A knock booms on the door. "Veronica?" I'm genuinely dumbfounded. This is the first time I've seen her or even heard from her in the past four years. I'm a big believer in having a clean break, as that really helped me to get over Geraldine.
Jughead and Betty peer over from the couch, where they've been snuggling and watching a movie. Both of them look as shocked as I feel. After our tumultuous break-up and Mr. Lodge pretty much turning Riverdale upside down, none of us has heard from Ronnie in a while.
"Uh, hi. Come on in." A part of me wishes she had come at a time when I wasn't home. But then again, most of us are home on lazy Sunday afternoons.
"Um, hi, V." I can see Betty desperately trying not to clench her fists too hard. It's what she does when she's nervous. "Would you like some coffee?" Her smile looks more than a little bit forced.
"That would be great. Thanks B!" Ronnie sounds a little too excited, kind of like the nerdy girl who is trying too hard to fit in with the popular girls. I'm used to her sounding the opposite, like she's the one who is in control.
Betty pours coffee with a spoonful of sugar and milk for all. For just a split second, I feel like we are all in high school again and back at Pop's, rather than a musty, cramped New York City apartment we live in as we try to teach, do grad school, and other things associated with the early phases of this thing called "adulting." For just a few minutes, I pretend.
But I've learned the hard way that lying to yourself doesn't help in the long run. It only leads to pain and loss.
"So, what's everyone up to these days?" Ronnie smiles the same way she smiled when Riverdale High tried to make peace with the Serpents.
"Um, well, I'm in journalism school at Columbia!" Betty's voice sounds excited, but also tense and uncomfortable. Ronnie nods, seeming not at all surprised.
"I'm doing a MFA in fiction at NYU," Jug's voice sounds serious and somewhat broody. But then again, that's always how he sounds. Ronnie keeps nodding, almost too enthusiastically, like an out of control bobble head doll.
"I'm teaching high school music, still playing some gigs on the weekends."
"That's no surprise, Archiekins."
That awkward moment when your ex calls you by your old pet name, the one you never really liked to begin with.
"So, um, what are you up to these days, Ronnie?" I'm almost hesitant to ask, after the way things went down with her family. But I do want to know what she's doing for her day job, as her night job is being a Bona Fide Gangster's daughter.
"I'm doing fashion design!" This time, Ronnie's joy is genuine. The career job fits her passions. We all nod.
Ronnie looks directly at me as she gulps down the rest of her coffee that Betty made for her. "So Archie, I was wondering if we could talk...just the two of us. I scoped out a coffee shop nearby."
Oh gosh, what on earth does she have to say to me? That her Dad wants to try to do business with me again? I thought I made it clear that I was done with that. But her eyes look earnest.
I can feel myself sighing. "Okay, Ronnie. Let's do it."
She smiles ear to ear, and my stomach starts to sink. Betty looks at me, wide eyed and scared. Jughead's jaw is firm, and he looks pissed. I know how much he hates the Lodge family.
Why do I have a feeling that I'm going to regret this?
But I believe some people deserve second chances.