Page 32 of Love & Other Disasters

Fourteen

Sunday dinner with her family had become a chore long before Jill brought Geoff into their lives. And despite this, Jill kept bringing him to dinner, subjecting them to his rants. Violet couldn’t figure out why he kept on agreeing to come with her. They were still dating, and Jill was converting to veganism, at least in front of Geoff. Veganism wouldn’t stick. But, her sister needed someone to save. It was her MO. She wasn’t happy unless she was in a dead end, parasitic relationship.

The “modern-day Buddha” sat cross-legged on her parents’ living room floor with his eyes shut in silence. With his mouth shut, she might tolerate him. Too bad it wouldn’t stay that way. Her dad sat in his recliner, reading a spy novel, and doing his best to ignore the meditating man. It was best to leave them both alone, and she slipped past the living room, down the hall to the kitchen, hoping to find her mom or sister. Mom lined the hallway with family photos through the years and school photos of her and Jill. Younger versions of herself, sister, and parents stared back.

“I don’t understand Violet,” Jill’s voice came from the kitchen. “She’s been ignoring me ever since I brought Geoff. She claims she’s so busy at work, but it’s like she doesn’t even care that I’ve met the love of my life.”

The love of her life? She had to be joking. Jill was so overdramatic. It was exhausting.

“Maybe she is busy, dear,” their mom said. “The company had a major downsizing. They laid off half the workforce. I’m sure she’s under a lot of stress.”

They didn’t understand how much stress.

Jill huffed. “She needs to lighten up. She still has a job. There’s more to life than work. If she had a boyfriend, she wouldn’t care so much. She’d have something else in her life.”

“That’s not how your sister is. She’s never been one to have boyfriends. Although, at this point in her life, I’d love for her to get one. She doesn’t have much longer on that biological clock.”

Ouch, that stung. She was about to burst through the door and give them a piece of her mind when the doorbell rang. Rather than get caught eavesdropping, Violet ducked into the bathroom.

Footsteps passed down the hall, and the front door opened. Violet couldn’t make out the voices. She flushed the toilet and washed her hands. Voices floated down the hall from the living room and a familiar male voice that she couldn’t place. She rounded the corner, and her mother grabbed her in a hug.

“Oh honey, I didn’t hear you come in. You should have told me about your boyfriend.”

Her what? Wait what was going on? She pulled out of her mother’s embrace, turned, and her heart hit the floor. He stood in her parents’ living room wearing a heather gray t-shirt, relaxed fit faded old jeans, and hiking boots with that fancy looking Bulova watch still on his wrist.

J.P.

There he stood taking up space and looking fine while doing so. What on earth was happening?

“Seriously, Vi,” Jill’s voice cut through the static in here head. “You got all pissy about me bringing Geoff without telling everyone first and here you go doing it.”

“I didn’t mean to intrude,” J.P. cut in, “I just needed to talk to Vi for a second.”

Oh no, he did not shorten her name. Crazy ass men who show up uninvited didn’t get to do that. How much jail time would she get for killing him?

“We’ll leave you two alone,” her mom said.

“No, that’s fine,” Violet found her voice. “We’ll go out back.” By the toolshed with lots of things… like a shovel to hit him with then dig a shallow grave. Ungluing her feet from the floor, she grabbed J.P.’s arm and pulled. He followed without a word.

At the back door, he stopped the forward progress, and she turned. “Outside,” she growled.

“It’s sweltering out,” he said.

Violet huffed, turned, and stormed out, letting go of J.P.’s arm. Her glasses fogging from the humidity or from her anger. She walked out away from the house, not wanting anyone to hear. The yard was a large rectangle with grass now crunchy in the heat. A swing sat still in a stand off to one side, and her mom’s flower garden now filled with wilted plants.

“Look,” he said coming up behind her, “I didn’t tell them I was your boyfriend. She jumped to that conclusion. Are you sure it’s not too hot out here? There is a heat advisory.”

“Forget the heat, J.P. If you cared so much about it, you shouldn’t have shown up giving me stroke-level blood pressure. What the hell are you doing here? This is an incredible invasion and quite stalkerish.”

He sighed and looked around. “I’m sorry about that…” he shifted from one foot to the other, rubbing the back of his neck. “I needed to talk to you, and you don’t want to at work, which is fine. But then you shut down my offer of a neutral zone meeting.”

“So you hunt me down at my parents’ house on family dinner night? How’d you think this was gonna go?”

“Like this. But, we needed a place outside of work to talk.”

“I don’t want to talk about it. Period. Don’t you get that?”

“No, Violet, I don’t. I’d think you’d want to explain yourself.”

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