Page 29 of Mason's Run

Shit, did I just say all that out loud?

“That’s Jabba,” he said, still laughing at me.

“Jabba?” I asked, my voice shaking in disbelief. “He’s certainly big enough!Shit, that thing’shuge!” I exclaimed, peering over Lee’s shoulder at the chunky animal moving across the lawn. “Does he bite?”

“Jabba’s a groundhog, he’s harmless,” Lee said, grinning at me over his shoulder.

“Groundhog? Like, in, Groundhog Day? I thought they lived in Pennsylvania, or something,” I said.

“Um, no, groundhogs don’t just live in Pennsylvania. Haven’t you ever been away from the city before?” he asked.

“Why would I go in the woods? There’re no Starbucks there,” I said, returning to my seat. I could see the disbelief on his face. This was going to be fun…

“Starbucks? Seriously, dude?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yep, no Starbucks, no internet… Why wouldIgo to thewoods?” I asked, breaking out my most diva voice.

Lee caught on that I was teasing him, and he threw the dishtowel from the counter at me.

“Asshole,” he muttered.

I snickered and dodged, before grabbing my juice again.

“So… What’s the plan today?” I asked, taking a drink.

“The signing is scheduled to start at 11 a.m., if you’re up for it,” he said, his voice rising slightly. I nodded. I needed to be able to do this.

“It should last about four hours, then, well, you are free if you want, but…” his voice trailed off a bit.

“But…?” I inquired, returning the raised eyebrow he had given me earlier.

He sighed and thrust his phone at me. I eyed it suspiciously, but saw a group text message scrawled across the screen.

MAMA K: You found him? GREAT! Bring him to dinner tonight! We’ll play D&D!

ME: Mom, he’s not going to want to play D&D with you nerds. I don’t even know if he *likes* role playing.

MAMA K: Why wouldn’t he like role playing?!? …He’s not prejudiced, is he??

ME: No, Mom, he’s literally famous for his LGBTQ Graphic novels. He’s not prejudiced.

MAMA D: She didn’t mean sexual orientation, Lee. She meant that we don’t play 5th edition.

Mason smiled over at Lee. “Mama K? Mama D?”

Lee’s face broke into a broad grin. “My parents. Kara and Diana Devereaux.”

“Life partners?” I asked, and Lee nodded.

“For almost thirty years now,” he said.

“Wow… That’s a long time,” I said, trying to count backward in time. “Gay and together thirty years ago? That had to be rough,” I said, taking a sip of my juice.

“Yeah, they met in the eighties, and it was love at first sight,” Lee said, his hands making air quotes. “They run D&K Martial Arts. It’s mixed martial arts training. They’ve been doing it my whole life.”

“That almost sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. Two lesbians open a dojo…”

Lee snorted.