30. Violet
Chapter 30
Violet
A gaggle of townies and tourists crowd the park. Children are lining up behind the row of slides, giggling as they swoosh down on potato sacks. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people in one place here before. Some are seated in fold-up lawn chairs lining the open field, scattered around chatting. The same lines painted for the chicken race were given a fresh coat. Thankfully, the rain has quit long enough for the grass to dry up so that we aren’t racing in mud.
I feel the grass beneath my feet. The subtle smell of barbeque swifts into my nose out of a tent where Rooster’s Bar is catering. It's a refreshing sight to see everyone come together for the day. And it puts a smile on my face.
At the last competition every year they set up a raffle for baskets. Every business creates a basket full of a few things. I donated plants, a gift card, some flowers, and a few vouchers for free flower arrangements. Dustin made a basket full of soap, candles, lip balms all made from the goat’s milk. Even a few coupons for cheese to spend at the Valley Harvest. Now that he was able to get some cheese stocked there. This raffle really helps to raise money for the businesses, and it's a fun way to have activities for everyone who shows up.
“Hey!” I greet Olive, Mason, and Chloe.
“Hey girl!” Olive smiles. “Mason was just telling us all about the chicks that just hatched.”
“No way! What kind of chickens did you get this time?”
“Five Salmon Faverolles.”
“What do they look like?” I ask.
“Their feathers are white and brown and they lay brown eggs. They are also cold hardy so they will lay eggs in the winter.”
“When did you get them?” Chloe pipes in.
“Yesterday. They were delivered to the post office from a hatchery in Ohio. Laura was so excited, she spent the morning with them while she worked. Then I picked them up around noon.”
“They deliver them in the mail?” Chloe asks.
“Yep. If you want, you can come see them. I have them separated in the chicken coop. Olive spent hours with them yesterday, but I’m sure she would love to introduce you both to them.” He grins at her. Her face flushes crimson.
I shoot Olive a knowing stare.
Mason and Olive have been friends forever. I can tell they have chemistry, but I don’t think Olive has ever noticed it. I try to stay out of her love life the best I can. But when she needs advice I am always there for her, just like she always has been for me.
“Ahh,” I yelp when I feel strong hands wrap around my waist to pull me backward.
“It’s just me Vivi,” Dustin’s husky voice murmurs in my ear. And he pulls me into the front of his chest. A pleasant woodsy smell penetrates my nose, pine and a touch of sandalwood. I melt in his embrace.
“You two are so adorable.” Olive sighs. I don’t miss the longing glance Mason gives her.
“There’s Constance holding her signature microphone, I guess she traded it for the megaphone,” Chloe chimes in.
“I gotta go! I have to talk to her.” I pull Dustin along because we are in this one together. He owes me after all.
“It’s so nice to see you two together.” Constance smiles.
“Thanks. We have a couple questions for you if you have the time,” Dustin says.
“Sure, I have a few minutes to spare before the competition starts.”
“Do you know if Darcy was ever friends with anyone whose name started with H in town? I know there's Henry from the Valley Harvest and Harvey from Fix-Its. They are both about her age.”
“Let me think.” She scratches her head in concentration. “I do remember them hanging out all of the time when they were younger. That’s right. They met at Woodstock. Henry always tells the story when I come around. They became good friends, and he followed her back to town and started working at the Food Save before he purchased it. Then he named it The Valley Harvest and the rest is history. Sometimes I see Henry walking into the retirement home. I was wondering who he was visiting. Now it makes sense. I can ask around for you. What do you need to know?”
“No, no. That’s exactly what I was looking for, thank you. You’ve been a great help.” I don’t want to ask too many questions. Darcy would not be happy about the story being posted on the social media page.
As we walk away I whisper to Dustin, “So it was Henry all along. I’m talking to him after this is over.”
“We better line up. Looks like Constance is getting her microphone ready.”
We all make our way to the red line. Each team's color coordinated ropes are sitting along the start line.
“Get ready everyone, the final competition of the small business games starts in a few minutes. This will be a three-legged race. I’m sorry to have to say this but here are the rules. Rule number one, no shoving any other competition or you are disqualified. Rule number two, your bands must all be snug around your legs. Do not loosen them. Rule number three, there are no other rules. The first group to cross the finish line wins the entire thing! Ready? Three, two, one, go!”
