Page 5 of Isolated
Like I always did whenever she tried to bring down the mood, I ignored Eleni’s tone and only considered the words themselves.
“I get out and do lots of things,” I assured my sister. “In fact, I went out to dinner last night.”
“Oh, you had a date?” Flora’s question came out like a song. Of the three of us, she was the dreamer.
“Don’t let boys distract you from your career,” my grandfather warned me. “You got this promotion because you’re focused on what’s important.”
“There’s nothing wrong with her going on a date,” my grandmother argued. “Don’t act like you weren’t chasing me all over town back in the day.”
I pressed my lips together to stifle a grin as my grandfather reasoned, “That was different.”
“It was not. And if Iris wants to have her career and a family, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Laughter spilled out of me. “There was no boy. I had a date with Kasey and Stephanie. They took me out for dinner to celebrate my birthday with me.”
“Kasey and Stephanie work with you,” Eleni pointed out, piling extra bits of red onion on her taco.
I nodded, reaching for my glass of water. “Yes.”
“So, that’s not you getting out and meeting new people.That’s you being so addicted to your job and the work you do that your only friends are your coworkers.”
“I’m not addicted to work.” Even as I said the words, I wasn’t entirely sure I believed them. My boss had to all but order me not to bring my laptop home, because even he knew that I’d spend time working on my birthday weekend if he hadn’t.
Mom, even though she wasn’t remotely confrontational, interjected, “You do work a lot, Iris.”
Quick to defend me, Dad jumped in, “But it’s clearly paid off.” He sat back in his seat, shaking his head slightly with disbelief and a smile on his face as he murmured more to himself than anyone else, “Vice President of Marketing…”
He was mostly at a loss for words. He couldn’t be prouder if he tried.
I rolled my eyes, entertained by all of it. It never bothered me when Eleni questioned me like this. The way I saw it, she could have said nothing, and that would have indicated to me that she didn’t care at all.
“Well, I guess I can share that dinner with Steph and Kasey wasn’t the only thing I did yesterday.”
My grandmother and Flora both perked up. “Oh?”
“There was leftover cake from the small party they had for me at work, so I brought it home with me. I wound up sharing some of that?—”
“With a boy?”
I dropped my taco and shifted my attention to my grandmother, unable to avoid the hopeful look in her eyes. I hated having to disappoint her. “Not with a boy.”
Disappointment leaked into her expression as Flora asked, “Who did you share cake with?
I grinned at her. “Walter.”
“Walter? The old guy who lives next door to you?”
“Yes. I took some chocolate cake and a balloon over, and we sat outside on his front porch eating dessert together. It was nice.”
“He’s nearly the same age as our grandfather, Iris.”
“And how’s that a problem, Eleni?” I covered my grandfather’s hand with mine. “I’d share cake with him, too.”
My sister let out a frustrated sigh and returned her attention to her food, unwilling to elaborate on what was actually bugging her. I really wished I knew what made her so upset sometimes. While it was true that she’d always been the most outspoken of the three of us—which was saying something, considering I found myself talking to anyone and everyone—it seemed like my sister had grown more and more irritable over the last two years or so. Right around the time I left Grouse and moved to Steel Ridge.
“Iris has never had any problems making friends with everyone,” Mom proudly announced. “Even as a kid, she made friends everywhere she went.”
“That’s why I was thinking you might have had some other news to share with us, Iris,” Flora said.
