Hunter's Redemption. Eleni P Sianis
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stores, charity functions, and hockey games with James, Mason, and Hannah. Mason imagined the glamorous car, home, and toys he would buy if he had the kind of money that Anthony has.
Mason was well aware that Hannah admires Anthony’s humility, but Mason found that aspect of his personality underwhelming.
“James, why doesn’t your dad move you out of this boring town and into some Beverly Hills mansion? You know he has the money to do it.”
Mason knew that James was always protective of Mason’s feelings, and this made James feel more like a brother to him. The fact that Mason was very sensitive to the idea of his mom with Anthony was mutually understood by both Mason and James, without Mason ever having to come right out and say it. They both knew that Anthony stayed in Portland to be close to Hannah, and Mason anticipated James’s feigned ignorance when he shrugged and said, “Right? I’ll never understand the man.”
*****
The two of them glide on the ice naturally and hit shot after shot to victory with their team. It was nearing the end of the season, and their coach invite all the players and their parents to meet after the game at Salvage BBQ on Congress Street in Portland, Maine.
While sitting with his teammates, Mason can still catch pieces of Anthony and Hannah’s conversation. Anthony is thanking Hannah for helping him in the early days of Tony’s whenever there were hiccups. Something about a power outage and the backup generator malfunctioning. “Not only did you help clean out the refrigerators, you offered me a loan to pay for the damage. Even though I couldn’t accept your money, Hannah, I want you to know that your offer meant the world to me back then and still does today.”
Mason doesn’t know any of that had happened. How could Hannah have offered Anthony a loan when she keeps pressuring Mason to get good grades for a scholarship? Does Anthony mean that much to her? Does he mean more to her than Mason does?
It is time that he interrupts the conversation. Leaning over the table to talk to Anthony, Mason says, “The other day, I came home from school and my mom was just finishing up a séance. You know she works as a medium, right?”
James nudges him to quit, but Mason knows that Hannah’s work as a medium is often the elephant in the room because Anthony is aware that Hannah works as a medium and finds it very strange. From what James had told him, it is not a part of Hannah’s life that Anthony particularly likes but is able to push it aside and focus on the many things he does like about her.
“Yes, I know that, Mason.”
“Mason, you know I help people find closure when they lost someone close to them. Don’t talk about my work like it’s something shameful. By looking at photos of their departed ones and talking to them about the person a little, I can help ease the pain of their loved ones’ parting,” she explains.
“So, do you actually see the ghosts?” Anthony asks.
Hannah senses his disbelief and lies, “No, I just try and talk to them more like a psychologist would and assure them that their loved ones are in a better place and at peace.”
Hannah throws Mason a disapproving “we’ll talk about this later” kind of look.
Anthony turns toward Hannah so Mason and James can’t hear him and quickly changes the subject. “James is asking to go to Lollapalooza in Chicago this summer…if Mason hasn’t brought it up yet, I’m guessing he is still just buttering you up.”
“No buttering up is happening yet, but I’ll be looking forward to it,” Hannah replies.
The music in the restaurant changes, and Mason cringes at the sight of Hannah and Anthony smiling at each other. “Let It Happen” by Tame Impala comes on, and Hannah starts singing along. Anthony joins in on the singing, and the hockey team erupts in laughter. Some of them hide their heads and others pretend to throw things at them to stop singing.
“We’re such rock stars, Tony. Looks like our boys might have two parent chaperones at Lollapalooza,” Hannah whispers to Anthony.
James’s mother remarried when James was still a baby, and he was accustomed to spending days with his mother, stepfather, and stepsister. When it was Anthony’s turn to have James at his house, James immediately felt the quiet loneliness in his father’s house and worried that his dad would never meet anyone. But for Mason, it was different.
Mason did not have the same hope as James of seeing his parent in a new relationship. Hannah and Mason lived with Hannah’s parents after Mason was born, but they were already much older and passed away just months apart when Mason was ten years old. Mason was particularly close to his grandfather and cherished days spent with him reading books and playing card games like Old Maid and Go Fish. As his only father figure, his grandfather’s passing was very difficult for Mason and left a void he couldn’t fill. For a few months after his grandfather’s death, Mason was able to recall the peculiar smell of his sweater, a combination of dryer sheets and aftershave. He always hid mints in his sweater pockets for Mason to find. But slowly, Mason’s memories of his grandparents started to fade.
Just a few days after his grandfather died, Mason came home from school to find Anthony consoling Hannah in an intimate embrace in the kitchen. Mason felt betrayed, became furious, and threw his schoolbag at Anthony. He realized that they were more than just friends, and the new image of his mother with James’s father was overwhelming. Hannah tried explaining the importance of grown-ups having meaningful relationships with other grown-ups, but Mason couldn’t understand. Soon after that, Mason started acting up aggressively toward other kids in school, so Hannah decided to wait until he was older to date openly.
After lunch at Salvage BBQ, the hockey players and their parents walk out to the parking lot.
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