CHAPTER ELEVEN

 

Keeneston, Kentucky

Two years later . . .

 

Violet was finally home. She stepped out of the airport and into the waiting taxi. It had been four years since she’d called Kentucky home. She was sure the Belles thought she would come home pregnant and ruined within a month of leaving for France, but she hadn’t. She had lost her heart in France, but she had lived and breathed her passion. However, when her meals starting turning from culinary masterpieces to home-cooked meals of fried chicken and grits, she knew it was time to go home.

“Where to, miss?”

“Keeneston, please.” Violet slid into the back seat as suitcase after suitcase was loaded into the trunk. She had no idea what to do now; she just knew she needed to go back home.

The emerald grass played along the rolling hills as they drove out of Lexington. Foals frolicked in their pastures, cows chewed on bluegrass, and new leaves unfurled toward the sun. Spring in Kentucky had always been her favorite time of year. It took thirty minutes, but soon Main Street was upon her. Fresh flowers were planted in front of every window, and the people outside painting their fences stopped to stare at the unfamiliar sight of a taxi driving through town.

“Right here, please,” Violet told the driver. The screen door opened and her mother stepped onto the porch to see who had arrived.

“Violet?” her mother asked softly. “Violet!” she yelled when she realized it really was her.

Violet smiled and felt the tears fill her eyes. “I’m home, Mama.”

Her mother raced down the steps, and they met in a tight embrace in the middle of the yard. Tears and laughter mixed with joy; she was in her mother’s arms once again.

“Oh, look at you. You’re so grown up. Of course by the time I was twenty-one, I already had you three, so I have to stop thinking of you as my little baby. It’s so good to have you back. Are you back for good or just to visit?” her mother asked as she ran her hand over Violet’s cheek.

“For good. Do I still have a room?”

Her mother laughed as more tears spilled. “You’ll always have a place here. This is your home. Now, let’s carry this luggage inside. I can’t wait to surprise your father and sister.”

 

Daisy closed her book and stood from the desk in the lecture hall. It was her last class of the day. It was April, and she would graduate the first week of June. She was so close she could taste it. She would be a college graduate and a wife shortly after. She and Robert had talked about it for the last year. He was making a name for himself in the advertising world, even getting a couple national campaigns. By the time Daisy graduated, Robert would have a nest egg big enough to buy a house.

She pushed open the wooden doors and stepped onto campus, breathing in the budding flowers and freshly cut grass. People walked all around her, heading to and from class. Some laughed, but despite the flowering dogwoods and daffodils, the campus wasn’t as cheerful as it had been. Everything changed in a split second one early afternoon on November 22, 1963. Shots fired in the faraway state of Texas had reverberated through their campus in Kentucky. Women had fallen to the ground in tears. Men stood rooted in shock as the news broadcast the assassination of President Kennedy.

Time had marched on, but the veil of sadness had not lifted. Instead, troops were being sent to a country halfway around the world and the shroud of the Vietnam War now covered the campus. Not just hers, but the whole country’s innocence had been lost that day, and they could never go back to how things were before.

Daisy looked up and down the street and then waved as she saw Robert pulling up. “Hi! Thanks for picking me up. Are you sure you can leave work early?”

Robert hurried from the car and opened her door for her. “It’s no problem. I actually need to talk to you about work and about us. Want to head to my place?”

“Sure,” Daisy said with a feeling of dread. “Is everything all right?”

“Actually, something pretty big has happened. It will be good for us in the long run, but I am afraid you might not want to stick it out. Let’s just talk about it when we get to my place. Tell me about your day. Are you ready for graduation?”

Daisy gave a weak smile and managed the small talk until they pulled in front of his apartment. Her palms grew sweaty and it felt as if someone were clog-dancing in her stomach. She tried to remember to breathe as Robert unlocked the door and turned on the lights.

“Here, let’s have some champagne. The situation calls for it.” He smiled as he headed for the refrigerator.

Well, that had to be good, right? Maybe he wanted to get married sooner. Whatever it was, it was killing her. “Just tell me. You’ve turned me into a nervous wreck.”

Pop went the cork. Robert poured two glasses and handed her one. “I got a huge promotion.”

Relief washed over her. “Congratulations! Your father is making you second in command?”

Robert shook his head. He’d been battling with his father for the past year for more control over the company, but his father had been keeping him on a tight leash. “No. My campaign for that new detergent that went national, well, it caught the eye of the Pentagon. They called and want me to work with them on the war effort.”

Daisy set her glass down and shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“They want me to work on war propaganda. They need more men to volunteer to go to Vietnam. I’m headed to Washington, D.C., to work for the Secretary of Defense. My salary has been tripled, and my work will be seen all over the country.”

“You’re moving to Washington?”

