I look at him innocently.“You should watch where you’re going.You hit my foot.”
His face flushes red with anger and embarrassment.For a moment, he looks like he wants to say something else, but then he just glares at both of us and storms out, his footsteps echoing angrily down the hall.Once he’s gone, Iris slumps into her chair like a puppet with cut strings.
“Are you okay?”I ask, setting the chair down but staying alert in case he comes back.
She nods, but her hands are shaking.“Sorry you had to see that.I don’t know what’s wrong with him lately.”
“What was that about?”I ask, fetching her a glass of water.“What girl?Is he cheating on you?”
Iris laughs bitterly.“Cheating?Nothing so simple.He’s suddenly decided he wants threesomes, and he’s been bringing girls over with cameras set up, and it’s just—” She looks at me, realizing what she is saying, and her face grows red in humiliation.“I’m sorry.I shouldn’t be dumping this on you.”
“It’s okay.I’ve been worried about you lately.I thought you would have broken up with Richard.”
Iris lowers her gaze.“You’re not the first person to say that.I know you’ve seen him like this, but he’s not that bad.He’s just—I don’t know.Lately he’s changed.I’m still figuring out what to do.Relationships are complicated, Eve.It’s easy for an outsider to suggest walking away when there are a million memories weighing down on the two people.”
“So what are you going to do?”I ask slowly.
She looks down at her wristwatch.“He’s probably taken the car.I think I’ll go to a hotel tonight.I don’t want to start another argument when I go home.”Looking at Iris sitting across from me, I feel a pull of solidarity.She looks weary, like someone who’s been fighting battles on too many fronts.
“You want to stay at my place?”The words come out before I can stop them.“I have a spare bedroom.”I really don’t like the idea of Iris being alone tonight.
Iris blinks, clearly surprised.“Oh, Eve, that’s really sweet of you, but I don’t want to impose?—”
“How long have you been sleeping in hotels?”I interrupt, studying her face.
She looks away briefly.“Just...a couple times a week.When he gets like this, I choose to sleep in hotels instead.”
That hits me harder than I expected.Iris fleeing her own home when Richard gets aggressive.This sharp, decisive woman I work with every day has been bouncing between hotels to escape her own boyfriend.It’s not like her at all.
“Iris.”I lean forward in the metal chair.“That’s not sustainable.”
She lets out a bitter laugh.“Tell me about it.My credit card bill is already screaming at me.”
I’m beginning to understand what she means earlier about relationships being complicated.From the outside, it looks so simple: just leave the asshole.But sitting here, seeing the exhaustion in her eyes, the way she’s been slowly retreating from her own life...It’s messier than I thought.
“Look, you can crash at my place,” I say, meaning it.“Nobody has to know, and I live alone, anyway.The spare room is just sitting there empty.”
She hesitates, and I can see her weighing it.“What about Caleb?”
My face feels hot.“He can stay at his own place tonight.”
“Eve, I really don’t want to put you out?—”
“You’re not putting me out.Seriously.”
She considers this for a moment, then nods firmly.“Okay.Thank you.Really.”
I stand up, pushing the metal chair back.“Do you want to get a drink, though?You look like you could use a drink or two.”
“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day,” Iris says immediately, her face brightening for the first time since Richard left.
We gather our things in comfortable silence.I wouldn’t say Iris and I are close friends.We’re friendly enough from working together, but we’ve never really hung out outside the office.
“Ready?”I ask, slinging my bag over my shoulder.
“More than ready.”She locks her office door with decisive force.“I need to get out of this building before I lose my mind completely.”We head toward the elevator, and I can’t help but notice how Iris straightens her shoulders as we walk, like she’s shedding the weight of the day with each step.
“Where do you want to go?”she asks as we wait for the elevator.
