Iris and the List

Iris and The Dinner

I was proud of myself for managing to have a polite conversation with Bill. It wasn't even that hard either, he was kinda easy to talk to.

"Well, I like to do my job, play golf, spend time with my dogs." He said.

I asked him about his dogs, and we proceeded to have a nice conversation.

It was in the middle of dessert, when Bill suddenly got up.

"I'm afraid I have to make my exit. It was a lovely dinner, and it was great to talk with you, Percy and Iris. Good bye Lily." He kissed Mom on the cheek, and then left.

"Okay so, Iris and I are in the tree in our backyard, and Dad's standing at the bottom waiting for us. I wanted to get down, I was done sitting up, like thirty feet in the air. So I'm like, "Dad, I'm coming down!" Then, Iris starts screaming and crying, because she's too scared to get down." Percy said.

He was telling the story of the incident that made me terrified of heights.

"Okay, so how old were you two?" Melody asked.

"I was six, and Iris was three and a half."

Melody nodded. "Okay, continue."

"Well, so, Iris is driving me nuts, so I'm trying to climb down the tree, and she grabs onto my arm. Then, I lose my grip on the tree and the next thing I know, I'm falling. I'm freaking out, obviously, and I know that, this is it, it's all over for me. My life is flashing before my eyes, I'm seeing kindergarten graduation, getting a kiss from a little girl in my class, and a lot of TV."

We all started laughing at him, and he began to laugh too.

"Well, so I've finally accepted my fate, and then Dad catches me."

"Didn't you make him fall too? From all of the force of falling?" Melody asked.

"Nope. I was a scrawny six year old. So Dad and I just look at each other for a minute, he bursts out laughing, and I jump out of his arms. I start bowing in the direction of the sun, and began screaming thank the lord. Then Dad climbed up to go get Iris, and they almost fell because he wouldn't stop laughing at me."

"And that's why I'm afraid of heights." I said.

Melody and Percy just laughed.

I liked Melody. She was just quiet when you first met her, she actually talked a lot.

We finished up our desserts and then left. Bill's strange departure seemed to be the last thing on everybody's mind.

Melody kissed Percy and left, because she was heading back to campus. Percy was staying until Sunday.

We pulled into the driveway and walked inside the house. I kicked off my shoes and walked into the living room. I had an uncomfortable feeling that I was being watched.

I reached for the light switch, and turned the light on. I looked around, and then I saw it.

A dog. A puppy, more specifically, sitting on the couch staring at me.

"Mom? There's a dog in the living room." I called.

Mom and Percy walked in. They stared at the dog, and the dog stared back at us.

"Surprise!" Bill said, jumping from behind the couch.

I jumped, from surprise.

"She's for you guys. She's a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Your mom said she wanted a dog, so I made it happen."

Mom walked toward Bill. "Thank you Bill! We'll love her. Now, how about you and I go for a drive, and Iris and Percy can get to know the puppy. You guys can name her."

She didn't seem too happy about this.

She and Bill left, and Percy and I were left with the dog.

I knelt on the ground. "Hi, uh, dog. We're your new owners. I'm Iris, and that's my brother, Percy."

Percy snorted. "She has no idea what you're saying."

He sat down next to me, and held his hand out for her to sniff.

"I'm going to go call my friends to come over." I said.

I pulled on shoes and ran across the street while calling Rory. He was with Ginger, so he said he'd be over with her. Bee said she'd get a ride from them. I called Colton, no answer, but Bradley came over.

He and I were sitting cross legged on my front lawn with the dog. Percy was inside, because he said it was "too cold".

"Do you know where Colton is?" I asked.

He rubbed his nose. "No idea. I haven talked to him."

Ginger's car pulled up, and Rory jumped out with his black Labrador, Rose, following him.

"What are you going to name her?" Bradley asked.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure yet."

"How about Bradley Jr.?" Bradley suggested.

"No."

"How about Lorelai?" Rory said.

I considered this. "I do love that show."

"Chuck! Or Blair!" Ginger said.

"I do love that show too." I said.

"How about Molly?"Bee said.

"I like that idea." Bradley said.

"Me too. Her name is Molly." I decided.

"Our dogs are going to be besties." Rory
said.

"Oh yeah! Did you guys get the leads in the musical?" I asked, suddenly remembering.

Bradley grinned triumphantly. "Yep. We'll be in rehearsals all the time now, so that's a downside but whatever."

We spent an hour or so hanging out. It was fun, but I wish Colton would have been there.

AN: The photo is a Bradley collage. I don't own the photos. What did you think of the chapter? Comment and vote please! Next chapter will be up May 29th.