Love Has a Color

Let's All Talk

"Okay, pass the popcorn. I at least want one bite before you eat it all," Violet demands. We're getting comfortable in my theater room, about to watch some new movie. I pass her the popcorn and hit 'play' on the remote.

We just sit and watch the movie for a while, passing the snacks back and forth. Eventually she reaches to turns the volume down. "Hey, turn it back up," I tell her and point to the TV. She just shakes her head and sits back.

"I want to talk."

"About?" I sit up a little straighter, raising a brow at her.

"Are you okay, Scar? You've kind of been dealing with a lot for a while now and we haven't talked about anything. I think it might help if you do," she says. "You know I'm here for you no matter what. I just don't want to see you in pain any longer."

"I'm fine, Violet. I um...I talked to Luke a couple days ago," I mumble. I may have neglected to tell her about it.

"You what?! Why? What did you say? What did he say? Did you call him? Did he-"

"Stop! I called him. We met at that burger place on the corner of fourth."

She nods, still clearly concerned. "What exactly possessed you to do that?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I guess I was just thinking it would be constructive to confront the part of my past  that's been holding me back from life. I've just felt so...empty? Like I've been missing something, like just me wasn't enough. Like I needed answers and validation or whatever."

"Well, did it help?"

"Yeah, it did. I think now I see him in a different light than I did before. I mean, listening to him speak literally makes me cringe. I finally realized everything that happened was not just my fault. I own he fact that I wasn't perfect throughout our relationship, but it wasn't my fault that he cheated on me. I feel a lot better now. And, even better, things have been good with Asher. We've been hanging out and actually talking at work and I'm really getting to know him. It's not as awkward as I was afraid it'd be. I do, however, think I'm falling even farther for him so, there's that. Otherwise, everything's great Vi. Honest."

"I'm glad you're happy. Although, I think you'd feel better if you-"

"I am not going to tell Asher anything. There's no point in screwing up our friendship if I already know it won't work out."

We argue the fact for a few minutes, and eventually she gives up. We finish up our movie and she goes home later, leaving me to find dinner for myself. I end up just ordering a pizza and watching another movie.

Apparently, I dozed off during the film because I'm suddenly being awakened by my buzzing phone. I roll over and rub my eyes before checking the caller ID. "Asher? What's up?"

"Hey, Indigo. I was just sitting here going through my schedule for the next few weeks and saw that I'll be going out of town next Friday. I wanted to let you know a little further in advance than a week, but I kind of forgot about it," he explains.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Just a few days. There's some law conference in Los Angeles that my father insists I go to. My family moved there a few years back, so I'll be visiting with them as well. I'll be back Monday."

Oh good, I've been kind of getting used to seeing him on Mondays. I have something to look forward to. "Okay, sounds good. Have a good trip!"

"Thanks." He takes a breath like he's about to say something else, but stops.

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" I ask, the hopefulness in my tone a little too obvious.

"Um, no actually. Well, yes, but also, no?" What?

"I'm not following." Seriously, what?

"I was thinking about asking you to come with me. I was afraid you'd think meeting my family was awkward so I almost didn't ask. Then I realized I really wanted you with me. So, just think about it and let me know Monday, okay?"

"Okay, I will. Have a good night, Ash."

"Good night, Scarlett."

Obviously I'm going to say yes. I could have answered immediately on the phone, but I didn't want to seem too eager. I love a good conference. There's a bunch of people who all share the same interests as you, it's not all fancy and gossipy like a gala or a charity event, and you get free stuff. Who wouldn't love that?

Not to mention the fact that I'd get to spend the entire weekend with Asher. I normally only see him a few times a week, a little more often now that we're hanging out outside the office, so this will be interesting. I think it will be good for us to see how well we get along being around each other for an extended period of time.

I am a little nervous about meeting his family, though. My biggest concern is that he hardly ever talks about them so I know just about nothing. I know that he has parents, and I know he has a brother and sister. He probably told me their names at one point, but I couldn't remember even one of them to save my life. I'm really better with faces than I am with names. Oops.

I have learned a lot of other things about him that I do remember, so I'm not just a bad listener. I know all about his love for reading and his hatred for horror films. I remember him telling me about the time he was six and his brother forced him to watch this movie where this mom got possessed and ate her family. He wouldn't talk to his mother for a week because he was so terrified. She just kept following him around the house popping up at the most random times, frightening him even more, trying to figure out why he was ignoring her.

The entire time he told the story I was really attempting to hold back laughter because I knew he was so mortified by the whole experience, but I just couldn't. It reminded me of the time that my mom caught Sawyer putting on her makeup and he avoided her at all costs for nearly two weeks. She would wait until she could corner him and tell him that "it's okay for boys to wear makeup" and "there's no reason to be embarrassed."

I remember as clear as day the first time she asked him if he was gay, and how repulsed an offended he acted. It was the same day he came out to me, and made me swear to never tell her. I'm not sure why he didn't want her to know, it's not like she'd care or treat him any different. But, he didn't tell her and I still don't think he has. She always asks if I keep in touch with him and if he's mentioned anyone "special" because she "wants grandbabies" and he won't tell her anything. She really tries to bait me into outing him, but it's not my secret to tell so I always reroute the conversation.

Asher also has a secret he's been keeping from everyone but me. He's an amazing artist. He actually painted most of the photos around his office, but doesn't want anyone to know. I got that little tidbit from a night where he was drinking, so I'm not sure he even realized he was mentioning it before it was already out. I ask him from time to time why he doesn't want to tell people about his art but he just shrugs it off. All I know is that if I could paint like him, I would show off my talent to everyone.

Okay, just thinking about Ash is getting me excited for this weekend. The butterflies in my stomach are having a party at the thought of meeting his father, though. Asher has never spoken of him, except the sentence about the convention tonight. I wonder how he feels about what's going on with the firm? It was his, after all. I know he had the intention of merging with my father, but I haven't the slightest whether or not he knows that Charlie's daughter has taken up the mantel. I'm sure he does, Asher probably tells him all about the company and everything he's doing. I bet he's impressed with how much we're increasing client retention; I know I am.

On the other hand, what if he doesn't tell him anything? What if he meets me and finds out for the first time and doesn't care about the numbers. Oh my God, what if he hates me? What if they all hate me? I have four new people to impress and I feel like I still haven't made that great of an impression on Asher. Seriously, the first time we met I slammed into him and threw pop all over the place! I can only imagine what they'll think of me if anything like that happens, and knowing me, it would. Okay, I may actually have to think about going on this trip or not.