Page 37 of The Last Lavender Sister

But something was off, and it wasn’t just Brynn’s new girlfriend. As hard as she tried, Aster couldn’t shake the hunch that Violet was not at all Violet. Where was her zest for fashion? Her energy. Her playful sense of humor. Aster was confused and pulled Marigold aside the next day for more information.

It wasn’t what she wanted to hear. In fact, it was awful.

Homer’s Bluff hadn’t changed a whole lot in the fifteen months Aster had been away. Small things. The awnings in the center of town were now navy instead of green. Her brother’s blue ball cap had been traded out for a new favorite red one, given to him at Christmas, apparently. But the most awful of all news was that Violet wasn’t being treated the way she should by her new husband and father of her child.

Marigold shook her head sadly. “It’s been pretty bad. Tad changed once they were married. It got even worse when Ethan was born. I feel like it’s maybe time weallstart talking with her about leaving. She’ll listen if it’s not just me spouting off again.”

“You should have told me, Marigold,” Aster sputtered, seeing red,given the information she’d just learned. She and Marigold stood on the curb in front of their childhood home after the festival.

“She didn’t want me to. She’s adamant that everyone thinks she has the perfect life, the perfect family. She was already embarrassed that they didn’t have the big wedding she’d always dreamed of.”

“God. Who cares about that?” A lot can happen in a short amount of time, apparently. Fifteen months and Aster was out of the loop on a lot. What she didn’t understand was why her family hadn’t sent up a red flag, but if what Marigold was saying was true, maybe they didn’t have the full picture. Leave it to Violet to put a fine finish on what sounded like control and abuse. But even in the midst of the lively festival, Aster could see, plain as day, that Violet was not herself. Something was wrong. Her smiles were dim, less confident, and sucked away almost as quickly as they appeared. She’d clearly had a good time out with Aster and Marigold and let loose a little more at a time. Aster was blown away by how someone usually in charge, so full of life, had shifted to a shell of her former self.

Aster tapped her bottom lip, searching for what to say, what to do to make it all go away. She’d not attended the wedding, which had been announced just days before it happened. She would have, only there had not actually been one. While Violet had always dreamed of a white fairy-tale wedding, complete with a train as long as she’d ever seen, it hadn’t worked out that way. Unbeknownst to them all, Violet had been pregnant the night Aster left town, and baby Ethan had been born to Violet and Tad just seven months later. They’d married at the courthouse on a Tuesday afternoon and planned to have a lavish reception one day. Only that hadn’t happened either.

Marigold blinked, and Aster realized it was because she was attempting to hold back tears. “They’re not happy, Aster. He yells. Throws things. I think he smacked her in the mouth, though I couldn’t get her to admit it. It’s been hard to watch.” Marigold placed her hands on the small of her back and looked up at the stars. “She doesn’t take my calls as much. That’s hard, too. We used to be close, you know?”

“I never would have guessed. How did it come to this?”

Marigold rolled her lips in. “He seems to resent her and the baby for tying him down. I don’t think he would have even married her if his father hadn’t forced him for appearances. I just kept hoping things would get better.”

She was crying now, and Aster was at a loss. “Come here.” She pulled her sister into a hug and held on, not sure how she could help, and hating so much that they were even here. “She’s going to be okay. We’ll make sure of it.”

She would, too. This entire situation was out of her depth, but Aster didn’t care. Violet was too wonderful a person to live under the thumb of a rich, entitled narcissist. She knew exactly who to go to first.

* * *

“Good morning, baby girl,” her mother said, as Aster descended the stairs still in her shorts and sleep shirt, her dog at her heels as always. It hadn’t been the most restful night given all she had to think about, but morning had come all the same. It was still dark outside, and the silhouetted trees peeking in from the backyard offered a nice greeting. She’d never really shaken the habit of getting up in the wee hours of the morning to get started on the doughnuts. Perhaps she’d always be an early riser.

“Morning, Mama,” she said and accepted a kiss on the cheek. Being back home again, staying in her parents’ house near the farm, was like being wrapped in the warmest of security blankets. She’d had no idea how much she needed this. She let Dill out and joined her mother in the kitchen, relishing the quiet period before the sun came up and the world got started. To Aster, these were sacred minutes.

“Your face is telling stories. Want to fill me in?”

Aster slid a strand of hair behind her ear and helped herself to coffee. “You doing that mother’s intuition thing again?”

“Always. I know when you’re upset about something, and you are. Just look at those little lines on your sweet forehead.” She held out an arm and Aster automatically slipped beneath it for one of those hugs only a mother could bestow. In the warmth of her mom’s arms, Aster felt safe, like maybe everything was going to be okay. “Are you going to tell me about it?” her mother asked.

She sighed and slid onto one of the counter stools that used to be so tall that her feet would swing back and forth. She had a couple of things on her mind, so she went with the order in which they’d happened. “I found out last night that Brynn has a girlfriend.”

Her mother was quiet for a moment, which was a little excruciatingbecause she was now the first person Aster had even hinted to about her feelings for Brynn. Finally, her features softened. “And you were hoping she was single for personal reasons?”

Aster nodded. “I was too passive. I see that now. I could have called or kept in contact. Told her about my feelings.”

Her mother sipped her Earl Grey tea. Her favorite. “And what held you back?”

It was a great question. “She wanted to protect our friendship. But looking back, I also think I wasn’t ready. I was low on confidence and thought there was no way she’d be truly interested.”

“And now?”

“I was ready to find out.” She shook her head. “And I guess I have.”

“Do you know what I think? There’s still hope.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“Brynn Garrett is not married and sitting on her front porch yet, Aster. And I think your plan for honesty is a good one. Don’t abandon it quite yet.” She smiled. “I speak from experience.”

“I’ll think it over,” she said glumly, still not entirely convinced.

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