Everyone laughed.

Iris noticed how easy the evening felt.

No one criticized her for inviting coworkers.

No one asked what she had spent on the groceries.

When a guest spilled cranberry juice onto the tablecloth, Iris fetched a towel without bracing for an argument.

After dessert, Mr.

Ortega handed her a small envelope.

Inside was a photograph of the balcony outside her Edgewater apartment taken several summers earlier.