Iris in Bloom: Take a Chance, Book 2

by Nancy Warren

  As he headed back into the restaurant, he thought, No, that wasn’t it and he knew it. He needed to prove to Iris that he was in love with her, forever and ever love.

  But the divorce was a good start.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Iris hated herself for dressing with extra care in the mornings and making sure she was out front serving every customer. But all the lipstick and hair products didn’t lure Geoff into Sunflower.

  Nothing lured him in.

  He didn’t come for his morning coffee and muffin. He broke the daily routine he’d formed from the first day he’d come in here with an order for his first staff meeting.

  The morning after their argument, she made excuses for him. The second day, she rehearsed what she’d say, how natural she’d act. If they could get back to an easy customer/coffee shop owner friendship, then maybe she wouldn’t feel so empty and frustrated, as though they were in the middle of an argument and the other person had slipped away to the washroom and never come back.

  She had things to say. Things she wanted him to understand. He’d been completely out of line to try and make her feel guilty. He needed to understand that.

  But how did she get him to see his mistake if she couldn’t even talk to him?

  She was staring longingly at the door, willing it to open and Geoff to walk in when Dosana walked up behind her. Iris saw her glance at the door and then back at Iris. Quickly, she reverted her attention to tidying up the china cups.

  “Haven’t seen Geoff in a few days,” Dosana said, without quite putting a question mark at the end although it was clearly implied.

  “No. Maybe he’s making coffee at home now.”

  “And baking his own delicious muffins?”

  She didn’t answer. She was conscious of an ache somewhere in the region of her solar plexus. She wanted to lean on Dosana’s tattooed shoulder and cry, but that wasn’t going to solve her problems or bring Geoff back.

  Dosana patted her. “If you want to talk about anything, I’m always here.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I mean it.”

  Iris wasn’t good at talking about her problems. She was so much better with other people’s problems. As Dosana turned to grab a cloth and go wipe the tables, she said, “He plays hide and seek with a cat.”

  “What?” Dosana looked at her as though maybe she hadn’t heard right.

  “There’s this cat that lives in Geoff’s building. It hangs out at his place sometimes. They play hide and seek.”

  “Insane, but adorable.” The red streak in her hair had faded to a muted cherry. “And not why you have black circles under your eyes and tragedy weighing down your shoulders.”

  “He found out that I’m planning to have a child on my own. He didn’t take it so well.”

  “Ah. Did you really think he was going to?”

  “I didn’t think it was any of his business. I still don’t.”

  “I’m guessing he has a different opinion.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Damn. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to have my baby. It would have been nice to have Geoff around for a while longer but it was never going to work out long term. I’m a realist. So, a bit of heartache now beats a whole lot more heartache later.”

  “I liked you two together.”

  She pushed cups and saucers around like chess pieces. “Were we really together?”

  “Seemed like you were only apart when you guys were at work. Call me crazy. Sure seemed like you were together.”

  Geoff usually considered himself a pretty laid back guy. Easy going even so it was strange to feel this burning compulsion to get his divorce. To be free.

  So he pushed his lawyer a little harder. Got his meeting.

  And then he packed up his car and, much sooner than he’d imagined, found himself making the drive back to LA.

  It was strange driving back down I-5 and then onto 101 recalling his very different feelings when he’d driven up to Hidden Falls only five months ago.

  He’d still been angry then, hurting, in shock that his marriage had ended with the sudden jolt of a text message out of the blue.

  But now that time had passed, he could see what he hadn’t been able to see before. The marriage hadn’t been working.

  Could it have been saved?

  He watched the trees spin by and the sun move slowly across the sky as he followed the road mile after mile. Summer was on its way and his first truncated year at Jefferson High was almost over. When he stopped to grab a coffee, he stood outside in the warmth of early June sunshine and stretched his cramped muscles. He had a lot of time to think.

  Yes, he thought. The marriage could have been saved. In spite of the way she’d acted recently, he thought he and Brianna were both essentially decent people. They’d managed to live together for a few years in reasonable harmony. He’d imagined that was enough.

  But it hadn’t been enough for his wife.

  While he didn’t respect her methods of ending the marriage he had a sneaking sympathy for her. How difficult it must have been to try and end something that wasn’t particularly bad. It simply wasn’t very good.

  At the time he’d felt black and angry, as the life he’d known had blown up in his face. What he couldn’t have foreseen at the time was that even if her methods sucked, Bri’s instincts to end the marriage were right.

  If she hadn’t dumped his ass, he never would have met Iris.

  He sipped coffee and got back behind the wheel for another grueling stint of road travel. Iris wasn’t easy. Life with her would never be polite and reasonably harmonious. She was passionate, creative, a nurturer who didn’t know how to nurture herself.

  She made him laugh, she made him angry, she made him feel. He loved her with all his heart and he knew that she was scared enough, stubborn enough that she’d believe her own foolish fear rather than open up to the truth that could end up hurting her.

  He might not be a brilliant writer like she was but he was a man who loved and understood story. Ellen had been right. Iris needed the grand gesture, the dragon slain for her.

