Page 25 of Crystal Iris
“There’s gotta be another way.”
“Like how? All I know is his first name. And that he has a horse.”
“A horse? In Boston?”
“It wasn’t Boston. Last time I saw mountains, and now, it was a barn.”
“Okay, a barn. So we look that up.” She’s typing something on her phone. “What kind of horse?”
“I don’t know, a black one.”
“Black one?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“Black horses are not very common.”
“How do you know?”
“I like to watch animal documentaries before bed.” She’s scrolling on her phone. “Why don’t you ask Lara? She might know him.” She puts her phone down. I introduced them at my birthday party.
“I guess I could… I don’t want Aaron to know, for obvious reasons.”
“Let’s start there. No more psychic shit until then.”
I smile at her. “Okay.”
I decide to stay in my apartment for the night; I need to be alone. I text Aaron saying I’m going to work on packing things.
I’m waiting on Lara’s reply when another notification catches my attention.
Hi Iris,
It took me a while, but I think I’ve found something you might want to check out. A colleague of mine brought it up when I mentioned your research. A few years ago, there was an exhibition of rare jewels at the Met, and my friend remembered that the catalog included information on folklore myths. He has a copy and promised to give it to me on Monday. If you don’t find one first, I can send it to you.
Hope this helps.
Happy New Year,
Elena
There are no copies of the catalog for sale on the website. Maybe Harvard has one. The library is open, even though classes haven’t started yet. I make plans to check it out first thing in the morning.
Another notification startles me.
Hey Iris, I would love to grab a coffee. How about tomorrow at 10:30 a.m.? I’m leaving for Morocco on Friday.
I reply immediately:Sounds good. Stanleys?
Perfect, see you then,Lara replies seconds later.
With actual plans for the following day, I order a pizza and eat in peace while researching black horses. I realize I know nothing about the animal; I’m lost in details about breeds and genetics when I make myself get up to pee.
Does Hoyt live in the mountains? Or does he live in the city? Why was he at the gala? Was he someone’s plus one? The thought stirs up the food in my stomach. I remind myself that I’m the oneengaged. Still, whatever reason the prism had to introduce us, it has to mean something.
