Chapter 32: Moving Forward
******Friday Morning******
When Veronica woke up the next morning, Logan wasn't in bed with her. She got up searching for him and smiled when she found him in the living room feeding Richie. He was so good with him. When they were in high school, she never would've dreamed he'd become such an incredible man. Back then, she felt she was attracted to him despite who he was. Now he was everything she could ever want.
"Good morning," Logan said. "The little guy woke up very hungry."
Veronica leaned down to drop a kiss on his forehead. Then she gave Logan a kiss. "Have you had breakfast?" she asked.
Before he could reply, the doorbell rang. Veronica was speechless when she opened it and saw her mother, Leanne Mars, whom she hadn't seen since the day she stole the $50,000 check from her and her dad.
"Mom?"
"Hey, baby. I'm sorry for not calling, but I was afraid you wouldn't want to see me. I've been dying to come visit since Logan came to see me," Leanne said, giving her an unsure smile.
"Who is it?" Logan called out.
Veronica couldn't find the words to answer him; she was still in shock.
Leanne decided to take a chance and stepped forward and embraced her daughter. She knew her daughter may run her off, but it'd been too long since she'd got to hug her only child.
Logan got up with Richie to see who was at the door. He smiled to see Veronica's mom embracing her.
"Leanne, come in," he called out. Veronica stepped back and turned to look at Logan. He could tell she was unsure and didn't know how to react.
"I didn't want to come and cause problems on Thanksgiving, but I got off a few days for work. I thought I'd come and see you. Logan said it'd be okay," Leanne said haltingly.
Veronica finally found her voice. "It is. It's good to see you," she said to her mom. She even managed to offer her a small smile.
Leanne noticed the baby. "Who does this sweet boy belong to?" she asked Veronica.
"This is Richie. He's our nephew. Trina, Logan's sister, lives here. She wanted to go to New York for Thanksgiving, so we are watching him," Veronica asked.
It was obvious to Leanne that Veronica adored the baby. "I was so sorry to hear you lost your baby," Leanne said. "Logan called me. How are you doing?"
Veronica shrugged. "It's been pretty awful. We were so excited. It was a boy," Veronica shared.
"Come inside and sit down," Logan said, gesturing. Logan purposely sat on the chair, so that Veronica would be forced to sit down next to her mother.
Leanne reached out and took Veronica's hand. "I had a miscarriage once. It was before I met your father. It was why I never wanted to have more children after you. It was too painful. Your dad wanted more kids so badly, but I thought it was too risky. We had one perfect daughter. Why tempt fate?" Leanne shared.
Veronica was surprised by her mom's words. "Did Dad know this? He never told me," Veronica said.
Leanne shook her head. "No. I never told him. It was never easy to talk about. I was young and in love so completely with the baby's father. My world shattered when I lost the baby. People acted like I should just forget about it because I hadn't been so far along. 'These things happen,' was said so many times to me I wanted to scream," Leanne said.
Veronica's eyes flashed a moment to Logan's. This was exactly how she'd been feeling. Logan gave her a smile of encouragement. "That's how I feel," she admitted. "Richie both helps and hurts me. It makes me sad to know what I've lost. I'm afraid."
"It does get easier. The fear never left me completely, but you're so much stronger than me," Leanne said.
"I'm going to go put Richie to down. I'll be back," Logan said, getting up.
"I just got up. If you don't mind waiting a bit, let me get changed. We'll spend some time catching up," Veronica offered.
Leanne smiled eagerly. "That would be wonderful. Thanks," Leanne said.
"Feel free to go through the sliding door and sit on the balcony. It's a fantastic view," Logan suggested, pointing.
Veronica followed Logan into the baby's room. He put Richie in his crib and gave him his favorite chew toy to gnaw on.
"Did you know she was coming?" Veronica asked.
"No. I extended an open invitation, though," Logan said. "I actually expected her to come sooner."
"I can't believe she's here," Veronica admitted as they walked to her room. She grabbed some clothes and quickly changed.
"Are you okay with her being here?" Logan asked in concern.
