I would if she was actually in France and I thought that our marriage wasn’t totally fucked. Last I heard, she was in Seattle, and when I got home from Brooklyn, I noticed a few more things were missing from the house.
Me
She returned to Seattle while you were gone, but didn’t tell you?
Mason
Yeah. I guess that says it all—if she truly wanted to work things out, then she would’ve stuck around and waited so we could speak face-to-face.
Me
I need to ask, what went wrong between you?
Mason
How long until your flight?
Me
We’re literally taxiing to the runway now, and I need to switch to Airplane mode.
Mason
Okay, well, when we’re next sharing a hotel room on an away series, I’ll tell you everything.
Me
Fuck. How much detail is there to go through?
Mason
Buddy, we were together for a decade and married for over half of that time. A lot has gone down between us, and I’m not proud of some of my actions.
Mason begins typing again, and I pause on replying to see what he’ll say next.
Mason
I know I’ve joked around about you flying to Vancouver between practice sessions. But really, I’m sitting here, taking notes and wishing that I’d been that smart with Eloise. She deserved more than I gave her, and now another guy will get his chance with the only woman I’ve ever loved.
Well,this is fucking awkward,I say to myself as I sit on the couch, opposite Marley’s boyfriend, Greg, and drink a beer with him that I was too polite to decline.
I’ve never met the guy before, although he continues talking like we’re long-lost friends. All I want to know is where his girlfriend and sister are tonight and if their whereabouts is why Drew isn’t replying to my texts.
“I still can’t believe I’ve gottheWill Jones in my living room.” He shakes his head and downs the rest of his beer, motioning toward the full bottle between my palms, which I’ve been nursing for the past half hour. “Can I get you another?”
“Nah, I’m good, thanks,” I reply.
He stands from the bright purple couch I know Marley picked out based on her sunshiny personality alone. He shakes out his long red hair and checks his watch. The pause in him talking presents me with the ideal opportunity to ask him again where Drew and Marley went tonight.
Seriously, if this guy was any more relaxed, he’d be horizontal.
“Did the girls tell you where they were headed?”
Greg makes his way into the kitchen, yelling, “I can’t remember the name of the place, but I think it was some new club that just opened a few blocks from here. Marley has been desperate to check it out, but I’m getting too old for that shit.”
He reappears in the living room with a fresh bottle of Bud.
A club?Fuck.
