Page 101 of Take Two

“Give me your phone,” Violet orders Holly. “Right now, or I’m going to take it from you.” Holly eyes her phone on the table, but Violet is not only quick, she’s strong. She manages to pull her wrist from my hand and takes the phone, but she doesn’t know the code to get in.

She puts it in front of Holly’s face, and it opens. She looks through it, and I notice that Holly doesn’t try and take it from her. I stand next to Violet and look at the phone. There’s a string of text message exchanges between Holly and Theresa.

Violet calls the number and puts the phone on speaker. It rings several times before going to voicemail. It’s Terri’s voice.

“Yeah, your sister is an uptight sounding Yankee with a strong New York accent. A real uppity bitch,” she snickers. “Talkin’ down to me like she’s so superior, but she gave me two thousand dollars to do this.”

Violet puts the phone down and pulls out her own. She puts it to her ear and walks out of the room.

Mama yanks her wrist from Colt and points in Holly’s face. “You need to go right now. Don’t come to my home and cuss, and you’re lucky you’re pregnant or that soap would already be in your dirty mouth. Someone call her a taxi. She can wait outside until it gets here.” Mama walks away after saying that.

Vickie calls the cab, and I go to the back deck to check on Violet, but I’m still confused as to what this was all about.

“Mom, put her on the phone,” Violet practically yells. “Where is she?” She listens for a few minutes and says, “She’s where? She’s meeting Spence?” A few more seconds pass and she says, “Are you kidding me with this? What does she have to talk to him about? Is she going back to him?” She listens for a few seconds before she says, “Unbelievable. Give her a message for me. Tell her I’ll be back home soon, and then I’m coming for her.” She ends the call and tosses the phone on one of the chairs.

“Come here.” I open my arms and she walks in. “Let’s calm down and think this through. This does not make any sense.”

“Yeah. That bitch knew all along you weren’t the father and put you through that shit for nothing. And how could Terri know about her? And two thousand dollars? Terri doesn’t have any money. She told me she’s broke, and my mother confirmed it, so I know she’s not lying.”

“Exactly.” I pull away and cup her cheeks. “Something doesn’t smell right about this. Holly said whoever she spoke to had a strong New York accent. That doesn’t sound like your sister.”

“And she tainted this dinner. This was supposed to be something special for you, and she ruined it.”

“Tonight was one of the best nights of my life. Nothing was ruined. Having you here with my family, having everyone I love the most in the world here together, was amazin’. She can’t take that from us.” I kiss her forehead and pull her to me, but I’m determined to get to the bottom of this.

“Now her phone is off,” Violet says for the umpteenth time since yesterday. She slams the top of her carry-on luggage and angrily zips it.

Holly left soon after my chat with Violet on the deck. Charlene asked to stay with us because we were nice, but Holly pulled her by her arm and dragged the crying child outside to wait for the cab. Her tears had dried by then, and she looked like a woman who came and accomplished what she set out to do, but for the life of me, I can’t imagine what that was.

I don’t buy her story about Terri. I told that to Violet several times, but she’s too angry at her sister and their truce is still too new for her to give her the benefit of the doubt. Terri’s overtures are sincere. I’m certain of it. Since I’ve been in recovery, I’ve become adept at reading people. That’s my way of making sure that they’re safe, and Terri is safe.

Yes, she did an awful thing to Violet, but her remorse is real. She regrets it and would not jeopardize their relationship again.

“Lettie, please don’t confront her. Ask and listen, but don’t go to her guns blazin’. Promise me,” I tell her. I hate the fact that I can’t go with her. I have meetings tomorrow that I’ve been putting off for weeks, and my business needs me here. If I’m going to make the move to New York to be with Violet and keep Mary Leigh’s, there are steps I need to take now to make that happen.

“I promise I’m going to stick my foot so far up her ass, she’ll—”

“Violet,” I say, louder this time, “I’m going to say it again. I don’t believe what Holly said about your sister. Use the time on the plane to think about what I’ve said. And if by some miracle, she’s responsible, it didn’t work. We’re together and staying together. And listen, I promise that until I can move to New York, we won’t go more than two weeks apart. Don’t get arrested in the meantime,” I joke. I tap the tip of her nose with my fingertip, and she finally giggles. “If you do, I’ll have Mama bake you a peach pie, and I’ll put a nail file in there for you.”

She wraps her arms around me and puts her head on my chest.

“I love it when you talk about moving to New York. I’m going to make room for you in my apartment. You can start leaving things there now.”

“I’ll take you up on that. We’ll need a bigger bed too,” I tell her. I tighten my arms around her. “I’m going to miss you so much, but it’s time to go.”

Colt and Vickie are flying back to New York on a private plane, and they’ve invited Violet to fly with them. That means she’s leaving two hours earlier than planned, but this is a better alternative than a commercial flight.

Chapter 55

Charlie

“Hey, Lettie. I want this message to be the first thang you hear when you land. I love you and miss you so much, and I’m counting the days until I can see you again. I’m going to talk to Holly about yesterday. Call me when you land. Love you.” I blow her a kiss before ending themessage.

Holly’s peeking through the blinds of that dilapidated house. Despite all she’s tried to do to me, there’s a part of me that feels sorry for her and her children. Yes, we both have our issues, but I’m fine. I always had a supportive mother, and when my brother started making money, he was always there to take care of me too. I lived in a big house and was sent to the best rehabilitation facilities. When I decided I wanted to start a business, he was there to invest. Holly doesn’t have any of that.

The instant I step out of the car and pull out the two brown paper bags of food, she snaps the blinds shut. The front door opens seconds later. She stands at the top of the stairs, wearing a long house dress. Her blonde hair is in tangles and her eyes look red and puffy, as if she’s been crying. I hand her the bags and she takes them without question. I return to the car and grab the other groceries I got. Her eyes bug out when she sees them, and when I walk inside, she gestures to the small, cluttered kitchen.

I spot Charlene in the corner playing with a doll, and when she sees me and waves, I wave back.

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