Will and Sam both looked as frustrated as Violet.
“I wonder if Jesse might be able to find something, you know, like do a search on their drivers’ licenses or something.”
“Let’s see if we got any useful prints and take it from there,” said Will. “Are you staying with Ivy and the Givens’ tonight?”
“Yes, I already called the lawyer and let him know what’s going on. He approved given the circumstances.”
Will nodded. “Good idea. You don’t need to be here tonight. I think we’ve done about all we can. Why don’t you go ahead on off to Ivy’s?”
Sam was more than happy to get Violet out of there. He wished he could take her away forever. Who cared about the will, anyway? He made more than enough to provide for her and any children they might have.
Chapter 18
The next day as Ivy drove the two of them to church, Violet said, “When rain falls, the whole sky drops down. On top of everything, my car refuses to start? At least I didn’t break down on the way to your house last night. I’m sorry.” She moaned. “I’m such an inconvenience.”
Ivy’s lips curved upwards at her friend’s theatrics. “I don’t mind a bit and Sam is more than ready to take you wherever you want to go.” She raised her eyebrows and glanced over.
Violet blushed. “You guys are terrific, but it’ll still be good to get my car fixed. I’ve owned that thing since my seventeenth birthday. It’s so strange without it.”
“I understand. You have a certain level of independence and control with a car.”
“Exactly.” Violet grinned at her friend’s understanding. “I’ll call the mechanic you recommend tomorrow. Maybe it’ll be a quick fix.”
“They’re honest too,” Ivy replied. “I appreciate that they don’t treat me like I’m an idiot female who knows nothing about cars and that they don’t try to talk me into repairs I don’t need.”
The church parking lot had already filled by the time they arrived. So, the girls parked on one of the side roads.
“I’m glad for no snow yet,” said Violet.
“Me too. I love these shoes, and I want to get as much wear out of them as I can.”
Violet looked down at Ivy’s shoes. They were a pair of four-inch heeled sandals. She questioned her friend’s sanity in attempting to walk in those things, not to mention the fact that her feet must be cold.
Service blessed her from worship all the way through altar call at the end. Though her world flipped upside down in so many ways, she loved the reminder she always got in a good service. God was still God and nothing surprised Him. He didn’t require a ‘Plan B’ for her life. Plan A continued to unfold according to His will.
Ivy invited Violet to come back over to her house for lunch, but she declined. She wanted to get back to her uncle’s house and clean. She knew the hardest part of defeating that particular monster consisted of simply getting started. Will added more frequent patrols in her area, and Sam and Ivy made her promise to text every couple of hours. She thought they were all being a little overprotective, but their concern for her safety showed her how much they loved her.
The afternoon and evening rushed by. Violet managed to get the top floor cleaned up. She wrote down other small items she noticed missing. How aggravating! She saw Manny and his uncle in church that morning. Opal came too. She watched them closely when Sam mentioned what happened. Manny and his uncle appeared quite upset. Opal’s sympathy seemed a little more forced, however. Violet still had no idea why.
Finally, near midnight, Violet had the main floor cleaned minus one of the bathrooms. She figured she would tackle that tomorrow. At that moment she needed to use it. She opened the door and nearly screamed. She backed out quickly and slammed the door behind her. The word “LEAVE” written in blood red lipstick on the mirror stayed in her mind’s eye.
Forgetting her need for the bathroom, she ran into the kitchen and grabbed a towel and some cleaner. Fire burned in her eyes as she marched back into the bathroom. She worked with a vengeance as she almost rubbed the reflection off. When she finished, she stared at herself in victory. God protected her. No matter what this crazy person threw at her, she determined to stick it out—at least until the three months were up!
The rest of the week went by rapidly. The police weren’t able to get any usable prints. Violet described the jewelry to Ivy who created pictures of them on her computer and added them to their police data base. If any pieces popped up, they would be quickly acted upon.
Other than that frustrating, ugly event, Violet had a good rest of the week. Christmas time had arrived, and she looked forward to her aunt coming for a weekend visit. She wanted to get her impressions of Sam.
On Friday, Violet rejoiced especially that her car functioned as it should again. The repairs required the mechanic to order special parts. No way would it get done on Monday. One more thing to go wrong, she thought. She started to freak out a little when the mechanic said it wouldn’t be finished by Tuesday or Wednesday either. Finally, she got it back on Thursday. As she drove to the airport, she joyfully anticipated seeing her aunt again. They had been separated for over two months, really not long, but to Violet, it seemed like forever.
Aunt Mabel grinned as she walked into the airport terminal and saw Violet jumping up and down trying to see. There were a lot of people there and she stood only five feet tall. When she finally got to Violet, they hugged each other, each clinging to the other for different reasons.
“I’ve missed you so much. How are you?”
After she caught her breath back, Aunt Mabel said, “Well, I was pretty good until you squeezed the air out of me!”
They both laughed. Violet grabbed her aunt’s bag and led her towards her car.
“Goodness, I knew traffic would be bad, but this is a lot of people,” Aunt Mabel said.
“I’m still not really used to it, but it’s getting a little easier.”
