Finally, I just couldn’t stand trying to avoid Violet any longer and needed to get away for a while. I found John and convinced him to drive me into town for a shopping trip. He glared at me with those dark, scary eyes of his. Even though he drove me into town occasionally, we were definitely not friends. I was something he just tolerated.
John dropped me off at the local coffee house and said he would pick me up in a couple of hours. That was fine with me. I wanted to just get away for a while. I could walk around and do some window shopping if I got bored.
I found a table in the back corner of the coffee shop, near the bookshelves. I just loved the place with all of the paperbacks lining the walls that were free for the taking. Most people came in with a book and swapped them out when they were done. It was all on the honor system, and seemed to work pretty well, because the shelves were always packed with books. One of the employees came over and took my order. He was cute, maybe 18 years old, and really nice. I had seen him before, but never talked to him. While waiting for my coffee, I took one of the paperbacks off of the shelf, without even reading the description and just started reading it. After a few minutes I realized that I had read the same page three times and had no idea what I just read. Obviously I had other things on my mind and I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. I was getting nowhere, so I put the book down and noticed my coffee was sitting there in front of me. When had it arrived? I didn’t remember the waiter even coming back to the table. I guess I was really in my own head that afternoon.
All I could do was sulk about my issue with Violet. I knew I could not avoid her forever. Sooner or later she would corner me somewhere and I was scared of her. I knew that one word from her and I was out of a job and a place to live, all in an instant. I had saved up some money, but it wouldn’t last that long. That would scare anyone in my situation.
“Are you okay?” I heard someone ask me and I looked up, a bit startled. It was my waiter.
“Oh, yes. Sorry, I didn’t hear you walk up.”
“No problem. You seem really upset and I wanted to check on you.” He was very sweet.
He handed me a few napkins and that’s when I noticed that there were tears streaming down my face.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so embarrassed,” I said, wiping my face. “I guess I’m just having a bad day.”
“It’s okay. It happens to all of us. Would you like some company?” He didn’t wait for me to answer and just sat down in the chair across from me.
“Um, I guess.” He didn’t seem to notice my apprehension with having a total stranger just invite himself to sit down with me.
“My name is Huck. What’s yours?”
“It’s Abbey. Nice to meet you.” I wiped the tears from my face as I spoke to him.
He actually was very cute. He was around six feet tall, had skin the color of warm mocha, short dark hair and greenish eyes that had a natural look of kindness to them. The dark skin and green eyes were an unusual, but very attractive combination. I bet he had no trouble at all with the ladies.
“Is your name really Huck?” I asked him.
There was definitely a strange look on my face. The name had to be made up. No one named their kid Huck anymore. Did anyone ever name their kid Huck?
He saw the look on my face and just smiled. “Yes, it really is my name. It’s short for Huckleberry.”
With that, my sadness was suddenly gone and I burst out laughing. I couldn’t help it. It struck me as so funny that I doubled over in my chair and wrapped my arms around my waist while I laughed for at least a full minute. He just sat there patiently waiting for me to stop.
I finally looked up and noticed him watching me. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I really didn’t mean to laugh at you.” I was sincere in my apology, knowing that I had been incredibly rude, but I was still giggling just a bit.
“Are you done now?” he asked. He didn’t seem upset at me at all and was very calm about the whole thing.
“Yes, again I’m sorry.” I was finally serious and had stopped laughing. This time I picked up the napkins and wiped the laughter tears from my face, instead of the sad tears. There really was a difference.
“It’s okay. Believe me, you are not the first, and won’t be the last person to laugh at my name. It’s an old family name and I kinda like it.”
I liked him immediately.
“Well Huckleberry, why did you sit down anyway?”
“You seemed so unhappy, I felt it was my duty to cheer you up. I think I accomplished that.” He sat back in his chair smiling, with a look of satisfaction on his face.
I smiled back. “Yes you did.” I told him.
