It was enough to make a guy sick.
“Wow…just…” He let out a long breath. “I never thought I’d live to see the day.”
“Yeah, well…me either. But like I said, she’s it for me. But I appreciate the uh…concern.” He laughed again. “That’s what that was, right? You being concerned?”
“Um…yeah. Sure. We can call it that,” Mason said with a snicker. “We’re family and we just look out for one another, right?”
“Yes, we do. But enough about me. Weren’t we talking about you and the decisions you’re making for your own life?” He paused. “You know I was seriously just thinking of your own sanity, Mason. Every day I watched you die a little more while under your parents’ thumbs.”
“I know and now that it’s done, I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner–like as soon as I graduated college.”
“Hell, I’m still surprised you opted to move back here at all.”
Raking a hand through his hair, he looked up at the ceiling. “I tossed around the idea of moving somewhere else, but…believe it or not, I like it here. I see all the things I want to do and help change. And if it means I have to live under the watchful eye of my folks, I’ll live.”
“They’ll get hobbies eventually, right?” Sam teased.
“God I hope so.”
“They will. And either way, this move is going to be great for you. Trust me.”
He didn’t need his cousin to tell him that, he already knew it.
Could feel it too.
Last night when he’d carried in the last box and closed the door behind him, Mason felt like he had taken his first free breath.
Sad, right?
“I do trust you and I know the time was right because everything fell into place. The house - even though it’s only a rental - is the perfect size for me. A couple of years from now I might be ready to buy a place, but for now this works.”
“If you’d make a damn decision on the bar Pops left you, you know you could have afforded something of your own. I mean, why are you holding on to this place? Let it go already!”
Yeah, everyone had been in his face about the Mystic Magnolia and Mason had to admit, the whole thing still stumped him. Everyone else got an inheritance that made sense except him. Granted, he never felt the closeness to Pops his sisters or his cousins did, but to be left a decrepit old dive bar just seemed like a slap in the face.
Although–if he was being honest–he’d admit there was one tiny reason he was still holding on to it…
“I’ll deal with it when I’m ready,” he stated, unwilling to let his mind wander any more than it already had. “The lawyer said there wasn’t a rush and everything is being handled - bills are being paid and all so...I’m still trying to wrap my brain around it all.”
“You mean why Pops gave you the place only old locals go to?” Sam teased. “And I mean old! No one under the age of sixty-five goes there!”
“Okay, that’s not that old…”
“C’mon, fess up. Pops took you there when you were younger, didn’t he,” Sam prodded. “The place must hold some significance to you and that’s why he felt like you should be the one to have it.”
“Why would I go to a bar with my great-grandfather? That’s just...it’s weird, Sam.”
“Some could say it was like bonding, but whatever.”
“Look, Pops never took me to the Mystic Magnolia or any other bar so...I’m stumped.”
“Did he give you a letter? I thought we all got letters.”
Rubbing a hand over his face, Mason let out a long breath. “He said a lot of things in my letter but none explained why he thought I should get that place.”
“Really? Huh...that’s strange. What did he say?”
“It was like he was channeling his inner Yoda or something. He spoke in all kinds of riddles. It was weird.”
“Like what?”
Ugh...this really wasn’t something he wanted to talk about right now. He was feeling all good and proud of himself and had been ready to order a pizza and kick back and enjoy it here in his new place and now his cousin was crapping all over his good mood.
“Look, you um...you wanna come over for some pizza?” he said, hoping to change the subject. “I was just getting ready to order one when you called.”
Luckily Sam could be easily distracted.
“Wish I could, but rain check, okay? Shelby and I have dinner plans with Jake and Mallory. You wanna join us?”
The laugh escaped before he could stop it. “Right. Why wouldn’t I want to be the fifth wheel at dinner? I think I’ll pass.”
Catching his meaning, Sam laughed. “Yeah. Okay, I get it. Are you going to the benefit concert tomorrow night?”
“Shit,” he murmured. “Is that tomorrow?”
Sam chuckled. “Yup. I think your mom bought out the entire VIP section.”
He groaned. “Of course she did.” He paused. “Wait, the Magnolia Amphitheater has a VIP section? Seriously?”
“Sure. Most places do.”
“Still, that place isn’t all that big–like 2,500 seats max.”
“And that has to do with VIP seats…why?”
He groaned again. “Never mind. It doesn’t really matter. We’ll all be there so…wait, who’s playing?”
“A couple of bands, I think. I didn’t pay much attention either, but they’re all somewhat local.”
For the life of him, the name of the band escaped him, but it didn’t really matter. “Go have dinner and tell everyone I said hey and I’ll see you all at the show tomorrow.”
“Yeah, sure. Sounds like a plan. Have a good night.”
“You too.”
After he hung up, Mason stretched his arms out along the top of the sofa cushions and smiled. He could order some pizza and maybe invite some friends over and not have to hear about what other people his age were doing or who had just gotten married or engaged or who would be a suitable spouse for him. Seriously, he loved his parents but their obsession with his life had gotten out of control.
Ten days ago had been the breaking point.
He had come home from work to find his mother having wine with a woman he’d never met before. Leslie....something. Mason had figured she was involved in one of his mother’s many charity projects and said a brief hello and went to go change so he could go for a run.
That’s when it all went wrong.
“Mason, sweetie,” his mother said in her best southern drawl. “You can’t go for a run. You have dinner reservations in thirty minutes with Leslie.”
The rage he had felt in that moment had been like nothing he’d ever felt before. In the past he’d dealt with being introduced to women his parents thought would be a good match for him or being asked to take out one of their friends’ daughters, but this was the first time he had been so blatantly ambushed in his own home.
Forcing a smile onto his face, he looked at Leslie and said, “I’m so sorry you were misled, but...I already have plans this evening.” When he turned to leave the room, his mother had jumped to her feet and come after him, berating him for being rude.