Veronica Mars is a marshmallow (ronmars) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-06-02 15:55:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, cindy cendrillon (cinderella), veronica mars |
Who: Cindy and Veronica
When: Tonight!
Where: Garrus and Cindy's Place
What: Stuffing their faces with Southern food while sharing secrets. And there's beer of course.
Rating: Low
Status: Complete
It was not the best day for Veronica. She had finally gotten around to going to visit her mother in rehab only to find out she wasn’t there, not only that but she had never checked in. Usually Veronica had was better at checking up on these things, and calling or visiting her mother in rehab, but she had been dealing with it since high school. She honestly over it. Not to mention the fact that she was back on the East Coast at the time, when her mother had called she seemed to genuine about wanting to check into a long term facility this time. So Veronica had wired the money. Big mistake. She should have checked on things sooner. Way sooner. Like months ago. Now she was missing a mother and out a good amount of money. Yeah not a good day.
There was one bright spot in her day though. Dinner with Cindy. How the woman had convinced Veronica to try vegetarian food she had no idea. But now she was actually looking forward to it, especially all this Southern food Cindy had mentioned. It actually sounded good. Though she wasn’t sure how much she trusted Cindy’s cooking if their baking experiment was any testament to her cooking skills.
Pack of beer in hand, let’s face it Veronica needed a few drinks and it wasn’t like her to show up empty handed, she put on her game face and rang the bell to Garrus’s and Cindy’s place.
Amazingly, Cindy’s cooking was actually pretty decent. More than decent, really, since she had a specific diet (had never really liked the taste of meat anyway) and often had to make her own food, which went along with the notion of ‘if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.’ But baking? She really had no clue why she was so terrible at that. Maybe it was the chemistry of it all - something was off. Either way, in preparation for Veronica’s visit, she’d put together a few classic southern dishes with a vegetarian twist. Biscuits and gravy, fried green tomatoes, pineapple barbecue sandwiches (instead of meat, there was tempeh, but the addition of whiskey to the sauce made it great - plus it went well with beer), and for dessert she’d gotten a pecan pie from the bakery. It was one of her favorites, but Garrus couldn’t go ten feet within the nuts without dying so she’d have to be sure to keep it away from him.
Hearing the bell, she abandoned the process of scavenging the cupboard for plates and then went to go answer the door. She was smiling when she opened it, hair a casual mess and her outfit meant for lounging at home - yoga pants and a ‘Friends’ inspired ‘Central Perk’ t-shirt.
“Hey, come on in, hope you’re hungry.” And of course Veronica brought the beer. Bless her.
“Well it smells good,” Veronica said as she entered the house, though she was still a little unsure about the cooking. But if it turned out like the baking they could always order a pizza right? She would be good with that too. Though she was pretty hungry at the moment. As if on cue her stomach growled. Well that certainly answered Cindy’s question. “Just a little,” she gave her a sheepish smile setting down the beer on the counter.
“But before we get to the food. I gotta see the ring.” No Veronica wasn’t going to squeal over it or jump up and down, but she could still appreciate it. It was some pretty exciting news after all.
“Thanks, I promise it tastes good too,” Cindy laughed and then of course she held out her hand so her friend could take a gander at the bling. It really was a beautiful ring, silver band and diamonds, breathtaking and glittery without being ostentatious. Maybe princess style, or something, but it fit Cindy well. She wouldn’t have wanted anything that was going to be a huge rock to lug on her finger. Entirely unnecessary. “The most romantic proposal ever,” she grinned. “After we were splattered with demon blood.”
Hey, it worked for them. Clearly, Garrus’s attempts at romance and cliché proposal settings hadn’t exactly gone over well. Fate kept intervening.
She rummaged for the bottle opener, before going back to getting plates for the food, so they could enjoy their beer first and foremost. “Sit anywhere! Get comfy. How are you doing? OC craziness aside.”
