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 made the bed and perched delicately on its edge, wondering if Chet would come back. Just seeing him from her window had plastered a silly grin on her face. She chided herself for acting like a teenager. Violet jumped when the gold princess phone next to her bed rang.
“Hello?”
“Why didn’t you answer the door? I drove all the way from Anniston to see you. Well, honestly, I had to pick up some parts in Bessemer. But still.”
“I was busy and hadn’t even dressed for the day, Chet. You can’t simply drop by here.”
“I know that. First I called the office and asked to speak with Dr. Thompson, so I could be sure he was there and occupied with patients. I’m not crazy.”
That was debatable. Violet had no idea what to say next.
“Well,” Violet said, “Thank you for coming by. I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you.”
“Oh, you’re going to see me. I’m at a pay phone a few miles from your house and I’m stopping by with a little present. Don’t even protest, Vi. Anyone who sees will think I’m on a service call or soliciting for business. I don’t have to come inside, just please open the door.”
She glanced at the mirror to see if her bruises showed. She decided she’d risk it to see him, if only for a minute. She was very curious about his “present.”
“All right.”
“Great,” he answered. “I’ll see you in a minute. Bye.”
She was waiting in the foyer, terrified someone might drive by and determined to dispatch Chet as quickly as possible. She opened the door before he knocked. He beamed at her—Violet couldn’t help but remember the way he looked at her when he was a boy—and handed her a gift wrapped in floral paper. It was obviously a book of some sort.
“Should I open it?”
His eyes never left her face. “You truly are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He glanced over her shoulder into the house. “Yes, open it. Do you think I could come in for maybe two minutes?”
Violet shrugged and opened the door wide enough for him to pass, carefully scanning the street for people who might be taking malicious notes.
She pulled the paper off and found a book covered in deep purple fabric. “Violet” was embroidered in fancy gold script at the lower right corner.
“Open it,” Chet said. “Turn to the very back.”
It was a blank journal. At the end he’d handwritten, “You are beautiful.”
“Oh, Chet, this is so lovely. I don’t know what to say. Thank you.” She hugged the book to her chest and fought tears. One or two escaped and traced her cheeks.