Chapter 10
Violet sat in her armchair after Nick and Lily had gone. The cat was sitting on the sofa, staring at her.
‘What are you looking at?’ she asked the animal with a raised brow. The cat turned its back and settled into the seat with a flick of his tail.
Plans were afoot, she thought.
Lily was at the audition.
Violet traced the lip of her mug of tea with her fingers as she grinned quietly to herself.
Her voice wasn’t lost, she was lost. There is a difference, she thought.
It was a shame Lily had lost herself and her inner knowledge.
As a child she’d had such a strong sense of self.
When did she lose that, Violet wondered?
Was it before college or after? Was it Denise or was it someone else?
She knew how much Denise wanted success for Lily but it would only come if Lily wanted that for herself.
Lily had always been an entertainer, a singer. Even as a little child, she could not resist playing music, her voice carefree and bright. However, life has a way of fading that brilliance and making people doubt the things that came so naturally when it becomes a burden.
But things were changing.
Violet had noticed the shift in Lily’s demeanour when Nick came into the house. Oh there was chemistry there, real chemistry.
It made her think of Martin. Nick reminded her of Martin and his kind ways. She didn’t dabble in romantic affairs, but she had seen enough in her life to recognise when two people were meant to be together.
She had been feeling in her bones for some time now that her days were getting shorter, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she had left.
Not that she would have said that to Lily or Peter.
No one needed to hear such things. It was better that life was full so when she went there were other things to distract them.
Nothing worse than when people can’t get over the death of someone. Life goes on, no matter what, she always said.
But she knew things needed to be arranged in a way to ensure that Lily would be happy in her life when Violet died, despite the grief she knew Lily would experience.
She needed to have a life she thought was worth living, and Violet wondered if the one Lily was living now was something she wanted to be a part of.
Perhaps a little gentle push here and there would help, she thought.
She’d had a good life, a full one, and before she died, all she wanted to see was Lily finding her true path wherever that might take her.
Violet went to her little bureau and pulled out a bundle of letters in envelopes. None of them sealed yet. Yes, she would have to write another one soon, but not yet. Things weren’t in their right places yet.
She leafed through the letters, reading them and smiling at the memories. The last would be wonderful, a final chapter in her story but only just beginning for Lily, and Violet couldn’t wait for everything to come together finally.