The Bad Twin (26 page)

Violet let Rose walk down the stairs first. Rose could feel Violet softening up to her, but she wasn’t going to get her hopes up too high, because she was tired of getting rejected.  When she entered the kitchen, she could see her mother had cooked a big southern style breakfast. She couldn’t wait to eat, so she immediately took her place at the kitchen table.

Pearle, in a jubilant voice said, “Now Rose, I could’ve brought you your breakfast.”

“I’m fine,” she said as she grabbed her favorite fruit, a banana. “I won’t do too much, I promise. By the way, I’m treating you both to a dinner, so don’t make any plans for this evening.”

Pearle placed a plate full of grits, sausage and scrambled eggs on the table. “Child, I ain’t got anything to wear to no fancy dinner.”

“Mama, you can just wear a dress. How about the one I sent you last month; the black one with the floral scarf? That’ll be perfect.”

Violet walked in and joined them at the table. Their mom said grace.  “Thank you Lord for your healing power. Thank you for allowing the love to flow through this family. Please strengthen us and never let us sway from your word. Bless this food, we’re about to eat and protect us on this day’s journey. Amen.”

 “Amen,” Rose and Violet said in unison.

After everyone ate, Violet volunteered to clean up the kitchen. Rose returned a couple of phone calls. She called some of her relatives back who had called to check up on her over the past few days. She hadn’t checked her personal messages since she had been in Louisiana, so she checked her voice mail. It was full and took her longer than she thought to go through all of the messages.

Rose walked back in the kitchen. “I tell you, some people act like they can’t get along without me,” she said.

Violet looked up from wiping off the counters. “Trouble in paradise?”

“Nothing that Carmen can’t handle. What are your plans for the day?”

“I’m meeting Pierre for lunch and I plan to visit with a few people.” Violet folded up the dishtowel.  “I’ll meet you guys back here for dinner.”

Rose picked up her glass and drank the rest of her orange juice. “So what’s up with you and Pierre? Any more kisses?” Rose asked.

Violet responded, “Now you know talking about men is a sore subject between the two of us. We’ve been doing fine this week, let’s not spoil it.”

Rose went to the sink and washed her glass. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to find out what was going on with my only sister. I shouldn’t have to always hear about it from another source you know.”

“You made the bed that you now lay in,” Violet said with some attitude.

Rose turned around and looked at Violet. “I’ve also attempted to show there are no more thorns, so please give us another chance.” She didn’t wait around to hear Violet’s response; she turned and walked out of the room.

Rose went into the living room to return the rest of her calls. The first person she called was Carmen.

“Rose, where have you been? I’ve been calling you and you failed to leave me your Mom’s number.”

 “Sorry. I thought I did. I’ve been relaxing with my family,” Rose responded nonchalantly. “Just so you won’t hear about this elsewhere, I was in the hospital a couple of days ago.”

“Too late.”

“What do you mean too late?” Rose asked as she used the remote to mute the sound of the television.  In an attempt to get comfortable, Rose crossed her legs up under her.

Carmen explained, “The reason why I was calling is because one of the nurses leaked to a local Shreveport reporter that you were admitted into the hospital and the article he wrote appeared in the Shreveport paper’s front section and it got picked up on the wire.”

Rose sounded agitated. “As far as I know, no one has called me to find out what happened.”

Carmen got silent for a moment. “It stated in the article you were not available for comment.”

“Hold on Carmen.” She screamed for Violet. “Violet, can you pass me today’s paper?”

Violet walked in with the paper and had an attitude written all over her face. “I’ll appreciate it if you wouldn’t yell the next time.” She threw it at her before leaving out of the room.

“Why didn’t you tell me Violet was there?” Carmen questioned. “Is your Mom okay?”

As she looked at the paper, she halfway responded, “Yes. She’s fine. I’ll tell you about that later. Okay. I see it here. At least he kept to the facts, unlike some reporters I know.”

Carmen finally asked, “What exactly is wrong with you?”

“I had a bladder infection, a touch of pneumonia, and I was little dehydrated. The doctor gave me some antibiotics so I’m feeling one hundred percent better.”

Carmen sighed and said, “Good to know. Now I know what to tell the press hounds. Did you ever think the price of success would be this?”

 “No,” Rose said as she laid the paper down. “I’ve gotten used to it. Anything else I should know about?”

“Nothing, just the usual.”

They continued to talk until Rose’s call waiting beeped. “Carmen, let me get this call. I’ll call you right before I leave here, so you can have a car waiting for me.”

She didn’t wait for a response and clicked over to her other line. “Lance, I was just about to call you.”

Sounding upset, he blasted into the phone. “Why did I have to read about you being hospitalized in the paper? I’ve left you messages. I was worried out of my mind.”

Rose un-muted the television and let Lance ramble on with his complaints. Without being interrupted she said, “If you’re through I’ll answer your questions.  Yes, I’m fine. No I didn’t call, because I was on bed rest. Yes, I’ll be home next week as planned. No, I’m not obligated to let you or anyone else know my every move.”

“Baby, you don’t know how bad I wish you would let me into your heart and give us another chance.”

Rose laughed at his comment, “Lance, you’re talking to me now. I know all about the other women.” She stopped laughing and continued to say, “I don’t care about that anymore because you are just something to do to pass the time. You are fun to hang out with and you’re definitely a good lay.”

Lance sounded angry. “I’m tired of the way you treat me.  I break my neck to make sure I keep you happy.  Not once do you show me any type of appreciation. Since you want to go there, I want you to know you’ve been put on notice. I will no longer be your lap dog.”

Rose tried to hold in a giggle and said in a condescending voice, “Whatever you say. Whatever makes you happy.”

