Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
He made me a plate.
As Mason had promised, his pot roast was perfect.
But the answer to the mystery of Sky’s dream plate had left him even more baffled and in need of a long run the following morning.
The mystery of the plate began three days after Sky arrived when his dinner was served to him on the most beautiful divided plate he had ever seen.
It was round and ceramic and had a large section at the bottom and two smaller sections on top, and it had been glazed in soothing shades of gray.
Most divided plates were for children and were in bold, primary colors or had characters on them. Many of them were rectangular for some reason. Sky didn’t like that because he wasn’t in elementary school anymore. And they were often smaller, flimsy, and made of cheap materials.
Not this plate. It had a lovely weight to it and Sky found the variations in the gray glaze soothing when it was empty.
Where the plate had come from was a mystery because there weren’t many places to buy a plate in Roseview, but Sky had checked them all after his morning runs.
There weren’t any dishes in the hardware store, aside from metal camping mugs and trays.
He checked the antique stores as well, but no one could recall seeing anything similar to the picture he had taken.
Finally, after devouring the best pot roast he had ever eaten in his life, a baked potato with butter, and raw carrots, then licking it clean, Sky remembered to ask Mason about the plate.
“Did you order this online? I’ve been looking everywhere, but I can’t find another one of these. Will anyone be mad if I steal this?”
“You don’t have to steal it, it’s yours,” Mason said as he gathered the rest of their dirty dishes.
Sky cheered and hugged it. “Yes! Where did it come from, I need a backup and whatever they have that matches.”
“Sorry, that’s the only one of its kind.
I stopped by Casey Bishop’s studio the day before you came and asked if she could make something like that on the off chance you accepted an invitation to dinner.
She said she’d teach me and I’ve always wanted to learn so I jumped at the offer.
I had a blast, but I didn’t realize it would take almost four days to cook that in the kiln,” Mason explained.
“If you turn it over and look really close, your name and the year are hidden under the rim at around eleven o’clock. ”
“You made this?” Sky flipped it over and searched until he found them and stared, too moved to say much more.
Sky couldn’t remember Mason ever making fun of him or treating him like he was less because he was different.
Mason had always embraced and defended Sky’s “weirdness” and had always been mindful of his sensitivities.
So had Sarina, but that was expected from a sister.
Mason didn’t have to be reminded about the things Sky wouldn’t eat, or how he took his coffee, or that strawberry Jell-O was his secret, all-purpose antidote.
For some reason he had and Mason understood that Sky preferred his foods as single textures and separate flavors, and that he had a specific order for eating things.
“It was a lot of fun. We can go and you can make one yourself. Casey said I could come over whenever and bring you, Sam, and Sina.”
“No!” Sky held the plate up with both hands. “It wouldn’t be like this one! Nothing will.”
He had cried because he was happy to have something so perfect and beautiful that made him feel safe and loved.
And he cried because the plate was like their time together, a thing that could only happen once and could never be duplicated.
They could go back to Casey Bishop’s studio and try to do everything exactly the same but the first plate would always be more beautiful and hold infinitely more value to Sky because Mason had made it for him.
Once their dishes were cleaned and the leftovers were put away, Sky dropped to his knees and gave Mason the best blowjob of his life in front of the sink.
Unable to wait, Mason had hauled Sky to his feet and backed him into the island.
Mason pulled out his stool and gave it a pat, then helped Sky sit and scoot back until his ass was hanging off the seat.
A bottle of olive oil was snatched off the counter and Sky’s joggers and briefs were pushed down before he was swiftly and deeply fucked.
“I’ll think of this every morning while I’m sitting here, drinking my coffee and reading the paper,” Mason rumbled in Sky’s ear, then lowered behind him and licked him clean.
Was it any wonder that Sky had woken up, still tingling from the orgasm and a little weepy over the plate?
Mason had stayed the night again, wrapping Sky in his stupidly comforting arms, playing with his hair and strumming his back until he fell asleep, the big jerk.
Luckily, Sky was able to slip away and sneak out for a run and some time to think.
Instead of returning after his run, Sky sent Mason a message saying that he was having breakfast with Nadine and would leave before his mother woke up. He was hoping for a break, but Nadine was onto him as soon as he let himself into the kitchen.
“What happened? Did you do something?” She pushed him into his chair at the table and grabbed his chin. “Why are you so worried?”
“I’m not worried! I didn’t like the pot roast,” he said with a hard shake of his head.
“Don’t you lie to me, young man. I can tell that you haven’t been sleeping and you think you’re in trouble.”
He hadn’t been sleeping but there was no way he was telling Nadine why.
There was nothing technically wrong with what he and Mason were doing, but Sky would probably cry if he talked about it.
He wasn’t enjoying all the legal and financial meetings he’d had to sit through, either, and all the decisions he and Sarina had to make.
