29. Violet
Violet
“Good ideas start with great coffee.”
One Day Before The Grand Opening
Lavender Creek is buzzing.
Everywhere I go, someone mentions the theater.
At the café, Mrs. Harper orders her usual lavender latte and tells me she still remembers seeing her first movie there in 1978.
Two high school kids come in arguing about which movie Everett would show first.
Even the hardware store across the street has a sign in the window that reads:
“Closing early, see you at the theater!”
It feels like the entire town has been holding its breath waiting for tomorrow.
I wipe down the café counter and glance through the front window.
Main Street looks different lately. Not because anything has physically changed. But because Everett has changed something in the town just by bringing the theater back. He’s reminded people what it feels like to be excited about something together.
Brie steps out from the kitchen carrying a tray of pastries.
“Staring again?” she says.
“People watching,” I correct.
Before she can argue, Maddie points toward the window. “Well, if you are Everett watching,” she says, “there he is.”
My heart does that annoying little stutter.
I turn slightly and see him walking down the street. He’s talking with someone beside him.
Tall.
Dark hair.
Confident smile.
Riley.
I’d only seen pictures Everett had shown me on his phone, but the resemblance to those photos is obvious.
They walk past the bookstore laughing about something, Riley gesturing wildly with his hands while Everett shakes his head.
It’s nice seeing Everett like that. Relaxed. Happy. Like the weight he’s been carrying lately has shifted just a little.
Brie leans on the counter beside me. “Are you going tomorrow?”
That question has been playing on my mind all week.
Everett had said he hoped I’d be there. But he also said he understood if it was too much.
And maybe a week ago it would have been.
When he first told me about Emily, my world had tilted slightly off its axis.
Not because I was angry or didn’t understand.
But because it forced me to face a fear I’d been quietly carrying for years.
The fear that maybe motherhood wasn’t something meant for me.
“Violet?” Brie prompts.
“I’m going,” I say finally.
Maddie smiles. “Good.”
Because the truth is, I’ve decided that missing him these past few days has left a hole in my life. Sure we have only just reconnected, but in these short couple months, Everett has become someone special to me and I am not going to toss that aside.
Later that afternoon, the café is quiet.
Brie and Maddie are busy prepping trays for the grand opening while I slip into the back office with my phone.
I open up my messages and click on Lily’s name.
If there is one person who can help me untangle my thoughts, it is my sister.
Me:
Hey, you busy?
Lily:
Depends, is this a crisis or a gossip situation?
I smile.
Me:
Somewhere in the middle.
Lily:
I’m free. What’s up?
I hesitate.
Me:
I think I’ve decided.
A pause.
Lily:
About Everett?
Me:
Yeah.
Lily:
And??
I stare at the screen for a moment before typing the truth.
Me:
I’m choosing him.
The reply comes quickly.
Lily:
Yay! If I’m being honest, I kind of figured.
Me:
That obvious?
Lily:
Vi, you’ve been half in love with that man since the day he walked into the café and ordered a coffee.
I snort.
Me:
That’s not true.
Lily:
It absolutely is.
Me:
I am scared, though.
Lily:
Tell me the real fear, not the kid, not the communication. I know you, tell me what you are really scared of.
That’s the problem with sisters. They know you so well, better than you know yourself.
Me:
I think part of me always believed that if I didn’t have kids by now, it probably wasn’t going to happen. And I told myself I was okay with that. But when Everett told me he might have a daughter, it forced me to realize something.
Lily:
And what’s that?
Me:
That it’s too late to figure out how to be a mom.
Lily’s response was fast.
Lily:
Vi, being a mom doesn’t have a timeline.
I swallow.
Me:
Maybe not. But it usually starts when the kid is born.
Lily:
Says who? Being a parent isn’t about when you arrive; it’s about whether you stay.
The words sit heavy in my chest. Because that is the truth, isn’t it? Motherhood isn’t one single path. Sometimes it is messy and unexpected. Different from the path you once imagined. But that doesn’t make it any less real.
I look out the office window toward Main Street. People hanging banners. String lights going up outside the theater. Kids riding bikes past the entrance like it is already the most exciting place in Lavender Creek.
And Everett made that happen.
Lily:
Do you love him?
The question appeared, and I didn’t even hesitate.
Me:
Yes.
Lily:
I’m so happy for you Vi!
I exhale slowly, because I did. I’d been circling around it all week. Analyzing every angle. Thinking about if I was ready for a future that looks different from the one I’d always pictured. But every time I imagined walking away from Everett, something inside me told me that was wrong.
I step out of the office and return to the front counter. And there he is again. Everett. This time standing outside the theater talking with a group of townspeople.
I think about the way he looked sitting beside me in the theater seats that night.
Vulnerable. Honest. Terrified of losing me. He didn’t hide anything. He told me the truth even when it could have cost him everything that has started between us.
It means he trusted me enough to let me see the messy parts of his life. Not just the easy ones.
I slip my phone into my pocket and look down the street again. Tomorrow the theater doors will open. The whole town would show up. And Everett would finally see his dream come to life.
But for me, tomorrow isn’t just about the theater. It is about something bigger. Choosing Everett means choosing a future that includes Emily.
Choosing a life that doesn’t look exactly like the one I once imagined.
But maybe, it could be even better.
And for the first time all week, the thought doesn’t scare me.
It feels like hope.