The Great Awakening

“Mia, why don’t you help your mother with the dishes?”

The girl in question looked at her father and nodded. There was no denying the look in his eyes as it clearly told her an interrogation was about to commence and she’d better high tail it out of there before it did. Not that she wouldn’t have. None of the guys she’d dated through college had stuck around long enough to meet her parents. They were meaningless flings that were over in a week or two — nothing to write home about. Kevin and his brothers were the only male friends of hers that her parents had ever met. Bringing Mason around disrupted the ebb and flow that had gone untouched since she was a young girl; of course her father was going to question it.

She gathered the plates silently, hoping to telepathically tell Mason not to panic. Her father would go easy on him because scaring him away would crush his daughter. This wasn’t a test; there were no right or wrong answers and he wasn’t going to be penalized. It was, above all else, a learning process. Mia’s father wanted to know who Mason was beyond being a professional snowboarder. He’d met plenty of those before. He wanted to know what a friend of his daughter’s was like.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Caroline commented to her youngest child. A bright smile graced her aging features and Mia found herself hoping she’d look as beautiful as her mother did when she reached her age. “He isn’t going to scare him away.”

Mia looked through the archway that connected the dining room to the kitchen. With a quiet sigh, she replied, “I know.”

Dinner had gone exceptionally well. Mason complimented her father’s cooking and the cleanliness of the house, earning him brownie points with her mother. He told them how nice it was to be staying with them, as it’d been so long since he spent quality time with his own family. They were a tight-knit group and it pained them all that his schedule wasn’t more flexible. They’d gotten used to it, though, and adjusted accordingly. Mia wondered if she (or her parents) would ever be able to do that. Her childhood hadn’t been filled with trips and vacations and sporting events states away from home like Mason’s had. For the most part she stayed in Vermont and lived a normal life. She hadn’t properly explored the world around her until she started traveling with Kevin. It was a culture shock for her and her parents for Mia to be so far from home for so long.

To kill time and keep her mind from wandering, Mia hand-washed the dishes and convinced her mother she was fine on her own. After five minutes of arguing, Caroline finally gave up and joined her husband at the dining room table. Every so often Mia could hear her mother’s cheerful laugh as Mason said something funny and she’d smile. Never in a million years could she have envisioned things going as well as they were. She knew Mason would be a hit, that her parents would swoon over him like he was their own son, but she didn’t expect this. He hadn’t been in her house for three hours and he’d already won them over.

Once she finished drying the last plate, she rejoined her family and her guest. Mason was in the middle of a story from the 2006 Olympics in Torino — something about a prank he and Danny Kass played on Shaun White, who Mason was rooming with. Mia hadn’t a clue what he was talking about but her father had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard and her mother’s face was red as a tomato. All Mia could do was smile and nod along, thankful they weren’t blanketed in awkward silence and forced to talk about the weather.

“You were in the Olympics?” Mia’s father asked. A genuine look of surprise was present on his features and Mia smiled to herself.

“Yes, sir,” Mason nodded. “I placed fourth, so I didn’t medal—”

“Still, that’s nothing to feel bad about,” Caroline added. “Not many people are lucky enough to say they’ve been in the Olympics.”

Mason smiled appreciatively, wishing he could tell Mia and her parents how much their words meant to him. Even though he was an accomplished snowboarder, he always harbored a bit of frustration that he’d never be in the ranks of Shaun White or Travis Rice—big names with the credentials to back them up. His family and friends always told him he was being foolish, that people like Shaun White were rare and would probably never be duplicated. Mason was talented and he should be happy with being him rather than striving for someone else’s talent.

“Mia, why don’t you show Mason to his room?”

Mia nodded and waited for Mason to bid her parents goodnight and vice-versa. They wanted to give him ample time to settle in before forcing him to participate in activities with them. Every member of the Fulton family feared the worst: Mason would absolutely detest them and hop on the red eye back to California. Caroline, in particular, was the most fearful. She knew Mason’s stay meant a lot to her daughter as her relationship with Kevin was currently unstable and she needed someone to be the voice of reason. Her family couldn’t be that for her no matter how badly they wanted to.

Mason grabbed his bags from the foyer and followed Mia upstairs, trying his hardest not to mind the view. Even though it didn’t look it from the outside, the Fulton home was huge and decorated to the nines. It was obvious Caroline put a lot of time into it as it was cozy and homey as hell. The second Mason walked through the front door he felt like he’d stepped into a Better Homes and Gardens spread. He felt at home.

“This is great, Mia. Thank you,” he smiled. He set his bags in front of the dresser and decided he’d save his unpacking for the morning. All he wanted was a shower and a good night’s sleep to cure his jet lag.

“Oh, it’s no trouble.”

Mason noted the volume of her voice and cracked an eyebrow. “Everything okay in there?”

“I’m fine.”

“Just fine?”

“It’s just — I don’t know if this feels right.”

Mason’s eyes widened. “Mia, if me being here makes you uncomfortable I can leave.”

“No, no!” Mia mentally slapped herself. “I didn’t mean you at all. My god I’m an idiot. I meant me being here, home.”

“You feel like you should be back in Salt Lake City.” She nodded. “I called KP before I left. He understands why you left.”

“He does?”

It was Mason’s turn to nod. “He feels pretty shitty.”

“Oh god. Should I call him? I have to apologize—”

“Woah, slow down,” Mason said as he gently grabbed her wrist. She was almost out the door and on the next flight to Utah. “You have nothing to apologize for, Mia. I know he’s your best friend but you can’t be his doormat.”

“I know,” she agreed, “but things with me and Kevin are different. I should apologize.”

Mason didn’t say anything, just dropped her wrist and accepted her apologetic smile. She closed the door quietly behind her and he finally let out the sigh he’d been holding once the sound of her footsteps on the hardwood floor could no longer be heard.

It was like watching a car wreck in slow motion. Mason wanted to scream at the top of his lungs for everyone to pay attention, to get out of the way, but he couldn’t. Mia was in one car; Kevin was in the other. He wanted Mia to realize the effects of her behavior, her desire to please everyone but herself and allow Kevin to use her as a doormat. He wanted Kevin to pull his head out of his ass and stop being so prideful. One day Mia would leave for good and he wouldn’t be able to stop her because he’d already burnt his bridges. Then what were they going to do?

Mason was smarter than he looked. He knew Mia and Kevin’s relationship was out of the ordinary, that they teetered dangerously on the line between just friends and the type of friends who were perfect for each other yet too oblivious to realize it. There was no denying that Mason wanted her for himself, but he wasn’t sure he could have her. Kevin had years entire lives to stake his claim and still hadn’t. That had to count for something, right?

A migraine was fast approaching. Mason decided it’d be best to sleep it off and worry about everything later. There was so much he could worry himself sick over that it just didn’t seem worth it. However, he knew he had to make a choice—and soon. Mia was worth the trouble, he knew that much, but he wasn’t sure if he could put her through it. It wasn’t like they were one in the same: Mason liked to go out and party while Mia preferred to stay in with a sketchbook or cup of tea; Mason had a slew of friends he could call up at any moment for an impromptu trip to Las Vegas while Mia lived vicariously through Kevin. There was more than just wanting Mia to take into consideration.

He had a lot of thinking to do. Far too much to tackle in one night.