Violet

Chapter 11: Rosemary

My grandma and grandpa died on my third birthday. Their death was no accident. In fact, it was far from an accident. They died the same way that the two strangers in the hole did. By sacrifice. To me, it seemed that the more people my father sacrificed, the more powerful he got. Oh, and remember those pillars? Who knew four years after my third birthday, those pillars would become a mansion we'd live in!

***

Four years after my third birthday

***

"I still can't believe she's seven, Jason," my mother said to my father.

Daddy read the newspaper then flipped to the next page. "Believe it," he said without looking at either of us, no emotion whatsoever in his words.

My father was always occupied with something. Reading, painting, gardening, sculpting, you name it. He was never free. He never really had time for us. I was okay with that. He bought my attention with toys and anything I asked for. We've been living in the mansion for about seven months. My mother thinks after his parents died, he was able to get the money that they left behind. I had forgotten about it growing up. I hadn't seen him with the book since I was three years old.

"Want to go out to the backyard and play with Rosemary and her son?" my mother asked.

"But it's night time?" I told her.

"We're having a bonfire in the back and Rosemary and Jasper are coming," she said.

"Okay!" I said, feeling super excited. We didn't bother to ask Daddy if he wanted to come. We just sort of left him alone until he wanted to speak wth us.

I walked out into the backyard, where I saw Rosemary and Jasper holding chairs and bags. Because I was barefooted, I accidentally stepped on something real sharp. I checked my foot. It was only a piece of a stick. Jasper waved to me when he saw me.

Rosemary and Jasper lived in a cabin two miles away with Jasper's grandmother and baby sister, Coraline. He was two years older than me. His father died last year so it was rare that you would see him smile at all. If you did see him smile, you'd fall in love with it.

"Hey, Violet. I brought marshmallows!" Jasper said while holding an unopened bag or marshmallows. "My mom says we're going to make smores."

"I love smores!" I told him.

We walked to the pile of wood, where Rosemary set the chairs up and laid down the blankets. "You just get bigger and bigger, Violet Elizabeth Harmon," Rosemary said.

I smiled at her then ran off to help Jasper lay out the popcorn and food. After the tarp was laid down, Jasper and I sat on the tarp while we ate popcorn and drank cold sodas.

"This place is a beauty," Rosemary said. "I can't believe Jason found this place. I've never seen it in all my years here."

My mother nodded. "He just sort of... found it. He's full of surprises." She sighed. "But he's just so distant. I don't know what's wrong with him."

Rosemary put her hand on my mother's arm. "Hunny, if a man wants his space, there's nothing wrong with that."

My mother laughed. "Yeah. But... it's just..." She leaned toward Rosemary's ear and whispered, "We haven't done anything in almost a year."

Rosemary waved her hand. "No wonder you've been so down lately." She nudged my mother with her elbow.

The two of them laughed while Jasper and I talked about how some types of wood weren't good for roasting marshmallows. We talked about urban legends until our moms told us to stop scaring each other.

"How's work going?" my mother asked Rosemary as she was drinking from a can of Root Beer. She almost choked. Jasper looked at my mother when she asked that.

"I was laid off." Rosemary frowned. "The economy is horrible. We need more jobs. I don't know how we'll do it."

"Don't be silly! If you need something we got it," my mother said.

"I couldn't do that. I need a job," she says.

All of us jumped when a voice boomed from behind us. It was my father. He was smiling ever so kindly at Rosemary. "You can work for us," he said. Something about the way he smiled sent chills down my spine. It wasn't exactly a kind smile. More of a... hungry, greedy smile. I couldn't explain it, but it was strange.

And that was how Rosemary became our maid...