"I guess. I mean it's good to see her. It's been so long. I was forgetting what she looked like," Veronica admitted. "She looks good. Much better than the last time she was here."
"Yes, her eyes are clear. She really is sober," Logan said. "I think you should give her a chance."
"I'll try," Veronica said.
Logan gave her a hug. "That's all anyone expects you to do. Talk to her. You need to get some things out in the open if you ever want to move forward," Logan advised.
Logan and Veronica went back into living room. Leanne was still sitting on the couch. "Would you like a tour?" Veronica suggested.
Leanne smiled and got up. They showed her the place and explained about Dick's recent decision to move out due to their wedding coming up.
"Congratulations. Logan told me you were engaged. I was a bit surprised. I figured it'd take him longer to settle down," Leanne said with a smile at Logan.
"What can I say? I know what I want, and we've had to grow up kind of fast," Logan said.
"That's true," Leanne said, looking sad at the thought.
"Trina's room is free, Mom, if you want to stay the weekend. She'll be back on Sunday," Veronica said.
"We hope," Logan added.
"I need to be back Sunday morning, so I can only stay one night," Leanne said.
"Let's go get your bag," Veronica said. They walked out to her car and grabbed her stuff. Then they showed her the room.
"Did you drive all night?" Logan asked Leanne.
"Well, I drove down yesterday. I stayed at a hotel last night. I figured today would be soon enough to stop by," Leanne said.
"I'm glad you did," Veronica said.
"Really?" Leanne asked hopefully.
"Yeah, you shouldn't have stayed gone so long," Veronica said pointedly. Leanne gave her a sad smile.
"So have you had breakfast?" Logan asked, stepping into the awkward moment.
"Just coffee," Leanne said.
"Why don't we go out for breakfast and catch up?" Logan suggested. He knew Veronica would need some time before she felt comfortable being alone with her mother.
Both ladies thought that was a good idea. Leanne was just grateful her daughter didn't slam the door in her face.
"Do you want to come with me while I get Richie ready? Logan takes longer to get ready for his day than I do," Veronica said with a smirk.
"Some of us take pride in our appearance," Logan said pointedly.
"There's pride, then there's narcissism," Veronica said with a snicker.
Leanne laughed at the two of them and followed Veronica into Richie's room.
"You can help me pick out an outfit. I always have trouble making up my mind. He's got the cutest little outfits," Veronica said. She opened his closet and pointed out the clothes to her mother.
"I always loved dressing you up. When I first brought you home from the hospital, I spent hours and hours putting all your cute outfits on. Your father had to remind me you weren't a doll. But it was so much fun," Leanne said, smiling at the memory.
Veronica felt strange hearing her mother reminisce about her. It brought up mixed emotions in her. However, she wanted to give this a chance, so she just smiled.
The two women found that focusing on Richie made the awkwardness between them less severe. After dressing him in his little sailor outfit with matching hat, Leanne volunteered to play with him while Veronica finished putting herself together.
They spent the day talking and sharing about the events of their lives since her mother left. They avoided talking about the issues between them. It seemed a fragile truce was built between them, and neither was willing to rock the boat. Veronica resisted Logan's efforts to leave them alone together.
That night as they got into bed, Logan asked, "So how are you holding up?"
"I'm okay. I am still having trouble believing she's really here, but she does seem so much better," Veronica said.
"Yes, that's what I thought," Logan said.
"Do you think Jake got her pregnant? They were in love in high school. She wasn't even sure dad was my father when she had me, so I don't know if they ever completely broke things off," Veronica said.
"Probably. From what you said, Celeste got pregnant with Lilly before they were married. Jake was a busy little bee," Logan said smirking.
"I guess it doesn't matter," Veronica said, laying her head down on Logan's chest.
"She's going to be going home tomorrow. You needed to really talk before she leaves," Logan said.
Veronica sighed. "Yeah, I know. I will. It was good to just talk today and catch up. It's been too long," Veronica said.
"So I did the right thing going to see her and inviting her to come in for a visit?" Logan asked.
