Pleasant Yet Painful MemoriesIt was meant to be the happiest time of her life, from that point on when Malulani Kahale slipped the wedding band on her finger and she said those two little words that every little girl dreams of saying one day, “I do.” It was meant to make her complete when she became Mrs. Mahoe-Kahale, marrying this brave and wonderful Marine who promised to care for her forever and for always.
It’s
funny tragic sometimes the way life plays itself out.
The Norwegian Cruise - 2018Just twenty-four hours ago, after what their friends and family referred to as a whirlwind romance that stretched four years, Alleyene Mahoe married the love of her life. For the longest time, Alleyene had doubted that this day would ever come. Boys, even men, seemed to shy away from her for either her size or her fierce disposition, but it just seemed that something about her always played a factor in why she had remained alone. She tried her best to play it off like it was no big deal or that she preferred to remain alone without any man taking her away from her life’s goals and ambitions, but who does not every so often feel those pangs of loneliness? Who doesn’t take a walk as the stars begin to descend in the heavens and wonder if such a time might be more enjoyable with someone special, walking hand in hand. If you find yourself seated alone at a restaurant, you watch that couple at another table across the floor and wonder what that special feeling must be like.
Despite her brave face, every once in a blue moon her true self came to the surface and she cried on her mother’s shoulder for one slight to many from a boy in high school or a grown man after. It did not happen too often, but there were indeed times when the woman SCW fans knew as Tempest could be relatively human in nature.
That was why when she met Malulani, she was not just distrustful, but she flat out wanted nothing to do with him. She had been hurt one time too many and did not feel like putting herself up for being hurt yet again. But luckily for her, her Marine was a persistent one. He did not take no for an answer, and for all the boys and men who felt she was too “amazonian” for their masculine tastes and preferences, he found her breathtaking. For all the males who thought her assertive personality was a turnoff, he simply wanted to know more of this amazingly strong woman. Finally, after several weeks of trying, he wore her down and she accepted his offer of a date. And not just any date. He told her to wear her most elegant outfit and he ended up taking her to the Marine’s Ball, one of the biggest events of the social season for those brave men and women and their special someone. And for him to invite Alleyene there for their first date…?
He couldn’t have made a more wise decision. From that moment on, he had shattered the walls she had built around herself from heartbreak, and took her heart for his own. And four years later, on a Maui cliff overlooking the ocean, he made her his wife in front of friends and family.
Alleyene aka Tempest often joked with those closest to her that she knew that Malulani was her one and only simply because he was the only man with the balls to ask her out.
Perhaps surprisingly so, despite the fact she called the Hawaiian islands home, Alleyene had never before been on a cruise. So when Malulani had proposed this to be his honeymoon gift to his new bride, her first cruise, she was admittedly hesitant. But it was better than any other option she could think of, considering she already lived in one of the most romantic and exotic spots on the planet. So despite her hesitancy, her new husband won this particular battle - and she couldn’t have been more grateful for everything that was to follow over the next seven luxurious days.
While under most circumstances, Alleyene was an energetic person who got restless if she wasn’t moving or doing something constructive, she found that there was a whole other world out there if you just opened your eyes enough to see the many possibilities. For the first time in a very long time, she allowed herself to be pampered and to relax, and do you know what she discovered on her honeymoon?
That relaxation can be even more pleasant and even sensual if you allow it to happen with that someone special. Unless she knew you or was completely comfortable with you, Alleyene did not like basic physical contact. She did not enjoy being touched idly whether it be a hug or a hand on the arm. But this she allowed, as Malulani lured her into the cruise’s spa and she and he spent the better part of their first day together being given a pampered treatment. The couple laid face down on the massage tables, joined side by side, as two massage therapists performed joint Swedish massages on the newlyweds, a type of massage made for Alleyene who possessed that aversion to being touched.
Malulani then got her to try something unique on this cruise line, something she had never heard of before; a Chocolate Journey. At first she was excited because, and this is a little known fact about this scary woman; she’s a definitive chocoholic. Then she pondered whether or not this was some morbid kink that her husband might play a hand in. But neither was the truth, as she found herself as well as her husband wrapped tightly from head to toe in chocolate body wraps with cocoa infused aroma therapy. Alleyene felt more surprised that her macho Marine husband was enjoying himself even more so than she was.
After one final treatment, relaxing in a steam bath, Alleyene showed Malulani that night just how much of an aphrodisiac chocolate truly was.
But if she thought that first day was any indication that nothing could be better, or that her husband had ‘peaked’ where his plans during this cruise was concerned and her enjoyment, she was sorely mistaken these next several days.
Malulani had taken it upon himself from that day on to order in each and every meal for he and his new wife. He had paid for the added expense of the grand suite on this cruise, and that came with a spacious patio for them to share and enjoy. Whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner, the newlyweds did not dine in the hall with all of the other passengers. No, he arranged for room service to be delivered and set up on the dining table, so the two could simply enjoy each other's company. Toasting one another with nobody else in their own little world save for each other.
