Clementine woke up early all that week, working hard to get her yard up to code by Sunday. Cutting grass, trimming hedges and limbs, attempting to remove a few bushes that proved much more difficult than she had imagined. By Friday she was feeling desperate, going into the garage after only a few hours of sleep to grab the axe from the wall.
The week would have been a complete mess if not for her date with Violet and the texts they had sent back and forth afterwards. Every time her phone lit up with Violet's name, she swore her heart skipped a beat. They spoke about their date and their day, about work and movies. Anything that came to Clementine's mind was something that she wanted to share with Violet. A funny incident that happened at work, a dream that she had, how she longed to be with her at that moment. And she shared those thoughts with Violet, well, some of them and Violet shared her thoughts back. It was dizzying how much Clementine looked forward to her responses, saddened when it took longer than usual to reply, heart fluttering at her sincere comments.
She held the axe above her head, poised over the offending stump that was the only thing that remained of the bush. Clementine hacked at it mercilessly, taking out her inner aggression on the stump, chopping it to splintered pieces. Not stopping until her arms gave out and she was breathing heavily. She removed her hat and lifted her shirt to wipe the sweat from her brow just as a buzzing in her pocket drew her attention. Violet's name flashing on the screen had her fumbling to answer. Why would Violet be calling her in the middle of the day? While she was at school?
"Hello?" Clementine answered still sounding breathless.
"Clem!" AJ's voice was on the line.
"AJ? Why are you calling from Ms. Adlon's phone in the middle of the day?" Clementine huffed, frustration at not hearing Violet's voice shining through in her tone.
"I forgot my lunch, they won't let me charge because we owe too much." AJ explained.
"I sent you with money just last week!"
"That was two weeks ago Clem."
"Is Ms. Adlon with you right now AJ?" Clementine asked, feeling embarrassed at the thought of her overhearing their conversation.
"No, she had to walk the class to the bathroom, hurry Clem, lunch starts in ten minutes!" AJ whispered, hanging up the phone quickly.
Clementine swore under her breath, she was sweaty and dirty and had no time to shower if she wanted to get AJ his lunch in time. She returned the axe to the garage and ran inside to grab the one hundred dollar bill from her dresser that Louis had given her as a tip a week ago. It was the only cash she had and she shoved it into the pocket of her old ripped jean shorts. Clementine flung off her old holey t-shirt, spritzed on some body spray before throwing on a clean shirt and running to the car.
It took her five minutes to get to the school going at top speed. The parking lot was full so she pulled her old car up on the curb, parking in the grass. She rushed inside, scanning her ID in the front office and they buzzed her through the security door. Clementine made her way to AJ's classroom, hoping she wasn't too late. She stuck her head in the open door when she got to it, it was empty. She swore, getting wide eyed stares from a few children walking down the hallway.
"Um, no, uh, swearing you kids." Clementine mumbled as she hurried to the cafeteria. Once inside she caught sight of AJ standing in line, talking with the boy in front of him and she sighed, relieved she had gotten to him in time. "AJ!" Clementine called out as she jogged up him. "I've got some lunch money for you."
"Hey Clem! I must've heard wrong... they let you eat lunch no matter how high your charge is." AJ shrugged casually and grinned as he turned back to the line, grabbing a chocolate milk and setting it on a tray. Clementine stared after him in frustration, having rushed to get here for no reason.
"Since I'm here I can eat lunch with you at least, if you want me to?" She offered.
AJ shook his head, "I'm not a baby Clem, I don't need you to eat lunch with me anymore."
She let out a flustered sigh but walked up to the lunch lady at the cash register anyway to settle AJ's lunch debts that had racked up over the past couple weeks. As she crammed her change into her pocket Violet came up beside her holding a tray of her own.
"Clementine!" Violet said with a surprised smile in her voice, Clementine's eyes darted from her face to her tray. "Let me guess, you came for chicken nugget day?" Violet teased, gaining a chuckle from Clementine.
"I just came to add some money to AJ's lunch account." Clementine adjusted her hat nervously, hiding the precise reason she had hurried over.
"Are you going to stay and eat lunch with him?" Violet asked, eyeing the brunette's grass stained shorts and the dirt smudge on her neck.
"No, he's too cool to sit with his big sister already." Clementine shrugged.
"Care to join me then? We can eat in my room." Violet asked, feeling hopeful.
"Yeah, I would love to." Clementine wiped her hands nervously on her jean shorts, wishing she had taken more time to get ready before sprinting over.
