Mason struggled with the fact that he’d left his mum alone to deal with his father for all those years. Since he’d been back, though, he and his mum spent a lot of time talking, finding the space they needed to redevelop their relationship as mother and adult son. She’d admitted there were things she couldn’t have told him when he was in his twenties, things she hadn’t wrapped her mind around. When his father had announced his plan to go to the States and bring Mason back, she’d known nothing about the man was going to change.
His father functioned on control and she wanted no part of it. At first, Jameson didn’t want to let her go quietly, but eventually he did move out and agree to her terms, uncontested. Mason had a feeling it had to do with his health, but he didn’t ask. He was just glad his mum was happy and moving on with her life. Every day that went by, her strength to start over made him wonder what he was doing with his own future.
Shaking himself from his thoughts, he turned to find his mum looking at him, one eyebrow arched high. “You want some tea?” he said.
“I asked you a question,” his mum said with a smile.
“What was that?”
“Did you hear from Xeni?”
“No, not yet.”
“Hmmmmm.”
“You have any wisdom to share, I’m all for it.”
“You have to ask yourself, what do you want?” she said. “It’s plain as day how you feel. It’s written all over your face, every day those papers don’t come. I know that you said you both need time, but it’s not like you to leave things like this. You both deserve closure. Good or bad.”
He thought for a few long moments. So long that his mum took a seat at the kitchen table and waited. Mason knew he was stalling. As long as things were quiet on Xeni’s end, he didn’t want to risk the conversation that might end it all for good. He was afraid, but that was no way to live.
“I’ll call her,” he finally said.
“Good. I’ll take that tea now.” Mason put the water on, then checked the world clock on his phone. She was just starting her day. He swallowed his nerves and sent her a text.
Hey, love. When’s a good time to call?
He added a gif of Homer Simpson dialing a touch tone phone.
* * *
An hour later, she responded.
* * *
I’m free to have an uninhibited emotional
breakdown at four p.m. my time. Is that too late?
He responded with the gif of former American football player Shannon Sharpe saying, “That ain’t no problem.”
Ha! Talk then.
It had been cloudy and wet all week, but there was finally a break in the rain.
“Do you need moral support?” Sarah asked.
“Can you please put the call on speaker so I can hear everything?” Meegan asked.
“No. And fuck you, no.” Xeni’s hands were trembling as she reached in her purse. She couldn’t find her damn keys and she was supposed to talk to her husband on the phone in ten minutes. “I’m going to get in my car, drive to Trader Joe’s and take this call. Then I’m going to walk inside Trader Joe’s and buy a case of three-dollar wine. I may call both of you later and see if you want to work through the case with me.”
“You know I’m game. I’ll swing by Sweet Creams just in case and ask Shae to load me up,” Meegan said.
“Antonio is bugging me, so you can count me in,” Sarah added.
“Everything okay?” Xeni asked as her key magically appeared under her wallet.
“Yeah, he just wants to move in together and I don’t want to. We’ll figure it out.”
“Tell Antonio it’s fancy as hell to maintain separate residences. Okay, got my keys. Definitely come over tonight.”
“We will.”
Meegan and Sarah headed across the Whippoorwill parking lot as Xeni climbed in her car and prepared to meet her doom. Was she being dramatic as hell? Yes. She’d spent the last six months getting her life in order. She’d found a wonderful therapist. She’d moved. Helped her step-dad prepare for his retirement, argued with her mother about hers and made decisions about the future of her career. She’d tried yoga. She’d given up yoga. She’d even given herself a break and gotten an outstanding massage at Burke Williams. The only thing she hadn’t done and absolutely needed to do was get a divorce.