Veronica herself had no idea what type of cut it was. But whatever it was it looked damn good. Thank god it wasn’t some huge rock Veronica would have to pretend to like. Some rings were just too much. But Cindy’s was perfect for her. “Garrus has good taste,” she smirked. Not just in rings either but that went without saying.
Veronica did know about the two failed attempts, but Garrus had asked her to keep it quiet. That was of course before he successfully proposed, still Veronica’s lips remained sealed. She had no idea if Cindy actually knew about the other attempts or not. “It makes a great story to tell the grandkids and all that. But don’t start popping out babies anytime soon. One pregnant friend is enough for now.” It was a joke, kind of. If all her friends suddenly became moms? That would be weird.
She opted for a seat on the couch, that was her definition of comfort after all. “This place is a bit insane. Demons and vampires? Sometimes I have to question if this is actually real life.” How she just came to accept these strange instances as normal. “I’ve been… alright,” she wasn’t going to flat out lie but going into details about her mother? It just wasn’t something she did often. “Not as good as you,” she gave Cindy a smile. There had to be some type of post engagement high. She imagined there would be at least.
“Oh god, no, I think birthing babies is something that’s off the agenda for awhile,” Cindy said hastily, getting busy with dishing out some of the food - the kitchen, and she’d pat herself on the back for this, smelled amazing and so she added a little bit of everything to Veronica’s plate, to give her selections and variety. But no, as much fun as planning Sharon’s baby shower had been, she didn’t need one for herself anytime soon. It would happen someday, just not right away.
They could eat in the living room, no need for anything fancy, and so she balanced the plates and beer (hey, she’d done some waitressing for Rogue when her friend first opened the cafe - Cindy wasn’t terrible at it) on the way to setting everything on the coffee table. Where she then settled, on the floor, sitting Indian style. “Just alright on your end?” she asked, popping the top off a beer bottle, letting it plink onto the table. Well, if nothing else, comfort food made things a little better.
When Veronica saw Cindy balancing everything she couldn’t help but feel bad. She really should have offered to help bring things over before she sat down. She usually had at least some manners. She really was off her game today, all the crap with her mother was throwing her off. Hopefully Cindy hadn’t noticed too much.
Veronica grabbed herself a beer first, popping off the top and taking a long gulp. “I mean work’s fine. Logan’s good,” it was still weird for her that she actually had a boyfriend, but it seemed to be working out. “Just family crap,” she shrugged taking a bite of the pineapple barbecue sandwich first. It looked pretty delicious, and to Veronica’s surprise it tasted even better than it looked. “Where were these skills when we were making Christmas cookies?”
Cindy had to laugh at the question, swishing some hair from her face, her cheeks pink. “I really don’t know,” she admitted. “Baking just trips me up. It might be psychological?” Honestly, she sort of thought it was, in a way, but she wasn’t sure how to correct for that - maybe start with something small, no pressure, with a few ingredients. And then go from there? If she could at least handle no-bake cheesecake, then maybe it’d be time to move on to something else more ‘advanced.’
She took a sip of her own beer, and then started in on the fried green tomatoes because they were her favorite. “What kind of family crap? If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine,” she added. “But I at least get how family crap goes.”
“At least you can cook.” Veronica offered digging into the fried green tomatoes on her own plate. Okay so maybe this vegetarian thing wasn’t so bad. The food was a lot better than she was expecting. There was also the fact that Veronica’s own cooking was about as good as her baking, so having a home cooked meal? It was a rare occurrence for her.
“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours?” she was only half kidding as she brought up the old kindergarten saying. Though Veronica herself had never participated in the whole ‘I’ll show you mine, you show me yours’ activities. Thank God.
For Cindy, it had gotten a little better with her family - the visit to Georgia, with Garrus, had sort of put them all on the road to reconciliation. She wasn’t sure where, in the past, things had fallen apart but it probably had to do with her and her stepmother’s constant clashing about things like values, morals, and the concept of family honor and all that nonsense. The age she’d been at when she left home, just barely eighteen, hadn’t really helped either. She was young and wanted to experience the world for what it was, not be shackled by her parents’ ideals. But anyway.