"Great, grab a tray and meet me there." Violet turned to the cafeteria worker, "Just put her charge on my account."
"You don't have to-" Clementine tried to deny the offer but Violet was already half way across the cafeteria. She sighed as she grabbed a tray from the queue, the cafeteria worker gave her a nod as she passed. "Hey AJ, I'm going to eat with Ms. Adlon, is that alright?"
"It's okay Clem, we eat dinner together every day." AJ said as the person next to him continued to talk, "Bye!" he said, waving her off so that he could give his attention back to his friend. Clementine looked at him suspiciously as she left the lunch room and made her way to Violet's classroom.
Clementine entered, closing the door behind her. Violet was clearing off space on her desk, moving stacks of paper and pens so that Clementine could set her tray next to hers. "Have a seat." Violet smiled at the brunette as she pulled a chair up next to hers.
"Thanks Violet." Clementine sat down in the chair she offered, "I haven't eaten a school lunch in years." Clementine took a bite of one of her chicken nuggets. "It tastes about the same as I remember." The girls chuckled.
"It's not the world's best chicken nugget but it's still better than a cold sandwich. Plus it's actually decent if you dip them in ranch." Violet nudged her tray containing ranch towards Clementine who accepted the offer and dunked a nugget in the sauce, taking a bite she nodded.
"You're right. That is better." Clementine smiled, eyes lingering on Violet's lips as she licked a smear of ranch dressing from them. Noticing that she was staring she looked back down at her tray. "Thanks for letting AJ use your phone today."
"Use my phone? He didn't ask to use my phone." Violet looked confused, sliding open a drawer of her desk, "I always keep it in my drawer during school hours." She grabbed her phone out and scrolled through her call log. "That little scamp." Violet shook her head with a laugh, showing her phone's history to Clementine. "I did not authorize this call."
"He stole your phone out of your desk to call me?" Clementine narrowed her eyes and dropped her fork onto her tray, ready to go yell at AJ right then and there, "I am so sorry about this Violet, no video games or tv all weekend for him. It is not okay to take someone's personal-"
Violet set her phone down and took Clementine's hand, effectively stopping her tirade, "It's okay, you see what he's doing right?"
"Doing?" Clementine asked, clueless to the situation.
"It seems to me that he's trying to get us together..." Violet said hesitantly, "Now that I think about it, he did bite someone almost immediately after I told him I was going to have to talk to a parent if he stepped out of line again."
Clementine put a hand over her face embarrassed, "He keeps telling me how pretty and nice you are... It seems so obvious now... but why? Why would he care if we got together?"
"How was your and AJ's relationship before Lee died?" Violet asked, ignoring her food, leaning back slightly in her chair as she gave Clementine her full attention, intertwining her fingers with the brunette's.
"Good, it was great actually." Clementine smiled, thinking back to when Lee was alive, "I would play with him all the time. Video games, action figures, I would take him to the park. All he had to do was give me a look and I would do anything for him. I love that kid." Clementine blushed as she noticed her hand in Violet's and curled her fingers around Violet's hand.
"And how is your relationship now?" Violet asked pushing her glasses further up the bridge of her nose, looking into Clementine's brown eyes, noticing the flecks of gold as they shined even in the schools horrible florescent lighting.
"I mean... I take care of him. I make sure he gets his homework done and that he eats. I just... I haven't got time to play with him anymore... What with my jobs and sleep schedule. I feel so tired all the time that when I finally have a moment to spare I just want to crash on the couch." Clementine adjusted her hat nervously, taking a deep breath, she exhaled deeply, trying to hold back tears, "I'm screwing this up aren't I? This parenting thing."
Violet released Clementine's hand and wrapped her arms around the younger girl as she buried her face in her shoulder. "Clementine, you're doing amazing. I can't imagine the things you've gone through. I think AJ can see how stressed out you've been. I think he's been doing all of this because he just wants you to be happy. I don't know if I can do that for you, but... I would like to try... if you'd let me."
As Clementine pulled out of the embrace their cheeks grazed. Clementine froze, faces close, she leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss on Violet's lips.
"I-I'm sorry." Clementine looked away, face flushed, "I shouldn't have done that..."
"I'm glad you did." Violet leaned over so she could see into Clementine's eyes as the brunette tried to divert them. "Let's just save the next one for when I'm not at work." She winked and Clementine grinned. They continued to eat their lunches as they talked.
