Page 93 of Love & Other Disasters

“We’ll try this again another day.” Violet stood.

“Where are you going?” she asked. “Are you staying for cake?”

Violet pulled out of her parent’s driveway without a destination. Her mother’s reaction wasn’t a surprise. She’d prepared for it. So why did it hit her this hard? The tears kept welling in her eyes, and she wiped them away with one hand while steering with the other, but the road in front of her blurred.

Elle’s voicemail picked up, and she didn’t leave a message. She considered Jill, Monique, or even an emergency call to Dr. Haytko. But it wasn’t a genuine emergency. The next thing she knew she sat in front of J.P.’s apartment complex, but his car wasn’t there. Was he out on a date? Her stomach flip flopped. She held no claim to him, and he could date or sleep with whoever he wanted.

Against her better judgement, she knocked. A bleach blonde woman with a mile of bare legs sticking out from under a T-shirt answered the door. Violet’s heart plummeted at the sight; she could barely breathe.

“Is J.P. here?” she whispered.

“Sorry, no, he don’t live here,” the woman said, closing the door in Violet’s face.

He didn’t live there anymore. What did that mean? Did Medi-Health collapse? No, Monique would have called. Did he move? Maybe he moved to a new place after their split?

Violet returned to her car in a daze and retrieved her cell phone. She selected his desk phone from her contacts and dialed. Instead of his voicemail she received a recording.

This extension is no longer in use. For assistance, please dial zero for the operator.

J.P. was no longer at Medi-Health. She was correct in that no matter the outcome of the company, he would leave. He’d probably also left Nashville. The tears came again, wetting her cheeks in big droplets. He never told her goodbye. Violet’s heart shattered.

She returned home to her sister’s car in the gravel drive, and Jill waiting on the porch. Violet took a minute to make sure her face was dry before facing her.

“What a surprise. Are we having another spa night?” Violet said, walking to the house.

Jill sat on a porch chair with her lips pressed into a firm line and didn’t look up as Violet approached.

“What’s wrong?”

“I lost my job,” she whispered.

“Oh no, that’s terrible. I’m sure something will turn up.” She sat on the chair opposite Jill.

“That was six weeks ago,” she admitted. “I didn’t tell you because I thought I’d have something by now, but…”

“But what?” her stomach tightened.

“I don’t and my roommate told me she and her boyfriend are moving in together. And since she’s fronted my half the rent for two months, and I still don’t have a job, I have to be out in a week.”

“Oh, how awful,” Violet breathed.

“How did it all become such a mess, Vi?” she whispered.

“No clue.” How had it become a disaster? Through therapy she was learning to become the confident woman she’d always wanted, but the pain radiated in her heart over Jordan’s leaving.

“I don’t know what to do,” Jill cried. “I’m homeless.”

“Do you qualify for unemployment?”

“Yes, it was part of a layoff, but it’s not enough to cover everything.”

Violet sighed, her breath condensing in the night air. “You can move into the spare room here for little while,” she said.

“What?” Jill asked, looking up her mouth open. “Are you sure?”

“That or move back in with mom and dad.”

“Or live in my car.”

“True, but my place has indoor plumbing. And there’s a spare room that I’ve turned into a junk room.”

“I don’t know how I could ever thank you…”

Violet held up her hand. “Don’t. We’ve been working on becoming better sisters, and with this, we’ll either succeed or die trying.”

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