“My mom died when I was a kid, and my father - who is a pediatric surgeon and kind of a ‘hero’ in the community - remarried a high society woman, this heiress with two other daughters,” she explained. “I never really got along with them, and they’re all big into ‘tradition’ and ‘the good book’ and crap, which was why they wanted me to settle as a cute housewife right away. My first marriage was sort of arranged but it didn’t last long,” thank god, she couldn’t help but silently think, “...and then after that, I cut off everything and went my own way. Took the money from the divorce settlement and paid for school, really got into advancing in my career. Garrus and I went back recently, so I could make amends, and it went well. My father’s really mellowed out a lot, but my stepmother is as judgmental as always. However, she’s family, so...” Cindy shrugged. “It’s just something to deal with. I don’t want to keep anything from them, or have them not be involved in the wedding, or with future grandkids.”
That was a lot to absorb. Veronica’s own thoughts echoed Cindy’s. Thank god she had gotten away from that life. Because just being a housewife? Veronica couldn’t really think of a more horrible fate. Cindy deserved to do whatever the hell she wanted in life and it looked like she had. Owning her own store and everything, that was impressive and took some guts. Veronica couldn’t really imagine starting her own business, too much risk.
“Good for you for getting out of all that. That must have been a lot of pressure. I don’t know if I would have wanted to mend fences after all that,” she admitted taking another sip of her beer. But Veronica was the type to hold grudges. “Sorry about you mom,” she added sincerely. That had to of been rough.
Well if Cindy could share all that the least Veronica could do was share about her own family crap. “My dad’s pretty great.” Veronica and Keith had always been extremely close. Probably closer than most normal father daughter relationships. But she liked it that way. “My mom though,” she sighed. “She’s been in and out of rehab since I was in high school,” weird to think that was almost fifteen years now. “The past few years she hasn’t been staying at home between stints. I don’t really know why my dad hasn’t divorced her yet,” he deserved to be happy. “Back before I moved back out here, she called. She seemed really serious about getting better that time. Wanted to do a long term facility and all that. So I wired the money to her. I should have known better,” Veronica couldn’t help but sound bitter. “Anyway after that I got busy with moving, settling back in here. And even though where she was supposed to be in rehab is only two hours away I haven’t been to see her or even checked in. I want her to get better, but I just can’t be involved in the process anymore,” another sigh. “Finally got around to seeing her today. She never checked in. Who knows where she is.” Not to mention Veronica’s money.
Well. Veronica’s mom sounded like a piece of work, that was for damn sure. Cindy shook her head, her personal bitterness like sour grapes and matching her friend’s in a similar shade, because there was a certain solidarity between them - two women with many things in common, and the desire to go their own way, and figure it all out on their own terms.
“Do you ever want to find her?” she asked curiously. “Not because you’re under any delusions that there will be a happy ending.” Those were for cupcake princesses and fairy-dusted unicorns - sometimes, real life just wasn’t that sweet. “But because she stole money from you, and because you want to let her know that she really fucked things up with her own daughter?”
It wasn’t Veronica’s job to babysit her mother. The woman was grown, and she had to want to better herself for her own self, and not just take it all in stride. Either way, Cindy wanted to make sure her friend got her money back, if nothing else.
“Yes,” she replied without hesitation. Not just because she wanted her money back either. Honestly by this point it was a long shot she would even get it back it had been months and Veronica was mentally kicking herself for not calling the rehab immediately. Avoiding the situation was not the best solution even if it was the easiest. What Veronica really wanted was to give her mother a piece of her mind and let her know she was done. Leanne had burned that bridge one too many times.
“I just want her to know she can’t keep doing this to me anymore. If she wants to keep living her life this way then fine. She clearly doesn’t want to get better. But I am done. And that’s her loss,” it felt good just saying that out loud. Even if it was to Cindy and not her mother.
