I remember when I first started skating with Chris and Victor. Coffee after I got a nasty ass bruise on my thigh always tasted better. Especially from this cafe in particular. I'm not sure why. Now, it's a tradition I'm proud to share with my son. Even when he says he'll never like coffee, but I show him the light. In this case, it came in the form of a dark roast I could taste the diabetes in. At least I was smart enough to get him decaf. The sugar alone was plenty to keep Yurio good and wired.
"Mama," Yurio stared into his cup, "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course, baby," I allowed, "What's on your mind?"
"When we were skating at the Coney Island rink," he asked, "Why did you look so sad? And it's not just today. You've looked sad a lot lately."
"I'm not sad," I put on a smile, shutting that shit down immediately. The last thing I needed was Yurio running back to Victor, blaming him for this. Come on, Violet. Get the upper hand here, "How can I be sad? I got one of my favorite little boys in the whole wide world and I got my coffee. Where do I have room to be sad?"
"I guess you're right," Yurio perked up again, "My mistake."
Damn, that kid's a whole hell of a lot more perceptive than I give him credit for. Sometimes too perceptive for his own good. Either that or I'm slipping. No. Between my boys, Yurio's always been the more perceptive of the two. When it comes to his mama, it gets laser focused. I couldn't let him see me sweat. Or anyone for that matter. I've always been everyone else's rock and it's going to stay that way.
"Even if I was," I put Yurio at ease, taking that burden off his shoulders, "You don't need to worry about it. Besides, you make me very happy and I love you. That's all you need to know, ok?"
"Ok," he finished his latte, "Mama..."
"Yes, Yuri..."
"What's your theme going to be this season?" Yurio asked so innocently. Now was not the time to be giving him the talk. But I wasn't going to flat out lie to him. He just asked a question.
"Lust," I told him, "Chances are, you're going to see a new and improved version of my Lady Marmalade routine you saw on Yuri's birthday last year."
"Neat," he beamed, "But what does lust mean?"
"I'll tell you when you're older."
"Ok." Wow. That went easire than I thought.
"Ready to go home, Dovahkiin?" I grabbed my cup.
"Yeah," Yurio hopped down from his seat, "Am I still staying with you?"
"I'm not sure," I thought for a minute or two, "Talk to Victor. Maybe you can stay another night."
I don't see why he'd say no. It's not like he had far to go. A whole floor. No switching buildings. No crossing streets by himself. Yurio wouldn't even have to take a different elevator. It'd almost be petty of Victor to say no. And I knew if Yurio had his way, he'd more than likely be living with me full time anyway. What harm could one more little night of video games and sugar do? I'd love to do last night again. Early bedtime and all.
When we got back to the building, I had no intentions of staying at Chris and Victor's long. Just enough to let them know if I was keeping Yurio tonight. I know Victor's just going to ask me if I was ok and what the deal was with Gene. He freaked when he thought I had an actual date for this weekend. I can't imagine what he's going to say about me having a bodyguard.
"Victor?" I let us in, "Anyone home?"
"Hi, Violet!" Victor called from his office, "Hold on! I'll be out in a second!"
"Hey, Gene," I asked, "Could you do me a huge favor and wait outside?"
"Sure," he nodded, "It was cool hanging around with you, Yurio. I'll see you later."
"Bye, Gene," Yurio waved him off.
"And Vi," Gene stood in the doorway, "If you need me, just yell."
"I will." As Gene left the condo, Victor had come out of his office, "Hi, honey."
"Hey," Victor's face lit up, "Yurio! I missed you! Did you and Mama have a good time last night?"
"Better than what I would here," Yurio jumped into my arms, "I love you, Mama."
"I love you, too, Dovahkiin," I kissed the top of his head and he ran off to his room. But then, he ran right back out, "Hey, Victor."
"Dad," he tried to correct him, but we all know better, "What?"
"Can I stay with Mama again tonight?" Yurio begged, "Please?"
"No," Victor shook his head, "Celestino wants to work with you tomorrow morning. You're staying here."
"I can get Yurio to Celestino," I told him, "That's no problem."
"You sure?" he winced. What the hell? I'm more than capable of taking care of Yurio and he knows that.
"Of course," I was trying not to take it personally, but damn, that stung.
"We'll see," Victor sent him off, "Let me talk to Mama, ok?"
"Ok," Yurio ran back to his room again.
"Now," Victor wrapped his arms around me, already feeling guilty for saying no, "What about you?"
"What about me?" I snapped a little. No, Violet. Think about the baby.
"How are you, Violet?" his embrace tightened.
