Chapters (38)
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- thirteen
- fourteen
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- thirty-four
- thirty-five
- thirty-six
- thirty-seven
- epilogue
She shook her head. This had to end. “It doesn’t matter what I feel. I’m a married woman and you’re a married man. I’m going home to my husband soon.” And one kiss would be the end of life as I know it. There would be no turning back, no stopping my body’s response, no end in sight. There would be no way to stop Tolly from ...she shuddered to think what he’d do.
“You won’t forget me. You won’t forget any of this.”
“No, I won’t, Chet. Good night.” Violet hung up the phone in her parents’ kitchen and slid her back down the wall to sit on the worn green and cream linoleum squares. She closed her eyes and saw nothing but Chet’s face; heard him saying You’re as drawn to me as I am to you. I can’t stand in the same room without shaking all over, trying to resist the pull you have on me. She wondered if he knew he’d put her own thoughts into words.
She had to get out of here, and she had to do it fast. She’d call Tolly tomorrow.
Chet didn’t return to the Glenns’ once. Violet found herself staring out the windows, listening for his truck, but he was gone. She sat on her bed and recounted every word, every look, every time their eyes had met. She let that warmth settle into her bones and promised herself she’d keep it there. It was hers alone, something Tolly could never take from her.
Tolly came on Sunday and seemed so happy to see her it hurt her heart. She kissed her mother and father goodbye and smiled at her husband as he closed her heavy car door with a thud. His Coupe DeVille was annoyingly perfect inside, not a speck on the bright red and white leather. Violet fought the urge to smear lipstick in a hidden patch and lost. She swiped a pinkie tip full of Revlon’s Spring Tulip and smeared it along the bottom of her seat.
When Tolly slid in beside her he said, “You look radiant, Violet. It’s done you so much good to be with your folks. I’ve missed you, but I’m glad you had this time with them.” He pecked her cheek and shifted the car into drive. Violet noted he smelled of some new cologne, one without the slightest hint of bourbon.
She looked out the window at the flowering trees and pink azaleas on Quintard Avenue, marveling at the beauty of her hometown. She smiled at the majestic Parker Memorial Baptist Church where she’d married Tolly. In a parking lot on her right, Chet leaned against his truck and stared at Violet as they passed.