Later that day...
Betty Pov:
Lola dragged me by the hand to the trunk of the tree that the treehouse was planted on top of as soon as I helped maneuver her out of her car seat. "MOMMY HURRY UP!! WE DON'T HAVE TIME!", she squeaked. I giggled at her apparent excitement. It had been over a while since we'd been back here, and I knew she loved it as much as I had all those years ago. Jug and I were constantly sneaking out and meeting there for various reasons; some sweet, some for more adult-like purposes...
I would never tell Lola the things Jug and I had done in that treehouse she'd came to treasure so much. I almost choked on my own spit at the prospect at her finding out.
In fact, I'm relatively positive that our biological daughter was conceived there.
That's all besides the point. I helped Lola climb up the latter, supporting her from behind instead of pulling her up; she needed to work on her motor skills. She made it up relatively quickly, astonishingly enough, and was very proud of herself. "See, Mommy? I did it all by myself!", she exclaimed, extra emphasis on the last three words. "Of course you did! I'm so proud of you, Honey. Now why don't we go play, or cuddle, or anything else that you might want to do?", I suggested. Her eyebrows furrowed with slight confusion. "Sure, Mommy. But who's that?". She pointed a questioning finger over my shoulder.
Panicking, I whirled around, and tears began to flood my eyes as years of lost time and old memories came rushing in. "Betty?", the women asked confoundedly.
"M-Mom??? Is that really you, or am I hallucinating?", I croaked out. She didn't mutter a word, rushing forward and tangling me into a suffocating embrace. Instinctively, I began sobbing into her shoulder, her doing the same. "Mommy? Why did you call her 'mom'? Who is she?", Lola asked, breaking my mom and I from our wail-fest.
I swiped at my eyes, smiling through the tears. "Baby, this is Grandma. She's my mommy. I haven't seen her for a long, long time...", I stated. My mother's face brightened with great joy! "So this is the little one that you took in?", she asked curiously, receiving a nod before she strode forward and kneeled to Lola's height.
"Hi, Sweetie. You're such a pretty little one!", Mom cooed, pinching Lola's cheeks lightly as Lola squirmed. "How old are you?", she asked. Lola's confusion returned to her soft expression, holding up her hands and wiggling them as she dug into her mind for the information on how to count that Jug and I taught her last week. "I'm dis many! Fwee!", she blurted proudly, displaying her fingers out for the whole world to admire.
"Can we be best fwends, Gwandma? I wanna be fwends. Mommy and Daddy are mine, too, but there is always room for one more.", she added. Giggles rose around the room from each of us. "Sure. I'd love to be friends, Lola.", my mom enthused.
I admired them from the window seat as my mom engaged with Lola, being more than willing to pretend to be her servant in their game of "Princess". She occasionally casted me glances of awe, exhibiting proud, overjoyed emotion from every corner of her eyes and her mouth as she grinned.
A little gasp intercepted our silent conversation. "Can Gwandma come home with us, Mommy? She can come for dinner!", Lola shouted happily, as more of a demand than a suggestion. "If you don't mind, I would love to. I haven't seen Jughead in forever, ever since you...", she murmured, quickly halting that sentence. "I haven't seen him in a long time.", she finished.
"I'd love for you to come, Mom!", I announced. "Jug and I are actually together again.", I added, seemingly lightening my mom's mood to a further extent than before, if even possible.
"It's funny; I came here to reminisce your child and teen years, never imagine that I would run into you. But i'm beyond thrilled that I did. I missed you so much, Betty.". Mom was on the verge of crying again. Lola quickly sat on her lap, cupping her cheeks and smoothing her hair.
"I missed you too, Mom. More than you could ever imagine...".
Boring parts sometimes help build the story, so bear with me please 🤠 Hope this is cute enough to satisfy y'all.