"I never would've, so yeah, I guess," Veronica said.
"That's all the thanks I get?" Logan asked.
"You went behind my back," Veronica reminded him. "I don't reward sneakiness."
"How about rewarding my pure awesomeness?" he suggested.
Veronica looked up at him and laughed. Then she moved and laid back. "How about you convince me of that awesomeness?" she suggested coyly.
Logan grinned wolfishly and moved over her. "I think I can do that," he said confidently. Then he began kissing her.
******The Next Day******
When Veronica got up the next morning, she smelled bacon. She went into the kitchen and smiled to see an almost forgotten sight. Her mother was fixing breakfast.
"I hope it's okay. I'm making pancakes. The bacon is already done," Leanne said.
Logan was holding Richie at the table. "I already stole a piece. It's good," he said.
Veronica held her arms out for the baby. Logan passed him off to her. She kissed him and began talking to him.
"Trina called. She said she will definitely be back tomorrow," Logan said.
"That's good," Veronica said.
"It's ready," Leanne said bringing a plate full of pancakes and one full of bacon to the table.
After breakfast, Veronica suggested they go for a walk on the beach while Logan stayed with Richie.
Leanne knew that this was the first time Veronica had been willing to be alone with her and anxiously agreed.
They walked along in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Veronica said, "I want things to be okay between us, but I still feel hurt and abandoned by you. You chose alcohol over me."
Leanne stopped and looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Veronica. I'm not strong. I never have been. When your father turned the investigation into Lilly's death toward the Kanes, we lost everything. And I liked our life."
"So did I. I was the one who lost my best friend. I lost all my friends and spent two years of high school being tormented. I was even drugged and raped at a party and had no mother to turn to. How do you think I felt?" Veronica asked bitterly, her anger rising to the surface.
Leanne's eyes fill with tears at her daughter's words. "God, I'm sorry! I hate myself, Veronica. I left because I was scared for you. The alcohol gave me courage to stay away. Eventually, it became everything to me. I know that just seems like an excuse to you, but until you struggled with an addiction yourself, you can't possibly know the hold it can have on you," Leanne said. "My guilt kept me drinking when the fear was gone. I am so very sorry, Veronica." She started to cry in earnest.
Veronica felt her anger dissipate. Compassion for her mother began to replace it, and she reached out and took her hand. "Don't cry, Mom," she said.
"I know it may take you a long time to forgive me for what I did, but I really want a second chance. I promise to do better. I miss you so much," Leanna said earnestly.
"Forgiveness doesn't come easily to me, but I'll try," Veronica said.
Leanne hugged her. "Thank you, Veronica. I know I don't deserve a second chance, but I love you," she said.
Veronica pulled back. "Would you like to come to our wedding on New Year's Eve?" Veronica offered.
Leanne smiled. "I'd love to!" she said happily.
"You gotta clear the air with Dad, though. You stole from him and left twice without a word. He didn't deserve that. He welcomed you back after the first time, and you did it to him again. To both of us," Veronica said.
Leanne winced. "How can I ever face him?
"You'll have to find a way. When you left, he was laid up in the hospital with severe injuries. Injuries he received saving my life. We had a terrible time paying the hospital bill. If it wasn't for his book, we would've lost everything," Veronica said.
"I'm going to start paying the money back," Leanne promised.
"Good," Veronica said in relief. Talking to her mother felt cathartic. A weight she'd been carrying so long lifted, so she smiled at her mother, happy to connect with her once again.
A few hours later, she and Logan said goodbye to Leanne.
"You can come back for Christmas if you'd like," Veronica offered.
"I'd love to," Leanne said. She gave her daughter one last hug and got in the car. As she pulled onto the road, she looked at the address Logan had given her. One last stop to make before she left town.
Not long after Leanne left, Dick arrived.
"How was Vegas?" Logan asked.
"Good. I won $1000 and Dad only lost $100, so we considered it a success," Dick said with a grin. He reached out to take Richie from Veronica. "I'm going to miss the little guy."
