Violet

Chapter 15: The Dance

The next morning, my mother and I woke to breakfast in bed. A small notepad tapped to our beds read: Meet daddy outside after you finish eating. Dress yourself well!!

What does that mean, specifically? I really had no idea. I looked down at the tray. Four warm red velvet pancakes on a plate, whipped cream decorating the top of the stack. A cherry rested on top of the cream. I picked up the cup with syrup and poured it on top of the whipped cream, drowning my pancakes with it. I picked up my fork and knife and dug in. It tasted even better than it looked. I wolfed it down in a matter of minutes. When I was done, I finished the orange juice my father had also placed on the tray. I was about to give my father credit for the wonderful breakfast, but I forgot Rosemary did exist and my dad was terrible in the kitchen. However, she never came on Saturdays, so I didn't know who really made it.

I opened my closet door to look for some decent clothes. Before grabbing a black skirt and top, I sniffed my armpits. I didn't smell bad at all so I decided to skip the shower and take one later. Yes, I was indeed guilty of that.

After I got dressed, I met up with my mom downstairs. "What's going on?" I asked her.

She shrugged a shoulder and looked at the front door. "Don't know, just got down here," she said. She was dressed fancy. My mother wore a tight red dress, decorated with faded spiral designs. She wore a gold necklace that looked a bit heavy. Gold loop earrings hung from her ears. She smelled like sweet cotton candy and I had been able smell it throughout the house since I left my room. 

She opened the front door and gasped immediately. I rushed in front of her to see what shocked her and when I did, I gasped too. My father was wearing an expensive blue tuxedo with shoes as black as his hair. His hair was slicked back, making him look older than he was. An unlit cigarette rested between his teeth for dramatic appearance and it made us laugh because my father never smoked.

My mother laughed, then crossed her arms over his chest as he walked toward us. "What are you doing, Jason?"

He put his hands on both of our shoulders and gave us a big smile. "Tonight, we're going dancing."

Dancing wasn't really my thing and it sure wasn't his thing either.

"Not a moment to lose!" he said. "The limo is waiting on the street."

He started walking and we followed him through the tall grass that led to the street. My mother complained that the grass would ruin her dress and make her smell like grass. I was more concerned about the how bad it smelled out there. While they were walking, I lingered behind, thinking about dancing and how I had never been to a dance. I didn't think I had even seen other people dance before. The thought of me dancing made me cringe.

We were almost by the road when I saw something very, very odd poking out from the ground. I stopped to examine what seemed to be a silver necklace. It had a heart shaped charm, the kind that held a picture inside when you opened it. A locket, maybe. I opened it and a small picture fell to the ground. I brought it to my eyes and had to squint them to see the picture. It was a picture of Rosemary. I was sure of it. I was about to show it to my mother when all of a sudden, I stepped on something and it cracked. I started walking again because I thought I had stepped on a stick or something, so why look? Only when I got to the limo and wipe my shoe on the ground did I see white fragments of bone come off. I knew it was bone fragments because of the loud cracking and the big bits on the ground. Before I could examine them more, my mother pushed me back in the limo.

***

I couldn't stop thinking about the necklace and bones until we reached a huge white building. It looked like a church, but without the crosses. I quickly put the necklace in my pocket and removed the bone thing from my mind. I dismissed it as nothing, more because I was eager to go inside. We exited the limo and headed to the building. 

The door of the building was huge and had two doorknobs. I heard laughter and music before my father even opened the door. My eyes widened at the beauty before me. Everyone was dressed in either white, black, blue, or red. Each person I walked past smelled and looked amazing. Women spun past me, men winked in our directions then did some crazy moves to impress their dance partner, kids ran after one another, some danced alone and some with their parents. The wide room was full of smiles and flashing lights.

My father immediately took my mother's hand and they were in the music, totally forgetting my presence. I just stood there and watched them dance. I didn't know my father had moves like that. They looked so good dancing together and other couples glanced over and pointed at them. I had to admit, I hadn't seen my mom smile like that in years. My smile left when I felt a warm hand touch mine.