Chapter 2
"Change it back." I shoved the box toward him. "My name is Iris, not Dependent."
He reached for the marker, but Clara pulled the checklist away. "The movers only care about categories, Iris.
"Names just confuse them. Besides, isn't 'dependent' a tax term anyway?"
"Then why do all your boxes say Clara Vance?"
Clara clammed up.
Adrian scribbled my name and slapped it on the box. "Happy now, Izzy? God. Look, I'll take you out to dinner tonight. My treat."
He hadn't called me Izzy in years.
Three years ago, he used to wait downstairs for me after a late shift, his face buried in his scarf, tossing that nickname around.
Hearing it now, I still couldn't bring myself to push him away.
I nodded. "Just the two of us."
"Just the two of us," he echoed.
But when we got to the restaurant, his idea of "just the two of us" apparently included Sophia, Clara, and half his department, all crowded around a cake that read "To a Bright Future."
I stopped dead in the doorway of the back dining room.
"I thought this was just us," I said to Adrian.
Adrian pulled out the chair next to him. "The transfer got approved today, so everyone wanted a last-minute celebration. I'll take you straight home after we eat."
Clara half-stood, pretending to offer her chair. "You should sit next to Adrian. It doesn't matter where I sit."
Her mouth said one thing, but her body didn't move an inch.
Sophia patted the empty seat at the far end of the table. "Izzy, grab that seat by the door so you can flag down the waiter.
"Clara's the guest of honor tonight, let's let her stay put."
I took the seat by the door.
Throughout dinner, everyone kept asking about the new city. Clara casually rattled off their new floor plans, commute times, and local coffee shops.
She even knew exactly which way the windows in Adrian's new office faced.
Someone raised a glass in my direction. "You've got it made, Iris. A free pass to relax while you move. Adrian clearly wants to spoil you."
I gripped my glass. "I never said I was quitting my job."
The table went quiet for a few seconds.
Sophia set her fork down. "Is a job really more important than your marriage?
"Adrian is going to another city for three years. Are you seriously going to let him live out there all by himself?"
"He isn't by himself. Clara is going too," I said.
Clara lowered her eyes. "Iris, if it bothers you, I can ask HR for a different floor.
"It's just that our teams work closely together, and I wouldn't want my personal issues slowing down the project."
A coworker quickly jumped in to smooth things over. "Don't read into it, Iris. They're just work partners. Everyone knows Adrian heads straight home the second he clocks out."
Adrian slid a bowl of mushroom soup toward me. "Eat something. Your stomach was acting up this afternoon, and you mentioned wanting this."
The soup at this place had to be pre-ordered.
I stared at the bowl, feeling a bit of the anger in my chest melt away. He had been in back-to-back meetings all day, yet he still remembered my passing comment.
I picked up my spoon, but Clara intercepted the waiter. "Hold the pepper on Adrian's, his reflux can't take it. Iris's is fine, we ordered the exact same thing."
The waiter smiled and nodded. "Got it. These are the two identical bowls the ladies pre-ordered."
I put my spoon down.
He hadn't remembered at all.
Clara simply tacked on an extra bowl when ordering hers.
Catching onto my mood, Adrian pushed his bowl closer. "Just take mine. Let's not make a big deal over soup."
"I don't want it," I said, turning away.
Adrian frowned. "Iris, everyone is watching. Don't cause a scene."
After we cut the cake, the HR Director handed out two expat relocation packages.
Adrian had already signed his. The term was three years.
I stared at the date in the bottom right corner.
April 16th.
That was the day he came with me to the hospital for my checkup. Standing in that hallway, he held my hand and promised he wouldn't take on any more travel this year.
Seeing me freeze, he squeezed my knee under the table. "It's just standard paperwork. Three years doesn't mean I'm gone forever. I'll fly back for a weekend every month, okay?"
Sophia beamed as she looked over the contract. "A man has to focus on his career. It's perfectly fine for Izzy to stay back and keep an eye on the house.
"If any real emergencies pop up, well, they'll handle it as a married couple."
Clara raised her glass. "Don't worry, Mrs. Ford. I'll keep him in line."
The group followed suit, raising their glasses to toast the successful project launch.
Adrian stood up too, but he kept his hand firmly on my knee.
He wouldn't let me leave, forcing me to sit there and watch everyone usher Clara into his future.
The HR Director handed the second document to me. "Iris, we just need your signature. It's a standard dependent visa consent form for the company files."
I flipped to the last page.
Under the spousal remarks section, someone had already typed out a response for me.
[Spouse agrees to unconditionally support Adrian Ford's three-year overseas assignment.]
The signature line was blank.
Clara handed me a pen. "Iris, don't leave him hanging. We're waiting to take a group picture."
"I'm not signing this." I dropped the pen on the table. "This doesn't speak for me."
Adrian pressed his hand flat over the paper. "It's just a consent form. It doesn't mean you have to go. We'll talk about it at home."
"You filed this application six months ago. When exactly were you planning to talk about it?"
Clara grabbed the document and slipped it into my purse.
She said to Adrian, "She's just overwhelmed right now. The signature can wait. Give her some space, Adrian."
A collective sigh of relief washed over the room.
She had bailed me out, but she also conveniently framed my refusal as an emotional meltdown to save face for everyone else.
Back home, Adrian dropped the subject. He shoved the moving boxes out of the living room and plugged my laptop back in.
"Don't pack tonight," he said. "I got a table at your favorite spot. Tomorrow is our anniversary, let's celebrate early."
"You remembered?" I asked, a little surprised.