Meant to be

The New York Trip - Mason

"You can't not go" Michel complains for what feels like the fiftieth time as we wait to be called up.

"What are you two bickering about?" Grandfather enquires as he sits in his usual chair with his usual barber Benjamin. Despite his grey locs remaining untouched Grandfather always insists on maintaining his beard with pride.
I suddenly feel that I'll regret having Michel and Grandfather in the same room as I know it'll end in my life being discussed in unbearable detail.

"I'm sure you can guess what, or who it's about"

"Evie" Grandfather says all knowingly. But this isn't just about Evie. It's about what happened the last time we saw each other, Italy had been a turning point in our non relationship. Well at least it had been for me.
"This is a catch up, so Mason, or Michel, catch me up!" he says with vigour. Michel and I get into our own chairs, all three of us facing the mirrors and our own reflection. I don't know what everyone else sees when they look at themselves but I see a man finally realising what he wants doesn't want him back.

"We've just finished our mid year exams and it's reading week, which is kind of like a half term for university stu-"

"Michelangelo I know what a reading week is, get on with it"

"Alright, well Leo has kindly invited us to New York for some brotherly bonding and I want to see this girl I'm in a long distance relationship with, Priya. Mason won't come on the sole basis of Evie being there too"

"You're going to wander off with Priya, Leo will be with Kayleigh, Libby with Sean, Piper will do her own thing that leaves Evie and I" I groan feeling like a lovesick teen rather than a twenty one year old man.

"Would it be awful if you were left alone with Evie, I thought you liked her, your generation is always so quick to change their minds" Grandfather says only stopping as Benjamin warns him to be still.

"I do still like her, I'm just embarrassed Grandfather" I mumble.

"Another thing, your grandson won't tell me what happened in Italy it was like a couple of weeks ago" six weeks and in that time I'd mostly avoided seeing Evie with the help of revision and exams.

"If Robert wants his beard to look decent he will not say another word until I'm done" Benjamin says not taking his eyes off Grandfather's beard.

"For the sake of your grandfather's beard will you just tell us. One moment you guys are all lovey dovey in the club next morning you guys hardly look each other in the eyes" I inwardly groan knowing there was little point avoiding this conversation, if it doesn't happen now it'll happen later.

"I told her how much she means to me and it felt like she might feel the same way. I was pretty close to saying something that would've changed everything till you said Maria needed help, although if Andrea's sister's a drunk mess wouldn't it have been better if you asked Andrea to help instead of me?" I ask Michel, my mind always thinking back to what could've happened if I finished telling her how I feel and I hadn't of gone to help Maria.

Like would we have started exclusively dating?

Or would we have jumped straight into a relationship?

Or would she have shut me down, suggest we're better off friends with benefits.

Or just friends.

I need to get out of my own head, I'm going to drive myself crazy.

"Drunk me knows a problematic coke head when I see one. It made sense to go to you for help and you saw her she was an absolute mess I was worried someone would try to take advantage of her and I couldn't find Andrea" he defends his actions, he did the right thing trying to help her, how was he to know he had interrupted something important for me.