Chapter 5 - What Mason Saw
Mason knew the tablet was too expensive.
He had wanted one, but he had not expected Alistair to buy the most advanced version.
When he arrived at the house, the gift box was already waiting on the antique table. A silver ribbon had been tied around it.
Nolan’s cake was in the kitchen.
Mason found him there shortly after lunch, watching Nicole place the seven candles around the edge.
“Do you like chocolate?” Nolan asked.
“Yes.”
“You can have the piece with my name.”
“That should be your piece.”
“I don’t mind.”
Mason watched Nicole turn away to collect plates.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
Nolan shrugged.
“Did something happen?”
Another shrug.
Mason had noticed the faint discoloration near Nolan’s cheek, though Nicole had arranged his hair so it was barely visible. He did not ask about it again.
Instead, he helped Nolan count the candles.
When Alistair entered the kitchen, he frowned at the cake.
“That’s all you ordered?”
Nicole kept her voice steady.
“It’s what Nolan asked for.”
“You could have arranged something more appropriate.”
“For whom?”
Alistair ignored the question and looked at Mason.
“Your present is in the living room.”
Mason glanced at Nolan.
“Can we open it after the cake?”
Alistair laughed.
“You don’t have to wait.”
Nolan carried the cake plate carefully into the living room and sat on the sofa.
No one sang.
Several relatives had arrived, but Alistair was busy showing them Mason’s report card. The attention moved across the room, away from the child whose birthday they had gathered to celebrate.
Mason felt increasingly uncomfortable.
When Alistair handed him the tablet, Mason accepted it because refusing in front of everyone seemed rude.
“You earned it, champ,” Alistair said.
Mason heard Nolan’s quiet voice a few moments later.
“Mom… next year I won’t ask for anything.”
The words changed something inside him.
Mason understood what it meant to feel forgotten.
After his parents died, adults spoke around him as though grief had taken away his ability to listen. They discussed his home, his school, and his future while he sat only a few feet away.
Thomas had been the first person to ask what Mason wanted.
Now Mason watched Nolan disappear into the same kind of silence.
When Thomas entered the room, Mason felt relief before he understood why.
After Thomas issued his warning, Alistair ordered everyone to remain where they were.
“No one is going anywhere until my father explains himself.”
Thomas removed his phone.
“You are not in a position to give orders.”
Alistair turned to Mason.
“Go upstairs.”
Mason held the tablet box against his chest.
“I want to stay.”
“This does not concern you.”
“It concerns Nolan.”
Alistair stared at him.
Mason swallowed, but continued.
“It’s his birthday.”
No one spoke.
Mason walked to the sofa and placed the unopened tablet beside Alistair’s chair.
Then he sat on the other side of Nolan.
“I think we should light the candles,” he said.
Nolan looked at him uncertainly.
Thomas nodded.
“In a moment.”
Nicole gave Mason a grateful smile.
May you like
Alistair looked around the room and finally saw what everyone else had already understood.
The child he had praised as proof of his good judgment had chosen Nolan’s side.
