After her third cider, Violet sneaks away from the dance floor and finds JJ seeking a chair as well. They find their seats at the head table, grinning.
"I can't keep up with them," JJ shakes her head, setting her half-full drink in front of her.
"Yeah, I need a breather," Violet exhales. "Grainne can really give'r."
JJ laughs as they settle into their seats.
"That kid is still eyeing you," JJ alerts her, her voice low as she turns towards Violet.
"I don't care," Violet waves a hand, dismissive and drunken.
JJ looks surprised and lets out a laugh.
"Well that's even more blunt than before," she chuckles.
Violet exhales, lazily holding her third cider.
"I know. But I just can't…" she responds, seeming to trail off at the end.
"Why not?" JJ asks, glancing at the boy again.
He's with friends (James' family) but he keeps looking at Violet.
Violet's tipsy, and hesitant.
JJ sees her reluctance to speak, and turns more towards her.
"Vi?"
Violet glances at her, running her thumb along the rim of her tumbler.
"I don't…wanna…" she swallows, lifting her drink.
She takes a sip and a deep breath.
"You okay?" JJ asks, concern etched on her face.
"Yeah," Violet waves a hand dismissively. "Have you seen my mom?"
JJ eyes her but turns her head to scan the dance floor.
"She was dancing with James, just a minute ago," JJ replies.
Violet stands and JJ reaches for her, grabbing her wrist.
"What's wrong?" she demands, worried.
"Nothing," Violet says, meeting her eye and doing her best to look truthful. "Nothing's wrong."
JJ isn't convinced but she releases her and Violet moves.
"I have to pee," she tells JJ, and then she's gone.
Frowning, JJ turns to watch her, wondering what's going on.
A moment later, Emily appears at her side, sitting in the chair next to her with a glass of champagne and a glowing, smiling face.
"Hey you," she grins.
"Hey," JJ smiles.
"Having fun?" Emily asks.
"Of course," JJ scoffs a laugh, using her glass to gesture around the tented area. "This is amazing."
"Tellers know how throw a party," Emily flicks her brow, sipping her drink.
"I'll say," JJ agrees. "How's your mom?"
She looks amused.
"She's fine," Emily waves a hand dismissively, looking so like Violet that JJ remembers she was looking for her mother. "I don't think she's ever been on time for a wedding reception. But she's having fun. Even Elizabeth Prentiss is charmed by the Tellers."
JJ laughs.
"Hard not to be," she shrugs. "Vi was looking for you."
"Oh," Emily murmurs, looking around. "Where'd she go?"
"She said the bathroom, but…I'm not sure," JJ answers, following Emily's searching eyes.
"What's wrong?" Emily demands.
JJ frowns, taken aback.
"What?"
"You sound like something's wrong," Emily replies.
A light, breathy chuckle sounds from JJ.
"Shut off your work brain for a few hours," she mutters.
Emily elbows her, amused but still waiting for an answer.
"Nothing's wrong," JJ assures her. "She just looked…I dunno. There's a boy who's been eyeing her all night, and she seemed kind of put off by it."
"There's always a boy eyeing her," Emily murmurs, craning her neck to look around. "Despite her not seeming to give a shit."
JJ laughs softly.
Emily spots glossy dark hair, almost a head taller than the other girls around her.
"Ah," she points quickly, moving to stand. "She's in that gaggle of girls."
JJ thinks about joining her but then decides against it. Violet seemed to want to talk to Emily alone.
"I'm going for another round," JJ says, lifting her half-full drink.
Emily grins and disappears.
She'd seen Violet near the bar, but as she gets closer, she can't spot her.
A flash of purple catches Emily's eye and she sees Violet leaving the huge tent.
Several people touch her arm gently to congratulate her again and tell her how beautiful she looks. She's gracious and polite, but she wants to make sure Violet is alright.
"I just have to go find Vi," she explains, pressing whoever's hand is on her arm.
"Your clone!" the older ladies praise her.
"Those eyes, good lord," Roisin rolls her own, denoting her admiration as she plants a palm on her chest. "Such a beautiful girl."
"Thank you," Emily smiles, as she continues on her way.
The group of ladies start in on a conversation about Violet as Emily goes.
She finds her outside, on the patio that the Teller's always use for al fresco dinner parties and family get togethers. She's sitting on a wooden bench, fiddling with a fallen flower head; periodically looking up to stare out at the water.
"Hey you," Emily says, quietly so she doesn't startle her.
Violet turns, surprised but offering a small smile.
"What are you doing out here?" she asks her mother.
Emily comes to sit beside her.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing," she replies.
She waits as Violet slowly turns her body to face hers.
"Just getting some air," Violet shrugs, pulling another petal off the flower.
Emily's brow raises, waiting for more of an explanation.
Violet can practically feel her mother's expectant expression. She chooses to stare at the flower instead.
"Vi."
It's one syllable, softly spoken, but it holds so much.
Emily can tell that something is going on. That something has been going on for a few weeks. Violet has been distant, on and off.
She'd assumed it was just nerves, about meeting James' family and the wedding and everything. But there's still something hiding in Violet's emerald eyes. It's why she keeps averting her gaze whenever Emily stares at her.
"It's nothing," she says, so quietly it's almost a whisper.
"Nothing you feel is nothing," Emily replies softly.
Violet swallows, turning her head but not raising her eyes.
"I don't really want to talk about it," she says hesitantly.
