The Great Awakening

Mia ran a hand through her hair as she began panicking. Mason was due to arrive in just a few hours and she’d lost track of time. The spare bedroom was still a mess, not having been used in years, and her parents were out at the local shopping center so she couldn’t ask where things were. Before they left they asked her to make sure everything looked presentable. That meant she had to put new bed linings on the bed and clean her old junk out of the closet she’d been using for storage since she was a teenager. She also took it upon herself to clean the guest bathroom, which had also gone neglected over the years. Out of sight, out of mind.

Time was her enemy. It was nearing one-o’clock in the afternoon; Mason’s plane was scheduled to land around five. Taking out two hours for the drive to the airport, she didn’t have much time to get everything done. Her only excuse was that she’d spent her time focusing on herself. She’d woken up early to make sure she made herself somewhat presentable. She didn’t want Mason taking one look at her and turning around to get on the next available plane back to California. It was a wide stretch of her imagination, but being an artist can do that to a person.

Regardless, she sorted through the closet in the hallway until she found bed linens she thought would be suitable for Mason. They were similar to the ones Soren had used until he moved out, only they looked (and smelled) much newer. Knowing her mother, she’d probably bought them to remind herself of her only son. Caroline had a funny way of dealing with all her children being grown up and off doing their own things. Mia didn’t mind, though, or think it was strange. Sometimes she’d catch herself buying things during her travels that resembled things her mother had made in a pottery class they’d taken together when Mia was a young girl. They surely weren’t as sentimental but they eased the guilt she felt for not seeing her parents more often.

As she stripped the bed and redid it, she got to thinking about her life. Over the last few years she’d traveled the world, photographing some of the most famous snowboarders and attending the most well-respected competitions. She made important business connections, a few friends here and there, and even saw her work in some of the most prominent magazines. Although it wasn’t the path she’d expected herself to choose, she honestly had nothing to complain about. She’d made a name for herself – that was good enough for her.

Why, then, was she so unhappy?

She grabbed the cleaning supplies from under the bathroom sink and began scrubbing. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason she was so discontent with things. After traveling all over and following Kevin and his dreams, she was back home, finally able to do what she wanted, yet she still wasn’t satisfied. Maybe it was because she’d spent so much time doing the exact opposite of what she wanted; maybe it was because she’d grown so used to being someone she wasn’t that as soon as she got away and was free to be her own person again, she didn’t know how. Whatever the problem was, she knew she wouldn’t be able to solve it overnight. It’d take time. Seeing as how Vermont was expected to get a multitude of snow over the next few months, she figured she’d have enough time. Now wasn’t for worrying, it was for cleaning.

Once the toilet and bathtub were spotless, Mia heard the front door open and close. There was the sound of paper grocery bags being crinkled as one of her parent’s (probably her father, since that was the one chore her mother refused to do) set them down on the counter. She expected her mother to call out to her in just a few seconds, signaling that they were home.

“Mia? Are you still here, honey?”

Mia wiped the sweat from her brow and threw her yellow rubber gloves onto the ledge of the bathtub. “I’m in the guest room!”

She heard the sound of footsteps on the wooden stairs. Her mother appeared in the doorway a few moments later. “The bedroom looks great,” she told her with a smile.

“Thanks. For being in a rush I think I did an all right job.”

Caroline nodded. “I hope your friend likes to eat. Your father went a bit overboard with the groceries. He said us women wouldn’t understand a man’s appetite which apparently warranted buying a dozen steaks.”

Mia laughed. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem, Ma. He has an appetite just like Ke-” Mia paused, coughing as she caught herself. “He has an appetite just like Soren.”

“Good. Your father’s downstairs cooking now so I’m off duty for a while. Why don’t you go get cleaned up and I’ll finish cleaning?”

“You don’t have to do that,” Mia urged, feeling bad that her mother would have to be on her hands and knees cleaning instead of her. “I’m almost finished–”

“Nonsense, Mia,” Caroline replied, waving her daughter out of the bathroom. “You’re sweating, and, judging by the amount of time you spent getting ready this morning, even a drop of it would be unacceptable for seeing this boy.”

