The White Rabbit

The following chapter is written in 3rd Person POV following Becca and Viv…

Back at Viv and Becca’s restaurant…

“Everything good out here?” Viv asks Becca, who helped the front of the house clean up decorations and reset the restaurant for regular service again tomorrow.

“Yes.” Becca answers succinctly. “Back of the house?” Becca asks back.

“Clean as a whistle.” Viv answers, as members of the kitchen staff exit the kitchens as well.

“Good night, chef!” The back of the house staff greets Viv, as they end their shifts for the night.

“Good night. See you guys tomorrow.” Viv greets back in acknowledgment.

With the exit of the kitchen staff, and Becca already allowing the front of the house to take their leave for the night, only Viv and Becca, and guests who joined them in the private room are left in the restaurant.

“Congrats on another successful restaurant opening, V!” Celeste suddenly wraps Viv into a hug, smushing her cheek onto Viv’s who seems genuinely happy from Celeste’s show of affection.

“Congrats, V. And to you too, Becca.” Hal adds, shaking Becca’s hand in congratulations.

“Thank you both for coming tonight.” Becca tells them.

“Aww! No need to thank us, Becca. We wouldn’t have missed it for the world!” Celeste tells Becca, before she hugs Viv even tighter.

“And thank you for staying to help clean up.” Becca then addresses Paige, Tricia, Lizzie, and Mercy.

“We go where you go, Ms. Hoffman.” Tricia replies, sounding like a dutiful soldier, and Becca gives her a warm smile of appreciation

“Now that it’s just us, I think you can go back to just calling me Becca, Tricia.” Becca reminds her.

“I was wondering about that. Do you work for Becca?” Hal asks Tricia.

“Yes, sir. I’m on a paid internship as an assistant executive secretary for Ms. Hoffman.” Tricia answers. “And we haven’t formally met, I’m Tricia O’Brien. You are?” Tricia asks, extending her hand towards Hal.

“Hal Bundy. Pleasure to meet you.” Hal replies, with Viv snorting after hearing his name. The snort also gets a more restrained reaction from Paige and Mercy, who don’t want to break their professional facade, while Lizzie’s face scrunches up from recognition as well.

“Can you not!?” Hal immediately shouts in reaction to Viv’s snort. “You’ve known me for fucking years already!” Hal adds, freely showing his agitation.

“It will never not be funny to me when you use your full name.” Viv tells him.

“Why? What’s so funny?” Tricia asks in confusion.

“You’re not familiar with Al Bundy, Tricia?” Celeste asks. “Celeste Pritchett, by the way.” Celeste introduces herself to the young girl with a handshake as well. Lizzie’s face scrunches up again after hearing Celeste’s full name.

“No, can’t say I am, Ms. Pritchett.” Tricia answers.

“Oh, thank God.” Hal comments in relief. “There’s still hope I get to see a time in my life when Married With Children won’t haunt me anymore. The world is healing.” Hal adds.

“I’m not sure your wife and kids would appreciate that Mr. Bundy.” Tricia innocently comments, to the roaring laughter of Viv, while Celeste unsuccessfully tries to get her to stop.

“Oh! Please, just call me Hal. PLEASE.” Hal pleads desperately. “And I’m not married with children. More like, ‘divorced with child’. ‘Married with Children’ is the name of a TV show my name is just unfortunately forever tied to.” Hal tries to clarify.

“You’re an actor, Hal?” Tricia asks, and Lizzie can’t hide her confusion why Tricia doesn’t seem to be getting it.

“Nope. He’s a shoe salesman.” Viv jokes, getting a slap on the arm from Celeste for continuing the joke.

“Don’t listen to her.” Hal tells Tricia, shaking his head in defeat and disappointment.

“And don’t get him started on talking about his high school football career or you’ll never hear the end of it.” Viv continues. Meanwhile, Lizzie shows something on her phone to Tricia.

“The same joke, every fucking time.” Hal says, rubbing his temple now.

