OOC: This is a scene that I have had in mind for over four months, but only finally typed within the last week; it is set five days after Into The Void III - the event at which Simon competed in his last match (for the time being) in SCW - and is supposed to show, well, what happened next, as Simon began to look for employment outside of wrestling.
The scene opens to show the entrance to Brewhouse - a bar situated on St Mary Street, in Cardiff - on Friday 25th July. Stood outside in the early evening sunshine, holding hands, are Simon Jones and his wife, Jacqueline; Simon is wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a black button-up shirt, while Jacqueline is wearing a yellow sleeveless lace shift dress.
The camera follows the couple as they make their way into Brewhouse. They walk through the entrance to the building, followed by another set of doors, and then there on the left-hand side, is the bar; visible just beyond the bar area, is the dance floor. As it is the last Friday of the month, which is pay day for many, it is no surprise to see that it is a busy night at Brewhouse, with a lot of people stood at the bar, waiting to be served, as well as there being plenty of people occupying the dance floor.
Jacqueline: 'Shall we get a drink here, first?'
Simon: 'There's no need: Morgan told me that the room they have reserved upstairs has its own private bar.'
"Morgan" is a former work colleague of Simon's - one of many that is currently upstairs in Brewhouse.
The camera again follows Simon and Jacqueline, as they walk across the dance floor; at the far end of the dance floor is a stage, on which there is a live band, who can currently be heard playing a cover of "Sex on Fire" by Kings of Leon. Also at that end of the dance floor, on the left-hand side, is a small flight of stairs; Jacqueline walks up the stairs, and then turns to look at her husband, who is following close behind.
Jacqueline: 'Where now?'
To the right of where Simon and Jacqueline are now stood, another bar can be seen, by which there are some tables and chairs; Simon raises his left arm, pointing ahead of them, in the direction of another flight of stairs.
Simon: 'I think that's it, at the top of those stairs.'
The camera follows Simon and Jacqueline - with Jacqueline again leading the way - as they climb the second, larger flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs is a doorway, above which is a sign that has the word "Brewdoir" on it. Through the doorway, to the right there is a table, sat around which are six females of varying ages - the youngest being in her mid twenties, whereas the oldest is in her early forties; to the left is a longer table, with a dozen or so young men and women - whose ages range from early to late twenties - sat at that table. There are a few plates of partially eaten pizzas on both of the tables; each of the people sat at the tables - who are all dressed appropriately for a night out in the Welsh capital - have a drink either in their hand, or in front of them on their respective table.
Stood talking to one another, in the space between the two tables, is a group of four men. It is one of these four that is the first to react to the arrival of Simon and Jacqueline, as a slightly chubby man in his late twenties, who has dark brown hair, walks towards the couple, with a grin on his face - this is the aforementioned Morgan.
Morgan: 'Simon - you made it!'
Holding a pint glass in his left hand, Morgan extends his free right hand towards Simon, who shakes it.
Simon: 'I told you we would be here.'
Morgan: 'And Jacqui, it's good to see you, too.'
Jacqueline: 'Thanks, Morgan. How are you - how is Rhiannon?'
Morgan: 'Good, thanks; she is out somewhere else tonight, with some of her other friends.'
Simon looks past Morgan, peering at the bar that can be seen in the background; he then looks back to his friend.
Simon: 'Am I right in thinking that you told me we've got a free bar tonight?'
Morgan: 'Yes, but there's a limit on the tab - and I think we're almost at the limit, so if you want a drink, you should get one now.'
Simon: 'Is it still two for one on bottles of Foster's?'
Morgan: 'Yup.'
Simon turns to his wife.
Simon: 'What do you want to drink?'
Jacqueline: 'I'll come with you to the bar, and save you from having to carry my drink as well.'
While Simon and Jacqueline walk towards the bar, Morgan returns to the trio that he had been chatting with; as Simon and Jacqueline walk past, they exchange nods of acknowledgement with the three men stood alongside Morgan. Once the couple are at the bar, with no-one else there waiting to be served, a bartender is quick to attend to them.
Bartender: 'Hi. What can I get you?'
Simon gestures towards Jacqueline.
Jacqueline: 'A glass of rosé, please.'
Bartender: 'What size glass do you want - small, medium, or large?'
Jacqueline: 'Is it two for one on wine, as well?'
Bartender: 'Yes.'
Jacqueline: 'I'll have two medium glasses then, please.'
As the bartender sets about pouring the two glasses of rosé, Simon chips in with his order.
Simon: 'And two bottles of Foster's of for me, please.'
Simon and Jacqueline look on patiently, awaiting their drinks. After her two glasses of rosé have been poured, Jacqueline picks up the glasses, and turns to her husband.
Jacqueline: 'I'm going to go and say hi to the girls; I'll leave you alone to talk to Morgan, Sam, Matthew and JT.'
Simon: 'Okay, love.'
Jacqueline walks over to the smaller of the two tables, and takes a seat with the women sat around it. Simon does not have long to wait, before the bartender places two bottles of Foster's on the bar.
Simon: 'Thanks.'
Bartender: 'You're welcome.'
As the bartender wanders off, Simon picks up one of the the bottles with his right hand, and takes a gulp of lager; he then picks up the other bottle with his left hand, and saunters over to Morgan and the other three men - Sam, Matthew and JT; Sam is in his late twenties, and has a shaved head; Matthew, who is in his early thirties, has dark brown hair; and JT - whose full name is Joshua Thomas, but is known more commonly to his friends and colleagues by his initials - is in his late forties, and has salt and pepper hair.
Simon: 'Alright?'
JT: 'Hi, Simon.'
Sam: 'So you really have quit wrestling to return to Cardiff, then.'
