“Sorry.”
“You really like him, huh?” Keira asked.
“How’d he measure up to the list?” Sloan asked.
Shae pointed at Sloan. “That’s what I wanna know.”
“Conservatively? A nine out of ten, so I guess I’ll just have to hold out for that perfect score,” Xeni said, lying through her teeth. He’d been all tens, across the board.
“Wow. It was the street magician thing, wasn’t it? He felt short there,” Shae teased.
“Nope. He did magic tricks.”
“Damn.”
Joanna laid her head on Xeni’s shoulder. “Well, you know we’re here for you. You’ve helped us through our heartache. We got you.”
“Yeah.”
“We sure do.” The girls agreed.
“Thanks. It was a whole week, so I’ll give myself a few days to mourn and then get back to being my fabulous self. I’m sure there’s a prince of some remote kingdom somewhere who needs my money to help revive their economy.”
“Are you going to quit teaching?” Meegan asked.
“No, not yet. No drastic changes. I haven’t even properly grieved Sable yet, not as my mother. I’m waiting for those emotions to club me over the head. No need to throw an abrupt career change into the mix.”
“Good idea,” Sloan said.
Almost on cue, a wave of exhaustion hit Xeni. She’d just poured so much of herself out on the table and talking about Mason and her family made her realize all over again just how sad she was. There was no other way to describe it. Sadness had settled in the pit of her heart as Keira finally pressed play on the silly dating show. All she could do was wait for the pain to pass.
22
March
Mason sorted through the post, relief washing over him. It had been the same almost every day for the last six months. He spent his afternoons instructing the local youths through music lessons and then he waited for the divorce papers and they never came. He and Xeni had only texted a few times since they’d parted ways. Mason liked to think she was struggling the same way he was, heartsick and lonely, refusing to move on. He’d even refused to take off his ring. He wanted the best for her, and he could admit to himself that he hoped she hadn’t found someone new. Not yet.
“Anything for me?” his mom asked.
“Yes. Here you go.” He handed her a small package from her favorite paper company. Fancy stationery and calligraphy kits were her new hobbies, now that his father was out of the picture.
When they’d returned to Edinburgh, she’d agreed to take care of his dad until he was back to his old asshole self. As soon as the doctors cleared him to go back to the office, she started showing him listings for one-bedroom flats close to his work. She kept the house.
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.”