"You don't have to leave, Dick. This is your home," Veronica said for the tenth time.
"Hey, it's been great. Much better living with you than I thought it would be!" Dick told her with a grin. "But it's cool. Dad's stoked that I'm moving back. I talked to Weevil about moving into the pool house."
"He said yes?" Logan asked in surprise.
"Well, he didn't say no," Dick said with a shrug. "He'll come around. Wally's moving in today, so I'm going to start taking some stuff over."
"I'll help," Logan said.
"Cool. We're going to celebrate our new move with a pool party tomorrow afternoon. It's supposed to be in the 80's all weekend. Mackie says it's an Indian summer. Not sure what it has to do with Indians, but I got the pool guy coming over today to give it a cleaning. Mac's going to bring the food. Ronnie, will you call Duncan and everyone?" Dick asked her.
"Yes, I can do that. I'll tell Duncan to bring Lilly, so she can play with Richie," Veronica said.
"We can stop by Alicia's and borrow the bouncy chair since he's too young to throw in the pool," Logan said with a grin.
"It doesn't matter how old he is, you can't throw him in the pool!" Veronica said with disapproval.
"How else will he learn how to swim?" Dick asked with a wink as he lifted Richie above his head, making him smile. He kicked out his legs and waved his arms excitedly.
"Richie will miss you, so you'll have to come by often," Veronica said.
"Will do. You better take little man, so we can start moving some stuff," Dick said, handing him back to Veronica.
"There's some boxes in the garage," Veronica said.
"I'll go grab them," Logan offered.
******Sunday Afternoon******
Dick grinned. Mac was wearing a tank top and a pair of boy shorts that he found as sexy as hell. She and Thea had taken over the grille, insisting that girls could grille just as well as boys. Daisy was calling out pointers. Dick walked up behind Mac and kissed the nape of her neck.
"Remember, you can burn the outside and have the inside still be raw," Dick said, sharing his experience.
Mac laughed. "I remember," she said. She gave her spatula to Thea and turned around to kiss Dick. "I missed you. It's been a while since we went a few days without seeing each other."
"Hey, you could've came," Dick reminded her. Then he whispered, "Didn't I make that up to you last night?"
Mac giggled. "I'm not complaining," she said.
Veronica and Logan appeared with Richie. "Look who's finally arrived," Mac said, waving.
Veronica waved back and saw that everyone was already here. Piz and Parker were in the deep end of the pool playing around. Duncan was sitting on the edge of the shallow end while Lily splashed around in her floaties near enough that he could grab her if she got into trouble. Veronica could tell Duncan was brooding as he watched Parker obviously enjoy herself with Piz.
Logan set up the bouncy chair and put Richie in it. Veronica walked over to Mac, Thea, and Daisy. The girls chatted and talked about their Thanksgivings.
"How are you doing?" Veronica asked Daisy.
She shrugged. "I'm okay. It was good to see my family. Did you know Mac and Parker asked me to be their new roommate next semester?" Daisy told her.
"Really? That's great!" Veronica said. She looked over at the pool. Logan had sat on the edge of the pool and was dangling Richie's feet in the water in front of Lily who was laughing in delight.
"It's not easy for Duncan to be around Parker and Piz," Veronica observed.
"Maybe I should take his mind off of things," Daisy said with a saucy grin. She sauntered over to Duncan's other side. She stepped out of her sandals and sat down next to him. "Hey, good-looking," she said.
Lily waved at her. "Hey, Daisy! Come swim with me!" Lily ordered.
"Okay. Let me talk to your daddy first," Daisy said, smiling at her.
"How are you doing?" Duncan asked her. He could tell that she didn't have her normal sparkle. She had on a yellow and purple two piece. "You look good."
She preened. "Of course! I always look good," she said proudly.
Duncan tugged on her ponytail. "I've never seen you in a ponytail. It's a cute look for you," Duncan said, smiling at her.
"Well, I don't enjoy getting it wet, but I'll splash around a bit in the pool," Daisy admitted.
