Page 34 of Mason Wilder
Mason’s heart plummeted with realization, then it beat at an incredible speed. His cheeks grew hot and his throat closed. It couldn’t be her. But he knew itwasher. She looked exactly as he remembered. Her familiar sandy blond hair with the flyaway strands that always surrounded her face jumped out at him. He was shocked that he remembered her so vividly. “She’s my birth mother.”
Tessa’s mouth fell open, and her expression took on one of shock and surprise, but she said nothing.
This was the only photo he’d seen of his birth mother. He had asked his dad for a picture of her once, when he was little, but his dad had said that he didn’t have one. His dad said he hadn’t known her that long. Or that well. So, Mason asked Aunt Mary. She said she’d find one, but never did. He wondered if she meant to give him this photo and forgot where she put it.
He felt as if everyone just wanted to forget about his birth mother. No one ever talked about her. Not even Aunt Mary. So, he’d stopped asking questions at a very young age. Now, with the sudden appearance of the photo in his hand, he wondered if they were purposely keeping her whereabouts from him. More importantly, why hadn’t she bothered to contact him in the last twenty-something years?
He didn’t remember much about her, only that she was never home and that he had spent most of his time with Aunt Mary, until the day he met his dad. Suddenly, he had family. A big one. Grandparents. Uncles. Angel, Tommy and Jessi. Damien and Alyssa. And his mom. Naturally, he’d called her Audra back then. He didn’t remember exactly when he started calling her Mom, but it wasn’t that long after she married his dad. She was the only real mother he’d ever known, and she owned the title.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of her,” Tessa said.
Lost in the two-dimensional photo, Mason forgot Tessa was standing in front of him. He turned the small photo around to show it to her again. “This is the first picture I’ve ever seen of her.”
Her forehead wrinkled as she looked at the photo. “Why don’t you have any photos?”
“I don’t know.”
“She’s pretty. What happened to her?”
“I don’t know.” He stared at the photo, searching his memory. But it was a blank slate. He hadn’t thought about her in years, and he hadn’t seen her since the day she left him with his dad.
“What’s her name?”
He needed to think about it for a long time, and then it came to him. “Kendall.”
“Do you think she’ll come to Aunt Mary’s funeral?”
Bitterness filled his belly. He didn’t want to see her. He didn’t know her anymore. She was a total stranger. What kind of person abandons their four-year-old child? “I hope not.”
“Why not? She’s your mother.”
“She’s not my mother.” It came out harsher than expected, and Tessa flinched.
She placed a calming hand on his cheek. “You don’t have to explain, Mason. We’re all grieving. Everyone loved Aunt Mary. She was a big part of my life too. When we were kids and on tour with Immortal Angel, Aunt Mary took care of me. She played with me when you and Lucas were playing music together. We played dolls and dress up and watched Disney movies.” Tessa’s voice cracked as she recalled old memories of time spent with Aunt Mary. “She tucked me in bed every night when my parents were at the arena and read me a story.” Tears welled on Tessa’s lower lids and then slid down her cheeks. She covered her mouth just as a sob broke free.
Mason hugged her, tightly, while she sobbed on his shoulder. Thoughts and memories flooded him, all ripping at his heart like a razor. Grief overwhelmed him as the void filled him. Aunt Mary wouldn’t be there to greet him with her sing-song voice whenever he visited. She wouldn’t call him, just to say goodnight.She had been in his life longer than anyone, even longer than his dad. And now she was gone. Overwhelmed with loss, he clung to Tessa, buried his face in her hair, and cried bitterly.
Mason stood in the alcove to his father’s study twirling the small photo between his fingers. He didn’t know how to start the conversation, so he just waited until his dad noticed him.
“Hey, buddy. How you holding up?”
Mason shrugged. “OK. I guess.”
His dad left the desk, slung his arm around Mason’s shoulder and pulled him into the room. “Most of the arrangements are made. We still need to order flowers. You know how she loved flowers. I found a guy who makes custom pieces. I thought you’d like to pick out something special from you and Tessa.”
He nodded. “She’d like that.”
His dad let out a long, pained sigh. “I know it’s hard, but she had a great life. A long life. Surrounded by people who loved her very much. She watched you and Tessa and Lucas grow up, and you know how much she adored Michael and the twins. I’m glad that we were able to make her happy.”
There were tears in his dad’s eyes, the first Mason had ever seen, and he realized how much she meant to him. Aunt Mary had lived in the penthouse with his dad and mom for over twenty years. They took care of her. They hired a private nurse to help her shower and dress every day, even though the woman was still able to take care of herself.
His dad’s eyes dropped to the photo. “What do you got there, Mase?”
Mason stopped fidgeting with it but didn’t show him the picture. “I found this in one of Aunt Mary’s photo albums. I was wondering if you were going to invite . . .” He didn’t know what to call her. Anything with the word mom or mother in it didn’t seem right. Those words belonged to Audra Abelman-Wilder. He passed the photo to his dad. “Her.”
A pained expression darkened his father’s features as he stared at the picture, and it took a long time before he answered. “I called her early this morning.”
Mason held his breath, unnerved by the shiver that ran through him and what to expect if he saw this woman again after all the years that had gone by. “Is she coming?”
