Line Of Scrimmage (7 page)

Mom came to the door and let
me in. Her husband was too ill to do anything around the house. He has high blood pressure and a host of medical problems. I’m not sure he was capable of fixing, building or repairing anything. He was a retired car salesman. He owned a few Subway sandwich restaurants. He was not a handy guy. Plus he was ten years older than my mom so I didn’t want him having a heart attack. My mom met my stepfather in church. I didn’t like him at first. I was real close to my father and even though he had been dead for ten years before my mom met Jimmy it still took me a minute to get used to him. My stepfather didn’t have any kids of his own so we were all he had.

I
would do anything for mom so I didn’t mind picking up the slack when dumbass Mike was jagging off.

“Hi mom.” I kissed her on the cheek.

“Mason, guess who finally showed up?”

Did she mean m
e? I wasn’t sure. She asked like it was a legitimate question and not sarcasm.

“Who?”
I asked more confused than ever.

“Mike, he’s here. He showed up fifteen minutes ago. I’m sorry I should have called yo
u and told you not to come.”

“It’s okay
mom.” I looked around and spotted the empty LazyBoy recliner. That was Jimmy’s favorite spot. “Where’s Jimmy?”

“He had a doctor’s appointment.”

“He drove himself?”

“Yeah, he finally got
medicine for his vertigo.”

“I’m making lunch. I can
make you something just come and have a seat.”

I
followed my mom but I really wanted to turn around. I wasn’t in the mood to see Mike. When I think about the drama he caused I want to bash his face in. I wonder where he parked his car. Melissa probably dropped him off. She has a tight leash on him.

Mike was in the kitchen standing idle and looking like a back stabbing bastard when I approached.

“Mason.” He said as he watched my scowl.

“Mike.” I gritted my teeth as I said his name.

Mom noticed our defensive postures. “What’s going on with you two now?”

We both were quiet. The tension was thick and floating through the air in storm clouds.

“Hello!” Mom bellowed. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing Mom, Mason’s just mad at me like always. You know no one’s as perfect as Mason.
He’s such a good guy.”

Mom frowned. Mike was taking jabs at me and purposely provoking me because he knew I would never smash his face in with Mom standing near
by. When we were kids I only kicked his ass when mom wasn’t around so he never really had any proof when he ran to tell on me.

Mike and I were in an intense stare
down when I heard the doorbell ring. Mom rushed away and I took this grand opportunity to stalk over to Mr. Potato Head and punch him in the arm. He didn’t dare hit me back.

“You better not say a word to Mom.”
I threatened.

Mike put some distance between us by moving to the opposite side of the table.

“You’re not even living in your house. Don’t you think Mom’s going to find out?”

“No, not if you shut you fucking face.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“
You’re a blabber-mouthed fuckwad.”

“I
’m not going to tell mom. I didn’t tell anyone that you’re not really staying at the hotel.” He smirked all proud of himself.

Our sister Karen entered the kitchen. “Who’s not really staying at the hotel?”

Seriously, this big mouth motherfucker had alerted our sister. “No one Karen.” I tried to divert her question.

“Mason, what are you guys up to?” She asked. She was nosey because she was the oldest an
d she really thought she was our second mother.

“Nothing Karen, it’s between me and Mike
y.”

“You guys can’t settle anything without a mediator. You’re both too stupid.”

Karen was good with words and wisecracks so we both knew better than to try to hurl any insults her way.

Karen pranced over to Mike and stood between him and me. She faced Mike and gave him her coldest stare down. “Okay Mike, what’s up?”

“Mason cheated on Tess!” Mike blurted my marital business to our overbearing sister.

I could spit nails.
“Are you fucking kidding me Mike, you just said you weren’t going to tell anybody.”

“I said I wasn’
t going to tell mom.”

“You’re fucking fired.”

Karen glared at me. “Oh Mason stop being so dramatic. Let’s go outside and talk about this quietly before Mom finds out.”

I
stormed from the kitchen and out the backdoor before Mike could blurt any more of my personal business out into the atmosphere. When I was down the stairs, across the lawn and behind garage I turned to see Karen and Mike traipsing behind me.

I decided to address my intelligent
sibling. “Karen please give me one good reason to not break his fucking face?”

“Back up, did you cheat on Tess?”
She asked.

“What?”

“That means yes. You know you can’t lie to me.”

“I’m not fucking lying.”

“Mason Lorenzo Rizza, did you just swear at me?”

“No, no, I didn’t.”

I turned to Mike. “Mike, you’re a spineless asshole.”

“Yeah Mike you are a spineless asshole.” Karen agreed.

“You always take his side.” Mike whined.

“
You guys need to grow up and tell me what is going on before I die of old age.”

“It’s not a big deal.” I confessed. “I cheated on Tess. Tess found out thanks to your blabber-mouth brother and Tess kicked me out the house.”

“Okay so where does the hotel come into the story?”

I grew
reluctantly quiet as I thought of a way to explain my current dilemma to Karen and not completely lie.

“Mason is pretending to stay in a hotel when he is really sleeping at his girlfriend’s house.
Is that what we’re calling her now, your girlfriend?”

“Yeah bro
, girlfriend works fine.” I smarted off. “You can always call her something else and pick your teeth off the floor.”

“Karen,
he even took her to Las Vegas. He says he’s not leaving his wife and family but he is still seeing this other girl and he expects me to lie about it for him. It sure seems like he doesn’t give a shit about his family because he still is sleeping with this girl.”

