“Uh-huh. Uncle Mason is taking me to Pizza Hut today because my mom needs a break and she calls Uncle Mason when she needs a break. But that’s okay because I like Uncle Mason. I don’t like his girlfriend because—“
“Okay, buddy,” Mason interrupted, “that’s probably enough.”
Sara glanced up at Mason, a grin on her lips. She looked at Derek. “What’s wrong with your Uncle Mason’s girlfriend?”
Derek shrugged, fidgeting. “She wears too much makeup and she’s always trying to kiss him and it’s gross.”
“She must like him a lot.”
“I guess. Can we go now?” Derek asked, looking at his uncle.
Sara straightened, catching the expression on Mason’s face as he looked at his nephew. He was looking at his world. She inhaled slowly.
“Thank you, Mason, for everything,” she said, meaning it.
He nodded. “If you ever want to talk or just want to stop to say hi, here’s my card.” Mason pulled a black business card from his jeans pocket.
Sara took it. “I will. So you’re releasing me, huh?”
“It was never about me, Sara. It was about you and what or who helped you the most. It hurts my ego to admit it wasn’t me.”
She nodded, glancing away. “Right. Um…before you leave, can I show you something first?”
“Of course.” Mason turned to Derek. “One more minute, bud.”
Derek sighed. “Okay.”
“You got your book?”
The boy nodded, taking a tiny book from his pocket.
“You can sit at the table and look at it, all right?”
“All right.”
Mason motioned for her to proceed. A chair to the table scraped the floor as Derek pulled it out, situating himself at the table with his book. Sara smiled faintly, turning away.
Every step that took her closer to the paintings made it a little harder for her to breathe. Sara forced her footsteps closer to their destination, her pulse racing. She grabbed the doorknob and tugged, opening the door to the studio.
Two paintings stood against the wall, side by side. Sara stared at them, her heart giving a twinge. One was of a closed blue door, the other the same blue door opened to show gray eyes. It was haunting and mysterious.
“What does it mean?” Mason asked from behind her.
Sara shook her head. “I don’t know. It just…my mind wandered both times and this is what I came up with. Once before he died and the other time after.”
“Who has gray eyes?”
She turned around. “Lincoln has gray eyes.”
Mason smiled softly. “I thought so. It’s okay, Sara.”
“I don’t think it is,” she whispered.
“You know…holding on isn’t holding on. It’s letting go.”
“I don’t know what that means.” She blinked and a tear dropped to her cheek.
“You will,” Mason vowed, moving forward to hug her.
“It hasn’t been long enough,” she said into his shoulder, returning the hug. In the person she’d last thought she would, Sara had found a friend.
Mason pulled away. “Life isn’t measured in time, Sara, but by moments. When you figure that out, you’ll be golden.”
Sara blinked her stinging eyes; turning away from Mason’s knowing ones.
“I think you have all your answers. You just have to see them. I got a hungry nephew to feed. Like I said, anytime you want to talk, look me up. I won’t even charge you.”
See me, Lincoln had pleaded. Sara briefly closed her eyes and more tears fell to her face. She opened her eyes, shaking the memory away. “That notebook you gave me?”
He paused at the doorway, looking over his shoulder at her. “Yeah?”
“It’s full of sketches,” Sara admitted.
Mason smiled. “I’m glad.”
“Thank you, Mason,” Sara said, her voice trembling with emotion.
“I didn’t do anything, Sara.”
“So I should thank you for nothing?” A small smile formed to her lips.
Mason laughed. “Yeah. You’d be surprised by how many times I’m told that, actually.” He tapped his fingers on the doorframe. “See you around, Sara.”
“’Bye, Sara!” Derek called and she called a goodbye in return as they walked out the door.
Sara inhaled deeply, closing her eyes. She missed Lincoln. The ache in her chest widened, became painful. That connection they’d had, before and after they’d explored one another’s bodies in the most intimate way; she needed it. She needed him. Even if they couldn’t be what he wanted them to be, Sara couldn’t imagine her life without him in it. It was his voice she longed to hear, his arms Sara wanted to feel around her. When had it all changed?
***