Glorious Sunset

by Ava Bleu

  Taka stiffened and shrugged the coat back on. “You are a thief and a pathetic excuse for a man. Men like you should be wiped from the earth. You should have your entrails torn out and fed to dogs and lowly swine. You should—”

  “Fine, fine! Take it!” Skeeter said, pushing the bowl his way. “It’s only a bowl. Take it and leave ’fore I call the po po!”

  Taka was taken aback by surprise. “I cannot accept it without paying.”

  “Yes, you can. It’s a gift from me to you. Just promise me you won’t come back. Ever.”

  Taka thought about it. It was a fair deal. And he wanted the bowl. “Wrap it, please.”

  Once outside, Taka held his package lovingly. It took him ten minutes to find a yellow book. And then he couldn’t find Violet in it. But there was another book with white pages and he found her listed, last name first. He found her address and spent another forty-five minutes making his way back, asking directions all the way. He’d left the door unlocked and thought to himself how dangerous it was for her to live in an unlocked residence with so many strangers around. Good thing for her he was there to protect her.

  Chapter 15

  Violet left her car for the valet in front of the Sheraton on Capital Square and made a beeline to Ronald Bickman’s suite. Her briefcase was filled with swatches, testimonies, magazine articles, and reviews; it would take all that to turn this disaster around.

  When she walked in the door, Tracy’s sad face was the first thing she saw. Tracy was one of those people who couldn’t keep a secret to save her life. If Bickman was on the warpath, her face reflected the internal terror the visiting offender should be feeling. Today, her sadness did not bode well for Violet. In fact, she didn’t even respond to Violet’s greeting, simply pointed to her boss’s door with eerie solemnity, her eyebrows raised in warning Violet could read: she’d better not waste his time after Tracy had pulled strings getting her in there.

  Violet made a note to self to invite Tracy over for poker after this was all over.

  Violet walked in to face Bickman’s scowl, but she didn’t let that deter her. “Mr. Bickman, so nice to see you. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day—”

  “Ms. Jackson, I have to be honest with you. I’ve already chosen the company I feel comfortable with. I appreciate you coming out, but I don’t want to waste your time.”

  “And I don’t want to see yours wasted, Mr. Bickman, which it will be if you go with any company other than Shades of Violet.” She propped her briefcase on the guest chair and popped it open, pulling out papers to slide across his desk as she spoke. “These are statistics on the average job times for most companies in town. You’ll notice Shades of Violet has the shortest duration. These statistics are the average costs of these other companies. And these are the consumer reviews on those companies. Now I’d like you to look at these.” She pulled out a local magazine already flipped to the information she wanted to impress him with. “This is a home designed by Shades of Violet. And this one, and this one. And here is a cost breakdown of my services. My rate is comparable, but my work is beyond anything my competitors can provide. And most importantly, my team can get it done in a fraction of the time of my competitors. Shades of Violet understands the inconvenience of renovation so we hire the best contractors in the city and the best supplies worldwide to make sure you get the high-quality design you want in record time. Because we know your time is important, Mr. Bickman. This last magazine here, this will tell you all about the fact that Shades of Violet is on the cutting edge of all the most progressive design techniques. You see, I invented the Melting technique. As a matter of fact, I own the patent on the process.”

  Violet stopped talking then and stepped back to allow him to absorb the information she’d thrown at him. She clasped her hands serenely before her as her heart pounded out her anxiety. This was it for her. If she could get this account her life would change. If she could get this account it would validate all the hard work she’d put in all her life. Working her way through college, giving up trips and cars and a nice home to put every cent into her business. No, Violet wasn’t a nice person, maybe she didn’t deserve a break on that front. But she was good at what she did. Her talent to design was the one thing that was pure in her life. Her business was the one thing, the one place, that made her feel worthy. Her talent was the only thing that kept her hoping. This deal would mean everything. She struggled to keep it from showing on her face.

  “You invented the technique? But what about Miss Daniels? She led me to believe—”

  “Brenda is a very good friend of mine. So good that I showed her my technique. And I give her props; she executes the process almost as well as I do. But I feel a man of your recognition must have the real product. With a deal this size, people and media from all over the world are going to scrutinize this job. It is important that any work in your home hold up to the highest degree of scrutiny. Brenda can do the technique, but she can’t explain how it works. Nor is she familiar enough with it to be able to experiment with different textures and colors. Please don’t misunderstand me, Brenda is very talented. But Brenda is only copying what she’s seen me do time and again. As the creator, I am still the only one who can do it properly and I am invested in making sure it stands up to my reputation.”

  He was looking through the papers and she could see he was thinking now, paying attention. The minutes ticked off as he flipped through her work. Her body wanted to pounce on this opportunity, but her head told her to back off. She’d given him the evidence and documentation she wanted; now was time for her to make her escape.

  “Mr. Bickman, as I know you have a very busy day I will take my leave now. I just want to leave you with one last word. If you ask around Columbus you’ll find that my reputation extends beyond my clients. Many of my competitors will tell you that Shades of Violet is their primary competition. And I will tell you without a doubt that Shades of Violet is the last word in interior design in Columbus. My name and my talent speak for themselves. Please be brave enough to choose the best for your home renovation. That is my challenge to you, Mr. Bickman.” She shut her briefcase with a click and pulled it off the chair. “Thank you and have a good day.”