She meets Emily's eyes for just a moment, before she swallows hard and looks back down at the destroyed flower in her hands.
"Are you okay?" Emily asks.
She sees the frown flicker past Violet's brow.
"Yeah."
"Violet," Emily murmurs, reaching to take her hand.
She can't pull at the flower petals anymore, so she spins the stem back and forth in her free hand.
A deep breath moves through her.
"Tonight's not really –"
"Any time is the right time to talk to me, baby," Emily interrupts, knowing what she's about to say.
Violet gives her a brief look, but instead of the annoyed teenage look Emily's expecting, there's a serious expression there. One she can't remember seeing lately. Or ever.
She squeezes Violet's hand.
"Hey."
Violet meets her eye again and this time her gemstone eyes are full. Violet refuses to let a single tear fall.
"Honey, what is it?" Emily asks, pulling her into her arms.
Violet rests for a moment, burying her face in the crook of her neck. The calming, familiar scent of her mother is like a tonic.
Emily holds onto her arms, staring at her straight on.
"Please, tell me. You're scaring me."
Violet shakes her head, moving her arms a bit. Emily lets go, but takes her hand again.
"It's not…don't be scared," Violet manages.
"Then why are you?" Emily asks.
Violet is only surprised for a second. Then a light, dry laugh escapes.
"Can't turn off your work brain, even on your wedding day?" she teases.
It gives Emily a bit of relief.
"No," she replies easily. "JJ said the same thing. And no. I can't."
Violet manages a little smile at her.
"You can talk to me about anything, baby," Emily reminds her.
She's had a feeling, over the last few months, but she's letting things unfold as they're meant to.
"You know?" Emily presses.
Violet nods slowly.
When her mother squeezes her hand, Violet meets her eye long enough to silently tell her that yes, she knows.
"Spill," Emily says, a lighter word to maybe lessen the weight for Violet.
"Everyone keeps telling me that some guy is looking at me," Violet begins.
She chews her lip, and Emily waits.
"The blond one?" she asks.
Violet just shrugs.
"I dunno. I just…"
Emily rubs her thumb over the back of Violet's hand, slowly.
"I don't…care," she says, so reluctant with her words.
Emily is patient, waiting to see if she'll add anything else.
"That's okay," she says, when Violet doesn't.
Violet glances at her, but won't keep her gaze. Her eyes are back down at her hands; the flower; the wood-paneled patio.
"I don't think I care about…any guys looking at me," she manages, her voice very quiet and very not like hers.
She glances over at her mother's lap, but won't meet her eye.
Emily just brings her other hand over so she can wrap Violet's in both of hers.
"That's okay," she tells her, again.
Violet glances at her, so briefly, frowning.
She swallows hard, unsure of her next words. She wonders, for a moment, if her mother already knows something. She reminds herself that her mother always knows things. Somehow.
"Would you care if someone else was looking at you?" Emily asks.
Violet's eyes flit up to hers, full of surprise and confusion and relief and something else. She gives Emily a questioning stare.
After a moment, Emily's head tilts just a little.
She reaches out and tucks a lock of hair behind Violet's ear, gazing at her lovingly.
"Baby, it doesn't matter who you want looking at you," Emily says softly, keeping Violet's words but showing her that she understands. "All that matters is that you're happy, and that whoever that person is, is treating you right."
Violet's eyes fill and she quickly looks back down at her lap.
Emily tightens her grip on her hand. She lifts it, enveloped in hers, and presses a kiss to it.
Violet can't help that tears that fall.
Emily palms her cheek and swipes the tears away. She holds the face she loves best in her hands.
"How did you know?" Violet attempts, but her voice is a croaking whisper.
Emily's head tilts as she brushes more tears away.
"You're mine," she replies simply, taking one of her hands and palming her cheek. "I know who you are, love."
Violet blinks, a breath sucking into her lungs quickly, and Emily pulls her into her arms.
"You are, and always will be, amazing and smart and beautiful and kind and stubborn as an ox."
Violet laughs, tension dispelling in her chest.
When her mother pulls back, she smiles at her and palms her cheek again.
"Always," she repeats.
She gives her a meaningful look and Violet gives her the slight nod she's waiting for.
She'd never been more scared to tell her mother something, and now she feels like a weight has been lifted from her entire body.
It had been weighing her down, pouring into her and pooling in her toes. Suffocating and cementing her in place.
She finally feels like it's all dissipating. Freeing her from her own prison.
"I'm sorry, I don't know why it's just exploding today. Of all days," Violet blurts, her eyes filling again.
Emily kisses her cheek and hugs her tightly.
"Don't ever be sorry," she murmurs near her ear. "I love you."
She holds her a moment longer, savoring the moment. She may be grown, but Violet still fits in her arms perfectly; custom-crafted for each other.
"I love you, too," Violet murmurs against her shoulder.
Emily searches her eyes, brushing away a stray tear in the silence.
"I haven't told anyone," Violet tells her, swallowing hard.
Emily shrugs, a slow shake of her head.
"You don't have to," she replies. "You don't owe anyone an explanation."
Violet blinks, considering this. She hadn't thought of it that way.
"You do you. And you do things when you want to," Emily tells her firmly.
Violet nods, and another deep breath flows through her, making her feel even lighter.
She remembers she's also a bit tipsy.
She swipes underneath her eyes, blinking at her wet lashes.
"Am I smudged anywhere?" she asks her mother.
Emily just smiles, stroking a hand over her head.
"You're perfect," she tells her.