Thank You Kindly

Viv's Side

Aviva Starling was a lovely dame born in 1901, she doesn't mention where she comes from, it's personal. She grew up with her loving daddy and traditional momma. She was a lady by her mother's watchful eye but her father decided to let her cut loose when the woman wasn't looking. She was definitely a daddy's girl, shooting guns at the range when momma went to visit her mother and playing poker with her uncle and once in a while her daddy would let her drive the Packard. 

She was very much a lady but loved to have fun. She and her best friend, Lizzy, would often go to a special club to have a drink and cut a rug. Her daddy was well off and often paid for a safe club for his daughter to enjoy without her momma getting fussy. Her mother has taken advantage of having money and had Viv take propriety lessons, one of her worst memories. Aviva learned her manners but hated the lessons with a passion. She never spoke out against her family but would often grumble to herself about the silly lessons she ought to do. She didn't complain, really it was nothing to complain about, many people had bigger problems. 

She enjoyed her childhood and young adult stage, until she hit 20 and her mother was immediately on her case about finding a husband. It was the only thing she fought her mother on. Her daddy would ignore the pesky fights and give excuses as to why she didn't need a husband right now. He loved having his little girl there, and didn't want to let her go just yet. After a couple years and holding down a bank teller job she began looking. Aviva had amazing intuition and quick thinking, she could sum up a man's intellect and motives on a first date in about five minutes. She rejected every suitor she met, disgusted by the many who saw dollar signs in her heritage. Her mother was unhappy but she didn't much care. Why be hitched to someone she didn't like, much less love? 

She thought she would be single for most of her life until one day she met him. A dark haired and sly man named, Charles Henderson. He swept her off her feet, danced with her almost all night and she was finally won. Turns out he was the son of the newly elected mayor of her town. His daddy was loaded too, so he didn't have much reason to go after her unless he really was sweet on her. She spoke the rest of the week about him to Lizzy and her friend knew she was down bad for the boy. 

He proposed in an elaborate way, with hundreds of flowers in her favorite club and in front of everyone got down on one knee after having a fabulous dinner. She was shocked and jumped in his arms as he swung her around. The ring was a lovely diamond and she gasped at the way it sparkled. He promised her anything and everything but all she wanted was to be by his side.

 However, over the next week her fiancé started acting rather strange and very busy all the time. Her intuition perked up. One evening he told her to meet him by the dock not far around 8pm so he could spend some time with her. It wasn't too far so she decided to wander there early, she was walking up to the dock when she heard voices in the dark, she stopped by the old shed nearby to listen when she heard Charles' voice talking to another man she didn't recognize.

"Like I said, you were supposed to get rid of him. If he's not dead by tonight I'm not paying ya!" She gasped, a bit shocked by the words coming out of her lover's mouth.

"Of course, boss, he won't be in the way for the next election. I promise ya that," he snickered.

Viv was frightened and felt cold as she backed away, fixing to head back when she accidentally stepped on broken glass that broke loudly underfoot. The voices stopped and she started to run when her dear Charles came to see.

"Oh, Viv! You scared me, you're much earlier than I expected," he checked his watch and his eyes looked a little too relaxed.

She internally calmed down to speak.