Once Upon a Morning

Chapter Three

Gradually over the week Sophie regained her strength or at least the strength she already had, which was close to nothing. I don’t think she could break a pencil if she put all her strength in it.

It was Wednesday evening and we were all around the dinner table as Aunt Nancy went on about her stress over the family coming over for breakfast tomorrow. The house was spotless thanks to my nonstop cleaning for the past three days. I’m not sure why she worried so much. She didn’t even know them.

“You know Violet, and of course you too Sophie, since you worked so hard to clean the house, maybe you can eat breakfast with us tomorrow morning. I know normally I have you stay in the attic, but I know how hard you’ve worked. Also the past couple of days you’ve looked much...prettier I must say. Your hair finally looks kept, and your complexion looks clear and clean, so why don’t you both be down here looking nice tomorrow morning around...lets say 6:30?” She asked being kind.

“Uh...okay, But why so early? What time are they coming over?”

“Child, you are so ungrateful. I invite you for breakfast and all you do is complain? If you don’t want to be on time down here at 6:30 then don’t show up at all, you hear me? You must get you spoiled ungratefulness from your mother. Where else would you have gotten it?” She said in disgust.

Anger washed through me and the pit of my stomach felt cold at the sound of her talking harshly against my mother. I wanted to fight back, but I strained myself for I didn’t want her saying more lies about my mother.

“I agree, Mother. She only cares about herself. She goes around with that winy pout on her face trying to make us feel sorry for her. ‘My mother died when I was young’, ‘my father left me and doesn’t care about me’, ‘I have to work so hard all the time’,” Charlotte said mocking me.

“I never say any of those things, and I’m not lazy. I take care of my sister all day everyday and clean the house constantly.”

“Violet, if you DARE backtalk me or your cousins again, you will be uninvited to breakfast tomorrow along with Sophie, so I advise you choose your words carefully, young lady, now disappear to your room, both of you.”

I looked at Sophie as she played with the food on her plate. She had probably eaten a total of three bites. I had scraped mine clean. I took up Sophie’s full plate and my own to the sink as Aunt Nancy continued to talk.

“Caroline, did you give Sophie and Violet their new clothes we got them?”

“No, Mother. I personally don’t think they deserve them.”

“Go get them for them NOW before you are dismissed as well.”

“Oh and Violet, please make sure you and Sophie are dressed nice in the morning. No jeans or t-shirts. They look trashy. Wear some of the new clothes.”

I nodded as I took both shopping bags and led Sophie up the stairs.

“Why is she always so mean to us and then buy us all these clothes?” Sophie asked as we reached the top of the stairs.

“Because Sophie, she doesn’t want to be embarrassed when we go out in public. She wants us to look half way decent.”

“Oh.”

“Trust me, Soph, it’s not because she cares about us. Its for her benefit only.”

“Why is she like that?”

“I’m not sure, okay Soph?”

“Is what she said about Daddy leaving us and not caring about us true?” Sophie asked.

“I’m not sure, okay? He said he had to find a job in California and never came back. Who knows,” I answered starting to get a little irritable with her questions. Why did she want to know now?

“I was just asking,” She said with her feelings hurt. I rarely ever treated her like this,

“I know,” I answered softly, “Now go take a bath. We have to wake up early.”

****

I woke up early the next morning to the rain thudding on my window. For some reason I couldn’t get back to sleep, even after several late nights, some of which were sleepless. I sat straight up in my bed and looked absent-mindedly around the stuffy attic. I looked at my clock to find it was 4:00 a.m.

I couldn’t believe Aunt Nancy wanted me in the kitchen ready to go at 6:30. The family couldn’t be coming at 6:30. That’s way to early. Around 8 or 9 would be more reasonable.

I sat on my windowsill for what seemed like forever watching the rain drops pound continually on the glass. I felt a cold hand rest on my arm. I turned around to see Sophie standing in her nightgown shivering.

“It’s cold in here,” She said as she chattered her teeth.

“It’s raining outside. That’s why. I guess we should start getting ready. It’s 5:30.”

I sat Soph down beside me and brushed her golden blonde hair. Her hair had a natural wave to it like mine. My hair was longer and the wave was more of a curl, but it was definitely similar. Her eyes were exactly like Mothers. They were big and a green that would cause you to lose yourself if you looked deep into them.

