by Kahele, J
Victor shook his head. “You make it sound all peaches and cream. But let’s be honest here. It’s not. You have someone you have to tell where you are going, someone who spends your money and someone who is constantly bitching if you don’t do as she says. That isn’t a life I ever want.”
“It’s not about money, about complaining, it’s simply about loving one person for the rest of your life.”
Victor chuckled. “Who you foolin’, David, if you ain’t pleasing your woman, she will find a man who will. That’s why I am going to get mine, sleep with as many bitches as I can. I look at it as doing a service to humankind, fulfilling the needs of all the lonely women out there. Shit, why the hell would I want to settle with one woman when I can have many?”
“Yeah, you would think like that. And what will you do, Victor, when you can’t get it up anymore? Do you think these skanks you fuck will be around then? Hell no. You will just be a lonely, miserable old man with a shriveled up dick!” David retorted.
Violet’s father leaned forward, slapping his hand on the table. “Enough of that talk, the ladies are coming back into the room.”
Violet, Callie and her mother walked back carrying large platters of food. They placed them down one by one. The platters were filled with shrimp, steak, an assortment of vegetables and small baked red potatoes. They walked around with the platters, filling all the plates before sitting down.
“Everything looks great, Mom,” Vince said as he dug his fork into his food.
“Thank you, Vince. Now eat, no more talking.”
After dinner and dessert, Violet’s parents guided us all outside for cocktails. The backyard was set up like a small resort, with a built-in swimming pool, a large outside Tiki bar and sofas scattered everywhere.
Victor stood at the bar making a large pitcher of margaritas as Vince placed glasses across the table we were all sitting down at. Victor walked over, filling all of our glasses before sitting down.
The garage of the home was unattached and sat to the side of the house. I heard a car pull up before the gate opened and in walked all the biggest players in Philadelphia, five in all. There was Perry Lowe, a college teacher, who had a reputation for carrying on with his female students. Then there was Matt Pierce, Bronson Sherden, Kris Bryce, all trust fund kids. The last was Millen Ryan. He was what you would call a kid from the wrong side of the tracks. He grew up poor, with parents that had drug addictions. He worked hard in school, earning scholarships to Harvard, where he also went to medical school. He received a specialized degree as an ob/gyn, and owned his own practice in downtown Philadelphia.
Vince and Victor shook hands with them.
“What the hell are you guys doing here?” Victor queried. Millen laughed. “We were seeing if you assholes wanted to go out tonight for a bit. Went by your place, saw you weren’t there and figured you would be at your parents’.”
Violet’s mother strolled up. “Hello, boys.” Millen placed a kiss on her cheek. “You look lovely as ever, Mrs. Townsend.” Violet’s father held out his hand to Millen. “How are you, Millen, heard the practice is doing really good.”
Millen shook his hand. “Can’t complain, sir.” He clapped his hands together. “So what do you say, Vince, Victor, are you up for going out?”
“Ah. Yeah, I don’t feel like hitting a club tonight,” Vince added.
“Why not?” Millen queried.
Vince shrugged. “Hanging with the fam, man.”
Matt approached. “That’s cool, I was just with my own earlier.”
“Why don’t you all stay and have a drink with us,” my mother offered.
“Free drinks? I’m in,” Bronson chimed in.
“Oh Bronson.” Violet’s mother laughed. Vince walked over to the bar and mixed up another batch of margaritas.
“Ma, you want another drink?” he asked Violet’s mother. She shook her head. “No thank you, Vince, your father and I have to get going.”
Vince seemed thrown by her words. “Where are you going?”
Violet’s father exhaled. “We have to play cards tonight.”
Victor let out a laugh. “It’s like 8:00, isn’t it past your bedtime?”
Violet’s father threw a playful fist into Victor’s arm. “You saying I’m old, Victor? I’ll tell you this, I can still run circles around you.”
