“We all saw that one coming,” I comment. My dad has a stunned expression on his face that I quite like. “What about you, Mom?”
She contemplates, staring at her food before answering.
“I’m thankful to be here. Together.”Whoa.Did not see that one coming. “Your brother would’ve wanted us to come together.”
I gulp, then take a generous drink of my wine. My dad finally sets his phone down. “I’m thankful to be here, too.”
I try to hold back, but before I can stop myself, I say, “Why don’t you visit me more often then? If you’re so thankful to be here, why don’t you ever come?”
“Iris, you don’t understand how difficult it is for us to visit you—”
“I don’t understand?I don’t? Why don’t you try to understand for once,” I bite back, not wavering despite the riptide of anxiety threatening to pull me under. “I reached out after he passed away. I offered to visit. Hell, I even found myselfwantingto visit you for some reason despite knowing you two could care less.”
“Iris Adelaide Greene,” my dad says sharply. Jasper’s grasp on my thigh tightens. “That's not true.”
“Actions speak louder than words, Dad. He was the only person who ever truly cared about me.” My mom breaks eye contact, visibly struck, and then she glimpses back into my eyes. To my utter shock, her eyes are glassy.
“Iris, when I look at you, I seehim.” Her voice breaks. “I know I’ve always been distant, and especially so in recent years, but it’s harder than ever to be around you now.”
Her words pierce me. I pause, collecting my thoughts. How could she possibly see Kai when she looks at me? Sure, we sharethe same last name, but other than that, our resemblance is slim. Most of my friends joked that our parents adopted one of us. Not only that, but our essences couldn’t be more different. Kai shined bright like sunlight, whereas I always resonated with the clouds surrounding the sun. Subjecting Jasper to this conversation was not a part of my agenda for today, but something tells me he doesn’t mind.
“That’s the thing, Mom,” my heart pounds, “it shouldn’t have been so challenging for you to be around me in the first place. I’myourdaughterwhether you’re ashamed of me or not.”
“Iris!” my dad exclaims, radiating anger.
“Donotyell at her,” Jasper says while gripping my thigh so tightly it nearly hurts. I realize, up until now, I haven’t actually looked at him. Turns out, he isseething. “I’m entirely in favor of you all having a civilized, healthy conversation, but I will not tolerate yelling—especially when directed at Iris.”
“With all due respect, son, this really isn’t any of your business, so it’s best if you excuse yourself before you say something you’ll regret.” My dad locks his eyes on him. Jasper clenches his jaw.
“I’m actually quite comfortable here,” he says cooly then throws him a smirk, leaning back in his seat, still holding my thigh. “Carry on, Greene.”
My mom glances between the two of us, and I swear, she suppresses a subtle smile. As I stare into her eyes, I notice the faintest hint of sympathy. Dare I say, she seems to be listening for once. I sigh.
“Believe it or not, I didn’t accept your self-imposed invitation out of malice,” I admit begrudgingly. “A small sliver of me may or may not have wanted to see you both, too.”
“You’re so much more like Kai than you realize, Iris,” my mom whispers. “I wish he was still here.”
“I do, too, mom.” I break eye contact. “More than you know.” We eat the rest of the meal and Jasper’s scrumptious pecan pie in semi-comfortable silence. I thought the silence would be excruciating, but with Jasper by my side, it has become easier to bear.
After we finish the meal, I usher them out. My dad thanks me for hosting and hustles out the door and down the stairs, immediately answering a phone call and leaving my mom standing alone in the doorway.
“I’ve gotta ask,” I begin. “Why did you both come here? Why didn’t you just invite me over to your home?”
She glances around my apartment before answering. “We really did want to see you. We knew if we invited you, you wouldn’t come, and to be honest, I wouldn’t have blamed you for rejecting the invite.”
I accept her reasoning for now. Our relationship may be broken, but at least we have a relationship to fix if we ever choose to. “Well, drive safe and take your time through the mountains.”
“We always do.” She nods. She turns to leave but stops herself abruptly, then—in a shocking turn of events—she embraces me. “I’m not ashamed of you, Iris. I know it’ll take years, maybe even a lifetime, to prove that to you, and that’s within good reason. Just know, I’m not ashamed.”
Thirty-Two
Jasper
Kai. His name wasKai.
The room has been spinning for the last several minutes. Iris just said goodbye to her mom and slumped on the couch, leaning into me. “Well, that was eventful,” she says. “I’m sorry you had to witness all of that.”
“No need to apologize, Greene. I’m so proud of you for standing up to them. That was remarkable,” I whisper, and I mean every word of it, but I keep getting lost in my own mind. Surely, it’s a coincidence. Surely, her brother isn’t her guardian. Surely.
