Three months ago today we had gotten into my dad's truck and headed out of town. We had taken the last summer vacation before college and traveled the US and even parts of Canada. We intentionally cut off our contact with everyone back home and tried to do our best to just enjoy the time with each other. We both knew it wouldn't be long before we went to college. Somehow, by a divine miracle, we'd made it into the same Journalism program at the same school. We were different people now, then back in May when we left Riverdale.
Rounding the corner that went into the outskirts of town we could see the charred remains of Thornhill had been cleared and finally something new was being built in its place. It had been two years since Cheryl Blossom had burnt the family home in an act of suicidal desperation. As we slowly passed we looked at each other surprised that someone was dumb enough to rebuild on land that was so obviously cursed.
Soon we passed the train station, gone through the south side of town and ended up at Pop's. It hadn't changed, though I wasn't sure why I thought it might have. Pop's had looked exactly the same my entire life. Through the diner windows I could see Archie's face when he saw the truck pull up. I could hear Betty take a nervous breath next to me and started taking the ring I'd given her off of her finger.
"Don't take it off, Betts." I said confused.
"I don't want to tell them in Pop's parking lot. We'll tell them soon." She finished just as Archie ran up to my open window.
"You're back!" He said as I opened my door.
"For now, yeah." I sighed. It was oddly depressing to be back here. Riverdale had started to feel like quick sand. Just when you think you'd be able to leave and live your life somewhere else, it pulls you back.
"Betty!" Veronica said excitedly as she ran up the to the truck. "I've got so much to dish on, you have no idea what you missed!" She said grabbing Betty's arm and pulling her inside the diner. Archie and I followed and before I knew it we were back in the same booth ordering milkshakes and burgers. I watched Betty as she leaned forward on her elbows and listened intently to Ronnie tell her all the gory details of the last summer.
"…so after Penelope died, Chery decided she was going to rebuild Thornhill…" I heard Veronica's voice fade out and just watched Betty. He couldn't help just staring at her sometimes. She started moving in slow motion and I remembered that night in Arizona.
We'd spent the day driving to the Grand Canyon, and by the time we'd made it the sun was just starting to set. We parked at the rim and climbed up on the front of the truck. I could remember my hands were sweating like crazy and I had a gang of butterflies doing backflips in my stomach. I could feel the small box in my jacket pocket and figured I should ask her before the sun had completely set.
"Hey Betts?" I asked quietly next to her.
"What?" She said smiling at me. The sun was falling through her hand and dancing on her face.
"I've been thinking." I started, suddenly I couldn't remember anything I had wanted to say.
"Yeah…?" she said smirking. I stood up and pretended to stretch before turning back around and looking at her.
"The last two and a half years with you have probably been the best two and a half years of my life. You've stood by me when everyone else back home didn't. That means a lot to me."
"Because I love you, Jug." She said still smiling. When I made the decision to finally get down my knee her face turned into complete shock. "What are you doing?" She asked her eyes wide.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" I shot back sarcastically and smiled at her. I pulled the small box out of my jacket pocket and opened it up. She put a hand over her mouth and her eyes started tearing up.
"Will you marry be Elizabeth Cooper?" I asked.
"Jug." She said again looking almost bewildered and confused. That was a good thing, that meant she wasn't expecting this at all. "I don't even know what to say…"
"Saying 'yes' would be a good start." I said nervously.
"Oh! Geez." She said flustered, "of course, Juggie!" She stood up from the hood of the truck and pulled me up from the ground. "yes." She said quietly wrapping her arms around my neck and whispering in my ear. When she pulled away I took the vintage solitaire diamond ring from it's box and put it on her finger.
"God, I've been nervous about this since the day we left Riverdale." I said joking.
"There's no way in the world I could say 'no'." she giggled.
"Can you believe that, Jug?" I snapped back to the present and saw Archie trying to talk to me.
"You all there, Jug?" he joked.
"Yep. All here." I said trying to stay focused. Betty glanced over at me and smiled as she leaned into my side and put her head on my shoulder.
