Something From Nothing

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*

"Ms. Emersen? Did you hear me? Ms. Emersen. Violet."

Violet jerked out of her daydream to observe Mr. Parsons, another Account Manager, starring at her in confusion.

What did he want? Are we sharing a project? Thinkthinkthink. Got it!

"Mr. Parsons! Yes, I'll have the Smithfield file brought over to you as soon as we are done with it."

This seemed to work, and an easy smile swept across Mr. Parson's face as the man nodded and left her office. Violet's smile, however, dropped as soon as her door shut. The energy of a Violet Emersen smile just could not be spared right now. Pressing the intercom button on her phone, she heard the chirruping voice of Amanda, her assistant, pick up the line.

"Yes, Violet?"

"Amanda, would you mind telling the art department to send a copy of their proofs to Mr. Parsons in addition to us?"

"Right away, anything else?"

"Do we know when the server is coming back online?"

"I.T. is still working on it."

"Ugh, fine. Coffee, then, since that means you are probably not too busy."

"Haha, right you are!"

Violet clicked her "Refresh" button erratically, hoping her impatience would inspire the often malfunctioning server to spirit back to life. Without e-mail she was half lost. Rolling her eyes, she picked up her phone, deciding to at least check her personal e-mail with the hopes of occupying her time.

By the time she had deleted the spam and responded to a few of the shorter messages, Violet heard a quick knock on her door, followed by Amanda with two mugs of coffee. The petite blonde, always smiling, or at least smirking, set Violet's coffee down in front of her along with a muffin, before sitting down in front of Violet.

"What's this?" Violet asked, nodding at the muffin.

"It's a muffin. Banana nut"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is it on my desk?"

"Because you need to eat it. Coffee is neither breakfast nor lunch, despite the way you employ it everyday."

Violet sighed and sipped her coffee. "Thank you," she added after a few moments.

"Don't thank me. Eat it. I have barely seen you eat for a week. I'm sure you stuff yourself with Ho Hos and Ding Dongs at home, but I need to see you eat something."

Violet glanced at Amanda and saw the determination in the girl's eyes. She was twenty-two, only four years younger than Violet, yet her she was mothering her, and winning at it too.

Remembering the five pounds dropped as of last Wednesday, Violet began picking off pieces of the large muffin and chewing them slowly, watching as Amanda hitched up her chin in a complete "I Won" gesture.

"You know," Amanda began, leaning in to rest her elbows on Violet's desk, "If you let me fix you up with some of the guys I know, I would have a spy in your house to tell me all about your Ho Hos and Ding Dongs and we wouldn't have to go through this all the time."

Violet could not help but to roll her eyes again.

"Thanks Amanda, but I really don't have the time..."

"Don't pull that with me Violet. I know it has only been a week or so," Amanda hesitated, shifting in her chair as if bracing herself for impact, "but you no longer have to look after you mother. As far as I know, you have not taken up any pottery classes or piano lessons, so the time you were spending at her house is now free. You need someone, Violet, I can tell."

Violet felt like glaring at Amanda, but she knew she was just being tough out of love for her. The two women had worked together for two years now and were more friends than boss and employee. Despite that, however, she had no desire to go on a blind date, especially with some of the guys Amanda was always trying to fix her up with.

"Mandy, I know you care about me, I just don't feel like I 'need' someone."

"How would you know? Your last serious boyfriend was back in college and that was only because he was abroad for a year and you didn't want to break up with him through e-mail. Maybe if you tried to meet more guys, you'd see that they can be nice to have around. Just look and me and Tom!" Amanda's smile brightened at the mention of her fiance, which made it impossible for Violet not to smile as well.

"Ok, look. How about you give me one more month to finish wrapping everything up with mom's house and then I will let you set me up with a guy that I approve of." Violet had to practically yell the last few words, Amanda's excitement had declared itself in a resounding squeal.

"Yay! You got it! One month, I am so excited!"

Amanda bounced in her seat a few more times before settling back with a fresh "I Win" face.

"Okay," Violet announced, chewing the last of the muffin, "break is over, back to work."

Amanda smiled, picking up some files from Violet's desk and heading back out to her own area. Once she was gone, Violet was finally free to slump back in her chair and close her eyes, wishing it were 4:45pm and not 10:45am.

