Page 117 of Sharkbait
She stands in the doorway a moment, like she’s unsure if she’s still welcome here.
“Took ya long enough,” I attempt a joke.
She smiles.
“Pull up a chair, won’t you?”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Ooh, a customer! Let me talk to the customer!” Iris’s excited voice peals through the speakerphone.
Louise freezes mid-sit. “Oh. I didn’t realize you were… I can come back later when…”
“Don’t be silly,” I say. “Please. Sit.”
She still looks extremely uncomfortable, but she settles onto the stool and hangs her purse on a hook.
“Hawaii is six hours behind us,” I explain to her. “Iris and I always have a post-school-day-wrap-up phone call around this time. She loves to say hi to the customers. She knows all the regulars. Don’t you, baby girl?”
“I do!” Iris says proudly. “And they all love me.”
“I’m sure they do,” Louise says with a smile.
“Would it be okay if I…?” I gesture to the phone and mime turning it in Louise’s direction.
“Um, yeah. I guess. If you’re okay with it, I’m okay with it.”
“I’m great with it,” I say.
Louise tucks her hair nervously behind her ears and leans forward as I turn the phone fully around to face her.
“Hi!” my little girl’s voice says. “I’m Iris. What’s your name?”
“Hi, Iris.” Louise waves. “My name is Louise. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Ohmygoodness, we were just talking about you, Louise!”
“You were?” Louise asks, then looks up at me, panicked. “You were?”
“Rissy and I were talking about how sometimes friends have fights and say things they don’t mean.”
“Louise is a pretty name!” Iris is fully committed to her conversation and not paying attention to me at all anymore.
“Thank you.” Louise laughs. “Iris is very pretty too.”
“Do you know what Iris means?”
“Hm. I don’t know for sure, but… maybe flower?”
“Ding, ding, ding! How did you know?” Iris is awed.
“Just a lucky guess.” Louise chuckles. “Hey, Iris, I have a new friend named Meilani, and—”
“Oooh, I like that name!”
“Me too. Meilani is actually a sea lion. Your daddy told me her name means heavenly beautiful or heavenly flower. So my two new friends both have flower names. How cool is that?”
