I went home.
For the first time in almost 3 years I found myself back in my old stomping grounds, escorting my mother home from her surprise visit to the states. I had nothing else going on.
So with my mother on one side of me, and bringing Becca along for the trip. She took me to where she grew up. So in kind, I treated her to a trip “Across the pond” and introduced her to my stomping grounds.
Who Says You Can’t Go Home
Manchester, U.K.
“And right over there, was where I broke my arm the...third time? At least from what I can remember.” Miles says, pointing out a small looking alley between a shop and a quaint little cafe, “The owner heard the crash when I hit the cans after trying to jump from roof to roof. She said I was lucky I didn’t break my neck.”
Becca looked straight up at the 3 story building and almost in a shocked voice says, “From that height?”
“Yeah, mum kicked my arse as soon as I was able to stand.” he smirked, rubbing the back of his neck, “I was an idiot then, worse than I am now. I guess.”
“How old were you?”
“Umm, 15? And before you ask, I got dared.” He says matter-of-factly, as he leads her over to the cafe and holds the door open, “I was actually a pretty scrawny kid but they knew how I loved to show off. I was doing parkour one day and before I knew it, I found myself up there daring me to step my game up.”
“You were an idiot.” Becca echo’s his earlier statement.
He grins and leans down to whisper in her ear, “A bigger one than I am now.”
“I doubt that.” she gets out rolling her eyes.
“OH!! SOMEONE CALL HELL! I THINK ONE OF THEIR DEMONS JUST ESCAPED!” the loud Scottish accented voice caused poor Becca to jump as an older woman glares at them from the other side of the counter, “You have a set on you to be walking in this place after all this time.”
“Why? What did I do?” Miles barks back at the old lady and at this point this has gained the attention of everyone which causes Becca to tuck herself a little bit more to Miles’ side.
“NOT TELL ME YOU WERE COMING!” the old lady belts out, “Get your arse over here and let me look you over, Milo!”
Miles pulls himself away from Becca as he walks over and wraps the older lady up in a big hug, “How you doin’, Maisie?”
He sets her down and she scoffs, “I’m gettin’ old. Can’t find meself any good help so...”
“Making them all look like slackers.” Miles says with a headshake.
“Nothing changes.” she says, “NOW! Step back, let me get a good look atcha.” Miles steps back and does the little turn, “Ooof you definitely finally got some meat on dem bones, boy. Not that scrawny twerp I scooped up off my bins all those years ago.”
“Well, if it weren’t for you and ma, I wouldn’t have known what hard work was.” he says looking back at Becca, “Oh, allow me to make the introductions. Maisie, this is Becca Larkin. Becks, this is Maisie Donnelly, the owner and operator of the best cafe in all of Manchester.”
“Only thing I own is the mortgage,” Maisie says before wiping off her hand on her apron and offering her hand, “Pleasure, dear.”
Becca stares at the hand for a moment before coming to a realization that she’s indeed staring,“Oh! Hi! Sorry...” she takes her hand, “It’s a pleasure.”
“Oh, listen to that. You got yourself a Yankee girl?” Maisie says with a grin, looking at Miles. He just shrugs but Becca looks a little offended.
“I beg your pardon?”
Maisie brussels for a moment and in an apologetic look says, “Oh nothin’ meant by it, dear. Just giving our boy here a little hassle. Ain’t I?”
Miles settles next to her and wraps his arm around her, “Don’t think anything of it, Becca. Maisie here married herself to a man from India.”
“Bless his soul.” like the good Catholic she is complete with the cross.
“How long has it been since he’s been gone?” Becca asks, recognizing what she meant.
“Oh, 6 years ago this coming June.” she says quietly, “He loved Miles though. Always said that just because we couldn’t have children of our own that we should treat him like he was. Him and his sister. How’s she doin’, by the by? I hear she’s expecting.”
“Just getting through her first trimester, ready to kill her fiance.” Miles says with a smirk, “Part of the reason we were here, she was wondering if you had any ginger beer to help curb the nausea?”
“Of course I do. I’ll also send some of my mum’s special biscuits for her to try and see if that can help.” she says, “Sit! I’ll bring you some coffee, him some tea and some of Milo’s favorite biscuits.”
Maisie leaves them as Miles’ guides them to a table, “So, that’s Maisie.”
“I like her. Almost as ball-bustin’ as your mom.” Becca says as she takes a seat.
“They’re best friends. Have been since I was scooped up off the street. Maisie gave me my first job after that to try and give me some structure. Course I was still wild.”
“Running the streets?” Becca says with a smirk.
Miles lifts his eyebrows up as Maisie brings over a couple cups, before he can answer, “Oh he was a wild child but I’d like to think I helped his mum calm his arse down a bit. By the way, what happened to that dark and brooding mate of yours?”
“You talk about Mack? Oh he’s settled down, believe it or not.”
“NO FUCKIN’ WAY!” Maisie belted out, “I would have never thought.”
“Well you never thought that of me either, and yet...” Miles smiles at Becca which causes her to blush.
Maisie sets the plate of biscuits in front of them, before crossing her arms in front of her, “Well the way I see it, you have all calmed down but your work ethic seems to be dwindling a bit.”
