Lover From The South

Chapter 20

Archie nervously plays with his fingers as he walks into the recording studio. He's excited but scared too. This could change his life. He loves to sing and make music. He wrote so many songs that no one knows about. If he could actually make money with his music it would be a dream come true. He could live the life he always dreamt of. He could give Veronica and Daisy the life he wants for them. He walks up to the elderly woman at the front desk. Her grayish hair is in a bun. Her glasses are purple and round.

"Uhm hi there. My name is Archie Andrews I'm here because I have an appointment with Steve"

The woman smiles. She runs her fingers along the pearls around her neck before she types something into her computer. Archie is tired. He worked all day but he wants to give this a shot. He promised he would keep his job. As much as he loves music, it can't be his number one priority. Not with Daisy.
The woman looks at Archie. "Wait in studio 4. He should be with you any minute"

"Thank you"

"You're welcome sweetheart. Have fun"

Archie nods then walks down the hall to a room with a big 4 on the door. His heart races when he walks into the room. He always dreamt of this moment. A wide smile grows on his lips.

"Pretty cool huh?" he hears someone behind him say. "Hi I'm Steve and this is George and Tom. They are my tech people and will help me today"

"Hi—hi guys. Nice to meet you" Archie says as the three man walk in.

"Go in the little room. Let's start recording. Time is money. We can chitchat a different time" Steve laughs. He grabs a mug filled with coffee and takes a big sip. Archie furrows his eyebrows. It's way too late for coffee but who is he to judge.
He puts on the headphone and immediately hears a voice.

"Sing something" Steve says

"What should I sing?"

"Anything really. We just want to see what your voice sounds like so we know what we're working with"

"Oh okay. That makes sense" Archie nods "I have a little daughter so I could sing a lullaby"

"Sounds good. Just relax Archie. Take a deep breath and focus"

•••

It's late when Archie finally gets home. He tries to be as quiet as he can. He doesn't want to wake up his girls. As he tiptoes into the living room he sees Veronica asleep on the couch. Next to the couch there's a blanket on the ground and on the coffee table there's an almost empty glass of water and some chips in a bowl.

Archie sighs. He picks up the blanket from the ground and lays it over Veronica's body to keep her warm. He kneels down on the ground. For a moment he just looks at Veronica. She's beautiful. He still can't believe she fell in love with him. She's a completely different league. He brushes her hair out of her face and kisses her forehead very gently.
"I'm sorry babe" he whispers. "It took way longer than I thought. They did so much stuff and I will tell you all about it tomorrow. I have a good feeling about this. We might actually be able to live a good life. I love you"
He gets up and grabs a second blanket from the armchair next to the couch and covers her body with that one too. He just wants to make sure she won't get cold. He kisses her head on last time before he gets ready for bed. He sleeps in his bedroom where Daisy is sound asleep in her crib. She wakes up three times at night, every other hour to eat. Veronica pumped earlier that day so there's enough breast milk in the fridge. He warms it up quickly, feeds his baby, lets her burp and then rocks her back to sleep. Veronica is so exhausted she doesn't wake up and Archie doesn't plan on waking her up. She deserves some rest.

In the morning Archie is completely exhausted. He has no idea how Veronica does this every single night. Yes, he wakes up too when Veronica is with him but usually she breastfeeds Daisy in the bed. So he doesn't need to get up and just runs his fingers up and down her back while he's still half asleep. She doesn't expect him to do anything either. He needs to get enough sleep so he can go to work. Most if the money he makes they need for Daisy.

Veronica tiptoes into the bedroom. She smiles when she sees her boyfriend and daughter still asleep. When Daisy gets enough sleep, she's the happiest baby.
She carefully crawls on top of Archie. Her head rests on his chest. He groans quietly as he wraps his arms around her waist.

"Good morning lover" she whispers. "You don't have to move. I just want some love"

"Mhm" Archie mumbles. Veronica takes that as a 'do whatever you want' so she lifts up the blanket and cuddles next to him. Her arms wrap around his. Gently she presses a kiss on his shoulder than closes her eyes too. She's not really tired anymore but she loves cuddles. "Thank you for not waking me and dealing with baby all by yourself last night. You didn't have to do that"

In stead of answering with words, Archie moves his hand to her legs and squeezes her thigh.

"I love you too Archiekins. Can I cuddle you a little more? I need more love"

"Mhm" Archie mumbles again. So Veronica crawls back on top of him. Her head rests on his chest again. She's back where she was two minutes ago but this time, she's under the blanket. Archie wraps his arms back around her.

"I don't know if you've noticed but I will need a lot of attention today. I don't know why. Sometimes I just need extra love. Just giving you a heads up"

"Mhm"

"Do you want me to stop talking now?"

"Mhm"

"Okay" Veronica giggles "I'm sorry. You still love me though right?"

"Very much"