"I'm sorry about you and Jason. He's an idiot," Duncan said.
"I know," Daisy said. She looked at Parker and Piz on the other side of the pool and that Parker was watching them. Daisy moved closer to Duncan and watched Parker frown. She turned and laughed up at Duncan. "So are you still hung up on Parker?"
Duncan looked at Parker, who quickly looked away from him. "Yea. Not that is does me any good. She's pretty happy with Piz," he said.
"She's not indifferent to you. She was frowning at us a minute ago," Daisy said. She put her hand on Duncan's arm. "Watch." Daisy touched Duncan like she was coming on to him.
Duncan watched Parker, who glanced at them, clearly not happy. He grinned at Daisy. "You may be right," he remarked.
"Of course, I am!" Daisy said arrogantly. Then she hopped off the edge of the pool and began to play with Lily.
Parker was watching them with a frown. Piz noticed. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing. Did I tell you that Mac and I are going to have Daisy move in Jazmin's spot at the house?" she said, trying to hide her unhappiness at seeing Duncan with another girl.
"That's good. She's a great girl. A lot of fun. But she's got a wicked temper. Jason was pretty upset when he left for Thanksgiving," Piz said.
"She seems to be handling things okay," Parker said. They watched her and Lily splashing Duncan. Then Dick did a cannon ball into the pool splashing everyone and the battle was on.
Just as the food was done, Weevil arrived.
"Just in time! Chow is ready!" Dick told him.
"Yes, I can see that. Looks like everyone is here," he said, observing. Veronica waved at him. "You're late!" she yelled.
"I'm here, aren't I?" he said.
Wallace gave him a fist bump. "How was your Thanksgiving?" Wallace asked.
"Good. I ate too much," Weevil said.
"Didn't we all?" Wallace said, grinning. "Have you talked to Jazmin? How's she doing?"
"She spent the last few days at home, and she'll be checked into a counseling center tomorrow," Weevil shared.
"How long will she be there?" Wallace asked.
"She's in the nut house?" Dick asked in surprise.
"No! It's a place to help girls that struggle with things," Weevil said sourly.
Wallace jammed his elbow into Dick's side. "Why would you say that, Dick? Think before opening your mouth!" Wallace said in annoyance.
"He can't help it. He's got a pea-sized brain!" Weevil said, rolling his eyes.
"Sorry, dude! I didn't mean anything by it," Dick said sheepishly.
"I know," Weevil said. "Jazmin will be there as long as she needs to be, I guess."
"So are you gonna join us, dude? Wally's already moved in. I had the housekeeper clean out the pool house. It's all ready if you wanna move in," Dick said.
"My grandmother told me that I'd be an idiot for passing up your offer. I'm trying to save money. If I move in with you, I can put some money aside," Weevil said.
"Awesome!" Dick said, slapping him on the shoulder. "Move in whenever you want. Now or after the holidays."
"Ah, Dick, did you invite Madison Sinclair?" Wallace asked as he watched her come through the gate next to the house.
"Hell, no!" he exclaimed. She walked over to Veronica and Logan.
They walked over to watch the fireworks. Mac went up to her. "What's wrong? Is Lauren okay?" she asked in concern.
"She's fine. I'm the one that is being tormented!" Madison fumed.
"What happened?" Mac asked.
"Lauren and I were at the mall Black Friday shopping. When we came back out, my car was gone!" she shared.
"Someone stole your car?" Mac asked in surprise.
"Yeah, like you don't know!" Madison said bitterly.
"Why would I steal your car? How would I steal your car? I never go to the mall on Black Friday. I hate shopping unless it's for electronics," Mac said.
Madison stomped over to Logan and Veronica. "What did you do with my car?" she asked them.
"What? You lost it? Forget where you parked it? You need to quit smoking the weed, Madison. It makes you stupid," Veronica said with a smirk.
Madison took a deep breath, knowing she wouldn't get anywhere with them if she lost her temper. "Please, I need my car. My parents will not be getting me another one," Madison said.
"Don't you have insurance?" Logan asked.
