We didn’t move from the bed unless we went to the kitchen to eat or to go to the bathroom. Eventually we did take a joint shower that had a few happy endings, but other than that we spent time together, making up for time that we’d lost. I wanted every second with Mason that I could get. We talked about everything, from funny stories, to the heavier things, like the miscarriage. He held me while I cried and told him the whole story from start to finish. When I was done, he made love to me and tried to help me heal. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders now that he knew everything.

A knock on the door pulled us out of our little retreat the second day we were holed up. Mason had been picking out a bottle of wine to drink with our chicken parmesan and hadn’t heard the door. I was cooking pasta, still only wearing one of Mason’s shirts, and dancing around the kitchen when Aubrey walked in.

“Holy shit.”

I whipped around and saw her staring at me.

“Aubrey,” I said. “Um…Hey.”

“Was someone at the door,” Mason called out from the dining room. “I could swear I heard a knock.”

“Mase, can you come here for a sec.”

Aubrey bounced from foot to foot excitedly. “Are you guys getting back together? Oh my God, please tell me you two are getting back together.”

Mason crossed the room and wrapped his arm around my waist. He looked at me and smiled. “We are.”

Aubrey screeched and jumped up and down. She hugged and kissed us both all with a huge grin on her face. “I can’t believe it. I’m so excited!”

I laughed. “You can know, but we’re waiting to tell the whole world until we get things a little more settled. We were planning to go see your mom and my parents later tonight.”

“Tell me everything,” she said, as she pulled me over to the table to sit down next to her. Mason chuckled and took over making dinner as I sat down with his sister.

“It’s a long story.” God, where did I even start trying to explain?

“I have time.”

“I need to be dressed for this.” I went to go get dressed and found some of my old clothes tucked away in the back of Mason’s closet. My hand brushed over the bright fabrics. When I went to the city, I had lost this side of myself. I still kept some of myself, but pencil skirts and fancy blouses made up ninety percent of my closet. Now I wanted all of the floral patterns and pearls that I’d abandoned. I was a southern belle, not some big city girl that had a chignon tight enough not to need a facelift. My head ached from trying to pretend to be something that I wasn’t for so long.

Mason and Aubrey both grinned when I walked back into the kitchen. I would leave the black funeral clothes for Lexi, this was me. It felt good to wear boots, leggings, and a tunic again. Aubrey ended up staying for dinner, and Mason and I told her everything that had happened in the past few months. While we were talking I realized something that I hadn’t put together before. Over the past year, we’d each spent the time we needed to grow up. We hadn’t had identities that didn’t include each other. Mason and I had been so closely tied together that we never truly figured out what made us us.

 

***

 

I looked at Mason one last time before ringing the doorbell to my parent’s house. My fingers dug into his hand as I gripped it tightly. He gave me a reassuring smile before my Mother opened the door. She looked between us in dazed confusion. When her eyes dropped down to our hands, her brow arched way up.

“Hi Momma,” I said brightly. “I came to visit.”

Her smile was plastered on her face and even in her confused state, she didn’t let it drop. No good respecting southern woman would.

“I see that, sugar. Why don’t you two come on inside, you’re Daddy is out on the back porch.”

Her thick accent made me smile. It had been too long since I had last visited. New Yorkers didn’t care for my southern drawl and I guess I didn’t much care for their dialect either. Mason squeezed my hand and led the way to the back of the house. My parents had a beautiful renovated plantation home with a huge screened in porch. The ceiling was painted a light blue and ceiling fans ran along the top, making the humid air more comfortable. It was one of my favorite places in the entire house. When I was little, I used to curl up on the swing and read all day. In the lazy summer afternoons, the rainstorms coming off the coast were soothing. I loved listening to the rain and thunder, sitting there with a glass of sweet tea as the little storms passed.

Mason opened the door for my mother, stepping out of the way to allow her to go first, making sure he used his best manners with her. My daddy glanced up from his glass of port and newspaper, smiling at her as she walked outside. He put down his paper as he caught sight of Mason, but when I walking in behind my Momma he beamed.

“Hi Daddy.”

“Sugarplum.” He used my old nickname. I was relieved that we’d caught him in a good mood. “To what do we owe the surprise of you two showing up together this evening?”

My heart jumped in my chest. Daddy was clearly happy with our decision, but my Momma was still an unknown. She was just as likely to tell us that we were fools as she was to hug our necks.

“Momma, Daddy, Mason and I have something we want to tell you.” Mason reached for my hand and I stepped closer into his chest. “I know our relationship has been a roller coaster for everyone, but we’ve made some decisions that are going to change things. Again.”

“What Emmy is trying to say is that we are getting back together,” Mason finished for me.

We looked at them expectantly, waiting for a reaction. Neither of them seemed inclined to say anything. I squeezed Mason’s hand again. I didn’t have to have it, but I really wanted their support.

“I’m moving back home,” I said softly. “The city is great, but it’s not what I want.”

