Not a Reunion

Chapter 5

Mason

It seems I've been extremely thankful these past few years. Everything that I have granted was beyond my reach, beyond my grasp, and yet I had it. 

How did I get it? 

I don't know. I couldn't comprehend half of the things that I have been granted. I couldn't believe how fast my career was heading in a direction my young adult self had never imagined. I thought that I would at least get a stable job that I would be able to keep. 

I didn't think that there would be people hosting my business launch here in New York City. I couldn't even believe I had been accepted for the position as the person taking over the branch in this location. It was all too much. 

It seemed like it was a dream.

When I wake up on the day of the launch, I have to lay there in bed and think about this. I had to convince my brain that it wasn't a dream and that it was real. This wasn't just something that was a figment of my imagination; this was real. 

"Just be grateful," I whisper to myself as I run a hand down my face. My eyes peek through, and I look through the large window that was on the right of my bed. I look through the photos of apartment buildings that surround me and want to scoff. There was no way I was here; there was no way that I was actually physically here. But I was, and I had to get to the office to ensure everything was set up for the day. 

Once the end of the day rolls around and I am getting ready for the banquet that I only had planned towards the end, I'm nervous. The process of planning wasn't stressful, as I had only written the checks at the end. Mr. Arnold was in charge of everything else; he had some people from his team write everything up. He had everything planned out, and all I had to do was give the confirmation. 

I shake my head in the mirror when I start to think about the way the girl who I had been in love with had reacted when I said I was okay with the function. She didn't look as if she liked the idea; moreover, she looked appalled by it. Her face didn't reveal anything, but when my eyes passed hers, I saw the answer in them.
 
I knew how to read her after all of these years. That made me shake my head as well. 

After I'm done getting ready, I get out of my building and head to the subway. I needed to buy a car if I planned on sticking around. It was funny how the thought of buying a car was a casual thought, as if there wasn't a phase of myef where the thought of not knowing where my next meal would come from was a thing. 

After the subway, I end up at the place where the banquet is taking place. Once I get to it, I try not to gawk at how big the place is. I had never been to a ball as big as this one, and the fact that it was a celebration for me and the company was something entirely different. If I were here alone and not surrounded by all of the people who have a pleasant smile on their faces, I would have done a spin around the room, wanting to appreciate all that it had to offer. 

I head further into the place where I catch the eyes of Mr. Arnold. There was a part of me that was still trying to catch up on the fact that the man had taken me under his wing. I had thought that I would be alone once I came in here, but all it took for someone to notice me was to open the front door for him. When he asked me about myself, suddenly I had a man who wanted to help me and who wanted to guide me. 

There was a whole other team helping me out on my laptop that I talked to every day, but this was different. This was a man who hadn't even known me, didn't know how far my company needed to go, but still wanted to help me out. That was what was surprising—who was he, and why was he kind? 
Or was I just so accustomed to working hard for everything I got that I wasn't used to a person's kindness?