Violet was up before Klaus the next morning. He found her out on the balcony, dressed in her sweater and nursing a cup of coffee, deep in her own thoughts. She didn't even notice him until he stood beside her with his own mug in hand.
"Good morning," he greeted.
"Hey," she said, leaning into his side immediately. "Good morning. It's going to be a beautiful day, don't you think?"
Klaus kissed her temple, putting his arm around her. "It already is." They were still and listened to the gulls call and the wind blow in from the sea, inciting the restless surf to beat an unsteady rhythm on the sand. When their last sip of coffee was gone, Klaus asked, "Want to go for a walk?"
They didn't even bother putting on their shoes, but left their mugs on the railing and took the back stairs down to the sand. They were the only ones on the beach that morning. Klaus found a conch shell, only partially broken, and a shiny, black, shark's tooth. Violet spotted a small group of dolphins and the pair watched them play until they were only specks on the horizon.
Back at the house, Violet made egg sandwiches and poured tall glasses of orange juice, listening quietly while Klaus talked about his work. So far, he had avoided much conversation about Isadora, but felt like even their mutual silence on the subject sounded like a shout. Violet washed dishes while he settled on the couch with his book. When she finished she joined him there, laying out across the cushions to rest her feet on his lap. Some mechanical magazine was propped in front of her, but unlike Klaus, who had mastered the art of sitting still, Violet was a restless reader. Soon she sat up and leaned into his side, then, a few minutes later, laid back down again with her head in his lap.
Used to this quirk from his sister, he ignored it, absorbed in his own reading, absently resting a hand on her soft baby hair in-between turning pages. He didn't even realize that she'd long ago lain down her magazine and was just watching him. He did notice, though, when Violet popped his jeans button open and slid off the sofa to kneel in front of him.
He lifted his hips without objection when Violet tugged on his pants, bringing his underwear down just a little bit, just enough to expose him to her, and he didn't even think about stopping her when she lowered her mouth over the tip of his penis. Because, God, this was favorite thing and he'd gone without it for so long. At one time, Isadora had been very proficient at this sensual activity, but she had considered it a waste of sperm once they had begun trying for a baby. More than that, though, he recognized it was a gift that Violet offered and accepted it without compunction.
Little by little, Violet took him into her mouth. He could feel her tongue spread over his entire length and was entranced by the way she kept her blue eyes on him. "Take off your shirt," he told her, wanting to see and touch as much of her as he could reach. She let him go with a pop and leaned back to pull her shirt off, then hooked her fingers in his waistbands to pull everything down his legs to give herself room to lightly scratch her fingertips over the hair on his calves and thighs, the bones of his hips and the dip of his belly button, while she busied herself again, bobbing her head, finding a rhythm that suited them both.
Really, the only thing that he could comfortably reach was her scalp and her bare shoulders, but the contact was enough. Oral sex was not usually the fastest way to an orgasm, but was seriously sexy and pleasurable. He enjoyed the way she cupped his scrotum and the way she traced the creases in his thighs, eventually finding her way to the cleft of his bottom.
She was not a bit shy as she pushed at the back of his knees, urging him to put his feet up on the couch to spread his legs wide. He was very exposed like this, but it only added to his arousal. Saliva dripped down to the base of his penis and she used some of it to swirl her fingers around the little puckered hole of his bottom, pressing a fingertip just inside, forcing an oath from his mouth.
"Fuck," he said, and his voice sounded loud in the empty house. She was relentless, pumping her fingertip shallowly every time her mouth descended down his shaft, and he came, quicker than usual in a lovely rush of excitement, exhilaration, gratification, with a series of audible exhalations from deep in his throat. His fingers were hooked around her shoulders and under her armpits and he knew he was holding on too tight, but couldn't make himself let go, not until she finally let him slip out of her mouth. Even then she pressed kisses over his thigh, his hip, his stomach, sending little thrills and goosebumps over his flesh. His feet dropped to the floor and he became very aware of how little shame he felt. There was only lazy satisfaction partly fueled by the impudent smile on Violet's face. She was obviously pleased with herself.
"Klaus!," she said in a mock stern voice. "That sort of language is very naughty!"
It took a second of recollection to even remember what he had said, but then Klaus only laughed at her. "I'm not sure bad language is the naughtiest thing that's happened here this morning."
Laughing, too, Violet gave him a wink and stood, grabbing her shirt off the floor. "I do believe you are a bad influence." Without another word she turned and climbed the stairs. A few minutes later Klaus heard Violet switch the radio on, the volume up high, and heard her singing along, then he heard the squeak of the pipes as she turned the shower on.
He sat there on the couch for a long minute, his heart still racing while his mind wandered to Violet's totally naked body, wet in the shower. It didn't take long to decide to join her. He jumped up, grabbed his clothes as well, and bounded up the stairs, two at a time, looking forward to how his sister's skin would feel, all soapy and slippery, beneath his hands.
The rest of that day was spent in comfortable leisure. They did nothing but sit around the house, reading, drinking wine sometimes, drinking coffee at others. They watched as the shadows cast from the windows onto the wood floors shorten, then elongate, marking the hours that passed. They never once spoke of cancer, or of Isadora, or of their unfortunate history, but lived the whole of that day exactly in the here and now.
That was the exact opposite of what happened the next day. After breakfast had been eaten and Klaus had excused himself to shower and dress, he came to find Violet, sitting at the dining table, surrounded by papers and looking very somber.
"What is all this?" Klaus asked.
