Heart & Sincerity

6/ Chit Chats

Alice drove Betty home after closing the doors to the Register. Hal once again stormed out early. The radio drowned out the silence for the first five minutes. Alice had been focused on the road and Betty was staring out the window.

"Mom," Betty softly said.

"Yes?"

"Are you really going to talk to the Serpents?"

"If Jughead arranges the meeting."

"Since you were a Serpent, are they going to be okay with you back there? Or like why did you write against them in the first place?" She was genuinely curious.

"Writing is my escape. I guess I had them to blame instead of myself. Honestly, I was more angry at myself than at them every time I wrote those articles.They were never meant to go public. I owe a lot to my days as a Serpent, but it's not what I can consider myself now."

"Did dad always have something against the Serpents? I mean he did walk into a Serpent bar the night you two started something. He wouldn't have gone in if he resented them like he does now. He gets angry at just the mention. It's like something about them now riles him up."

"It's very complicated, Elizabeth." Alice sighed.

"I can tell." Betty looked out the window again as they reached their house. "It doesn't look like dad is here." His car wasn't parked anywhere on the street.

"Probably for the best," Alice didn't mind. "It's just the two of us, right?" She sadly smiled.

"Yeah, you've got me." She assured her. "Polly, too, once she comes back home."

"Yes," Alice got to thinking about Polly. "Honey, do you mind heading in without me?"

"Okay," Betty said unsurely. She unbuckled her seat belt. "I'll be waiting inside for you."

Alice thanked her and watched her go in safely. She grabbed her purse and searched for the business card. It was tucked inside. She took it out alongside her phone. Every time she thought of the name a part of her was paralyzed inside, but she also thought about how common the name was. Charles Smith. She would repeat it in her head multiple times. She needed to be sure she wasn't going crazy.

Having talked to Polly gave her an excuse to call this young man. She also happened to be concerned about her well being after speaking to him. He knew something she didn't.

She dialed the number on her phone. Her heart began to accelerate as it rang. She was nervous to speak to him. His voice was the first to go through the line. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Charles Smith?" Alice didn't know how else to begin the conversation. "We spoke a few days ago."

"Alice?" He questioned.

"Yes, you said to call if I spoke to my daughter."

"That's wonderful. Has she said anything about the Farm? Any information would be most valuable."

"First, I want to know if she's safe there."

"We are investigating."

"But is she safe?" She repeated.

"The sooner the investigation is over the better." He dodged the question again.

"I want to know what's going on. My daughter is who knows where and you know what goes on there."

"I'm not allowed to disclose much." He reminded her. "But I am sure she must be safe at the moment. She is new, correct?"