“Four touchdowns! In one game! His life’s accomplishment!” Viv doesn’t relent.

“You done?” Hal finally asks Viv once she stops.

“How’s Peggy doing?” Viv indirectly answers Hal’s question.

“Enough, Vivian.” Becca finally tells Viv to stop.

“You’re not the boss of me.” Viv replies, getting Becca to raise an eyebrow threateningly. “~Fiiiiine, partner.” Viv finally relents.

“I’m sorry your boss derailed our conversation, Tricia.” Hal tells her.

“No worries. Lizzie showed me who Al Bundy is on her phone and I’m all caught up now.” Tricia replies, and Hal just takes a deep sigh in defeat.

“She also showed me a character called ‘Jay Pritchett’ that’s played by the same actor? That’s one heck of a coincidence.” Tricia then adds, to the shock and horror of Celeste, before Viv once again starts laughing uncontrollably.

“I didn’t even notice that before! Jay even has a latina girlfriend now too!” Viv shouts in between laughs. “And holy shit! Pritchett!” Viv adds in realization.

“Oh no.” Celeste utters, immediately realizing that she’ll become Viv’s new target soon enough.

“Did you guys know that Celeste’s ex-husband was named Walt, and they named their kid Jesse?” Viv asks the group.

“Like Breaking Bad?” Paige can’t help but ask, trying to hold in her own laugh, but Lizzie once again notices something about those names too.

“And isn’t Celeste and Jesse from a movie?” Lizzie asks.

“Celeste and Jesse Forever! Yes! I know that movie!” Viv shouts, asking Lizzie for a high five.

“UGH! Yes, my ex-husband’s last name is Wilkerson. I’m dating Hal. Hal Wilkerson. Malcolm in the Middle. Played by the same guy who played Walter White. And now that I think about it, Hal’s daughter’s name is Claire, and with the Modern Family connection now, that’s Jay Pritchett’s daughter’s name too.” Celeste starts to mindlessly list off all the naming coincidences she’s aware of. “Is that everything? Or are we just going to keep poking fun at our names?” Celeste asks in exasperation, obviously trying to get ahead of Viv before she makes jokes about it.

“When did you stop being fun?” Viv asks Celeste, the latter poking her on her side to drop it.

“You’re lucky you’re not named Lily or I’d be laughing my ass off too.” Celeste fires back.

“HA! Weak! What? Just cause I’m Vietnamese?” Viv asks back.

“You’re not Vietnamese. You’re gay! You’re gay!” Celeste throws back at her, and the two girls start sharing a laugh at their shared sense of humor.

…

“So~, Lizzie? You’re a waitress here, right? I was surprised you stayed behind too.” Hal intentionally tries to take the conversation elsewhere, while Viv is distracted and before she can start noticing something new about their names.

“Oh! Uh~, yeah. Waitress.” Lizzie answers Hal, reeling from the sudden change of focus onto her. “But I’m also going to take over as the assistant executive secretary to Ms. Hoffman once Tricia’s done with her summer internship. I just wanted to show initiative and learn about the responsibilities before taking on the role later on.” Lizzie explains.

“You have three assistants?” Hal asks in shock.

“Is that a problem, Hal?” Becca asks menacingly, not appreciative of the judgmental tone in Hal’s voice.

“Nope.” Hal quickly surrenders. “Happy to hear you’re lowering the unemployment rate all by yourself.” Hal half-jokes.

“Speaking of work, I do have a question, Becca.” Mercy then chimes in, and Becca gives her a nod that she can ask it. “Should I cancel the reservation you and your party have at our establishment?” Mercy asks.

“Oh fuck!” Viv reacts, her disappointment apparent.

“Why? What happened?” Tricia asks with concern.

“Yes, Mercy. I believe that reservation won’t be necessary anymore.” Becca answers.

“What!? No! We can’t end the night like this, Becca!” Viv says, almost pleading with Becca to change her mind, or to convince her that there’s still hope for their planned after party activity.