  There weren’t many dragons lurking in the Pacific Northwest but he was fairly certain there was some kind of demon hiding within Iris that made her fearful of believing a recently separated man could love again so quickly.

  He knew it was possible because he was that man.

  So, the dragon he had to slay was the fear inside Iris.

  His grand gesture might not be the stuff of legend and fable, but it was a pretty big deal for him.

  He was going to give Iris his freedom.

  And hope very much she took it back from him again.

  Geoff walked into the familiar offices of his former best friend Stephen J. Parker, as it said on the door. He thought of all the times he’d dropped by here to pick up his buddy for a run after work, or to grab a beer.

  He’d never imagined he’d enter the offices of Stephen Jasper (and how many people even knew Steve’s middle name?) as a client – not of his former best friend – but of a lawyer who’d been recommended to him. And that his former best friend would be representing Geoff’s wife. Now his girlfriend.

  He’d met with his own lawyer that morning and drilled into her once more that he wanted the details finalized today. Sixteen hours on the road with a couple of hours snatched sleep had not mellowed him.

  “I’d have told you that you were crazy,” she said, “that they’d use your haste against you. But I think they might be in a hurry too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think they both feel guilty, frankly. The sooner you’re divorced and they can forget what they did to you the happier they’ll be.”

  He nodded. He knew both of them well enough that he thought his lawyer might be right. “Good,” he said briskly. “Let’s do this thing.”

  “I have to warn you, even though it must kill you to see your ex-wife and your ex-friend together in the same room, negotiat
ing the end of your marriage, you can’t lose your cool.”

  He nodded briskly but she wasn’t finished. “Promise me. No yelling. No accusations. For God’s sake, no threats. Keep your understandable anger for your therapist. Got it?”

  “I don’t think you have to worry,” he said.

  Her gaze sharpened and he felt she was searching his face. “Okay,” she said at last. “You’ll do.”

  So he found himself walking into the conference room with a sense of unreality. His exes were both already there. Both glanced up at him with similar guilty expressions on their faces. They had note pads in front of them. On Steve’s some notes were already scribbled in handwriting almost as familiar to Geoff as his own.

  For a hideous moment no one moved or spoke.

  Then his attorney stepped past him. She seld out her hand to Steve. “I’m Edna Silver, we spoke on the phone.”

  That broke the ice. He stepped forward behind her thinking, what the hell? He could be the bigger man. He held out his hand to his former friend first. As they shook he felt a sadness go through him. He thought of all the times they’d laughed together, hit some kind of a ball around a court together, talked about their futures. They’d shared details, like the financial assets even now listed on printouts for today’s discussion.

  “Good to see you,” Steve managed.

  He nodded.

  He turned finally to the woman he’d been married to for six years. She looked good, he thought. She’d colored her hair and something about her clothes seemed different. Tighter, more stylish. He thought she’d lost weight.

  “How are you Brianna?” he said. He couldn’t shake her hand, that was stupid. Kiss her cheek? He didn’t think so. So he stood there looking at her, not touching.

  She said, “I’m okay.” She looked stubborn and unapproachable but he’d known her for long enough that he recognized she felt guilty and didn’t know how to apologize.

  He realized he didn’t need her to.

  Once more he acknowledged a sadness. Once he’d planned to spend the rest of his life with this woman. Now he’d probably never see her again once this meeting was over. Why would they? They had no kids, nothing to tie them, their families had always been cordial but never particularly close.

  His lawyer sat down and he settled beside her.

  She pulled a stack of printed pages from her briefcase and gave each person one. “This is my client’s settlement offer. We believe it’s more than fair. As Geoff has come a considerable way in order to attend this meeting, I suggest we do our best to come to an agreement today.”

  “Yes, so do we. I mean, my client agrees.” His former friend said.

  And in less than an hour, the agreement was reached. Bloodless, emotionless, the end of a marriage came down to valuing assets and splitting them fairly.

  When he left, he turned back to his almost ex wife. This time he kissed her cheek. “I hope you’ll be happy.”

  “You too,” she said.

  And maybe that was as much as they could hope for.

  He took the signed agreement, that now only needed to be ratified by a judge, a formality that would officially end the marriage.

  He spent the rest of Friday and all of Saturday getting rid of the rest of his stuff. He knew with certainty that he wouldn’t ever live in this city again. As he donated the last box to Goodwill he felt a chapter of his life ending.

  When he climbed into his car and headed out of LA that evening, he no longer felt as though he were leaving. This time, he was heading toward a woman who held his heart in her bread-kneading, barista hands.

  He couldn’t wait to give it to her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  By Saturday Iris couldn’t stand it anymore. She and Geoff had parted without any kind of resolution. She missed seeing him in the mornings when he dropped in for his morning coffee looking sleepy and sexy. Usually, they’d woken up together a couple of hours earlier. He’d walk in through the door and she’d glance up and catch him looking at her and warmth would whoosh through her hard and fast.

  Now it seemed she grew more wistful with each ring of those foolish bells that ushered in a customer who wasn’t Geoff.

