What We Once Were

Chapter 2.

"Are we going now momma?" Juliet hopped up and down, her black hair was tied in a high ponytail in a red and blue ribbon. Her jean shorts and red and white striped top with a shiny blue stair in the center gave her the perfect Fourth of July look.

Betty shook her head at her daughter who'd clearly inherited the ADHD gene from her mother.

"Not yet, we've gotta wait for grandma okay?"

Betty fixed her curled blonde locks and checked herself out in the mirror before Alice came downstairs. Betty wore a matte red shade of lipstick and left her blonde hair down and curled for once. She wore a little bit of makeup but it wasn't very noticeable. Betty had no idea how her mother had convinced her to go to this town wide celebration, but as soon as Juliet had heard about kids games, fireworks, and hot dogs Betty knew she couldn't tell her daughter 'no' to a holiday celebration.

"Ready to go Jules?" Alice asked as she appeared from upstairs.

Juliet's deep blue eyes danced like the Fourth of July sparklers she'd hold later that night.

"Yes! Yes!" She clapped her hands enthusiastically, causing Betty to smile lovingly at her little girl.

"Well then, we'd better get going." Alice smiled and lead everyone into the car.

---

"Look over there, what's that? What's that?" Juliet tugged on Betty's hand, trying her best to steer her towards the ladder ball game.

"Slow down Jules, there's plenty of time to see everything." Betty said calmly, her ADHD was bouncing off the walls inside her. It was hard enough to control it around her daughter, but she was already tired and exhausted even though they'd only been here for a little over an hour.

Alice had gone off to talk to some old acquaintances, while Betty could already feel the stress and anxiety raise the hairs on the back of her neck as she felt as though she was being watched with every move she made.

Betty helped Juliet pick up the ladder balls and showed her how to correctly toss them onto the contraption. Juliet clapped, cheered, and giggled with delight as she ran back and forth to collect the ladder balls.

For a while, Betty forgot about her fears and anxieties. Playing with her daughter always offered her an escape from reality because with Juliet, everything was sweet, innocent, and perfect.

Juliet accidentally tossed the ladder ball a little to far and it bounced off a woman wearing a navy blue dress with ink black hair.

"I'm sorry." Juliet apologized, picking up the toy by the woman's feet.

She turned around and Betty's fear of running into people from her past was no a reality as she found herself face to face with Veronica Lodge...a very pregnant Veronica Lodge.

"Betty? Is that you?!" A big grin stretched across her face. Betty was a little jealous that her best friend from high school was just as pretty and youthful as she'd looked the last time Betty had seen her almost 5 years ago.

"Veronica, hey!" Betty's cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.

She wobbled over and gave Betty a big bear hug. "Oh my God look at you!" Veronica grinned as they pulled away from their hug.

"And look at you! You look great V." Betty quickly changed the subject. "How far along are you?"

Veronica smiled warmly and patted her stomach.

"Thanks B, and I'm about 8 months along. Baby Andrews is on the way."

Betty's eyes grew wide, "you and Archie? Wow, I'm so happy for you both!" Betty oohed as Veronica showed her the simple diamond ring on her finger.