Violet Chain (14 page)

“It was long but it’s better now that I’m talking to you. I really have to say I’m loving this FaceTime; seeing your beautiful face makes talking on my cell a lot more worthwhile.”

“Oh, you don’t like talking on the phone?”

“Not really.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that, okay I’ll let you go. See ya—” I cut her off.

“Don’t you dare go anywhere...you didn’t let me finish. I was going to say I don’t like talking on the phone except to you.”

She giggled and gave me a toothy smile.

“I love the sound of that,” I mumbled.

“What?”

“Your laugh, it’s the most heart-warming sound I have ever heard.”

“Oh, Chain.”

I loved her laugh, I loved everything about her. I needed to tell her that I wanted more, that I wanted to be with her completely.

I cleared my throat. “Hey, Violet, um I was thinking maybe we could talk a little more about us.”

She paused for a moment before saying, “Us?”

Her comment made me feel a bit uneasy, but I blew it off. This was just how Violet was, hesitant.

I inhaled before exhaling. “Yes, I was thinking that maybe you and I could date, in public?”

“Chain, I told you, I’m not looking for a relationship and I definitely don’t want my friends or family knowing about us,” she murmured.

“But the other night, the way you were, I thought you cared about me.”

“Of course I care about you, but not like you think. The way I acted the other night was the way any person with compassion would act. You were hurting and I was being a friend, comforting you.”

I couldn’t believe she just tagged me into the friend zone!

The line grew silent. I felt devastated, degraded and disappointed. Was she that embarrassed of me?

I heard her breathe hard. “I should go, I have to get up early.”

“Okay, sweet dreams,” I said quietly.

“Bye,” she responded before hanging up the phone.
I was hurt. This was obviously not going anywhere. How did I misread her intentions so horribly? Why do I keep doing this to myself, hoping for something that was not there? Well it was there for me, just not her. I had to stop doing this to myself, I had to stop putting myself into this situation. I decided that I needed to start distancing myself, maybe then my feelings for her would waver, or just simply go away.

I stayed up till the wee hours thinking. The very idea of not having her in my life was heart wrenching, but the idea of being her cabana boy was even more devastating. I loved this woman and I just didn’t know what to do. I barely rested my eyes before the alarm rang and woke me up.

Today, David and I were meeting with the landscapers and a few of the future shop owners over at the property where we were building the mall.

I was speaking with one of the shop owners when my cell buzzed.

“Excuse me,” I said to the shop owner as I retrieved my cell and saw it was a text from Violet.

Good mornin
g
.
Violet texted.

I hesitated for a moment. If I answered then I would be telling her it was alright for her just to use me, because I felt that was what she was doing, just using me. But she did text me first, which was a big step for her. Maybe she thought about it more like I did, maybe she had a change of heart.

Good morning,
I texted back.

So how is your day going?

Good, and yours?

Eh. Okay. I’m kind of tired, I didn’t get much sleep last night.

Was the reason for her lack of sleep due to me, was she thinking about me all night, like I was thinking of her? I sure hoped so.

I didn’t sleep well either.

Why?

I glanced up and saw the shop owner glaring at me as I tapped on my cell.

I quickly texted Violet,
I really need to get back to work, so I’ll call you later?

Sure, I’ll talk to you later.

Okay.
I slid my cell back into my pocket, sighed, then walked back over to the shop owner.

It was after six when David and I made our way back to the condo.

I grabbed two beers from the fridge and placed them at the dining room table as David finished preparing spaghetti for dinner—he was adamant about eating healthily. He tried to avoid eating out as much as possible. He carried two plates over to the table where I was finishing up arranging my notes from day and placed one plate in front of me.

“Thanks,” I murmured as I lifted the fork and dug into the pasta.

David sipped from his beer, before saying, “I guess Callie and Violet are going out tonight?”

“Really, I’m sure they’ll have a good time,” I responded as I dug my fork into the pasta again.

“I’m not really liking it, I don’t like when Callie goes out without me.”

I sat back in my chair. David had become overbearing the last few weeks with Callie. I didn’t know if it was because she was slowly rubbing off on him or if he had a reason.

“Why, did something happen?”

“No, I just don’t like her having fun without me. I know it sounds dumb and selfish.”

