Blue Letter Night

29. Beth is exhausted

Everyone was shocked there was actually a wedding to celebrate, well everyone except me, so by the time we were at the reception, people were dancing and laughing and having the times of their lives. Although we were actually supposed to be celebrating the union of Lisa and Mark, our table was celebrating Max's official coming out.

"As soon as we got home I'm going to make you a giant rainbow cake," Anne had promised pulling Max into a head lock sort of hug. With most of the attention on Max and Oliver, Mason and I were free to dance with little to no bombarding and teasing from our family's.

"how'd you get to be able to paint the walls in the house?" He asked. The song playing was very slow and a little sad too.

"It was after... after I moved in with Machelle, and she told me I could paint my new room whatever colour I wanted. I painted it an obnoxiously bright colour," Mason raises and eyebrow "Hey! Don't judge me, I wanted it to be memorable. And It was certainly memorable. It was the brightest yellow I have, to this day, ever seen. So eventually at ten I found some old paint in the shed and painted over it,"

"What did you paint?" He smiled.

"Oh it was a terrible lily, the worst flower I've ever drawn for sure. But I had fun doing it. Machelle didn't think it was half bad, another nook was being renovated and she let me practice the walls until they painted over it for good. And last summer when i added another layer she decided to not paint over it and let me do some of the other rooms too,"

"You deserve it," he told me with conviction. I gave a half smile. It was quiet between us after that. We swayed in sync to the count of the music and looked at each other. It was moments like that that reminded me of all the time I caught him staring, or when he caught me staring. We looked at each other just a little too long to be just friends. I deliberately broke the eye contact and settled for resting my head on his shoulder and hoping my makeup didn't run off on his suit jacket.

"Man I'm exhausted," I yawned. was it just me or did he step a little closer to me? Either way my heart raced.

"It's been a busy day,"

I lifted my head and released my hand from his shoulder, "speaking of which, you should give Eddie that hourly update; We'll probably leave after you do," and so we wondered back to the table where everyone was sitting and organizing their things.

"Nearly ready to go?" Macy asked.

"I'm so ready," I yawned again. Macy laughed and Anne and I walked ahead of the group to the car.

"And?!" She asked hopefully.

"I don't know what you're expecting,"

"I'm expecting a kiss, no tung will do. I need this five dollars Beth,"

I snickered and Masons arrival terminated that particular conversation, but another one started and we were all talking loudly and sleepily while everyone else trailed behind us. Our conversation become more hushed in the car when one by one everyone fell asleep.

Sitting in the back of our car with Mason was different than it was the last time, something had changed once again between us. Everyone was tired, Macy was driving.

"You know," my voice was wispy and sleepy, " I think this is the real deal for Lisa,"

"I hope so. Divorce is probably expensive," Mason said thoughtfully.

"And you know so much about divorce?" My laugh was just as wispy.

"Well maybe not so much, but you gotta higher lawyers and stuff right,"

"Sure. But it doesn't matter. This is it for Lisa, I know it," and I said it with such conviction that He must've believed me, because he didn't say anything again, and I drifted off to an exhausted sleep.

It wasn't a long ride back to the cabin, and I was a light sleeper, so as soon as the car came to a parked position I woke up. My head was rested on Masons shoulder, his head on top of mine.

"Are we home?" He mumbled when I lifted my head causing his to do a nod.

"I think you drooled in my hair," was my only response as I became aware of something wet seeping through my hair. Mason patted the spot sleepily.

"Sorry,"

"Hey," Macy was trying to get our attention from the drivers seat, "wake Anne, would you,"

"That's a tough request," I told her through a yawn, but I shook Anne's shoulder anyways.

"Anne," I whispered sharply while everyone else started to climb out of the car. She didn't move. Under other circumstances someone might've thought Anne had somehow died on the way home, I however knew she was just stubborn in consciousness and unconsciousness. It took some effort but finally, Anne lifted her head and said pleasantly, "oh we're home,"

Anne and I stumbled sleepily to our room and collapsed momentarily on the same bed before I suggested we should take off our makeup. Anne begrudgingly agreed and stood next to me at the mirror.

"You know," Anne was swiping off her lipstick, "Being happy shouldn't be this hard for you guys; you should just go up to him and kiss him on the mouth so he gets the hint,"

"You just want to win your bet," I tease. Mascara was smudged underneath my eyes.

"No, I want you to be happy. Mason makes you happy. Not happier than I do but still,"

I laughed and nudged her shoulder with mine, twisting the used makeup wipe in my hand, "I hated him for so long and a part of me, a really stupid part of me, wishes it stayed that way,"

"Why?"

"It's so much simpler to hate someone than to realize you like them,"

"Well," She threw the crumpled wipe in the trash can and flopped down on her bed, "you have two options: you can either ignore whatever is going on between you two and force yourself to be friends, or you can actually do something about the way you feel for once because I know he feels the same way,"

I had made my way to my bed across the room, "I don't think it's that easy,"

"It is if you choose the second option," Anne had turned the light off, all that was left in the room was pure darkness and silence. Anne seemed so sure that it would be easy for Mason and I to be happy together, but I really wasn't so sure, things were complicated, they always were.