"Would you like to come over for dinner at my house on Monday?" Clementine asked, "Duck has plans that night or else I would take you out. AJ will be home too which I know isn't ideal but..."
"Yes. I would love to come over. You don't have to take me anywhere." Violet grinned as she finished off her food, excited she would get to see Clementine again in just a few short days.
Monday arrived, Clementine knew she should be sleeping but she was too excited to see Violet tonight. Joan had come to inspect the house on Sunday and agreed to not give Clementine a fine but she did provide her with another list of things she noticed in the yard that needed up keeping. Like painting the mailbox and putting new mulch in the flower bed. Clementine rolled over in bed, pushing thoughts of Joan out of her mind when she heard cries coming from down the hall.
Without hesitation Clementine jumped from her bed, heart pounding, and ran to AJ's room where he was tossing and turning. She leaned over him, seeing that he was still asleep she stroked his hair and hummed softly until he quieted down. Clementine's heart was still racing as she kissed his head and left the room. There was no way she was getting to sleep now, so she used her wakefulness to start cleaning the house. She grabbed her earbuds, leaving one out in case AJ needed her again, clicked on her playlist and hit shuffle as she grabbed the cleaning supplies and headed into the bathroom. Radiohead started playing and a smile formed on Clementine's face. It was one of Lee's favorite bands and it reminded her of happy times.
By the time AJ got up for school Clementine was pulling out the vacuum. "Perfect timing kiddo." Clementine smiled at him as she plugged it in.
"Too early for that Clem." AJ grumped as he grabbed some milk and a box of cereal and climbed on top of the bar stool. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"I'll go to bed after I finish this." Clementine clicked the vacuum on and began to vacuum the living room to AJ's disdain.
After breakfast AJ finished getting ready, much cheerier once he was fed and dressed, he hugged Clementine goodbye. He walked out to the end of the driveway, getting on the bus as it breaked in front of the house. Clementine pulled out her phone, sending a quick text to Violet, unable to wait to talk to her that night.
Clem: looking forward to seeing you tonight, have a good day at school 3
It didn't take Violet long to text back.
Vi: seeing you at the end of the day makes Monday worth doing
Vi: sorry. that was so cheesy...
Vi: but I meant it all the same
Clementine beamed as she read Violet's string of texts. She typed a quick reply and finished vacuuming. Feeling exhausted now she collapsed into her bed not waking up until AJ got home from school.
Minutes before Violet was to arrive Clementine pulled dinner out of the oven, setting it on the stove to cool. She grabbed the wine from the counter and set it on the table that was covered in a lacy white table cloth. Clementine had spent the last of Louis's tip on tonight's dinner. She felt guilty, her and AJ could have eaten well off that money for a week and she had blown it for one meal. Still, this was cheaper than going out and she felt a strong desire to try and impress Violet.
There was a knock at the door. Clementine took a cleansing breath and answered it. "Hi Vi."
Violet grinned at the use of her nickname. "Hey Clem." Violet leaned in and kissed Clementine on the cheek. An uncontrollable grin broke across her face as she stepped to the side to let Violet in.
"Ms. Adlon!" AJ ran out from the back hall, slamming into his teacher with a tight hug. Violet swayed with the force. "Hey AJ. Long time no see." Violet chuckled.
"But I just saw you at school today..." AJ cocked his head.
"It was a joke..." Violet shook her head as AJ continued to look at her confused, "Nevermind."
"Clem says I get to eat dinner in my room while watching tv tonight!" AJ grinned excitedly.
"That's great AJ." Violet glanced at Clementine who shrugged her shoulders.
"Come see my room!" AJ grabbed Violet by the hand and dragged her from the room, Clementine giggled after them before finishing her dinner prep.
Ten minutes later Clementine walked back to AJ's room with a plate of chicken nuggets, potatoes and salad. She stopped in the doorway and smiled to herself as she watched Violet sitting on the floor next to AJ, asking him questions about his action figures.
"Dinner's ready." Clementine drew their attention. Violet handed AJ back his action figure and stood up. Clementine held the plate out for AJ, "Here ya go AJ, one movie and then it's straight to bed, got it?"
"Got it!" AJ took the plate from Clementine, examining it's contents, "We get to eat real food tonight?! Oh boy!"
Clementine's face turned red as she guided Violet out of the room. Violet raised an eyebrow as she allowed Clementine to lead her into the kitchen.
"Have a seat." Clementine cleared her throat as she pulled out the kitchen chair for Violet, hoping she didn't think too hard on what AJ had said.
