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“Would my house be okay?”
She nods.
“Are you comfortable talking to my family?” I ask her quietly.
She nods again.
“Let’s take this home and have some privacy,” I tell the family. “My house.”
We disperse to our vehicles, and when we’re seated in mine, I just sit there for a moment before cranking it up. I reach out and squeeze Iris’s hand.
“You’re the strongest, bravest, most selfless woman I know,” I say quietly.
Tears stream down her face as she stares straight ahead.
“She is most certainly that,” Otis says gruffly.
Linc leans against the back of her seat and peers around at her, and that seems to shake her out of the fog. She turns to look at him.
“Are you okay?” she whispers.
He nods, his eyes filling with tears. “Are you?”
She faces him, her hands going to his cheeks. “As long as you are.”
“I am, I promise. I wish you’d told me what happened, but I get why you didn’t.” His voice cracks. “I think you’re the strongest, bravest, most selfless too.” He fists his tears away.
She helps him wipe them, while the tears keep dropping down her cheeks. I love this woman so damn much.
“Love you, honey girl,” Otis says, choking up. “You too, kiddo.”
“I love you,” I say, kissing her hand. “In love with you, love you.”
Her eyes meet mine, and the slightest smile breaks out. “I love you too,” she whispers. “In love with you, love you.”
My head falls back, and then I look at her again, feeling like everything might feel like chaos, but this is the one thing that is going right. I can tell Iris I love her, really love her, and she loves me back.
We smile at each other.
I start the truck, and everyone buckles their seat belt.
“Are you sure you’re up for talking with my family? We can do this another time.”
“Yes. I . . . I don’t want to wait any longer.” She leans her head back and takes a deep breath.
We are only inside the house for a couple minutes before there’s a knock on the door, and my family piles in.
They look at Iris as if seeing her for the first time. I know the feeling. Twelve years of assumptions sit heavy in the room.
“I—” My dad starts, then stops.
Mom doesn’t hesitate.
She crosses the room in three steps and pulls Iris into her arms. She holds her in a fierce hug.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Mom says, voice breaking. “Are you okay?”
It’s then that I remember the way Linc greeted her earlier, calling her Evy, and acting like he knew her well. When did he get so buddy-buddy with my mom? And now, the way Mom is with Iris, it’s as if no time has passed at all.
