Violetta Craft's Arc

Chapter 37 of 65

Monday morning, Violetta was pinning the placket pattern to muslin when a car door slammed in the drive. She looked out the studio window and saw Lucy Loo on the walk, arms wrapped tight around herself, hair blown loose. Elowen slept in the bassinet by the sewing table. Violetta set the pins down and went to the front door before Lucy could knock and wake the baby. Lucy started talking on the porch. She said Jordie had never cheated. She said she had kissed him at the gym and he was pushing her away when Violetta walked in. She said she had wanted him for months and read a friendship as something else, and that was on her, not him. Violetta stood in the doorway and let her finish. Then Lucy's voice changed. She said Violetta was hurting Jordie by keeping Elowen at arm's length. She said moving on with Greg was wrong when Jordie hadn't done what Violetta thought. She said Violetta owed him another chance for their daughter's sake. Violetta listened to the whole thing without moving. A small breeze lifted the edge of Lucy's denim jacket. Inside, Elowen made a soft sound and settled again. Violetta spoke once. She said she believed Lucy about the kiss. She said it did not change anything. Jordie had spent weeks texting Lucy behind her back, and that was the part that ended them, not the mouth on the mouth. She said Jordie saw Elowen every other Saturday for two hours, and those hours were his, and he had not missed one. She said what she did with Greg or anyone else was not Lucy's business and not Jordie's. Then she said Lucy did not get to stand on her porch and tell her what she owed. Lucy opened her mouth and closed it. Violetta stepped back inside and shut the door. She locked it. She stood with her hand on the wood until she heard the car start and pull away. Then she walked to the bassinet, checked Elowen's blanket, and went back to the studio. She picked up the pins. The placket pattern was still where she had left it. She fitted the first piece to the muslin and made the first stitch of the day.