"Bo..."
I approached the waiting area at the airport in Tulsa and saw those two fabulous ladies waiting for me. My Grandmother was the first to come up to me with her arms held wide, a waiting invitation to envelope me in the warmest of embraces. Say what you will, but you are never too old to enjoy a grandmother's hug. I hugged her as tightly as I dared without squishing her (when did she get so petite?), and then slowly separated myself from her arms and turned to spot that sister of mine, waiting for her turn. She was as 'bubbly' as a young girl as she beamed in pleasure, grabbing me in a fierce hug and I had wondered if she ever intended to let me go.
This was a ritual I never grew tired of when I returned home from being on the road. Normally my trips for Sin City Wrestling only would last a couple of days, three at the most. I had a brief period of time off from tours for SCW, but the last two became extended and I ended up away from home a lot longer than I intended, or cared to be. I know a lot of people would look to me and ask why I was having such a negative attitude towards the touring overseas, especially that of Asia. The answer is actually pretty simple once you think about it;
I worried. I couldn't help it, but I did. I know my Grandmother and sister were home alone and any time I was away from the homestead, I privately wondered what was going on that I might not be privy to or if something might happen when I'm not there to prevent it. I guess that couple be seen as being somewhat chauvinistic. It's not intended to be, believe me. I see it as more of a 'big brother's prerogative' when it comes to Abigail, and as far as our Grandmother? I'd be ashamed of myself if I didn't think I had to worry about her.
Of course, try telling either of these two strong-willed women this. I called home constantly while I was touring Asia, even after I realized what kind of phone bill I was racking up. And what does my dear sister do? Did she listen attentively at the stories I have to tell about what's been happening? The sights that I've been seeing? Did she quietly listen while I bemoaned how much I missed her and Grams? Of course she did. That's the duty of a little sister! Right before she chewed me a new one for paying more attention to her and Grams at home when I could be living it up in Thailand or Japan! Here I am trying to find out if Grams was taking her medications, or if Abigail had heard back from her divorce lawyer without having to deal with Darius, and she's telling me to lighten up, get off the phone and go have fun.
(And by 'have fun' I strongly believe that means buy the two of them plenty of goodies so that they can live vicariously through me.)
"Okay, so..." Abigail said with a flourish I adored when she and I ended our shared hug. "We could go on and on, asking for details about where you were, who you saw and what you did, but I think we can all agree that's best left saved for dinner conversation."
She cast a look back to our Grandmother who nodded with a comically stern expression that I don't think a blind man would have been fooled by Abigail then turned back to me and she continued, "So I think the simplest way to do this is to simply cut out the middle man and give us our presents now."
"And does the man who bought your presents have any say in when I give them to you?" I asked, shaking my head and trying my best to look exasperated.
"Technically, I suppose." Abigail answered, then she shrugged. "But it's not like we'd listen. We'd just keep pestering you until you caved anyway."
"Oh." I nodded. "So it'd be like any other day of the week."
"Hey!" Abigail scolded me with a playful swat to the shoulder that stung, despite the fact she held back. One of these days Grams really needs to teach her how to hit like a girl. (Don't tell my Grandmother I just said that!)
"Fine..." I sighed, defeated. I lowered myself own to my knees and winced. Luckily for me, Grams had been looking the other way, her attention diverted by a soldier returning from another flight to his family that were waiting. Unfortunately Abigail had been looking my way and her light-hearted expression quickly shifted to a frowning concern.
Abigail was the only person who I had actually confessed to my problems -- my physical problems, meaning the lingering injuries to my back and neck. She was also the only one who knew that I was taking a specific medication to make the pain from those injuries somewhat tolerable. It was only a small technicality that I only had to tell her because she found said pills while doing a simple load of laundry. I don't know if she would have actually told our Grandmother, but I doubt it. She was aware Grams had enough to fret over and think about without this hanging over her head. Plus I don't think my baby sister would want to hurt or embarrass me should my little secret be discovered.
I stood upright again, holding the two packages in my hands.
"Okay, but just these first two. I have a few others being delivered and in my luggage but those you'll have to be patient for until we get home."
"Us? Patient?" Grandmother asked with a smile as her outstretched hands accepted the package gratefully.
"Force yourself." I replied as I handed Abigail her own. "And before you reduce that paper to shreds, I'm going to have to ask you to wait a moment. I need to speak with my favorite sister."
Abigail looked up, her fingers already seeking the nearest vulnerable area of that wrapping to tear it free. "I know you're not referring to me." She quipped with a tight lipped smirk. "I'm nothing but a pain."
"While that may be true," I said, taking her arm with my hand. "My point remains the same. We'll just be a moment." I said with a wink to our Grandmother who had sat down on the nearest chair with that brightly colored package on her lap.
Our Grandmother said, "Is it alright if I just have a little peek?"
"No!" I said sharply but the smile on my face must have been infectious because she returned it --- followed right with her sticking her tongue right out at me right there in the center of the airport.