“Need I remind you that Brooke’s out of commission already, so we won’t even be complete even if we do push through with it. Stella and Cassie have their own relationship to address, so I’m not sure they’d both be willing at this current stage. Not to mention, I’m sure Jay is exhausted after everything that’s happened with us today, and he’s the most important piece to what you’re hoping for, Vivian.” Becca points out.

“Oh, I bet he’s exhausted.” Viv says sarcastically. “You’re just okay with it because you—” Viv starts to add, before Becca cuts her off.

“You’re still in front of our employees, Vivian. Mind. Your. Tongue.” Becca warns her. “You’ve almost gotten yourself in trouble tonight already.” Becca reminds her, and Viv swallows what she was about to say immediately, but the disappointment on her face is still palpable.

“I’m guessing not everyone here is part of the community?” Hal asks, and Becca immediately shakes her head to answer.

“What community?” Tricia asks, and even Lizzie seems curious about it too.

“Best not to ask, guys.” Paige tells them.

“But, you know?” Lizzie asks.

“Oh! I- uh~, I was accidentally made aware of it. Yes.” Paige answers.

“I’d say after our previous encounter, you’re a member of our community already.” Mercy teases, getting Viv to laugh.

“Oh my God! Juicy!” Celeste says in reaction. “You went!? With who!? Don’t tell me you went with Jay!?” Celeste asks, excited for the gossip.

“C! She’s clearly not comfortable talking about it.” Hal points out to her, and Celeste immediately apologizes.

“Is it, like, information that only the Executive Secretary gets to know?” Lizzie asks Paige.

“I mean, no. Like I said, I found out accidentally.” Paige answers.

“Well, can you accidentally tell us?” Tricia prods out of curiosity, getting Paige to look at Becca for help.

“Similar to what I told Paige, I will not stop your curiosity.” Becca tells Tricia. “However, and let me be clear on this — if your curiosity does get the best of you, whatever you find and learn are outside of your employ. I will not be held responsible.” Becca tells them.

“Sounds ominous.” Tricia comments. “Now I’m even more curious.” She adds.

“Wait, so this isn’t a work-related thing?” Lizzie asks, and Paige immediately shakes her head in answer. “So it’s just like, one of your shared interests as a group?” Lizzie asks.

“The five of us, yes. Paige, despite Mercy’s teasing, is not an actual member.” Becca answers.

“Oh! Oh~. Oh no.” Lizzie says, her mind going immediately to the inside joke that her group has for her. If it’s their group, she’s not sure she wants to find out about their ‘community’.

“You seem to have an understanding already, Lizzie.” Becca notices.

“Oh! Uh~, no? I mean, I don’t want to assume.” Lizzie replies in panic.

“You don’t have to. I can show you exactly what our community is all about if you want.” Mercy replies.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Especially if the girls don’t know what they’re getting into.” Hal comments. “I can’t imagine Claire just being dragged there without knowing. I don’t even want to imagine Claire finding out.” Hal adds.

“I’m not being dragged, though. And I like the mystery of it all, so don’t spoil it for me! This sounds like an adventure.” Tricia replies.

“You might not like what you find on the other side of the rabbit hole, Alice.” Viv warns her.

“I guess that’s for me to decide, isn’t it?” Tricia replies.

“Then it would seem I’m your white rabbit tonight.” Mercy chimes in.

“Becca,” Celeste addresses Becca with concern.

“Wait, you said this isn’t work-related, right?” Tricia asks Becca, noticing the obvious parental tone of concern in Celeste’s voice.

“No, but you are still my responsibility, Tricia.” Becca answers.

“I’m a grown adult. I can do what I want.” Tricia tells Becca.

“I don’t think your grandparents would agree.” Becca points out.

“They don’t have to find out.” Tricia answers.

“My kinda girl.” Viv and Mercy simultaneously comment.

“Then I will not—cannot—stop you.” Becca replies, to Tricia’s clear excitement.