On go everyone takes off in a flash. I try my best to do everything we practiced. Starting with counting in my head one, two, three, four. The rhythm helps me focus to keep our synchronization. If I don’t break this method, I won’t trip us both up. But there are others that are already way ahead. Dustin is so tall compared to me so we’re at a huge disadvantage. The other two teams, Chelsea and Laura, and Annie and Olive, are both similar in height. So, they have a better chance of winning this one.
I also can’t help but get distracted by the crowd of people surrounding us.
My leg is so tight against his, constrained by the strap wrapped at my calf. Our pace is steady, just like we practiced. And we are starting to catch up. As we pass team green, I start to feel hope. Everyone is shouting different things. “Go team purple! Go team orange! Go team green!” All of the chaos makes me forget to count. My left foot steps at the wrong time, and we both go flying.
He lets out a loud harumph. The wind gets knocked out of my lungs on the impact. Dustin starts chuckling. It’s contagious because I start giggling as well. We lie on the ground laughing. All while the crowd is shrieking around us. But I don’t notice anything else. These games were made so that the town could fundraise to keep all of the small shops in town in business. It is supposed to bring everyone together, to have fun. We don’t need to win; it wouldn’t make much of a difference either way. I’ve gained so much from being paired with Dustin, and I would never take any of that back. Sure, he may have been insufferable at first. Okay, I was also insufferable. But once we got to know each other, we clicked. I can now say I am so glad we were paired together.
“Our winners are team green! Annie and Olive! Let’s hear it for them!” Constance bellows. The gaggles of people shout in triumph for a few minutes until they quiet down. “Alright, congrats to you two! The Olive bean and Annie’s Diner will both receive plaques for their store windows this year. Since it is our anniversary you both get a two-night stay at the Thornwood cabins, all expenses paid. This can be redeemed whenever you like, and you each will get your own cabin. Also, free haircuts for a year at the Chop shop for you both!”
“Damn! I can’t believe we missed out on free haircuts. I could have really used that.” Dustin messes his hair up, proving his point. “Too bad we lost. If you weren't so clumsy we might have had a chance.”
“I’m clumsy over you.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Dustin’s confession makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. My lips curve into a small smile, but I drop it when I see Chelsea running back towards town with tears in her eyes.
“I have to go, I’ll text you.” I peck Dustin quickly on the lips and book it towards her quickly retreating form. No one notices our departure, they are all too engrossed in the activities.
I catch up to her at the back entrance to The Chop Shop. I gasp trying to suck in air.
I really need to get in better shape. All of this pizza and pepperoni rolls are starting to weigh me down. “Chelsea, wait!” She turns around to look at me. Her eyes are puffy and cheeks are tear stained.
“What do you want? Did you follow me to rub the loss in my face? Because there’s no point, you can forget it. I’m a failure.”
“No, I’m not here to rub anything in. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” I pull her into a hug. After a while she puts her arms around me. I let her cry until her sobs calm.
She pulls away and we both sit down on a park bench. “Why do you care if I’m okay? After everything I did to you.”
“Because you’re hurting, and you need someone there for you. Everyone makes mistakes. I couldn't care less about the past right now. For a while I wanted to beat you in the competitions because of everything that was done to Olive and I. But that wasn’t truly your fault. It can all be blamed on Jackson and Chad.” Her silence is deafening. The laughter and chatter from the park is a low murmur in the distance.
She speaks up after a few minutes. “I try so hard with the competitions because of my mom. Constance is always worried about everyone else, the town, the gossip. She never seems to notice her own daughter. I thought that if I won, she would finally notice me. It worked for a few years, but when I lost today I broke down. To make things worse Chad broke up with me; turns out he just wanted to make Olive jealous. I pushed all of my friends away trying to get my mom to notice me. How pathetic am I?”
“You're not pathetic. His name is Chad, he is a Chad . He’s the pathetic one.” She laughs. “And your mom loves you, but she is always worried about everything going on. You should try and talk to her about it. I’m sure she doesn’t even know what she’s doing. Also, we can be friends.”
“I will try. Thank you, Violet. You’d really be my friend?”
“Of course I would. But no more trying to steal boyfriends. That goes against friend code.”
“Okay.” Her voice is hesitant but underlined with hope.
“Pinky swear it.”
“Pinky swear.” She grabs my finger, and we swear on our new friendship.