"I'm alright," I curled into him. I could never be mad at Victor for long. Even when he screwed up big, I couldn't hold a grudge against him longer than a day, "What about you? Are you doing ok?"
"I'm more concerned about you."
"Victor," I let out a heavy sigh, "Don't give me the passive aggressive bullshit. I know you better than that. You think you have my tells figured out? I know yours like the back of my hand and you're deflecting."
"It's not passive aggression." Bullshit, but do go on, "It's prioritizing. And I talk to Celestino regularly."
"You already know about Gene, don't you?" I figured.
"Yep."
"Wonderful," I bit the inside of my cheek, "Yeah. I got a bodyguard because of an ambush at the grocery store. No, we're not seeing each other, nor will that ever happen. He's married with three kids. He gets along with Yurio and Yurio doesn't seem to mind him anymore. More than likely, he'll scare the shit out of Yuri. Hell of a guy, though."
"That's what Celestino said," Victor jumped up on the counter, "Is he here?"
"He's outside."
"Violet!" Chris came out of Victor's office, not even thinking twice about showing his affections. I thought I saw the tag of Victor's shirt in the front. And it's shortly after two. Victor put Yuri down for a nap around 1:30 and that kid can sleep through the apocalypse. Nice, "Look at you! All in one piece and not puking."
"Hi, Chris," I beamed, never so happy to get out of uncomfortable conversation in my life.
"Although," he praised, "I must admit. For your first time on absinthe, you handled yourself well."
"Thank you," I bowed, taking pride in one of my not so prouder moments.
"Are you busy tonight?" Chris wondered, "I could stand another night like that. You're all healed up from that, right?"
"Absolutely!" I squeaked, "Unless Victor says I can get Yurio again tonight, I got nothing going on."
"I don't think so," Victor put his foot down, shoving his finger in his husband's chest, "I'm still mad at you for the last adventure you two went on. You don't need to repeat that. Besides, you, Christophe, still need to help me pack."
"That's right," I remembered, "You boys are taking off for Malta next week. Why are you packing now?"
"Because," he explained, "If we get it done now, I have time in case I need anything."
"Victor," I rolled my eyes, "You have more clothes than I do. I think you'll be fine."
"Isn't he adorable?" Chris awed, poking at his beloved's cheek, "So, the prospects of us going out tonight are nonexistent?"
"Yes," Victor confirmed, "You're staying in tonight. And Violet, Celestino said he wanted Yurio getting a full night's sleep. What time did he get to bed last night?"
"About ten o'clock," I reported, "The lightweight wanted to stay up longer, but he couldn't do it."
"Sorry, Vi," Chris apologized, "As much as I'd love to, I can't come out and play tonight."
"Don't worry about it," I brushed him off, "I'll probably just go home, too. Call it an early night."
"You sure?" he looked just as skeptical as Victor, "Not two seconds ago, you were ready to make this town yours. Now, you're going to stay in for the night?"
"Violet," Victor put the back of his hand to my forehead, "Do you feel ok? You look a little pale."
"I'm always pale," I pointed out, "My skin hasn't retained color since I was twelve. I'm fine. Maybe I'll go out. Maybe I'll be in my hot tub. It's not like I'm getting Yurio tonight, so more than likely, I'm going to be in the hot tub. If you two will excuse me, I'm going home."
"Ok," he hugged me tight, "Whatever you decide to do tonight, don't be stupid about it. I love you."
"Love you, too," I left my boys to their devices and headed upstairs with Gene to my condo. That hot tub idea sounded like a damn fine plan, but I wasn't in the mood. Although, a drink sounded like just the thing to lift my spirits. But here's a thought. Was I bad enough to crack open the housewarming vodka? No. Just the regular vodka would do.
"Hey, Vi," Gene sat down at my kitchen table with me while I poured.
"Yes, Gene?" Lemonade. Did I have any lemonade? I think I did. If not, a little lemon juice would do the trick. I always had that on hand.
"I know we haven't known each other long," he began, "So, feel free to hit me if I'm overstepping here, but that whole thing at the coffee shop today…"
"What about it?" I think it's a double kind of night.
"I know that if one of my kids asked me something like that," Gene shrugged, "I'd be pretty shaken. Especially my little girl. Did I ever tell you about my daughter?"
"No," I sat down, hoping it'd take the heat off me for a bit, "Tell me about her."