Mia finally caved, making sure to voice her displeasure through a deep sigh. “Fine. But at least let me pick up dessert on the way home.”

Caroline perked up at the mention of dessert. “Well, if this dessert happens to come in the form of cheesecake from Marge’s, I don’t think I’d complain.”

Marge was a friend of her mother’s who owned a bakery in town. It’d been there for as long as anyone could remember, originally belonging to Marge’s grandmother who’d been the first member of their family to settle in Norwich. When Mia was a kid, her parents would take her and her siblings to Marge’s every Wednesday evening after dinner. There wasn’t an item on the menu that Mia hadn’t tried (and loved) and it was always a pleasure for both she and Marge when she stopped in for goodies.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Mia grinned, finally exiting the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, Mia emerged from her own bathroom and was ready to hit the road. Her father was letting her borrow his truck for the ride there. Mia had never felt the need to purchase a vehicle since she was always traveling. When she wasn’t, she was always with someone who had one and no one had ever minded giving her a ride. She wasn’t the most talkative person in the world but she made nice company.

Once she reached the landing, she grabbed her coat and gloves before meeting her father in the kitchen. She laughed at the sight of him nearly prancing around in his “chef” apron. He’d turned on the radio, which was playing old country-western tunes from the 1950s, and seemed to be in his own little world. Mia couldn’t help but wonder if it had anything to do with her being home. As the youngest, she held a special place in her father’s heart. If he could find it within himself to pick favorites, Mia would be it.

“Having fun there, Dad?”

He turned around to face her, still dancing to the song on the radio. He waved her over. “C’mere.” Mia obliged, heading over to his spot in front of the oven. “This was my favorite song as a kid.”

Mia laughed. “Who even sings this?”

“Are you kiddin’ me?” he joked, grabbing her hands and forcing her to dance along with him. “The one and only Patsy Kline!”

“Does this Patsy Kline happen to have your car keys?” she asked as she was twirled around.

Her father finally let her go and returned to whatever he was conjuring up on the stovetop. “They’re in the pocket of my coat that’s hangin’ up. Be safe, okay? I heard it’s supposed to snow at some point.”

“I will, Dad,” Mia called out as she slipped outside.

The drive to Burlington was uneventful. Mostly her nerves was all she thought about, along with how Mason would get along with her family. Knowing both of them she figured they’d get along just fine, but there was always a part of her that expected the worst. Her biggest fear was Mason hating every second of the time he was going to spend with her and never speak to her again once he got home. That was unrealistic, though. It didn’t keep her from nearly vomiting all over the airport parking lot as soon as she parked the truck, though.

From: Mason (Mobile)
Sent: 02/08/10 @ 5:07p

Hey, just landed. En route to baggage claim. U here yet?

Mia couldn’t help it as a cheshire grin spread across her face. Something about Mason made her giddy. She didn’t act this way when any other guy texted her, so she knew there was something special about him. The amount of attention he paid to her was something new, though, as no other guy had ever pushed past Kevin’s wall of disapproval. They would rather salvage their friendship with him than try to pursue a relationship. Mia thought she understood until Mason came along and showed her differently. Instead of wondering what was so wrong with her that the guys before him chose to ran away instead of fight for her, she was just happy someone decided she was worth it.

I’m here. You’ll see me.

A group of passengers walked by Mia but she didn’t catch any glimpse of Mason. She began rocking back and forth on her heels impatiently, wondering what was taking him so long. She was two seconds away from telling him she was going back to the airport lobby to sit down when she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her shoulders from behind.

“Hello there, stranger,” Mason said, releasing his grip and allowing her to turn around. She gasped as she noticed the bouquet of flowers in his hand. “Did you really think I’d show up empty-handed?”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Mia replied.

“Think you can share them with your mom? This was the last one they had.”

Mia smiled. “Of course. You really didn’t have to do that, Mason.”

“Well, don’t hold it against me, then.”

Mia took the flowers from his hand as he went off to find his luggage. According to him, his flight home was exactly one week away. Depending on how things went that would either be a blessing or a curse. Mia was banking on the former.