I got up when and got a ribbon out of my jewelry box. It was a red ribbon that I had never worn. I tied it about her head making a pretty bow on the top of her head.

“It was Moms. She used to put in my hair when I was little,” I said wanted to cry.

“Oh.”

“There. It looks perfect!” I said trying to forget about what I had said.

I went to the shopping bag and got the white dress with red flowers for her to wear.

“Here. Why do you wear this? It will look good.”

She nodded and went to the bathroom to get ready. I picked out a yellow sundress out of the sack. I slipped it on and was shocked by the result. It fit me perfectly. It made me look a little taller and thinner and complimented my curves. It made my chest look a little bigger, for it was small for my age, and my waist look small. I was already small for my age. The bottom of it fell right to my knee where my cut began. This worried me a bit, but I knew I could come up with an excuse.

Sophie came out of the bathroom looking like a five year old like always, but she looked good, or as Aunt Nancy would say “Presentable”.

I left my hair down falling about four inches past my shoulders with a bouncy, loose natural curl to it. I personally thought it looked pretty good. The yellow in the dress seemed to compliment my shiny red hair and brighten my blue eyes. “Are you ready?” I asked Sophie.

“Very.”

We walked down the stairs to find several different kinds of pastries on a three-tiered platter, bacon sizzling, and pancakes on a pan.

“Put on an apron and get to work,” Aunt Nancy said.

I slipped the blue-checkered apron over my dress and then tied one on Sophie.

“Violet, you need to set the table in the dining room with our nicest china and napkins, and Sophie, you are to wash the dishes after I’m done cooking in them...Stat!” She spoke clapping her hands.

I hurried to the dining room opening my mothers old china cabinet filled with the china my grandmother had given her. I picked out the pretty dainty white dishes and placed them at each spot of the table. I placed the sterling silver silverware in its correct placing.

“I’m done,” I said as I went into the kitchen five minutes later.

“Okay. I thought it would take you longer. You can go back upstairs.”

“How much longer can setting the table take?”

“Violet....some people are just...well...slow.”

“Are you implying that I’m slow?”

“You’re always late to meals and it takes you forever to do chores.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m slow.”

“Don’t you dare backtalk me, young lady! Do you even realize how much I do for you?”

I didn’t reply. I went up the stairs to lie on my bed until I heard a car pull up to the front of the house.

“VIOLET! SOPHIE! CAROLINE! CHARLOTTE!” Aunt Nancy yelled. I quickly ran down the stairs as Sophie trudged slowly down the narrow, steep staircase after me.

I was in the kitchen in plenty of time. The family was still in the car when Sophie got down there. I still was wondering why this family brunch meant so much to Aunt Nancy. This had to be the first time she had invited anyone over for a meal that wasn’t a business partner or someone she was trying to cheat money out of...or was she trying to get money out of them? I looked at all of there outfits. They were all dressed in some of their finest dresses. I was definitely confused.

Moments later Aunt Nancy opened the door to revealing the family. All I could see was the mother and father with heads behind them. The mother was tall and slender with strawberry blonde hair. Her skin was ivory like mine and her eyes were a bright green. The dad was extremely tall. Probably over six foot. He had an auburn color of hair and broad shoulders. Behind him were three children. There were two girls...one about Sophie’s age and another that looked almost my age. My eyes then skipped to the boy who I automatically recognized. He was shaking hands with Caroline across the room.

His eyes left her and he glided gracefully toward me. Aunt Nancy saw this and said...

“Breakfast is almost ready. You can all have a seat if you like. His eyes met mine and followed down to my leg. I knew if he was courteous, which I knew since he helped me, he would ask how my leg was. I brought my finger up to my lips and made a small shushing sound so he would get the point. He nodded silently and laughed under his breath.

“Violet...aren’t you going to help me?” Aunt Nancy asked from the kitchen.

“Sure,” I answered excusing myself from the living room.

Sophie was in the kitchen putting the food in separate containers.

“Yes Aunt Nancy?”

“What were you doing in there?”

“Visiting. Meeting everyone.”

“I told you I would need your help, so please don’t mingle when you have work to do,” she answered sternly giving me the look.

