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If Judy were to make a list of her least favourite things to do, answering her front door at 1am without knowing who’s on the other side of it would be on it.
She considers not answering it. In fact, she doesn’t answer it the first time she hears a knock. But then they, whoever they are, knock again. She doesn’t hear anything else after that, only total silence whilst she ponders the possibility of it being an axe murderer. Would an axe murderer knock? If they would, would they be so polite about it?
Then the silence is broken.
“Judy?” A voice loudly whispers. A voice she instantly recognises, that only makes her all the more confused. “Judy, it’s me. I mean Josh, it’s Josh– Oh crap!” There’s a loud shattering sound, as Judy hurries to open the door. “Hey!” Josh says cheerily, no longer feigning a whisper, his face falling when he says, “I owe you a plant pot.”
“Josh?!” Judy quietly exclaims, silently relieved to see that he isn’t bearing an axe.
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at home? In bed?”
“Judessss, it’s Friday night!” He exclaims, arms gesturing like that should’ve been obvious, whilst Judy shushes him, ushering him inside, the smell of alcohol hitting her like a truck.
“Does your mom know where you are? Does she know you’ve been drinking?”
“Uh, that would be a no.”
“You know I’m going to have to call her, right?”
“I figured.” He replies, plopping down on the couch. “Hey, this is a really nice place. It smells like you.”
Judy’s barely listening, as she tries to stomp down the panic rising inside of her. This is fine. She’s equipped to handle this. Sure, she’s not his mother, she’s not anyone’s mother, but this is Josh. Violet’s Josh. And maybe one day, even her Josh. And if she could handle Dick with one too many whiskeys in him, she can handle Josh with one too many beers in him. Josh is already a far more pleasant drunk than Dick ever was.
First things first, she heads straight into the kitchen and returns with a glass of water.
“Did you go to a party nearby?” She asks, still trying to make sense of the situation.
“No, I took a cab.” He answers, before taking a big gulp of water.
“You took a cab… Here?” She asks, letting out a nervous laugh, not feeling at all enlightened. “But why here? Why not home? Do you know what time it is?”
“Oh! Sorry! Man, it’s gotta be like…” He trails off, blowing out a puff of air.
“1 o’clock in the morning.” Judy finishes.
Josh pulls a face, hissing through his teeth. “Shiiit. I mean crap! I mean–”
“I’m calling your mom.”
“Yes! That’s why I’m here!”
“You came here so I could call your mom?”
“Yes.”
“But then, honey, why not just go straight home?”
“Thought she’d react better if it came from you.”
“Oh, I see, so you thought you’d wake me up in the early hours of the morning and let me be the bearer of bad news?” Judy says, raising her eyebrows at him. But she finds she’s not actually upset or angry at all. In fact, there’s a warm, fuzzy feeling swelling inside of her chest.
“Well, when you put it like that…”
“Uh-huh.”
“I just thought, I don’t know, she goes into some sort of trance whenever you call. Like, she gets all smiley and weird, there’s no way she’ll get upset if you tell her.”
Judy heads over to the phone, feeling the warmth creep into her cheeks, as she picks it up and begins to dial, unable to help herself when she asks, “A trance, huh?”
“Oh yeah, it’s like you’re freaking Princess Di or something. Or Doris Day, she loves that chick.”
Judy turns to the wall, hiding the smirk on her lips, when suddenly there’s a voice at the other end of the phone. “Violet?”
-
“I am so sorry.” Violet says, as soon as Judy opens the door. She can clearly see she’s wearing her pyjamas under her long, black coat.
“Don’t worry about it.” Judy tells her, as Violet heads to the living room, where Josh now appears to be drifting off.
“Hey.” She says, voice stern, as she towers above him.
“Heyyyy.” He replies, opening his eyes and giving her a toothy smile.
“Time to get in the car, buster.”
“Have I ever told you what an amazing mother you are?” He asks, standing from the couch.
“Yes. And you can tell me again tomorrow when you’ll actually remember it. Car.”
“On it.” He says, making finger guns on his way out the door. “See ya, Judy.”
“Goodnight, Josh.”
“I really am sorry about this.” Violet tells her, releasing a sigh.
“I know. And there’s really no need to be.” Judy says and means it. “And I am sorry you had to come all this way at one in the morning, but I’m a little… thrilled that he felt like he could come to me. Is that awful?”
Violet gives her a puzzled look. “Why would that be awful?”
“Well, aren’t you mad he didn’t come straight home to you?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “Mad he got hammered and disrupted your night? Sure. But I’m not mad he came to you. He trusts you. And that means everything.” Violet smiles, grabbing Judy’s hand and squeezing it. “I’ll call you tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” Judy nods, the swell in her chest just about ready to burst.
Violet leans in, kissing her lips, before softly whispering, “Goodnight.”
-
The next morning, Judy opens the front door once more with the intention of cleaning up the soil and broken pot from her step, only to find that there’s no mess waiting to be cleaned at all. Instead, she’s faced with her plant, repotted in a brand new pot, with a big pink ribbon wrapped around it. She smiles, looking around for any sign of who might’ve put it there, but knowing this must’ve been done before she’d even woken up. She stands to admire it for a while, only heading back inside when the phone begins to ring.