Miles who was sippin on his tea sputters a bit, “Harsh.”
“What? Don’t think we don’t all watch you here. You’re a regular hero around these parts.”
Miles looks down and snags a biscuit from the plate and takes a bite and in a whisper says, “I’m no hero.”
“Oh but you are! You came from practically nothing, just you, yer mum and sis after that good for nothing left yer clan high and dry,” the older lady clearly says. She grabs a chair and sits right next to him and levels him with a stern look, “You, my boy, have perhaps some of the most untapped potential of everyone that has come across my threshold.”
Becca picks up her coffee and over the lid says, “Or crashed into your trash cans.”
Maisie points at Becca with the knowing look, “That too. Believe me, this city has produced enough chavs to last me 3 lifetimes. Charun, bless his soul, told me that you were special. We all saw it and the minute you got out of here, we started seeing. But suddenly, you stopped believing in yourself.”
“Well when you leap and keep crashing....”
“Well, as I recall you didn’t really need much of my help to get up then....”
“Maybe I’m tired.”
“Maybe you need a good kick in the arse.” she grabs the plate that has his attention and pulls it away, “Or you just need to take another leap and this time, fucking land it.”
Miles looks at her for a moment before looking back at Becca, “Stay put.”
And with that he stands up and makes his way to the back of the building. After a few quiet moments a realization hits and Maisie just sighs, “Ah shit, I shouldn't have said that.”
“Why? What is he gonna do?”
“Have you ever watched the Spiderman movies?”
....
“DAMMIT!”
They both rush outside with the patrons following closely behind them as they look up and see movement on the roof.
“MILO!! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!!” Becca cries out.
Meanwhile, on the roof, Miles glances across the small alley, “I’m not that scrawny twat anymore.” he says to himself. He takes a deep breath while backing himself up to the otherside.
“If I crash and burn, so be it...but I gotta try.”
He rolls his neck and his shoulders, exhales sharply and takes off.
On the ground Becca and Maisie watch as he leaps...
“OH MY GAWD!”
Annnd....
Wolves have Nine Lives right?
Las Vegas, NV
I know I was the one that blew it for Audrey and I in the Blast From the Past Tournament, I am going to put that shit on my back all day and everyday. She told me to not worry about it, but I do.
Boy, when I fuck things up for myself, I really fuck them up.
It has been a couple of weeks since that moment, they had come home, quarantined for a week just to be safe but now life had been back to normal somewhat. Becca had slapped him silly for his stupid little stunt but if he was going to be accused of being a bigger idiot...he had to prove that she knew nothing.
He had to prove to himself from the start that he could land it when he put his mind to it. Besides, Maisie would have killed him if he crashed into her bins again.
“It’s rather funny when you go back to the beginning and almost hit a reset button. Going back home, even for a short time, was so refreshing. I knew there was a reason that nagged me, but it was all so serendipitous as to how it happened.” There is something about the height of the roof bar of the Gold Coast that makes him comfy. Ever since he got there, he’s spent most of his time there.
“I’ll admit, I fucked up ROYALLY when it came to BFTP, and I know Audrey said it was ok, but it nagged at me. I don’t mean to put that shit on my shoulders but it’s what tends to motivate me. But this time, it was almost all too much.” He runs his hands across his face and through his currently loosely flowing curls that he got from his mom, “Having the time off that I have since then was a blessing where as before it was a curse. Coming in, I had jackshit and I honestly should have known better but....well as it’s clearly stated, I don’t think. That’s a lot of my problem sometimes. I don’t stop and think of my next move. A lot of that comes from when I do, I tend to fall on my face. But then I was forced to do just that.”
He looks up and with a glint in his eyes, takes a deep breath, “I stopped and I forced myself to really truly look at what the hell I had become. I didn’t have that killer instinct that I should have coming from Wolfslair. I haven’t been allowing myself to go full bore and for that, it was the reason I was coming up short.”
“I should have been a Roulette Champion, or even in the case of my opponent Agostino, an Internet Champion. Instead, I’ve been kicking rocks around, twiddling my fucking thumbs and trying to figure out where I went wrong instead of what I needed to do to get there.” he stands up and looking out over the edge, “It is ALL a leap of faith. You put enough belief in yourself, and even the smallest of leaps seems like it’s all strides in the right direction. You have taken your fair share, Agostino...and nothing against ya, mate, but sometimes you have to crash into a wall.”
“I’m that wall that you are about to crash into. We already know that we’re going into Blaze of Glory in that Gauntlet Match and this is apparently the preview...but the fact is you are going to learn real quick that sometimes a wolf has to lick his wounds to allow time to sharpen his fangs and his claws. Sometimes he has to go back into the den or in this case, go home to learn that wounds will heal, muscles will reform with work and time....and the leaps that once caused you to crash and burn, with time...” he lifts his foot out over the edge of the building, “Become a stepping off point to your greatest journey ever.”
He pulls back with a smirk and walks backwards for a moment and crouches down like he’s about to take off running, “How much faith can you say you have in yourself, Agostino? Leap at me...and find out.”
And with that he takes off. Into the black.
