A knock on the apartment door startled Piz. He wasn't expecting Veronica until late Wednesday, after she had finished the bar.
"Who is it?" he called out as he headed across the apartment to the door.
"Uh, delivery. For a Stash Pigorosky."
"Look, dude, it's Sto..."
Piz opened the door to see a smiling Wallace Fennel on the other side.
"Special delivery, that is," Wallace grinned.
"Dude, what are you doing here? Come in, come in."
"Well, I'm in town for a couple of days and thought I'd drop in on my bud."
Piz gave him a sideways look and folded his arms in front of his chest.
"Why do you just happen to be in New York?"
"What? Can't a guy visit his old college roommate and best friend that he never sees anymore?"
Piz rolled his eyes and dropped his arms to his side as if in surrender.
"Don't pretend that I don't know what this is all about," Piz replied.
"I had a few free days and I thought I'd ride along with V to see my boy. That's it."
"Uh huh," Piz nodded, moving towards the refrigerator to grab some beers for them. "So you're playing the role of backup. I get it."
"Look, I'm here to see you. To hang. To chill. So you can show me your New York. Does it really matter how or why I got here?"
"Ok, ok, fine," Piz relented, handing Wallace a beer. Both men took a sip and Piz pointed to Wallace's bag.
"You crashing here?" he asked.
"Well, I thought I might if you didn't mind..."
"Of course, Wallace. It's fine. I'm assuming Veronica won't be joining you?"
"Who now? I don't know anyone by that name. We are just two guys, alone in the big, big city for a couple of days."
Playing along with Wallace's obvious avoidance of any discussion about Veronica, Piz commented, "Lucky for you, I can work from home for a couple of days, or you might just be one guy, alone in the big, big city."
"So, how's life treating you these days, man?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought we were avoiding topics pertaining to my disheveled life."
"I'm not avoiding it, I was just trying to remain...neutral."
"Come on, Wallace. This is Veronica we're talking about here. There is no neutral. You two have been friends for a long, long time. I don't expect that you wouldn't still be. But let's not pretend that she doesn't exist and that, currently, she's a very giant pachyderm in this room right now."
"Ok, ok. I get it. But, look, it is definitely not my place to discuss this...whatever this is with you two..."
"You're going to honestly sit there and tell me you haven't discussed 'this' with Veronica?"
"No, I'm not. You know I have. But I won't share that discussion with you. Just like I won't share with her anything you tell me. I'll be there for both of you, if you need me, but I'm not playing referee here. You two gotta work your own shit out."
"Fair enough, Fennel. Let's not talk about Veronica. So, have you eaten yet?"
"Nope. Just got off the plane and headed here."
"So, Veronica is here in New York, too?"
"Um, didn't we just agree..."
"Yep, nevermind that question. How's about you and me head down to this kick-ass pub a couple of blocks away. I think there's a pretty decent game on tonight."
"Lead the way, bro."
...
Hey, Logan. So, I'm in New York. Wallace decided to come with me. He's going to...um, visit a friend while I'm taking my test. It's all sort of utterly pointless. My head has been so rattled these last few weeks, I seriously doubt I have a chance at passing this test. Plus, it's a bit of a waste. I doubt I'll be returning to New York to practice anytime soon. Oh, well, I guess it will be good practice for the California bar if I ever take that one day...ha ha. Dad got moved to a rehab facility just before I left. They say he's progressing well, and if all goes well there, he will be home in a couple of weeks. I'm thrilled, but I have to admit - I'm a little scared. Besides, I haven't lived with Keith Mars in 9 years. How well do you think that's going to work out? :) Oh, well, I guess we'll take it one day at a time just like all the rest. Goodnight. Be safe.
