Eloise and Iris found their way to a grassy area and sat down.
"Are you truly well, Iris? You don't need to pretend for my sake. It's your father," Eloise said.
"It isn't that I want to pretend for anyone's benefit. I know it is expected that I cry, but that's not how I feel right now. Whatever I feel will come out tomorrow, when I finally see him," said Iris, staring out at nothing in particular.
"I see. Do you know if your mother intends to see him at all?" Eloise inquired. "Has she been told this news?"
"They said she declined. That news doesn't surprise me in the slightest, but it does sting that she never even mentioned it to Reece. I thought she would at least tell her favourite child. This is nowhere near how I imagined our lives turning out," Iris said, pouring herself more wine.
"Neither did I," Eloise added softly. "I imagined my return here would look different. I thought I would be arriving to see you get married not long after I came back."
