Page 61 of Sweet Escape at Bayside
Desiree grabbed her phone and spent the next two hours catching Violet up on every moment of her honeymoon, sharing pictures and relaying stories about every place they went. Violet had never seen her sister so happy.
“Now I understand why you love traveling so much. Rick says I’ve caught thetraveling bugbecause I want to plan another trip for next fall.”
Bugmade her think of Andre. Didn’t he deserve to be that happy, too? Didn’tshe?
“Listen to me going on like I’m the only one who matters,” Desiree said. “I saw all the plants in the living room. Dean said Andre bought them and had him and Drake set up a tent, candles, lights on the ceiling, all in an effort to bringGhanato you. That soundssoromantic. Does that mean you guys are serious?”
You could say thatwas on the tip of her tongue, but she stopped herself. She’d been hiding behind quippy comments for long enough. “We are.”
Desiree squealed again. “That’s great! I want to hear abouteverything!” In the next second the excitement drained from her face, and she put her hands in her lap and said, “I mean, whatever you’re willing to share with me.”
Geez, I’m such a witch. You just went from being elated to worried in the space of a breath because of how I’ve always treated you.That cut like a knife.
“I want to tell you everything,” Violet said. “But first I need to explain a few things.”
“Okay,” Desiree said tentatively. “Did something bad happen?”
“Not bad, maybe justunfair?” She stood and paced. “You know how I take off sometimes and say I have to get stuff done?”
“Yes.”
“Well, sometimes I go to the hospital, where I volunteer.”
Confusion rose in Desiree’s eyes.
“Using art as a form of therapy, I help children deal with anxiety. We work with Play-Doh and clay mostly. It helped me when I was young, and—”
“Wait, Vi. That’s great, but how long have you been volunteering?”
“Since my third week on the Cape.”
Desiree’s entire body seemed to deflate. “You’ve been volunteering thiswholetime?”
“Yes, and there’s more. I help my friend Rowan’s daughter, too.”
“Rowan…? I don’t know a Rowan.”
Violet crossed her arms and said, “He’s a friend of mine. His wife died and he’s raising his little girl on his own. I’ve been helping her with anxiety, and she’s just been diagnosed with dyslexia.”
“You work with kids,” Desiree said flatly.
“Yes.”
“Why haven’t you told me? I was a preschool teacher, for Pete’s sake. I’ve been teaching art to children here at the Cape practically since we came here.” Her voice escalated and she got up, worrying with her hands as she crossed in front of Violet. “How often do you go there? Is it just a once-a-month type of thing?”
Violet shook her head. “In the spring and fall I usually go four or five times a week for a few hours each day.”
“Four or five timesa week?” Desiree said angrily.
“Yes, and in the summers I cut back to two or three times a week, depending on our schedules here.”
“Geez, Vi. I don’t even know who you are, do I? And here I thought we’d grown close and we trusted each other.”
“We have, and I do trust you, Des.Explicitly.”
Desiree’s eyes filled with tears. “No, you don’t. People who trust each other don’t keep secrets or lie about where they’re going.”
“There are reasons,” Violet started to explain, although she was so upset, words were evading her, making her appear hesitant.
