667: Issue #2 "Activation"

Adam Baudin

“Did you see her?” Nate ran over to my booth and tapped on the table.

“See who?” I had just put my headphones on after Henri had made his abrupt exit and was trying to get back to my set.

“Violet. She’s here.” Nate looked excited.

“Violet is at this party?” From what I knew of her, that seemed highly unlikely.

“Her best friend is the birthday girl. Well, they both are.” Nate relayed to me what he knew.

“Her birthday is today?” I was a bit baffled by what Nate was saying to me.

“No, tomorrow. The same day as yours.” Nate shook his head.

She had a June 6th birthday too? What were the odds…

“Where did she go?” I asked. I needed to talk to her; I had never been able to find her earlier today and I needed to apologize.

“Mr. Beaumont took her off to talk, but I didn’t see where to. She had this purple, starry print dress on and big platform boots; you can’t miss her.” Nate described what Violet was wearing.

I hadn’t missed her; I had just seen her standing by the statue.

“I was going to say something earlier, but it looked like you were talking to Henri?” Now it was Nate’s turn to seem confused.

“Yeah, he was chastising me for desecrating sacred ground.” I set up a new playlist to loop and took off my headphones.

“It’s a cemetery.” Nate didn’t understand Henri when it came to that side of things.

“But he’s right. If it wasn’t for the money, I would have left.” I came around the side of the table and scanned the area for any sign of Violet, but all I saw was a boat load of strippers and men who were enjoying their company.

“She was over in that area.” Nate pointed to a specific crypt. Downwind of that was the statue—maybe she had gone down that row of tombs.

“Keep an eye on my booth; I need to go find her.” I instructed Nate. He knew a little bit about what had happened this morning, so he knew how important it was for me to talk to her.

“Do what you have to; I’ll cover the music.” Nate nodded as I ran off in the direction I figured Violet had gone.

(*)

I found her all the way in the back of the cemetery, alone, sitting on a memorial bench. Violet’s head was hung low, her hair shrouding her face. From the looks of her defeated posture and shaking shoulders, she was crying.

“Violet?” I didn’t want to scare her, but even for my size, I was known for being stealthy.

Her head shot up and she wiped away the makeup that was running down her cheeks.

“Adam?” She wasn’t expecting to see me either.

“Are you okay?” I was cautious with her. Didn’t want her running away like a frightened animal again.

“I’m fine. Peachy. Fucking fantastic.” Her words were slurred slightly; she had been drinking.

“The birthday girl shouldn’t be this sad on her special day.” I tried to make light of the situation as I sat down beside her.

“Thirty. I’m going to be thirty and I haven’t done a goddamn thing with my life.” She was drunk, but her thoughts were still clear.

“What do you mean? You’re here in New Orleans, living your life; trying to move on from things you’d rather leave behind. You’re doing pretty well.” I assured her.

She just looked at me like I was crazy. Apparently, she didn’t believe a word I said.

“You said you were going to be thirty?” I steered the conversation somewhere else.

“Yeah, tomorrow.” Violet bit her lower lip, looking like she was trying her hardest to fight back tears in her drunken state.

“Me too.” What were the odds that she and I had the same birthday and were turning the same age? Maybe that’s why I was drawn to her. Henri was better with all that astrological stuff, but I knew a little.

“Really?” Violet tried to sober herself up as she shakily withdrew a cigarette from her moon-shaped purse. She offered me one and I accepted.

“Yup. Thirty at midnight or something like that. I’m not even sure the exact time.” I shrugged, lighting my own cigarette.

“What are the odds?” Violet leaned back on the bench and stared up at the sky.

“Slim to none,” I replied and looked up to stargaze with her.

“Do you believe in God, Adam?” Violet uttered out of nowhere.

“Not Biblically per se, but I do believe there is some form of higher power, whatever it is,” I responded, scooting closer to her when I noticed her shivering. It wasn’t cold by any stretch of the imagination, but I was just the man to warm up anyone who was a bit chilly.

“That’s how I feel. Like, this God that they all talk about—if all of that is real—seems kind of cruel to me to doom the creatures that it so lovingly and painstakingly created to hellfire, all because they don’t follow its rules. Humans are too complex to just take orders and follow blindly, yet we do. And to what end? Your government is rife with so-called Believers that are ready to condemn anything that their God tells them is bad based on a book that may or may not have been written by their higher power.” Violet just word vomited; this milestone really had her mind going.

“Gay marriage is legal now.” Score one for the United States…

“I think I am having a mid-life crisis.” Violet slapped her hand to her forehead, causing the crystal crown on her head to slump forward.

“You’re not even thirty yet—slow down; you have plenty of time,” I assured her, but she wasn’t so sure herself.

“I was supposed to be a best-selling author by now and instead I am getting propositioned by my best friend’s boyfriend to be a stripper for his—company.” Violet scrunched up her nose and took a long drag.

“Seriously? What did you say?” I asked curiously. That was forward of a man she barely knew.

“No. Fuck no—but nicer. Missy ran off when we first got here and I figured I would just spend the rest of the evening alone and wait out the big 3-0 all by myself.” Violet turned herself away from me slightly—that may have been my hint to go.

I noticed a morning glory flower creeping up the side of the bench and picked it from its vine before leaving her to herself.

“Happy birthday, Violet. If you decide that you don’t want to be alone for the whole night, come find me.” I went to hand her the flower when she looked up from her lap.

“I don’t need you to keep running after me, Adam. I don’t need saving.” She didn’t even budge to take the flower from me.

Something in me snapped and I flung the flower down on the bench and stormed off back to the party.

I didn’t need to be so concerned with a stranger anyway, especially not now. The heat from my hands was creeping up my arms and I noticed that the charred parts of my flesh had now begun to peek out from the cuff of my gloves.

My not catching fire was more important than trying to save someone that didn’t need a Knight in Shining Armor anymore.