“Me too. See you soon.”
Oddly, that made Eli feel better. I wasn’t just an accessory to Iris. I made impressions on my own. Even if things didn’t work out with her, he’d made real friends, connections he intended to keep. Maybe…he’d sell the condo in Ohio and look for property in St. Claire.
After grabbing his wallet and keys, he headed out. He’d been instructed to park on the far right of the cement pad so there would be no issues getting in and out. It took only fifteen minutes to get to Violet Gables, and Henry Dale was already waiting at the end of the gravel drive. Surprisingly, Rowan was with him.
And then he noticed. Once he did, he couldn’t believe he’d processed anything else. The house was covered in violets, like something out of a fantasy book. He even rubbed his eyes, but the house-garden didn’t go away. Only the doors, roof, gingerbread, and windows weren’t blanketed in tiny purple blossoms.
Rowan hopped in the truck first and slid into the back seat; then Henry climbed in front. He slammed the door and motioned for Eli to take off. “It’s not that I think we’re doing anything wrong, but Iris is unsettled enough right now.”
“What happened?” Eli asked, fighting the urge to keep looking back at the gorgeous, unearthly spectacle that was Iris’s home.
“That’s what we want to know,” Rowan said. “We suspect it has to do with her fae heritage, but…” They shrugged.
“Honest to God, I don’t know how I’ll replace that trim now. I’ve got hay fever!” Henry Dale was so aggrieved that it made Eli smile.
Rowan suggested, “Maybe you could wear a mask?”
“I’ll figure something out. You remember the way to Bev’s?” Henry Dale asked Eli.
“Why don’t you remind me?” Eli could have put it in the map on his phone, but Henry Dale had a complex about being needed.
This was an easy way to reinforce that the older man had useful knowledge and others could benefit from his wisdom and experience. When Eli had first met the older man, Eli had never imagined that Henry Dale would reach out first. But here they were, going to lunch on his invitation.
Henry Dale gave some directions; then Rowan filled the conversational lull. “I was promised gravy! We’re finally going to Bev’s.”
“I try to keep my promises,” Eli said.
Rowan added, “So I got the gist of what happened with Iris. Sucks, but I understand why she’s so upset.”
“Yeah.” His tense answer probably made it clear this was tough for him to discuss.
“But I came along because I wanted you to know I’m not taking sides. I like both of you, and I hope you can patch things up. I miss you around the house.” Rowan grinned, affecting a childish voice. “Don’t fight, Mom and Dad, it’s my birthday.”
Since he and Iris were of an age to be Rowan’s older siblings, that genuinely did make Eli laugh and lightened the mood considerably. “Thanks. I miss everyone too.”
Henry Dale snorted. “Does that make Sally and me the grandparents?”
“I mean, not collectively, but…yeah.” Rowan seemed in much better spirits, now that they’d been out of their family home for a while. “Forgot to tell you. I’ve been kinda doing a new web comic based on…well, us. And it’s getting major views. People are tipping a lot, begging for updates. Fans will lose it when the magic house becomes a botanical garden.”
Before Eli could say anything, Rowan added, “I changed our names and everything, don’t worry. And I changed some of the physical traits too. I don’t think anyone would know where my inspiration comes from.”
“So I’m a comic book character on the internet?” Henry Dale didn’t seem to know how he felt about that.
“Is that…okay?” Rowan asked.
“Better to ask forgiveness than permission?” Eli joked. “But seriously, you might want to learn from my mistakes and let everyone else know. Before it blows up on you.”
“Noted,” said Rowan.
The rest of the ride was quiet, and soon they reached Bev’s and ordered their food. Once that was taken care of, Henry Dale sat forward with a purposeful gleam in his eyes. “Now then, here’s why I wanted to talk to you…”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Iris expected someone from the city to arrive the same day because catastrophes tended to cluster.
She was wrong about that, and it felt sort of…anticlimactic to go about her business like things hadn’t changed irrevocably. But she still had bills to pay, jewelry pictures to edit and upload, and laundry to wash. After ticking the first two items off her list, she hauled her hamper all the way down from attic to basement. By the time she got to the washer and dryer, she was exhausted physically, a nice match for her emotional wreckage.
It was impossible to forget how Eli had offered to haul dirty clothes for her. But now he was gone, just as she’d demanded. Iris had no idea why a fleeting moment in childhood meant so much to him. She’d thought they knew each other well, but he was an enigma now, the type of person she never would’ve even met in the normal course of things. Hell, Eli probably had a private plane.
Ugh, stop thinking about him.
Tiredly, she plopped her dirty clothes in the washer, added detergent, and started the cycle. This machine was delightfully simple; there weren’t a lot of options, mostly just hot and cold on the dial. She turned to go back upstairs when something odd caught her eye. Since the basement was a bit creepy, she didn’t spend a lot of time here.
But surely I would’ve noticed…
A door. There was definitely a door etched into the foundation wall on the far side, right next to the shelving full of homemade canned goods of indeterminate age. That wasn’t there before. A door there made no sense; it must lead right into the ground. As Iris stared, unable to understand she was seeing, the seams on the sides filled with light.
And then the door opened.
Or more accurate to say it dissolved and became…more of a portal. Two beings stepped through, lithe and graceful and ageless. At first they seemed to be made of light and flowers, but eventually her eyes resolved, or perhaps their forms did, assuming a more comprehensible guise. The taller one had ink-dark hair, skin and eyes like a starry night, while the more feminine-looking one had hair golden as a koi in a Japanese pond with eyes like the violets on the side of the house.
They’re fae.
That was the only answer that made sense. Awe and wonder pervaded her from head to toe; this must be how humans felt since the dawn of time when confronted with immortality. Yet Iris had no sense of how she was supposed to handle a couple of powerful, ancient entities suddenly porting into her basement laundry room. Behind her, the antiquated washing machine sloshed without decorum, rumbling through the beginning of the cycle.
For lack of any better ideas, she bowed. “Uh. Hello. Welcome.”
To her utter astonishment, they rushed to her and embraced her on both sides. They spoke in a strange language, except…the more they said, the more it started to feel familiar. Sounds gained meaning, and then, suddenly, she did understand every word.
“We found you,” the fair one said.