  Turn, walk, do not let him see your fingers tremble!

  Violet left Bickman’s office with him staring after her, sashaying out with a tremulous smile on her face that he couldn’t see. She glanced at the clock on the wall and noted she’d done it in nineteen minutes. She walked calmly past Tracy who was staring after her in question, then shot her friend a thumbs-up and a toothpaste commercial smile and left as quietly as she’d arrived, despite the internal screaming.

  She didn’t have a doubt that she’d made an impression on Bickman. And now, no matter what happened, at least she could say she tried. She didn’t just roll over and take it; she fought back.

  She couldn’t wait to tell Taka all about it. Even though he’d tried his best to rain on her parade this morning and was always looking at her like he was expecting something other than what she was saying to be coming from her mouth, she still wanted to share this with him. For some unknown reason she wanted his respect. The irate call she got from her local restaurant owner, father and employer of the two juvenile delinquents who made faces behind her back and smart-mouthed her every chance they got, well, that put the seal on their friendship as far as she was concerned.

  Glancing in her rearview, a forgotten piece of orange caught her eye and snagged her brain with sudden epiphany. She knew exactly what her next wish should be. It was right in front of her nose!

  Violet got back to the apartment, put down her briefcase, and looked at the large lump on the sofa. She felt a nudge of affection for the giant who looked so peaceful in sleep. She really should let him enjoy his dream, but . . .

  Walking over to him she slapped him hard on his arm, waking him as effectively as if she’d doused him with a pail of cold water. “Wake up, King! I’ve decided on my second wish.”

/>   As Taka blinked the sleep from his eyes she tossed the offending orange dress still wrapped in plastic on top of him. “This is a problem,” she declared.

  Taka shook himself to, pulling the dress away by two fingers as if it were a cobweb. “What problem?”

  “It came to me on my way home. The witch intentionally ordered this two sizes too small. And do you know why? She wants to put me through the humiliation of having it altered. And I won’t even mention the color again, you get the point.”

  “It is only a dress. Have it altered; you will still outshine her with your beauty and the glow of your spirit.”

  Violet stopped short and cocked her head. “That is the sweetest thing any man has ever said to me, King. If I weren’t already taken you might have a shot. But back to the dress. I was thinking about it and I’ve decided on a second wish. I want to be able to eat whatever I want and not be larger than a size eight. There.”

  Taka rolled his eyes. “By all that is holy, Father, not another one.”

  “Have you seen Brenda? She’s a size negative two. I’m going to look like a horse standing next to her.”

  “Your body is perfect. You do not need to be thinner. Why do you want to be like these women I see walking around, skeletons with hair? A woman should have meat on her bones. Something to hold. The padding is necessary if good lovemaking is to be had by all. It is, how do they say, a shock absorber.”

  Violet had to stop and think about that a moment before moving on. “Things have changed since your time, King.”

  “Must you change with them?”

  “Unlike you, I can’t just hop along to another time and place. Look, I’m sure there was a time when big was beautiful, but that’s not today. I need all the ammunition I can get.”

  “You speak like you are at war when it is only you on both sides of the battle line. Why do you fight yourself, Violet? Don’t you know you can never win?”

  Violet thought about that for a moment, then smiled, making her point with a finger gesture. “Or, I can also never lose. Depends on how you look at it, King. Listen, your concern is much appreciated. You obviously have a lot of time to spend pondering the meaning of life but I really just want you to grant my wish.”

  “To make you like a stick?”

  “Size eight, no larger.”

  “You are already larger, are you not?”

  “I can afford to lose a pound or two.”

  “I do not want to grant this wish. Can you not believe me when I tell you you are beautiful as you are?”

  “Once again, very sweet, but let me explain this in terms you can understand. You”—she pointed at his chest—“will be gone tomorrow and I’ll be stuck in a time where size fourteen is way too fat. I need to be smaller. It’s simple.”

  “Why? So that bug of a man can wear you on his arm like a bauble?”

  “So I should want to be what you consider attractive? What’s any better about that than wanting to change for Jerome?”

  The question stunned him for only a second. “I will not even begin to discuss how wrong it is to compare me to that slime in the first place; but, since you ask, the reptile does not care about you or your health or your well-being. I care about more than just your appearance, even though I am highly appreciative of it. I am a person who thinks of you as more than just a plaything. I believe you would be happy as you are if you would simply accept yourself and love yourself. Why can’t you see what I see?”

  Taka’s voice rose with his desperation as thoughts of her wasting away to nothing invaded his brain. She had a beautiful body. He could spend days on end simply staring at it. The thought that it would be ravaged and twisted just to be smaller left him feeling sick and panicked. He hadn’t come all this way, all these centuries to make love to a starving woman!

  “It is idiocy at its worst!” he continued. “You cannot truly want to defile your body on the word of that bug, that maggot, that—”

  “I’m not listening to you,” Violet said, putting her fingers in her ears and humming.