She knew her family was starting to worry. Okay, so she was still wearing her rings. They were just so pretty and they brought her a level of comfort she couldn’t explain. Her parents wanted her to get to grips with the fact that she was hanging on to a marriage to a man who lived eight thousand miles away and had no plans to ever see her again. She’d prayed on it. Done some light witchcraft. Done some intense witchcraft that she’d had to undo for fear that she’d accidentally started courting a demon. Cried a lot and ate most of her feelings. Finally, she’d decided to give them a year. Something about that felt right. If she couldn’t get up the courage to contact him and if he maintained radio silence in all the time, she’d have her answer. The lingering feelings that refused to go away would have to be bottled up and cast into the sea.
Apparently Mason had made up his mind a little sooner.
The rain started up again and traffic slowed to a crawl. No one in L.A. could drive in the rain. Xeni watched her dashboard clock, hoping by some miracle that Mason wouldn’t call her while she was trying to operate a vehicle. A few blocks later, though she could see the Trader Joe’s up ahead, she was still stuck. Her dash display suddenly lit up.
MASON...INCOMING CALL
“FUCK!” She pressed the phone icon on her steering wheel and prayed she didn’t throw up on herself. “Hey you,” her voice wobbled in the most embarrassing way.
“Hello, love. How are you?”
“Jesus, did your accent get thicker?”
“I’m among my countrymen.”
“Clearly. I didn’t sign the papers yet,” she blurted out.
Mason’s deep chuckle coming through the surround speakers only made things worse. She’d missed him so damn much and so did her body. Her thighs instantly clenched.
“That’s what I was calling to talk to you about. I was hoping we could talk in person.”
“Oh yeah? Where? And when?”
“I was thinking next week. Turns out, a bassist I used to play with lives in Los Angeles. Place called Silver Lake?”
“Of course you know a bassist who lives in Silver Lake.”
“I don’t know what that means, but he said I could stay with him. I thought it would be a good time to hash things out in person.”
“Hold on one sec. I’m driving,” Xeni replied. Too many things were running through her mind, like how he was going to fly all this way to make sure she signed the paper once and for all. Her stomach lurched at the thought. He was probably seeing someone else. The light changed and Xeni finally pulled into the Trader Joe’s parking lot. “Okay. So, next week.” Xeni grabbed her phone and pulled up her calendar. She knew then that the universe was definitely fucking with her. “Yeah, I can do next week.”
“I should have made this clear right when I called—”
“Made what clear?” Xeni really didn’t want to be sick in the Trader Joe’s parking lot, but she was real close.
“I don’t want a divorce.”
“Oh! Okay, well, I don’t either.” She thought it would be a relief to admit the truth out loud, but a whole host of other questions started bouncing around her head. Being married didn’t mean he was in love with her. She knew how that might sound to some people, but she and Mason clearly didn’t have a conventional relationship, if they had a relationship at all.
“That’s something we have in common.”
“Um, do you need me to get you from the airport or anything?”
“No. I won’t be fit for human eyes after a transatlantic flight. I’ll pull myself together and then I can come to you.”
“Okay. We could meet at my house? I got a new place. And we can talk in private?” Tha
t way if we come to the conclusion that we really do need to get a divorce, I won't be weeping in the middle of a restaurant, she almost added.
“I would love to see your new place,” he said. Xeni eyes started to sting. Why was longing even a thing? Why did she still feel this way about him after all of these months? Could she even make it a week? Taking this call was a mistake. She wanted to see him now. She needed to get off the phone.
“Great. So, you wanna say next Friday night at seven? I’m not sure when you get in.”
“Friday night sounds perfect. Just let me know your address and I’ll get myself over there.”
“Okay. Well, I’m going to go get wine drunk for the next six days. See you soon!”
His deep laugh came through the speakers again. “See you soon, love.”
Xeni ended the call and sank back against her seat. Then she opened her phone again and went right to the group chat.
Xeni: all hands meeting at my house tonight for all who can make it.
Meegan: YOU TALKED TO HIM???
Joanna: What? What’s going on?
Xeni: My husband is coming to town.
Shae: Holy shit. I’ll be there. And I’m bringing a whole ass cake.
Xeni: Good. I’m gonna need it.
