Precaution

I sat cross-legged on Marc’s granite countertop, underneath a sunny window. It was morning and Lucy was making breakfast.

Derek and I left the party in tense silence. It was tense on my side anyways, Derek looked like he hadn’t a clue about where I had been. It was awkward the rest of the night and I was too lost with words to stay in the morning. So I made Lucy call my pager and slipped out with a fake surgery to Marc’s house where Lucy greeted me with a knowing look. Her and Marc had been talking to Kris at the party when she saw me and Sidney slip out of the hallway together, with him adjusting his tie and me brushing the front of my dress. The whole group saw us and out of the three, Kris’s look of silent judgment was possibly the worst.

Then again, for all they know, we could have been just arguing. But I was pretty sure she knew.

I sat on the counter, neither of us saying a word as she spread nutella on toast and took the blue koolaid out of the fridge. Lucy wasn’t a Top Chef by any means and her dishes were usually scrambled and not compatible, but they were all good. I smelled bacon and eggs and saw waffles cook in the iron, the table already set with fruit salad and coffee cake. Seeing Lucy prepare the big breakfast made me miss her, made me miss the breakfasts she’d used to put out in the little apartments that we’ve had in college and our high-rise in downtown Pittsburgh.

She set the pitcher on the table and flipped another waffle onto a plate before loading up the iron with more batter. It shut with a sizzle and she promptly went to go remove the bacon from the oven before going over to put the toast on the table. I reached over and took a slice before it went away and she shook her head, placing the two plates (nutella-ed toast and non nutella-ed toast) down.

In that moment, I knew I had to tell her. Even if she knew already, I didn’t want her to be left in the dark. She was my best friend, the only person I really had that I could truly count on. She was my family.

I bit down on my toast thoughtfully, watching her as I chewed. “I have to tell you something.” I said, my mouth full. Lucy was grabbing strips of bacon with the tongs and setting them on a big platter. She just continued to arrange bacon, nodding her head with an mmhm added in

I just took another bite, looking at her nervously. I wasn’t exactly sure how to say it. Whether I should acknowledge the fact that I know she knows or whether I should explain or what. Lucy set the tongs down with a thud on the counter, turning to me with her hand on her hip.

“Oh for Gods sake, Violet. Just spit it out.”

I took another bite. “I slept with Sidney.”

And instead of the familiar look of “I knew it.”, the look of surprise ran across her face. She watched me for a moment, mouth open and eyes wide.

“You what?!” She yelled and I hopped off the counter, putting my hands on her shoulders frantically.

“Shh, Marc will hear. “ I said quietly.

“Marc will hear what?” Marc-Andre’s familiar French-Canadian voice filled the room and I sank a little. I turned around on my heel to a grinning Fleury, walking down the stairs with a towel rubbing his wet hair and just sweatpants on.

“Jesus, Flower. Put a shirt on. Nobody wants to see that.” I said and shook my head, trying to change the subject from things I clearly didn’t want him to hear. Lucy just smiled at him, walking up to give him a kiss.

“I do.” She replied and I groaned, taking the last waffle out of the iron and putting it on the platter with the bacon before taking that to the table as everyone else sat down.

I stabbed a waffle and bacon off of the platter, scooping some fruit salad onto my plate. Lucy cut the coffee cake and placed a slice on her plate while Marc grabbed some eggs and fruit.

“So what were you two talking about?” he asked, taking a bite of a cubed piece of cantaloupe. I shrugged and Lucy nonchalantly cut up her cake.

“Violet slept with Sidney at the benefit.” She replied casually and I choked on my bacon.

“Lucy!” I managed to cough out and Marc patted my back cheerfully instead of just letting me die in bacon filled horror.

I took a sip of my coffee, getting the last cough out before I could respond. “I don’t really know what to say. I’m not sure what you want me to say, actually.” I said, throwing dirty stares at Lucy. Truth be told though, I knew the information would eventually find its way to Marc. In a way, it was better this way.

I took another bite of my waffle, sliding it around in syrup. “It just happened.” I said and looked up to find the both of them staring. Lucy finally shrugged it off and broke the silence, taking a waffle off of the stack.

“Well, I hope this means you wont marry Derek.” She said and I threw a grape from my fruit salad at her.

“Ladies, there is no fighting at La Restaurant de Fleury.” Marc said, his smile hidden in faux seriousness. I just threw another grape at him before hearing my phone ring.

As I excused myself from the table and pulled out the blackberry from the side pocket, pressing talk before I had a chance to look at the ID.

And then I heard his voice, steady and sure.

“We need to talk about last night.”