the machine, candy twirling around in his mouth, searching for a song to select, and then stuck some coins in the slot. The machine lit up, neon pink and blue creating a rainbow over the black and white sheets that listed all of the ballads.
He seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to me. I had been thinking, look at me, look at me, at the same time he turned his head toward me and grinned. The fork in my hand fell and made a loud clank! as it collided with my plate.
Violet leaned over. “I think he’s looking for a song to play for you.”
I nodded over and over. I felt like a bobble head on Mario Andretti’s dash. “Music is good. Really good.”
Violet threw back her head and laughed. “Come on, Scarlett. You know whatever he plays will be for you.”
An entire pancake had been left on my plate, stuck in syrupy goo, and I started to pull it apart with my fork. “Stop teasing me, Violet.”
“I’m not teasing. I’m being serious. When a guy plays a song for you, you pay attention to the lyrics. Sometimes a song says what a person can’t.” She shrugged. “I bet it’ll be something sexual. If Ace would’ve stepped forward during your little exchange by the train tracks, I’d be willing to bet money that Brando’s song choice would be of the violent genre.”
I took a bite of my pancake. And just to get back at my mom, I decided to talk while I ate. “Ace wasn’t there.”
“He was. He watched the entire heated exchange. I saw him.”
I took a sip of drink to wash it all down. “He doesn’t seem like the type to keep the peace. Perhaps Brando scared him off when he picked me up from school.”
She plucked a piece of bacon off my plate and crunched it. “I don’t think so. Or as you would say, perhaps not.”
Mick leaned forward so he could see me. “You’re a game for the hillbilly. He knows if Brando does his thing, he’s toast. He’s not really worried about Brando though. He just likes pissing Brando off, like he does everyone else. He’s an instigator. He’s the kid in class who argues with the teacher. He wants the prize for the sake of saying he won.”
The guy next to Mick, Johnny, touched his arm and they started to carry on a conversation about motorcycles.
In habitual Violet style, she yanked my wrist with enough force that my fork went tumbling to the floor. She squeezed with enough pressure to cause my pulse to throb.
Brando glanced behind him, noted my fork on the floor and Violet’s violent grasp on my wrist, and then turned around completely to watch us.
I had learned over the years not to fight with Violet’s hold until I could comment on whatever it was she desperately wanted me to see. It was only then that she’d free me. So I followed her line of sight. Mitch had stayed behind because he said he wasn’t hungry, but he had just walked in, a busty blonde chick on his arm.
“Violet,” I whispered. “It’s just Mitch.”
Her eyes moved between Mitch and the blonde. Distaste stained her features. I had never seen her pinch her lips that way.
“Violet,” I said a little louder, while attempting to release my wrist from her hold.
“Hah?” She looked at me, her eyes expressionless. She looked down at her hand abusing my wrist and let go. “Oh. Sorry.” Her focus shifted to Mitch and the blonde again.
I looked at Mitch too, because I couldn’t help following her lead. He was shaking hands, giving high fives, and when Mick realized he was there, he stood up and gave his big brother a one-armed man hug. Violet had turned her attention back to her French fries, moving them around her plate with a look of somberness.
“Violet.” I nudged her. “What’s going on?”
She shook her head, eyes blinking. “Nothing. Why would anything be going on?”
Pushing my plate away, I considered her response. Usually it was me who didn’t want to talk, but now Violet had put up a wall.
From that moment forward, it was close to impossible to stop myself from glancing at Mitch, Mick, and Violet every so often. Curious as to what the dynamic between them had become when I hadn’t been looking.
Violet refused to stop playing with her food, Mitch became aloof but sometimes a bit touchy with the blonde, and Mick didn’t seem to be