I just want to be home. Why did I decide to come back to work so soon? It's Monday for pete's sake!

Violet admonished herself for thinking she was ready and willing, but knew that working beat the hell out of being home alone.

Oh well, dinner with James tonight. If Sam didn't threaten to hide the sonogram picture from me if I didn't come, then I would head home. Jerks.

Violet swept the crumbs from her desk and lap, drained her coffee, clicked her mouse angrily and started her work.

******

Six o'clock found Violet changed and cheery on the doorstep of James and Sam's suburban two-story dream house. As a popular Real Estate Agent, Sam had come into her marriage without needing James' lucrative business income. Due to this fact, whenever he was asked, James assured with a smile that this was all the evidence he needed that she really liked him.

Violet rang the doorbell, anxious to see the new sonogram picture, and was greeted by Sam in a sky-blue apron, her swelling belly proudly displayed. As they made their way inside, Violet hugged her sister-in-law and shrugged off her heavy coat.

"How are you feeling? How was the appointment? Where is the picture!"

Sam smiled, answering the first two questions quickly, adding, "the boys have the picture in the den, I think they are toasting on behalf of all men everywhere."

"The boys? Who else is here?"

"Will Truit? James's friend from high school? He is staying in town for a while."

Violet all but groaned. Will Truit was the last person she wanted to see. After their run-in last week, she was convinced that he had kissed her in order to get revenge for the slap, which she thought completely unfair. Her anger at finding herself less disdainful towards him only infuriated her more, destroying her attention like a wildfire until she vowed to stamp him out of his mind. Part of her wanted to throw a tantrum, the other just wanted to leave. Unfortunately, the part of her that wanted to see a picture of her growing nephew won, and she slowly made her way to the den while Sam headed back towards the kitchen.

As she entered the den, Violet observed the two men standing side-by-side, their backs to her, admiring a black and white photograph as if held the meaning to life. James, slightly shorter than Will's easy six feet, clapped a hand on his friend's back, clutching the picture with the other. Violet grinned at the proud look on her brother's face, and was not even bothered by Will's apparent happiness, after all, he was the godfather, like it or not. Sensing her presence, James turned and greeted his sister, hugging her close and clasping an arm around her shoulder, the picture proudly pressed up to her face.

"At last, the godmother has arrived! Vi, would you look at my son? Isn't he getting huge? Six months and he looks like a real person!"

Violet laughed with her brother, taking the picture from him to study it at a reasonable distance, her heart swelling with love at the sight of the blurry figure.

"Good evening, Violet," came a voice from over her shoulder.

"Evening Will," was her light reply, her eyes not moving from the picture.

She gleaned more details about the doctor's visit from James before Sam called them into the dining room for dinner. Since discovering her pregnancy, Sam had released her properties and devoted herself to Mom-to-Be Training, decorating the nursery, taking classes, and learning to cook like a gourmet. After her first attempt to help, Violet was banned from the kitchen, now a simple taster like James.

Tonight was no different with a splendid assortment of dishes laid out before them, choice wines, and the promise of cheesecake. Violet settled into her chair, not noticing that Will sat next to her until he passed the green beans.

"Eat your veggies, Vi," he teased, "we want you to grow big and tall."

Violet accepted the bowl with as pleasant a smile as she could manage. Will half-smiled in return, a mischievous spark within his green eyes.

I can't believe women swoon over an accent like that. No matter, I refuse to let him ruffle me, he is just stuck in the past. I am moving forward. We are adults. Moving forward.

After her small display of strength, Will seemed to give up his games, opting to glance at Violet periodically through the night, which proved to be both distracting and annoying as all hell. Dinner managed to continue smoothly until James mentioned the unthinkable.

"Violet, why don't you take tomorrow off and have a day with Will? You guys have some catching up to do, and Sam and I are too busy to entertain him."

"Ouch, James, I see how it is," Will laughed.

Violet stared at her brother in horror for what seemed like an hour. In reality, it could have only been a second or two, because James quickly shot her a stern look that declared, "do this for me, Little Miss, or we'll replace the godmother too," and she snapped on a smile.

"Okay, I suppose I could do that. Work is pretty useless right now anyway, our server keeps crashing."