Beckoning him to come sit by her, Violet said, "Bodhi said I should get my affairs in order. I have done everything I could think of to make things easier on you and Sunny. I want to go over it with you now, if that's okay." It wasn't a question. If it had been, Klaus would have said no, that it wasn't okay, but as it stood, he only took a deep, silent breath through his nose and nodded.
"The house will go to you, Klaus, as long as you want to keep it. I understand if you don't. It would be a lot to keep up if you weren't living here. I own it outright, but you already know that. I do ask that if you sell it, that you give half of the money to Sunny." She looked at him and he nodded acquiescence. He didn't need the money. He would gladly give it all to Sunny.
"There is also a life insurance policy that you will split with Sunny, and of course the bank account information is all here," she said, pointing to a paper with a familiar bank insignia at the top. "I've named you the executor, because you know you're the only one I can trust with this sort of thing. God, the bad luck we've had." She shook her head at the memory of Mr. Poe. "The funeral home is all paid for, and the plot location is here on this paper, though they have all of that information already. When the time comes, Klaus, you'll just call them and they'll come and get me, okay?" She placed a cool hand over his trembling one, trying to soothe his anxiety. "Everything is already planned out. The funeral director said they'll go over the program with you and you'll have final say, but you won't have to make any decisions if you don't want to. I don't know a lot of people, so you just tell whoever you want to come."
He stared blankly at the table as she pulled out another sheet of paper. "Here is a list of all of the utilities that are used here at the house and the account numbers to cancel, if you decide to sell the house or put them in your name. Oh, don't forget to order several death certificates, because you'll need them. I'll just write that down for you, as a reminder." She wrote a quick note onto the paper that had the funeral home information on it. "I've paid up the rest of the semester for Sunny. Do not, under any circumstances, allow her to let this interfere with her school." She looked at him matter-of-factly, but he didn't share her sensibility in this matter.
"Violet," Klaus implored. "Where is your heart, because you're breaking mine."
She looked at him, not unsympathetically, but said, "Don't be dramatic. I'm trying to make things easier."
He scoffed. "Well, then," he stated sarcastically. "Do you have any more sage advice?"
Taking his chin firmly in her fingers, she squeezed. "As a matter of fact, I do." He only raised a sardonic eyebrow, not pulling away. "You'll need to make things right with Isadora. She's good for you and she loves you. Not right now," she looked away, guilty, "but things will be easier once I'm gone."
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," he said, lips puckered from the way she held his face. He pulled her hand down.
"Don't pretend I'm not the reason she's gone. I'm sorry Klaus. If I hadn't gotten sick…" He cut her off with a kiss, distracting Violet for several long minutes.
"Are we done here, Violet?" he said in-between kissing her lips and sucking on her earlobe. "Because I don't want to discuss Isadora or your financial affairs anymore today. I think we can find better ways to spend our time, don't you?"
She looked like she wanted to be distracted. Who wouldn't? But she glanced at the papers strewn across the table with concern. "It's okay," Klaus assured, brushing the papers all into a pile, putting them into a file folder and setting it on top of the kitchen counter behind him. "I'll put them here where they'll be safe."
"But…" Violet began to protest.
"You've worked hard on this and I appreciate what you're doing here, but honestly, I can't think about it now."
Violet pressed her lips together, looking like she disapproved, but said nothing.
"I know," Klaus announced. "Let's take that drive down the coast like you mentioned. We could drive to Kitty Hawk. We haven't been there in ages and you know how much you love airplanes. We could have a picnic at the airport and watch them fly in and out. What do you think?"
Violet tilted her head, like she was thinking about saying no, but a slow smile crept over her face. "Yeah, okay. That does sound like fun."
Violet headed upstairs to change clothes while Klaus packed a few snacks and some bottled waters. They could stop along the way for fast food to eat at the airfield, which reminded him to take some blankets. As Klaus was just grabbing his keys and his phone, Violet came down the stairs, dressed in jeans, a tee shirt, and a cardigan sweater, waving an old red kite they'd had since Sunny was young. "Look what I found!" called Violet cheerfully.
It was a two hour ride and a jaunt across state lines to get to Kitty Hawk, but the day was gorgeous. The pair turned up the radio and Violet played DJ with the music on her phone and the bluetooth connection. There wasn't the call for a lot of conversation, only singing along with their favorite songs and holding hands across the car's console and faces upturned to the sunshine, admiring the views out the windows.
Klaus spread the blanket on a hill overlooking the air strip and Violet got the kite flying, then anchored it to the ground by tying it around their cooler. They stayed several hours, each one showing off what they knew about planes and competing to identify the type of plane and as many facts as they could rattle off about engine and wing types before the other could. After awhile, Violet got the giggles.
"What?" Klaus asked.
"We are so lame," admitted Violet.
"Nah," Klaus laughed, too. "You maybe, but not me." This earned him a punch in the arm.
Violet slept on the ride back and Klaus turned the heat up for her in the car until he was sweating because he noticed how she bundled her sweater around her and tucked her hands up in it. He wished he'd thought to bring her hat. Once home, she refused to eat any supper, stating simply that she was heading to bed early, making Klaus feel that maybe they had overdone it that day. He walked her up the stairs and was going to help her into bed, but she turned to face him at the threshold of her room, putting a hand on his chest.
"Today was a really good day," she said simply, then reached up on her tippy toes to kiss his cheek.
Rubbing a thumb across her chin, Klaus smiled fondly. "Yeah, it really was."
She inched her way into the bedroom, shutting the door slowly, still smiling. "Well, goodnight."
"Goodnight. Call me if you need me, okay?" And with a nod she shut the door.