clumsy | l.h.

twenty-four

"we are thousands of feet from the ground, and won't come down" - Don't Come Down / The Maine

---

-Luke-

"Oh my gosh, Violet, they have your magazine. We need to buy every single copy." I pointed at a newsstand as we passed it, grabbing Violet's arm to stop her from walking.

Violet stopped and smirked at me, "Luke, you said the same thing a few days ago when we passed a different newsstand. I love the enthusiasm, but I also want other people to see my work, that's kind of the point."

I just shrugged, "I guess you're right, I'm still just so excited for you. It's been out for like three weeks and I still get so proud every time I see one of the copies."

Violet laughed lightly and kept walking, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind her. The sun was shining down on us, surprisingly warm for May. The brick pathway under our feet was uneven, and every so often one of us would catch ourselves as we tripped, sending us both into fits of giggles. The people passing us on the street glanced at us out of the corners of their eyes, but we couldn't even pretend to care.

Things felt better than they ever had in my life. I had already met with the vet Violet had put me in contact with a handful of times, and I was loving the experience I was getting. He was even helping me coordinate some summer classes, something to help me work towards potentially applying for veterinary school.

And on top of all of that, I had Violet. We had been nearly unstoppable the past few weeks. Something about getting her work published had instilled some new confidence in her, especially in the idea that she could be successful while still taking the time to love someone. And lucky for me, I was that someone.

I looked down at her as she stopped at one of the booths of the farmer's market. Her dark brown hair was shining under the sun, even more gorgeous than it usually was. She picked up a couple of avocados, holding them up in each of her hands, "Which one of these looks better to you? I don't have an eye for these things."

I chuckled, "And what makes you think that I do?"

She groaned and shook her head, eventually picking a couple at random. Her mom was coming to visit her at the apartment tonight, and I was supposed to come along to have dinner with them. I wasn't quite sure why Violet had agreed to cook instead of going out to dinner, considering I knew she wasn't the biggest fan of cooking.

We continued browsing around the booths, and Violet gathered up what she needed for dinner. I just followed her around, offering my colorful commentary to try and relieve some of the stress that I was sensing from her. I spoke up at one point as she was buying onions, "What's the big deal? I'm the one who has something to prove to my parents, remember?"

She sighed, "Honestly, I don't even know. My mom and I are on good enough terms, and it's not like I would care all that much if we weren't. We've been through that kind of drama before, it's nothing new. I guess I just want to avoid going down that road again, or, I don't know. Maybe I feel like I have do have something to prove? Like I made better decisions than she did, and look how well it's working out for me."

I stopped her and turned her to face me, "Violet, you can't think like that if you want to have a normal relationship with her. I'm not saying you need to forget everything that ever happened, but you can't resent her forever. At least, you can't act on that underlying resentment. Besides, you said yourself that she's turning over a new leaf."

Violet nodded, "You're right, as usual. If only you were as good with cooking as you were with words of reason, maybe we wouldn't have to worry so much about dinner."