23
The Vernal Equinox
Xeni stood in her bedroom, looking at herself in the mirror. It was a little cool out for the short sundress. Also, it was night time, but whatever. The yellow floral pattern looked amazing against her dark skin and the cut of the dress made her ass look amazing. She leaned forward and adjusted her tits in her bra. She wasn’t panicking. Nope, she was totally cool and calm. And who wouldn’t want to look good for a house guest and potential gentleman caller?
She’d spent the week discovering which breathing exercises worked best and she’d spent the afternoon trying to figure out how many bouquets of fresh flowers telegraphed “I’m trying to pretend I’m happy, healthy and completely balanced. Everything is fine”.
The doorbell rang.
“Let him talk. Just let him talk and then you can say whatever unhinged shit that wants to come flying out of your mouth.” She breathed. “Coming!” Xeni power walked through her new Spanish style home. Rounding the corner to the front entrance, she could see Mason’s towering shape through the stained glass transom in the front door. She opened the door and let fate in.
“Hey!” she said a little too loud. He looked better than she’d remembered. Tall, thicc as hell, and that beard. He looked comfortable in his cool weather clothes, the dark jeans hugging his thighs just right and a light Henley under a dark blue Carhartt jacket. And of course, his green McInroy Farm hat. He had a small potted succulent in his hand and a bag hanging off one shoulder. Xeni hoped it was filled with condoms.
“Come in. Do you mind taking off your shoes?”
“Oh sure.”
“Here, I’ll take that for you,” she said, taking the plant from him.
He was still wearing his ring.
“That’s for you. A little housewarming gift.”
“Thank you.” Xeni stepped back and gave him room to set his bag on the bench. He shed his boots and tucked them under the bench next to her shoes. She wasn’t thinking anything weird like how his boots belonged there or anything. She didn’t take note of how he looked shrugging out of his jacket either or how it looked good suddenly hanging next to her raincoat. These were not things that crossed her mind. Not at all.
“This is a lovely neighborhood,” he said, closing the door behind him. “Seems very cozy.”
“Thanks. The area is called Leimert Park, mostly Black and Brown people live over here. My parents are just a five-minute drive away. Close, but too far for my mom to walk over here. Boundaries and shit, you know.”
“I do. Been living with my mum the last few months. Been great to reconnect, but—”
“You’re a grown man and you’d love your own space.”
“Something like that.”
“Well, come all the way in and I’ll give you the tour and then we can talk about calmly and rationally about our future. Aahahahah!” Xeni laughed.
Mason shook his head, not bothering to hide his smile, and followed her farther into the house.
“I was in a nice one-bedroom closer to the school before, but I’ve always wanted to live over here. This place popped up, nearly remodeled and I had to grab it,” Xeni beamed, adoring the painted tile that covered her backsplash. She set the plant on the island so she didn’t drop it by accident.
“I wanted to bring you a St. John’s Wort plant, but I didn’t realize it was basically a bush. The woman at the gardening store suggested a succulent might be more practical.”
“I appreciate that. I don’t have much of a green thumb. Don’t let the roses fool you, I just bought them. Um, my friend Shae made us these amazing tarts.” She motioned to the spread she’d set out on the counter. “And I figured we could order in. There are a bunch of great places nearby we could have delivered.”
“If you have any suggestions for Mexican food, my friend said I needed to try more real tacos. He also suggested we go to a Korean BBQ place.”
“We can do both of those things.” The idea of doing a whole culinary tour of L.A. with Mason made her ridiculously happy. So did the idea of him sticking around long enough that she could take him to the beach and Disneyland and… “There’s a place nearby called World of Tacos. Why don’t I show you around and then we’ll order?”
“Perfect plan.”
“So, this is the kitchen slash dining room. You saw the living room on the way in. Bedrooms are this way.” She led him to the back of the house and pointed out the guest bedroom and her office. She could feel him as he walked behind into her master bedroom, ignoring the way just being around him caused her body to ignite.