The evening brought about some of her most cherished memories of her honeymoon cruise, and not for the reasons some of your immature minds might be led to think. She had always preferred the nighttime to day, feeling that there was something almost magical when standing beneath the soft glow of the stars and moon as they hung overhead in the vast heavens.
Alleyene had a diverse taste in music, but one thing she never acquired a taste for was classical music. The type of music that one might hear when seated before a symphony orchestra. Violins. Flutes. Trumpets. Pianos. That just did not resonate with her. But that was exactly where she found herself, surrounded by many other passengers on the cruise but only one that mattered to her. The ‘concert hall’ on the ship was built with an open sky above, much like an amphitheater. Her hand in Malulani’s, their fingers interlaced with each others’, they say and even Alleyene found herself enjoying the symphony concert being put on for their enjoyment beneath the stars.
Perhaps the most enjoyable night was near the end of their honeymoon, when Malulani paid for the special expense this one night for he and Alleyene to sleep beneath the stars. A very special and private balcony had been opened up just for the newly married couple, with champagne and strawberries ready upon their arrival, a private butler, and on the spacious balcony itself, a soft and comfortable bed with just a silken canopy between them and the stars as they slept.
For as little as a Marine gets paid despite the fact that they risked their lives for their country, Malulani had spared no expense for his wife this week. He had saved from the day he had first proposed, and even when their respective families had offered to help with expenses, he respectfully declined, wanting instead for his wife’s well being and enjoyment to be his responsibility and reward. And his alone.
But if there was any one memory that had integrated itself in her mind from that one, blissful week, it was their final night aboard the cruise. When they did little else but stand on their patio deck, hand in hand, and watched as the sun set and blanketed the sky above into a colorful array of pinks, reds, yellows and oranges, until finally the Moon was arisen in all of its glory, and the stars shown over their heads.
It was purely magical. It was…
Gabriel: Alleyene? Hello?
Tempest blinked as in front of her face, her trainer in this rough world of professional wrestling, Gabriel Stevens, snapped his fingers in front of her face, startling her from her private memories.
Gabriel: Earth to Alleyene, earth to Alleyene!
She seemed startled, almost seemingly embarrassed, at the way she had allowed her mind to wander and become distracted as she sat in the Stevens’ joint office at the GO Gym, opposite of the desk where Gabriel himself sat. She said nothing, but merely opened her eyes a little wider and put on her best inquisitive expression.
Gabriel: Where did you just go? I was telling you about some of the things the SCW higher ups will be requiring of you during the course of the week, and you just zoned out.
Tempest: I know, I’m sorry. I’ve been ‘zoning out’ ever since I found out this show was being held on a cruise ship.
Gabriel: Most people get excited this time of year when this event rolls around. It’s a working vacation, but a vacation nevertheless. A few days you get to keep for yourself, but there will be a few also where the bosses have assignments set up for you. Duties you might be suited for. Last year Fenris had to teach a self defense class to a room full of old women. Fan Meets. That sort of thing.
All Tempest did was nod in understanding, but it was painfully obvious that her mind was not altogether where it should be.
Gabriel: Are you okay? You have something against cruises?
Knowing that some people had an adverse reaction or fear in being on the open water, but she didn’t strike him as the sort with such a phobia. All she did to answer his question was shake her head in the negative.
Gabriel: Have you ever been on a cruise before?
Tempest: Once. Just … one time.
She finally looked up to meet his eyes.
Tempest: It’s not an easy thing to reflect on.
Gabriel: Bad memories?
Tempest shook her head.
Tempest: No. Good memories, actually. But that’s why it’s hard for me to look back on.
This line of logic and thought caused a crease in Gabriel’s brow, but then he saw it. In her eyes, he could see something painful. He was a master at reading people, but also felt the need and/or desire to be there for the students of his and Odette’s academy.
Gabriel: Do you want to talk about it?
And for the first time that he could remember, she looked up at him with a genuine smile of appreciation on her face, although the pain in her eyes remained. She shook her head.
Tempest: Not right now.
Malulani. In Hawaiian dialect, it meant “protected by Heaven.”
What a crock of shit.
“I have to admit that I am still trying to figure this whole thing out. Not just my place in this sport because I’m what you might call a giant in the Land of Barbie Dolls, but where I stand right here. Right now. When Gabriel first told me about ‘Queen’ Alicia’s decision to team me, a member of the GO Gym, with Austin James Mercer, a member of Wolfslair and a man that had been making life miserable for Fenris and his brother Aron, I was at a loss. But what compounded that feeling was the fact that she chose for our opponents the then-Mixed Tag Team Champions, the Barnharts. A world title shot, albeit the tag team titles, announced a week after I lose a match to Bobbie Dahl.”
Tempest shook her head.
“It’s been six weeks since that title match, and I still don’t get what was going through Alicia’s head. But -- respect. Maybe it was a mind game. She looked at Austin and saw him for what he is; one of the biggest men on the roster. Then she looked at me, and saw me for what I am; THE biggest woman on the Bombshells side of things. Put us together against anyone…”
Tempest intertwined her two index fingers and eyes widened and she pulled them apart, mimicking an explosion.
