by M. Stone
Violet stood before Jonathan on the front porch, barring entry to the house where he was born and raised. “What can I do for you?” she asked with a lazy smile, flicking ash from her cigarette.
Jonathan remained at the bottom of the steps. “I came to check on Father. He wasn’t at church this morning.”
“He’s in town, picking up a few things for me.” She placed the cigarette between her lips and then stretched her arms above her head. The hem of the dress she wore inched higher, revealing her pale legs.
Midday sun burned Jonathan’s scalp at the crown where his hair was growing thin. “Violet, is that my mother’s old dress?” he asked through clenched teeth.
She looked down at herself. “Why, it just might be.”
He planted a foot on the lowest step. “Mama ain’t even cold in her grave, and you’re living in her house, wearing her clothes.”
Violet raised an eyebrow, but her smile didn’t waver. “Your sister hired me to cook and clean for your daddy, to look after him. Well…” She shrugged. “I’m looking after him.”
Fury loosened Jonathan’s tongue. “Goddamn you. You haven’t changed a bit since high school.”
Violet dropped the cigarette and ground it beneath her shoe. “You’re breaking all kinds of commandments today—taking the Lord’s name in vain, not keeping the Sabbath day holy, failing to honor your daddy.” She leaned forward, her hands gripping the porch railing. “And I believe there’s a commandment against coveting, too.”
From where Jonathan stood, he could see Violet’s bare breasts. She didn’t bother to adjust the dress bodice and cover herself. He averted his eyes, but not before his body involuntarily responded. Jonathan turned and headed for his car, stumbling as he fled the humid air and Violet’s voice, tinged with laughter, calling after him, “Don’t be a stranger!”
M. Stone is a bookworm, birdwatcher, and stargazer living in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in San Pedro River Review, UCity Review, formercactus, and numerous other journals. She is the author of the micro-chapbook Evolving God (Ghost City Press) and the chapbook Lore. Find her on Twitter @writermstone and at writermstone.wordpress.com.