Hunter's Redemption. Eleni P Sianis

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      “We’re such rock stars, Tony. Looks like our boys might have two parent chaperones at Lollapalooza,” Hannah whispers to Anthony.

      James’s mother remarried when James was still a baby, and he was accustomed to spending days with his mother, stepfather, and stepsister. When it was Anthony’s turn to have James at his house, James immediately felt the quiet loneliness in his father’s house and worried that his dad would never meet anyone. But for Mason, it was different.

      Mason did not have the same hope as James of seeing his parent in a new relationship. Hannah and Mason lived with Hannah’s parents after Mason was born, but they were already much older and passed away just months apart when Mason was ten years old. Mason was particularly close to his grandfather and cherished days spent with him reading books and playing card games like Old Maid and Go Fish. As his only father figure, his grandfather’s passing was very difficult for Mason and left a void he couldn’t fill. For a few months after his grandfather’s death, Mason was able to recall the peculiar smell of his sweater, a combination of dryer sheets and aftershave. He always hid mints in his sweater pockets for Mason to find. But slowly, Mason’s memories of his grandparents started to fade.

      Just a few days after his grandfather died, Mason came home from school to find Anthony consoling Hannah in an intimate embrace in the kitchen. Mason felt betrayed, became furious, and threw his schoolbag at Anthony. He realized that they were more than just friends, and the new image of his mother with James’s father was overwhelming. Hannah tried explaining the importance of grown-ups having meaningful relationships with other grown-ups, but Mason couldn’t understand. Soon after that, Mason started acting up aggressively toward other kids in school, so Hannah decided to wait until he was older to date openly.

      After lunch at Salvage BBQ, the hockey players and their parents walk out to the parking lot.