Free Made to Love by Syd Parker Page B

her.” Marly stated matter-of-fact, rather than asking. “I didn’t see you with someone so…um…liberated.”
    Mason cocked her head and thought about Marly’s statement. She supposed she could call Nikki liberated. Or better yet, at ease in her skin. Nikki wasn’t the type to care what people thought about her. She did what she wanted to do, and that free-spirited personality appealed to Mason in an odd way. “I think she’s just comfortable with who she is. Besides, I like the purple hair.”
    “Let me guess.” Marly snickered behind her hand then schooled her features to appear very serious. “The new sculpture is going to have purple hair.”
    “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Mason ignored the smirk on Marly’s face, slipping around her into the garage, all the while listening to the quick tempo of her beating heart.
    Marly decided to let her new friend off the hook. She didn’t know what the first rush felt like at falling in love. She never experienced it. The few relationships she’d had, if you could call them relationships, were devoid of real love. She preferred uncomplicated commitments that ended when the fun was gone. That saved her the emotions and the heartache that came with love. Marly hated messy and in her mind, matters of the heart were messy. Her mom taught her that much. “I meant to tell you that mom wanted to be cremated. She didn’t want any kind of funeral service, at least that was her wish twenty years ago. I’m going to scatter her ashes on the lake.”
    Mason froze. The idea of not having the chance to say good-bye made her passing all the more real. There were moments she thought she might look up and see her coming around the corner, curious about Mason’s latest piece. But then reality set in, and Mason knew she was gone. The idea that her ashes would be scattered on one of her favorite bodies of water seemed to settle Mason somewhat. She pictured Anne walking along the path adjacent to the lake and the serene smile that was always present. Mason knew she would miss that smile tremendously. When she spoke, Mason’s voice cracked. “She…would… like that.”
    “I’m sorry. I’ve upset you.” Marly felt immediately guilty. “I just knew you would want to say your good-byes."
    “Thank you.” Mason nodded somberly. “It just makes it all too real. Part of me wants to wake up and realize this was all a bad dream, but I know that’s nonsense. I’m too much of an idealist at times.”
    “At least you’re not a pessimist.” Marly’s condescending tone was meant for her own emotions, or lack of them. In truth, she probably wasn’t a pessimist, but she was certainly a realist. She didn’t subscribe to the glass is half-full mentality, preferring to go through life practically, with as little romanticism as possible. Pragmatic, someone once called her. Funny, now it sounded more negative, highlighting a life devoid of feeling. “The sad fact is that a woman who wasn’t related by blood had more of a connection with my mother than I ever allowed myself. I should be devastated and instead my mind is busy trying to figure out what to do with the house and all her stuff. Is that wrong?”
    Mason held Marly’s gaze. She wanted to immediately shout that it was wrong. She didn’t understand how Marly couldn’t have a bond with the woman she had grown to love. However, something stopped her. She recognized the haunted look in Marly’s eyes. She wore the look of someone starving for affection and not sure just how to ask for it. She didn’t know any better. Marly had forgotten what it was like to feel. Mason had seen that look growing up, so there was a part of her that could empathize with Marly. “It’s not wrong; it's just who you are. You have your reasons for that, even if I don’t understand them.”
    “What was she like? With you, I mean.” Marly felt an overwhelming urge to know her mother, but through less negative eyes.
    Mason