Iris's POV
Sometimes I wonder what actually goes on in my brother's mind. Adrian seems to completely lose his focus at the most inopportune moments. I had given him clear, straightforward instructions – one dog, just one small dog – yet when I returned from my delightful vacation and collected my children, they came back with two dogs. And Miranda's dog was nearly her size! I was tempted to send both the canines and my children straight back to his house.
Naturally, Adrian had prepared a persuasive explanation when I called him in a fury about the two dogs. The frustrating part is that he convinced me – he always did. Since childhood, it had been this way; I ended up doing whatever he wanted. My children, those little masterminds, knew exactly how to manipulate their uncle to get their way. By extension, I felt manipulated too, because after Adrian surrendered to their wishes, he somehow made me cave in to his desire to please his niece and nephew.