“It does, David. Callie has the right to have some fun with her friends.”

And I stood by that. I felt that everyone needed their own time. I was happy that Violet and Callie were spending one on one time together.

“I know that, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He pouted.

“You’ll be alright. Trust me.”

“What about Vicky? Doesn’t it bother you that you are so far away, that you don’t know what she’s doing? For Christ’s sake, Chain, she could be hooking up with another man!” David said and I could tell by his worried expression he was thinking of Callie.

“She’s not hooking up with another man, David, Callie loves you.”

“I know. I don’t know why I think like that,” he muttered.

“It’s probably because you have had that happen before to you, but I promise you Callie would never jeopardize her relationship with you for another man,” I explained, attempting to make him feel better.

“I know I’m being stupid. So what about Vicky? Don’t you worry?”

“No, why would I? She has done nothing to make me distrust her.” And it was true. Violet had never done anything or said anything to make me believe that she was interested in another man. If anything she made me believe that she wasn’t interested in men at all, except to satisfy her sexual appetite.

“So do you think I should call off the private detective I have following Callie around?” David joked.

“Yeah, I think you should,” I responded with a chuckle.

I sat at Vinio’s waiting for Callie to arrive. I glanced around at the other patrons in the restaurant when I saw Harrison dining with a woman and it wasn’t the redhead Cheryl. I recognized her as being the same blonde that Chain had brought to the mall opening, that supermodel, Tara. I was surprised that Tara would see a guy like Harrison, she liked her men rich and famous, but I think I was even more shocked that Harrison would be out with a woman like her. He felt women like Tara were superficial, only concerned about their looks and money. He would say, ‘you wouldn’t catch me dead hanging around a woman like that.’ Really, Harrison? What did I expect from a man who was a known cheater, to tell the truth?

Lucky for me, I was tucked away to the side of the restaurant where I wasn’t visible to his eyes. I watched them intensely. Harrison smiled as his hand disappeared under the table and Tara shifted in her seat. I could only guess what was going on under that table. I couldn’t help but feel a little envious of Tara; Harrison never held my hand in public, much less slid his hand under a table when we were out to dinner.

Callie waved at me as she walked over to the table. She strung her purse on the chair before sitting. “Sorry I’m late.”

“It’s fine,” I responded.

The waiter walked over to us. “Would you care for anything to drink, miss?” he asked Callie.

“I’m actually ready to order.” She glanced at me. “What about you, Violet?”

“I’m ready if you are.”

She looked back up at the waiter. “I’ll have the manicotti. Please make sure the garlic bread is toasted and bring us a bottle of your best white wine.”

“Yes, miss, and what can I get you?” the waiter asked me.

“I’ll take the linguini with white clam sauce,” I answered.

He nodded. “Very good, your orders will be out shortly.”

Callie leaned her arms on the table. “So did you see who Harrison is with?”

“Yeah. It’s funny, he used to tell me that he didn’t like the supermodel type, but now he’s with her.”

“Well it shows how low he had to go after losing you. That woman is a complete tramp. You know she and Chain dated for like two years.” Her comment caught me off guard. I knew he had taken this woman to the mall opening, but I didn’t know that they were in a relationship at one time. This kind of bothered me.

“What happened, why aren’t they together anymore?”

“Chain said that she wanted to be exclusive and he wasn’t ready to be tied down. They had a very strange relationship. They both slept with other people, even when they were together. David and I thought it was weird.”

“That is weird.” That instantly raised a question in my mind. Was he sleeping with other women now, while he was with me? The thought made my stomach turn to acid.

The waiter walked up to the table with our food. I placed a napkin on my lap before digging in.

“Violet, I was thinking that maybe we could go up to Curtsey after this,” Callie said as she took a bite off her fork.

“You want to go to a club on a work night?”

“Why not? It will be fun.”

“You realize we have never been to a club together before.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Yes, I know. It’s why we should go—tonight. Come on, Violet. With David gone, the house is so quiet, I hate going home.”

“I don’t care, whatever you want.”

She beamed. “Great, then it’s settled.”

We finished our dinner then I followed Callie back to her house so she could drop off her car and pick up a change of clothes, deciding that we would get ready for the club at my house.

