a pawn, and you don't get the right to even insinuate that I was ever a favorite because you clearly didn't treat me as such. I forgave you, for things I shouldn't have, and you know what?" I slapped my hands to my side as I pushed my chair out and grabbed my bag from the floor. "I can't even believe we're having this conversation."
"You're unbelievable. Both of you," Veronica hissed before she was on my heels and both of us slipped out the front door, making sure to slam it hard behind us.
--
My mood was not the best as I walked into the Blue and Gold office prior to exiting the Pembrooke and stopping to get a coffee to help ease my nerves. Veronica was in a similar mindset, both of us shouting in frustration and crying in the car to get everything out if possible. She broke off to head to the Community Center to help Archie with the adjustments of the new arcade games plus sponsored food from Pop's while I joined Jughead for the day.
"Whoa, who messed up your coffee this morning?" Jughead asked as he watched me flop into my spinny chair in rage. When I glared at him, he held his hands up. "Sorry, just asking."
"Mom's letting Hiram back into the Pembrooke," I answered as I grabbed a few of the old copies of Riverdale's literary magazines. "Obviously, I don't live there, but Veronica's pissed, so I'm pissed, and I can't believe Mom just let him walk back in, but it's fine." I grabbed the bag of food from Pop's to hand to him.
He gave me a grateful smile before digging through it. "Fair reasoning. I'm sorry, Sav. Is Veronica going to permanently move in with you?"
I shook my head as I took a sip of my drink. "I offered, she said she'll consider, but she doesn't want to give Dad a win, which is what she would essentially be doing. So, it's up in the air."
I started flipping through the magazines a little aggressively before Jughead reached over and grabbed my hand to stop me. "Babe, you don't have to do this right now if you don't want to. I can handle it for a bit."
I sighed and rubbed my face. "I'm good, sorry. It's just one thing after another, you know? I'll get over it eventually, I promise." Jughead kept hold of my hand for a few moments longer as the two of us flipped through the pages before he pulled back.
"Wait, hold on. The story in this one is written by Frosty Pajamas," He said as he stared at the paper.
"That's quite the pen name," I laughed as I continued to flip through my copy.
Jughead nodded. "That's my point. Think about it. Frosty is almost an anagram for Forsythe. And pajamas for PJs. P and J, Pendleton and Jones. This is totally the same writing. The syntax, the word choice, even the character names. There's a character in here named Bitsy Bane."
I grabbed the magazine from his hand. "That sounds oddly familiar."
"Yeah, because Bitsy Bane is the neighbor of the Baxter Brothers." He took the copy back before flipping it over. "This was written years before the first Baxter Brothers book. How's that for proof?"
I smiled up at him before grabbing his hands in mine. "Your grandpa wrote Baxter Brothers books."
He nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, yeah he did."
--