Lance sounded like he was steaming mad. “I’m going now before I say something we both will regret.” He hung up on her.

Rose stared at the phone for a moment in disbelief.  “He’ll be calling back.” She went through her list of numbers saved on her phone and found Trey’s number, her favorite co-star, on and off the screen.

Rose stated, “I was about to hang up.”

Sounding as if he was in the bed, Trey responded, “Can I call you back?”

 “No you may not,” Rose responded. Not one to be put off, she said, “I’ll talk to you, when I talk to you. Bye.”

Pearle was walking by and apparently heard the frustration in her voice and checked to see if she was doing okay. Rose reassured her that she was fine. Rose spent the remainder of the afternoon laying on the couch and watching soap operas.

VIOLET

Violet didn’t know what to expect from her lunch date with Pierre. She told him, she would meet him at Pete Harris Café, a popular seafood restaurant located near downtown Shreveport. It wasn’t in the best of neighborhoods, but had the best shrimp etoufee and stuffed crabs, north of New Orleans. As she was waiting for him to arrive, she reminisced about their last encounter.

***

I wonder if he was really my soul mate and our timing was just off, or am I trying to think of ways to distract me from my recent attraction to David. Either way, neither one is worth pursuing. On one hand, I have a man who I thought broke my heart, who is now divorced with kids and has a successful career. Then there’s David who betrayed me with my own sister; yet, I seem to be able to now be in his company without wanting to kill him. Why can’t I meet a man without all of these extra additives?

***

Violet was going back and forth about the two men in her head, when Pierre walked up to the table and took a seat. Pierre said, “Sorry, I’m late, but I had a client who insisted that I be the one to work on his account.”

“No problem,” Violet said. “It gave me a chance to look over the menu.”

She knew he was probably thinking she meant food, but if only he knew she was talking about men.

They chatted in between bites and both realized they still had a lot in common. They were able to easily communicate with one another and had a very pleasant lunch. He walked her to the car she had borrowed from Pearle. Neither acted as if they were ready to part ways. He asked, “Can we meet for dinner tonight?”

“I would, but I promised my sister and Mom I would have dinner with them.”

“How about coming over to my place tonight for a night cap after your dinner?”

She thought about it and declined, but made a counter-offer. “Under the circumstances, I don’t think it’s wise. Can you come over later? Let’s say around eight o’clock. We should be back by then. Besides, she baked a peach cobbler that will knock your socks off.”

He teased her. “You don’t have to tempt me with the cobbler. I would have come just to see you.” He bent down and kissed her before she could protest.

Violet spent the rest of the day visiting with some of her relatives. The day went by quickly and before she realized it, it was time for her to go home for dinner. She’s rushed to get ready so she wouldn’t hear Pearle complain about being tardy.

Violet met Rose down stairs and was only ten minutes late. To her surprise, Pearle was not there. She asked Rose, “Have you checked on Mama? She’s usually the one that’s hounding us about timeliness.”

“I know. She was in the bathroom and she should be coming out any minute,” Rose responded.

Pearle walked in the room. “Ladies. You look like beautiful blooming flowers.”

They turned around and Violet spoke out first. “Mom, why aren’t you dressed? Aren’t you the one always getting on us about tardiness?”

“My arthritis is acting up and this medicine I took has made me extremely sleepy. You girls go ahead and go. This old lady just needs some shut-eye.”

Violet took her hand and walked with her to the sofa. “Mom, we can prepare something or order something.”

“No.” She protested. “I wouldn’t hear of it. Rose wanted to treat us both. She’ll have to make up by taking me to lunch before she leaves.”

Rose hugged Pearle and kissed her on the cheek. “You have a rain check. Come on Violet. I’ll even let you drive.”

Violet looked over at Pearle. “You’re sure you’re going to be all right?”

“Yes. Now you two go, before you’re late for your reservation.”

They rode in silence as Violet drove. When they reached Michael’s, there was a line. Since they had a reservation, they could be seated right away. As they waited for their meal to be served, Rose tried to strike up a conversation. “Do you miss living here?”

Violet took a sip of her water. “Sometimes. It’s a nice place to grow up, but I also like the ocean.”

Rose eyes sparkled. “So do I. The ocean keeps me centered sometimes.  I think I’ll take a cruise when I get another big break in between projects.”

The waiter brought over their food and they continued to talk in between bites.  Violet had been observing Rose over the last few days and noticed that something about her had changed.  Rose was still a little bossy, but yet she was cordial to Violet, at least most of the time. The old Rose would have caused drama which would have put their mom in an awkward position.

As they ate dinner, Violet thought about some of the things Pearle had said the first night she was there. She questioned herself about how she felt about Rose now, seeing that she had indeed changed.  She prayed silently that she would be able to forgive her before it was too late.

Violet snapped back into the moment. Rose was talking to her but she had only heard Rose’s last statement.  “A penny for your thoughts.”

“I was enjoying this great food,” Violet responded. “You know I like the seafood out in Cali, but the seasoning can’t touch this.”

Rose wiped her mouth with her napkin and took a bite of garlic bread. “I know. This bread is the bomb. The fish is so good; it’s falling off the bone.”

Violet swallowed her stuffed shrimp. “I think I’ve gained about five pounds this week.”

“I probably would have too, if I hadn’t gotten sick.”

 “Are you taking your medicine like you’re supposed to?” Violet asked.

Rose picked up her glass of wine. “Yes, I am.”

Violet tried not to sound like a mother hen, but said anyway, “You really shouldn’t be drinking any alcohol while taking those medications.”

Rose put the glass down without taking another sip. “You’re right. I’m so used to having a glass of wine with my dinner, that it’s become a habit.”