Lymber craft's Arc

Chapter 39 of 70

Polly came by at three like she said. She held Jett while Lymber tried to unload the dishwasher, and Violetta stood at her mother's leg the whole time. Not playing. Not asking for the puppy. Just holding the hem of Lymber's shirt with both fists. When Lymber stepped toward the sink, Violetta stepped with her. When Lymber crouched for a pan, Violetta pressed her forehead against her shoulder. Lymber tried to set her on the rug with a toy. Violetta screamed until her face went red. Polly watched from the chair and said, She knows the mornings stopped. She knows you're up again. She's waiting for the next thing to change. Lymber sat down on the kitchen floor. She pulled Violetta into her lap and let her cry it out against her collarbone. She thought about the small brick house they lived in now. Three beds. One for her and Paul, one for Violetta, one for Jett when he outgrew the bassinet. She thought about how many times Violetta had watched her leave for the clinic and come back different. Slower. Then faster. Then holding a baby. Then holding a bandage. Lymber wiped Violetta's face with her sleeve. She said, Look at me. Violetta looked. Lymber said, I live here. Daddy lives here. You live here. Jett lives here. Nobody is leaving. She said it slow, one piece at a time. Violetta's breathing evened. Polly stood up and walked Violetta to the front window and pointed at Paul's truck in the driveway. She said, Daddy's truck. Then she pointed at the door of Violetta's room down the hall. Your bed. Then the bassinet. Jett's bed. Then Lymber. Mommy. She did it twice. Violetta pointed the third time herself. That night Lymber and Paul took a picture of Violetta on the front step of the house with the number on the door behind her. They printed it at the drugstore on the way home from the pharmacy and taped it to the wall by her bed at eye level. Under it Paul wrote in marker: Mommy, Daddy, Violetta, Jett. Home. Lymber read it to her twice before lights out. In the morning Violetta walked to the picture on her own and touched each name. She let Lymber put her cereal down and go start the laundry without following. Lymber watched from the hall for a second and then kept moving. The meltdown was done. The house was quiet. She had her hands back.