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I blink in surprise. “What?”
“I made some pretty rude insinuations.” She looks down at her feet. “I have a hard time coming to terms with Sophie spending the bulk of her time with someone who isn’t me.”
I can almost see past her tough exterior then, genuine emotion peeking through as her brow furrows and her mouth turns down. “Oh, well...” I shift my weight from one foot to the other. “Iimagine it’s got to be hard.” I go back and forth on whether or not I should involve myself more in this strained situation, finally deciding that I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t. “You know, I would never want to get in the way of you spending time with her,” I stress. “Maybe we could work together here. Sophie needs you,” I say. “Like I said the other day... she needs everyone she can get.”
Iris looks genuinely surprised, her mouth parting slightly as she processes what I’ve said. She nods finally, a slow concession, taking a deep breath only to expel it. “You’re right. She does need that.” She looks down at her feet again. I get the sense that apologies don’t come easy to her. “Aiden hinted that you might be responsible for my invitation to her trip the other day.”
“Oh, no,” I argue. “Sophie wanted you there! I just told Aiden it might make things easier if he—” Iris is looking at me strangely, and I clamp my mouth shut. “Anyway. I just want Sophie to be happy.”
“I’m starting to understand that,” Iris answers sincerely.
Little victories.I celebrate internally.
“You guys!” Sophie calls from the floor above. “Are you coming?”
Iris shares a small smile with me, and this feels like a victory too. “I think we’re being summoned.”
“I’ve learned patience isn’t her virtue,” I chuckle.
Iris follows me up the stairs, where Sophie is sitting in the middle of the living room beside a now-empty sack and a pile of tissue paper, holding three new games for her Nintendo Switch.
“Cassie!” Sophie holds out one game in particular. “Aunt Iris got meAnimal Crossing!”
“Oh boy,” I gush, falling to my knees beside her. “That’s exactly what you wanted.”
“You can build your own island in this one!”
“Well, that sounds like a dream,” I tell her.
Sophie is already reading the back covers of each of her new games, and I turn to Iris, who is standing nearby with her arms crossed to give her a thumbs-up. I’m rewarded with another small smile; today is full of all sorts of victories, I think.
Sophie holds up another case. “She got meSonic, too!”
“Oh, that’s the movie you’ve been bugging me to go see, right?”
Sophie rolls her eyes. “That’sSonic Two,” she corrects me. “It looks so funny!”
“I know, I know, but I have labs this weekend. Maybe we can go one day after school next week, or maybe—”
I have an idea then, striking me out of nowhere. I can feel my mouth hanging as I turn to Iris, thinking that maybe I can gain more points here with the terse aunt who is just starting to warm up to the idea of liking me.
“Hey,” I call, pointing at Iris while my idea still pings around in my head. “Do you have to work today?”
Iris frowns. “Later? I have to take over for my clerk at two. She has an appointment.”
“Why don’t you and Sophie go to a movie? You could get breakfast, or lunch after—whatever you want. I mean, if you want to?”
It’s the second time I’ve surprised Iris this morning, if her expression is any indication. “Do you think Aiden would be okay with that?”
“I’ll text him,” I assure her. “I’ll tell him it was all my idea, promise. But I think he will be fine. We can just swap numbers in case something comes up, and I need to come get her. What do you think?”
“That sounds...” Iris’s arms slowly uncross as she looks between Sophie and me, still a little stunned. “That sounds great, actually. If you’re sure it’s okay.”
Technically, I’m not one hundred percent, but I am pretty confident, at least.
“Sophie.” I turn to address her. “Do you want to go with Aunt Iris?”
Sophie nods enthusiastically. “Yes!”