“Sophie, I can do this. Why don’t you go wash your hands? It’ll be faster if I do it.”

I scraped the food into the dishes quickly as Aunt Nancy cleaned the kitchen once more.

“Alright. I think it’s ready,” Aunt Nancy said. Go get everyone and tell them to proceed to the dining room.”

I walked through the door way and into the living room to find Caroline and Charlotte mingling and laughing with the family.

“Breakfast is ready so let me show you to the dining room.”

I led the family into the dining room as Aunt Nancy brought in all the food. She set it neatly across the table and sat down at the head of the table. Next to her was Caroline and Charlotte and beside them was Landon’s parents, then Landon’s two sisters, then Sophie and Landon then an empty chair at the end of the table. That gave Aunt Nancy the opportunity to stare me down the whole meal.

Aunt Nancy looked at me then at the drinks. I walked around the table and served everyone’s drinks. All the adults wanted Champaign while everyone else, or the “kids” wanted lemonade.

“I’m so sorry girls. I didn’t get to introduce myself. What are your names?” Aunt Nancy said kindly gesturing toward Landon’s sisters.

“I’m Danielle,” the oldest one said.

“And I’m Leah.”

“What beautiful names. Now how old are you?”

“Fourteen,” Danielle said.

“I’m twelve,” Leah said.

“And you sir?”

“I’m Landon. I’m seventeen,” He said softly.

“Oh wonderful,” Aunt Nancy said

They nodded.

“Violet over here is seventeen and Caroline and Charlotte are fifteen and Sophie is eleven. How neat...they are all so close in age,” She laughed and Landon’s mom joined her.

“Nancy and I went to high school and college together,” She laughed trying to clean up all of the confusion.

“So you knew my mother then...” I said shocked I had said it out loud.

“Um...”

“This is Violet and beside her is Sophie. They’re uh...Rebekah’s daughters.”

“Oh uh...”

“My mother died in child birth and my father is somewhere, so Aunt Nancy moved and now lives with us.”

“Oh how awful! I didn’t know Rebekah had passed. I’m so sorry. For all of you.”

“It’s fine,” I said again.

The adults and the other children went into their separate conversations while Sophie, Landon, and I ate our breakfast.

“I’m Landon.”

“I know. I’m Violet,” I said smiling at his joke.

“So why do I need to be quiet?”

“If Aunt Nancy knew I was out of the house...my life would be over. You don’t even know.”

“So she hasn’t even seen your cut?”

“Nope.”

“And what if she does?”

“Then I’ll say I tripped over my bed.”

“You think she’ll believe that?”

I laughed “Probably.”

We talked for a while while everyone else was into their conversation about politics and other relations. Something about him, and I didn’t know what, made me want to get closer to him and know him more and be with him more.

He was one of the most interesting people I had ever met. He had moved from a large city in Maine to the small town of Richard, New Jersey. He had lived there his whole life and when his dad got the job offer to be a banker in Richard, his dad felt he couldn’t turn down a new opportunity.

“So what’s your life been like?” He asked softly after explaining his life story.

“Well, my mother died when I was little leaving my father, Sophie, who was a new born infant, and me here in this house. Then I suppose two years later he left to go find a new job in California and asked my mothers sister, Nancy, to come live with us and I haven’t heard, seen, or even heard something about him since. Sometimes...I wonder if he’s even alive or if the whole story about finding a job in California was a lie.”

“Wow. That’s pretty rough. I’m so sorry,” He said looking at me with sympathizing eyes.

“It’s okay I guess. Somehow...I feel as if it was God’s plan for me to live like this. Even though I may not understand why, which I don’t, I still think that. There has to be some reason that I live the way I live.”

“There is I’m sure. God has a plan for everyone, and maybe your father leaving and living a hard life is part of the plan.”

“I sure hope so,” I answered looking at my plate in silence.

Sophie sat in silence. She had eaten a little less than half her food and the rest was picked at. She was poking her fork into her eggs with a solemn look on her face.

“Well then, I guess we can proceed into the living room where it’s a little comfortable. Violet, Sophie, go do the dishes,” She said as she smiled fakely at us from across the table.

I got up silently taking all the plates. Landon’s eyes met mine as I took his plate and he smiled laughing under his breath.

