Violetta Craft's Arc

Chapter 5 of 65

The morning after the showcase, Jordie showed up at the front door before Violetta finished her toast. He held a paper bag with two ginger ales and a pack of saltines. He did not ask to come in. He just stepped inside when Lymber opened the door and set the bag on the counter. He came back that afternoon, and the day after, and the day after that. He carried the twins' backpacks to the car. He washed the pan Paul left in the sink. On Friday he sat on the floor of Violetta's room while she pinned a new pattern and said, "My parents don't know. Not yet. But someone at the gas station asked my mom about the video." Violetta set the pin down. "Then you tell them," she said. "Tonight. Before they hear it from anyone else." Lymber and Paul called the Daniels house that afternoon and invited them to dinner. They came at six. Jordie's father shook Paul's hand at the door of the sharp-lined house and did not quite meet his eye. His mother hugged Violetta the way she always had, then stepped back and looked at her, and her face changed. They sat at the long table under the pendant lights. Lymber served the chicken. Paul poured water. Nobody ate. Violetta put her fork down and said it plain. "I'm pregnant. Sixteen weeks. Jordie is the father. I'm keeping the baby." Jordie's mother pressed a hand to her mouth. His father looked at Jordie a long time. "You knew," he said. Jordie nodded. "Since her birthday." His father closed his eyes. His mother reached across the table and took Violetta's hand and held it. "Okay," she said. "Okay, sweetheart." Paul cleared his throat and said they were doing this together, all of them, and there was no other way it was going to go. Jordie's father let out a breath and picked up his fork. They stayed two hours. Jordie's mother asked about the ultrasound and the due date and whether Violetta was eating enough. His father asked Paul about the room upstairs and whether they needed help with a crib. When they left, Jordie's mother hugged Violetta again, longer this time, and said she would call in the morning. Jordie stayed behind to help clear the plates. In the kitchen, he dried a glass and set it down and said, "That's done, then." Violetta leaned against the counter, one hand on her stomach. "That's done," she said. Upstairs, the dress with the ribbon still pinned to it hung on the form in her room. She had six months to figure out the next one.