“Yey!” Tricia says excitedly. “I’m going with Mercy then.” Tricia declares.

“If that’s the case, we’re going too.” Celeste states.

“I mean, we were already going to begin with, but I guess we’re going for a different reason now too.” Hal adds.

“Okay, but we’re going as peers, right? So don’t be too strict, okay? And! Don’t spoil me about Wonderland. I want to see it for myself first.” Tricia addresses Celeste and Hal, after immediately recognizing that they’re not comfortable with her curiosity towards their community and her adventurousness to experience it firsthand.

Hal looks at Celeste, checking on how she thinks they should act on Tricia’s request, before Celeste gives him a nod. That’s all Hal needed to understand that they’re on the same page, and Hal answers, “Peers.”, assuring Tricia.

“What about you, Lizzie? Aren’t you the least bit curious?” Tricia asks Lizzie.

“Curiosity killed the cat, so I think I’ll pass.” Lizzie answers, and Tricia’s look of determination is even more cemented now.

“My dad used to say that a lot. But that’s not even the full quote. ‘Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back.’ That’s the full quote. So you’re not exactly making a good argument for not going.” Tricia points out.

“We don’t **** people in our community, Tricia. That’s the first thing you’ll need to understand about us. Consent is crucial. If Lizzie doesn’t want to go, then she’s free to take her leave.” Mercy informs Tricia.

“But Lizzie~, don’t you want to go on an adventure together? Consider it a co-worker bonding thing.” Tricia continues to plead with Lizzie.

“Are you going, Becca?” Lizzie asks.

“No. I canceled my group’s reservation for a reason. I don’t think Chef Nguyen and I will be able to join you tonight.” Becca answers.

“Bummer.” Viv comments in disappointment, but she knows Becca’s right. Her group needs time to recover their mental strength after everything that happened today.

“Wait, so Maddy was going there!?” Tricia asks in surprise. “Then I’m definitely going now.” She adds more emphatically.

“Not that you weren't already.” Mercy says supportively, and Tricia looks appreciative of Mercy nurturing her curiosity.

“Then I’m going too.” Paige chimes in. “And yes, Tricia, I’m going there to look out for you. You don’t know what you’re getting into.” Paige adds.

“Don’t you trust me, Paige?” Mercy asks her teasingly.

“I’m beginning to think you wanted me to see what was inside that room now.” Paige tells Mercy with an accusatory look.

“Of course I did. I never hid that. That was part of your tour.” Mercy tells her with a devilish smile.

“Then yeah, I’m definitely going now.” Paige says defiantly.

“Alright then! The more the merrier.” Tricia says enthusiastically. “Even if most of you are just going as my babysitter, I’m glad that there’s people to look out for me.” Tricia tells Paige.

“You sure, you don’t want to come, Lizzie?” Tricia makes a final plea, weaponizing FOMO now that everyone’s going except for Viv and Becca.

“Positive.” Lizzie says with finality.

“You can still come with us and just enjoy the perks. You can order whatever you like at the pub. It’ll be on the house.” Mercy offers. Surprisingly, that is what gets Lizzie to reconsider.

“For real?” Lizzie asks, getting Mercy to nod to confirm. Lizzie also looks at Becca who confirms that Mercy is indeed not joking. “Is there food?” Lizzie asks.

“Of course.” Mercy answers. Lizzie considers the thought for a moment, before finally making a decision.

“But I don’t have to go into Wonderland, right? I can stay in Kansas and just eat?” Lizzie clarifies one last time, and Mercy once again confirms that is the case.

“Fine. Free food is free food.” Lizzie finally agrees.

“YES!” Tricia shouts in excitement. “This is going to be my first night out in the city with friends! I can’t wait!” Tricia adds.

“You might regret that with this group.” Paige continues to forewarn her.

“Well then,” Mercy says while checking her watch.

“No time to say ‘Hello, Goodbye’, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late.”