Best Laid Plans
It was finally time. It was time to tell the one person about her engagement that she was dreading. Everyone else in her life she wanted to tell, but she also wanted to do it in her own way. But this person was the one person that she knew was going to be a challenge. Her mother. A woman who did love all of her children but whose particular brand of love was always filled with a certain amount of judgement and domineering.
A woman who had an ego problem, the main problem being that her ego was the one that mattered most
It didn’t matter how her children felt, didn’t matter how anyone else in her life felt. Barbara was going to do what she wanted and when she wanted. She was going to say what she wanted when she wanted, she didn’t care about your feelings. It was a trait that her daughter had also inherited. In fact, it was a trait that both of her daughters had inherited. But Zoey and Alicia had learned tact, their mother hadn’t.
Alicia took a deep breath walking toward the large stately manner that her mother called home. It was on an old plantation on the outskirts of Atlanta Georgia. Just outside the suburbs but still close enough to the city that they can drive in whenever needed. Alicia flew in, Strategically bringing her sons. As the door opened, the boys ran to go find their grandmother. They loved her, and she doted on them, she was an excellent grandparent and had been a good mother but there was always an air of contention hanging over Alicia’s head whenever she talked to her mother.
Her mother wanted what was best for her.
She knew that, she accepted that. The only problem was that the way her mother went about things always rubbed Alicia the wrong way. And deep down she never forgave her for being the catalyst of her first relationship. And while that relationship had given Alicia two beautiful sons that she loved it had also come close to completely ruining her life, destroying her self-worth, making her feel like she was an object through abuse. Her mother had her hand in that making the match to begin with. And even though her mother could not have known the monster that her daughter had been betrayed to it was still something that Alicia kept deep inside as a small amount of anger and frustration.
The boys ran off to go and play in the large backyard leaving Alicia standing with her mother. Her mother smiling and moved her hand toward a small table with a chair on either side and some tea sitting in the middle. Alicia took a deep breath and sat down knowing that it was only a matter of time before she would have to tell her mother the good news. ”I do love seeing them so happy”
Alicia can’t help but smile, her mother was right. Seeing the boys happy definitely warmed both of their hearts. Alicia grabbed her tea up taking a small seat before putting it down instantly drawing the attention of her mother. Normally when she would take a sip of tea she would make her face, only drinking it to make her mother happy. But this time she was so deep in thought about what she was about to do that there was no movement, no subtle twitch, no hatred of the liquid that she was drinking.
”Alright… Spill it, you clearly have something on your mind”
Alicia cleared her throat and sat back, she knew that look on her mother‘s face and there was no point in trying to hide it. She swallowed hard and reached into her pocket before sliding her engagement ring on her finger and then placing her hand on the glass table. ”I..I’m getting married..”
”Again?” Her heart sank. Unsure of what to say next as her mother raised an eyebrow. Alicia froze her hands sitting there as her mother then shook her head and chuckled under her breath. ”Relax….I knew about it and I’m just teasing..”
Alicia setback her shoulders dropped as she felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders but then a question rattled around her brain. She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. ” Who told you?”
”Your sister.”
”Of course” Alicia muttered under her breath. While she was relieved that her mother knew and seemed to be taking it so well she was also disappointed that she wasn’t the one to tell her.
Her mother raised an eyebrow studying Alicia‘s body language before setting down her tea cup and turning towards her daughter. ”She seemed to believe that you were worried about telling me. Why? I’m happy for you. Despite my reservations about Austin he seems to be a positive influence on not just you but also the boys.”
”I just thought that you might be a little disappointed that I was choosing to get married again. After what happened with my previous relationships and marriages.” Her voice trailed off as she stared down at the glass table.
Her mother took a deep breath pushing it out before leaning forward and reaching across the table, grabbing Alicia‘s hand and giving it a squeeze ”The first one was my fault. Neither of us knew what kind of family that was. And Michael? He died, are you meant to stay single the rest of your life? And as for the one in the middle? Well, we all make mistakes dear” Barbara chuckled and looked over at the boys who were still playing. Alicia just slowly gave a nod to her mother and sat back. She wasn’t going to press the issue. She was happy, her mother seemed very accepting of it and now she wondered why she didn’t just trust her mother.
Now the real work would begin. The planning of the wedding, what kind of wedding would it be? And where would it be? Now it will become real. Now she was able to smile and enjoy it.
It’s been a while
”One thing I really love about this business, that I’ve always loved about this business, is that it’s unpredictable. Things don’t always go to plan.”
Alicia lets out of deep sigh and folds her arms over her chest.