"I really can't believe it. I never thought I'd be studying music at such a good school." He said in disbelief.
"That's because you're awesome, Arch." Betty said.
"You look different." Veronica said suddenly to Betty as we were leaving. I could see her narrow her eyes and look us both up and down. "You're not pregnant, are you?" She asked eyeing me, Betty turned bright red.
"It's called exhaustion, Ronnie. We're exhausted and haven't slept in a decent bed since we left." I joked trying to take the heat off of Betty. Ronnie was smart, for all I knew she'd already figured it out. Besides, it was true. To keep the cost down we'd stayed in some pretty gnarly hotels the last few months.
"Uh huh." She said, "I'll see you guys at dinner then." She said grabbing Archie's arm and sauntering off.
"She is far to perceptive." I said as we got back in the truck. "Just to make sure, you're not…right?"
"Pregnant?" She looked at me indignantly. "No!"
"Just double checking." I joked back at her and realized that I had been holding my breath.
Later the evening I was standing in Betty's bathroom trying to do god knows what with my hair. Betty's parents didn't necessarily hate me, but I wasn't exactly what her parents thought she'd 'settle down' with.
"Relax, Juggie." She said from the bathroom doorway. "It's just my parents."
"Exactly, Betts. I think I'm more nervous about telling them, than I was to ask you in the first place." I said putting my beanie back on and deciding to just cover it all up.
"I can tell." She smiled as we headed down the stairs.
Before I knew it, we were back around the Cooper dinner table. Alice and Hal Cooper sat at either end like bookends to the new 'most popular' and 'talked about' family in town. When the Blossom's imploded, they'd taken over the syrup business when Hal brought his lawyers to the Thornhill doorstep. Turned out that he was the next surviving blood relative to the company. Some say that was what caused Penelope to drive her car off a ledge and into Sweetwater river, the same river where her son had been found a couple of years before. Cheryl couldn't wait to be rid of everything that had caused her family so much grief over the years and happily signed away all of her rights to the company. She'd had the only condition of keeping the land at Thornhill to rebuild and try to start living her life again.
They'd added extra room for Archie and Veronica, since Polly and the twins had just recently moved out. As we all took our places at the table I felt a lump forming in my throat. I didn't even realize that Alice was speaking to me until Betty elbowed me in the ribs.
"I'm sorry?" I said snapping out of it.
"The road trip? I assume it was ok, especially since we didn't hear from either of you all summer." She carefully cut her pork chop and placed it in her mouth.
"Oh yeah, it was great!" Betty said jumping to answer her mother. Archie kept looking at me weird from across the table.
"Uh, yeah. We actually got the chance to go up to Canada and spend a few days in Montreal." I said trying to be normal.
"Well, then I guess it's a good thing you took your passport after all." Hal interjected, sounding like he'd been as out of it as I was. I remember when we left that Betty had an argument with her mother about needing her Passport.
"I loved Montreal when I went Freshman year. The architecture was incredible and I couldn't get over all the cobblestone streets. It's very impressive." Ronnie said. She always knew how to impress parents, friends, teachers…anyone.
"What did you do this summer, Archie?" Alice asked sweetly. You could tell she was still hoping that he'd be the one who would be with her daughter. She had always preferred Archie. Betty had even told me once that she thought part of the reason she'd been so lovesick over Archie half her life was because of her mother.
"I actually went to a summer program in Boston to study music for a few weeks. It was great." He said before an awkward silence fell over the table. Everyone had just about finished their dinner when Betty spoke up again.
"Mom?" she asked to get her attention, "Dad?"
"Hm?" Her mother said without really looking up from her last few green beans.
"Jug and I have some news…" she said slowly. Here we go, prepare for the wrath of Alice Cooper.
"I knew it!" Veronica blurted out before she quietly sat back and looked slightly embarrassed by her giddiness.
"We're engaged." I said nervously as Betty held her hand up for her mom to see. She grabbed my hand under the table and squeezed. Archie started laughing to himself, probably at the fact that I looked like I was going to throw up from the nerves. Her mother took her hand and started inspecting the ring on her daughter's finger.
