CHAPTER 3: APOLOGY ACCEPTED; YET FRIENDSHIP OVER

The Perk Palace Coffee Shop

Monday, 1:30 PM

Violet was sitting at a booth at the Perk Palace Coffee Shop, a downtown café near where she used to work at Gray Industries. It had always been one of her favorite places to go during lunch breaks. She was happy to be back at one of her favorite spots, but the mood would not last. She had heard through Mike Stone that Patty wanted to see her. She knew she would have to talk to her about what had happened that fateful night she accidentally shot Patty during her attempt to massacre the Brown family and everyone in their house. She didn't think it would have been so soon, however. Before she knew it, Patty entered the shop.

She didn't look upset, though she didn't look happy to see Violet, either. She looked like she wanted to have a serious discussion. Shermy and her parents tried to convince her not to see Violet, but she told them she would be okay, and that she knew Violet shooting her was unintentional, which was why she was willing to talk to her in the first place. Her situation was different from the Browns, as Patty was never targeted for Violet's wrath, she was just trying to stop her from doing something stupid. She sat down on the other side of the booth opposite of Violet. There were no hugs or even handshakes. The tension was so thick, not even a knife could cut it. After the barista got Patty's order, they got down to business.

"You look good, Patty," Violet began.

"Thank you," said Patty.

"I heard Eileen had moved back in town."

"Sadly it's true. I think she's trying to atone for her own sins against everyone. But, we won't focus on that."

"So… About what happened that night, you know I never meant to do any harm to you, Patty."

"I know. I wouldn't be even thinking about seeing you if that was the case. But, the fact you let it happen, that you went that direction, that's what hurts, Violet. You were so hell bent on ending Charlie and his family and because of what?! Your family dynamics sucked?! Okay, I know your mother was a raging alcoholic and let's face it, nowhere NEAR being a great and loving mother, so in that case, there's a slight excuse. But your father loved you unconditionally. That alone should have shown you that this petty jealousy you carried for the Browns was unjust. There were MANY families who had a good family dynamic. The Van Pelts, the Pens, the Armstrongs, the Carlins, okay, scratch that last one. Marcie's relationship with her mother is no better than yours is with Kathleen, but even SHE didn't get jealous of some other kid.

"I just thought that you went after Charlie for who he was, being a blockhead who always lost baseball games, couldn't do anything right, who couldn't fly a kite, kick a football, et cetera. We're all guilty of that, myself, Lucy, Eileen, but, Eileen aside, when we all stopped making fun of him and even apologized to him, you kept it up! Even after he became a Marine, you still hated him and thought of him as a loser! Soon, even HE wasn't enough! When Sally started interning at Gray Industries, you turn your abuse towards her, and she was nowhere near as clumsy and prone to losing as her brother once was.

"Would the Browns not being here would have really made your life better, Violet? Even with them wiped from the face of the earth, ignoring the fact that you thought you would have gotten away with it in the first place, would it have brought your own family together? Your mother would still have been a drunk, your father would still be spending his time at Gray Industries, and you would have been a fugitive on the run for mass murder."

"I know all of that, Patty," Violet said, crying. "I know I messed up. I wish I could go back to that night and told myself to stop what I was doing and think about how I was ruining my life! That petty feelings only make things worse for you. I had to learn that the hard way!"

"Well, as they say, better late than never," Patty said, stone-faced. "And we haven't even gotten to what happened to me. Only after you went to Hennepin County did you finally see the light. Only then did you see the ramifications of your actions. Because of your obsession with Charlie, you nearly killed me, and ruined what was left of our friendship. Only because you have seen the light and trying to do better and even stay on the straight and narrow, I am willing to forgive you for what you've done to me. I do forgive you, Violet."

"Oh thank you, Patty, I…"

"I'm not finished, Violet! Yes, I do forgive you, but our friendship is over. I don't hate you, but I don't like you. Not anymore. I don't wish any ill will towards you, or hope that something bad happens to you, just the opposite. I do hope you get your life back on track and even become successful again. Maybe even start a family of your own someday. But know I won't be in your life. Because you may not have killed me with that bullet, but you did kill what was left of our friendship with it."

Violet realized she burned her bridge with Patty. There was no turning back for either of them. While Patty forgave her, she wasn't going to be friends, let alone BEST friends, with her anymore.

"I'll pay for your drink, Patty," Violet meekly said, as she got up and went to take care of both their tabs. Patty watched as Violet exited the café and presumably return to the halfway house. Both women knew that their chapter together had come to an end.

NEXT CHAPTER: PACKING UP