Beautiful Together (8 page)

7

The first warning sign came when I finally met Mason's mom, Donna.

She had a Sunday off and apparently begged Mason to invite me over for dinner. It was definitely unusual that we hadn't properly met after so many months of dating, but really, no one was to blame since she worked so much.

"Hi, Naomi," she said excitedly, putting out her cigarette in the ashtray and immediately standing up to greet me in the small entry way.

Donna seemed much smaller than she had looked in the family photo. But after thinking that, I realized that Mason had become a very big guy and was probably responsible for that discrepancy since the photo was from years ago.

There were a few strands of gray in her hair, and her warm eyes and smile drew me in immediately. She was wearing a pair of worn jeans and a faded red sweatshirt.

"Hi, Donna," I said back, calling her by her first name as Mason had requested. She grinned exactly like Mason and hugged me.

"You're so beautiful," she said, gazing at me. "Mason always said you were." Normally, that sort of attention would have made me uncomfortable, but with Donna, it didn't.

"Thank you," I said, fighting not to blush.

"Have a seat," she said, pointing to the empty space on the couch next to Mason. Despite her incredibly friendly demeanor, she looked fatigued. "Do you want something to drink?"

I shrugged. "Some water would be fine."

"How about some hot chocolate?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't have to—"

"It's no problem," she announced. "You want some too, Mason?"

"Sure, mom," he said. "That would be great."

Donna nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.

Mason turned to me. "She
loves
serving people. Absolutely loves it. If she didn't have to work so much, she'd probably be volunteering somewhere."

My heart instantly warmed. She was so sweet it was almost unbearable, the total antithesis of my mother. "I love her already," I said.

A few minutes later, she returned with two mugs, placing them on the coffee table in front of us. "I added marshmallows," she said excitedly.

"Thank you so much, Donna," I said. "You didn't have to do this."

"It's my pleasure," she said. "I'm just so happy to finally meet you."

As happy as I was, I felt melancholy about the whole thing. Donna seemed stretched so thin, someone that wanted to do so much good but was severely limited by her economic situation. Mason told me that she had initially gone to college to study social work, but had to drop out after his half brother Dennis was born when she was twenty.

We talked with her over dinner, discussing school, sports, college. Our junior year was fast approaching, which meant we'd actually have to start seriously thinking about the future. I knew that planning for college could result in relationship tension, so I didn't want to deal with it. It was too scary.

"I wish Carl could have made it, Mason," Donna said at one point. "But they're still building that damn apartment complex." She laughed. "Hard to have a boyfriend if you never see him."

"How long have you two been dating now, mom?" Mason asked.

"Almost two years," she said. "I think he might be the one."

I just smiled because I didn't have anything to add. I didn't know what dating was like at her age.

During dessert—she made a delicious red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and served it with vanilla ice cream—she grimaced after the first bite.

"Is everything okay, mom?" Mason asked.

"It's my damn tooth again. It's killing me." She frowned and closed her eyes for a second. "I guess I need to stay away from sweets."

"You need to get that looked at," Mason protested. "You need to do something about it." He sounded desperate, like it wasn't the first time this had come up.

"I
have
, Mason," she said. "I already know what needs to be done. It's going to cost too much because Medicaid won't cover it. I've got more cavities than I can count and I need a root canal." She set down her fork, and tried to force a smile back onto her face; it didn't totally mask the expression of pain. "I can't afford that right now. Unless you want the power and water to get shut off."

The discussion brought the harsh reality of their situation into focus. On top of the fact that she didn't make a lot of money, there was also the insurance issue.

My family always had great insurance through my dad's job, coverage that left us with very little to pay out of pocket. I had gone to the dentist two times a year my whole life and almost everything else was covered too.

My dad had appendicitis a couple years back, and he was rushed to the ER for an appendectomy. Everything had been covered by insurance. We had nothing to worry about, and he ended up fine.

What would Donna have done in that same situation? The thought scared me. Here she was in pain, and she couldn't do anything about it.

It was clear why Mason wanted to get a good job and help her out. She was stuck here, stuck in this very tough and inescapable reality. That's why he had a job—so he never had to ask her for money. Everything made sense.

"I wish we had some ice cream," she said suddenly, forcing us to change the subject. "Mason loves it. He had a whole routine when he was younger."

"Mom!" Mason whined. "Not again."

Donna grinned. "Whenever I'd bring home ice cream, he'd take off all of his clothes and run around the house. I don't know why he did it. It was so funny."

"Mom," he complained. His cheeks were crimson red.

"It's okay, Mason," I said, smiling big, stroking his hand on the table. "How old was he when he did that?"

"Fifteen," Donna said sharply. She burst out laughing, and I was so happy to see her smiling again. It made me laugh too. Really, I wished she was eating the delicious cake she made for us, but this would suffice.

"
So
funny, mom," Mason snapped.

"He was like three or four," she said finally. "Such a long time ago now."