Cindy nodded, the beer bottle twisting around in her hands. She focused on that for a second, as if debating internally with herself - and then she seemed to reach some sort of definitive conclusion. Because she was serious, and resolute, when she spoke next. “I can help you find her,” she offered. Veronica was a detective in her dreams, had that PI experience, but as far as Cindy knew she wasn’t doing the same type of thing here. However, for Cindy herself? A few similarities. Important ones.
“I’m really with the FBI. An undercover agent, Shoegasm is just a front, and I’m supposed to report on all the strange things in the OC....or supposed to is the key word, but,” she grinned cheekily, “I’m a little conservative with the info. In an effort to protect the crazy place that is home.”
Her fork was set down then, after she paused for a second to let it all sink in, and she sighed quietly. “I’m sorry if you felt like I was lying to you or something, but I can’t exactly go around talking about it.” The unspoken words there had something to do with how blabbing would severely impact her job. In a bad way. “But why I can help with your mom, if you still trust me to.”
Wow. That was the last thing Veronica was expecting Cindy to confess. She was surprised her mouth wasn’t literally hanging open. But no she wasn’t upset with Cindy. Yeah that was a big secret to keep, but she got it. It wasn’t something Cindy could really share. Undercover agent meant she had to keep it secret. Honestly Veronica was honored Cindy was sharing it with her now.
“I had no idea,” Veronica finally said. Well duh. She wasn’t exactly supposed to have an idea, was she? “I do. Still trust you. I can’t really hold you doing your job against you,” she gave Cindy a small smile. “If you want to help me find her though, I won’t say no.” Veronica could use all the help she could get. Her alter ego dream self may be a teen detective but Veronica didn’t even know where to begin.
There was palpable relief there, because Cindy protected herself, protected the details of her job, and in turn protected Orange County as best as she could - but she didn’t want to lose people in her life over this either. If that was the way it happened, well, so be it, but luckily Veronica was understanding. And maybe Cindy could use those skills to help a friend.
“I’ll see what I can do,” she promised. “I want you to get that closure you deserve.” After she went back to the food on her plate, giving it some attention, she thought of something else too - and smiled to herself, because this wasn’t the way she’d pictured everything going, but life had a funny way of working out sometimes.
She glanced across the coffee table at her fellow blonde, clear blue eyes hopeful. “Well - “ The beer bottle was set down, and before she got them more (and some pecan pie, for the ultimate in comfort), she said, “I was going to ask anyway, but since we just spilled our guts and all...might be a good time to see if you’d want to be one of my bridesmaids?”
The whole evening hadn’t exactly gone the way Veronica had thought it would. Hell her whole day hadn’t. Between finding out about her mom, spilling it all to Cindy and then finding out about Cindy’s real job. It was a hell of a day. A lot to take in, in just 24 hours. As soon as Cindy set the pecan pie down Veronica immediate dug in, not really expecting what her friend would ask next. That was definitely a happy question though. Probably the best part of the whole night.
“Of course,” a genuine smile spread across Veronica’s face. “I’ll even suck it up and wear some frilly, puffy, dress if I have too,” though that didn’t exactly seem like Cindy’s taste. Thank god.
“Oh god,” Cindy sounded half horrified, and half amused. She covered her mouth with her hand, holding back a dignified giggle-snort. “There will be nothing frilly, and nothing puffy.” On her honor! Now, she hadn’t exactly planned that yet but she was still mostly certain that she’d just choose the color for the dresses, and her wedding girls could pick whatever style they wanted, whatever style they felt flattered them the best. There didn’t need to be anything matchy-matchy going on.
She cracked open the next bottle of beer, and took a long sip before beginning on her slice of pecan pie too. They could probably polish this off in one night. “Well, let’s stuff our faces, then. In honor of tackling family drama and weddings.”
Veronica grinned, popping the top off her second (and probably not last) beer of the evening. “You truly do know the way to my heart. It’s too bad Garrus already snatched you up.” Comfort food, drinks, and a good friend? Veronica couldn’t think of a better way to end her day.