Aspen had never expected visitors in California.   When she had left Florida, she hadn’t really taken any ties with her; she’d barely allowed for any time spent with her mother in the days that led up to her departure. She hadn’t even told Iris or the others about her leaving, only when Iris had called her long after her move. Of course she hadn’t; they were only friends with her (if one even wanted to call it that; it was more like they tolerated her) because of the circumstances – with the circumstances gone, there was no point in inviting them to her going away party, and awkwardly attempting to keep up with them once she was gone.   So the last thing Aspen expected was for Iris to take a trip to San Francisco.   She was happy to see her, of course. Iris was the only one in the group that Aspen had felt true friendship, not just friendly toleration, from; judging from the way Iris’s beautiful face lit up with a smile when Aspen came to meet her at the airport, Aspen could guess that Iris was happy to see her, too.   “How can you live here?!” Iris griped as they traveled on the BART together; it was interesting to have her Floridian accent in her ears after being away from it for as long as she had. “It’s cold out this door!”   “It’s not that cold,” Aspen disagreed. “I like it.”   “Once again, this is right up your alley,” Iris said with a shake of her head. “I need some heat; I can’t show off my best assets like this.” Aspen laughed, shaking her head as well.