Exquisite (38 page)

Mason’s head hurt. He was lying in
bed and the sun was beaming through the window hitting him right in the eye.
Last night had been rough, he’d gone down to the local nightclub and had a few
too many Scotch on the rocks. This had become a ritual for him. He found it
difficult to sleep at night, nightmares seem to plague him where he got a phone
call and some strange man told them his mother had died.
So yeah, drinking
himself to sleep seemed like a much better idea
. Until the morning that is.

His head was throbbing his mouth
tasted horrible and quite honestly he felt miserable. He hadn’t shown up at
Exquisite
three nights this week and he knew Rachel was going to kick his ass, not to
mention what Wendy would do. Mason knew he’d been slacking, he had no excuse
and honestly he didn’t care, it seemed like the last two months of his life had
gone to shit real quick. He didn’t really see a way out. There was no way he
could bring back his mother, there was no way he could forget the pain of
betrayal, and he was starting to think there was no way he would ever be able
to forget
her
. He should know he’d tried. No matter how much liquor he
drank or how many women he looked at, all he thought about was Lena.

He’d tried over and over to tell
himself that what she’d done had not been done maliciously but no matter which
way he looked at it the fact that she’d known something was wrong, killed him.
Sitting up he ran a hand through his hair and groaned as his stomach lurched.
Yawning he stood and stretched his arms above his head and that’s when he heard
the knock. He walked to the door slowly and the knocks sounded again.

“Alright alright I’m coming.” he
grumbled as he moved toward the door quicker.

“Open the damn door Mason!” Wendy
yelled back. Mason yanked the door open and glared at Wendy who was standing on
the other side with a tray of coffees. She pushed her way past him and moved
into the living room, placing the tray down on his coffee table. She looked
over her shoulder and glared at him. He pushed the door and it slammed its way
shut.

“Do you mind?”

“Do I mind? Where the hell have you
been the last three days?” Wendy demanded as she pointed at him. Mason put his
hands on his hips. “Listen here,
Exquisite
is mine. If I want to take a
day off I will! I don’t need your permission.”

“That would be fine and dandy but it’s
been three days and you haven’t bothered to call anyone!” she yelled back at
him.

Mason scratched his head and walked
over to her. “Look Wendy. I just need a fucking break. Do you think you could
give me that?”

Moving in close to him she jabbed
his chest with her finger. “You listen to me Mason Langley. You weren’t the
only one who lost their mother.”

“I know that.” he hissed.

“Really? Because you don’t act like
it. You leave Rachel to run the restaurant all day, all by herself without a
thought in the world to how she feels.”

Mason’s chest was starting to hurt
where she was poking him. He stepped back and raised an eyebrow. “Look I’m
really sorry but I just can’t be there right now. I can’t be fucking anywhere.”

He walked around her and moved over
to the window, looking out at the people below walking around the tracks and
crossing the street to get into the park, he wondered how it had all gone so
wrong. He heard movement behind him and knew she was walking over to stand
beside him. She took a deep breath when she stopped by his side and reached out
a hand and took his. He turned his head to look down at her. “God I miss her.”

Wendy gave him a half smile then
whispered, “Which one?”

Lena stepped onto the fresh grass
and made her way through the tombstones that lined the the way. It’d only been
a little over a month since she had last been here. In her hand she held the
envelope that Mason had given her. It was still unread and still sealed, and as
she stopped in front of Catherine’s resting place she glanced down and took a
deep breath. The sun was out today but the wind was still cool as a whipped
around her hair. She raised her hand and brushed a stray piece behind her ear
then she glanced up at the sky and watched as a bird flew overhead. Sighing softly
she looked down to the grass below her where fresh flowers added color to a
green canvas.

“So I thought I’d come and visit
you today.” she said softly as she fiddled with the envelope. “You always told
me I couldn’t run for my problems and that I needed to face them head on, even
when I found that so difficult. From the time we met you urged me to face the
fear that I had inside myself and to live life the way Carly would’ve wanted me
to.”