Matthew: 'What happened - did you get sick of living in Las Vegas?'
A dry smile crosses Simon's face.
Simon: 'I wouldn't quite go that far - in a few months' time, I might find myself pining for the Vegas weather. The reason why I left Vegas is that, well...'
Simon pauses momentarily, before continuing.
Simon: 'I know it's been the better part of two years since I last saw any of you - prior to when I moved to Canada, to resume my wrestling career - but I assume you're all aware that Jacqui gave birth to our first child earlier this year, in January.'
Morgan, Sam, Matthew and JT, all nod their heads.
Morgan: 'Congratulations, by the way.'
Simon: 'Thank you.'
Simon takes a sip from the bottle of Foster's in his right hand.
Simon: 'JT; Sam - you've both got children. So you both know from experience, the impact that a newborn baby can have on a family. But as first-time parents, Jacqui and I weren't fully prepared for how our lives would change, once our daughter arrived. And having a child has made us miss our own parents, as well as our siblings, and our friends.'
Simon takes another sip of his drink.
Simon: 'So that's why I left the wrestling promotion that I was working for in Vegas: so that Jacqui and I could return home, to raise our daughter here in the UK - and so that we could be much closer to our family and our friends.'
Simon smiles to himself.
Simon: 'I know I just mentioned when I left Cardiff to move Canada, two years ago, and I guess it's kind of ironic, but that was the start of the chain of events that has led to me returning to Cardiff.'
Matthew: 'How so?'
Simon quickly glances in the direction of his wife, who is sat, chatting happily with her friends.
Simon: 'It's our sixth wedding anniversary tomorrow. Now, I know that some of our friends and family wondered why we waited so long to start a family; there was no specific reason, though, why we waited - we were just putting it off until it felt like the right time. And early last year, when we were settled in Canada, feeling more content with life than we had in years, we finally decided that it was time.'
Sam: 'If you had stayed in Cardiff, would you have had a child by now?'
Simon: 'Maybe - maybe not; I can't say for certain.'
Simon shrugs his shoulders.
Simon: 'But we left Cardiff to move to North America, so that I could resume my wrestling career; my return to wrestling then contributed to me being more content with life - which in turn contributed to us deciding to have a child. And yet, now that we have Matilda, we've left North America to return to Cardiff; it's a sequence of events that I definitely would not have foreseen, this time two years ago.'
Simon then drinks some more of his lager.
JT: 'I remember talking to you previously - long before you went off to Canada - about the first part of your wrestling career; if I remember correctly, you told me that you took a break from wrestling because you had become disillusioned with the sport.'
Simon nods.
Simon: 'Whereas in the past two years - and in the past twelve months, in particular - I've been as happy in wrestling as I've ever been. But - and JT and Sam, I'll know you'll both understand this; and Morgan and Matthew, although neither of you has any children yet, I'm sure that you'll both be able to understand this too: as much as I enjoyed being back in the ring, in Canada, and then in Vegas, my family will always come first.'
Morgan, Sam, Matthew and JT signal their understanding of Simon's comment, by again all nodding their heads.
Simon: 'It's a shame that I had to leave Vegas, but I had to do what was right for my family - which meant that I had to return home.'
Simon takes another gulp of Foster's, while Sam asks him a question.
Sam: 'So is that it, then - are you done with wrestling?'
Simon: 'Permanently, you mean?'
Sam nods.
Simon: 'No - I do intend to wrestle again, at some point; I couldn't tell you when that will be, though.'
Morgan: 'What about wrestling here, in the UK?'
Simon: 'That's a possibility. I actually competed in a one-off match for a British wrestling promotion - Pro-Wrestling FRONTIER - earlier this year, so...'
Matthew interrupts Simon.
Matthew: 'Did you win?'
Simon responds by grinning.
Morgan: 'Of course he won!'
Still smiling, Simon picks up where he left off.
Simon: 'So, as I was saying, there's a chance that I might participate in some more matches for Pro-Wrestling FRONTIER. But other than that, I don't know what the future is going to hold for me, wrestling-wise.'
Simon then finishes off the contents of the bottle in his right hand.
Morgan: 'Right, I'm going to go outside, to have a smoke.'
Sam: 'I'll come with you, to cool off for a bit.'
Simon: 'I know what you mean - it is quite warm in here; I think I may have made a mistake by choosing to wear a black shirt.'
Matthew: 'I'll come with you, too.'
As Morgan, Sam and Matthew walk off, disappearing from view, Simon looks in the direction of the group of people that are sat around the larger tables.
Simon: 'I don't think I recognise most of the people at that table.'
JT: 'Most of them are temps, who have only started within the past few months.'
Simon: 'That would explain it.'
JT: 'So, Simon, what are you going to do with yourself then, if you're no longer going to be wrestling full-time?'
Simon turns to face JT.
Simon: 'Well, this is why I'm glad that you're here this evening, JT. You see, I haven't made enough money from wrestling that I can just sit back and watch the grass grow - I need to get myself another job, doing something. So I was wondering, is there any chance of me being able to have my old job back?'
JT: 'I'm not sure; I know that Nic would be delighted to have you back on her team - she was gutted when you left.'
JT rubs his chin.
JT: 'I tell you what - if you give me your phone number, first thing on Monday I'll see if there's room in the budget to rehire you, and then I'll give you a call to let you know.'
Simon: 'Thanks.'
JT reaches into the pocket of the jeans that he is wearing, to pull out his mobile phone.
JT: 'So, how about the Bulls' season so far?'
Simon groans, at the plight of Bradford Bulls, and as the conversation moves onto the topic of Rugby League, the scene fades to black.