"Excellent," Sam chimed in, "I'll drop him off at your place, say, around 10:00am?"

"Perfect," Violet nodded.

"Perfect," Will added with a smile.

******

Violet woke uncommonly early, spending an hour at the gym before returning home to shower and make herself presentable. An outsider would have assumed she was getting ready for a date, but Violet knew better. Something about Will always made her uneasy about herself. He was too put together, too handsome, too crisp. Even when she was younger, he made her feel frumpy and small. Her goal today was to show him how excellent her life was, take him to all the local places they enjoyed as kids, and then take him back to her brother's house to rot. She would be breezy and casual, resisting his gibes and even, depending on how sincere he seemed, try to be his friend. Violet was surprised when she first thought of the idea, but after discussing it hypothetically with Amanda, she realized she didn't want to be the sort of person to discount someone she technically didn't know anymore.

Violet repeated this decision to herself as she dressed in a purple sweater and grey slacks, busying herself with little chores around her home as the clock approached ten.

As soon as her hall clock began to chime, Violet heard a knock at the door. Pulling it open, she found Will alone on her doorstep, a plate of brownies in one hand, the other busy shaking snow out of his dark choppy hair. Violet stared at him for a moment, scanning the odd picture he made, holding the plate, wearing a black sweater and jeans. Until that moment, Violet had only seen adult-Will in a suit. Now, he almost looked like the catalog model version of his younger self. She was about to laugh when Will interrupted her thoughts.

"May I come in? It is still snowing out here."

"Yes! I'm sorry, come in."

She opened the door the rest of the way, allowing him to stamp his feet and enter her home.

"Was Sam in a hurry?"

"Yes, she had more brownies in the oven."

"Ah, that explains a couple things," Violet said, smiling at the plate.

"Oh, yes, these are for you."

"Thanks, I'll just put them in the kitchen and then we can leave."

"Leave?" Will asked as she walked into the next room, "Where are we going?"

Violet returned from the kitchen with a puzzled look on her face. "I thought I would take you around to all the places you used to love."

"Oh, we don't have to, James and I sort of had a day last week."

"Oh, right."

Damn. James took my idea.

"Well, what would you like to do?" she asked.

"Not sure. What were you planning on doing today before I was forced on you? And don't say work, even if it's true." The spark was back in Will's mossy green eyes as he leaned against the large doorway to Violet's small living room.

"Well, today I probably would have done some things around the house...maybe clean the fireplace or garden"

A crease formed on Will's forehead as his eyebrows knit together.

"Garden?"

Violet assumed a confused look as well.

"Yes, garden, as in flowers and soil and water."

"Did I mention it's snowing outside? Oh, and we are about five months from Spring."

Violet smiled, "No, I have a greenhouse. It isn't much right now, but I keep some potted plants in there so they are ready once the ground thaws."

Will considered her for a moment before giving a solid nod of his head, "Right. That's what we're doing. First the fireplace, then we garden."

Before Violet understood what he said, he turned into the living room, stripping off his thick sweater, revealing a blue t-shirt. Tossing the sweater over the back of one of her chairs, he squatted down in front of her fireplace as if he were just hired for the job. After a minute of silence, he turned around, an impatient look on his face.

"Are you going to help or what?"

******

Two hours later, Violet was cleaning up their small lunch, smiling to herself at Will's complete inability to clean a fireplace, despite having four in his childhood home.

Figures. He had at least three housekeepers. I wonder if he has a housekeeper of his own at home? Most likely, otherwise his clothes wouldn't smell so good.

"So," came his voice from behind her, "now we garden?"

"Now we garden," she confirmed. "Look, we really don't have to do this, I can do it tomorrow."

Maintaining a look of serious professionalism, he curtly replied, "Nope, I want to garden if you don't mind."

Ten minutes later they bundled up and headed out the back door into Violet's winter garden. Even covered in snow, it was beautiful to her. The bare limbs of her trees cast elegant silhouettes in the afternoon sun, with the low foliage covered in a fresh layer of snow. Violet led him across the small garden to a building that looked like a plexiglass shed, opening the door and quickly ushering him inside.

