"Hold my hand." She grabbed Sweet Pea's hand. She was lying face down on a cot with Nancy standing over her. She was getting the Serpent symbol tattoo in between her shoulders.
"I'm telling you babe after this you'll get addicted to it." He rubs his thumb on the top of her hand.
"Doubtfully." She squeezed her eyes shut while forcing herself to stay still when the needle pushed the ink into her skin.
"Can you stop staring so intensely it makes me nervous." She felt Sweet Pea stare at the gun.
"Sweet Pea stop glaring." Abby didn't want Nancy to make a mistake because of him being overprotective.
"Sorry, I'm just admiring. Not threatening or anything." He had been told by his friends how bad his resting bitch face was. Even if he was relaxed and enjoying something he would look pissed off.
"If you so say." She went back to work. It took 4 hours with all the details Nancy was putting on the snake. One of the amphisbaena heads was spitting venom while the other head had a sweet smile on. She felt like it symbolized Abby.
At this point, she had gotten used to the pain with the help of the numbing cream and she was enjoying the vibration from the gun. "It looks good." Sweet compliment when Nancy was finished.
"Yeah?" She slowly sat up. Sweets held up a hand mirror that was aligned with the one Nancy was holding up to see it. "Oh…" She grabbed the hand mirror from him so she could bring it close to get a better look.
"Say something please…" Nancy shook out her hand which was numb from holding it for so long.
"It's amazing. Thank you." She smiled at her friend. She loves it. There was no way one could look at it and not know it was related to the Serpents, but at the same time, it looked personal to her.
"Really? You like it." She clasped her hands together.
"Absolutely." She hugged her.
Archie was calling for all the kids to gather around in the community center. "Alright, look we know some of you guys have nowhere to go for Thanksgiving. So, we are going to keep the center open tomorrow."
"We're going to have hot meals with all the fixing made by Abby, Mrs. Andrews, and my grandma, so you know it's going to be good." Monroe got the kids excited.
"So tell your friends and family there is an open door policy. Everyone is invited." Archie wanted this place to be filled with love. Abby wasn't sure about letting anyone come. They did have enemies in the community but she was outvoted on the issue. Greg reassured her that they would think of a backup plan in case something happened.
"A true thanksgiving cornucopia." Veronica was showing them all the supplies she brought over. There were crates of vegetables, pies, and rolls, along with professional catering equipment to put the food they made in to keep it warm.
"Ronnie, where did you get all this?" Archie asked.
"I put in a to-go order at the country club. Daddy gave me the idea. I figure this with the things you guys are cooking would be able to feed the kids." She wanted to support him.
"This is great, Ronnie, thanks." Abby smiles.
Monroe laughs while picking up the deep fryer. "Red, tell me this doesn't mean you're deep-frying a Thanksgiving Turkey?"
"Yes, I am." Archie smiled. He knew how some people thought it was a slap in the face to tradition, but for Andrews, it was the opposite. "My dad would do one every year."
"Best damn turkey I ever tasted." FP came in through the front door.
"You should come by tomorrow, Mr. Jones." Archie invited him.
"Archie, that's what we need to talk about. I hate to do this but I'm under orders to shut you down." FP walks over to them.
"What? Orders from who?" Abby tilts her head.
FP looked at Veronica. "Let me guess, the Mayor?" She sighs.
He nods his head. "You have to be kidding me." Archie scoffs. "He can't do this."
"Yes, he can. He's the mayor. He can do anything. And, technically the attack on Dodger is an open investigation. So, this is still an active crime scene, plus, Hiram said with the ice storm coming no one will be allowed to leave their houses tomorrow." He told them.
"He's doing this to punish me. He wants to force me to spend the holiday with him." Veronica knew what this was about.
"What if we invite him?" Abby said, making everyone look at her. "It would be great for both of us. He would look good as the Mayor for spending Thanksgiving with the less fortunate. It would do us some good in the public eye to have the mayor backing us."
"That's a good idea." FP nods. "If that doesn't work I know what I would do in your situation. Screw him!"
"I'm sorry, but Hiram Lodge is not going to cancel Thanksgiving." Archie smiles.
"Good man, you two are doing your dad proud." He tips his hat as he walks out.
"Are you okay?" Abby asked Veronica who looked sad. They were setting up the tables at the center.