"My dad refuses to file a claim. I know you guys are behind it. Please, I want it back!" Madison said.
"Well, she did say please," Veronica said, grinning at Logan.
"Sugarpuss, you know we didn't touch her car. We've had Richie the past few days," Logan reminded her.
"True," Veronica said. "I've never actually jacked a car before."
"Me either," Logan said. "Sorry, Madison. Can't help you."
Madison wanted to scream, but she just glared and turned around to leave. She knew they were behind it but was powerless to do anything about it. She hated feeling this way. Mac tried to talk to her, but she was too mad.
When Madison left, Mac turned to them. "What did you guys do?" she asked.
"We didn't actually do anything," Logan said.
"So her car really was stolen?" Mac asked in surprise.
"I didn't say that," Logan said with a smirk.
"What did you do?" Mac asked in disapproval.
"Let's not fight," Veronica said. "To be honest, I set something in motion weeks ago. I kind of forgot about it."
"Great!" Mac said sourly. Dick put his arm around her. "Don't let Maddie's drama bother you."
Mac pursed her lips but didn't say anything. When was this going to end?
*****Later in the Evening*****
When Logan and Veronica returned home from the pool party, Richie was asleep.
"He had too much fun," Logan said, smiling at him in the carrier. He set it down on the coffee table.
"We should let him sleep for an hour but wake him up, or he'll be up all night," Veronica said.
The front door opened, and Trina stepped in carrying bags. "I'm home!" she yelled.
"Good to see you," Logan said.
"Did you have fun?" Veronica asked.
"Oh, so much fun! They had the best deals on Black Friday! I got Richie the cutest clothes! We went to this hot new club last night! It was a blast!" Trina said enthusiastically.
"You didn't call much," Veronica said with disapproval.
"Oh, did you miss me?" Trina asked with a grin.
"Richie did. He was very fussy the first night you were gone," Veronica said.
Trina grinned. "Ah, that's sweet. I missed him, too!" she said. She bent down in the carrier and picked him up.
"You did?" Veronica said doubtfully.
"Of course, I did! But I knew he was perfectly happy with you and Logan. It's not like I dumped my kid with strangers!" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. She smothered him with kisses, waking him up. "How's my sweet boy?"
"We had him at a pool party for the past few hours. He's tuckered out," Logan told her.
"I'll take him bed with me. I'm pretty wiped myself. Thanks for watching him," Trina said.
"No problem. It was our pleasure," Logan said.
She smiled and swept out of the room with her son.
Logan sat down next to Veronica on the couch. He put her arm around her.
"I don't get her, Logan. I really don't," Veronica said warily. She laid her head down on his shoulder.
"She's who she's always been. No one's perfect, Veronica. She's doing a good job with him. It may not be exactly what we'd do all the time, but we asked her to stay here because we wanted to help," Logan said. "You can't judge her for taking our help."
"I know. I just don't understand her," Veronica said. "I'd never want to leave our son for a single day."
"That's because you would be the most incredible and amazing mother on the planet," Logan said, kissing her.
"I never thought I would be," she admitted. "I don't want to be like my mom, Logan."
"You're nothing like her," Logan said.
"I don't want to be afraid to have the family we want," she said.
"There's plenty of time for that. You have grad school still to get through and three more semesters at Hearst," he reminded her.
"True, but I don't think I want to wait until graduate school is over to start a family. I think after we graduate will be a good time," Veronica told him.
"Whatever you want," he told her sincerely. He was just so glad to hear her talking about having children again. He was glad that Leanne's visit had not upset her. Instead, her mother had actually done her some good for a change.
*****Chapter End*****
I know some of you were expecting Leanne to bring drama, but that was never my intentions. I have read too many stories that make her out to be almost as bad as Aaron. I never saw her as that. I just saw her as someone who was weak, but someone Veronica loved deeply. I have many addicts in my family, so I know more than I want to know about dealing with them. I know some are less forgiving than me, but I want Veronica to come full circle in this story. Brining her mom back is part of her journey. I hope you weren't disappointed.