Chapter 15: All That I Got

*MASON'S POV*

After talking to Briana, I actually feel better.  My head is a little clearer, which is good because apparently Evie told our parents about our conversation.  My dad calls me out of the blue and wants to talk.  I haven't had a serious talk with my dad since he tried to explain the birds and the bees to me...and in the end he just told me to go find Aunt Amy.  Needless to say, as much as I ask him for advice every now and then, we don't really talk - we fish...and maybe grunt.

MASON: Hey Pops, I don't know what Evie told you, but I swear I'm fine...

T-bone: Yeah, I don't know if I believe that.

MASON: What did she say?  That I'm being a selfish asshole?  That's pretty much what she told me.

T: Hahaha, damn, so much for handling the situation with some tact.

MASON: Yeah, but is she right?

T: Hmm, this is a tough situation, and it's hitting you the way it's hitting you.  You can't help that.

MASON: I don't know, maybe I've been lucky up to this point.

T: Yeah, you have.

MASON: Ha, so am I screwed?
T: No, you just have to work a little harder.  You and Hadley have known each other your whole lives.  It's easy to get lazy in a marriage during the best times.  You have taken for granted how much you rely on that past knowledge.  Now you both have a clean slate - you don't know her and she doesn't know you.

MASON: Hmm, I never thought of it that way...
T: Yeah, in a way, you have your own form of amnesia.

MASON: So what do I do?

T: Well, let me ask you a question.  Do you still love Hadley?
MASON: Of course!  I never...
T: Well then you have to stand up and do whatever it takes to save your marriage.

MASON: I've been doing that...
T: Have you really?  You've been doing about as much as you were doing before.  That was fine then, but you have to step it up.  Really learn to get to know her - make an effort.  You've always been better than most men about talking things out and listening.  That's what she needs right now.  She needs you to be there for her and stop relying so much on what you used to know, because it doesn't mean squat now.

*HADLEY'S POV*

I swear, I don't know what the hell I'm doing...and I don't know who to call...crap...

This is what I get for trying to maintain my own household.  Geez.  I tried to wait for Mason, but I was starving, so I fixed myself some dinner and then clean up after myself and I'll be damned if the dish washer didn't break.  It seems like I always have the worst luck...I don't get it.

BRIANA: Is everything okay?

Ugh...it's her again.  Yeah, everything would be great if you would just get out of my hair.

That's what I want to say, but of course I am trying to be nice...this chick makes it difficult to be hospitable.

HADLEY: Yeah, it's just this damn dishwasher.

BRIANA: Oh...what's it doing?
HADLEY: Not working...
BRIANA: Oh...um...
HADLEY: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be snotty, I'm just annoyed.
BRIANA: Oh, well...do you mind if I take a look?
HADLEY: Since when are you a handy person?
BRIANA: Being poor makes you good at fixing what you have, I guess.
HADLEY: Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm rich.

Okay, bitch, retract your claws.

HADLEY: I'm sorry...it would be great if you could look at it.

BRIANA: Oh, I think I know what it is...you have a fork stuck back here...
HADLEY: I didn't have a freakin' clue.

BRIANA: It's pretty fixable, don't worry about it.

She amazingly gets it working again.  Hmm, she has actually been useful in this situation.

She goes about her business and I'm just about to head to bed when I hear Mason walk in.

MASON: Hey, wait a minute.

Oh goody...I really don't need another argument to add to my bad mood.

HADLEY: What is it, Mason?

MASON: I need to apologize to you.

I turn around to face him and he's looking at me with the most intense stare I have ever seen.

HADLEY: What do you mean?
MASON: I have been such a jerk lately, I don't know what I've been doing.

HADLEY: Okay...
MASON: I keep waiting for you to come back to me and you're already here...

HADLEY: Well, yeah, that's what I've been trying to tell you...
MASON: I know, and I've been stubborn and ignorant, holding on to the past and unwilling to change, but that's over.

HADLEY: Really?

MASON: Yes, baby, you are my world, my reason for breathing and I need to remember that instead of trying to turn you into someone you're not anymore.

HADLEY: So you're going to accept me, even if I never get my memory back?
MASON: That doesn't matter to me.  I don't care if you never get your memory back.  I've got you here in front of me, and that's all that matters.

Overwhelmed, I reach for him, and he reaches for me and we kiss...and boy have I missed this.

HADLEY: Wow...
MASON: I love you so much, baby girl.  Anything you need, I'll get it it, I'll do whatever you want me to do, I swear.  No more Asshat Mason...

HADLEY: Mason, this makes me so happy.  I love you too.  All I have ever wanted was for you to love me again, and be my husband.
MASON: Well, the first thing I want to do...if you'll let me...is move back into our bedroom.

Even though all we do is sleep, it's a more restful sleep than I have had in a long time.  To make it even better, at some point in the middle of the night he reaches out for me and wraps his strong arms around me, holding me close...and I feel instantly safe.

****

In the middle of the night, I start having these visions...of a little girl with dark hair and freckles...

...and of that girl a little older, having a sleepover with her best friend and getting excited about her older sisters birthday cake.

...and sharing her first kiss with her true and only love...

....finding joy in her children...

...a lot of children...

...a whole lot of children...

...and after a long road and a lot of starts and stops, marrying her true love as her friends and family watch happily...

...and building a life with that man full of triumphs and trials that they take on together...

Somehow, I realize that these aren't just visions, but memories...of a life I thought I would never get back...but I finally have.

I wake up ecstatic, ready to find Mason and jump his bones from morning to night, but then I realize that even though I remember my life, I still don't have it back yet...

I slowly lift myself up out of bed...

...and wonder how in the holy hell I ended up in someone else's body.