Page 39 of Mason Wilder
Mason sat back and assessed Kendall’s remark about alcohol. “What was that about?”
Her cheeks flushed again, and she refilled her glass from the bottle of water on the table. “I had a bit of a drinking problem, but it was a long time ago.” She raised her eyes to meet his. “I’m actually surprised Jimmy or one of the others never mentioned it.”
“They don’t talk about you.” He didn’t know why he said it like that, as if she didn’t matter, and he felt bad for being insensitive. “I’m sorry. I just meant—”
“It’s all right. I understand. I doubt they’d have much to say. You know how the expression goes – if you don’t have anything nice to say, and so forth and so on.” She forced a smile. “On to happier things. You never answered my question about siblings. Did Jimmy and Audra have any children together?”
“I have a ten year old brother. Michael.”
A genuine smile lit up her face. “That’s precious. Does he play the drums, too?”
“Not really. He’s very smart. Already an entrepreneur. He’s a lot like my mo—” The word hung in the air. He’d never been more confused about how to address people. Audra was his mother. His mom. But he felt guilty calling her that in front of Kendall, although she had no right to the title.
Kendall nodded with understanding, but also with a tinge of resentment sitting in the corner of her mouth. “She raised you. She’s your mum.”
He didn’t know what to say or how to respond, and the awkwardness came back, causing him to drum his fingers on the table.
“Just like your father,” she said, referring to his finger tapping. She was lost in thought for a few moments as she stared at Mason’s hand. “I wanted fame so badly when I was young. I’m embarrassed now that I think back on it. I didn’t have half the talent I thought I had.” The confidence she portrayed up until now diminished, and vulnerability took its place. “Everyone told me I was terrible, but I never believed them. I thought they were just jealous.” She mocked herself with a laugh. “I should have listened to them. I probably made such a fool of myself. However, I had big dreams. Now I see that everyone was right about me. I hope I never run into any of them. I couldn’t stand to hear them gloat about it.”
Dismayed and a little irked, he frowned. It must be horrible to, not only have your dreams crushed, but for others to crush them. No one deserved to be torn down and ridiculed. He wanted to ask her specifically who she was referring to when she said “them” and “everyone”, because he couldn’t imagine his parents, Aunt Kira, Tommy, Angel, Jessi, Damien or Alyssa cutting her down the way she kept insinuating. He was listening, though. He wanted to form an unbiased opinion. The complexity of her intrigued him. She admitted to being at fault and regretting decisions she’d made. She also kept saying that she was a different person now, which seemed obvious, but he still wasn’t one hundred percent sure what to believe.
“I guess I deserved it,” she said, with regret. “I wasn’t very nice back then.”
“No one deserves to be bullied,”he quickly stated.
Her eyes welled with tears and she dabbed the napkin to the corner of her eye. “You’re right. I tried not to let it bother me and continued to pursue my singing career, but it hurt my feelings terribly. It still hurts.” She forced a smile and blinked a few times. “Enough about the poor sad girl I used to be.”
The waiter approached the table with a fresh bottle of Evian and refilled their glasses. Mason watched Kendall as she gave the waiter her order. She spoke eloquently, throwing in a few words in French here and there. He couldn’t imagine the person she used to be and the way she explained her life had been. After he gave his order the waiter left and they were alone again, and she seemed to be happier.
“Tell me about your fabulous life.” She leaned forward and rested her chin in her hand. “How did your music career take off?”
He shrugged. “It just happened. I guess because of who my dad is, I got noticed right away. I made the rounds on daytime talk shows when I was 10. I’ve been in world famous bands since I was 18. Now I’m in my own band and we’ve skyrocketed. We have a number one single and a successful album. I just got back from our first tour about a month ago.”
She was beaming with pride, fidgeting in her seat as she listened. “Your life sounds so exciting. I’m so happy for you. I knew you were destined for fame and greatness. You’ve turned out so well. You’ve done so much with your life. You’re such a handsome man. You have Jimmy’s incredible smile and those adorable dimples.” Her gaze grew heavy, and she sat back in her chair. “Tell me about Aunt Mary.”
A weight landed on his chest. Not just from loss, but from guilt because he hadn’t thought about her yet today.
“I’m sorry.” Kendall patted Mason’s hand. “I didn’t mean to upset you. She was a wonderful woman. As sweet as can be. And she loved you so much. I remember when you were born. I didn’t know what I was doing. I had no help. My mother wasn’t there for me. I had no one. Aunt Mary showed up at my door when you were three days old with an arm full of diapers and baby clothes and these little tricks to help you fall asleep. She was a Godsend. Did you see her often? Were you close?”
“She lived with us. When I came to live with my dad, so did she. Even after I moved out, she stayed. She was part of our family.”
“I had no idea you were all so close. What was she like? Was she the same?”
A ton of memories filled Mason’s head, each one more special than the last, and a sentimental smile spread across his lips. “She was fun. Always with a smile on her face. Me and my dad used to drive her crazy with our drumming. He soundproofed the drum room, but she could still hear it. She used to walk around the penthouse wearing these big headphones to muffle the noise. One time, she didn’t notice that we were done playing and we didn’t tell her.” He chuckled at the memory. “She wore those headphones for an hour before she realized we were sitting in the living room. She got us back by hiding our drumsticks. We pretended to go nuts looking for them. We didn’t have the heart to tell her we had a stack of ‘em in the closet.”
Kendall’s laughter lit up her face and Mason laughed with her.“This is nice,” Kendall said. “Us. Talking. Getting to know one another.”
Unexpected warmth filled Mason’s chest. “It is. I’m glad I came today. I’m glad you came to New York.”
“Thank you, Mason. It means the world to me. I’d like to stay for a while and spend some time with you. If that’s all right.”
He didn’t need to think about it. “I’d like that.”
