Warwick Brussels Hotel & Resort -
Brussels, Belgium
While there was truth behind the old saying of “there’s no place like home,” there was always a certain charm and excitement when traveling to new places - especially when out of the country you called your home. It was a much added benefit behind being a Superstar for Sin City Wrestling during these special tours when working what Mark Ward and Christian Underwood would call a “working holiday”. That was not just reserved for such events as Summer XXXTreme on the cruise liners, but the two tours reserved each and every year. There were, of course, the obligatory events such as interviews, television appearances and - of course - fan meet n greets. Aside from that, the men and women employed by SCW were given free reign to come and go as they pleased while on tour, taking in the sites and experiencing that which they might not be given the chance otherwise.
And funny thing – where it concerns the new Internet Champion – Helluva Bottom Carter – he could get just as excited with the hotel as any sites. (Quiet you! No adult humor!) Which was why before they even set foot on the jet to bring them to Belgium, Carter’s husband Miles took charge in doing his research on hotels and which one his husband might prefer; resulting in where we found ourselves right now - the Warwick Brussels. From the exterior, this hotel and resort resembled the average high-rise hotel you would find in any major city. While inside, it was modern decor everywhere that the eye would roam.
It had its own elegant restaurant that Miles tried to treat Carter to for every meal and Carter, time and again, would drag his husband outside of the hotel’s walls to try something local and perhaps not as extravagant.
But now at Carter’s insistence, Miles was off doing his own thing alongside his tag team partner for the weekend, Alexandra Calaway, Carter was busying himself taking care of something before setting off to do his own thing as well. Miles wanted his husband to indulge himself so when he asked him what he planned to do for the day, Carter answered, “Probably hit the shopping district!”
One could hear the pin drop in the room as Miles realized he had turned his shop-a-holic husband loose in Brussels.
To Miles’s credit, he had succeeded in getting he and his husband a premiere room. Call it the newlywed treatment if you prefer, but it was a treatment Miles did not intend to tire of. The room was spacious with a king-sized bed for him and Carter to share. The plush carpet was a tiled blue pattern and the surrounding room was done up in shades of beige sand brown paneling with accents of red. To Carter, it was pure luxury and another example of how Miles took such good care of him in the simplest of ways.
Speaking of, that is where we found Carter at this point in time, freshly showered and dressed for a day out in Brussels just going with the flow and hitting the stores, buying Miles and himself some mementos and his loved ones back home. In fact, it was one of those loved ones he was currently speaking to his mother Joanna McKinney from back home in Seattle. The time difference of ten plus hours was evident on his mother’s face, as she was clearly exhausted but felt the need to speak with her son about something important.
“I can’t believe you called me, Mom.” Carter said from where he sat at the desk that was stationed against the wall in his and Miles’s room. “I mean it has to be…”
“Just after one in the morning, dear.” Joanna rubbed at her eyes, her fingers snaking behind the frames of her glasses to gently massage the sleep out of her system just long enough to have this conversation. She continued, “Trust me, I did the math. And I’m sorry for disturbing your time in Belgium…”
“Mom..” Carter interrupted with a note of worry. “What's wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong… exactly.” Joanna answered, picking up a cup of tea from off the side of her end of the screen. “I just had something I needed to ask you and I wasn’t sure I’d have the chance anytime soon given this tour that you’re on.”
“Okay…” Carter shrugged his shoulders, trying to work the reason for this call out of her before it did his nerves any damage. “What is it?”
“That man that you know from that Gym you train at.” She said more of a statement than a question. “The one that works in real estate?”
It took Carter a moment to process this question and run the names of some of the men at the GO Gym that might have anything to do with real estate before one name was narrowed down. He had heard in passing that Synn was heavily involved in real estate and that was the primary source of his income in how he took care of his son, Despayre.
“Synn is in real estate, I’m pretty sure.” Carter answered, to which Joanna asked, “Does he know of any agencies that would handle an apartment complex?”