He shook his head, a puzzled smile forming. "I don't know why I did it either. Until I was four, I would only eat ice cream naked."

"Oh, it was
so
funny," Donna said. "My little weirdo," she said, patting his back.

Even though this was the first time I had ever met Donna, it felt like I had known her my whole life. And as thrilled as I was to meet her, the sadness I felt toward their family made everything a bit less than perfect.

After all of the laughs, Donna and Mason cleaned up the kitchen together. I liked to think that he always helped her, and I was certain that I was right. She put the mostly uneaten cake into the fridge while I sat at the kitchen table, sipping my third hot chocolate of the day.

I stayed there all evening, watching movies and having a generally good time. Around ten, Donna looked totally exhausted. "I'm going to bed," she said. "I'm just so burned out."

"It's fine," I said.

She stood up from the leather chair and hugged me a second time. "It was so nice to meet you, Naomi," she said. "I hope we can do this again soon."

"I hope so too," I said.

Donna turned and approached the hallway that led to her bedroom. "Okay, Mason, goodnight. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." It was a phrase I never heard in my own home.

She crept away and then we were alone. The familiar quiet atmosphere of the house had returned.

"She's great," I whispered, kissing Mason on the cheek. "I can't believe how nice she is."

"Yeah. She's too nice sometimes. She never has enough time for herself because she's always focused on everyone else. It's hard," he said, softening his voice. "It was hard not having a dad around. She dated a lot, but no one ever really stuck. She's been with Carl for a couple of years now, though. I know they've talked about getting married. He makes good money and has good insurance."

"I mean, some people get married for practical reasons like that, right?"

Mason chuckled. "She'd never do that. She's all about real love and being true to yourself." He cleared his throat. "She's really spiritual, but not religious."

"Huh," I said, not really sure how to respond.

We finished the movie and then Mason drove me home. I kissed him goodbye, more aware than ever of why he was the way he was. The picture was finally complete—and it only made me love him more.

8

The rest of sophomore year passed by in a wonderful blur. Although my mom disapproved of me dating at all, my grades were still good, and I remained active in a variety of school projects and groups. As far as "preparing for my future" went, I was doing all the right stuff, even with a boyfriend.

Soon it was summer, and Arielle took off to live with her aunt in London for three months. Jesse was still with Carla, and they both had jobs as lifeguards at the public pool. So it was just Mason and me, doing whatever we wanted all the time—well, other than going to the pool.

He worked about thirty hours a week at the hardware store, so we still had plenty of time to goof around.

I got a part-time job at a doggie daycare, putting a little bit of cash in my own pockets and ensuring that I had extracurriculars for my college applications. I kind of wanted to be a veterinarian, but I wasn't totally sure. So I gave it a shot.

Life was beautiful. The days went on and on into infinity, it seemed. I loved life, and I loved Mason.

Another football season came and went, with Mason as the star player yet again. The future seemed so bright, so perfect.

Jesse didn't play football that year, and people were shocked by his decision. Nobody really knew why he bailed out though, and I didn't have the heart to ask him. And as it turned out, he was done playing football for good.

He was still with Carla, living the same wild life as before. It never ceased to amaze me that we had drifted so far apart after so many years of being close. But I had come to accept it.

As I honed in on the perfect schools for me—my top three were Michigan State, Ohio State, and University of Wisconsin-Madison—Mason's were in other places, places far away from my choices—University of Pennsylvania, Texas A&M, and Cornell.

Mine were definitely closer to home, while his reflected his desire for a good football team, a great business program, or both. I stayed focused on the whole veterinary school thing since I didn't have any better ideas.

I talked to Arielle about the situation a lot, spilling my guts about my fears of breaking up over colleges.

"Oh, long distance would definitely suck," she said one day during lunch. "But high school relationships just aren't meant to last. It's the truth."

The words stuck with me.

There's no way she can be right,
I thought. Mason was perfect, everything I could ever want or need in a partner.

But what if she was?

The thought of so much distance between us scared me.

No, scratch that. It
terrified
me.

***

As Junior year rushed by, things just kept getting better. I decided not to focus on the uncertain future, instead keeping my attention on the wonderful present.

Mason surprised me on my eighteenth birthday with a dozen roses and a pair of White Gold Princess-cut Quarter-Carat Diamond earrings that probably set him back at least three-hundred dollars.

"Mason, how the hell did you afford these? They're beautiful," I said observing them in the light.

"Been saving a little bit every week," he said, smiling. "For a year."

I was so in love it hurt.

"And there's more," he said, putting the car into drive and heading toward the sunset.

We went out for a fancy dinner and spent the night in a love nest hotel with, coincidentally, a heart-shaped jacuzzi. As tacky as the place was, it was really amazing.

"I never thought I'd go to one of these places," I said. We were in the jacuzzi, our bodies entwined under the bubbling water.

"You don't like it?" he asked.