Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Four months later…
The very worst thing that had ever happened to Mason came out of nowhere while he was on his way home from the office.
It wasn’t a car accident, but the news that his father had a stroke and was being flown to Mineola hit Mason like a semi.
He pulled over, got out of his truck, and stumbled off the shoulder with his phone.
Mason fell to his knees on the grass, rocking and panicking as Sarina told him everything she knew.
Being an adult and a father with a mortgage and two jobs couldn’t save Mason, he felt like he was six again and was terrified that he’d lose his dad.
He called his mother, instinctively seeking assurance and comfort, but the sound of her tears and fear snapped him out of it.
Mason pulled himself together and started making calls.
Adele finally had an opportunity to keep Sam Jr. for an evening with Nadine’s supervision, and had been surprisingly sympathetic when Mason dropped him off.
It was a little more than an hour to NYU Langone, but Mason was immensely grateful for Sarina’s quick thinking when she recognized that Sam Sr. was having a stroke.
Instead of wasting valuable time at one of the clinics or hospitals in Southampton, she made sure he went to one of the top stroke centers in the region.
She was by Sam Sr.’s bed, poking at a monitor, when Mason rushed into the recovery suite.
“You’re awake!” Mason’s voice didn’t work as he hurried around the bed and took his father’s hand. He looked weak and groggy but Mason was crying tears of joy, relieved that he was still there.
“I’m okay, son! I had an angel watching over me and she hasn’t left my side.” Sam beamed up at Sarina, his soft brown eyes misty with gratitude.
“I’m just so glad I was there and everything went exactly the way we needed it to. Your mom is downstairs, making phone calls where the reception is better. Her phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since it happened,” she told Mason.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” he said as he grabbed her face and covered it with tearful, snotty kisses.
“Dad’s going to be okay!” Sarina promised. She calmly explained what had happened before and during surgery, and what Sam Sr.'s prognosis and recovery would look like. “We were really lucky!”
Mason nodded emphatically, overcome with gratitude. “Who knows what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there.”
“That’s not what I meant, but early detection makes a huge difference. All the stars aligned so we could get him here as fast as we did and into an operating room with the right people.”
“You saved my life, Sina,” Sam insisted, then smiled at Mason.
“I always joked that we won the lottery when she agreed to marry you and gave us Little Sam. Now we have proof. That girl is the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to me after your mother.
” He laughed fondly but Mason’s stomach sank and he couldn’t look his father in the eye all of a sudden, he felt so ashamed and guilty.
I could have lost him and he never would have known.
Unlike some people who waited until after their parents passed to come out, Mason suddenly didn’t want his father to die without telling him the whole truth.
He would have sooner, if it had only been about his homosexuality.
Mason’s parents weren’t homophobic and would probably be supportive.
It was about all the rest of it, and how long he had hidden it from them.
“There’s something I want to tell you, but I’m not sure if this is the right time,” Mason started in a trembling voice and Sarina whipped around, stunned.
“Mason? What are you doing?” she whispered tightly but her eyes were screaming at him as she shook her head faintly.
“Will I give him another stroke if I tell him now?” he asked her, earning a genuine laugh from Sam.
“I’ll have another stroke if you don’t. What the hell are you two getting spun up about?”
Sarina cringed hard and shook her head. “He won’t have another stroke but are you sure, Mase? I could care less about what my mom thinks of us but I’ll feel like hell and never get over it, knowing Dad’s disappointed in me.”
Sam spluttered and flailed with his free hand. “Would you two cut it out? I’d never be disappointed in either of you.”
“You might, Dad,” Mason said. “I have to tell you, though. There are things I’ve been afraid to tell you for most of my life, but I’ve made it so much worse by hiding and lying.”
“It’s okay, son. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together,” Sam said, just as Mason’s mother returned.
“You made it! Where’s Little Sam?” Kate asked Mason as he rose and pulled her into his arms for a hug.
He squeezed her tight and kissed her hair. “He’s with Nadine and Adele. There’s something important I was about to tell Dad, but I’m glad you’re here too.”