“Girl? Is she legal? How old is she?”

Now it was time for me to roll my eyes.

Karen gave all her attention to Mike. “
How old is, the girl?”

“Thirty-four.”
I answered for dumbass. He didn’t know.

“Mike, w
hy are you calling a thirty-four year old woman a girl?”

Mike shrugged off the question.
“Guess what else?” Mike was running a marathon with his big mouth.

“There’s more?” Karen asked as I idly stood by and let Mike vomit my life out in his dumbass nutshell.

“The other woman is black.”

Karen frowned. “Mike you’re a moron. What difference does that make?”

I was tired of fighting. All I had in me was silence.

“
She’s black, I bet she did some of that voodoo hoodoo on him. He’s acting like he’s in love with her or something.”

Finally I had words. “
Mike, you fucking dick. She’s Baptist just like us. She’s black so she has to practice voodoo. You racist prick.”

“Woe, woe
, come on. Mike’s not racist. He’s just stupid.” Karen added her learned opinion.

“See, you always take his side.” Mike pouted.

“Mike, go fix the toilet for mom and keep your big trap shut. I’m going to talk to Mason, alone.”

“Good luck
with the Stepford cheater.” Mike exhaled and stormed away from us and into the house. I watched him as he left us. He was so bold with our sister around.

I planned to be gone by the time he finished
fixing the toilet. Karen was silent for a while and I wasn’t sure what she was going to say. She acted like our mother so I guessed I would be scolded to some degree.

“What, Karen, what do you have to say?” I had become fed up with her empty glare.

“What do you want me to say?”

“Whatever you want. I’ve heard it all.”

“Brother, all I have to say is to be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt. I know you walk around here like you’re tough. I know your nickname in high school and college was Mafia Mason but I know you’re a really loving sensitive guy.”

“Karen listen I was just having
some fun. I was being reckless and immature. I’m not leaving my family or getting a divorce. Me and Tess are working on our marriage.”

“You were having fun?” Karen chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” I asked. How did this become comical?

“You and your bullshit excuses
, I know you’ll figure this out. You’re a smart guy. I have just a little bit of advice. You’re good at multitasking but I know you’re a one woman kind of guy. So think about that little brother.” Karen patted me on the chest three times. “Hey, I’m not going to tell mom.”

Karen walked away leaving me with her odd and cryptic double talk. Just when I think I’m swimming up to the surface
, a great white bites my ankle and pulls me back down to the bottom of the ocean floor.

I got to get out of here.

“Hey Mason, come and eat!” Our mother yelled out from the backdoor just as Karen entered the house. I had totally forgotten about lunch.

I did eat
lunch and I stayed at my mom’s house all day. I left her place and had to drop in on Kari.

I felt stressed and my stress reliever was my Kari. She was what got me through the day.
I only stayed over for a few hours and then it was time to head back home. It was going to be my first night back in the house with Tess and our kids. I had to come home at a reasonable hour.

I had talked with Tess earlier in the day and convinced her to let me come home. I didn’t feel the need to share this with my siblings. I didn’t want to jinx it.

I got carried away with Kari and my reasonable hour turned into nine o’clock at night.

I entered my house and made my way upstairs, I looked in on the kids. Hannah was asleep in her room. Matty and Tim were asleep in their room. After
I tucked the kids in and kissed them on their cheeks I headed to my bedroom. Tess was folding a laundry basket full of clothes.

She smiled as I approached her. I returned her smile. Everything was going good
so far. Everything was going back to normal. It felt good to be home with my family.

“Hey honey.” I embraced Tess and give her a kiss on the lips. I went to the dresser and pulled my cell out my pocket. When I turned back to Tess she was staring into space.

“Babe, what’s wrong?” I asked. I had seen her look this way before.

“
Ha. I’m such a stupid bitch.”

“What?” Where did that come from?

“Mason.” She choked my name out with pure disdain.

“What? What? What did I do?”

“You fuck!” Tess charged at me and violently started beating me on my chest. “You fuck! You fuck!”

“
Jesus, lower your voice before you wake up the kids.”

“Fuck you!” She slapped me hard across the cheek. 

I grabbed her arms and I vigorously shook her. “What the fuck?”

“I can smell your whore on you!”

“You’re crazy.”

“You kissed me and I could taste her fucking lip gloss! You hugged me and I could smell her on your fucking neck!
You sick fuck!”

Fuck me! Damn it. Is this really happening to me? Think Mason. Think. Think. Think.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I smell her.”

“Who?”

“The slutbag you’re still sleeping with?”

Why did that insult against Kari kind of insult me? “No, no, no.”

“Yes, I’m not an idiot.”

“I was at my mother’s today, all day. You know that. Mike was there with me.”

“Bullshit.”

“If you smell any woman on me it’s my sister Karen. I swear. She kissed me and hugged me. Tess please, please, please believe me. I’m telling the truth.”

“Liar!”

“Call her and ask her.”

“Fuck you!”

I turned to the doorway because I felt like I was being watched. We were being watched. Hannah was standing in the doorway rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Hey ladybug.” I let go of Tess’ arms.

“What’s going on dad?”

“Nothing just playing around. It’s time for you to go back to bed.” I rushed to Hannah and scooped her up in my arms.
I carried her back to bed and tucked her in. I sat in the edge of her bed and rubbed her back. I sat there until Hannah went back to sleep. It felt like thirty minutes but I couldn’t be sure in the darkness.