Chapter 28
28
Boxes lined the foyer of Elaine and Terrance senior’s home. Most of their furniture was covered in shrink-wrap. In less than a week, they’d be moving to a new town house in the same neighborhood. It would be much smaller and a better fit for just the two of them. And with shorter flights of stairs, Senior would get around more easily.
Iris and Calla had finally come to visit and go through Terry’s things.
“My rosebush seemed to hate me this summer,” Elaine said as she walked with Iris around her garden in their perfectly manicured backyard. She plucked a rose loose, and the dry petals floated to the ground. “It’s like it knows we’re leaving.”
Iris took the rose stem and twirled it in her fingers. “Will you have a garden at your new place?”
“Yes, but much smaller.” Elaine gave Iris a proud smile. “I’ll have to order my fertilizer special from Greenehouse now.”
Iris smiled back and winked. “You’ll get the family discount too.”
After leaving the Flower Studio’s vacant lot last week, Iris had sat up all night, considering the possibilities. Eventually, she’d gotten out of bed and drafted a business plan. First, she just wanted to see if it would be a good idea. And once she realized that it wasn’t only a good idea but that it could work well , fervor took over her. Bleary-eyed and invigorated, the following morning, she’d shown up at her parents’ house before work to present her idea: not only could they rent the Flower Studio’s retail place and open a new Greenehouse location, but she could be the one to run it. And maybe they’d be able to open more locations in the future.
At first, Dahlia and Benjamin had been shocked. For so long, Iris had a very specific life plan and joining Greenehouse long-term hadn’t been part of it. They thought Iris was offering only because of the issues with Benjamin’s back. But Iris convinced them that wasn’t the case. She was ready for a new challenge—she’d been ready for a while. Then Dahlia and Benjamin had admitted that they were relieved that Iris wanted to join the family business. They wanted to retire in a few years, and when that day came, it meant that they could leave the company in Iris’s capable hands.
Dahlia had been so excited, she’d plucked a bottle of champagne from the cabinet and popped it right there at the kitchen table, even though it was only seven thirty a.m. Iris laughed as she took a huge gulp, knowing that she’d need the liquid courage in a couple hours.
As soon as she entered the Save Face Beauty building, she requested a meeting with Dominique. And there in Dominique’s office, she shared the news that she was resigning and switching gears to work with her parents.
Dominique had been shocked into silence. She’d literally stared at Iris, slack-jawed. Once she picked her jaw up off the floor, she’d overwhelmed Iris with questions. Wasn’t she happy at SFB? Was it the new position? Did she want higher pay?
“No,” Iris said as she sat on the other side of Dominique’s desk. “I think it’s time for me to move on and forge a new path. That’s all.”
Dominique leaned forward and looked at Iris closely. Finally, she asked, “Is this because of Angel?”
Iris swallowed and smoothed her hands over her skirt. “I’m not leaving because of him, but the fallout helped me realize more of what I genuinely want. The truth is that I haven’t felt fulfilled here for a while.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that, Iris.” Dominique released a defeated sigh. “And I’m sorry that I didn’t notice.”
Iris smiled sadly and scooted forward. “Thank you for being the best boss and mentor. Everything that I’ve learned from you, I’ll take with me.”
“You’re welcome.” Dominique sighed again, but this time, she smirked. “And one day, when you turn Greenehouse into a nationwide chain store, I’ll be able to say that I taught you everything you know.”
Iris had agreed to stay on for another three months to help Dominique find and train her replacement.
“This heat is unbearable,” Elaine said now, fanning herself. “How about we go in?”
Iris followed Elaine inside to the kitchen, where freshly squeezed lemonade waited for them. Their chef was preparing roasted chicken Caesar salads for lunch, and Senior and Calla were seated not too far away in the dining room. Calla was showing Senior how to play MASH. A counselor had taught the game to Calla and her friends at day camp a few days ago, and it was Calla’s new obsession, next to dinosaurs.
Iris looked around Terry’s childhood home, almost in disbelief that eventually someone else would live here. The first time she’d visited, she’d been awestruck by the sheer size of the house, and by the staff, which not only included a private chef, but maids and a chauffeur too.
“It’s like a castle,” she’d whispered to Terry as he’d shown her around.
Terry had smiled at her in his subtle way. “Then that would make you the new princess.”
“I’m not a princess,” she’d said, laughing.
A family of six would move in by August.
“You ready to take a look upstairs?” Elaine asked after she finished her lemonade.
Iris set her empty glass on the countertop. She’d talked with Marie about what today would entail. Marie had reminded Iris that if it made her emotional to look through Terry’s things, that was okay. She reminded Iris that she’d already been through this once when she’d sorted through Terry’s belongings at their home in New Jersey. Iris donated many of his clothes to shelters and charities that collected clothing for men who needed interviewing outfits.
Even though she might feel like she was here today to give more parts of Terry away, that wasn’t true. He was so much more than his things. Iris squared her shoulders.
“Ready,” she said.
They went upstairs and once they reached the top of the staircase, Iris heard the soft pitter-patter of Calla’s feet as she hurried after them. Elaine opened the door to Terry’s bedroom. It was one of the few rooms in the house that had been left untouched by the moving process.
Terry’s room was like a post-college time capsule. His queen-size four-poster bed was covered in a red and navy blue comforter that matched the Washington Wizards poster on his wall and the space area rug situated between his bed and desk.
The last time that Iris had slept in his bed had been the Christmas before he’d passed. Now, when she and Calla visited, Iris slept in one of the guest rooms. Sometimes she’d hover in the doorway like she was doing now, or she’d take a slow walk around his room, remembering him. Remembering them.
