Introducing Mason Burke. He’s 38, cis male, and the owner of Burke & Sons Hardware Store and the town’s resident handyman.
cw under the cut: parental death, terminal illness.
BASICS;
Mason Burke and his father, Bruce, argued incessantly from the moment Mason’s mother passed away from a head injury. Not for a lack of love, but from a lack of understanding, the two were well-known in town from how badly they bumped heads. North Creek's gossip mill loved tutting about the latest argument in “that poor Burke family.” They used to be so lovely, you know? What a tragedy.
Mason moved away at eighteen to attend the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He did well in school, double-majoring in literature and business. Slowly, with time and patience, Bruce and Mason began mending their relationship. By twenty-five, Mason missed the calm and charm of a smaller town enough that he was considering moving back to North Creek.
Bruce contracted cancer, and Mason decided immediately to move back to North Creek. He began helping around he shop and learning his father’s trade inside-out. They were as happy as they could manage, all things considered, until Bruce died two years later. North Creek, again, was suffocating all through the process. For all the little town’s charm, the rumor mill is unstoppable and idle minds love to talk about others.
For the past eleven years, Mason’s been running Burke & Sons and doubling as the town handyman. He leads a very quiet life, and is a fairly solitary man after all his experience with how quickly the town wedges itself into others’ business. He strives to never give North Creek gossip mill anything interesting to talk about.
OTHER;
If it’s broken, Mason can fix it. He does house calls regularly, and his prices are very fair. Usually he’s charming enough (and his patrons are old enough) that he can also get a slice of peach cobbler or sugar pie out of a visit.
Mason considered moving back to North Creek to be a teacher before he heard the news about his father. Surprisingly, he’s really good with kids, especially teenagers.
Mason spends a lot of his free time at Bluebird Books or Foam and Beans, usually relaxing with a book. He’ll regularly watch hockey games at Absinthe, and has Friday and Saturday dinners at Moonlight Diner. He likes to go on weekend hikes through the Northern Woods or around the River with Emerson, his Bernese dog.
Though he never liked being the center of attention, the rumor mill in North Creek exacerbated Mason’s tendency towards privacy. He’s always friendly, but doesn’t much like sharing things about himself. He even prefers dating women who live out of town—god knows he doesn’t want to give the old ladies trying to set him up with their granddaughters more reason to talk.
Mason hates casseroles. He doesn’t appreciate old neighbor ladies dropping them off or offering them up when he visits to fix their appliances. They’re permanently associated with half-hearted condolences over his parents’ deaths in his mind.
Burke & Sons plays classic rock and occasionally 70s, 90s, and early 00s hits. This is non-negotiable no matter how Mason’s store clerks grumble.
Social media is the devil.
