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The booze helped at first, making it easier to smile, laugh, play the part of the resilient, talented daughter home from college, taking everything in stride and not longing for the man who was as old as her mother.
Well, it worked until it didn’t.
Until dinner was over and no one noticed me slip out.
It was cold outside the restaurant, and I wasn’t wearing a coat. A booze blanket sufficed, though.
“Why aren’t you here?” I demanded, holding the phone up to my ear after dialing the number I probably shouldn’t have.
“You’re drunk,” Elden observed.
I scowled as I teetered on the curb, looking at everyone inside Violet’s. They were laughing. Drinking. Eating.
“Whether or not I’ve had a cocktail to celebrate my mother’s restaurant opening is behind the point,” I slurred, slipping off the curb and catching myself. “The point is you’re not here.”
“Where are you, Violet?” Elden asked.
“I asked you a question first,” I hissed, frowning at the car idling way down the street. The lights were off, but I could swear I saw a shadow in it.
“I’m on a run,” he replied tightly. “Now, I’m asking you where you are because it’s late, you’re fucking drunk and it’s too damn quiet wherever the fuck you are. If you’re outside alone—”
“What?” I demanded. “You’re gonna spank me,Daddy?”
There was a dangerous silence on the other end of the phone.
“Don’t you ever fuckin’ call me that again,” he demanded, his voice colder than the early spring air.
We were silent for a long time. I continued to stare at the car that hadn’t moved. Elden didn’t hang up.
“Go back inside, Violet,” Elden sighed quietly, sounding tired.
“Why aren’t you here, Elden?” I whined.
“Because you’re there, baby,” he murmured. “And we’re playin’ with fire right now. I don’t want you getting burned.”
My breath caught in my chest. “What if I want to be burned by you?”
“I’m doing the right thing here, Violet.”
“For whom?” I demanded, thinking of all those ugly words he said to me the last time I saw him.
Elden didn’t answer.
“Yeah, I thought so,” I muttered.
“Go back inside, baby,” he said, softer this time.
I stayed on the line for a long time.
He didn’t hang up.
Not until the door to the restaurant opened and Colby poked his head out.
“Violet!” he barked. “What the fuck are you doing out here alone?”
“Just a second!” I called to him, but Elden had already hung up.
I went back to school after Mom’s opening. She promised to send me any and all baby updates. I was designing her nursery, and even though it was more décor than any kind of design, I enjoyed it.
