Violet: The Man, The Myth, The Legend
circa 2015
2,200,000 likes ~ limited comments
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My father relocated to Nashville, Texas shortly after retiring from the NBA to get away from everything and everyone. He was a pretty big deal when he was in the league which a lot of it came down to him being the white boy who could play basketball and the white boy who landed a spice girl.
My parents relationship garnered a lot of attention in the 90s for obvious reasons so they never went a day without the cameras being there. I heard that there were plans to have their own reality series but my dad had a meltdown due to everything going on and not being able to have some form of privacy.
His life now is very private so I try not to share much about him for the sake of his mental health and wellbeing.
"It feels good to have my girls here with me." Our dad says with a smile as we sit on his swinging chair. "You guys need to come down here more often, look at all this beautiful land that your missing out on. I could even have a pool built here just for you girls."
"We know daddy." I smile while throwing my arms around him. "We miss you too and will try our best to see you more."
"Let's take a pic for Olive." My eyes soften at the acknowledgement of his bonus daughter. "She missed out on her seeing her old man."
"We'll let her know that she's sucker for not coming here."
I hold up my phone and we all find ourselves smiling for the picture. It is almost bittersweet as I look at our smiling faces because these moments have become so rare the older that we get. Less time spent together makes all these little trips so worth it so I always try to remain present when I'm with my dad.
"The last time that Olive came down to see me, I took her down to the cowboy dance class that I attend at one of the local bars every friday. The dancer who scores the highest point wins a pretty grand gift and the runner up gets to have all their drinks and food on the house. You can only imagine my surprise when my sweet Olive came second in the competition." He smiles brightly. "I was a proud father and we had our picture taken for the wall."
"So it's time now." Ivy pats his arm. "I hope you haven't forgotten that Mis Violet here is our little dancer so we'll be scooping up the big win."
"Hell yeah, the Vanderwoods for the win." My smile falters after mentioning my surname which I haven't used as much. Our surname is Axele-Vanderwoods but we use Axele as our stage names because that's the name that our mother had us start out with and our dad didn't want more attention being brought to him.
"This might sound weird but we're thinking about starting our own farm or getting our own horses out here." Seeing my dad talk about things that makes him happy always brings a smile a to my face. "I could start a riding school in the next year or two."
"If you had done this when we were kids then we would have never left." Ivy nudges him with a laugh. "You're going to need to learn a lot if you want to do any of that. You have the land but the upkeep of animals is always more than what we would expect then you gotta deal with things like coyotes or wolves trying to eat your livestock."
"That's why I own a shotgun." He clicks his teeth. "Not a single person or thing will be messing with the Vanderwoods."
"Amen to that." I pat his thigh. "How's life been lately?"
"Life has been peaceful." Dad says with a soft smile. "I've been doing a lot of reflecting and have been thinking about writing a memoir on life after basketball."
Ivy smiles, "That's nice."
"Most men that play in the NBA fight to stay relevant or in that world but I knew that once it was all said and done, I had to leave." He pauses for a moment. "I never joined the NBA for the fame or the money, my reason for joining was purely based on my passion for the spot. Things have changed a lot lately with the rise of social media and it almost feels as if the game has become comical to some. Being apart of the NBA is a true privilege that one should never take for granted so it really angers me to see these kids messing up."
"We always said that you would have been one heck of a coach." I wrinkly my nose. "You could have set these youngin's straight because heaven knows that their misdirected asses need it."
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Instead of going to the line dancing competition at the bar like we had discussed, our father surprised us with a candlelit dinner in his backyard. He told us to get ready while he secretly set up the table with the candles, flowers and he busted out his best plates for the night.
"You guys forget that I'm an expert chef." Our father chuckles he sets our plate down on the table and I try not to moan as the aroma seeps into my body. "I could have easily opened my own culinary school when I retired and became the next Marco Pierre White."
"You are a man of many talents." Ivy comments as she pours us each a glass of wine. "I always wondered why you never shared your skills with the world."
"Not every talent is meant to be shared." He says as he starts walking back to the house. "Sometimes you got to leave a little something for yourself."
"That's very true." I nod my head in agreement. "Especially in a world where people will always find something negative to say despite how good or wholesome your work is. I remember the way people bashed me when I first started working with UNICEF and it reminded me of why I never shared my charity work."
"It's so fucked though." Ivy sighs while shaking her head. "If you don't mention what you're doing then people look down at you for not doing anything but when you do, they still talk bad because charity work should be out of the goodness of your heart and not for likes."
Our father soon makes his way out with his plate and a bowl of his famous salad which is loaded with everything that we love.
"I didn't know if you guys were on one of your seasonal diets so I didn't add the dressing." He chuckles while sitting down. "There's some dressing in the fridge if you would like and I might have a bowl of olives in there."
"Thank you." I kiss his cheek as he grabs the tiny remote from the table and presses a button that starts playing a Bryan Adams song.
"This is the sweet life." Our dad smiles warmly as he sits back in his seat. "The only person that we're missing is our sweet Olive."
"You're so adorable." Ivy cups her cheeks. "I love that you planned out this whole dinner for us, it will forever hold a place in my heart."
You know it's true
Everything I do
I do it for you
Hearing my father sing brings tears to my eyes because he has a lovely voice which we have the pleasure of hearing every once in a while. He is not a singer but the soft rasp in his voice sends shivers down our spine especially when we make eye contact and he smiles.
"The love that I have for you both..." He pauses for a moment. "Becoming a father was the best thing to happen to me and I know that we don't see eachother much but I'm so grateful for these little moments that we get together."
We soon begin to eat the food that tastes like a small bite of heaven everytime it enters my mouth while we make light conversation. I don't add much to the conversation as I want to hear all about my dad's life as he has always been the best at telling stories and he has inspired me a lot in my career.
"I know that your music career hasn't been to your liking but I must say that the music industry in Nashville is booming hence why a lot of folks come out here. I'm not saying that for my own personal gain but you should think about making trips out here to promote your work." My dad tells me and I take it all in. "I could even have a studio set up here or a mini stage so you can record stuff for your social media pages."
"Dad used to let me record my acoustic covers here." Ivy says while pointing to an area by this big ass tree that my dad has nurturing back to good health. "I don't know if you ever watched my show Nashville but my character would film all her outdoor garden parties and performances here."
My eyes widen in surprise, "Really?"
"Easiest money I've ever made." Our dad chuckles. "Not that I would ever charge you girls but having over a hundred people on the grass that I brought back to life definitely earned me some compensation."