"Oh!" Alice said surprised. "Well, that's not what I was expecting you to say." She said clearing her throat and standing up from the table. "I guess I should at least be happy that you didn't get knocked up like your sister."
Her response immediately made me go from nervous to furious. I had expected her to not approve, but I didn't expect her to be so condescending while she was at it. Just as I was about to finally say something I was probably going to regret, Hal spoke up from his bored silence at the other end of the table.
"Congratulations." Hal said smiling.
"Thanks, Mr. Cooper." I said trying to smile and enjoy that at least her father wasn't kicking my ass. Veronica and Archie were awkwardly sitting on the other side of the table looking at each other and back at us.
"Don't thank me, Jughead. It's great news, but I don't think that's going to be happening." He said standing up and walking into the kitchen after Alice.
"What just happened?" Archie asked quizzically. I saw Betty's face change from excitement, to shock, to disappointment in a matter of seconds. That was the last thing I needed to see, they weren't going to treat her that way and get away with it.
"Mr. Cooper." I said slightly louder than I expected to be.
"This isn't up for discussion, Jughead." He said still angry.
"With all do respect Mr. Cooper, that's bullshit." I said leaning forward on the table.
"Excuse me?" Alice said coming from the kitchen with her arms crossed.
"You heard me." I said starting to ball my fists. "The last time I checked, we didn't need your permission." I could see that Hal was trying to think of something to say. Veronica looked at me trying to not show the pride she felt in someone speaking their mind.
"I said you're not marrying my daughter. That's the end of it." Hal said again.
"Dad…" Betty tried to say, but I stopped her.
"No, Betts. Mr. Cooper, I know I've never been the guy you saw your daughter ending up with." I said sternly, "I know that in high school I didn't have a lot going for me and I've never exactly had a family name that I could be proud of." I saw him try again to say something but I stood up. "Your daughter has changed everything for me, and she's changed me into someone I look back on and be proud of. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have this scholarship to NYU. If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't be going to college at all." I felt my eyes start to sting and I tried my best to keep it together, I could see Veronica and Archie looking proud. At least they thought I was doing the right thing, because I wasn't sure I was. "Your daughter saved me, Mr. Cooper, and there's nothing you can really say or do to make me love her any less than I do. She's believed in me, pushed me, and made me who I am, and I'm not about to ever let that go." I said a single tear coming down my cheek as I stalked out of the room and out the front door. I could hear Betty behind me as I got outside and got in the truck.
"Where are you going, Jug?" She asked her eyes red and her mascara was starting to run down her face.
"Anywhere." I said putting both hands on the wheel, I needed to get out of here. I was starting to feel like just being in Riverdale was starting to suffocate me. Betty came around the other side of the truck and opened the door.
"What are you doing?" I said looking at her exhausted.
"Going with you." She said sitting down and closing the door.
"No you're not, Betts. Not tonight." I said quietly staring at the steering wheel.
"They'll get over it, Juggie. We can come back tomorrow and talk with them."
"I think it's probably going to take longer than a few hours for them to calm down." She sighed loudly and moved to the center of the bench seat. She put a hand on my face and turned my head towards her. She had one of those determined looks she gets when she knows she's right.
"Nothing they say is ever going to change how I feel about you. Not my parents, and certainly not this town. Did you mean all those things you said in there? What you said to my dad?" She asked.
"Of course, I did Betts. You know that." I said afraid to make direct eye contact with her.
"Then that's all I need to know. Go to your dad's trailer for tonight. I'll stay here tonight and maybe I can talk some sense into my mom."
"What if you can't." I said not wanting to think about any other possibilities.
"Then we're eighteen. We will go to college, plan a wedding, and make sure everyone we love can be there for it." She kissed me and as usual it instantly made my cynical nature feel more optimistic about everything. "I'll see you in the morning, ok?" She said as she backed up and got out of the truck.
"Betts?"
"What?"
"I love you." I said quietly to her.
"I love you too, Juggie." She smiled and went back into the house.