Page 68 of The Wedding Favor

“We’re good. Sounds loud there.”

He sighed. “Yeah, trying to get the hot water heater working.”

“By beating it?”

“Something like that.” The shop repairs were not going well. That was an understatement. It seemed like once they fixed one problem, they found five more to replace it.

“She is pregnant,” Hallie said. I held a finger up to my mouth in the universal sign for quiet.

Hallie giggled and slapped a hand over her mouth.

“What was that?” Abe asked. “Is someone pregnant?”

“Nature show.”

“Right,” he said slowly. “I was calling to see if you’d be willing to stay late.”

“Hot date?”

“Just a couple of friends wanted to catch a movie. I know it’s last minute, so I understand…”

“No problem,” I said. “I don’t mind. Hallie and I will keep ourselves busy.”

“Iris, look,” Hallie said. “It’s triplets.”

“What was that? Triplets?” Abe asked.

“Oh, you know. Animals. Have fun.” I hung up before he could hear Hallie and me break into giggles.

We watched another episode of The Beautifully Broken, then made grilled cheese for dinner. Bedtime was at nine and Hallie asked me to read the next chapter in the book she and her dad were reading together. I lay next to her on the bed. She snuggled into my side as I read and fell asleep before I finished half of it. But I stayed next to her for a while, listening to her steady breaths.

This kid had stolen a piece of my heart with her constant chatter and complete lack of guile. She was fun and I realized I hadn’t let myself have a lot of fun lately. I worked, I went to Shady Cove, I watched movies. And then did it all again. When had my life become so mundane?

Gloria was always telling me to get a life, and maybe she was right. Not that I would ever tell her that. She wouldn’t be able to lift her head, it would get so big.

After a few more minutes, I gently extracted myself from Hallie and wandered into the living room. I stretched out on the couch and pulled up The Article. It had been a while, and I had two more steps until my perfect career would reveal itself. Step Four: Name it and claim it. Stand in front of a mirror and say out loud what you want to be. Manifest that new career.

I grimaced, but I’d come this far. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror was just too cringy. So, I lay on Abe’s couch and muttered to myself.

“My name is Iris and I want to be a…” But this was the problem. How did I complete the sentence? “I want to help people.”

Good start. Lots of ways to help people. I’d be good at that. I thought.

“I want to help people who need help.” Ah, yes, brilliant. Absolutely narrowed this down for me.

I was really starting to hate this stupid article. How was this helping me figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up? Muttering nonsense to myself didn’t seem to be working.

With a grunt, I turned on the television and flipped through the channels until I discovered one of my favorite movies. Abe got home about the time the Pontipee brothers were breaking into a dance number in the middle of a barn-raising. As one does.

“What are you watching?” he said, sounding amused.

“Only one of the greatest movies of all time. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.”

With a smirk, he glanced at the TV and back to me. “I’ll have to take your word for that.”

“I’m serious. This is cinematic gold.”

He shook his head. “You like musicals. This is fascinating.”