Now #2
Walking towards the front door, I look back at Mom. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you.” She blows air-kisses in my direction, waving goodbye to me.
When I make it out the door, I see Violet sitting on the steps next to Mom’s apartment. She’s scrolling on her phone because what else do people our age do to pass the time?
She’s so cute.
She lifts her head and sees me. “Hey.”
“Are you ready to go?”
She nods.
We begin our five minute trek back to my truck.
“So, my mom is moving out this Wednesday.”
“Wow, that’s great!” She studies my facial expressions and body language. “It is great, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I can’t believe three months flew by this quickly. She’s not moving into her own apartment for a while though. For now, she’s moving into Noah’s house with his mom.”
“She’s going to live with Laura? Hm, interesting.”
“Yeah, I thought so, too. I know she regrets not having more of a friendship with her because of everything that was going on. She didn’t have any interest in having friends, but now she wants that. I’m really happy for her.”
“She deserves all the happiness in the world, and so do you.”
“Thanks.” I smile.
We get to the truck, and I unlock it. After we both get situated in our seats, I turn on the engine.
“Is it okay if I make a quick call?”
“Sure.”
Tapping on the screen, I find Noah’s name, and the phone rings.
“Hey. What’s up, man?” Noah asks.
“Why didn’t you tell me my mom is moving in with your mom?”
“It wasn’t my place to tell you. I wanted you to hear it from your mom.”
“Okay, that makes sense.”
“I guess she told you she’s moving out on Wednesday, huh?”
“Yeah. It’s not that I wasn’t expecting it, but it was a lot of information to absorb in a few minutes.”
“I can imagine. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Where are you guys going?”
“Coastal Shores,” Violet says.
Noah groans. “Ugh, I’m so jealous.”
“Don’t ask me to pick you up a fried chicken sandwich.”
“Geez, I wasn’t going to. You need to go eat something.”
“Fine, we will.”
“Bye, Noah.” Her voice goes up an octave.
“Bye, Violet. Make sure Mr. Cranky Pants eats something when you get there.”
“I will. Bye!” I hang up the phone, and the screen goes back to my GPS navigation app that takes me wherever I need to go.
“How far is Coastal Shores from here?” she asks, tilting her head at a slight angle.
“I think like fifteen to twenty minutes.”
“Do you have any snacks in here?”
“Check the compartment in front of you.” I point to it with my index finger.
She opens it up to reveal a secret stash of snacks along with some trash I desperately need to throw away.
“Take this.” She hands me a granola bar. “Eat it.”
“I thought you wanted something to eat.”
“I’m not the one who’s hangry.”
“That could change in a matter of seconds.”
“Seriously, you’re a pain in my ass, Becker.”
I wink at her and back up out of the parking space.
Next stop, Coastal Shores.
Pulling up to a parking spot close to the front at the Sunset Cove Promenade where Coastal Shores is, I notice how Violet keeps looking over at Sweet & Salty.
“We can stop there after lunch if you want,” I suggest.
“I know it’s my day off, but I’d appreciate that a lot.”
We get out of the truck, and I run over to the entrance of Coastal Shores. Holding the door open for her, she strokes my shoulder. A bolt of electricity causes me to move suddenly.
“Is that Valerie?” Violet asks.
Valerie is Bella’s older sister. Noah told me that he ran into her here when he came here with Dani a couple months ago.
“Yes, it is.”
Valerie makes her way over to us. “You know, we’re going to have to etch your name and Noah’s into that seat.”
“Cool, I’d have a bar stool named after me.”
Valerie chuckles. “Prescott, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”
“I know.”
“Well, we can chat more when I come back. What are you guys drinking?”
“A coke with light ice.”
“I’ll have water.”
“Do you guys want to start out with an appetizer?” Valerie asks.
“Yes!” Violet scans the appetizer section of the menu. “Can we get the warm pretzel?”
Valerie types in the order into her portable machine. “That should be out in the next five minutes or so. I’ll grab your drinks, and I’ll come back to get your lunch orders.”