I was excited about going out with Callie, really excited.

This was the first official time Callie and I had ever had a girls’ night out, since I had spent the last four years with Harrison. I began to feel melancholy. I had missed so much of my life wrapped up in Harrison. And what did I get from it? A broken heart. I didn’t know why, but I suddenly missed him, a lot.  It wasn’t the love part, or the girlfriend part, it was mostly the friendship part I missed.
Even though our relationship ended in disaster, we did have a good friendship. Harrison was always a good listener, it was one of his better attributes. He had been backing off at work since I threatened to tell my father. It was strange to me, how someone who was so important in my life for years, a person who I would talk to multiple times a day, could turn into a stranger. I wondered if he missed me, if he thought of me as often as I thought about him. I wondered if he was as happy as I was. I knew a part of me would always love Harrison and even though he hurt me, I really wished him the best.

After I dressed I walked over to my full-length mirror.

“That is the one, Violet, you look hot,” Callie called out from the bathroom.

I turned to her and smiled. “Thanks.”

I gazed at the mirror again. I tugged on the hem of the simple, sleeveless lavender mini dress that revealed my thighs just a tad too much and hugged me so tightly you could see every nip and curve of my body. My first thought was Harrison would hate it—he didn’t like women who showed off a lot of skin, or wore tight clothing, except Tara! I still couldn’t believe he was with that woman! But I loved it and realized I didn’t much care what Harrison thought anymore. I was beginning the process of deprogramming my mind to think of me and not so much of Harrison. Callie stood next to me. She was wearing a mini herself, white and lacy. It made her look taller, showing off her incredibly silky long legs. She held her cell in the air, pointing it down at us as she draped her arm around me.

“Come on, let’s take a quick pic so I can send it to David.” I smiled and she clicked her cell. She tapped on her cell as she walked towards the living room.  A few minutes later, I heard her laughing and knew she was talking to David.

I walked into the bathroom to freshen up my makeup.

I heard the ringtone for my FaceTime and knew instantly it was Chain. It had to be. He was the only one whoever Face-Timed me.

I practically broke my neck in the six-inch pumps I was wearing as I ran into the room, picking up my cell from the nightstand, afraid that Callie would answer. His face flashed across my screen and insecurity filled me immediately as I saw the normal smile that greeted me when we spoke had turned into a somber one. I could hear Callie’s shoes click against the floor as she drew closer to the bedroom.

“One second,” I told Chain as I stood up and walked into the bathroom, closing the door. “Sorry about that.”

“What’s wrong, is Callie near?”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t know you are on the phone, I am in the bathroom and the door is closed.”

He exhaled hard. “I see, have to keep the secret safe.” What the hell did he mean by that?

“So, are you and David having fun?” I asked, trying to lighten his bad mood.

“It’s work, Violet, not a vacation,” he retorted. What was his problem?

“Oh, sorry.”

“David tells me that you and Callie are hitting the club tonight.”

I perked up. “Yeah, it’s our first official girls’ night out, I’m really excited.

I watched his hand brush through the top of his hair. “That’s good. I’m sure you’ll have a good time,” he responded unenthusiastically.

I was happy when Callie called out to me. “Cab’s here, Violet, time to get going.”

“Alright,” I shouted back. I turned back to my cell. “I have to go, Chain,” I said as I rushed into the bedroom, grabbing my purse from the bed.

“See ya later.” His face disappeared from the screen almost instantly, without even waiting for me to say goodbye. My first thought was, why did he even bother calling if he was going to be so moody and distant. Did he meet someone in Minneapolis? I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. The mere thought of Chain being with another woman made me feel all choked up inside, lost and confused. This was exactly why I didn’t want to pursue anything further with him, or anyone else for that matter. I was tempted to cancel with Callie, to lie in my bed like I did when I was upset and bury my head under my pillow and wither away into my sheets. But I didn’t. I stood up, brushed myself off and sauntered out to the living room where Callie sat waiting.

***

I was surprised at how many people were at the club, being as it was a Monday. The heat was like a swarm of bees, surrounding and almost stinging, as we walked into the club. It was dark and the music was blaring loudly from the speakers that were placed in every corner.

