New York, Summer, 1921 . Your new neighbor across the lake is the mysterious bachelor , Dutch. His reputation for excess and extravagant parties precede him in the prohibition era. But after an invitation to one of his soirees, you discover your...
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"Don't be scared, Violet. You can do this," Tom said encouragingly. He sat next to you in the passenger seat of Father's automobile.
Your hands gripped the steering wheel, white knuckled and wet with perspiration. The seat vibrated from the engine, only amplifying your nerves.
"Remember- gear selector, accelerator, brake," Tom reminded you, pointing to the pedals.
You nodded and licked your lips anxiously.
"Ready?" he asked, with an excited smile.
You nodded again and pushed the accelerator pedal. The car lurched and you screamed out in terror. Tom braced himself against the dashboard and looked a bit startled himself. Then he guffawed with laughter, which you found extremely irritating.
"Stop laughing!" you shouted. You nearly gave yourself a fright and he was just so tickled.
"I'm sorry, darling," he giggled, trying to catch his breath.
"If you could just see your face!" he hiccuped, trying to compose himself.
You glared at him and his face slackened immediately. He looked forward and bit his lip to keep from smiling. He clenched his jaw, sharpening his features. You were struck by how handsome he was. How would you ever get use to such a face? He managed to be both boyishly beautiful and devilishly desirable. Before you knew it, you were smiling too.
He looked at you out of the side of his eye and smirked.
"Why do I even need to learn this?" you asked suddenly.
"Violet, you can't expect to be chauffeured around your entire life." Tom explained, "You know you're capable of so much more."
"You always say that," you muttered. He always insisted on pushing you to do things you normally would not do, or any lady of status for that matter. Who ever heard of a woman driving an automobile?
"Shall we try again?" he asked.
You took a deep breath and looked straight ahead. You slowly pressed the pedal and the vehicle moved forward with ease this time.
"Good, darling...good," Tom said in a soothing tone.
"Now be careful of that tree," he said with a bit more urgency.
You leaned forward and focused on keeping it steady but it always tried to veer to the right.
"Violet, darling, the tree," Tom said louder.
"Left, Vi -LEFT!" Tom shouted, clinging to the dash again. You jerked the wheel left and managed to avoid the impending tree, but only slightly.
You stomped the brake pedal and the car slammed to a halt, throwing both of you forward.
Tom glanced over at you. His face was as white as a sheet. A curl hung over his brow and swung across his horrified eyes.
"How about I drive us home," he said, barely a whisper. He licked his lips and smoothed his curl back to join the others.
