everyone had been able to congratulate the couple.
When Violet saw Dodge corner Joseph, and smiling, she had immediately ruled him out. But the young man had arrived at the reception alone, so maybe he had come of his own volition. She noticed his height and the care he took in his dress. His shoes were polished and his fingers were long and slim with buffed nails. She also noticed that he watched her, then would turn away with some shyness when she caught him looking.
Violet was not doing much that hot season, and she found herself running errands for her mother, going to the mercantile store and buying fabric for the children’s uniforms, picking out a print to make a new skirt, and a top for the choir tour. The choir would be touring two other countries, and she wanted to distract herself from the loss of her sister and the revulsion she felt for the man her sister had married. Festal was a predator, just like Uncle Dodge. Violet could tell that from his eyes. He looked straight at her when he spoke, which was not often. Violet noticed how striking his eyes were in color and shape, with their curled lashes, and she had sketched them several times. She tried to capture the intensity of how the man looked at a person, and why his gaze was so piercing, but her drawings did not reflect his animal magnetism.
Violet obsessed on Festal and how her sister connected with him because her Uncle Dodge had just told her that Myrna was pregnant, and she couldn’t imagine how this had happened. She was considering a piece of lace when she saw the young clerk looking at her intently and she said, “Didn’t I see you at my sister’s wedding?”
“Yes. I didn’t know your sister at all, but I had to come.”
“Was it the catering that interested you? That is what my Uncle Dodge told me.”
“That is what he told me to say. He knows I am interested in…I didn’t even know your name when I came. Now I do. Violet, it is you that attracted me.”
“I am glad you said that. I will mention to my father that you have a solid business.”
“I do not own this business. I am waiting for the right partner to make my ventures worth the effort. I want someone who can make something together with me, so that we are equals in life. That someone I have not had time to think about or find, but now I have hope.”
Violet reached for money to pay for her dress goods, but Joseph shook his head. “These are a gift to you.”
“I could never accept a gift from a man directly. What are you thinking?” Violet pulled three bills from her purse and pushed them across the counter, refusing to meet Joseph’s eyes. She looked out the open door as he put her cloth in a brown paper and carefully folded it into a neat packet, tying it with twine.
“Violet, I have much to learn, but I am willing to be taught.”
She blushed as she left the store, just as the owner of the mercantile walked in the door.
“Good afternoon, Valoo.”
“Joseph, who is that palm of a woman? Call me the next time she comes to the shop.”
“She is my future wife,” Joseph heard himself say.
“Well. Congratulations.” Valoo was puzzled at how he and his wife could have missed such a happening. This girl was quality, and now Joseph might be thinking of leaving. Valoo decided he had better give the boy a raise to keep him in the harness a little longer.
“Joseph, I have been noticing how thorough you are with the inventory and the cleanup. I appreciate your attention to your work. I am going to give you a bonus at the end of the month for the extra hours you have put in. My customers always ask for you when I make the buying circuit. Keep up the good work. By the way, when is the big day?”
“Thank you, Valoo. You and your wife and daughter will all be invited. We haven’t firmed up a date as of yet. We have to consider the mother, you know.”
“Oh, yes. I saw she was expecting. Has the child