Victor playfully hit him back. “Bring it on, old man.” They began wrestling and Violet’s mother shook her head. “Will you two stop it?”
Violet’s father released Victor. “Relax, Janis, we are just playing around.”
She folded her arms and raised her brow. “The last time you two played around, you ended up tweaking your back and I spent a month having to take care of you.”
Violet’s father took her into an embrace. “I love when you take care of me.” Then he placed a heated kiss on her lips.
I turned to Violet to see her shrinking in her seat. “How gross.” I laughed out loud.
Violet’s mother hugged Victor. “You all can stay as long as you like, but clean up after yourselves.”
Victor kissed her on the cheek. “Sure thing, Ma.”
Vince grabbed her and twirled her in the air. “Love you, Ma,” he said as he placed her down.
“Love you too, son. Make sure you help your brother clean up.”
He bent, giving her a quick kiss on her cheek. “Will do.”
I stood up as Violet’s mother approached us. She gave me a hug. “It was very nice meeting you, Chain, please don’t be a stranger,” she whispered in my ear, before giving me a light kiss on my cheek.
“I won’t, ma’am.”
Violet’s father patted me on the back. “Take care of my little girl.”
“I will, sir.” They said their goodbyes to Violet and then left.
I sat talking with David, while Violet roamed around socializing with Vince and Victor’s friends.
As I was talking to David, I spied Millen and Violet talking in front of the bar. He stood a little closer than I liked, but being as both of Violet’s brothers were in attendance, I didn’t feel threatened or worried.
Until it happened.
Millen stepped over the line.
His hand rubbed her ass.
I stood up and rushed over, pushing him back.
“Don’t touch her,” I said angrily.
He laughed. “What the fuck are you going to do? She’s not your property, you know.”
Violet pressed her hands on my chest, pushing me slightly backwards. “He’s not worth it, Chain. Let’s just go.” She was right, he wasn’t worth it. I clutched her hand and we turned and walked away. But it wasn’t me who was having a hard time letting it go, it was Millen.
“Hey, Violet, remember to come and see me, I would really like to take a look at you inside, if you know what I mean.” I closed my eyes, trying to calm my temper. “I’ll give you a discount. In fact, baby, for you, I’ll do it for free.”
Out of nowhere, Phillip flashed in my mind and all I could think of was if I had done something the first time he had attacked Violet, maybe the second time would never have happened and Violet wouldn’t have to live with the emotional scars every day of her life. I stopped and Violet looked at me worriedly.
She pulled on my hand. “Chain, please, let’s just go,” she pleaded. I wanted to, I really did, but something inside of me held me back. I couldn’t walk away, I just couldn’t. There was no way in hell I would ever let another asshole treat Violet badly again. I released her hand and ran over to Millen. With my fist clenched, I slammed him in the mouth, knocking him backwards. He lunged towards me, pushing me to the ground. I felt arms around me and looked up to Vince pulling me up, restraining me with his arms.
“You stay the fuck away from her,” I screamed at Millen.
Victor had him in a hold. He spit blood before laughing. “That is one fine piece of ass, way too much for one man.” Victor twirled Millen around and slammed his face onto the counter of the bar. “That’s
my fucking sister you’re talking about, asshole.” Victor literally picked him up, raising him over his head, and flung him across the fence. “Get the fuck out of here.”
Millen grunted as he stood up and brushed himself off. “Fuck you, Victor,” he snarled, then stomped away.
I could see the rage as Victor turned towards the party. “Everyone out, now! Party over!” The others quickly dispersed out the gate.
Vince released me. “You alright, man?”
“Yeah,” I murmured as I straightened my shirt.
Violet walked up to me, crossing her arms and shaking her head. “Why did you hit him?”
“Are you kidding? He was being disrespectful to you,” I answered defensively.
“I can take care of myself, Chain, you shouldn’t have hit him.”
A hand touched my shoulder and I looked up to Victor standing beside me. “Vi, the guy was saying stupid shit. What did you expect Chain to do?”
