Here, Dunstan sighed, his thoughts interrupted. “She was… wasn’t she?” he muttered. “Right?” Of course, no response came, except for the steady, monotonous ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner. “Right,” he muttered, reassuring himself. “I did the right thing. She needed to know her place. Otherwise, she’d have fooled around behind my back and would have made both of us look like fools.”

He smiled to himself, closing his eyes, her image still in his mind. “I had plans for her. She had so much potential. It was just a matter of making her into a woman deserving of someone of my status.” But, it was here that a frown crossed his face. “She fought it. Fought me every step of the way. She did not want what was best for her, did she? No, she made it clear that she did not wish to be accepted into my family‘s circle…”


“I thought I said to wear the black dress,” Dunstan said, as Iris stepped through the door. “My father prefers black.”

“The black dress had lint on it,” Iris replied. “Besides, I’m sure your dad will like me, no matter what color I’m wearing.”

“Hm,” Dunstan mumbled. “Perhaps.” He took her hand and led her through the house to the parlor, where his father was waiting. As they entered, Mr. Diggory looked up and scanned Iris, a puzzled look on his face.

“Hello,” Mr. Diggory said, looking the girl up and down.

“Hi,” Iris replied, smiling cheerily.

“Father,” Dunstan said quickly, “this is Iris Dandridge, the girl I’ve been telling you about. Iris, this is my father.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Iris said warmly, offering her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Mr. Diggory replied curtly. “So, what do your parents do?”

“My parents are divorced; my dad is a machine operator at a printing company, and my mom is a housewife. Her current husband, my step dad, makes countertops and tables and stuff like that out of marble and granite.”

“I… see…” Mr. Diggory said slowly. “And, tell me, dear, what are your plans for the future?”

“I want to go to college, maybe major something related to writing or psychology, and get my degrees so that I can support myself. Then, maybe I might consider marriage. Maybe.”

Mr. Diggory looked over at his son and said, “Dunstan, may I see you in the hall, please?”

“Certainly,” Dunstan replied. He nodded to Iris. “We’ll be back shortly.”

“Okay,” Iris replied, seating herself on a nearby chair.

Dunstan followed his father out into the hallway. Mr. Diggory shut the door, and then turned to his son.

“Well, what do you think?” Dunstan asked.. “She’s great, isn’t she?”

Mr. Diggory sighed. “Dunstan, please, look at her. Do you think a girl like that is sniffing around because she likes your personality?”

“What are you saying?”

“Your mother was beautiful too. They’re all beautiful, until they’re snarling after your trust fund like a pack of ravening wolves.”

“You’re wrong about her, father,” Dunstan replied, but feebly.

“A word to the not-so-wise about your little girlfriend,” his father said sharply. “Do what you need to with her, and broom her fast.” With that said, he turned on his heel and strode away. Dunstan stared in astonishment after his father for several seconds, then returned to the parlor.

“Hey,” he said softly to Iris, who gave him a murderous scowl.

“Thanks for sticking up for me,” Iris said angrily, glaring at him.

“You heard?”

“Yeah, I heard that creep,” Iris snapped, rising to leave.

“That ‘creep’ is my father, and if I’m lucky, I’ll become half of what he is,” Dunstan argued. “So, just keep your mouth shut about stuff you don’t understand.”

Iris glared at him, then stormed past him, flung open the parlor door hard enough to where several paintings and photographs fell from the wall, and, after making her way to the front door, opened it, then slammed the door shut, effectively shutting him out of her life forever.


“Over the next few years, I tried calling her house, but she never answered. Whenever I stopped by her house, her family said she wasn’t in, even when she was. She wanted nothing more to do with me,” Dunstan whispered, his head bowed. “She broke my heart, even though I tried to be a good boyfriend to her.”

He sighed to himself, looking slowly around the room. Just then, his telephone rang.

“Hello?” he said, answering it. “Yes. Yes, this is Dunstan Diggory. Yes. You have? Is that so? Are you sure? That doesn’t seem like… yes, I’m sure… do you have photographic evidence?” He listened for several more seconds. “Yes. That’s fine. I’ll be there shortly.”


Dunstan stared hesitantly at the building. The investigators had told him that she frequently came to this place and was rather well-known, mainly for being close friends with two popular regulars. He frowned. This place, he thought. They said it’s popular for the stoner and artist-type crowd. Doesn’t seem like her kind of place. Still, those pictures… she may have changed her name and is dressing different, but it’s undeniably her.

He slowly walked into the coffee shop, and immediately had to fight the urge to gawk at his surroundings. All manner of furniture and decorative items, including a science class skeleton, were scattered about. People in wild-looking clothes sat around, sipping drinks and typing at laptops. He scanned the room, trying to locate her. They’d told him that she was usually in around this time. His eyes finally caught sight of her. She was leaning against a young man a few years older than her, looking upset. Dunstan was too far away to hear their conversation, but it was clear that the young man was trying to comfort her.


Slowly, Dunstan made his way over to her. As he came close, he saw her look up at him. A look of fear and anger came into her eyes. Her companion noticed the change in expression and looked in the direction she was staring. He scowled when he saw Dunstan.

“Hey,” Dunstan said awkwardly to them.

“Leave me alone,” she said hoarsely. “I’m grieving.”

“I just want to talk to you,” Dunstan said to her.

“Leave Jade alone,” her friend said sharply. “We’re both in a bad state of mind. A friend of ours died in a car accident the other day.” She clutched at her companion’s arm, staring angrily at Dunstan.

“You’ve caused me enough trouble,” Iris/Jade snapped. “Do you think I’m that same scared, sad little girl who had no confidence, who let people walk all over her? I grew a f***ing spine, Dunstan. I don’t put up with that crap anymore. I‘ve gotten rid of who I was. I changed my name, changed the way I acted, all that junk. And I‘m a better, stronger person now. But you haven‘t changed a bit, I see.”

“I…” Dunstan stammered.

“I hope one day, a woman comes along who hurts you just the way you hurt me. I hope a woman comes into your life who you’ll love dearly, and who’ll be permanently etched into your mind. And you know what? I hope she breaks your heart to tiny pieces. Because guess what, Dunstan. That‘s just what you did to me.” She turned to her companion. “Let’s go, Mark. I’m sick of thinking about the bad old days.”

The duo walked out of the coffee shop. Dunstan stared after them, his mouth open in astonishment. You don’t know, he thought at her. You just don’t know… what you hoped… it’s already happened, and it was you. I’ve tried to find a replacement for you... but none of them have measured up. None of them.

Author's Note: Yep, my laptop is finally back. Finally. Surprised who Iris is? Ha ha. And, yes, the conversation in the flashback is a "Spider-man" reference... I couldn't resist throwing it in.