He knew that in reality, he should be pretty happy after a comfortable plane ride brought him to a luxurious airport with a car ready and waiting for him in just a matter of minutes. And since he wasn’t driving, Mason didn’t even have to worry about the fact that he was half-drunk from too many in-flight martinis.
By the late 2020’s police no longer made their bread and butter by pulling over cars Since the rise of AI operated vehicles such a feat was next to impossible, since it was difficult to find a reason to fault artificial intelligence enough to merit the flashing red and blue lights of yesteryear. Now folks could lounge half-drunk in their vehicles without any fear as their onboard AI drove them wherever they pleased.
All this ease and convenience at his disposal, and yet Mason became enraged just because the AI grid for the self-driving vehicle had dared to make him repeat himself as he placed his order. Mason thought to himself, ‘Have all of us folks in the modern world become a bunch of big, spoiled, and overly agitated babies?’
He knew that there was real suffering out there, such as that which the Yanomami tribe members in Brazil face—people with no food, no running water, no proper shelter, and yet people in places like the United States are ready to fly off the handle if their iced coffee at Buck’s Star has just a little too much ice!
He was busy brooding over all of these thoughts of self-loathing when his phone announced right from his pocket, “Your ride has arrived, please remember to buckle your seatbelts.”
ABOUT 35 MINUTES LATER IN THE DRIVEWAY OF MASON’s HOME. Mason reached over and gave Raina a big hug, the most he could manage at the moment, before opening the car door, and bluntly informing her, “Alright, this is my stop.” Raina grabbing his arm, softly inquired, “Okay—could it be mine too?”
Mason knew that she wanted to stay the night with him, and it was most certainly tempting, but Mason just wasn’t ready for it. Looking at her and then looking quickly away, he sighed heavily, “I’m sorry Raina, it’s just not a good time for me.”
Raina frustrated at being rebuffed felt like saying, ‘Okay—when will it be a good time for you?’
But instead she simply nodded, and bid him farewell, “Alright, Mason. Get some rest. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Mason shut the car door behind him, and protectively waited to hear the sound of the AI operated car automatically locking the car doors, ensuring Raina’s safety, before waving her on.
Stepping into his front door, Mason’s mind was a swirl of thoughts and emotion and many of them were in regard to his former wife Bree. Even though at this point, her memory seemed to be literally haunting him like a ghost, he couldn’t help but delve even deeper.
And as he often did when he was stuck mulling over the past like this, he went up to the shrine that he had made for her in the corner of his bedroom. Here you could find a table with bright red tablecloth with he and Bree’s wedding photo on the very center. He left it right there in open view, surrounded by white candles. It was indeed like a shrine to the past which he paid homage to every single time he came near.
Gazing at the photo Mason couldn’t help but be amazed. As they held each other close, grinning as they cut out a piece of wedding cake, he thought to himself, ‘How happy they are—and how young!’ It had indeed been many years since that day. Much had happened since then, yet a part of his mind was still frozen in time—never quite moving past those idyllic days.
Many of his friends had cautioned him against having such a monument of memory. But Mason couldn’t help but think about the past. And as he stared at the portrait, he felt the tears begin to fall down from his face. A man of seldom tears before, he cried like a baby the day that Bree had died.
And still to this day when he really thought about, and re-experienced that loss anew, the reaction was always the same—and the tears would indeed arrive. Unable to take his own emotions anymore, he finally wished to numb the pain. And so, he grabbed a bottle of vodka that he had conveniently stashed nearby and without any need of chaser he proceeded to take a few swigs.
Mason normally tried to keep his drinking to a minimum, but lately he had been consuming alcohol much more than usual. And at times—he found himself drinking like there was no tomorrow. Nevertheless, he knew the score. Getting drunk was of course an easy way to dampen down his emotions, but it was just a quick fix. He knew that it was no real solution to anything.
Mason knew that as soon as he sobered up, all of the issues he had would still be there all the same—except compounded with the guilt he felt for drowning his sorrow in alcohol. As his initial few swigs morphed into big gulps, Mason felt a rush of warmth, as the vodka coursed through his system.
No longer worried about too much of anything at all, he slammed the bottle down onto his dresser, and stretched out on his bed. It wasn’t a pretty sight but at least now he could sleep. As his mind faded to darkness, deep down Mason knew that he needed help—he just wasn’t sure how to get it.
10
The Morning Pep Talk
THE NEXT MORNING AT MASON’S HOUSE.
Mason woke up to his phone ringing. Half-drunk and half hung over all at the same time, he saw to his disgust that he had fallen asleep stretched out on an unmade bed clutching