Violet’s face twisted into a scowl. “Walk away; words never killed anyone.”
“He touched your ass, Vi. And Chain did walk away, but Millen wouldn’t shut his pie hole. He deserved to get his face smashed in, give Chain a break. Millen’s a fucking asshole,” Vince added.
David patted Violet’s shoulder. “I have to agree with them, Violet, if Millen had touched my wife that way, I would have knocked his head off.”
“I’m not Chain’s wife,” she snapped. I didn’t know why but her words hurt me. She turned and walked towards the back door and I rushed after her.
I reached for her arm, pulling her back. “Violet, please, I’m sorry I lost my temper.”
She yanked her arm away. “Chain, I have dealt with two brothers beating up every man that came near me, I won’t deal with it when it comes to my boyfriend. I can take care of myself!”
I understood her anger and I wanted so badly to tell her, to make her understand mine. But that would mean bringing up Phillip again, reminding her of the incident, and it was not something I would ever do. I wanted to erase Phillip in her mind, not bring him back to the surface. I bowed my head, staring down at the ground, biting my lip.
“You are right, I should have just walked away. I completely apologize.”
I felt a hand rub my shoulder and I looked up to see Violet’s concerned eyes. “This is about Phillip, isn’t it?” How did she know?
Confused, I shook and nodded my head at the same time.
Her eyes gleamed with distress. “Oh, Chain, I’m so stupid, I should have known.”
“You are not stupid, you are the smartest woman I know. I should have told you, I just didn’t want to bring him up again,” I said bitterly. Just thinking about Phillip left a bad taste in my mouth, much less saying his name out loud!
She wrapped her arms around my neck. “I knew you were angry with Phillip for what he did, but I didn’t know how much it really affected you.”
“It did affect me and still affects me. When you hurt, I hurt.” It was the truth, when he violated Violet, he also violated me. Her suffering was my suffering also.
She curled her arms around my neck. “I love you.”
I smiled, stringing my arms around her waist and pulling her to me. “I love you, Violet, more than you will ever know.”
She gave me a quick peck on the lips. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
We drove back to the house and sat around watching a movie. When the movie ended, I gave Violet a quick kiss and sauntered off to bed as she sat on the couch. This was the time I dreaded the most, her waiting till I was asleep before she would crawl into bed. I missed holding her, her falling asleep in my arms. But it was something I had to deal with. She had a lot going on in her head after what Phillip had done to her and I had to accept it, whether I liked it or not.
“Patience,” I mumbled to myself. I walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind me.
Chapter 2.5 - Violet
After work, I drove over to Chain’s house. He had called earlier and told me he would be late, something about a last-minute meeting with the shareholders.
I let myself in and walked straight to the kitchen and immediately went to the fridge, taking out a pound of beef and some vegetables.
I threw the ingredients into a Dutch oven, then added water and bouillon, placing the lid on and letting it cook. I walked to the bedroom to change out of my work clothes.
After sliding on a tank top and yoga pants, I commenced picking up the house. Mr. Drop and Go did not fail as I managed to pick up five ties, six suit jackets and even a pair of trousers. I dusted and vacuumed and after about an hour, the living room and dining area were clean. I stirred my beef stew, simmered it and then snatched the ties, suit jackets and trousers from the couch and took them to the bedroom. I placed them in the hamper and began picking up the bedroom. Spread across the chair was dry cleaning Chain must have picked up. I grabbed it and headed into the closet to hang it up. As I pushed some of the clothes aside, a box sitting on the top shelf caught my attention. It was white, large and it looked like it contained something very important. I tried to ignore that box, but as I hung up the dry cleaning, my eyes flickered back up to it.