“It’s just for one year. They think they can win this stupid fight in the jungle, and I’ll be back here as soon as they do.” Robert took her hands in his and looked down into her eyes. “But I have to leave in two days. I won’t make it to your graduation. I’m so sorry, Daisy.”

“I could join you after I graduate. I mean, we had talked about getting married soon. We could just speed up our plan,” Daisy said with a shaky voice. All their plans and dreams were slipping away.

“I want to, my love, but they told me I got the job because I wasn’t married. Apparently, I will just about live at the Pentagon, and I will have to travel to military bases as well.”

Her hand flew to her heart. “Do you have to fight in Vietnam?”

Robert smiled kindly down at her and shook his head. “No, thank goodness. But we can write, and I will call you every week. I had meant to give this to you under different circumstances, and I understand if you don’t want it anymore, but . . .”

Robert dug his hand into his pocket and dropped to one knee. He opened the box, and Daisy gasped at the beautiful ring.

“Daisy Mae Rose, I have loved you since I set eyes on you. You are kind, passionate, and strong. I couldn’t wish for anyone else to be my wife and the mother of my children. Will you marry me?”

Her heart sang, and she felt tears pressing for release. “I thought you said the Pentagon didn’t want a married man.”

With a sly smile he held out the ring. “Technically, I wouldn’t be married. I would be engaged. And this is my promise to you that I am yours. No matter how far away, my heart is always with you. Can you do it, Daisy? Can you wait until this war is over to become my wife? I’m sure with my advertising the American people will be behind us in no time and victory will be coming along shortly.”

Daisy smiled and then nodded. “Yes! I love you, Robert. Of course I will wait for you.”

Robert slid the ring on her shaking finger. It was too loose, but she could get it resized. It was beautiful. And it was a symbol of their love and commitment to each other. “You’ve made me the happiest man in the world today. I love you.”

Daisy flung her arms around his neck, and when he kissed her she knew she would wait forever for him.

 

* * *

 

Violet waited in the kitchen as her mother brought dinner to the dining room. She quietly snuck to the door and put her ear to it. Her sister and father had just gotten home from work and were sitting down for dinner.

“Who is coming to dinner?” Lily asked. Violet was sure Lily was gesturing to the extra plate setting on the table.

“Oh, Mom,” Lily groaned, “you’re not setting me up with another blind date, are you?”

“Would it be so bad if I did? Do you have any idea how many weddings we have been to in the past couple of years? It’s like the whole town of Keeneston is getting married except for my daughters.” Her mother paused. That was Violet’s cue.

“So what if we don’t get married? We just get to live with y’all longer,” Violet teased, walking into the dining room as if she’d been there every night for the past four years.

Lily’s eyes were comically round as she screamed and jumped up from the table. She hugged Violet so hard, Violet was worried she might not be able to breathe. When her father wrapped her and Lily in a bear hug, she felt the first tear roll down her cheek. Soon the whole family was a blubbering mess, standing in one big group hug.

“I can’t believe you’re here. Please tell me you’re staying for longer than a week,” Lily ordered and refused to let go of Violet’s hand.

“I am. I’m here to stay. I’m going to send out résumés next week to restaurants in Lexington. I’m hoping Chef Nichols hasn’t forgotten about me,” Violet told them as they finally let her take her seat at the table.

“We have to call Daisy. Does she know you’re back in town?” Lily asked as she grabbed Violet’s hand once again.

“She doesn’t. Maybe you can call her and try to get her home this weekend.”

Lily rubbed her hands together and smiled mischievously. “Subterfuge—my favorite pastime.”

 

Dinner was a happy blur for Violet, listening to her sister and father tease each other about work, while her mother shook her head as if this happened every night. And it probably did. She’s just missed out on it over the past four years. The rightness of being back in Keeneston hugged her. She would miss France. She would miss the fancy clothes and the fast-paced life of a top chef. But this was home. This was where she belonged.

“I’m declaring sister time,” Lily called out. She pushed her seat back from the table and grabbed Violet’s hand once again.

Her mother smiled and dabbed her eyes with her napkin. “I’ll get the dishes tonight. You girls go have fun. I’m so happy to have all my babies nearby again.”

“Come on. We’re going to be late if we don’t hurry,” Lily whispered as she pulled her out the front door and down the steps. “I hope you still have air in your tires.”

Violet watched as Lily pushed open the shed door and pulled out her bike. She disappeared again before coming back out with Violet’s purple bike from high school. “The tires are pretty soft, but it will have to do.”

“Where are we going, and why are we riding our bikes? Can’t we just take Dad’s car?”

“We are picking up Mona Crosby and our mission requires stealth, hence the bikes.” Lily grinned and Violet couldn’t help but return the smile.