“May I speak now?” Katie quietly asked, and all Violet could do was nod. “I get that you’re upset and rightfully so. But I also believe you owe it to yourself and to Hunter to sit down and talk to him.”
“I don’t think it’s going to make a difference. Yesterday he…”
“He was at his brother’s wedding, Violet. Frankly, it was stupid on his part to even bring the subject up in the middle of such a big family celebration.” Grabbing Violet’s hand, she tugged her down onto the bed to sit beside her. “I don’t want you to have any regrets, and I think if you leave without trying to talk to Hunter, you’ll regret it.”
“Or…Hunter and I both were living in a bubble. A temporary bubble,” Violet said miserably. “And the thing about bubbles? They burst.” She sighed wearily as she rested her head on Katie’s shoulder.
“You have to know this was a big step for Hunter. Brian and I have known him for a while and…neither of us remember him getting serious with anyone. His ex really did a number on him, and he’s kind of obsessive about who he brings around Eli. But with you, he was different–more relaxed and happier than I’ve ever seen him.”
“So what are you saying? He deserves a pass because he’s been hurt?” She straightened. “We’ve all been hurt. And you know, we can make a list of who’s been hurt more, but at the end of the day, it won’t matter. He talked about wanting a future with me, but if he’s still clinging to what happened in his past and using it as an excuse to stay cocooned in his safe little world, then what kind of future can we have?”
“All relationships take work, Vi.”
“I get that, but they also have to have compromise from both parties. I deserve more than someone who refuses to give even an inch.”
The sad look on Katie’s face told her everything she needed to know.
She was about to say that she was planning on leaving today after lunch when her phone dinged with an incoming text. When she picked it up and swiped the screen, she saw it was from Hunter.
Hunter: Hey. Can we please get together for lunch? I’d really like to talk to you.
Her heart sank a little at the impersonal tone. They had gotten to the point where their texts were usually fun and flirty and always had some kind of emoji. Considering the circumstances, she figured this was just part of them going their separate ways.
Violet: Sure. Where do you want to meet?
Hunter: Here if it’s okay with you.
“What?” Katie asked. “What is it? Is it Hunter? Is he apologizing?”
Rolling her eyes, she sighed. “No. He wants me to come over for lunch. I’m guessing we’ll have ‘the talk’ and…that’ll be it.”
“Wow. Way to be positive.”
“We’ve been over this!”
“Okay, okay. You’re right.” She paused. “So are you going to go?”
“According to you, I have to.” Which reminded her…
Violet: Sure. About an hour?
Hunter: See you then.
Putting the phone down, Violet swore she was okay. This was the way things had to be. She’d go over, they’d each say their piece, and then say goodbye.
She didn’t even realize she was crying until Katie got up to hug her.
And she didn’t stop until it was almost time for her to go.
“Dad? What are you doing here?”
Hunter had just finished texting with Violet and was making up some sandwiches. He needed the next hour to figure out what he was going to say.
Or rather…how he was going to say goodbye.
“There’s a carnival over at the high school and I thought I’d take Eli over to check it out,” Dominic said as he walked over and sat down at the kitchen table.
“Why didn’t you mention it yesterday?”
“You were a little distracted–especially after dinner.” He paused and studied Hunter. “You want to talk about it?”
“Not particularly.”
“Well, that’s too bad because I had to get tough with Scarlett and Kyle who were arm-wrestling over who was going to get to come over here and kick your butt.”
“What?!”
Nodding, his father explained. “Even without telling anyone the specifics, we all know Violet didn’t just suddenly remember something she had to do. We all figured there was a disagreement–for lack of a better word–over her moving here.”
“Oh, really? And who thought that?” he asked and hated how defensive he sounded.
“Scarlett mentioned the awkward conversation y’all were having while you were dancing. You take that and the fact the two of you disappeared not long after and only one of you came back? Well…we may not be a family of geniuses, Hunter, but we’re certainly not stupid either.”
It was rare that his father pried, so Hunter sat down and told him about the disastrous conversation he and Violet had at the wedding.
“So what are you going to do now?”
“She’s going to be here in a little while so we can talk about it.”
Dominic nodded. “And you’re going to tell her you were wrong, right? That you’ll go to Nashville?”
“Um…no,” Hunter replied, thoroughly confused. “Why would I do that?”
“The question really is, why wouldn’t you?”
“Because there’s no reason to! She’s moving here! Why do I need to go there?”
His father’s brows furrowed, and for a moment, he seemed at a loss for words.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last long.
“You need to go there because it’s part of her life,” he reasoned. “You need to go there because it’s someplace that has meaning to her. And lastly–and this is the most important one–you need to go there because she asked you to.”
He rolled his eyes. “Dad, no one does everything someone asks of them. Eli asked me to take him to the moon last week. Clearly that’s not going to happen.”
“You’re over-simplifying as much as you’re deflecting, Hunter. You and I both know you can’t take your son to the moon, but you can go to Nashville.” He paused. “Why are you so against it?”
Good question.
“Look, we all know you have some weird issues where traveling outside of Magnolia is concerned.”
“It’s not weird…”
“And to be honest, I don’t know where that came from. Your mother and I couldn’t afford to travel much–mainly because we had you all so close together, and it was hard to herd you all up and go anyplace. But we would go places, Hunter. We took day trips and sometimes got away for the weekend. Nothing bad ever happened to you when we traveled, so what’s this phobia of yours all about?”
“It’s not a phobia, Dad.”
His father let out a long, weary breath. “Hunter…”
“Why aren’t I enough?” he asked a little too loudly. The shocked look on his father’s face told him that was not the explanation he was expecting. But he didn’t let it deter him. “I was a good kid, Dad! I followed all the rules, I got good grades, I did my chores, and…and Mom still left!”