Sinners ─ B. Watts

Rumour Has It...

CHAPTER 3
Las Vegas, 1950

         "I thought I said this was a date." 

     Violet arrived at the restaurant earlier than she had intended. She never imagined that meeting Benny Watts in an empty hall wouldn't have an effect on her. It didn't get to her because he was kind in some way, although it was too much to say; he was charming and cocky as she'd remembered him, which couldn't potentially offer her a good reason to be bitter with the man. But there was a part of her that longed to crush him both ways.

          "My mother kept asking me stuff, so I just told her I asked you out to dinner," Beth said meekly.

          "Why did she want to come, though?" Violet wondered, her limbs stiff. She wasn't furious; rather, she was anxious, as if she were a teenage boy meeting the girl's father. Alma Wheatley was far too sweet to ask her to leave.

          "What I said about my mom liking you was true. She did research."

          "She did what?"

          "Jesus, she liked your story, with the retirement. I obviously made it into an excuse so you'd accept going out tonight, but I didn't lie about it."

     Violet couldn't take her focus away from the redhead. She noticed a mixture of disappointment and excitement as she chose to attend their date and stay there for the rest of the night, even with Beth's mother. Violet couldn't get upset at the older woman for talking so much since she was such delightful company. She really had a lot to say.

      Alma's words echoed in the distance as Violet tried to clear her mind of those concerns, "It's great to have other female chess players around here. Beth is so enthralled by it! I never imagined another woman could be as brilliant as her," Alma Wheatley smiled and sipped from her Gibson once again.

     Violet giggled. She cast a glance over her shoulder at Beth. The redhead didn't seem to be as happy as her, but her cheeks were still flushing red. Something about that made Violet frown a little, her grin still spread across her features. It also led her to believe Beth was comfortable with her there. Nonetheless, Beth had proven herself to be more competent than Violet when it came to chess, and she was indifferent about it. She was ecstatic of herself and Beth. Now that they kind of liked each other's company — perhaps a little too much, she didn't care as much if Beth won against her or not. She was there for the experience too.

     Actually, V did care about winning, but she couldn't occupy her head with chess tonight. She had to stay away from it, at least for a few hours if she couldn't make the night.

     The brunette licked down on her lip so her smile would go away. "Mrs. Wheatley, your daughter is something we like to call a chess phenomenon. And I am far away from that," She pointed out and took another bite of her well-cooked chicken noodles. "But thank you. For the compliment and invitation. It's...nice," Violet carried on. She filled her mouth with chicken again so it won't be necessary for her to speak anymore.

     She was enjoying her dinner, and Beth's mother was such a pleasant, wonderful woman, someone any daughter would want around, someone who could brighten your mood at any time and, without even realizing it, take good care of you. But when she brought up the invitation, her recollections of Martha drew her back into her feelings. That woman was diametrically opposed to Alma. Violet had also developed an odd tendency of comparing any other mother to her own, but this was only her way of proving to herself that there was better out there.

     V's mood shifted once again as she thought about her meeting with Benny. The memory of the event was still fresh in her mind but she quickly let go of the thought after Alma chose to question her about matches, family, and lastly why she resigned and what prompted her to return. Violet breezed through all questions, but Beth signaled to Alma from time to time, usually with her feet under the table, to keep her curiosity at bay.