The One With Whisky Eyes

Softened, Waves to Glass Shards

Her employers had apparently saw fit to surprise her when she returned to work, the mess having been completely cleaned and the front window replaced, with an old piano they had seen for sale online. The wood was aged and scraped, the children of the previous owners having scratched little characters and names into the legs, but it made her smile none the less. Damaged and aged, it was magnificent. "We haven't had a chance to arrange for someone to come and tune it yet, but we'll have someone stop by this week," Melissa assured softly as she stood next to Iris, her hand on the younger woman's shoulder as she smiled down at her softly.

Iris had mentioned time and again over the years that she dearly wished to own a piano at some time in her life—this was as close as she was probably ever going to actually get, and it made her heart soar to know that they cared so much for her.

"Thank you, both of you, so much," she gushed in return as she looped her arm around Melissa's shoulders in a one-armed embrace, then turned to her husband and did the same. "I think it fits in perfectly, too. Finally got the one thing that this corner needed." The piano was situated deep in the store, near the back corner where a few comfortable chairs were placed about sporadically, a coffee-table in the middle, and the new piano taking up residence in the corner.

"You'll have to test it out once it's ready, check out the acoustics," Gerald added a moment later, shifting over to wrap an arm around his wife as they gazed down at Iris as though she was a child they had raised; a prideful, parental glisten in their eyes. Iris thanked them again and once more when they were on their way out of the store. The others asked about her wellbeing as they arrived for work, each getting mostly the same answer. Jessica gave Iris a look that told her she knew something else was up with the older woman—she was much too calm, almost happy, after having been through someone attacking the store.

Returning to her work, Iris was somewhat relieved to have returned to the usual routine—even if a part of her desperately missed the time she had been given to spend with her soulmate. Barry had taken the day off of work the day after the incident, allowing her and Felicia to spend the day together, but he had to go back to work the next day while she was kept off of work to relax and recuperate.

She had read and cooked, spending the day in her apartment before she returned with BT to the zoo, the man having taken over the work-load for the day, and laughed as he ooed and awed over her soup that had been left-over from the day before. She had received a call from her employers, telling her that the surveillance cameras had caught the car driving away, but it was such an old system that it was too blurry to make out the person driving or the license plate.

Barry had already arranged for her to stay in his room another night, bowing to her affirmation that she would be returning to her own apartment in time for her return to work. She could tell he was reluctant to do so, and her email had been overwhelmed with the others trying to persuade her to stay longer as well. However, no one forced her hand and for that she was thankful. Not that she could ever imagine any of them actually forcing her into anything, but it was still reassuring to know that they were kind enough to care without being oppressive.

Jessica finally cornered her when Iris was in the office working on paperwork and it was the younger woman's scheduled lunch. She scooted her way into the room and put herself right next to Iris's peripherals, wearing an expectant look that forced a laugh from Iris. She tried to keep her composure, but Jessica's excited look of 'tell me!' was too much.

"I met another soulmate," she finally caved with a smile. Jessica squealed discretely, throwing her hands up in celebration.

"Iris, that's fantastic! Must've made all of this mess much easier to bear, huh?" Iris nodded along in agreement, wishing that she could tell Jessica just how much her soulmates were making everything easier to bear. She had confided in the woman with a fraction of her soulmates, a feat she never thought she would make, but she wasn't sure she could tell Jessica the full extent of her situation.