"I invited my dad. I told him we could get the newspaper to write about him being there. He said no. I hate myself for getting my hopes up that he'll do the right thing." She looks up to try and stop the tears.
"Sometimes parents feel like if they bend to their child's will then they're being bad parents. Especially after they stated their rules." She put down the centerpieces. "I think most parents, including yours… They think they are doing what is best for you."
"You think he has good intentions." She narrowed her eyes.
"There are men like my dad, who believe that you should behave how you want the world to be. You should treat others how you want to be treated. He told us to try and do the right thing no matter how hard it is because that is the only way there can be change. Then there are men like your dad, who can't live in that hope whether it is because they don't believe in it or because they never had the privilege of seeing kindness. Those men live in the reality of what the world is and they do what they have to get ahead." She honestly couldn't say who was right in their point of view. She saw what living in hope had done to her dad. "Your dad wants to destroy that hope in you because he doesn't want you to get hurt by the world. He didn't realize that hurting you himself is worse than the pain it would be from anyone else."
"That is very insightful. Thank you." She thought her dad enjoyed fighting for dominance. She didn't think of him trying to look out for her.
"No problem. I have been comparing them a lot lately. I didn't know if he was foolish or noble." She sighs.
"For what it's worth. I think your dad was very noble and courageous. He never folded, no matter what he was faced with. He is probably the last fairy tale prince to walk this earth." She smiled.
"Yeah, he really was." She didn't know if she wanted to be that noble anymore. When she thought about all the people who depend on her, she felt like she owed it to them to do what she had to so they could survive in this cold world.
"I can't believe how great this is turning out." Archie looked at the kids smiling and having fun with their family and friends.
"Yeah, it's a beautiful sight." Sweets nods with his usual expression.
"You got to smile when you say something like that, man, or it just comes off as sarcastic." Archie chuckled, making his sister join in.
"Oh, come on. I've been trying to be more approachable so the little kids will be more comfortable around me but I can't help my face." He noticed how the little kids never came to him for help. Only the teenage boys were interested in talking to him. The teenage girls would only giggle while staring.
"I know, baby, I know." She giggled. "It's hard to remember to smile."
"Is it?" Archie continues to tease.
Eddie walks over to them. "Hey Sweets, see those people over there." He points towards his chest so they would know to look behind him.
He glanced over. "The old chick and the two creepy-looking dudes."
"Yeah, I've seen them at the arcade. They're Dodger's family." He told them.
"Are you sure?" Archie asked. He nods. "Be cool, I'll see what's up?" He looks at Sweets and Abby. She texted a gif of the Charlie Brown gang eating at the Thanksgiving table to the Serpent group chat. It was the code that Greg came up with if they spotted any trouble today because of the open-door policy. It was a way to let them know to surround the perimeter. Sweets texted Archie so they would know where they needed to focus.
Archie walks up to the woman. He spoke in a calm voice, not wanting to cause a scene. "I'm not sure what you're here for, but you and your boys need to leave. We got kids here, we don't want any trouble."
"We don't want any trouble either." Darla pulled out a gun and dropped it on the table to get everyone's attention. "But, we've come for the man who tried to kill our Dodger. Got a feeling he's you or one of your friends."
"I swear to you, no one here tried to hurt Dodger." Archie wouldn't blame Mr. Lodge, especially in front of Veronica.
"Well, someone did and whoever it is, he got a real soft spot for this place." Dodger's brother with long hair glares.
"We think if we hang out here long enough he'll show up." The brother with the short hair smirks at him.
Once she got the nod from Fangs, she took center stage. "He, he, he…. That's where you're wrong because it's a she." She giggles as she skipped over.
"There's no way it was you." He didn't believe for a second that his brother was taken down by a chubby teenage girl.
"You'd be surprised how big of a person you can take down when your first hit is a crowbar to the temple." She let her smile drop. "He was preying on my kids." She looks at the kids around her. She wished she hadn't when she met Toby's worried gaze. "He shot up the house my daughter was in. You should feel lucky that I left him breathing at all."
"You fucking bitch." Darla clicks the safety off and puts the gun in her face.
"Don't shoot her, it was me." Toby stood up.
"Me too." Eddie stood up.
"Yeah, we all jump him. We were tired of him beating us up when we didn't want to do his dirty work." Star got up also.