“Ready to go?” she asked as he approached, wheeling his luggage behind him. He nodded and she led the way to her father’s truck. Mason’s eyebrows shot up once he saw it. “What?”

“Is this yours?” he asked as he began cramming his suitcases into the back seat.

“My father’s, actually. He let me borrow it because he thought it’d be safer than my mom’s car.”

“What year?”

“I don’t know,” Mia shrugged. She didn’t pay much attention to cars.

“It’s fucking awesome.”

“I’ll let him know you approve,” she laughed as they began the drive back to Norwich.

Mason didn’t stop talking the entire way, telling her about upcoming competitions and the latest shenanigans he’d gotten into with the rest of their ‘crew.’ They’d begun filming them and uploading them to the Internet and were entertaining the idea of starting their own website if they were popular enough. It wasn’t like they needed the money, as almost every member of the Frends Crew was well off, but they didn’t want to spend their time on something that no one would care about.

“How’s everyone doing?” Mia asked as she got off on the exit that’d bring her back into town.

“Good,” Mason shrugged. “Lago’s getting ready to leave for Vancouver. Everyone else is back home in Mammoth doing their own thing.”

“Have you, uh, talked to–”

“Nah,” he interjected, sensing where the conversation was going. “How are you doing?”

“Better,” Mia smiled. “Hey, my mom wanted me to pick up dessert on my way home. Do you want to come in?”

“Sure.”

Mia parked the truck in front of Marge’s bakery. She could smell the sweet aroma of freshly baked treats and her mouth instantly started watering. Mason held the door open for her and, at the sound of the bell, Marge greeted her animatedly.

“Mia, is that you? It’s been ages since I’ve seen you! Where have you been, missy?”

“I was in Utah with Kevin,” Mia replied, trying to hide the uncertainty in her voice.

“Oh, I heard about the accident. Such a shame,” Marge said quietly. Everyone in town knew and loved Kevin. He was their hometown hero and they were all rooting for him. Sensing Mia’s discomfort, she quickly changed the subject and perked up. “And who is this young man you’ve got here?”

“Oh! Marge, this is Mason. He’s a friend of Kev–”

“I’m a friend of Mia’s,” Mason interrupted, offering his hand to Marge. She shook it eagerly.

“He’s a cute one, Mia,” she winked, smirking at the way Mia’s face morphed into the color of a tomato. “Now, what can I get for the two of you?”

“M-Mom wants some cheesecake, of course,” Mia answered, attempting to regain her composure. Mason was just smiling, unaffected by the whole thing. “Mason, what would you like?”

“What would you suggest?”

“Everything,” Mia shrugged. “Marge?”

“How about I put some things in a box and you can decide for yourself?”

Mason grinned. “That sounds great.”

The pair watched as Marge started putting all sorts of things into a pink box: cupcakes, brownies, eclairs, cake pops – the whole nine yards. She grabbed a separate box and placed a slice of strawberry cheesecake inside of it for Caroline.

“There, I think that’ll do it,” Marge said, sliding the two boxes toward Mia.

“How much do I owe you?” she asked, digging in her coat pocket for her wallet.

“Mia, honey, you know your money is worthless here.”

“Marge, I can’t just take all of this without paying you anything.”

“Mia,” Marge said sternly. Mia knew there wasn’t any way in the world Marge would accept her money so she gave up, deciding she’d put a ten dollar bill in the tip jar when the owner wasn’t looking. “Enjoy your dessert, kids. Tell your mother I said hello!”

“I will,” Mia answered, slipping the money in the jar as soon as Marge turned her back to return to the kitchen.

As the pair climbed back into the truck, Mia still wasn’t over Marge’s comment. She knew it was innocent. She also knew that everyone in town expected her to marry Kevin and have a slew of children. All of Norwich had been planning their wedding since they were kids. She was afraid they’d judge her if she wound up dating someone else, or disappoint them, at the very least.

She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she pulled into her driveway. Now wasn’t the time to worry about what other people thought. She had to make sure Mason had a good time while he was staying with her.

Little did she know, Mason was happy enough just being with her.