Lavender

The sun hung low in the sky, casting long, spindly shadows that stretched over the cracked pavement. The car’s interior had warmed in the fading daylight, the dashboard still radiating a soft, artificial heat from earlier when the vents had been working. Now, the air inside was still, thick with the smell of worn leather and faint traces of Hank’s aftershave . . . a scent that had once been sharp and new but had since faded into something that just smelled like him.

Hank shifted in the driver’s seat, making the old car creak under his weight. He was a big guy, the kind that made a car feel smaller than it should. His broad shoulders nearly filled the space between the seat and the door, his hands thick like a mason’s, gripping the wheel loosely. He always looked a little too large for whatever room he was in, but there was nothing intimidating about him. Just a gentle giant, rough around the edges but soft where it counted.

Elizabeth sat in the passenger seat, hands neatly folded in her lap, her fingers lightly tapping against the fabric of her coat. Her posture was straight, controlled, though the tension in her expression betrayed her thoughts. She gazed out the window, though it was clear she was focused inward. Worry settled in her features the moment she spoke.

“She needs to see a physician, Dad,” Elizabeth said, her tone firm but measured. “You must ensure that she goes.”

Hank exhaled through his nose, his fingers tightening slightly on the wheel. The old car hummed beneath them, a comforting sound, a familiar one. He nodded. “Yeah. I will.”

The conversation could have ended there, but it didn’t. Hank’s voice softened, like he was feeling out the words before he spoke them. “She means a lot to me, ya know. More than I probably ever said right.”

Elizabeth turned, watching his profile as he drove. The fine creases at the corners of his eyes deepened, not just from age but from the weight of things unsaid.

“How did you two meet?” she asked, enunciating each word with careful precision, though there was a gentle curiosity behind them. She knew the story, but she wanted to hear it again. She liked the way her father told it . . . the way he got lost in the details, as if he could bring the past to life.

Hank huffed a quiet chuckle. “M’coach hired her. Wanted her there to patch me up after fights.”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. “But you never required medical attention.”

He smirked. “Damn right.” His fingers drummed against the wheel before he continued. “So we’d just talk. About nothin’. About everythin’. I think I liked hearin’ her talk more than anythin’ else.”

She smelled like lavender, he remembered. Not the cheap, artificial kind, but warm, real lavender . . . the kind that stayed on ya, wrapped around ya like a hug. Her hair always had this little curl at the ends, even when she tried to straighten it out. She’d push it behind her ear when she talked, and somethin’ about that always got to him.

He shook his head as if shaking off a memory. “I’m ramblin’.”

“No,” Elizabeth said gently, her voice carrying the clarity of someone accustomed to instructing others. “I enjoy hearing it.”

Hank was quiet for a moment, like he was decidin’ whether to say what came next. Then, finally, he did.

“There was this moment,” he said, his voice distant, like he was already halfway back in time. “She was wrappin’ my hands before a fight. Ya know how they do it, slow and careful, pullin’ the tape tight so ya knuckles don’t bust open? Well, our hands touched, skin on skin, just for a second. A little too long. We didn’t say nothin’. Didn’t have to. I just… knew.”

He inhaled deeply. “I got in that ring, and it was like I wasn’t even there. Couldn’t hear the crowd. Couldn’t hear m’coach yellin’ from the side. Every punch the other guy threw just bounced off me. I was numb to it all. ‘Cause all I could think about was her.”

He glanced over at Elizabeth. “I thought I saw her leave, ya know? Just for a second. Thought she’d walked out. And in that moment, I lost m’damn mind. I had to get outta that ring, had to find her, had to tell her. Poor bastard I was fightin’ never stood a chance. One punch, all my goddamn emotions in it, sent him home in an ambulance.”

He let out a breath, shakin’ his head. “I feel bad about it now. It wasn’t personal. I just… I had to get outta there.”

Elizabeth watched him closely, the way his fingers flexed on the wheel, the way his jaw tightened.

“The fight was over, and people flooded the ring. Some were tryin’ to celebrate with me, some were tryin’ to help the guy I put down. And I was just… searchin’. Couldn’t see her. She usually stood with m’coach, ya know? But she wasn’t there.”

His lips quirked into a soft smile. “Then I saw her. She was in the ring, gettin’ pushed this way and that by the crowd. Somebody was tryin’ to interview me or somethin’, but I didn’t care. I shoved m’way through, parted people like the goddamn Red Sea. And when I got to her?” He let out a breathy laugh. “I didn’t have to say a word. She ran right at me, jumped up, threw her arms around m’neck, and kissed me. Just like that.”

Elizabeth smiled, watching him get lost in it.

“Sometimes,” he murmured, “we just sit in silence, holdin’ hands. And it says everythin’.” He blinked and shook his head, pullin’ himself back to the present. “Anyway, I’m sure I’ve told ya this a million times.”

Elizabeth nodded. “You have.”

“Then why didn’t ya stop me?”

“I suppose, at times, I become too engrossed in my work. I focus so intently on the brushstrokes that I forget to step back and appreciate the entire painting.”

The car slowed as they neared her apartment. The street lights were startin’ to flicker on, castin’ weak, yellow halos over the sidewalk.

“Anywhere along here is fine, Dad,” she said.

Hank pulled over, lettin’ the engine idle as she unbuckled. She hesitated for a second, then leaned back into the car. “Schedule her appointment tomorrow. I’ll cover the expense if necessary… just ensure that she goes.”

Hank held up his hands. “Okay, okay, okay. I’ll get it done. And how ‘bout ya come over again soon? It was good seein’ ya.”

Elizabeth hesitated. A sharp pang hit her chest. Had it really been a year since she last saw them?

“Of course, Dad. Perhaps next weekend?”

“I’ll see ya then,” Hank said with a smile.

She leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “Best of luck with your job interview. I have no doubt you’ll succeed.”

“Bye, Effie,” he murmured as she stepped out.

Hank watched her until she disappeared inside her building, then exhaled, rubbed a hand over his face, and pulled back into traffic, the hum of the engine filling the silence left behind.