Iris & Mason

2. Mason

Mason.

On my 20th birthday I made the difficult decision to move to the city to get away from home. When people would ask me for my reasoning for moving I never had much of an answer for them. There was no event that drove me out of my small town, but I almost wished there had been. Nothing happening was probably the most prominent factor in my decision making process. It was either I stay home and find a job to keep me occupied for days that would turn into months that would turn into years, or spend the remainder of my life doing something new. I picked the latter.

My mom and dad were a huge part of my life, and that's why I was so hesitant to leave home and move to the city. I ended up bringing my dog Milo with me just so I wouldn't be so lonely. I know I wouldn't be able to function without him, and he wouldn't be too happy if I left him with my parents.

City life wasn't necessarily what I thought it would be. I found it relaxing in an unexpected way. I had made a few friends, found a few spots I liked to go to, but I liked to be in my apartment. I was lucky enough to have a space of my own with no roommates except for Milo. Being by myself was something I'd grown accustomed to.

I spent two years figuring out exactly what I didn't want to do with my life. I realized I didn't want to work in a restaurant, or in retail,  or in a normal office setting. It became very clear that I was attracted to arts, so I frequented a few museums, tried to go to concerts as much as I could, and I found a pretty cool record store within walking distance from my apartment.

I usually stopped by at night, but I always got looks from the guy that worked there as if he thought I was going to rob the cash register or at least steal a record or two.

I mean who robs a record store? Who? 

I decided to go check it out in the afternoon and hope for a different cashier this time.I wanted to get a new record one since I only had a few. So far I had two Stevie Wonder records but one of them was too scratched to enjoy. I inherited a record player from my dad and tried to actually put it to good use when I could. As much as I loved Stevie Wonder, a man can only listen to Songs in the Key of Life so many times.

Upon walking in, I gravitated towards the new arrivals section, and scanned through the selection. They had some good stuff but I found myself looking in the RnB/Soul section before I knew it. As soon as I found something, I proceeded to the counter where there was no line as usual.

"Hi, how are you today?" The girl behind asked. She didn't look up to make eye contact.

"Good,thanks." I replied. The girl looked up finally, revealing a warm smile.

When I set the record down, I realized the girl at the register was staring at me. Not like I was going to steal something, but more like a checking me out kind of thing. I waited, assuming she would snap out of it, but she didn't. It was amusing, especially because she was beautiful. She had short brown hair that rested above her shoulders, brown eyes, and tan skin that resembled mine.

"Are you going to ring it up?" I asked after about a minute had passed. I seemed to get her attention and she came back to her senses.

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry." She seemed really flustered. When it was time to pay I pulled a twenty dollar bill out of my wallet, getting ready for my smart ass move.

"Usually I come here at night, and the guy who works here always looks at me like I'm going to steal something. But at least he doesn't check me out for two minutes." Without even giving her time to reply, I dropped the twenty on the counter, not waiting for her to give me my change. Something about that encounter had me smiling as I walked away.