Calla slipped between Iris and Elaine and went to Terry’s desk. She touched the small basketball figurines that he’d hand-painted in high school. Iris always imagined a younger version of Terry working on the figurines, hunched over, holding a paintbrush with the utmost focus.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Elaine said softly. “I’ll let you know when lunch is ready.”
Iris smiled at her. “Thanks.”
Iris walked over to Calla. Most of the items on Terry’s desk were from high school and college. A stack of planners. An old TI-84 calculator. A pencil case, a mug filled with mechanical pencils. But these weren’t things that Iris needed to look through for keeping.
While Calla played with the figurines, Iris walked to Terry’s closet. It was filled with Hampton sweatshirts and T-shirts. A couple high school basketball and college jerseys. Iris grabbed a gray Hampton sweatshirt and lifted it to her nose. It didn’t smell how she remembered Terry smelling. His sandalwood-scented cologne.
This version of Terry was unfamiliar to her. She hadn’t known him then. She’d met him later, when Hampton had been in his past. Her time with Terry had been wonderful but so short. She hadn’t been ready for marriage or motherhood. And she hadn’t been ready to be a widow either.
Life with Terry, though brief, had changed her. She was a different person from the girl who’d stood with him in the rain outside of the library. For years, she’d thought that there was no one else who could take his place, and that was true. There would only ever be one Terry. She’d never have that same relationship again.
It was why she’d been apprehensive about using the dating apps. She hadn’t known if it would be possible to find real love again. She’d wanted to meet someone new, but she hadn’t really wanted to try . Instead, she’d focused on wanting someone with the qualities of her “ideal” partner. But, really, she had to admit that her list was based on wanting to find someone just like Terry, because that’s what she’d been used to, and theirs was a love that she’d known to be real and true.
Yet somehow, against all odds…she’d fallen in love with someone new and completely different.
She’d fallen in love with Angel.
Angel might not live a simple life by Iris’s original standards, but he had all of the qualities Iris had been looking for. Patience and intelligence. A kind heart and a desire for a family. He got along with Calla and wanted to spend more time getting to know her. Angel wanted simplicity at heart.
He respected her, and he hadn’t wanted her to change. He wasn’t what she’d expected, but he’d been exactly what she’d needed. He’d made her feel alive again. With him, she felt truly seen. What she’d had with Angel was different from her relationship with Terry. But that wasn’t a bad thing.
In retrospect, Iris had known that she loved Angel the moment that she’d stood up to his mom and talked to him outside of the ceremony. Because why else would she have involved herself in his family’s business? And then those pictures had appeared online, and she’d freaked out. He’d accused her of being afraid, and she’d denied it, but he’d been right. In those pictures, she’d seen just how much she loved him, and she’d been afraid of loving him and then somehow losing him. It hadn’t really been about her job or his different lifestyle. She’d used those reasons as a shield to hide the truth, which was that she’d been terrified, because after losing Terry, she hadn’t wanted to face the possibility of loss again.
But now she knew what it was like to be without Angel, and weeks since their breakup, things hadn’t gotten any easier. She was still heartbroken. By never taking another risk, she would resign herself to living the rest of her life on the sidelines. Maybe she would have been okay with that in the past, but that was before Angel had come into her life. She didn’t want to go back to stubbornly being alone again, especially when he was still here to accept her love.
Knowing that she loved Angel struck her squarely in the chest. Her pulse thundered at the realization. She wanted to call him. But she’d made such a mess of things. What would she even say to him now? It was naive to think that telling Angel that she loved him would magically cure everything. He was probably so angry with her. She would be angry with him if he’d behaved the way that she had.
“Mom, are you okay?” Calla asked. Iris looked up. Calla was watching her, brows wrinkled in concern. “You got really quiet.”
“I’m okay,” Iris said.
Calla walked over and took Terry’s sweatshirt out of Iris’s hands. “This was Dad’s too?”
Iris nodded. “Want to try it on?”
“Yeah.” Calla shrugged the sweatshirt over her head. The hem fell to her shins and the sleeves flopped loosely. The garment swallowed her, but she smiled. “Can I keep it?”
“Absolutely,” Iris said, laughing. She looked at her daughter, who had Terry’s nose and his sweet empathy. She crouched down and hugged Calla. “I love you. And your dad loved you too. So much.”
“I know,” Calla said with such childlike simplicity, it made Iris laugh again. “I love you too. And Dad.”
Iris glanced up when she heard a light knock at the door. Elaine was watching them. She smiled and sniffled, wiping her eyes.
“Lunch is ready,” she said.
Calla spun around to face Elaine. “Grandma, look, this was Dad’s. I’m going to keep it.”
“And maybe you’ll be a Hampton girl yourself someday.” Elaine winked. “Just like Grandma.”
“Or a Princeton girl,” Iris added, standing. “Like her mom.”
“?‘Or a Princeton girl,’?” Elaine repeated, laughing lightly. But she looked at Calla and shook her head.
Unconcerned with college talk, Calla hurried downstairs, ready to have lunch. Iris joined Elaine in the doorway.
“We’ll take a few of Terry’s sweatshirts and probably his figurines,” she said. “But the rest you can donate.”
Elaine nodded. “Thank you for coming to look. I figured he’d rather have you go through his things instead of me.” With a smile, she added, “He was always calling me nosy.”
“I can only imagine what Calla will say about me once she gets older,” Iris said, smirking.
Elaine looped her arm through Iris’s as they stepped into the hallway. Arm in arm, they descended the stairs.
“Something I’ve been telling myself whenever I get sad about selling the house is that it’s okay to adjust and embrace something new.” She looked at Iris. “And that’s what I’ll tell you as well.”
“Thank you.” Iris smiled at Elaine gratefully.
It was exactly what Iris needed to hear.