Mason shrugged. “Hey, she came on to me. You expect me to turn that down?”
Brian ignored the bait and stabbed a finger at the floor, growling, “Do you have any idea how much work I put into that deal?”
Mason shrugged, not able to offer a response.
“You ungrateful little shit!” Brian yelled. “I should make you pay your own tuition. See how you like working for a living.”
Mason laughed. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve already dropped out.”
Brian froze in his tracks, shock on his face. “You did what?”
Mason smiled, enjoying his father’s shock. “I dropped out. Those people can’t teach me anything — they might ask me something. My talents are better used elsewhere.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Brian shook his head in disgust. “Why would you drop out after wasting all those years? You get bored and give up and waste both your time and my money?”
Mason made a dismissive motion. “Degrees are so overrated anyway. Schools oversell their importance to fill seats in their classrooms — you’ll see what I can do when I put my mind to it. Besides, I never asked for you to pay, I never wanted to go to begin with. You guys pressured me into doing it in the first place,” Mason pointed out.
“You’re right, but what’s wrong with wanting to see my son succeed in life?”
“The point is — I’m a rebel, Dad. I don’t want to be part of a broken system. I’d rather fight it.”
“I’m done arguing with you, Mason. You’re going to go back to the school’s administration office and hope to god they let you back in,” Brian commanded. “If not, you’re on your own, young man.”
Mason stared at his father for a long moment. “All right, then.” He walked over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I wish things could’ve turned out different between us,” he whispered in my ear.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Then he turned and walked out.
“Get back here!” Brian yelled.
The front door slammed a few moments later. I was sure it was barely hanging on its hinges.
He’ll be back, I told myself. He was just pissed off and talking out of anger.
“Well,” I said wryly, “that’s one way to ruin dinner!”