She shuffled her feet back and
forth feeling uneasy talking to someone who would never talk back.

“Mason gave me your letter. I
haven’t opened it yet, but I bet that doesn’t surprise you. I mean after all it
took me nine years to gather the nerve to go and visit Carly and yet you think
I’m going to be able to read a letter from you just like that, huh?”

Lena took in a deep breath and
looked down at the envelope in her hand. Closing her eyes she remembered Mason
telling her that his mother had once told him that a cemetery was a place for
the living, not the dead. This was the place where the living came to talk, to
say goodbye or cry with the ones they loved. It was a place where no one judged
and you could say whatever you wanted to them and know that they heard you.
Smiling at that memory she opened her eyes and undid the envelope.

Dearest Lena,

If you’re reading this it must
mean the inevitable happened. I know you’re probably upset at me, but let me
tell you right now, it’s not worth being angry over. There’s nothing you can do
to change it now, just like there was nothing you could do to make me change my
mind then.

You weren’t supposed to know
anything more than what Mason or Rachel knew. I never wanted to put you in a
position where you’d have to be in the middle. Unfortunately, you knew more
than you should and I asked you to do the unthinkable, keep it from someone you
love.

He’s probably pretty angry with
you right now if he found out that you knew I was ill, but Lena you have to
fight. He’s stubborn and once he makes a decision, whether it be right or
wrong, he’ll stick to it. Just like he stuck to the idea of breaking through to
you.

Don’t let him walk away, decide
to fight for him and fight. He was the first person that ever made you smile,
you lit up a room when you were both in it, don’t let that light go out. It’s
your turn now to save him, like he saved you.

You were one of my biggest
accomplishments in life. You mean the world to me, a sad lonely teenager who
seemed to have no direction and yet found her way to me.

I believe in fate and I believe
you were supposed to walk into my life, so Mason could walk into yours. I love
you Lena, just as I love all my children.

Catherine

Lena folded the letter back up and
wiped the tears from her cheek. Shaking her head and looking down at the grave
beneath her feet she whispered softly, “How is it you’re still giving me the
best advice? I love you too.”

The next day Lena found herself
standing in Shelly’s office.

“Okay here’s the thing,” she said
crossing her arms as she stood in front of Shelly’s desk. “I don’t want to give
up on him.”

Shelly sat back in her chair and
tapped her fingers, narrowing her eyes as she studied Lena. “Just so we’re
clear, we are referring to Mason?”

“Of course we’re referring to
Mason, who else?” Lena asked with an exasperated sigh.

Shelly held her hands up and
smirked at her. “I was just checking, because remember, you outlawed the use of
his name and anyone else’s name that was remotely close or related to him.”

“Very funny.” Lena sat down in the
chair facing her friend raising a hand to scratch her head. “I have no idea how
to do this.”

“Lucky for you, you have me. And I
know exactly how to do this.”

Lena shook her head, feeling her
courage about to take a flying leap out the window. It was all very good and
well to sit here and plot on how to get him back, but in reality she knew she
had no idea and no skills. After all he was the first person she’d dated,
for longer than three hours
, in nine years. Looking at the amused and
slightly evil grin on Shelly’s face, Lena really started to worry.

“Can I ask why the sudden change of
heart?”

“Let’s just say a wise woman told
me that I should fight for what I wanted.”

“And he’s what you want?”

Lena didn’t even think twice.“He’s
exactly what I want.”

It had just turned 11pm and Mason
found himself sitting at the bar. The music was throbbing through the air and
he felt it pulse through him in time with the throbbing in his head. After
Wendy had left the other day he’d told her he would make an appearance at the
restaurant, so he had for 20 minutes this evening.
So what? She hadn’t
specified how long he had to stay.
So he’d put in his time then made his
way back to the club he’d been frequenting.

