‘Hey.’ Iris’s voice was thick with sleep.
‘Hey, everything okay?’
‘Yeah,’ Iris sighed. ‘Owen just thought it’d be fun to be wide awake for a few hours. Archer took the first hour, but I told him he should sleep. So, it’s my turn.’
‘Oof, that’s rough. I assume it’ll get better?’
‘So people claim. What are you doing up?’
‘More diary-reading.’
‘Ooh… what’s the auntie up to now?’
Daisy smiled. She’d been keeping Iris posted on Aunt D’s adventures. ‘Still trying to push Nathan away.’
‘Sounds familiar.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
Iris snorted. ‘Nothing at all.’
‘You know I have my reasons.’
‘We all do, but at some point you have to wonder if it’s worth it. You’re torturing yourself, Daze.’
Daisy was laying back on her pillows, looking up at the ceiling. There was a crack up there making the shape of a bunny.
‘It’ll be worse if I give in. It’ll be worse when it ends.’
‘It doesn’t always end.’
‘You got lucky, Iris. Archer is amazing and a great dad and a good cook, blah, blah, blah. I’m thrilled for you, I just don’t think that’s in the cards for me. Historically speaking, I have not lucked out in this department.’
Iris was making shushing noises, Daisy assumed at Owen and not at her. She waited, tracing the bunny’s ears with her eyes.
‘Sorry, I’m back,’ Iris said. ‘I think you have to ask yourself, is Elliot anything like David? Or Matthew?’ Iris laughed to herself. ‘Actually, I know Matthew, and Elliot is definitely nothing like him. And you’re not the person you were at eighteen when you married him.’
‘True.’ Daisy thought about that girl, so carried away with the romance of it all, not thinking about if she really wanted to build a life with Matthew. She’d grown up since then.
But what about David?
She didn’t even really have to think about it. She knew the way she felt about Elliot wasn’t the same as how she felt about her ex. And more importantly, the way Elliot treated her was different, the way he talked to her and cared abouther was different. He’d looked out for her since the beginning. She’d never felt like she had to chase him down or vie for his attention like she had with David.
Elliot was different.
‘How are you so wise at two in the morning?’
Iris laughed softly. ‘This is when I do my best thinking.’
‘How’s the little man? Any sleepier?’
‘Actually, he just filled his diaper, rather aggressively.’
‘You should probably go.’
‘Definitely.’
‘Thanks, Iris. I hope you get some sleep.’
