Heart & Sincerity

23/ Wrong Name

Alice spent her afternoon in her divorce lawyer's office. It wasn't pleasant for her to have to talk about Hal or having to get to the logistics of the whole divorce process. Sierra tried to make it as manageable as she could for her. For that she was grateful.

She made sure to make time to stop at the high school after school to check in on her daughter and Jughead in the newspaper room. Betty was delighted to see her mother in person again. The past few days have felt far too long. Jughead was happy to see her too. He was proud of his work and really wanted her to read it. He wanted her feedback on it.

He anxiously watched her read through his papers. Betty put a hand on his knee to tame his fidgeting. He eased up and sat up straight. Betty removed her hand.

Alice looked up from the pile of words Jughead gave her. She was impressed. "This is astounding. The precision, structure, everything. You're an amazing writer, young man."

"You really think so?" Jughead's face lit up.

"Yes, sweetheart. You have a gift in dialect. I am very impressed by your strong vocabulary. You're clearly a big reader."

"I love to read."

Betty took note of the way her mother treated Jughead. She always saw a smile on her face when Jughead was excited about showing her his writing or his presence in general. She would call him sweetheart and dear or encourage him to persevere with his dream to become a novelist in the future.

It made Betty wonder if her mother was filling in the emptiness of her lost son with Jughead.

"Do you think I will get one of these published in the newspaper eventually?"

"Of course, Charles. You're a talented boy. You'd be making your father very proud."

Jughead furrowed his eyebrows. He was confused. "Uh, my name's Forsythe." He kindly corrected her. He knew she knew that considering she knew his father.

Alice's eyes widened. "Oh, sorry. My mistake. You're right." She didn't even realize she called him that. He didn't really think about it. She changed the subject. "Do you two have any questions before I go?" Betty and Jughead looked at each other. They shook their head no. "Well then I suppose that's a wrap for this little meeting."

"Bye, ma'am." Jughead said as he packed his loose papers.

"Goodbye, Jughead." She waved at him before he walked out. Betty turned to her mother. "Why did you think his name was Charles?" Betty asked what Alice was trying to avoid. She saw the sorrow in her eyes. "Was that his name?" She referred to her brother. Alice slowly nodded yes. "I thought so." Betty went up to her and gave her a hug. Alice gladly accepted the sweet gesture. "It's okay."

***

Jughead walked past the Whyte Wyrm on his way to the trailer park. Joaquin was walking out with his two friends. "Hey, Jones! Wait up." Joaquin turned to Sweet Pea and Fangs. "I'll catch up." They shrugged and went their way. Joaquin jogged up to Jughead. "You got a sec?"

"I guess. Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you about your dad."

He arched an eyebrow. "What about him?"

"Look, cutting straight to it, he obviously wants to see your little sister and trust me so does my little brother, but your mom isn't talking to him. I was thinking she would probably listen to you."

"Why do you care?" Jughead found this conversation so random. He also found it weird that he knew more than he did about his father.

"I genuinely care about your old man. He's a good leader. Now, I'm not supposed to tell you because he doesn't want to stress you out but things are getting serious with the Serpents. I think it would lighten your dad up if he gets to see his daughter."

"I guess I could see what I can do. I do miss that little brat," He smiled. He actually liked the idea of having Jellybean back. He's surprised with himself for not thinking about that. "I'm on my way to see him anyway."

"Yeah and I've got to catch up with the guys," Joaquin excused himself.

Jughead reached the trailer and let himself in. He looked around and saw a box on the coffee table. He peered over it to see that it was his stuff. He took a seat on the couch and reached inside. He forgot all about the things inside after the girls left. The box was full of his original storybooks and other old writings.

FP came out of the bedroom. Jughead asked him amazed, "You kept all of this?"

"Of course," FP affirmed. He leaned against the wall. "How much do you think I'll make off of it once you become this big household name?"

"Probably enough for a trip to Toledo," Jughead looked up from one of the stories he had in his hand. "How would you feel about seeing mom and Jellybean?"

"I've thought about taking us down there. I just don't think your mother will be very welcoming of me."

"Have you reached out to her?" Jughead asked but already knew the answer to that.

"I've tried to get a hold of her but she's cut me out. And just looking at that box made me miss your little sister even more."

"She loved when you read these to her," Jughead smiled at the memory. "Maybe I can try to talk mom into letting us visit Jellybean or work something out to see her."

"It would mean everything, Jug."

It was silent for a few minutes while Jughead looked through everything in the box. "You know, I actually just spoke to Alice."

"You did?"

"Yeah, she liked the articles I showed you. She could see one being published in the near future. Who knows maybe it'll be next time she's in town."

"I didn't know she came into town." He's a little disappointed he didn't get to see her. He pushed the thought put of his head and put a hand on his shoulder. "Anyway, I'm proud of you son."

"Actually that reminds me of something," Jughead chuckled. "She accidentally called me Charles today. That sounds nothing like Forsythe."

"Huh, she probably just thought of the first prestigious name she could think of." He stifled a laugh.

"I just thought it was odd since she knows we have the same name."