As soon as Valerie walks away from us, Violet turns around to face me. “A coke with light ice? You haven’t drank one of those in years.”
“I knew you were going to say something about that. I do have a coke every other month, sometimes I go longer without having one. You can blame my mother for it. It’s in my DNA.”
Violet rolls her eyes. “How old are we now?”
“Whatever.”
She studies the menu to figure out what she wants to have for her main dish.
“What are you going to get?”
“You’re going to have to wait and see.”
I narrow my eyes. “Alright, I see how it is.”
Valerie rushes back over to us with our appetizer in one hand. She drops it in front of us, and I get a whiff of the soft and warm pretzel along with the beer cheese sauce and whole grain mustard.
“Are you guys ready to order lunch?”
Violet nods. “Can I have the Southwest Chicken Salad?”
Valerie types on her portable machine, sending Violet’s order to the kitchen. “What dressing do you want with it?”
“Ranch on the side please.”
“And for you, sir?” Valerie asks me with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
“The traditional wing basket with barbecue sauce.”
“Do you want ranch or blue cheese?”
“I’ll do ranch.”
Valerie gives us a thumbs up. “So, what brings you two back to town?”
“We went to visit my mom,” I say.
“How is she doing?” Valerie focuses on my face.
“She’s good. I found out that she’s moving into Laura’s house until she can find an apartment. I think it’s more of a safety net for her more than anything, but I’m excited for her.”
“Well, I’m happy to hear that. Your mom is about to start a new chapter in her life story.
It’s exciting.” Valerie glances over at some of the tables behind us.
“I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll try to chat more with you guys when there’s a lull of some kind.
” She walks away from us to help her other customers.
I gesture to Violet to take a piece of the pretzel, but she puts her hand in front of my face. “No, you can take the first piece.”
“You do realize there might be nothing left after this, right?” I smirk.
“Haha, you’re so funny.”
When we were dating, Violet would let me taste a lot of her meals when we’d go out to eat, and she’d give me shit for it because sometimes I’d eat too much of it.
I rip off a decent piece of the pretzel, and the steam from it makes its way up to the ceiling. I dip it into the beer cheese sauce and stick it into my mouth.
Fuck, that’s so good.
“It must be pretty good if it made you roll your eyes back that hard.”
Man, I wish I could say what I’m thinking to her right now, but it would be very inappropriate. Noah’s rubbing off on me too much.
I grab a smaller piece, dipping it in the cheese and handing it over to her. Violet takes a bite, and a soft moan comes out of her mouth.
“Food always tastes better when you’re hangry.”
“Mm-hm,” she says.
It takes us less than seven minutes to eat the entire pretzel and suck up the beer cheese sauce and most of the whole grain mustard.
Valerie appears right before our very eyes. “It appears you guys never got your pretzel.”
Violet giggles quickly turn into a laugh that causes her to cough.
“Drink some water.” I gently rub her back with my hand in a circular motion.
Violet picks up her glass and puts her lips in between the straw, drinking slowly.
“Are you okay?” Valerie asks.
“Yeah,” Violet says.
“I’ll be back in a bit with your meals.” Valerie runs off, leaving us alone again.
“I think I ate too much of the cheese sauce.” Violet clears her throat a few times.
“Maybe, but I know you have moments where you sometimes cough out of nowhere.”
“You remember that?”
“I remember everything about you, Angel.”
A female server with dirty blonde hair brings us our main meals. “Who has the traditional wings?”
I stick my pointer finger up, and she places the wings in front of me. She sets down Violet’s salad in front of her.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” The server asks, grinning.
Violet and I glance at each other, focusing our attention back on the server. We shake our heads in unison.
“Enjoy,” the server says.
The wings are always served in a plastic, wire basket with paper inside. They are loaded with barbecue sauce, but the fries and vegetables are separate from them, so they don’t get sauce all over them.
I watch Violet as she drizzles ranch dressing all over her salad, but it’s the smile growing on her face that’s making my heart beat fast.
In all fairness, she always makes my heart beat like the sound of a drummer performing at a rock concert.