Violetta Craft's Arc

Chapter 39 of 65

Two weeks after the porch kiss, Greg came by on a Saturday morning while Elowen napped in the bassinet. He stood in the doorway of Violetta's small house and did not step inside until she waved him in. He had not pushed her once in those two weeks. He had texted about her muslin, sent a photo of a coffee he liked, and asked twice if she was sleeping enough. Violetta poured him water and sat across from him at the kitchen table. She could hear the fan in the nursery and the soft hum of her sewing machine cooling down from the morning's work. Greg set his glass down and said he wanted to ask her something clean. He asked if she would go out with him, a real date, dinner on a night her mother could watch Elowen. He said he was not asking her to be sure about everything. He was asking about one dinner. Violetta looked at her hands. She thought about the porch, and the roses she had thrown out three days later, and the way Greg had waited on the step instead of walking in. She thought about the dress on the form in the next room, the senior showcase eight months out, the prize money in the bank. She could carry one more thing if the thing was steady. She said yes. She said it plain, once, so he would not have to ask again. Greg smiled and did not reach for her. He said Friday, seven, and he would pick her up. Then he finished his water and left before Elowen woke. Violetta stood at the door after his car pulled out. Her chest felt lighter than it had in months, and also tighter, because now there was a Friday on the calendar with a name on it. She walked back to the office and pinned the muslin bodice to the form. She wrote Friday, 7, Greg on the little paper square by her machine. Then she wrote under it, in smaller letters, tell Mom, and, ask Saddie about Friday hours. She picked up her shears. The dress still needed a back seam and a hem test before Monday. She had said yes to one dinner. She had not said yes to losing an evening she could not spare, so she cut the next panel before Elowen stirred.