“You drive like a pro. You zip in and out of traffic. You ignore the speed limit. It’s like you’ve been here for years rather than only a couple of months.”
“You are so sweet.” Violet grinned. Her aunt knew how to encourage her and make her feel like she had accomplished something major. “I’ve missed you so much.” Her throat caught.
Aunt Mabel reached over and touched her shoulder. “I’ve missed you too, Sweet Girl.” She changed the subject abruptly and asked, “Anything exciting happen recently?”
Violet cringed. She didn’t want to tell her aunt what had happened, but she refused to lie. “Well…, a little incident occurred.” She hedged, hoping to come up with a distraction.
“Did you pepper spray your boyfriend and his brother again?”
“No! And he’s not really my boyfriend. We’re merely good friends.”
“He didn’t sound like he wanted to be merely good friends when I spoke to him on the phone.”
“I don’t really want to label us yet. I like him, maybe more than I should, but what will happen when I go home?”
“Have you considered staying?”
“No! I can’t leave you.”
“Violet,” her aunt spoke gently, but firmly, “I love you dearly, but I will not keep you from what God has for you. Don’t use me as an excuse to avoid relationships.”
Violet squirmed a little. Had she been really been doing avoiding relationships? Is that why she had never dated? When she took care of her aunt for those years, it was a natural excuse. The town was so small that soon, men stopped asking. Violet never noticed.
“Aunty, is Sam the man God has for me? I care for him more than… more than... Oh, Aunty, I’m ready for this.”
“It’s all right. I’m not sure anyone is really ready for love. Trust the Lord. He will never lead you the wrong way.”
Violet received a sweet comfort by her aunt’s words. “It’s easier to trust the Lord with my writing than with real life.”
Aunt Mabel chuckled. “Of course i
t is. C. S. Lewis said of Aslan the lion in his Chronicles of Narnia book, ‘Of course he’s not safe, but he’s good.’ Jesus isn’t safe, but He’s good. The choice to follow Him gives you the greatest adventure imaginable. He offers joy unspeakable, peace that passes understanding, and a love greater than you’ve ever experienced. Trust and obey.”
Violet didn’t reply immediately. She merely sat and pondered her aunt’s words. They drove in comfortable silence the rest of the way.
When they arrived at the house, Aunt Mabel said, “Goodness, it’s big, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Violet replied dryly. “It’s a lot to clean. I like small better.”
“It should get a good price, though, yes?”
“The real estate agent thinks so. She was not happy when she found out about the will. She already had some people lined up to see it, but they wanted to move in before the three months ended. She wants me to wait until March or April to put it on the market.”
“She might be right. However, in God’s hands, even at the worst time to sell, He can make it happen.”
They walked into the house and Violet led her aunt upstairs first to the room she had made up especially for her. It was the larger of the two bedrooms, the one that looked into the back yard, rather than next door into the famous parking lot. Aunt Mabel was tired from her flight and wanted to lie down for a few minutes. So, Violet left her to go prepare some dinner for the two of them.
***
The two had a wonderful Christmas. Sam, Ivy, Jesse, Will, and even Dr. and Mrs. Givens surprised them by coming past their house Christmas caroling. Aunt Mabel invited them in for hot cocoa, and they stayed for a little while. Violet was especially touched at Sam’s gentle courteousness towards her aunt.
The weekend went by far too quickly for Violet. Her aunt seemed to be running on fumes at times, but Violet dismissed it. Surely it was the fact that they had a busy weekend, and her aunt was getting older. Too soon, it was Monday, and she had to take Aunt Mabel back to the airport.
“Is there any way at all you might stay a little longer?”
“No, Sweetheart. I have to get back to work. They need me. Also, I’ve got some volunteering duties to do for the church this week.” She gave her niece a big hug. “I’m going to miss you so much.” Her flight was called, and she was gone.
Violet didn’t bother to wipe the tears as she walked out of the airport. She cried all the way home and was glad there was no one there. She kind of wanted to be miserable all alone.
Chapter 19
Once again time sped up and suddenly January arrived. Violet had only one week left to fulfill her obligation in order to claim her inheritance.
Since her aunt had left, Violet spent some time every day with Sam. Because of their crazy schedules, sometimes, they saw each other in the afternoons and other days, evenings. Almost in spite of herself, Violet realized that she did love Sam. She didn’t want to. What about the distance? Did she want to live permanently in Chicagoland? Sam certainly deserved it, but did the Lord want this for her? For them? Was this love real?
Love prevailed through consistent, continuous choice more than mere emotion. She knew better than to ‘follow her heart’. She had seen way too many heartaches from her co-workers and the various patrons at the diner. Sometimes, following your heart led you straight off a cliff.
She also knew better than to trust her head. She saw way too many people intellectualizing love. That became more selfish than selfless. Or worse, it resembled more of a corporate merger, not love. It certainly was no way to raise children.
Violet wanted to be led of the Lord in this, yet He had been strangely silent recently. Maybe the problem wasn’t Him. Perhaps she refused to listen. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s easier to hear to what you want to, rather than that still small voice of the Lord.
“Violet? Violet, you’re going to wipe the finish off of that table,” said Jesse.
