Chapter 6 - THE MASON FACTOR
A week passed in blissful quiet.
I had blocked the entire family,
save for my mother,
whom I kept on 'emergency only' status.
On Saturday morning,
there was a knock on my door.
I checked the camera and saw a small figure standing there alone.
It was Mason.
He was wearing his backpack and looking at his shoes.
I opened the door,
surprised.
"Mason?"
"How did you get here?"
"I took the bus,"
he said,
his voice small.
"Mom doesn't know I’m here."
I hesitated,
then stepped aside.
"Come in."
He walked into my living room,
looking around at my quiet,
ordered space.
He sat on the edge of the sofa,
clutching his knees.
"Is it true?"
he asked.
"Is what true,
buddy?"
"Did you cancel my birthday because you hate us?"
I sat in the armchair across from him.
"Mason,"
I said,
"I don't hate you."
"I love you very much."
"But your mom wanted to spend money I didn't have for things I didn't agree to."
"She told everyone I was paying for a big ballroom and a DJ."
"But she never asked me."
Mason looked down at the rug.
"I didn't want a ballroom,"
he whispered.
"I just wanted to go to the arcade with three friends."
I felt a pang of sadness.
"Did you tell her that?"
"She said it wouldn't look good,"
he said.
"She said we had to show everyone we were doing well."
"She’s been crying all week because she says we’re going to be homeless."
"Mason,"
I said,
leaning forward.
"Your mom has money."
"She just spends it on things she doesn't need."
"I can't be the one to fix her life anymore."
"But I can be your aunt."
I went to my desk and pulled out an envelope.
I had bought him a gift weeks ago,
before the drama started.
It was a gift card to the local arcade,
enough for him and five friends to play for four hours,
including pizza.
"This is for you,"
I said.
"It’s not a ballroom."
"It’s not a sneaker station."
"But it’s a birthday."
His eyes lit up for the first time.
"Really?"
"Yes,"
I said.
"But you have to promise me something."
"You don't tell your mom about this."
"If she finds out,
she’ll take it and try to sell it or use it herself."
"This is just for you and your friends."
He nodded vigorously,
tucking the envelope into his backpack.
"I promise."
I drove him home twenty minutes later,
dropping him off a block away so Vanessa wouldn't see me.
I watched him walk toward the small,
rented house Vanessa was currently living in.
He looked happy.
I realized then that Mason was the only victim in this entire mess.
My mother and sister weren't suffering;
they were adjusting to a reality they should have faced years ago.
I drove back to my apartment,
feeling a sense of closure.
May you like
I had saved the boy,
but I was still done with the adults.