“Bathroom’s through there and the French doors lead out to the back yard. It took about three months for me to stop being afraid of someone just busting through here while I’m sleeping, but I have an alarm system and the fences are pretty high. I might get a dog, though. Everyone in this neighborhood has a dog. The barking works.”
Mason looked around the room.“That’s a big bed for one person.”
Xeni nodded slowly. “I have noticed that.”
“And that’s a very interesting chair.” Mason tipped his chin toward the oversized ladder-back chair sitting in the corner.
“It’s a sex chair,” Xeni blurted out.
“A sex chair for a sex witch,” Mason joked.
“Pretty much.”
He walked over and examined it more closely. “May I?” he asked.
“Yeah, of course. Make yourself comfortable,” she replied, her voice squeaking a little bit. Mason took a seat. Heat flashed over Xeni’s whole body at the sight of him sitting there. She’d pictured it more than a hundred times and none of her fantasies had come close to the real thing.
“Has the sex chair gotten much use?” he asked.
“Uhh… solo use? Yes.”
Mason glanced up at her before he ran his fingers over the wide set arms. “Is that mirror always there?”
Xeni swallowed and considered taking a seat on the bed before her knees gave out. “Yes.”
“So, what you’re telling me is that you sit in this chair and masturbate every night while looking in that mirror.”
“Well, not every night. Lesson plans take up a lot of time, even for kindergarteners. But yeah, sometimes, I guess.”
“I see.” Mason leaned forward and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket before making himself comfortable again. “I finally saw Practical Magic.”
“Oh yeah?” Xeni laughed. “What do you think?”
“Stellar performance by Sandy Bullock and that Aidan Quinn’s a total babe.”
“He is,” Xeni laughed even harder.
“It inspired me to make a list of my own. I asked my mom about homegrown witchcraft and love spells, and after she lectured me about feminist
struggles across Scottish history and midwifery and not toying with curses and Catholicism? This is what I came up with.” He made a big show of clearing his throat. “What I Want From Life: A Comprehensive Accounting, by Mason McInroy, Age Thirty Six.”
Xeni bit her lip, not sure whether to laugh or cry.
“Actually, why don’t you come over here and read it yourself.”
Xeni crossed the room and took a seat on Mason’s lap. She stopped herself just shy of settling into his warmth, perching herself carefully just above his knee. She needed to know first. She needed to be sure. He handed her the piece of paper and Xeni was shocked to find there was no list at all. She read the words on the page, a few fat tears running down her cheeks.
“Go ahead and read it out loud,” he said quietly. His fingers brushed her skirt aside and settled on her thigh. With his other hand, he took her fingers in his and jostled her rings a bit, letting her know that he’d seen them just like she’d seen his.
“I want Xeni Everly-Wilkins to remain my wife from here forward. With her by my side, the rest will take care of itself,” Xeni managed to say.
“I hate doing dishes,” Mason said. “But I scrub a mean toilet and since I’m no longer cooking for a living, I’ll happily do the cooking for you.”
“That all sounds amazing, but what the hell is this?” Xeni pointed to the crude drawing at the bottom of the paper.
“I was thinking about surprising you outside of your school with my bagpipes, but then I remembered how much you hate surprises so I thought I’d draw a little something. That’s me there, playing for you, and that’s you up on the balcony.”
“What balcony?”
“I don’t know. It seemed very romantic at the time. Can you just appreciate the effort here? I cook, sing and play seventeen instruments, and my dick is a foot long. Sorry I’m a terrible sketch artist. I can’t be everything for all people, Xeni.”
“I guess. Come here.” Xeni cupped his cheeks and pressed her lips to his. What was meant as a sign of gratitude, a ‘welcome home to me,’ quickly morphed into something else as his tongue slid into her mouth. She shimmied closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She pulled back just as she started to feel his erection pressing against her thigh.
Xeni Page 22
