“Really?” She squealed.

I cringed. “Yeah, do you think you can arrange it?”

“I know I can. I’ll call you back in a bit, okay?” She sounded so happy I wished I had agreed to this years ago. Not for me, but for her. All those years wasted looking for the perfect Christmas gift. Who knew I only had to let her play matchmaker?

About fifteen minutes later the phone rang.

“Tomorrow night,” Violet said, so excited she choked out the words. “You have a date tomorrow night!” Then she squealed again.

I held the phone a few inches away from my ear until she stopped. “Yay,” I said with forced enthusiasm, although Violet didn't seem to notice.

“His name is Steve and he’s an electrician. He works for Mike and his dad’s construction business. He’s twenty-six and never been married. His family has been around forever. His parents live on Maple Street. His dad works at the paper plant and his mother is a bookkeeper. Steve is so excited to meet you.”

I almost asked Violet if I could see his pedigree papers, but thought better of it.

“He’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven. Oh!” she gushed. “I can help you get ready and pick out your clothes. It will be like it should have been in high school.”

Pretending we were in high school was a sobering thought, but it made me happy to hear Violet so excited. “That will be so fun!” I hoped my words didn't sound as fake as I felt.

Violet didn't notice. “I’ll come over at two. We’ll have time to work on Momma’s room and then you can get ready.”

“Sounds great.”

I hung up, hoping I made the right decision. I told myself it was just a date. It wasn’t like I was going to marry him.

But I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what Joe would think.

Chapter Nine

The next afternoon Violet showed up at my door, her arms loaded with clothes.

“We’re supposed to be taking clothes out, not in,” I said as I held the door open for her.

She took one look at me and raised her eyebrows. “What are you wearing? Where did you get that?”

I had on a pair of jeans that Momma never would have approved of and a cute t-shirt that actually clung to the curves of my body. “I bought it yesterday and some other clothes too. I decided to embrace the new me.”

I expected to embrace Violet’s wrath with my proclamation, but she surprised me by eyeing me from head to toe, her arms still full. “I approve. Very cute. You might not need these after all.”

“What is all that?” I asked as she dumped them on the kitchen table.

“Some of my clothes, for you to wear on your date tonight. But we’ll check out what you got later.”

We headed back to Momma’s room. Violet threw open the heavy drapes to let the sunlight in and dust flew in all directions.

“You would think the woman was a vampire the way she kept this room so cave-like.” Violet said, looking outside. “Hey, who’s the woman in Joe’s backyard?”

I moved to the window. “Don't ask.” I noticed her dog bounding around the yard. It occurred to me her dog had been the dog in my vision about Joe and his fence.

Violet turned to me and put her hand on her hip. “But didn’t you and Joe—"

“I said don't ask.” I turned my back to her as I began to tape one of the multitude of boxes I bought earlier that morning.

We spent the afternoon going through Momma’s drawers and closet, pulling out clothes and putting them in boxes. I had considered using garbage bags, but it seemed so irreverent. It was distressing enough to dispose of the contents of a person’s life. In the end, trash bag or cardboard box, it didn't matter. A lifetime of possessions were just gone.

When I voiced my thoughts to Violet, she snorted. “Please. Momma got everythin’ she deserved and not enough if you ask me. Her will is livin’ proof of that.”

“But Aunt Bessie said that we didn’t know everythin’. She said Daddy did somethin’ that nearly broke Momma.”

Violet stopped folding the pants in her hands. “Daddy never hurt a soul. How could his own sister say that?”

I shrugged. “I pretty much told her the same thing, but Aunt Bessie said I’d want answers some day and she would tell me what she knew. She said Momma had a reason for being the way she was.”

Violet scowled. “I cannot believe you are defendin’ her, especially after what she did to you.” She took the pants and spiked them into the box next to her to prove her point. “I’m still goin’ to make this right, by the way.”

“But Violet, what if it’s true. What if Momma had an excuse for doing what she did.”

Anger burned in Violet’s eyes. “I don’t care what happened to her. There is no reason that could excuse the way she treated us, most of all you.”

Her tone told me she refused to discuss it any further. I was fine with that. I didn't like to think of Daddy doing anything so bad he could break someone.

Boxing up Momma’s possessions was an easy job since we never considered keeping anything, not even for a memento. At five o’clock, Violet announced we were done for the day even though we hadn’t finished everything.

“Time to go through your clothes and get ready for your date.” She sat on my bed, clutching a pillow to her chest as I pulled my new clothing out of my closet and drawers to show her. “Bravo!” she said and clapped when I finished. “I love them.”