Callie and I shoved our way through the writhing bodies that crowded the pathway towards the bar. By the time we reached the bar, I was panting and sweating, regretting wearing the six-inch stilettos. I felt the muscle in my calf tense. I leaned against the bar and lifted my leg and rubbed at the muscle, trying to relax it.

“Hi, Violet,” a familiar voice bellowed. I turned to see Harrison standing behind me.

“Hi,” I responded with a half smile. What was he doing here?

He walked up till he was standing in front of me, placing a finger in his ear, I think to drown out the loud music. “How are you?” he shouted.

“I’m good, and you?” I screamed back.

“I’m getting on good, thanks for asking.” The music began to die down.

“That’s better,” Harrison said. He placed his elbow on the bar and his foot on the stool he was standing beside then turned his eyes to me. “Look, Violet, I wanted to apologize for the way I have been acting lately. I kind of turned into a raving lunatic,” he said with a bashful grin.

“You were acting a little crazy,” I responded.

“I know, I don’t know what came over me. The only excuse I have is that losing you was so hard, I just couldn’t handle it. It’s why I have been trying to stay clear of you at work.”

“I noticed you haven’t been around lately.”

“Trust me, it was one of the hardest things to do, to stay away from you. But I knew I was getting out of control and pushing you away and that’s not what I want to do. I know what we had is over, but I still hope someday we can be friends. I really miss talking to you, Violet.”

I was so proud of him. Finally, he was accepting that our relationship was over. For the first time, I really could see being friends with Harrison, not today, but someday. “We’ll see what happens.”

“So are you seeing anyone?”

“Yeah.”

“I hope he is treating you well.”

“I don’t know, I think he’s okay. Haven’t dated in a while so I don’t know what a bad guy is or a good guy to be honest with you, Harrison.”

He frowned. “Because of me, I was the bad guy.” Well yes, I was definitely screwed up because of him, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud. Instead, I changed the subject.

“What about you? Are you seeing Tara, oh, and what about Cheryl?” My eyes naturally rolled. That woman’s name just irritated me so much. I think it was because Harrison had cheated on me with her, so the name Cheryl in my mind would forever be linked with cheater.

Harrison chuckled. “Tara was just a dinner date, don’t think I will be seeing her again, not my type you know. But I do still see Cheryl on occassion and a few other women too.” Yeah and if we were still together he would still be seeing other women. Ending things with Harrison was probably the best decision I had ever made.

I looked down, smiling. “Who would have thought that you and I would be talking about other people we date.”

I felt his hand graze my cheek and I looked up. “No matter who I date, Violet, I will never love anyone like I loved you. You will always be special in my heart.”

The skin to skin contact made me uncomfortable and I pulled away. “Harrison, please.”

He smiled as his hand dropped to his side. “Don’t worry, I won’t go crazy on you.” We both laughed.

Callie walked up with two drinks, handing me one.

“Harrison,” Callie growled.

“Callie,” Harrison responded.

He placed his hand gently on my arm. “I’ll see ya, Violet.” He turned and walked away.

Even though the conversation was short, it was probably the first time I had talked to Harrison since the breakup when I didn’t feel hatred towards him. I suppose I was beginning to forgive him and that made me feel good. I didn’t want to spend my life hating the man I once loved for so long.

Callie rubbed my shoulder gently, Are you okay?” she asked softly. I let her words sink in. Was I okay?

“Yeah, I really am,” I responded. And I was. I thought knowing why Harrison cheated would bring me closure, but I realized after talking to him that was not it at all. It was knowing that he felt guilty about hurting me and that he did truly love me. And he did. I knew he did and that was what brought me the sense of peace I longed for.

“We are going to have a fucking blast tonight!” Callie crowed happily. It was obvious the wine had hit her too. I continued to rub my calf, still trying to loosen the cramp in my muscle. “Violet, take off those damn shoes and let’s go dance!” Callie said as she reached to one of my shoe straps. With help from Callie, my shoes were off within seconds and I felt relief instantly.
Note to self, never wear stilettos to a club.
Callie handed them to the bartender, asking him to keep them behind the bar till we were finished dancing, and he complied. She grabbed my hand and dragged me out to the dance floor.