He decided to complain about that instead.
“I had better not be in trouble, I haven’t done anything but sign whatever our lawyers and accountants put in front of me since Nana died.”
“Which lawyers and accountants?” Nadine asked suspiciously.
“The ones Sina and Mom use.”
“Good. They might be sharks but they take good care of their clients and their money and keep them out of jail.” She prepared him a cup of coffee and set it in front of him.
“What are you stressing about? Your mother says that everything’s fine with Sarina and Mason now.
” She was watching him over her shoulder as she opened the pantry and began gathering ingredients, including maple syrup.
“Bacon or sausage?” she asked him, instantly lifting his mood.
Mason’s pancakes were good. He added extra sugar and cinnamon to them because Sky ate his “dry” to avoid getting his hands sticky.
But Nadine was the only person Sky knew that put the syrup inside her pancakes.
They were the best and Sky’s favorite breakfast in the world because he could enjoy the taste of the syrup without the aggravating stickiness.
“Sausage, please. Everything’s great,” he answered, telling himself that he wasn’t lying because it was great, spending time with his sister, Sam, and Mason without any of the animosity or guilt.
He didn’t even feel ashamed or embarrassed whenever Sarina hinted that she knew and approved of what they were doing as soon as she and Sam left the house.
“It’s been a lot to adjust to but it’s great. ”
“Great!” Nadine squeezed his cheek. “Now you can come back!”
“What?”
“You can move back to Roseview,” she continued once she found the proper measuring cup. “Now that you three have worked things out, there’s no reason for you to stay away.”
Sky nodded. “None, if you don’t count my career, my Kayla, my apartment, and my responsibilities back in the real world,” he said but she made a dismissive sound as she worked.
“You're a writer, not a soldier or a scientist. You can work wherever you want, and you have a whole house here. Bring Kayla with you.”
“Why the hell would Kayla want to live in a town full of privileged white people? I’ve spent most of my life trying to get out and recover.”
“It’s not half as bad as you make it out to be. Maybe you should let Kayla decide for herself.”
“Good point. But I don’t want to live here. Not now, at least,” he told her, his mind drifting as she worked at the stove.
It would be like living in an emotional minefield, and it would only be a matter of time before Sky blew himself up.
He wouldn’t be able to hear someone mention the mayor without breaking into a sweat or he’d say something and give himself away around his mother or Nadine.
But mostly, Sky was afraid that it would eat him alive, watching Mason continue his role as the world’s best husband and father and wondering why all of that couldn’t be his.
He didn’t want to resent his sister or Sam when they deserved the world and loved Mason, too.
They needed him more, and it wouldn’t be fair to ask Mason to choose, although it was obvious who he’d pick.
That hurt too, but that was the way it was supposed to be.
Mason had made a commitment to Sarina and Sam, and the three of them had a happy life together.
“What if you moved to the city and lived with me and Kayla?” he asked, changing the subject when Nadine set a plate of pancakes and sausage in front of him.
“In that shoebox in Brooklyn? I’ll pass.” Nadine sat beside him. “How about you find a man and then come back when you’re ready to settle down and start your own family? I’ll move in with you and help you look after them.”
Sky didn’t think he wanted that kind of thing until she said it.
“I’ll add it to my list of things to do after I learn how to fly and lay golden eggs.
” There was no point in getting either of their hopes up when the only man Sky would ever love was already taken.
By his sister. “That reminds me, I’m gonna need a ride to the station on Sunday. ”
“Do you have to go so soon? I just got back, and we have so much catching up to do,” she said but Sky nodded, his mind made up.
He was leaving on Sunday, and he wasn’t giving Mason another chance to talk him out of it. “I have to, but let’s keep it between us for now. I don’t want anyone to make a fuss.”
“If you say so,” she said with a sigh. “I’m still cooking you a proper dinner before you go. What was that you said about a pot roast?”
“No… I don’t think I said anything about a pot roast...” He tapped his chin thoughtfully, scrambling for a new topic. “Maybe you misunderstood? I think I asked about how your sister was doing.”
“She’s a spring chicken, now that her heart’s all patched up. Which is a good thing because that sneaky son of hers is never going to get a legitimate job. Did I tell you about his latest scheme?”
“No, you did not!” Sky was glad to let Nadine tell him all about it until her phone buzzed.
“That’s Adele. She’s awake and ready for a martini.”
“Yikes! I’d better go.” Sky kissed her cheek, then made his exit.
The jog back to Sarina and Mason’s was short, but Sky had an evacuation plan in place by the time he arrived.
As always, Nadine knew what Sky needed better than he did and had managed to scold him about his affair with Mason without knowing it.
The only way Sky could recover and move on was if he moved and found his own life away from Roseview.