“I don’t know. I … Mom, are you selling Dad’s building?” he asked, referring to the luxury apartment complex that his father owned and bequeathed to his mom after his untimely passing. “You know he left you that because…”
“I know why, Carter.” She interrupted. “And no, I don’t plan to sell it. I just want someone new to manage the property for me.”
“What’s wrong with the company that Dad had running it?”
Joanna sighed and set her tea down before she ever took a taste of it. She answered, “I found out that with the end of the year approaching, they renew all leases in January.”
“So?”
“So…” She continued. “The head of the real estate agency that’s been taking care of things wants to raise the rent by an average of three hundred dollars per unit.”
“Three HUN–” Carter closed his eyes and held up a hand. “I know it’s common to raise rent every renewal but three hundred??? Is that even legal?”
“Apparently.” Joanna sighed. “And I know these are luxury apartments but the rent is high enough as is. All this company is looking for is to widen their profit margin.”
“Technically your profit margin.” Carter playfully corrected his mother.
“I’m not worried about getting rich, Carter.” She shot back. “I’m not that materialistic, and I don’t plan on quitting my job any time soon. I just see no point in gouging these people when the housing market is already as bad as it is. I did my research and the profit margin is already pretty high. So raising it even more is just pointless.”
“I’m guessing they didn’t take it so well when you expressed this?” Carter questioned with a raised brow.
“They did not.” Joanna answered. “The man I spoke to actually talked down to me like I was his secretary and told me this is how they were going to do things so long as they were running things.”
Oooo! If there was one thing the women in his family were known for - especially his Mother and Grams – it was the fact they were fiercely independent and modern women. And speaking down to them for the sin of being a woman was unforgivable.
Carter asked, “They did know they were speaking to the new owner? As in their boss?”
“They will once I find a new company to take over as landlord.” Was her simply and strong answer.
“Well…” Carter sighed. “I don’t know if he handles rentals or knows anyone that does. I just know he has a thing for house flipping and sales. But I can call and ask if he’ll talk to you and help you out?”
“I’d appreciate that dear.”
“Just do me one favor before I do?”
“What’s that?”
“Be careful.” Carter stressed. “Synn will put the moves on anyone.”
Despite the late hour on her end of the world, Joanna started laughing to herself, shaking her head at her son’s wit and sense of humor. Carter just watched her with deadpan eyes and he said, “I was being serious.”
A few more chuckles before his words rang true and she lowered her hand, “Excuse me?”
The Belgian capital of Brussels boasts countless attractions for visitors, both first-time as well as seasoned travelers. It is famous for its delicious chocolate, different types of beer and Belgian comics. Many comic aficionados might not be aware of the fact that Brussels was at the very top of the European Union, which was why the city was known as the comics capital, where you could find authors of classic comics, manga or modern science fiction and futuristic books. The average visitor had the city at their respective fingertips. There was absolutely anything and everything to do and to experience. Museums such as the Fin-de-Siècle Museum and Oldmasters Museum or Atomium in Design Museum Brussels were famous the world over and Carter had practically dragged Miles along with a few SCW compatriots for a visit throughout the week.
There were cultural events, festivals and the markets that Miles so feared Carter’s shopping addiction might wreak havoc with – and did! But it was somewhere else - something else - that Carter had decided to take time off while Miles was off with Alexandra. He chose to partake in the famous two plus hour secret food tour of Brussels.
Alongside others who were visiting Brussels, Carter started the day off at a famous bakery, enjoying the softest brioche and purest hot chocolate while walking the cobbled streets alongside the historical Grand Place.
“Justin Smith.”He sighed, shaking his head.
“I honestly thought Pussy Willow was ribbing me when she told me that you were going to be the first person to get a shot at the Internet title. I figured she was making a funny or pulling my leg, you know. Bullshitting me in other words. Well imagine my surprise when the card’s lineup was made official and I saw that… yes indeed! I was going to be defending here in Brussels and it would be against a man that, thus far, has not walked away with a single win under his name.”