"Sit down!" She had this under control, she didn't need them making this chaotic. When they were pulled down by friends around them. She smirks at Darla. "One gun… that's cute. I got at least a dozen." They looked around to see that every Serpent had a gun pointed at them. "You'll be able to shoot me but not without getting riddled with bullet holes."
"You wouldn't do that in front of all these kids." She scoffs.
"Because of your son, they have already seen horrific things. One of them got beaten to the point of hospitalization and another was shot in the leg. You and your son's dead bodies won't even make it into their nightmares." She looks into Darla's eyes. The older blonde froze when she saw she was serious. "You're going to put the safety on, place the gun on the floor, and slide it over to me."
Abby picked it up when she did what she was told. Greg, Nancy, and Sweet Pea came down to pat them down to make sure they didn't have any more weapons. "You are going to leave here and get the fuck out of my town. If I see you again, it will be your last moment on earth." When they stood there, she shouted. "Go, or do you want to choose which one of your sons gets shot first?" Greg took off his safety and cock his gun to point at the long-haired man.
"We're leaving." She nods for her sons to follow her as they slowly walk out of the building.
"Lock the doors. I'm going to call FP." Mary walks to the office.
Tessie and Toby ran over to hug Abby. "Don't ever do that again." Eddie wraps his long arms around them to squeeze tightly.
Monroe, Mary, Archie, and Veronica were sitting at the table in front of everyone. "We were never a particular religious house. But one thing we always did, the one thing my husband always liked to do when we sat down together to eat as a family was to say grace. He believed in that. Archie, would you do the honors?" She looks at her son.
Abby grabs the hands of Toby and Tessie who she was sitting between. Sweet Pea, who was sitting across from her, grabbed Fangs and Eddie's hands. "Bless us, O Lord, for these, the gifts which we're about to receive: For this day, for this food, for our family, for our friends we thank you, Amen." Archie preys.
"Amen." Everyone repeated.
"And then he would say." Mary smiled.
"Dig in everyone. We're grateful to be alive and to be here with you." Abby said it along with her brother.
Toby smothers his turkey in cranberry sauce. "Dude, you have a serious sweet tooth." Eddie laughed. He took a deep bite of the turkey ignoring the disgusted look of those around him.
"Seriously?" Sweet raises an eyebrow at his girlfriend.
"I want to try." She dipped her turkey in the sweet sauce before taking a bite. "Not bad." She did it again. Tessie follows along.
"What's next? Candy cane in the ham for Christmas?" He shook his head.
"We could try." Toby's eyes light up.
"That was a joke." He shook his head that they weren't doing that. Abby laughed at them having a playful argument about it.
"I want to talk about what happened tonight." Archie walked into the kitchen where his sister was making some tea.
"What about it?" She leaned against the counter.
"You had guns in the center. That's unacceptable." He didn't like that much heat being around the kids.
"Archie, you made it an open-door policy knowing how many bad people are in Riverdale. Knowing that Dodge's people might be looking for revenge. I did what I had to do." She wasn't going to back down on this.
"You could have caused a gang war in the center. What if one of the bullets hit a kid?" He shouted.
"It wouldn't have been a war. It was one gun against a dozen. They wouldn't take those chances." She shook her head.
"Violence, especially gun violence won't solve our problems." He glares.
"You are the one going around beating up guys in a mask. That is what made Dodger shoot up our house with our mom in it. After that, you asked Hiriam to take care of him. This was all your doing, Archie." She pointed out.
"I know, I know. I'm trying to be more like dad." He knew he was failing. "I want his legacy to be perfect."
"We're human, Archie, we're not going to be perfect. I know when I think of Dad, I think of his hope for a better future. When I think of the future I think of children." She was guiding Archie to what she was thinking.
"The center is filled with them. We opened it hoping for a better future for Riverdale." He smiled.
They gather their friends and family to reveal the plaque that dedicated the center in their dad's name. "My sister and I were talking one night. She spoke about how much hope my dad had for a better future. That is what this center is to everyone here. I hope that soon we won't be needed. But, until then we will be here to stand in the face of evil that wants to take us down because the darkness will always fear the light." He hung the plaque next to his dad's picture.
"Those were some inspiring words." Mary squeezed his cheeks together. "He would be so honored." She let go of his face to turn to the crowd. "He would be honored by all of you."
Everyone clapped. The children who came every day were the loudest. It was a personal touch that made them feel like the center would be here forever.