The Luna: Braver Than We Are

Chapter 16

A few days passed and Viola got used to the predictable routine of her new life. She played with the children in the morning and frequently met with Eva. Yesterday they spoke about Viola’s childhood. As she told Eva during their first meeting, she was loved and pampered as a child but the more they spoke, the more things about that period of her life returned to her. Not everything corroborated with the memory of a perfect childhood. Like how her father was possessive and domineering and how her mother sometimes grew distant.

Eva asked Viola if she had anything that was connected to her parents. Viola was going to deny it at first but then she remembered a pendant that belonged to her mother. She couldn’t be sure if she had taken it with the other jewelry but it was possible as it was made from white gold and tiny diamonds and sapphires, so quite valuable. For some reason, she didn’t ever wear it or had any obvious memories connected with it.

Now she had a few free hours and she decided to search for it. She opened the box that contained the jewelry she took while escaping from the place she called home for years. She discarded the pieces on the blanket covering her bed and browsed through them. Viola left in haste so she didn’t bother to put the jewelry in an order. The golden and silvery chains were tangled creating a tight sparkling bundle. Viola separated each item diligently and put it back in the box. Some of them made her remember the events from her life, almost all repeating the same scheme. Mason harmed her in various ways and then tried to make amends by giving her expensive presents. So there was sorrow at first to be followed by the joy of regaining his affection and attention. Now she knew how toxic this scheme was. That’s why she decided to separate herself and her feeling, to cut off all strings, and to see these pieces only through their material value.

Viola wasn’t in a position to not be practical. She was pregnant and it appeared that her family heirloom was ruined. She could only depend on herself and she should get used to this thought quickly. Now she met people willing to help but she couldn’t count on them indefinitely. Now, that she started regaining her self-confidence, she knew she should build her life solely on her own qualities. She was young, smart and well-educated.

The time will come when she’ll have to find a home for herself and for the child. Each of these pieces was worth at least a one-month rent, so she counted them carefully, thinking about them as her insurance.

Finally, she found the pendant. She never took a good look at it. Mother wore it rarely and when Viola was given the jewelry after mother’s death, she was in no state to even look at it. The pendant was a true masterpiece, the work was fine and the diamonds were top-notch, shining all colors of a rainbow. The sapphires were so deep blue that reminded Viola of the sky at dusk. The jewels were put into a round frame of white gold and arranged in an openwork pattern that didn’t make much sense to Viola until she remembered that her mother’s maiden name was Moonshine. She always found this name strange but the diamond crescent surrounded by the sapphire sky that seemed to glow was a perfect depiction of the jewel of a family with such a name. It was romantic that father named the company after his believed maiden name, probably the most romantic thing he ever did in his lifetime.

The pendant was definitely the most valuable piece, the collectors would kill to have it but Viola knew she would be at least hesitant to give it away. The more she looked at it, she found out that it truly reminded her mother, the etheric beauty with eyes like sparkling sapphires that could be the most tender mother who caressed and spoiled her only daughter in the morning only to barely notice her in the evening. Little Viola didn’t understand it, as well as she didn’t understand what it meant when her father, a tall and bulky man always wearing a perfectly tailored suit, told her that mommy was sick and that Viola should be good, kind girl to make mommy feel better. But it was what daddy said and Viola always felt the compulsion to obey him. She wanted her parents to be happy with her. They never got nervous over her but she could sense it every rare time she disappointed them in any way. This feeling was unbearable for her, it made her feel heavy and almost in physical pain and she would do anything to avoid it.

Father wasn't a romantic or funny man but he took care of everything, Viola and her mother were living in a sort of fairytale where all they wanted were provided before they realized they need it. This was his way of showing affection. Now, that Viola looked at her life after her parent's accident, she was convinced that this was his mistake. He should have equipped her, prepare her to live on her own. When she met Mason, she assumed that he will be just like her father and that this is the right thing to do to retreat from the company and let her man take care of everything. But Mason wasn’t like her father at all and even Viola being a kind and obedient girl wasn’t able to change it.

Viola put the pendant down and touched her belly. It was still flat and only the morning sickness reminded her of her state.

“Sweetheart,” she whispered, “mommy will be wise. Mommy will raise you to be strong and smart so you’ll never have to rely on anybody.”

When she said the last word, she felt something wriggling inside. Was it that she felt her baby moving for the first time?