Violet sat down, looking down at her plate, much like AJ's but with steak instead of chicken nuggets and the salad had more trimmings. Clementine noticed Violet looking at her plate and grinned, "Don't worry, I made extra in case you wanted some." Clementine slid a plate loaded with chicken nuggets in Violet's direction. Her face broke out in a grin.
"Maybe I'll have just a couple." Violet reached out and put a few on her plate. "This looks amazing Clem, thank you."
Clementine smiled back at her until Violet stood, "What do you need?" Clementine asked, face dropping as she too started to stand.
Violet waved her off, "Just need some ketchup."
"Let me get it for you." Clementine hurried to the fridge, jumping in front of the older girl. "You just sit down and start eating."
Violet folded her arms, not leaving the kitchen. Clementine smiled weakly as Violet stared her down. "What's going on Clem?"
"Nothing... what do you mean." Clementine opened the fridge the smallest of cracks, reaching her arm in with it still mostly closed. She felt around blindly, still smiling at Violet she pulled out the ketchup. "Saving electricity... just doing my part for the environment..." Clementine tried to hand the ketchup to Violet but the blonde ignored it as she reached around the brunette and opened the fridge. Clementine stepped back embarrassed as Violet stared into the mostly empty fridge that contained only a couple of half empty jars and a gallon of milk.
"Clementine, are you having money trouble?" Violet asked softly, closing the refrigerator. "AJ said something about 'real' food? I can buy you some groceries if you need some help."
"No, it's fine, I've just been so busy I haven't had time to go shopping." Clementine's heart raced, floundering to cover up her inadequacies, "AJ's been eating ramen all week because I've been spending every evening getting the yard up to HOA standards but I'll have time to go shopping tomorrow after school."
Violet narrowed her eyes at Clementine, not quite believing, but not wanting to push it. They sat down again, Clementine stared at her food. Violet ate in awkward silence.
"I lied." Clementine spoke up, hiding the truth from Violet was eating at her insides. "I'm barely making it." Clementine kept her eyes on her plate, speaking in a barely audible voice. "I have to make sure the bills are paid on the house or the foster agency will think I'm incapable of caring for AJ and take him away. But lawyer fees are piling up and I haven't even paid off Lee's funeral and hospital expenses yet... By the time we get to food there's nothing left. I'm not helping Duck by working at the pizza shop, he's helping me by letting me work there." Clementine stood from the table as tears welled up in her eyes. "I wanted to do something nice for you Violet but even that's turned out wrong... You don't have to stay... I won't be a bother to you anymore..." She collapsed onto the couch, sobbing into her hands, waiting to hear the door open.
Instead she felt Violet sit down next to her, the older girl's arms wrapped around her, surrounding Clementine with warmth, making her feel safe. Violet pulled Clementine into her chest, Clementine relaxed into her, still sniffling lightly. "Shhhh..." Violet whispered, stroking her fingers over the brunette's curly locks. "You're overwhelmed. Everything got dumped on you all at once. That's too much for one person to have to handle alone. Let me help you."
"I-it'll be better in a month. Duck's going to move in and help pay the house payment and bills. The adoption hearing is in a month... I just have to make it one more month a-and things will be better." Clementine said hopefully into Violet's shirt, fighting back the second wave of warm tears that were threatening to fall.
"Until then, let me help you. Please?" Violet begged as she rubbed Clementine's back soothingly.
"A-alright..." Clementine sighed, a mix between a laugh and a cry escaped her throat, "I hate relying on other people. I haven't relied on anyone but Duck in such a long time. I know it sounds weird, I haven't known you very long, but Vi... I really feel like I can trust you."
"I'm glad." Violet held her for a while longer. "I'm going to take AJ home from school tomorrow if that's okay, and the three of us are going shopping."
"I'll pay you back, I swear, as soon as I get a handle on things." Clementine sat up to look Violet in the eye.
Violet planted a kiss on Clementine's forehead. "How about we watch a sad movie? Sometimes you just need to cry."
Clementine chuckled but agreed as she grabbed the remote and looked for a movie as Violet grabbed their plates and sat them down on the coffee table in front of them. She left the room again and came back with the bottle of wine. "I think we might need this too."
Clementine smiled, "Yes, but only a glass, I have to be at work in a few hours."
"A glass of wine, then a cup of coffee." Violet said, making Clementine laugh as she pulled a blanket around them. Clementine clicked the play button and snuggled into Violet's side. Letting out a relieved sigh, comforted by Violet's presence.