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Eli filled the kettle, still shamelessly eavesdropping. There was a brief pause, then Rowan added, “It’s just that when something seems too good to be true…”
“It usually is,” Mira finished.
In time, Eli heard the four go upstairs, and he set up the drinks in the front room along with a plate of Sally’s homemade cookies. The others were upstairs less than ten minutes, then they returned en masse. Eli waited for Iris to perform the introductions.
“Everyone, this is Rowan. Rowan, you’ve met Sally, and you know Mira. This is Eli and Henry Dale. Before we chat, I guess we should go over the house rules. We don’t enter each other’s rooms uninvited. There’s a basic chore schedule, so we’ll add you to the roster. What else? Oh! Mira gets the bathroom at 7 a.m. since shehas a day job.” Iris glanced at Eli, then Henry Dale. “Can you think of anything else?”
Eli shook his head. “Not off the top of my head.”
Henry Dale said, “Washer and dryer’s in the basement. The washer can be a mite tetchy. Holler at me if the wheel drum gets out of balance.”
“Should we swap numbers?” Sally asked.
Rowan seemed entirely bemused as they added contact numbers to their phone. “I don’t understand what any of you are getting out of this. I mean, I know why Mira’s helping me. But the rest of you…”
“Everyone should be safe,” Henry Dale said. “You deserve a lot of other good things, but that’s the bare minimum.”
“I don’t think they’dhurtme,” Rowan said uncertainly.
But Iris was shaking her head. “Look, we just met, so you don’t know my…family. I’d have to dump a lot on you tonight to explain, but suffice to say, there arelayersof damage. Even if it’s not physical harm, they’re hurting you with their words and with the way they treat you. Emotional wounds can be even worse—to the point that their words can become the mocking voice in your head, the one that cuts you down.”
“And it’s not right,” Henry Dale added.
“Absolutely not,” Sally agreed.
“People want to believe the best about their families. ‘They’ll come around. I just need to give them time.’ But you don’t owe them patienceortolerance when their love is conditional,” Eli said.
He recalled how Iris’s sister Lily had been glad to have a “get out of jail free” card after stealing Iris’s boyfriend and how herother sister was thinking about litigating so she could profit from Iris’s heartbreak.Why are people like this?
“And that’s a lot. Let’s eat before I get all mopey,” Iris said, picking up the tea Eli had fixed for her.
It felt like a secret known only to them—the fact that she could tell that he’d made it from the amount of milk in the cup. The others grabbed their drinks and settled on chairs and couches around the living room. Rowan took two cookies first, scarfed them quickly, then washed them down with warm tea.
“Sorry. I didn’t eat dinner,” they said.
Sally got to her feet immediately. “Do you like eggs? I can scramble you some in a jiffy. I’ll fix a nice plate of toast to go with them. We have homemade jam! Hazel brought it over, made from fresh raspberries.”
Rowan smiled for the first time since arriving. “Is this what I have to look forward to? It’s like I suddenly acquired the nicest grandma ever.”
Mira grinned, a teasing light in her eyes. “Be warned, she’s not on duty full-time. Sally spends a lot of time with her close,closefriend Ethel these days.”
Rowan brightened visibly. “I have a gay foster grandma?”
“Not gay,” Sally said over her shoulder on the way to the kitchen. “But absolutely bi-curious. I’m trying things out with Ethel, it’s true. But we prefer not to put labels on our relationship. She’s not the type to settle down, andIwas monogamous for far too long. I need to kiss alotof people to make up for lost time.”
“This is heaven,” Rowan declared with an awed look. “It must be, right?”
“That’s how I feel,” Iris said.
Eli gazed at her, just…drinking her in and marveling at her ability to attract happiness like she cast it as a spell.If this is heaven, you’re the angel.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
For the next few days,Iris mostly left Rowan to their own devices.
This was a big change, and they wouldn’t get comfortable if everyone hovered. She hadn’t mentioned the “label your food” rule because the rest of her housemates had come to a tacit understanding that they’d take care of Rowan. Yesterday, Sally made a huge pot of vegetable soup and froze individual portions, so there was always something to be defrosted and eaten. She might claim she was tired of looking after people, but the instinct hadn’t gone away, it seemed.
Besides, for the first time, Iris’s shop had so many orders that she had no time left to work on designs or make jewelry. Almost every piece she’d uploaded had been sold, and now she was busy with the fulfillment end of the business. She had gift boxes stacked around, several thank-you notes and coupons, and another pile of padded envelopes that toppled over while she was looking for her address stamp.