He was about four drinks in and was
feeling rather relaxed except for the headache that never seemed to disappear.
He turned around on the stool he was sitting on and spotted a blonde looking
him over. He watched as her eyes made their way up from his black boots to the
worn-out jeans he was wearing, then they dragged over the silver buckled belt
to crawl up his black button-down top. Finally her eyes landed on his and she
gave him a flirty smile and raised her hand to beckon him with a crook of her
finger. He grinned back at her picked up the glass of scotch swallowed it down
and made his way over.

She was half way wearing a tight
red dress that was strapless, and held up by a pair of breasts he could be
smothered in, and it ended mid thigh showing off miles of skin. When he reached
her she stepped forward and was about to say something but Mason didn’t want to
hear it. He just wanted to lose himself in the throb of the music and the feel
of the body, he didn’t care one little bit about what she wanted to say. So he
held a finger up and placed it against her lips quickly, she seemed to get the
message and smiled up at him wrapping her arms around his neck as he pulled her
in close, closing his eyes and picturing someone else.

Lena walked into
Exquisite
,
her eyes searched the main dining room looking for Mason. She couldn’t see him
anywhere but she did spot Wendy over behind the bar. Making her way through the
crowded tables she noticed the minute Wendy spotted her, she thought the lady
looked a little tense, and she wasn’t the only one because she heard Shelly
whisper, “Uh oh.”

“What do you think that’s about?”

“Dunno.” her friend answered and
took her hand, “Come on, lets be brave.”

They made their way to the bar and
stopped at the end waiting for Wendy to come over to them. She finished serving
a customer then made her way over wiping her hands on her apron. “Hey there
Lena.”

“Hey Wendy. How’s it going?” Lena
asked genuinely concerned for the frazzled looking lady. For as long as Lena
had known her, Wendy had always been one of the most put together women she
knew and right now she looked like she needed to sleep for a few weeks.

“Honestly? Trust me you don’t want
to know.”

Lena grimaced and shook her head
knowing this couldn’t be good. Looking around again then back to the manager
she noticed Wendy was shaking her head.

“He isn’t here.” she paused, sighing.
“He never is anymore.”

Tilting her head to the side she
was about to ask what she meant when Shelly jumped in.

“What do you mean? Where is he?”

Wendy snorted and ran a hand
through her hair, “Probably down at Blue Moon getting drunk. That’s his usual pattern
these days.”

Lena looked at Shelly with a raised
brow, “Blue Moon? What is that? A Bar?”

Shelly shook her head and replied,
“Nope. Dance club.”

Groaning Lena shut her eyes for a
moment. “A dance club? Ahh, I hate dancing.”

Wendy made a noise in front of her
and she looked at her smirk. “Why does it matter? You wont get anywhere, he’s
checked out for the moment. Trust me I’ve tried.” she paused then asked, “I
didn’t think you two were talking, has that changed?”

Lena shook her head and answered,
“No. But it’s about to.”

The first thing Lena noticed was
how dark it was inside the club. They’d been lined up for the last half hour
waiting to get inside and now that they finally had paid and stepped in, the glare
from the outside flood lights had faded and they were in a dimly lit, basement
like warehouse. There were people everywhere, from one wall to the other and
the music was pounding so loudly Lena could feel it pulsating through her whole
body. She felt Shelly tug on her arm and she leaned in close to hear her say.

“Let’s go over to the bar? Get
something to drink and scan the floor.”

Nodding she followed Shelly through
the crowd. She was easy to keep track of in her hot pink strapless tube dress.
Lena noticed eyes from both men and women go up and down her friend, as she
strutted through the crowds of people on her black spiked stilettos. Her hair
was in a sleek blond ponytail and Lena marveled over the effortless confidence
she had. Squinting against the bright strobe lights that had begun flashing
with the next song Lena tried to scan the crowd looking for anyone even
remotley resembling Mason but she came up with nothing. Following her friend
they stopped at the bar and Shelly ordered two tequila shots. Lena glanced at
her friend quickly.

‘What?” she asked innocently,
“Liquid courage. You’ll need it here.”