Riverdale

Sixty-seven years have gone by.

It's the present day.

Since our last chapter, teenagers have become adults,

gotten married, raised children of their own.

Many have taken their last breaths.

This story tonight is about saying goodbye to a town that was once lost in time.

But also goodbye to the people who once lived in that town.

It starts near the end.

With a woman named Elizabeth Cooper.

She's 86 years old now,

resting in a small room in her granddaughter's house.

She checks the obituaries every day.

You knew him in high school, didn't you, Grandma Betty?

Seems like he was an interesting person.

He was.

We all were.

We had such marvelous adventures.

Oh. You wouldn't have believed it, Alice.

Well, that's it.

That means I'm the last of them.

Alice, honey.

I want to go back.

To Riverdale. One last time.

Before it's too late.

I'm forgetting more and more every day,

and I want to go back before I forget everything.

Well, let's see how you're doing tomorrow.

If you're up for it, yes, we can take a drive to Riverdale.

Thank you, dear.

Hello?

I must have fallen asleep.

I was going through our yearbook.

Trying to remember...

- Remember what? - Oh.

Everything, I suppose.

I'm going back to Riverdale tomorrow.

My granddaughter's taking me.

Though going through these pictures,

I just wish I could go back to how it was.

How we were.

You can, Betty.

You could pick a day, and I'll take you.

- Though it might be painful for you. - Why should it be painful?

Because you won't just be living that day, you'll be seeing yourself live it.

Still...

If you say we can, then...

I wanna go back to a day I missed.

The day everyone got their yearbooks, senior year.

I had the mumps, and I had to stay home...

and I never got my yearbook signed.

I've always regretted that.

Then we'll start in the morning.

You just have to walk through that door, and you'll have your day.

The day you missed.

Oh, my goodness, it's my room.

It's exactly like I remembered.

Hello, room.

Is that...?

Is that really what I looked like?

There were so many things I wanted to change about myself back then.

Why? I was perfect.

We were all perfect.

My window.

How many sunrises have I seen out this window?

How many moons? How many times...?

How many times have I looked out this window into Archie's?

In the thousands, at least.

Archie's about to have a big talk with his mom.

About what he's gonna do after graduation.

Hey, sweetie.

- Breakfast is ready. - Thanks, Mom.

Hey, Mom.

I don't want to be a pest,

but I gotta let Vic know by tomorrow if I'll be joining his crew on Monday.

It just doesn't make sense to me.

Driving around the country with some dusty road crew,

pouring concrete, digging ditches...

Well, it's like President Eisenhower said on the news.

I'll be building the highways that help connect people and places

from coast to coast, all the way to California.

It'll give me something to write about.

But you've written so many wonderful poems in Riverdale.

Mom.

It's only gonna be three months, and then I'll be back.

No, Archie.

No.

You'll get one look at the Pacific Ocean and forget all about Riverdale.

Forget Riverdale?

Fat chance.

This will always be my home. Our home.

What?

You're just like your father.

He was full of wanderlust.

He always dreamt about settling in the West.

He never did, but...

maybe you will.

With my blessing.

Thank you.

I love you, Mom.

I love you too, Archie.

I don't remember. What happened to Mrs. Andrews?

She bought her dress shop.

And then one day, a woman named Brooke came in.

They started a conversation,

and a few weeks later, she moved into the Andrews house.

They stayed together until the very end.

Mrs. Andrews was always such a kind woman.

She once gave my mother hell for disowning me.

Oh, stop.

Is that...?

We can't have the baby shower outside in the middle of June.

- I'll melt! - Please, stop being so dramatic.

We'll get those cute little paper fans.

Mom!

Polly!

You're alive!

And you're so young!

And you're talking again.

Elizabeth, what are you doing out of bed? You have the mumps, young lady.

No. No, I feel fine, I'm going to school.

Mom...

You did it. You divorced Dad. You became a stewardess.

Just like you dreamed.

Well, my dream was to see the world.

Not pass out peanuts on a puddle-jumper to Poughkeepsie.

But life goes on.

No, wait, don't rush off, Mom.

Just... Can I...? Just look at me. Just...

Look at me.

For heaven's sake, I'm looking at you, Betty.

And I'm seeing a girl who, if she doesn't have the mumps,

better hurry up so she's not late for school.

- Right. Of course. School. -

First...

I love you, Mom.

Oh.

I love you, Polly.

I'm so, so happy to see both of you again.

What in...?

Was my mom a stewardess for very long?

On the contrary.

One night, her pilot had a steak, three martinis, and a heart attack.

And your mom took control of the plane and flew it

from Riverdale to Poughkeepsie,

landing it safely.

That's right.

And one of the passengers on the plane

asked her to dinner out of gratitude for saving his life.

And a few months later, they got married.

He offered to show her the world,

and she wrote you postcards from everywhere they went.

Until one day, the postcards stopped coming.

What about Polly?

She had her twins, Juniper and Dagwood.

She was very fulfilled.

She led a happy life with her family,

but she never got back to performing as Polly Amorous.

I only ever saw Polly perform once. At the Babylonium.

But I can still picture her.

She was such a star.

Are you ready?

To go back to school one last time?

Is this real?

Or a dream?

It's more like something in between.

But this is really what happened on that day back in 1957.

Everyone is so young and beautiful and carefree.

And they have no idea, do they?

How special this time is, how quickly it goes by,

like the blink of an eye.

Bee?

You're not supposed to be here.

Or did you have some kind of miracle recovery?

Veronica!

Thank goodness!

This is too wonderful for words.

There's an ego boost I didn't know I needed.

You should get the mumps more often.

Well, come on then.

The day has barely begun and we're already behind.

There are about a million things to do before the last bell rings.

We're getting our yearbooks today, don't forget.

I can't believe it, Vee.

This is the last time we'll be walking into Riverdale High ever in our lives.

Betty, we haven't even graduated yet.

It's too soon to be swamped with nostalgia.

That said, I'm feeling a little verklempt myself.

- I'll powder my nose. Catch you later? - Yes. Later.

Attention, Riverdale High students.

- Toni. - As your Senior Class President,

I'm reminding all students to pick up their yearbooks

in the Varsity Lounge today.

One per student.

Now...

on a more personal note,

as we seniors look forward to graduation,

it's only fitting that I share one final poem with you.

It's entitled "Dreams,"

by Langston Hughes.

Hold fast to dreams