She was busy texting Gavin and looked up annoyed, saying, "You're not a child. Can't you handle a hospital visit?
I'm swamped tomorrow. No time for that."
So, I went to the hospital alone.
After the surgery, I lay in the recovery room by myself, waiting for the anesthesia to wear off.
Killing time on my phone, I found Gavin's latest Instagram post: him and Iris, hand in hand at the beach, captioned: [Finally watching the sunset with you.]
I put my phone down and went home alone.
While Iris and Gavin were clearly having a blast, she never asked about my day. And I never mentioned any of this.
6
I was just too tired. Iris had sent so many messages, but I fell asleep before I could finish reading them.
The next day, I remembered I hadn't replied to Iris. By then, it just didn't seem important.
I was busy impressing clients. Things went really well, and we were both pleased with the meeting.
As I was about to head back, Iris suddenly called.
I paused, surprised. Iris rarely called me first during our three years of marriage.
Usually, she'd just text if she needed something, avoiding long chats.
I picked up and she said, "Albert, turn around."
Turning, I saw Iris with a big tote, smiling and waving her phone at me.
"Surprise," she said. "I came to see you, Albert."
I managed a small smile, reminded of our first year together when I was all she could think about.
Back then, she wouldn't hesitate to take a three-hour train ride just to see me.
In that moment, I found myself wondering if we could really start fresh.
Iris jogged over with a smile and grabbed my arm. "There's a friends' get-together in town. I'll take you once you're free."
"Sure," I replied, in a good mood, letting Iris link arms with me.
But my mood tanked the moment the car door swung open and I saw Gavin sitting shotgun. My hopes of patching things up with Iris vanished.
Gavin rolled down the window, waved, and grinned. "Hey Albert, long time no see. Iris always brings you up."