“Even the mighty Tag Team Champions and she knew the end result was a mere formality. Did she do it to help bring more gold to her team? Did she do it just because she hates the Barnharts that much that she wanted to see their title reign end after less than a month?”
She shrugged.
“In the end, the reasons probably don’t matter because the fact stands before everyone.”
She held up her half of the Mixed Tag title belts, giving it a once over before looking again toward the camera.
“New champions were crowned that night. One more on top of all the others that Austin has collected in his career, and my first. And hey, no complaints here which title I started with because we all have to start somewhere. My only concern or complaint is that it took six weeks, six weeks, before Austin and I have been given the chance to defend these titles, which leads me to believe that what Gabriel said about these titles is true; that respected as though they once were, they’ve become the card filler championship for SCW. And now that I see who we’re up against in our first defense, that just works to confirm his belief in my mind.”
“No, we are not defending the titles against the former champions, the Barnharts. Bea kind of ruined that one when she surprised everyone and earned a Roulette title shot for herself. And Bulldog? Well he got himself into a sticky situation with that Vinnie fella, against my boy Fenris and David Shepherd. So, what then? What do the higher ups do to give us a credible team to defend the titles against in our very first defense? Do they make an offer to bring London Underground back, an offer that Daniel and company can’t refuse?”
She shook her head no, eyes closed.
“Do they maybe look to raise the stakes and look outside of SCW, maybe bring in former champions like Lachlan Kane and Sierra Williams (I will NOT dignify the name Team Eggplant!) to attempt to dethrone Austin and myself?”
Again, eyes closed, she shook her head.
“No, of course not. What they did was take a handful of men and women who had nothing better to do, put them in the ring in separate matches where the winners got to team together and challenge us for the gold.”
She jetted out her bottom lip and nodded.
“Makes sense, doesn’t it? But then again, it makes about as much sense as the initial concept that brought Austin and myself together for the first time. And hey! We won the gold in our first match as a team, so who knows? Maybe Miles and Seleana will actually give us the challenge that will prove ourselves as champions…?”
She stared straight ahead at the camera, when suddenly her shoulders started to tremble. She then erupted in a fit of light hearted laughter and waved a hand at the camera.
“Oh god, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face! Damn it!”
She took a brief moment to collect herself.
“No that I have anything against this combination. If I’m going to be honest, all I know about Miles is what I see on Twitter and Seleana? Well she’s one of the chicks that people in the women dressing room seem to gossip about the most. But there’s a saying where gossip is concerned; believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see.”
“Miles, all the power to you for winning this chance for yourself, but let’s face it; you beat Lincoln Daniels. Who there in the men’s division hasn’t beaten him? But, a win is a win, and you rose to the occasion. You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t get involved where you and Austin are concerned because you’re his problem, not mine. The only thing I know about you aside from watching your matches is that you post more selfies on Twitter than any woman that I know. All you need is the classic duck lips and hey! You complete the picture! But sweet cheeks, all the ab and booty shots aren't going to be doing you a damn bit of good when you get inside of the ring with a man like Austin."
“No, while you and Austin get to play your little game of Wolfslair against Wolfslair, I get to play with the epitome of the wrestling Barbie culture, and that’s Seleana Zdunich. Okay, granted, Seleana has had a number of big wins for herself ever since she first stepped up, and she’s held a good number of championships. World Championship. Roulette Championship. You might think that a third title for a Triple Crown distinction would not be far off. You might even think that the third title would be possibly the Mixed Tag Team titles be it at Austin’s and my expense?”
“You’d think.”
“Your one detriment going into this match, beside shaving to get into the ring against me, is the simple fact that your wife is not at ringside, and she had absolutely no role to play in this match or opportunity, whatsoever!”
Tempest nodded.
“That’s right, girl. You heard me, and you can respond and deny it for all I care, but the facts have been laid out in front of the world, for all to see. The ONLY times you’ve been put directly into the championship circle is through the machinations of dear Christina. Whether through her backstage clout of working the system, she is behind the height of your success stories. Just … not this time. Which, if you think about it, speaks less of her than it does of you. Because for all we know, without her you still might have won all of those opportunities on your own, without her help. You did it to earn this chance, why not all of the rest of those times? Alas we’ll never know because it’s obvious Christina has little to no faith in your own capabilities, and likes to play backstage politics to help you because she believes that you can not help yourself.”
She jetted out a bottom lip and tilted her head to the side in a woeful expression.
“Sad, if you think about it. And even sadder when Summer XXXTreme IX rolls around because girl, once that bell rings, all the backstage clout your wife THINKS she has isn’t going to help you once I get my hands on your boney ass. And if she even thinks about coming down to the ring to try and help you win? Well, here’s a warning and I hope to god that she’s listening;”
“Things will go even worse for you if your wife gets involved. And that is simply the way the real world works.”
