Page 78 of Take Two

“Then we’re okay. Your brother is entitled to his opinion. That changes nothing between us because this is our relationship, not his.” And since I don’t intend to speak with him beyond pleasantries, I don’t give a damn what he thinks.

“It’s just that, I really like your family, and I was hopin’ that—” I put my finger to his lips.

“I like your family,” I reassure him. He looks at me and tilts his head to the side in disbelief. “Your brother’s an ass, but I can tolerate or ignore him. Everyone else is great.” I wrap my arms around him. “I’m still your safe place, and that includes in your family too. I promise, there will never be an issue from me.”

He puts his forehead on mine. “Sometimes, I feel as if I don’t deserve you. Colt was right when he said you’re too good to be true.”

“Let’s get in the shower and wash this day away. After that, I’ll show you how good I am.” He picks me up bridal style and carries me to the bathroom.

Chapter 41

Charlie

“Here you go, Vickie.” I place the chef’s salad in front of her. I even bend down and kiss her cheek. “Here,” I say to Colt as I drop the baked half chicken he ordered. Some of the vegetables roll off the plate and fall on the table. “Vickie, enjoy. And you,” I say, pointing at him, “canchoke on it.”

He lifts the drumstick to his mouth and takes a big bite then lets it fall from his hand, widens his eyes, and puts his hand to his neck. “Aagh,” he says, pretending to choke. “Aaaah.” He does a few exaggerated coughs and falls back in the booth, pretending to faint. “Help me, Queen Vee, I’m chokin’, ” he whispers as he scratches at his neck.

“Will you grow up, Colton?” Vickie says.

“Why don’t you yell at him for telling your husband to choke?” Colt asks as he sits back up.

“You grow up too, Charlie,” she says.

“Where are the boys?” I ask Vickie.

When she says Mama will bring them by later, I walk away, refusing to even look at my brother. It’s been a hell of a day and it’s barely one o’clock in the afternoon. Violet cried the entire ride to the airport, but the hardest part of that was her trying to hide her tears. As if I couldn’t hear her sniffles or see her wiping under her eyes.

She gave up all hope of hiding it after I parked and opened her car door for her. She cried into my chest for a full ten minutes until I cupped her cheeks and promised to see her again in no more than two weeks. She wiped her face on my chest and finally stopped crying. That is, until we got to security, and she had to leave me behind. She only cried for five minutes that time. After, she let me go and walked away, and I stood there until I could no longer see her.

I barely held it together myself. The only thing that’s kept me sane was being distracted at work. I only have a few seconds to myself in my office before Colt barges in. I immediately regret not locking the door behind me. I should have known he’d do this. He stands there, but I don’t look up. I’m not in the mood to deal with him right now, especially missing Violet the way I am. Not when he tainted our weekend.

“So, you’re goin' to ignore me?” He pulls a chair from against the wall and sits across from me. “I said I was sorry, and I’ll back off.”

“Maybe you should have backed off before you opened your big, fat mouth where Violet could hear you, jackass.”

“I promise I’ll make it right with her, but I’m not going to apologize for caring about you. That’s what this is about. I don’t want you to fall apart if this doesn’t work out. That still worries me.”

“So, you want me to what? Be alone so you don’t worry about me? Or you want me to go through failed relationship after failed relationship?”

“Of course not.”

“Then what the hell do you want?”

“Fear is not rational, Charlie.”

“You have no idea what it’s like. It’s not like you ever dated,” I scoff. “You had a shotgun weddin' the first time, and you met Vickie and had another shotgun weddin' because you still haven’t figured out how not to get a woman pregnant. That’s your entire datin' experience. I have a ton of baggage, and Violet accepts it. No judgment. She just listens and cares. She cares so much that she says she’s not drinkin' anymore so she can be my safe space. She announced it that night she introduced me to her family like it was no big deal. She said she’d rather kiss me than drink. That’s the type of woman she is, so when you talk shit about her, it hurts. She doesn’t deserve that.”

“She did that?” he asks, and I nod.

“Like it was nothin'. Last night she asked me what else she could do to support me. I suggested Al-anon, and she said she’ll do it. Do you think in my craziest dreams I ever thought I would find a woman like Violet? And on my first try?No,” I answer for him. “And you open your big mouth and say you don’t trust her. Can you imagine if I said that about Vickie?”

He hangs his head, and I hope it’s in shame. He runs his hand over his face and looks me straight in the eye. “I’m sorry. I’ll fix it with her. I promise.”

“I was hopin’ that I could count on you and Vickie to check up on her. Include her in thangs and make her feel like part of the family since I’ll be here, but that’s out the window because she can’t stand to be around you.” I eye him up and down. “Not that I blame her since I can’t stand you either. Thanks a lot, jerk.”

“Is what Violet said about me true?” he asks.

“Yes, you’re an egomaniacal jerk,” I toss out and immediately feel bad.

---