My curiosity was getting the best of me as I stared at that box. I wanted to know what was in that box. I didn’t want to invade his privacy, even though he had invaded my privacy when he read a personal letter that Harrison wrote to me. But two wrongs don’t make a right. I went to walk out of the closet but I stopped, that box silently calling my name. I fought back and forth in my head for a few minutes before I walked back into the closet and made the decision—I was looking in that box.
The shelf was high and I had to stand on my tiptoes to reach it. With both hands on the sides of the box, I yanked. I didn’t realize how heavy it was until it tumbled from my hands, falling to the ground, the contents scattering over the closet floor. I knelt down and noticed photo albums and white envelopes everywhere. I began to pick up the envelopes and couldn’t help but stare at the writing across one in my hand.
It was addressed to a Sean Michaels with Chain’s old office building address, and the return address had the name of Devin Michaels, 323 Mange, Columbus, OH. Who the hell were Sean and Devin Michaels? And why were the letters addressed to Chain’s old office?
“What are you doing?” I nearly jumped out of my skin as Chain crept up behind me.
“I, uh, was putting the dry cleaning away and this box fell,” I lied horribly as I waved the envelope in my hand.
He looked at me suspiciously before saying, “You were hanging up the dry cleaning and the box just fell?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He shook his head. “No way, Violet, that box was secure, I made sure of that. The only way it would even budge is if it was moved.” Okay so I wasn’t a good liar.
He moved closer, folding his arms, looking at me, waiting for an answer.
The way he was looking me made me feel guilty. How did he do that, make me feel so guilty with just a look? I raised my hands, waving them in the air. “Okay, okay, the box didn’t fall. I took it down, I’m sorry, I was being nosey.”
He took the envelope from my hand. “Its fine, Violet. I don’t have anything to hide from you, but please don’t lie to me again.”
“I’m sorry.” He nodded. I knelt down and began picking up the photo albums, placing them in the box as Chain picked up the envelopes. When we were finished, Chain lifted the box and placed it back on the shelf.
“So who is Sean Michaels?” I asked him.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he commented before turning and walking away.
I followed close behind him. “I thought you said you had nothing to hide.”
“I don’t, but it doesn’t mean I want to talk about it.”
I stopped. “That makes no sense.”
He turned, placing his hands on my arms. “Violet, I have had a really long day. I’m famished and tired. All I want to do is eat and go to bed, can you please give me a b
reak here?”
Why does he do that? Twist my curiosity around to make me feel guilty? Was it wrong to want to know who these men were? Who the names were on the envelopes that he kept in that secret box? He just stated that he had nothing to hide and now he was standing in front of me telling me he didn’t want to talk about it. God, he was so frustrating.
“Fine.” I pushed past him and walked to the kitchen. I grabbed two plates and began shoveling the meat and potatoes onto them.
Chain placed his hand on the counter. “So now you’re mad at me?”
“Nope,” I retorted. I walked over to the table and placed his plate down.
I felt his hands touch my shoulders and he rubbed them gently. “Violet, please don’t be like this.”
I shrugged him off. “I’m not being like anything, you’re hungry and tired, I understand.” I wasn’t exactly mad, I was irritated. How could he make a statement like, ‘I have nothing to hide,’ then in the same breath say, ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ We were supposed to be in a relationship, a trusting relationship, I thought. Yet he couldn’t trust me enough to reveal who these men were?
I grabbed a wine bottle from the fridge, then walked to the table, pouring wine in the glasses.
“Sean Michaels is my birth name,” Chain blurted out.
His words stilled me. “What?”
“Sean Michaels, that was my birth name.” I placed the wine bottle down and slowly slid into the chair.
“Your name is not Chain Alexander?”
“No, I mean yes. I legally changed it when I was eighteen.” Now that explained why the envelopes were addressed to Chain’s old office building.
“Why would you change your name?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “After my sister and mother died, I wanted a fresh start so I changed my name.”
“So is Devin Michaels your father’s name? He sends you letters?”
Chain brought a forkful of food to his mouth. “Yes and yes.”