"The Lonely Heart of Riverdale: Part Two" - A Betty's Diary Tale

When we last left Betty, she was involved in the middle of a mystery surrounding a love letter found in a book she took home with her from a book sale.  This story, which started yesterday (and can be found in "Betty's Diary #4") last had Betty at the Riverdale Hall of Records to find information on a girl named Lydia Wyndham.  In 1917, she wrote a letter to her love, Declan McManus, who was overseas as a soldier in World War I.  The letter was never mailed, and any leads to a possible location always lead to a dead end.  But Betty is determined to find out who Lydia is, and where she is (or even if she is still alive), so she can return the letter to her and find out whatever became of her and Declan.

It's been three hours since she arrived at the Hall of Records, and she has come up empty.  The process to transfer all of the records onto the computer has been a slow process, and all of the files that are in the building are all mixed up.  Betty is about ready to give up on the search when she stumbles upon an interesting piece of information in the real estate records.

Inside is what appears to be the most current address for Lydia Wyndham.  It's believed that at some point in her adulthood, she bought a house right in the middle of Riverdale.  It's a long shot, but Betty believes that she has located Lydia.  As Betty walks down to the neighbourhood where Lydia is supposed to live, she is nervous about meeting Lydia.  If Lydia was sixteen when she wrote the letter, she would be eighty-six years of age now.  She wonders what she will even say to her.  She arrives at the home where she thinks Lydia is living, and she spies an elderly woman sitting on her porch sipping on some tea.  She hears Betty approaching and wonders who she is.  Betty tells Lydia that she found an old book at a library book sale and inside was a letter that she wrote.

The letter seems to have spooked Lydia at first, but once she starts reading the letter, she starts to chuckle.  She is more than happy to share the story of the letter, but she warns Betty that the story behind the letter isn't as romantic as she thinks it is, because she says that she made the whole thing up.  Lydia explains that when she moved to Riverdale, she was around Betty's age.  She had very few friends, and she had a vivid imagination.  She created the character of Declan McManus out of loneliness and she would write letters from her point of view as well as from his point of view.

Lydia is sure that Betty thinks she's mad, but Betty is so fascinated by Lydia's story that she wants to hear more.  Lydia admits that she would imagine her Declan to be so brave, fighting for freedom and standing up to the enemy.  Braving the battle lines, with the letters from her keeping his spirits up and promising him that she would wait for him.  She dreamed of him coming home from the war, their love becoming stronger than ever before, and they would get married, have children, and live happily ever after.  It was a nice dream, but for Lydia that was all that it would ever be.  Betty is saddened that Lydia has seemingly had a lonely life, but Lydia insists that it all worked out for her.  Because Lydia did such a fantastic job of conveying emotions and using words to express her true feelings, she eventually used that gift to become a best-selling romance author.  I can imagine that the books she sold she used to pay for her home and set herself up for life.

In fact, Betty seems shocked when Lydia Wyndham reveals her pen name is Elyse Smith - an author that Betty is not only familiar with, but who happens to be one of her favourite authors.  Talk then turns to the book "Wuthering Heights", and before long, Betty joins Lydia for a spot of tea, and they swap stories.  I can imagine Lydia giving Betty tips on writing, and sharing her worldly wisdom, and I can imagine Betty telling Lydia all about Archie, and how she has a dream to be a writer herself.  It's the beginning of a beautiful, unexpected friendship between Lydia and Betty and I love how they have bonded in this story.  They have such a great time together that Betty ends up staying until the sun goes down.  Betty has to get going, but Lydia thanks Betty for the visit, and Betty promises that she will visit again.

And that's a promise that Betty makes.  Beginning with Betty's Diary #4, and lasting for the next thirteen or fourteen issues, Betty and Lydia's bond grows, and there are several stories in which Betty seeks Lydia's guidance for a variety of things.  I plan on sharing some more stories of Betty's friendship with Lydia in this space, so stay tuned for that. 

However, there is something nagging at Betty as she leaves Lydia's place.  She was entertained by Lydia's vivid stories, but she gets the feeling that Lydia didn't tell her everything, and when she goes to the Hall of Records, she makes a very tragic discovery - one that can be seen in the tears of Lydia's eyes as she looks through another letter.