Abigail and I didn't go far. Just far enough away so that we couldn't be overheard and with enough people around us to shield us from certain prying eyes. I didn't care if our Grandmother was in her seventies. She had some pretty sharp eyes and even sharper ears.
"How's your back?" Abigail asked me as I steered her around a corner and stood still. "I saw you... I mean, I saw."
"I know." I answered, not wanting to give any details so as to give her any more reason to fret over my back than she already was. "That's why I wanted to talk to you. Did you bring them?"
She frowned. I knew she would, and I knew she would be even more hesitant. She looked around, the discomfort on her lovely face all too evident. I hated this. I hated making her so uncomfortable, but it wasn't something that could be helped since she was now 'in the know'.
"Bo..." She started to say but didn't seem able to bring herself to finish.
"Abbey..." I started to speak, and saw the look on her face when she shot me such a look. I knew she hated it when I called her 'Abbey' but I think that's also why I did it. My own personal responsibility to nitpick and tease my baby sister with habits she detests. "Just please give them to me? I couldn't take them with me to Asia, and had to resort to herbal teas which didn't do much besides make me sleep."
"I hate doing this." She frowned as her hand slipped into the pocket of her long, floral print dress. "I was hoping you'd be better by now."
"Hm." I forced a smile, despite the bitterness I felt deep inside for this bad deal I had been dealt by the Fates. "Hope springs eternal."
She took my hand and squeezed it, and I felt it covertly slipped into the palm of my hand. She looked up into my eyes and I saw the pain that was in them. I felt ashamed of myself enough when nobody knew about my problem, but now seeing this in Abigail's eyes, I felt positively miserable.
"Thank you." I whispered and she just nodded, not saying a word. I nodded back towards Grams across the ways and went on, "Go open your presents. I'll be right back."
"Hurry up." Abigail said quietly while she turned around and headed back to where Grams was seated, chomping at the bit like a child to open her gift.
I glanced down at my clenched hand and turned and started walking, looking for the nearest men's room. I found one easily enough, and slipped inside. I was amazed that nobody was inside, but took it as a blessing so I need not feel the awkwardness of the situation any more so than I already did. I looked down at the bottle of pills in the palm of my hand and felt as if a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.
"Well, this wasn't exactly what I had been expecting, but then again I shouldn't be surprised by anything that I end up booked in. When Blaque Hart Bruce Evans challenged me to a Hardcore match, his own specialty as he preferred to think of it as, I figured that we'd be set against each other right away and bring this particular chapter to our careers to a dramatic close."
"Apparently I thought wrong. It would seem Mister Ward and Mister Underwood think this match would be best suited for the next Supercard, whenever that may be, and until then, we'd play a game or two to better amuse the fans paying to be entertained. I guess I can understand that, but it doesn't mean I have to be happy about it."
"Competing against a man like Blaque Hart is one thing, but to be coerced into teaming up with him and being expected to actually trust him enough to watch my back? Forgive me but I simply don't see the wisdom in putting us into such a precarious position. I don't trust Bruce Evans, and I'm pretty sure that he would say the same thing about me. The only thing that might be a glue that holds our team together is a respective desire to win."
"So can I count on that, Blaque Hart? Can I count on this insatiable need of yours to play a trump card and walk out the winner, so you won't end up stabbing me in the back? Let's save that for later."
"As for our opponents, you can't get much tougher than Goth or Argento. One man is a champion, the other is a former champion. The tricky part is that one beat the other for his championship, and so I'm going out on a limb here and saying their team won't have much more cohesion than my own with Blaque Hart."
"Goth is a feared man inside the ring, and even more so out of it. He's a veteran, and one of the most sadistic psychological masterminds that has ever been a part of this business. I mean, anyone that would go so far and stoop so low as to try to mangle that teddy bear of Despayre's just on a whim is sick and twisted, and knowing Goth, this is all flattery to him. I was not surprised when he won the SCW Roulette Championship. It was bound to happen that this man would wear gold around his waist. He did, and he will again soon. That I'm certain of. This is the first time that he and I have ever met in the ring, and I could only wish it was in a one on one encounter because his ring type is one of the ones I enjoy competing against the most. Perhaps another time, but for now, I'm going to have to share you Goth. Just please don't insult me by thinking you're going to intimidate me. I was trained by Austin Parker. That man intimidates me!"
"And Argento, the current SCW Roulette Champion. I bet you're looking forward to the first time you get to defend that championship of yours. I was the same way. Yes, I'm a former Roulette Champion myself. I know what it's like to hold championship gold around my waist, and that championship you wield specifically. I'm not after your title. Not yet, anyway. Perhaps another time. I just want you to understand that I know what it's like to be in your shoes, and the simple fact being in a roulette divisional rules match will not catch me by surprise. true, it's not how I prefer to spend my time in the ring, or wherever else I may end up to compete in the match, but I know to expect anything and turn it to my advantage. As the Roulette champion, you've already proven that you can do the same. I respect that, but I won't let that respect shift any kind of advantage to you. I may not be the greedy type, but I want this win Argento. You're just going to have to deal with Goth on your own time."
