Member-only story
Violet
A Novel Excerpt
“Yer gonna need to learn to accept God one of these days,” said Violet’s father through a thick southern drawl as he stared face up into the sooty machinations of his old pickup truck. Tired, beaten boots poked out from underneath it and planted themselves firmly into knee-high pyramids in the sandy terrain. He tinkered methodically with a wrench that was blacker than the stains in his overalls.
“Not sure you’re gonna find God under there,” Violet retorted brightly. They were standing out in open desert and the sun was high in the sky. But something about the desert today appeared strange to Violet. These dusty mounds and distant mountains were features of her environment that she knew well. But today there was an unmistakable disorder. “I don’t remember there being a cactus there,” she mused curiously to herself as she examined her surroundings.
“Ya think it’s a joke, huh?” He emerged suddenly from underneath the vehicle with a couple of deft motions. He helped himself up with a lower-back-related grimace that morphed into a didactic smirk as he cleared the hurtle. He was a tall man with a red face and a slender build. His body was ancient and enduring and his clothes smelled of stale tobacco. He looked down at her pretentiously now.
“Well, no, it’s just that — ”