We sat there for hours chatting. It felt so natural talking to him. I didn’t know this guy at all really, but everything just came pouring out. By the time I left, he knew pretty much my whole life story. I just knew I would never hear from him again. I probably sounded like a complete whacko.
However, I’m happy to say that I was completely wrong. After that day, we were almost inseparable. Huck became my best friend. I don’t know how I would have survived my crappy life without him. He told me about his family and that his father was black and his mother was white and she had the same green eyes he had. He said they had been together forever and he loved them dearly.
It made me think about my own parents. I knew they loved me, and I knew that my problems with them were all of my own making. I even called them once from a pay phone when I was in town. When my mother answered, I lost my nerve and hung up on her. I don’t know what was wrong with me. I was certain that if I asked, they would take me back in a heartbeat. But, I was humiliated at my behavior toward them, and everyone else. I just couldn’t face them, and I couldn’t face going back to school. Teenagers were the harshest of critics.
Violet continued to harass me, that’s the only word that truly describes how it felt. She was not giving up, no matter how hard I tried to convince her that her idea was stupid and would never work. I didn’t use those exact words, but you get the point. Finally one day I had had enough and I stopped her in the hallway to have a chat with her. I looked around carefully to make sure there were no prying ears nearby.
“Mrs. Tyler, can I talk to you?”
She stopped suddenly, shuffling back a step or two, obviously surprised that I initiated conversation with her, after she tried so often with me.
“Yes, but I’m not sure you and I have anything to talk about,” was her curt response to me. “In fact, I have spoken with Adam about finding a replacement for you.”
Oh my god, what have I done now? I would not survive without this job. I felt my throat closing up as I gasped for breath.
“Please, Mrs. Tyler, don’t do that. I have nowhere to go,” I choked out. Then I started crying, against my better judgment. I knew that I would have no leverage whatsoever if I broke down with her watching.
“That is not my problem. You should have thought of that before you rejected my generous offer.”
She continued her walk down the long hallway. I followed closely on her heels.
“Generous offer? Are you kidding me? You tried to pay me to seduce your son and have his baby!” I started yelling.
She stopped suddenly and started looking around. “You need to shut up right now,” she whispered. “If anyone hears you, we are going to have really big problems.”
She grabbed my right arm and dragged me into the nearest room, which happened to be the ballroom. She seemed surprised that the ballroom was where we ended up. She looked around and kind of rolled her eyes. “This will have to do, I guess,” she told me.
“Look,” I told her, yanking my arm away from her, “if you fire me, I will tell Adam what you wanted me to do.”
I said it a little bit more quietly than I had intended. I meant to forcefully proclaim that I wasn’t afraid of her threats, and had some threats of my own. But, it came out a bit shaky and scared sounding. Way to stand up for yourself, Abbey.
She hesitated for just a moment, trying to determine if I was bluffing or not. Then she stuck her nose up in the air and spoke kind of flippantly to me.
“I don’t think you will tell Adam. Even though he hired you, don’t you dare forget that this is my house. I own every thing and every one in it. That includes you. If you breathe a word of this to him, or to anyone for that matter, you will be out of this house so fast, you won’t have time to come up with anymore threats. Do..I..make..myself..clear?” She said that last part slowly and methodically. I have to admit that she scared me.
“Y..yes,” I stammered.
She glared at me one more time and turned on her heels and left me standing there staring after her. Violet Tyler was certainly a woman that was not to be messed with. I couldn’t let her go, it would be the end of my life as I knew it. I would not survive on the streets again and was desperate to stay there. So, against my better judgment, I called after her.
“Mrs. Tyler, please wait,” I said, as she was walking out the door.
She stopped suddenly and slowly turned to look at me. She didn’t say a word.
“I’ll do it.” I couldn’t believe the words were coming out of my mouth.
She just smiled and said, “then get on with with it,” and walked out the door.
At that moment, I hated that woman with every bit of my soul.