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“No rush,” Iris said, walking to the windows that lined the front room. Night had drawn close, but the rain continued to spatter against the glass, making the lights of the village blur out like a moody watercolor painting. Energy buzzed through her, and Iris felt like she wanted to dance out of her skin. She began to pace, as was her habit when something was on her mind, and looked up at Kane’s laugh.
“Pacing already? Wine may help this situation.”
“You’re likely not wrong,” Iris admitted, following him into the kitchen, where he pulled out a bottle of red and held it up for her approval. Iris squinted at the label and then shrugged one shoulder. “I’m not fancy, and I don’t really know enough about wines to pretend to be.”
“But you do like wine?” Kane asked.
“I do. I just never took enough time to learn much about it. I’m not a heavy drinker. It…can cloud things for me.” Iris tapped a finger to her head as she leaned against a counter and watched Kane uncork the bottle. Interest lit his face, and Iris prepared herself for the incoming questions. She was used to them, as people usually hammered her with questions as soon as they learned about her profession. That or they walked away. It typically depended on their beliefs.
“Interesting. I didn’t think about that but, yes, I suppose alcohol would dull things for you, no? That’s probably not ideal for work,” Kane said. “I’ll admit, I’m a curious sort, which means I have a ton of questions. But I don’t want to bother you, so will you let me know if I step over the line? Or if you’re not in the mood for questions?”
Iris realized it was nice to be asked first. Rarely did anyone ask her if she was in the right frame of mind to have what, in reality, were highly personal discussions about how her abilities worked.
“Hit me with ’em, Kane. I can take it.” Iris smiled and tapped her glass to his before following him back out to the living room. There, she curled up on one end of the deep couch and watched as he bent to the fireplace. His shirt tightened across his back, and Iris raised an eyebrow at the muscles that rippled there. Kane might be a writer, but he certainly spent some of his time away from his desk to get muscles like that.
“How do you balance the two? Like…for example, having a conversation with me but also potentially having a conversation with someone else? Is it a tricky thing to navigate them?” Kane asked, striking a match against the stone mantel.
“It was, at first, because I’ve had this essentially my whole life. As a child, I thought they were imaginary friends. As I grew older, I realized that other people didn’t have the same internal dialogue as I did. Now, that was a steep learning curve.” Iris laughed and took another sip of her wine, pulling a soft throw blanket over her lap. “Here I’d be at school asking kids about things in their life like it was common knowledge. Trust me, that didn’t go over well when parents were divorcing or new siblings were on the way…anything like that. However, once I fully came to understand what I was working with, then I was able to learn how to mute my guides.”
“Mute them?” Kane brushed his hands off on his legs and stood, bringing his wine with him as he crossed the room and took a seat on the other end of the couch from her. “Sure and that’s an interesting way to put it. Then you’re saying you don’t have to, like…I don’t know…do a ritual or something to bring them to you? I’ve seen something like that on a show, I think. Where the psychic starts with a little prayer or something and then brings the spirits in. Is that not the case for you then?”
“It depends on what I’m trying to accomplish.” Iris realized she enjoyed talking about her process with someone genuinely interested in her work. “On a day-to-day basis, my personal spirit guides are with me. I can unmute them and communicate as needed, whenever and wherever. I don’t need to speak to do so. I can just communicate with my thoughts. However, in a reading with a client, I’m quite often not speaking with my guides but theirs. That requires a little more finesse, as I need to tune in to their guides and then ask permission to work with them. That’s the ritual you see on the television shows.”
“Ah, fascinating. I didn’t think about the fact that you would work with other people’s guides. Wait, so you mean we all have our own spirit guides?” Kane perked up as though she’d just told him he’d won a prize.
“Yes.” Iris laughed at Kane’s delighted look.
“No way. You mean I’ve got a pack of guides just hanging over my shoulder, likely shaking their heads at my poor excuse for work these days?” Kane asked.
“No, not like that.” Iris surprised herself by giggling. She wasn’t someone who giggled, at least not that she could recall. “They aren’t there to judge you. A guide is meant to, well, guide you. If they just sat around and judged you all day, well, that probably wouldn’t be very motivating, would it?”
“Oh, so they’re like life coaches?” Kane asked.
“Something like that.” Iris smiled, enjoying how his brain worked. She knew what was coming next but didn’t mind. People always asked her to tell them about their spirit guides. Technically, it was a free reading, so she usually didn’t do it. But with Kane, she wouldn’t mind. He’d been very nice to her since they’d met.
“Again, fascinating. Do I just, like, give them a high five once in a while?” Kane mimicked high-fiving the air, and Iris collapsed in laughter. “Thank them for the help?”
“I’m sure they’d be delighted.” Iris couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed this easily. “They do appreciate being acknowledged.”
“You’ll have to tell me how to do so. I can’t believe how rude I’ve been all these years not to even say hello. It’s properly un-Irish of me. We’re known for our hospitality, you know,” Kane said. He shook his head sadly as though he’d let all of Ireland down by not welcoming his spirit guides properly.
“Luckily, they’re incredibly forgiving,” Iris said and laughed when Kane mock wiped his brow.
“Have they given you any insight on what you’ve learned today? Would you consult them in matters like this? Or are they just sort of there on the back burner and available as needed?” Kane asked, surprising Iris by not asking more about himself. He was genuinely interested in her, it seemed.
“Ah, well. I don’t know that my spirit guides are the same as others. Because of my ability, I have highly developed communication patterns with them. It wouldn’t be the same for others. It’s basically like turning the volume up, I suppose.” Iris tapped a finger to her lips. “But yes, they’ve been chattering at me all day. It seems they’re quite excited about me meeting up with Gracie, and they view this as a good development. I’m…I’m trying to listen to them more.”
“Wait…you don’t always listen to them? You, like, have a direct line to otherworldly assistance in your life, and you ignore it?” Kane looked at her with shock.
“Yes, okay, sometimes I ignore it, Judgey McJudgerson.” Iris narrowed her eyes at Kane.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry. I realize now how that must have sounded.” Kane held his hands up in the air.
“We all have free choice. Yes, I’m lucky to have guidance. But because I have so much of it, I don’t know…sometimes…I guess I feel like I have to go against the guidance just to make sure my own voice doesn’t get lost, if that makes sense?” Iris had never had to explain this to someone else before, and now she found herself struggling to put into words her need to still be independent of her spirit guides. Nobody had cared enough to ask her before, she realized, her eyes catching on Kane’s. But this man? He truly was interested. Not just in her gift but in her.
“Ahhh, sure, sure,” Kane said, nodding along. “It’s like if my mam was muttering over my shoulder all the time. You still want to do your own thing.”
“Something like that. Overall, I’m lucky for their support. They tried to warn me away from Warren, you know…” Iris sighed. “That was one area I should have listened to them in. Now, I’m trying to be better about doing so. I think I’m confident enough now in who I am as a person to know my own voice but give my guides more input in my life as well. That’s why I accepted your offer for a ride, by the way.”