  He simply spoke louder to drown her out. “And you say you are powerful? Your power is in turning yourself inside out to appeal to others! That is not power; that is conformity and cowardice!”

  Violet unplugged her ears and responded, “Then call me a cowardly size eight and take a chill pill. Look, do I have to go to your boss?”

  “You are being foolish.”

  “This coming from a man who lives under a rock?”

  “I live inside a precious gemstone!”

  “Whatever. My mind’s made up. No more arguing. Do it, King. Snap, snap. Snap, snap, I said!”

  They glared at each other for a long, angry moment. A muscle jerked in his clenched jaw. “Fine.” Taka took one last, longing look at her form before turning away, his head shaking with futility and his spirit lower than ever. “It is done.”

  His sudden defeat stunned Violet for just a moment and then: “Woo hoo!” She clapped her hands while hopping with glee. Ten years of yo-yo dieting over! Though to be honest, the yo-yo only ever went in one direction. She was always on a diet in her head but the only part of “diet” that ever translated itself to her actions was the breaking of it.

  “You have no idea what a relief this is. I’m going to celebrate tonight with three pints of ice cream.”

  “That’s what you think,” Taka mumbled under his breath.

  “I’ll order a pizza for dinner, maybe two.”

  “Live it up. Fill yourself with unhealthy food and treats, makes no difference to me,” he groused. He could not believe she would betray them both this way. All for the rat of a man she threw herself away on. He was angry enough to break something.

  “What are you over there mumbling about?” Violet asked. His face was as moody as a thundercloud but he wasn’t ruining her high. This wish was a stroke of genius! “I’ll share the pizza with you if you’re nice to me. Look, I had a great morning and I think we should do something special. It’s a beautiful spring day. I’ll change and we can go to the park. Would you like that, King?”

  His glare only sent her into peals of laughter as she left the room.

  What was the matter with women? Were they so unhappy with themselves they went looking for problems?

  “I hate this wish above all others,” Taka spoke to the ceiling through clenched teeth. “To alter oneself is an abomination.”

  “That is an abomination? What do you call giving up your mortality?” The words came so quickly and Ani appeared so suddenly Taka did not even have warning of his arrival, his face earnest. “How do you think we feel?”

  The phone rang and they both looked at it, content to allow the machine to pick up.

  The recording of Violet’s voice was followed by a familiar voice.

  “Look, Violet, if you’re there, pick up. Okay, okay, you got me. I’ll give you seven hunnert for the brooch. That’s more than half of a thousand dollars. Violet, you’re not going to get a better deal than that! Look, call me.”

  Taka’s jaw flexed. Apparently the old thief wasn’t scared enough not to try to take advantage of a woman. He was tempted to go back down and pay Skeeter another visit, but thought better of it. He didn’t want to end up in the jail place Violet had warned him about. Instead, he turned an even fiercer glare to his friend the second Skeeter stopped talking.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself. I am a king and the both of you have set me down here penniless. Where is my property? It is mine and I want it. Give me back my gold, my jewelry, my art, my literature; give me back what is mine. You will not sit me down like a pauper when you know I have untold wealth. You will give me what is due me.”

  “Your property? Every breath you take, every tool you use, every decoration you wear is our Father’s. He loaned it to you for a little while, but it never belonged to you.”

  Taka stiffened in anger. “And you call Him kind and fair? How can you do so and take everything from me? I am no pauper. The thieves who scoured th
e remains of my village should burn for taking what my people worked for.”

  “If you had chosen to stay and protect those things you claim are so dear to you, then Jaha wouldn’t be a distant memory and your sacred artifacts would not be strewn all over the world with no one to claim them. You were to be the keeper of the artifacts. Yours was to be the voice to tell the tale of the kingdom called Jaha. You were to record the history in books instead of the story becoming just a phantom tale. You chose to open the coffers so that your enemies could plunder your cabinets; it was not His choice for you or for your people. Instead the legend lives on in the descendants of your murderers. Even today you met one, a man who recognizes the story of Jaha as told to him by his ancestors. Needless to say the truth has been twisted to serve them well.”

  Taka took a deep breath and swallowed some anger and pride as the implications reached him. He knew Skeeter was a foul cretin, something about the snake-like bone structure!

  “No use hating Skeeter, he only believes the lies he has been told. That’s the thing about a lie, Taka: when it gets passed around it is as potent as any truth when there is no voice to contradict it.”

  “Do you know what it felt like to see that bowl on sale as if it were a piece of nothing? Our women carved those bowls, spent hours blistering their hands, so that they could be used to worship the Almighty. Forget about me and my stubbornness and pride. What of them and their work and sweat? What of their legacy?”

  “What of the legacy of your entire kingdom? Hear me, Taka. We had plans for you. You would have gone on.”

  Taka grimaced and turned away. He didn’t want to hear this. “Gone on to what? I was good for nothing after what happened.”

  “Gone on with the memory of an epic love with an exceptional woman. Memory of that love would have been the foundation for the new Jaha; a new society with women having rights unheard of in that time and place because Zahara taught you that women were underestimated and undervalued. Had you not loved so deeply you would never have learned that. Zahara would never have been forgotten. But with your choice . . .”