“Oh! Sorry.” She blushed scarlet.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
She smiled at him and chuckled. “It’s good. I’m only thinking.”
“About another story?”
“Something like that.” Indeed, only this story was her own.
***
“Will!” Violet called. She stood near the back cleaning some tables.
He waved and placed his order as she hurried over to him.
“What’s up?” He thanked the barista and took his coffee over to another counter to add some creamer. Violet followed.
“I wanted to ask if you had any progress on who messed up my uncle’s house. Any leads on the jewelry?”
“Sorry,” he said stirring his coffee. “We can’t seem to get a break at all with that case.”
“What about the dumpster murder? Any leads there?” She walked with him and stood as he sat down across from Jesse at his booth.
“We’ve got suspects, but they all alibi out and we don’t have enough evidence to do any kind of further search.” He sighed. “Violet, I’m really sorry, but sometimes real life isn’t as cut and dried as fiction. Sometimes, we don’t get the bad guy.”
Later that afternoon...
“I’ve been praying and hoping that there would be some lead, some breakthrough, something before I leave.”
“You don’t have to leave. Your real estate agent even said it would be better to wait until spring.”
Of course, he thought only of his friend, but Violet hated pressure like this. She wanted so badly to go home, but this place and these people pulled more and more. “Will, I have to figure this one out on my own. My aunt nearly died of cancer when I was in high school. She’s the only family I have left in this world.”
“Your aunt is a terrific lady. I was glad we had a chance to meet her over Christmas,” said Jesse.
Violet shot him a grateful glance. “She is wonderful. Only she would put up with me during my ‘rebellious’ phase.”
Will and Jesse laughed.
“I’d better get back to work,” Violet said.
***
That night, Violet and Sam had another date. He treated her like a princess. Sometimes, they went out to eat and talked for hours over their meal. Other times, Sam surprised her with something new. One evening he took her ice skating. She loved how he held her hand the whole time to keep her from falling. Another time, he took her to a park for a ‘winter picnic’. Hot cocoa never tasted so good. He even took her to donate blood once. That didn’t go so well, especially when she nearly passed out afterwards, but she did like the fact that he caught her before she fell.
Tonight’s date started out simply. They sat at the Coffee House playing Scrabble and sipping coffee.
“I still think you have an unfair advantage,” said Sam.
“I don’t think so. You always get big points for those crazy scientific words I have to look up,” Violet replied.
“It’s my only defense.”
“Well, beat this,” she said putting down the word ‘perfect’.
“I’ll sure try,” he said as he put down the word ‘marry’.
“Good word,” she said, “but I still got more points than you.”
“I’m not done.”
“You can’t skip a space.”
He smiled. “Read it.”
She looked at the words there before her. ‘Marry Me’.
For a moment her whole world stopped. She stared, completely stunned. Sam got up from the table and went down on one knee. He held a little black box out to her. Inside rested the most beautiful engagement ring she’d ever seen. “Violet, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
“I—I—I… Oh wow.”
Sam waited. Violet noticed suddenly that every eye in the Coffee House looked their way. She felt her neck and cheeks heat. As she gazed at Sam, she realized this was one of those times in your life where you have to make a decision. She did love him. But, did she wan
t to spend the rest of her life with him? Did she want to live here permanently? Sam’s job was here. She knew the economic situation in Butterfield. Staying here would be the right thing to do. Yet, in some crazy way, that terrified her. It all happened so fast. Could she trust Sam with her life, her future, everything? Did she really trust the Lord to guide her in this? As she reached out to the One who never led her wrong, she suddenly sensed everything would be okay. Peace beckoned. Love and joy called out to her. She needed only to accept it.
“Sam, I do love you.” She paused and smiled with tears in her eyes. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He grinned as he slipped the ring onto her finger. It dazzled her. A large diamond occupied the center with three smaller diamonds on either side. It exuded a classic elegance. She knew she would never tire of simply gazing at it.
Suddenly, everyone in the Coffee House erupted in cheers. Violet and Sam both jumped. For a few moments, they forgot anyone else existed.
Mrs. Givens came over and hugged Violet. “I’m so glad you’re joining our family.”
Violet nearly broke down at those kind words. Mrs. Givens squeezed her again before going back to work.
Sam’s cell phone beeped. He looked down and laughed as he rapidly texted back. “It says, ‘Did she say Yes yet?’”
Violet laughed too. The door to the Coffee House opened and in trooped Will, Jesse, and Ivy. Ivy gave Violet a big hug, and Will and Jesse clapped Sam on the back.
“I am so happy for you two,” said Ivy, standing between Sam and Violet, an arm around each.
“It’s about time,” said Will.
“I’m happy for you guys too,” said Jesse. “Having an author in the family will be fun.”
“Now you have to marry a musician, and we’ll have the arts covered,” said Ivy to Jesse.
He groaned. “No way. Musicians are even worse than artists.”
Ivy punched him in the shoulder.
They all decided to order some more muffins and join the Scrabble game. Violet wondered at this new family she would soon be a part of. She realized that the adventure Sue had wanted for her was only beginning. There were many twists and turns, but it proved to be more wonderful than anything her imagination might produce.