I went into the kitchen with Sophie and listened to the laughter in the living room. They were all sharing stories and memories when they were all teenagers and I guess Charlotte and Caroline were listening. Sophie’s eyes were lost in some other world.

“Soph?” I asked as I scrubbed the plates.

She didn’t answer.

“Go upstairs and go to bed. You look awful.”

Without a word she went up the stairs and shut the door. I hated leaving her alone. Even when I was just in another room I felt displaced and as if I was the meanest person in the world.

I finished cleaning the kitchen after a while and made my way into the living room with everyone. Caroline, who I could tell was having fun, was sitting by Landon. They were in a separate conversation from the rest of the group and were whispering and laughing under there breath. Caroline was definitely flirting. She had always been good at that.

I suddenly felt disconnected. I didn’t even think anyone noticed that I had come into the room. I decided to turn and leave but once I reached the door I heard my name...

“Violet?” Aunt Nancy said, as the others got quiet.

I swirled back around noticing the room had gotten noticeably quiet when she had called my name and all eyes were now on me. Landon and Caroline stopped whispering and laughing and their eyes were glued to me just like everyone else’s.

“Are the dishes done?”

“Yes.”

“And where are you going? Don’t you want to stay?”

I didn’t answer.

“Come here,” She said slowly.

I walked slowly and quietly towards her.

She pointed to the empty chair next to Charlotte, “Sit.”

I obeyed and sat, but all eyes were still on me. Finally someone broke the awkward silence.

“I must not have met you, dear. What’s your name?” Landon’s mother said smoothly.

“I’m Violet,” I sat reaching my hand out.

She grabbed it, “I’m Gwen Peterson.”

“Nice to meet you,” I replied.

“Wow, you’re so pretty and look so much like your mother when she was your age,” Gwen said looking at me, “Almost identical. Now then, how old are you?”

“I’m seventeen, ma’am.”

“Wonderful. That’s how old our little Landon is over there. I’m guessing the two of you met.”

“Yes ma’am. We met at breakfast.”

“Delightful. It’ll be nice for him to know someone next week in his grade.”

I laughed. “Yes.”

“How old are you two, Caroline?

“We’re fifteen,” Caroline said looking away from Landon.

“Wonderful,” Gwen said as the corners of her lips turned into a smile.

Mr. Peterson (who I hadn’t met yet) stretched in his chair and yawned. He had barely said a work since he’d been here. He seemed to have a bored look on his face and finally spoke.

“It’s getting pretty late and we need to unpack,” He said gently in his soft low voice that matched his sons.

“Yes. It is quite late. It’s almost two o’clock,” Gwen said.

Everyone stood up and started chatting loudly. The living room was suddenly filled with voices. I stood in the corner looking at my feet. The voices, even though I knew they were loud, were almost like a soft murmur in my head or a soft buzzing sound. As I looked at my feet in silence, I saw a pair of brown loafers step in front of my eyes.

I stood there for a moment before I moved my head. I looked up at Landon standing in front of me.

“Nice to meet you, Violet. Or in other words see you again. Are you going to be in the forest anytime soon?” He said smiling.

“I’m there almost everyday,” I said softly.

“Well hopefully we’ll run into each other again, but not literally.”

I laughed and a smile crossed my face, “Hopefully. See you soon,” I replied.

He made his way to the door where his family was where they were still all chatting wildly. Mr. Peterson put his hand on his sons back as he laughed at a joke someone had said and then when he stopped laughing he looked at me.

“Nice to see you, Violet. By the way I’m Will.”

“Nice to meet you, sir,” I replied shaking his hand.

“Well we better get going,” Gwen said.

“Goodbye Violet,” He said. His hand reached out and I shook it. His hand was warm in mine and he held it for a few moments.

“Goodbye.”

After the family left, I felt relieved not to have to clean and ran up the stairs to my window. I stomped up the stairs my shoes clicking against the wood loudly.

“Stop that unnecessary racket!” Aunt Nancy yelled.

I sat on my sill as I watched the family get into the car and drive away. Envy rushed through my blood and more than anything, I wanted to be apart of a family. I wanted to have a group of people who I could go to for anything. I wanted to be able to have someone to talk to, like a mom. I wanted to be apart of something special.