My Momma set the glass she was holding down on the side table and walked over to me, tears shining in her eyes. I dropped Mason’s hand and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. Ruby Carter had raised me to be a strong woman through and through, sweet as syrup on the outside and tough as nails on the inside. She stuck me in every pageant she could from the time I was a baby, winning crown after crown. At sixteen, she told me I would have a debut because she wanted to introduce me into southern society, even though I baulked at the idea. I had to admit that everything she did had certainly helped me in life. It helped me get into the university I wanted, Duke, because of the connections I had. It helped me become president of my sorority, and it helped me do a summer of modeling in France that never would have happened otherwise.

I know I wouldn’t ever have become the president of the major record label if my momma hadn’t raised me the way that she had. It gave me the skills to negotiate with even the most stubborn individual, and it gave me the confidence to walk into a room knowing I could use my sex appeal and looks to get exactly what I wanted or needed. Even back then, my mother was laying the foundation for my future. Ever the planner, my Momma had a vision for my future and I appreciated it now more than ever. The only time I ever seriously disappointed her was when I told her Mason and I were getting a divorce.

“I’m so happy for you two,” she whispered in my ear. I grinned when she pulled back and wiped at her eyes quickly. “Look at me, making a fool of myself. I’m going to go get something for us to celebrate.”

Before she left, she tugged Mason down into a hug. I had a permanent smile etched on my face. Both of my parents seemed excited for our unexpected decision. Or maybe it was just unexpected to me and Mason because we were fighting what we actually wanted. I was just sorry that we’d put them through all the upset of our separation and divorce in the first place.

My Daddy shook Mason’s hand, then pulled me into a hug. I smiled as he kissed my head. He had always been quiet compared to my Momma’s loud demeanor, but I relished those times he gave me his approval. He’d been an amazing dad and I just wanted to make him proud.

“I’m thrilled that you’re coming home, sugarplum. Mason, I hope that you know what you’re getting yourself into. She’s going to be even feistier now that she’s ruled a company,” he said winking.

Mason grinned. “I know exactly what I’m getting and I can’t wait.”

My mom bustled back outside carrying a bottle of Bollinger champagne. It was a five hundred dollar bottle, and I couldn’t believe that she had chosen to open it now. Once the glasses were poured and passed around, she held up her glass in a toast.

“To the kids finally figuring their shit out,” she said, winking at daddy.

My mouth dropped open in shock. I‘d never heard my mother cuss in my entire life. Mason stifled a laugh and clinked his glass with hers.

“That’s something I’ll drink to,” he agreed.

We stayed for another hour before we left. My parents waived from the front door as we backed out of the driveway. They looked relieved and happy as my Momma placed her hand on my Daddy’s chest. I exhaled deeply and Mason reached over to squeeze my hand.

“One down, one to go,” I said.

“Yeah. Are you sure you want to go with me to tell my mom? You know how she is.”

I did know how his mom was, high strung and dramatic. Holden Davis was the complete opposite of my Momma. How they got along over the years, I still have no idea.

“I know, but I think I should be there.”

Mason glanced over at me. “I’m glad you’re not making me do it alone,” he teased. “So now the million dollar question, do we do it now or do we wait until tomorrow?”

I leaned back in my seat. “We should probably do it now. You know my parents will be on the phone as soon as we pull out of the driveway.”

“Your mom looked like she was about to jump out of her skin with excitement.”

I shifted towards him. “I’ve never heard Ruby cuss. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather.”

Mason’s deep throaty laugh filled the car. “I know what you mean. It didn’t seem real.”

“Do you think they’ve been expecting this?”

He paused for a moment. “Maybe not expecting it, but probably hoping that it would happen.”

I looked out the front windshield at the huge house in front of me. His parents were a little more ostentatious with their money than my parents were. Sure they liked nicer things, but they didn’t have brand new cars every year or a huge house in the middle of the city.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked again.

I sighed. “Let’s just get it over with. Did you call Kaleb for backup?”

Mason grimaced. “I probably should have. We could wait out in the car for him to show up.”

I opened my door. “Come on you big baby, let’s go.”

Telling his mom was a thousand times different than telling mine. There was dramatic crying and embracing all while I gasped for breath between each time she tugged me down to her in another rib cracking hug. From the second she opened the door until we were sneaking out two hours later, it was crazy. All I wanted was to have Mason to myself for a few hours before I had to catch my flight out, but we couldn’t leave. We probably wouldn’t have made it out the door then, but Aubrey showed up with Jacob for dinner. The only thing trumping our reunion was the arrival of her grandson.

I loved being around the baby, but it was also a painful punch to the gut. In all honesty, Aubrey had it so much worse than Mason and I ever did when we separated. Her husband had died overseas in Afghanistan while she was pregnant. He never got to meet his son and I couldn’t begin to imagine the pain she faces every day. Twenty five and widowed in the worst way possible. She was strong though and finally starting to move on according to Mason. I just hoped that he was right.