The Choice

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"Mom, this town is like something out The Gilmore Girls. Seriously. There's an honest to goodness General Store. Now, sure it had wifi but still...wow," Jessica Cooper said, walking next to Betty on the sidewalk.

"Not exactly the Upper East Side, right?" Betty remarked. She stopped at the door the town's newspaper, The Register owned by her mother, Alice.

"No, it was..." Jessica bit her lip.

"Don't say 'quaint'. I'll make them revoke your journalism scholarship if you say 'quaint'," Betty threatened with a snort.

Her daughter laughed and followed her inside. Betty watched her daughter's face light up as she took in all the activity around her. "Someday all this will be yours," she teased.

"You want to explain to me why I had to learn from Mrs Latham in the post office who heard from her son who works at Gradiccis outside of town that you came back to Riverdale yesterday and didn't bother to call your mother?" Alice Cooper came storming towards them, a whirlwind of perfectly coiffed blonde hair and blue eyes. She slammed a folder on a nearby desk, not once breaking her stride.

"I wanted to prepare my daughter for her-"

"Oh my God, look at you!" Alice grabbed Jessica by the shoulders. "You're so beautiful. Your pictures and a computer screen just do not do you justice!" She pulled Jessica in for a tight hug.

"...grandmother," Betty finished weakly.

"Hi Gran," Jessica smiled, hugging her back.

"I absolutely hated that I wasn't able to make it to your graduation but you're here now and that's all that matters and let me show you around, hmm? So your mother tells me you'll be starting Columbia in the fall..." Alice wrapped an arm around Jessica's shoulder and pulled her down the hall.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, you two. I'll just stay here and..." The phone rang and Betty looked down at it...'play secretary I guess." A man she didn't recognize at one of the other desks turned and smiled at her. Another older man walked past her just as she picked up the phone. "Register, Alice Cooper's temporary minion. How may I help you?"

"Sorry, Alice Cooper's what?" The man on the phone asked.

Betty felt a beat of recognition at the voice. "Archie?"

The older man stopped at the door. "I'm going out to get some coffee. How do you take it?"

"Cream, three sugars, one chocolate pump, whipped cream." Betty replied.

"Oh my God, Betty is that you?" The voice in the phone asked.

"Archie! How are you?" Betty asked, delight filling her at hearing one of her oldest friend's voices.

"Christ, only one person would drink that diabetic monstrosity," Archie said. "When did you get back? Why didn't you tell me...oh...So that's why Jughead ripped one of our punching bags off its chain this morning."

At his name, Betty closed her eyes, anger and humiliation swamped her. The way he treated her after they had...Well, she had said what she had to to him, there was no reason for them to have anything more to do with each other. Riverdale was a small town, but she was a grown woman with her own life to live. Jughead Jones could go fuck himself as far as she was concerned.

"Great, so I'll see you this afternoon."

Betty blinked. "What?" She hadn't heard a word he'd said.

He'd actually called to run an ad in the paper for a junior boxing tournament being held next week at the gym he co-owned with Jughead. The gym he'd just invited her to come visit with Jessica that afternoon. And she'd agreed. Jughead would probably be there. Shit. After taking down the details for the ad she was sorely tempted to back out of the visit but her pride wouldn't let her. She wouldn't seek him out but neither would she avoid him like a silly teenager.