  Sunday was her usual day off but with Milo and two other high school students working today plus Dosana to supervise she felt she could take a couple of hours off. She’d go and see Geoff she decided, simply talk to him.

  Maybe she couldn’t have back what she’d had before but she didn’t want to live in a town this small with a man who harbored hard feelings against her.

  “I’m going out for a couple of hours,” she told Dosana.

  “Okay.” Dosana didn’t comment, not even when she grabbed an Americano to go and slipped two of Geoff’s favorite muffins into a bag.

  She took off her apron and hung it up in the back. Then she headed out. She needed to pick up her car at her place since she’d walked to work. But once there she decided to brush her teeth and redo her makeup, change into her new jeans and a flattering shirt she’d bought in Portland.

  She brushed her long hair until it shone.

  She even patted the Alice Munro book he’d given her for good luck.

  With a heartrate definitely elevated she pulled up in front of Geoff’s apartment. She sat in her car staring at the front door as though she could will him to appear. Since her conjuring skills hadn’t improved since she’d tried to make him walk into Sunflower every day for the past week, she decided to call him.

  But he didn’t pick up.

  Typical. Why couldn’t he at least be man enough to talk to her? She got out of the car and stalked to the front door of his building. It was supposed to be secure but half the time the door was propped open so that guests could come and go and the apartment cats could wander at will.

  The door was propped open now and she walked in. She ran lightly up to Geoff’s apartment picturing him marking papers or attempting to make coffee half as good as what she served in Sunflower.

  She balanced the coffee and the bag of muffins in one hand as she banged on his door with the other.

  Nothing.

  She waited a moment and then knocked again.

  A small furry body butted against her legs and she looked down to see Cat clearly as anxious as she was to see Geoff.

  “Where is he?” she asked the cat who seemed to be looking at her with the same question in his eyes.

  A woman emerged from an apartment down the hall. They’d seen each other a few times. She nodded. “Is the cat bothering you?”

  “Oh, is he yours? No. He’s sweet.”

  “He’s got a big man crush on Geoff that’s for sure. He sure misses him when he’s gone.”

  “Geoff’s gone?”

  “Sure. I thought you knew. He went to LA for the weekend.”

  “LA?” She couldn’t help the shock in her voice. Her entire system was shocked. “You’re sure it was LA?” LA where he’d come from? Where his wife lived?

  “Yeah.” The woman looked sorry to have delivered bad news. “Pretty sure.”

  She bent down to pat the cat, hoping to hide the wave of hurt she felt washing over her. She knew she had the kind of face that showed all her emotions and she didn't particularly want this virtual stranger to witness her distress.

  “Did you want me to give him a message or anything?”

  “No. It’s fine. I forgot he was going away this weekend,” she said as casually as she could manage. “I’ll catch him when he’s back.”

  “Okay.”

  She rose. “I’ll see you soon, little cat.”

  And she turned and headed for the door, sipping the coffee so Geoff’s neighbor wouldn’t think she was the kind of pathetic woman who brought coffee to a man who had gone home to his wife.

  She couldn’t go back to work. She called Dosana and made sure the younger woman could close.

  “Yeah. Sure. No problem.”

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  “Yep. It’s quiet. Milo�
�s trying out some of his poetry on that Goth girl waif who adores him.”

  “Oh, that’s so cute,” she said in spite of her misery.

  “You okay? You sound kind of funny.”

  “I’m fine.” She glanced at her watch. “My dad’s probably working on my house now. I might go supervise.”

  “I thought… Never mind. If you need anything, you know I’m here for you.”

  “Yeah. Thanks. See you tomorrow.”

  When she let herself into the house the sound of heavy metal was as comforting as a hug. And boy, could she use a hug.

  “Dad!” she yelled, banging up the stairs. She stopped, knowing he couldn’t hear her anyway and dashed into her bedroom where she stripped out of her seduce the local high school English teacher clothes and shoved herself into a faded old pair of jeans and an ancient T-shirt that she kept for doing disgusting jobs.

  She pushed her feet into sneakers and tied her hair out of the way. That done, she headed up to the third floor once more.

  Jack Chance was bobbing his head in time to “Highway to Hell” as he nailed together the cubbies for her book and toy shelves.

  A wave of affection rolled through her as she thought about how lucky she’d been to have been brought up by Jack and Daphne and not her hopeless biological parents.

  She got his attention by waving at him and he gave her his big smile. She turned the music down to human volume and walked over to him. “Hey, Dad, how’s it going up here?”

  “Okay. I had a tiny bit of trouble fitting the first cube together but I think I figured it out.”

  “AC/DC always helps a person think clearly.”

  He grinned at her, doing the head banging thing and she suddenly had a mental image of him as a young guy in the 70s. In his element.

  “Dad, I need a job. Something sweaty and muscular. I’ve got some stress I need to work out.”

  “I’m thrilled to have an extra pair of hands.” He glanced around. “Tell you what, you can sand the edges of the fresh cuts.”

  She liked that he didn’t pry or offer platitudes or do anything but what she’d asked him to do. Give her a job.