”You can have a clear version of where you want to go and what you want to do. You can do everything you can to reach that point and in the end, something unexpected can happen to throw a wrench in the plan. The triple threat match that I was last in, Harper Mason was the one who walked out with the wind. And the thing is I can’t complain about it. She earned that win. Harper earned everything that she was able to get and she went on to blaze of glory and was able to compete for the Sin City wrestling internet championship…”
“She didn’t win. But she tried.”
“And that’s what’s important I guess. You can’t take that win away from her though. Beating myself and Crystal. That’s the risk you run by getting into these multi-person matches. You can lose without actually losing. You can get beaten without actually getting beaten. But at the end of that match, I was the one who didn’t get to go to blaze of glory. So I went home. I relaxed and watched the show. I watched everyone else beat the hell out of each other and I saw a new champion's crowned and legacies get solidified.”
“But, coming out of blaze of glory. It’s blast from the past season. And this year gets to be a little bit different. This year I don’t have to rely on a tag team partner who may or may not turn up to fight. This year it’s just on Me. A one on one elimination tournament. and my first opponent in the first round is someone I know very well.”
Alicia slightly smiles and reaches over grabbing a Snickers bar and popping it open. She starts to eat it before tilting her head and taking a deep breath.
”Candy, a former SCW roulette champion. A woman who has challenged for the top championship in this company a few times. And failed. Candy is the answer to a question that nobody asked. And while everyone else seems to be rolling out the welcome mat and is happy that she’s returned and decided to be a part of the blast from the past tournament. I find myself wondering why. Why are you here candy? Why are you back? Is it just to make up the dollars in this tournament? Because you look at what you’ve done since you’ve come back and that’s the impression I’m getting.”
“You are just going through the motions. The same old candy, the same old attitude. You turn up you flash your smile at the camera you trot out your silly little fluff ball of a dog, you throw your glitter, and expect everyone to cheer and clap for you like trying to seals. Do you care that you’re at a tournament where you could potentially realize a dream that you have had for years and never been good enough to accomplish? Whenever you open your mouth we never get an insight into who you are or the passion that you have for this business. All we get is bubblegum dreams and unicorn farts.”
“Rainbow bullshit spewing from your mouth”
“You and I have done this song and dance before. You told me how you wanna beat me and you’ve told me how good you can be and how I’ve underestimated you but the truth is every single time we’ve got into that ring. I have our class. You would show the world that I am simply better. And the fact that you’re still using that stupid glitter? The fact that you’re still blatantly cheating in front of the world and getting away with it? It makes me sick. So I thought you would’ve learned by now that it is not acceptable to do things like that. But you have. Because as I said, you are the same old candy. The same attitude same outlook on life the same tired nostalgia act full of bullshit.”
Alicia throws her arms in the air, clearly annoyed at this entire situation as she stomped back and forth before rubbing the back of her neck and refocusing forward taking a deep breath.
”And that’s all you are. A nostalgia act. You’ve walked back into the company and you’re doing the exact same thing expecting the exact same reaction. But you are taking up a spot in a tournament that could’ve gone to someone else who might want to become the champion. You might actually have the same passion that the rest of us have for this business. And that is the difference between you and Me. You are here to make up the numbers and a smile and relive your glory days back when you held one championship in this company in a fluke. To rely on nostalgia and be little Miss Perfect for the crowd.”
“I’m here to win. I’m here to get back to where I deserve to be. I’m not saying that I’m going to win this tournament and go straight for the Bombshells championship. Cause the truth is, I told everyone I wanted to work my way up from the bottom. The blast from the past is something that I have never won that I want to. If I win I might go for the Internet championship, I might try and snatch that out of Bella‘s hands. I might go for the roulette championship, or I might go right after Kayla Richards and that bombshell championship to get to the top of the mountain again.”
“But, at least I have a plan. I have desires and passion for this business. I’m here to win and I’m here to be the best that I can be. What about you candy? Why are you here? Are you here just to do as I said and walk out of some kind of tired nostalgia acts to wave and throw your glitter? Are you here to get a few cheap pops from the crowd so you can feel good about yourself? Or are you here to try and win? Are you here to prove everyone wrong? The years that’s all we’ve said about you. That you’re a nobody. That if we took away all of the glitter and candy that you would be nothing. And you have done absolutely nothing to prove us wrong.”
“This is your chance. This is your chance to prove all of us wrong and to stand up and get your chance at becoming a legend. Some people would say you’re a legend now that those people are idiots. You had one championship rain with the roulette title back in 2020. You haven’t had any big wins against the best of the best in this company and you haven’t had any moments with people sitting back wide-eyed and impressed. You are a one-hit wonder. And now? Now you have to prove that you are here for the right reasons. Because I don’t think you are. So I’m going to do what should have been done a long time ago and I’m going to put you out of your misery. and I’m going to go on to win this tournament and reclaim my glory, reclaim my passion, and reclaim my championship.”