Veronica hit send and closed her laptop. She was going to turn in early. She wasn't sure why, though, since the last time she got a good night's sleep was the night before Logan left for deployment. Those precious weeks they were together before she left was the last time she really felt secure and at peace. Even with her dad in the hospital and his recovery still a long road ahead, being in Logan's arms was the most calm place she could imagine. With her bed empty, so was her heart. This was a pretty major revelation for Veronica and she wasn't sure exactly how to deal with it. So, like most things that were difficult for her to process, she pretended to ignore it. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep, deep sleep. A sleep unlike anything she had known for as long as she could remember, actually. And she dreamed-a lot. The next morning she wouldn't remember details or subject matter, but she could remember one thing - one image that was burned into the very fabric of her brain. She saw Logan...all dressed in his formal whites...smiling...at her.
A hard knock on the door woke Veronica from her deep slumber.
"Wakey, wakey...it's time to shakey..."
"What the hell?" Veronica sat up, alarmed. After she registered where, when, and who - she stumbled towards the door.
"What asshole has a death wish right now?" she uttered through gritted teeth, throwing open the door.
"Good morning, sunshine. It's the same asshole who got up at 6 am, caught a cab, found you coffee, and made it to your hotel room by 6:45 so you could be up and sitting for the bar by 8."
"Oh...that asshole. Why didn't you say so?" she smiled.
Wallace rolled his eyes as Veronica ushered her in.
"How did you know I'd need a wake-up call? And pardon me for sounding extremely ungracious, which I'm not; how'd you manage to get up so early?"
"As much as I'd love to take all the credit for this - it's really Piz you have to thank."
Veronica swallowed hard. "Piz?"
"Apparently he's into this whole early morning workout crap...so when I heard him stumbling and fumbling around I couldn't sleep. I figured with all you've had going on lately, you might be a little too tired, so I figured I'd just make sure you were up and at 'em. Looks like it was a good idea on my part."
Veronica rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, it was. Thanks, Wallace. You've come through for me once again."
"Just exactly how did you survive without me all these years?"
"That's a mystery that yet remains unsolved," Veronica answered with a fake British accent.
"Go shower, girl. You look to' up."
"And there is your morning inspiration provided by the always flattering Wallace Fennel," Veronica said as she made her way to the bathroom.
After a semi-cold shower and a lukewarm cup of coffee, Veronica was ready to began day one of a two-day snooze fest that was the bar exam. To say she dreaded the whole thing would be akin to calling the Battle of Gettysburg a "mild skirmish". The NY bar exam was notoriously hard. Two months ago, Veronica felt somewhat prepared and thought her chances of passing on the first try were pretty good. Now, a lot of water had flowed under that bridge, and she thought it had pretty much floated those chances out to sea. But when you shell out several Benjamins just for the privilege to be put through the ringer - you go get wrung.
"So, I'd wish you luck, but..."
"Veronica Mars don't need no stinkin' luck," she finished in her best Jersey accent.
Wallace grinned.
"Plus, I don't think luck would help at this point," she added. They headed out the door and down to the lobby.
"So you got big plans today?"
"Yeah, Piz had to run into work this morning and square away a few things so he could work from home the next few days. We're going to hang out and do touristy stuff. You know - bars, booze, women...guy stuff."
Veronica rolled her eyes.
"How's he doing?"
Wallace through his hands up in front of his face and waved her off.
"Oh no you don't," he began. "You don't ask about him, he doesn't ask about you. I am not in the middle of this mess. This is my rule. This is the law."
"Okay, Switzerland - chill. I got it. Good rule."
A cab pulled beside them and Veronica opened the door and paused, turning to face Wallace.
"Thanks for coming, Fennel. You did me a solid. I owe you."
"Yeah, you're tab is getting larger than the GNP of many Central American countries," Wallace smirked.
"Duly noted. And when I'm a rich and famous attorney - you'll be the first one I repay," she smiled.
"Can I get that in writing?" he grinned.
Veronica pretended to pat imaginary pockets.
"If only I had a pen, dear Wallace..." she smiled back and lowered herself into the cab.
She drove off waving goodbye as she left.