"Lord, Vi, this is amazing!" Will exclaimed, staring at the plants around him, even though they were less than twenty in number. Violet laughed, glad he was easily impressed, and set him to work weeding a few of the beds while she inspected her more precious seedlings.

After ten minutes, Violet began humming to herself while she fed her plants, glancing at Will to make sure he did not weed any of her younger shoots. Once again, it was Will who snapped her out it.

"So let me get this straight," he began, continuing to pluck little blades from the soil, "If I were not here, you would be out in this house, by yourself, humming to your plants all day?"

Violet arched an eyebrow. "Yes. Is that odd?"

"No," he replied slowly, "I just expected...I don't know, nevermind."

"No, I want to know. What did you expect? That I would be out on the town, at a bar or something?" She laughed, knowing that was the farthest image of herself that anyone who knew her would guess. Than again, Will didn't really know her, so perhaps he did expect that.

"Well, I just," he stopped working, turning his face to stare at her briefly, "I expected you to lie. I thought you would try to show off with some exciting escapade to show me how great your life turned out. I never expected you to really let me help you do something."

Violet stared into the leaves of a plant she had been trimming. She had thought about lying, but even then she could not think of anything worth lying about.

Seeing Will's confusion over her honesty, she decided not to throw away their past after all, but, at least for herself, forget the petty feelings and treat him for what he was: a friend from a long time ago.

"When mom got diagnosed a few years ago, she bought me this," Violet began, motioning to the walls around them, "She said when the winter comes, we have to remember the green times, hold them close. Otherwise, we won't recognize them when they come back."

Violet was astonished that she did not feel like crying. Instead, she felt like she was telling any other story about any other person to him.

"She wanted me to have something growing and blooming to take care of, while I took care of her. After a while, coming in here felt like being with her when she was fresh and vibrant. I still feel her in here, even in the winter."

Violet smiled to herself, touching the soft leaf in front of her. She heard Will step behind her, reaching out to touch the same leaf, rubbing the plant between his thumb and index finger, pressing his chest to her back. She felt the heat from his body transfer to hers as if she had just been plugged in to charge. She closed her eyes to absorb the feeling, leaning back into him just a little bit to set her balance.

So focused was she on his heat that her hand slightly jerked when his thumb began caressing the back of her hand, his fingers wrapping around her hand to graze her wrist. She opened her eyes to watch his hand touch her there as his fingers made small circles on her skin. Slowly, grasped her wrist, pulling towards him until her entire body turned around, leaving her to stare at his chest just as before.

This time, however, she meant to look up.

His mouth covered hers in a perfect fit, pushing into her lips until she was backed into shelves of potting mix. Her arms made their way around his neck while his snaked under her coat and around her waist. His hands splayed along her lower back, massaging the flesh there while his tongue probed her mouth, enticing her to let him in. She moaned softly, granting him access. Their bodies pressed together, trying to feel each other through the layers of clothing. Slowly, he licked and dueled with her tongue, leading her back into his mouth until it was his turn to moan.

"Violet."

"Will?"

"I think we should go inside before we ruin your plants," he replied, running his fingers through her dark hair, pushing stray locks from her face.

Violet smiled, nodded, and slid away from him after a final brief press against him. Once she finished a touch here and there, the greenhouse was ready for another winter night, and she braced herself for the cold walk back to the house.

The crisp air hit their flushed cheeks like a bucket of ice water and Violet felt her chest tighten from the cold. Will swore next to her.

Whoops, forgot to warn him about that.

Will walked ahead of her, opening the back door and pulling her through, wrapping her in his arms as soon as the door shut. She thought to protest, but his hands began removing her coat and all focus was lost.

They continued their kiss, stumbling into her living room where they unceremoniously tripped to the floor in Will's attempt to kick off his shoes. Violet, glad she landed on Will instead of the other way around, laughed into his mouth while he groaned in pain.

"Are you okay?" She chuckled.

"Well, I will be," he smirked, returning his hands to her lower back where bare flesh was now available. Violet whimpered at his touch and arched her back, not having such an intimate touch in a long time. Her movement pressed her lips harder on his, causing a new moan to come from underneath her. Will swept his hands around her back before running them up her sides and below to her stomach, slowly moving in circles, causing her to flex her back and push her hips into him.