Running, breathing, bumping into other people. They were so much older. They should have known better.
Dizziness, confusion.
She was in that house again. She was in that bed, again. He was at the end of the bed, rubbing her legs again. “I’ll take good care of you, you know that right?”
She nodded her head. She trusted him. Those blue eyes.
“You’re lucky you found me. There are so many bad men out there.”
“Are you a bad man?”
He smiled. “No, I’m protecting you. I saved you, remember?”
“Oh.”
“But remember, that comes with a payment.”
“I don’t have any money.”
“That’s okay,” he said.
Violet gasped as she woke up. It was dark, it wasn’t morning yet. But she woke up, got out of bed anyways. She grabbed her face, shaking away the memory. She got out of her bedroom and went downstairs. She was surprised to see Daniel was up. When she got closer, he looked up from his chair.
“Please don’t tell me you’re a morning person.”
“Uh, no, not really. I don’t know.”
She sat down on the couch and watched TV with him. He watched her, the fear that was in her eyes. “You okay?”
“Me? Oh, yeah, I’m doing fine.”
“Alright. Well, it’s 5:30, I’m going to get ready,” he said getting out of his chair. “Hey, Violet.”
She stood up as he walked by. “Yes Daniel?”
“You can tell me if something is wrong, you know that, right?”
She smiled and nodded her head. “Of course.”
He just made caveman noises and walked to the bathroom. Violet sat on the couch, holding herself, and breathing slowly. It was just a dream, it was behind her now.
Daniel and she were ready by 6:30. They made breakfast, just like the first day, and was out the door. When they to the car, Daniel asked Violet, “Are you nervous?”
“Nay, not at all,” she said.
“Really?”
“Okay, just a little,” she said, feeling small.
Daniel laughed. “Don’t worry. Karl will be alright. He’s a good man, don’t forget that, okay? And Lily is going to love you. I think she’s tired of just men around her café.”
“Doesn’t she have sisters, or friends that are girls?”
“No sister, only child, lucky. I suppose she has friends.”
“Do you have other siblings?” Violet asked Daniel.
He made a face, as if he was trying to remember, as if it had been a long time since he had even thought about it. “I do. But I only talk to Karl.”
“Is he the only family you have?”
“Yes.”
“Do you feel sad? Or are you okay with it?”
Daniel thought about her question. “Both.”
She nodded her head. “That’s understandable. What about your parents? Are they dead, or do you talk to them, or what?”
“Dead, but didn’t talk to my dad since I left. Mom died when I was 16.”
“Do you miss them?”
He sighed and put a hand to his forehead. It was too early to have a conversion like this. “I do, but I don’t. Memories are in the past, and that’s where they need to stay. What about you? Siblings?”
“10 half-siblings.”
“10!” Daniel was shocked.
“I only know about two older sisters, but I never meant the other ones. I didn’t like my sisters, they were mean to me. I hated them. They tortured me as a kid. My mom didn’t deal with them. They weren’t her kids. They were . . .my dad’s kids. I don’t like any of them.”
“Where are they now?”
“Mom’s dead. I don’t care where my dad is, and I don’t know anything about my sisters. I don’t know the names of the other siblings. I just know my dad was a whore.”
“Wow. So, was that why you ran away? Because . . . your sisters were mean?”
She looked outside the window, watching the scene around her speed by and said, “That’s a hard question. Did you want that to be your question for the day?”
He swallowed. “How about after work?”
“Deal.”
When they got to the café, Lily was so excited to have Violet that she even hugged her. Violet was off put and anyone with eyes could see that. But that didn’t stop Lily. “I am so excited to have a girl around here. I’m going to show you everything, and you’re going to love it.”
“Um . . . cool,” Violet said as she was pulled to the back of the café. Karl and Daniel looked to each other.
“Does Lily think that Violet is her new doll?” Daniel asked.
Karl shrugged. “Meh, it makes her happy.”
They had their usual meal, newspaper in one hand, coffee in the other. Violet was showed how to brew and pour the coffee. She even served Daniel his coffee. “My first customer?”
Daniel laughed and told Violet, “Honored.”
Violet smiled and went to the back again.
“She’ll be in good hands, don’t you worry about her,” Karl said as he got up.
“I’m not worried about her, I’m worried about you. She’s, a little unpredictable, and I know that can be a little bit of a problem.”
“For you,” Karl laughed. “Have you not meant us? We’ll be fine.
“Alright, you call me if you need me.”
Karl rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, go to work.”
Daniel waved Violet goodbye, and she waved back. He felt like a parent dropping their child off to their first day of school. He wanted to cry, to run back and get her, but he knew she needed to approach the world by herself, in her own way.
So he got to his car, and drove away.
But Karl did not have to call Daniel. The café didn’t burn down. Everything was fine.
Daniel was impressed with Violet on her first day. Karl and him had a meal together, which Violet had made with Lily’s help. They ate, and everything was normal. He enjoyed watching Violet so happy and smiling.
After they drove home, he decided to not ask Violet the hard question, and let the day be a happy one. They got ice cream at a local fast food place, and Violet was going on about everything that she had learned.
Daniel enjoyed it. He truly did. The light he saw in her eyes was enough for him. “And then, she spilled the cup, but I got the rag real quick, and we laughed.”
“I’m glad you had a good first day at work.”
“I really love my job, thank you Doc,” Violet said taking another bite of her chocolate ice cream.
For the next two weeks, that was how life went. Daniel worked, Violet worked, they went home together, and then watched a movie and went to bed only to repeat everything tomorrow.
They were happy, and at peace. On the weekend, Violet worked and Daniel spent time with his brother.
For the first time in a long time, it felt like things were going in a happy one direction. Watching Violet work gave him joy. Lily really enjoyed her. When Violet found out Lily was pregnant she was so happy for her, and asked all types of questions about the baby. “Boy or girl?”
“Won’t know until 15 weeks,” Lily answered.
“What do you want it to be?”
Lily gave a guilty smile. “A girl, but either way, I just hope baby is healthy.”
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