“What’s happened?” she looked at Mason and Sarina nervously. “Is Little Sam alright?”
“He’s fine, Mom,” Mason reassured her. “It’s about me, mostly.” He swallowed past the knot that was forming in his throat and took a deep breath. “I’m…gay and Sarina and I have been pretending to be married.”
“Just the intimate parts. We are legally married,” Sarina clarified.
Both of Mason’s parents looked confused, so he cleared his throat and begged his brain to work better.
“Sina’s always known that I was gay. I was too scared to come out and she…
” This part was what scared him the most. He prayed with his whole heart that they would forgive him.
“She got pregnant so I proposed and promised I’d always take care of her and Little Sam. ”
“Oh! Wow!” Kate said, blinking rapidly.
Sam was the first to recover, ironically. “I understand why you were scared, Mason. I wish you felt like you could have told us when you were younger, but it doesn’t change how we feel. You’re still my boy and Little Sam is our pride and joy. Nothing will change that or how much we love you two.”
His mother nodded quickly. “You're both still our boys. Who’s Little Sam’s father?” She looked at Sarina.
“He’s…out of the picture. He didn’t want to be involved,” she said and let out a relieved laugh.
“Why was that so hard to say?” she asked Mason, laughing again as she turned to Sam.
“Mason has been protecting me for all these years because I was so afraid that anyone would find out, but that’s all I had to say! ”
“Well…” Mason widened his eyes at her. “We both had secrets. We still do. I don’t want anyone else to know that Little Sam isn’t mine.”
“That’s no one else’s business, is it?” Kate asked.
Sam snorted in agreement, shaking his head.
“It sure isn’t. I don’t like that either of you felt the need to hide to feel safe here, but it doesn’t change anything I’ve said.
Having Sarina as a daughter is one of the luckiest things that’s ever happened to me and this family.
I don’t care how it happened, Little Sam has been a blessing since the day he was born. ”
“Amen to that,” Kate said with a firm nod.
“The matter is settled as far as we’re concerned.
Although…” Her teeth dug into her lower lip, signaling that she might not actually approve of everything they had done.
“I know it’s none of our business, but are you both happy?
A marriage should be…romantic and intimate too,” she added in a blushing mumble.
“We have…made some sacrifices,” Mason admitted slowly.
For some reason, Mason saw Sky in their kitchen, holding up his gray plate and crying.
Mason needed them to know the truth about that too.
“I love Sky. I have since we were kids but we…” He shook his head and pushed out a hard breath, unable to explain all the ways he had blown it with Sky.
“Is that why he left for so long and doesn’t come back?” Sam asked them. “He knew, didn’t he?”
Sarina nodded, her eyes cast downward. “We broke his heart and he wanted nothing to do with us for a long time. Things have been better but Sky prefers to keep his distance,” she explained.
Sam sighed heavily. “That’s a hell of a conundrum you’ve got there. I’m trusting the two of you to sort this out, though. Sky’s a damn good kid and he deserves better. Always has.”
“I know,” Mason said, sniffing hard and blinking back tears. He was so proud to be his parents’ son and wished he was as good and as strong as them.
Maybe one day, when I grow up.
“I’ve really made a mess of things with Sky. I miss him, but we can’t be together without hurting everyone we love.”
“Because of me,” Sarina interrupted.
“Because we made a choice. Together,” Mason scolded her. “I don’t regret the rest of it, and I never will.”
Kate threw her hands up, laughing. “The three of you are still young and there’s still time! Figure it out!”
“We will!” Sarina replied and was laughing as she wiped her eyes. “We’ll figure this out,” she vowed with a serious look at Mason. “While we’re still young. We’ve lived with all of this hanging over us for long enough.”
“Agreed,” Mason said as he lowered onto the bed and took his father’s hand in his. “A huge weight is off my shoulders now that you and Mom know the truth. That’s enough for the moment. All I care about right now is getting you home and back on your feet.”