"She's my whole world," his eyes sparkled in a way I've never seen before, "Sophie. Named after my great-grandmother. She's amazing, that one. Don't get me wrong. I love my boys to death, but Sophie…Ever since she came along, she's had a vice grip on my heart. She's a little younger than Yurio, but she's a sweetie. When my wife's working late and I got the kids, the boys will be back in their room, playing video games, harassing people on the internet, usual things. Sophie's the only one with any activities. Taking her between her dance lessons and her karate lessons, she's a force. Yurio reminds me a lot of her. And seeing you two together reminds me of us. So, when he's wondering why Mama's upset, I heard it in Sophie's voice. If you ever need someone to talk to…Someone with an outside perspective…"
"Yeah," I knew where he was going with it. Everyone seems to be offering their laps to me lately, "Thanks, Gene."
Just when I had that whole conversation out of my head, he brings it back. Which makes me think…Right now, thinking was a very dangerous thing for me to do. Getting into my head was the easy part. Getting out? Now, that was a feat in itself. And the only way for me to keep from opening that door was to slam it shut with some Russian hospitality.
"Since you got nothing else going on tonight," Gene suggested, "Why don't you come to my place tonight? Sonia's making dinner, the kids are all home. That way, you don't have to be alone tonight."
"I can be alone tonight," I shot him down, "But thank you. I'll just order in, eat in the hot tub, have another drink or two, and go to bed."
"Ok," he grabbed his jacket off the back of the couch, "If that's it then, I'm going to head home, too. You need anything else?"
"No," I shook my head, "Go ahead."
"See you in the morning," Gene smiled a bit, "No earlier than nine, right?"
"You remembered!" I praised, "Atta boy, Gene. See you tomorrow."
Just me and my thoughts again. Yikes. More Grey Goose, says I. I made myself another drink and got in my hot tub. No bikini. Just my drink and my normal clothes. Did Yurio have a point? Maybe Mama was sad and didn't realize it. Maybe it's like the frog and the boiling water. When the frog is dropped in boiling water, he hops out because he knows it's hot. When he's put in cooler water and the heat gets turned up, the frog gets boiled alive. And I'm literally in boiling water. Wow, Violet. You really are a walking metaphor.
My direct sight line into the kitchen wasn't helping matters. Against my black fridge, a white rectangle stuck out like a sore thumb. That damn business card burned into my eyes. I get that you're worried about me, Victor, but you need to worry about you, too. I'm sure you're a little screwed up in your head, too. Maybe that's why he's got the card. Was he all depressed, too? Even worse, was it my fault?
Nope. Not doing this. Not today, Satan. I jumped out of my bathtub and made a beeline for my closet. I refuse to sit and wallow tonight. It's not like I'm getting Yurio, so I might as well do something about this weird ass funk I'm in. I looked through my clothes and found my brightest, whitest dress I could find. I didn't want to drink and feel numb tonight. I wanted something that was going to make me feel good. No…I needed something to make me feel good.
And look at that. I just sent my babysitter home. Dad and Dad are taking care of the little ones. Other Dad is in the wind. Because God only knows what Celestino does when I'm not around. I'm left unattended and a little drunk already. Goodbye, inhibitions. I hardly knew you. As soon as I looked like the purest little angel, I threw my ass in a cab and took off for the seedier underbelly of Brooklyn. A bright purple sign greeted me and the bouncer recognized me from last time. I must have been put on the list. I didn't even have to wait.
Deep bass hammered around me while I looked for one person in particular. It's his club. Shouldn't he be mingling somewhere? It's not like I knew where the offices were in this place. If there even were any. That'd probably be a bit of a mood killer. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a private suite, though. I'd call that my office. Although, I started getting the feeling that I'd regret wearing white tonight.
"Violet!" There he is. A tiny pair of arms snaked around me, "Hi, sweetie!"
"Willam!" I couldn't hold back a smile if I wanted to. I knew coming to Cosmos was a good idea.
"What brings you here?" Willam led me back to the bar, "And with the neon sign on you? Someone's looking for some fun tonight, isn't she?"
"Well," a dirty little smirk graced my face, "I'm looking to get into some trouble."
A/N: So, Violet's made her way back to the BDSM club Chris took her to the first time around. Even worse, she's by herself. There's no way this could end well. But that's to find out next week, isn't it? Remind me, kids. I think I need to get some post-it notes next time I go out and happen to have money on me. Definitely out of the green. But even more importantly, I'm sorry. I got a little sidetracked. But Yurio. Yurio this chapter made me want to cry. My little boy made my heart hurt just a tad and he's just as worried about Mama as everyone else. Hopefully, a quick trip to Cosmos will pull Violet out of whatever headspace she's in and everything will be ok. See you next chapter! xx