“It left me stunned, if I’m going to be honest. And no small part disappointed. I spent the better part of the week wondering why they decided that you, of all people, were going to get a shot at such a prestigious title when you’d done absolutely nothing of note to warrant the chance. Time and again I busted my balls to work my way up to get a title shot. Whether it was a chance at the Roulette or World or the title I hold right now… I didn’t care. I just wanted opportunities and more importantly, I wanted to earn them. It took me long enough but I finally did it and I could not wait to prove to the world that I could and would be a fighting champion who would defend against the best!”He scoffed.
“Boy do I have egg on my face!”A couple sitting near said something to Carter, drawing his attention and he quickly waved them off, shaking his head.
“No, no! Not literally! I don’t actually have egg on my face!”It was soon time for a light lunch, hitting the iconic Brasserie for the famous home cooked beer and beef stew with Belgians fries. Carter sat at a small table all by his lonesome, feeling the pangs of missing not just his husband but close friends such as Ariana Angelos and Dawn Warren who neither were involved in Sin City Wrestling at this point in time.
Carter scooped up a spoonful of the stew and ate it heartily, washing it down with the beer and he scrunched up, making a face.
“I have to admit, beer is not my thing. So I don’t know how this guy I’m up against can drink it like water. But there’s a lot of things about Justin Smith I don’t get. The guy is violent. The guy can be absolutely brutal when he’s taking the fight to someone. So how is it that every time he gets inside of the ring, he ends up falling flat on his face? You’d think that a man with this kind of rough and hardcore personae and reputation would strike fear in the hearts of anyone he goes up against but lately all the talk in the locker room is that the guys feel like they’re in for an easy night when they find out that it’s Justin they’re going up against.”The tour arrived at the Queen’s Gallery where Carter would have been the envy of the entire men's and women's rosters, indulging in samples of some of the most decadent chocolates.
“I want you to put yourself in my shoes for a moment, Justin. I mean, if you’re even capable. I’m hazarding a guess but you don’t strike me as the type of man that washes his feet regularly so placing your feet in clean shoes might cause you some discomfort. Maybe even a rash. I don’t want you to worry, however. That’s just the clean.”Carter shook his head.
“Try to imagine yourself back when you were a little boy and Christmas morning was looming closer and closer. How you hoped beyond hope for those GI Joe figures or Transformers or whatever other toys old dudes like you asked Santa for. You sat on Santa’s lap and lied to the Jolly Old Elf and said that you have been a good boy and you wanted the latest Masters of the Universe play set or action figure, or if we really want to go old school, maybe even thought the Man might be able to swing by your trailer at the trailer park and drop off an Atari 2600.”Carter clasped his hands together with the most euphoric of smiles on his face.
“Then Christmas morning comes and you dive into those colorfully wrapped packages and you find Santa brought you…”His face suddenly saddens and his shoulders slump.
“Socks and underwear.”
“You know that disappointment, Justin? Can you feel it buried deep inside? Yeah. That’s how I felt when I saw your name as my first challenger.”And of course, what visit would be complete without trying the city’s absolute best waffles. After all, waffles were one of the treats that Belgium was best known for and the ones in Brussels? Second to none and Carter had absolutely no qualms in indulging in these sugary and savory treats!
A close up shot of a fork stabbing at one last piece of waffle that was covered in brown sugar and bacon. It was lifted up and deposited into the mouth of a very grateful and content Carter. He sighed, satisfied and sat back in his chair with his eyes closed and a smile on his face.
“So do you get why I’m disappointed, Justin? I was expecting a name like Kevin Carter or Eddie Lyons, men who have actually accomplished many a great thing in SCW and deserve a lot of recognition. But you…?”He opened his eyes and stared into the camera.
“Gabriel Stevens told me a long time ago that a champion is only as good as his or her challengers. You’re my first in SCW, Justin.”He shook his head.
“Don’t disappoint me!”
