A Touch Of Colour

Discoveries

"Hi there, uh, I'm Betty, Betty Cooper. I'm a friend of Veronica's. Is there any chance you could tell me which apartment she's in, so I can go see her?" Betty asked the elderly-looking man at the counter in the lobby of the Pembrooke.

"One moment, please, Miss Cooper," the man replied, smiling at Betty over the counter. Betty nodded, and turned around to observe the lobby of the apartment building her friend lived in. The shiny marble floors glistened in the areas where they weren't covered by a blood-red carpet. Outside of the glass doors, cars rushed by every now and then. A large crystal chandelier hung above Betty's head.

"Mrs. Lodge will be down in a moment, ma'am," the man called from the counter. Betty turned back to face him, and nodded. Minutes later, the elevator dinged, and Hermione Lodge stepped out.

"Hi, Mrs. Lodge, right?" Betty waved to the tall, dark-haired woman. She looked like an exact replica of Veronica, if Veronica was older.

"Yes. You must be Alice's daughter. What brings you here?" Hermione asked.

"I just wanted to check up on Veronica. She seemed a bit upset last night," Betty stated.

"Oh. Do you happen to know why? She won't talk to me. I just want to help her, but it's like she's locked me out, she's awfully quiet," Hermione frowned.

"I don't think it's my place, Mrs. Lodge," Betty said, "sorry."

"Oh, that's okay. Come, she's upstairs," Hermione turned back to the elevator, and looked back to make sure Betty was following.

"Betty? What are you doing here?" Veronica said, shocked. Her hair was in a loose knot atop her head, with her glasses on so that she could read the book she was holding. She stood up, put her book down, and raced over to Betty. She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around her friend.

"Veronica--" Betty started, but was interrupted.

"Shh, shh, let me have this," Veronica hugged Betty tighter.

"Veronica! Open your eyes," Betty said, pulling away from Veronica, but still holding onto her shoulders.

Veronica opened her eyes, to something she would never have expected.

"Betty..." that was the only thing Veronica could manage to say. She shut her eyes, and opened them again, just to make sure this was really happening. "Is this... am I seeing in colour? Are you seeing in colour?" Veronica exclaimed.

The girls heard something smash, and instantly turned to the source of the noise.

"No." It was Hermione. She was previously holding a coffee mug, but that was now shattered in pieces on the floor. The two girls had forgotten that Veronica's mother was standing there.

"What? 'No'? Mom--" Veronica narrowed her eyes at her mother in confusion.

"You two can't be soulmates," Hermione gasped.

"Uh, V, I think--" Betty started to speak, but was cut off.

"This was a mistake. Betty, I think you should go," Hermione eyed Betty unpleasantly.

"What? Mrs. Lodge--"

"You can show yourself out, can't you, Betty?"

"Um, okay. Sorry. Veronica, I'll call you later?" Betty turned to Veronica, who nodded in response. The room was silent until the apartment door shut.

"You're gay?" Hermione hissed.

"Mom, no. I don't know. This is sudden! Maybe I'm bi, or pan--"

"This isn't okay, Mija! What will the family think? What will your father think?" Hermione folded her arms in front of her. Veronica finally knew what it meant when people said 'red with anger'.

"Mom, this isn't something I can control! The universe picked my soulmate, not me!" Veronica yelled back.

"Do you think I can support this? I didn't think the universe could make mistakes but it clearly has! My daughter can't like girls! How am I supposed to have grandchildren? What about a husband to bond with your father? To take on the family business? We don't have a son, Veronica!"

"You never considered me for that? What, am I not good enough for you? You were just going to pass the family business to my husband? And you can still have grandchildren! I can adopt! Or a sperm donor, or something! Mom, why is this such a big deal?" Veronica cried. Her eyes were welling up with tears, and her throat felt like it was closing up. She never thought of her mother as the homophobic type.

"Because, Mija! Your family will think this is my fault! 'Oh, look, it's Hermione with her messed up daughter who likes girls! Not a good fit for Hiram!'" Hermione complained.

"Messed up? Mom, do you think I'm messed up?" Veronica asked in a small voice.

"Veronica, I didn't--"

"You think I'm messed up," Veronica cried. "Wow. Okay. I'm going to... yeah." Veronica grabbed her book from the table, and went to her room, slamming the door behind her.

A while later, Veronica opened the door, her suitcase trailing behind her.

"You won't have to worry about having a messed up daughter anymore, Hermione," she said her mother's name as if it were the foulest cuss word imaginable. She raced out the door, phone in one hand, suitcase in the other.

"Veronica! Where are you going?!" Hermione called just before Veronica shut the apartment door behind her. Veronica paused.

"It shouldn't matter to you." She slammed the door firmly behind her with a swift move of her hand.

Betty raced down the stairs as soon as she heard the doorbell ring through the house. She opened the door, and standing there was Veronica, tears streaming down her face as if her eyes were waterfalls. Betty wrapped her arms around her soulmate tightly.

"Veronica! Betty told me everything. Are you okay? You're welcome to stay here as long as you like," Alice Cooper appeared in the doorway, smiling. Betty broke away from Veronica, but held her hand to comfort her.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cooper," Veronica smiled back.

"Please, call me Alice."