“Well, who says life is fair? Where is that written? Life isn't always fair.”
As he did with most things these days, he pushed through for the two loves in his life.
Maybe, he thought to himself, being a parent is just faking it until you make it.
In this case, she at least pretended she wasn't dying inside, which is all Joe could ask of her. She treated her just like she would normally. They even played a little bit. But Lucy grew tired of that quickly and excused herself to the liquor cabinet once Joe took over.
All in all, it was a good day, even if it was marred by the dark clouds that had settled in the condo as of late.
They had a spare room which they converted into a bedroom and Lucy did most of the decorating. He offered to help but she seemed to want to do it by herself, like she was using it to work through her issues. Instead, he just assembled the bed and kept quiet.
It was in that room and in that bed where his three-year-old daughter laid, as he began to tuck her in for her first night in a strange place.
"Did you have a good day, kiddo?" he asked.
"Yeah...but I missed Mommy."
"Oh you did?" he said with mock offense. He bent over again and tucked her in nice and tight, more or less trapping her there away from the cold. Considering he hadn't really been able to do this before, he was proud of the job he did. "Are we not good enough?"
"No, Daddy," she said, giggling. She wiggled a bit to conform that she was snug in the blanket.
"I know what you mean. You've been around her your entire life. But she's doing her best to give you a better life."
"I know," she said quietly, as if she were now embarrassed for bringing it up.
"But you know this way, I get to see you more, even when you're not staying here."
"Because we both live in New York!"
"Exactly."
He reached down and kissed her on the forehead, now that she was ready for sleep. He began to turn around when he felt a little hand grab his own and tug on his fingers.
"Where you going, Daddy?"
"It's time for bed, Lizzie." He wondered if she would be able to pick up on his exhaustion, but hoped she didn't. Kids were smarter than they were given credit for, and he didn't want her thinking she was any kind of a burden.
"Mommy reads me a bedtime story."
He smiled to himself and nodded a little, as if he should have expected this.
"Of course, a bedtime story."
He glanced around the room, looking for a book of some kind, but saw only toys that they hadn't bothered putting away yet and a closet with clothes. The only kind of reading material available were the tags on her shirts. He shook his head and shrugged.
"Sorry, Liz, I don't think we have any books on hand. I'll have to ask your mom when she gets back."
She wrinkled her nose and frowned. "Ew, don't say Liz, Dad."
Joe laughed, and her face then lit up as it seemed an idea had just occurred to her. He had an idea of what she wanted after he realized there would be no books, and he just waited for her to tell him. Being a parent isn't so bad, he thought.
"You can make up a story!"
Another chuckle escaped him and he reached for a chair and scooted it over to her bedside. She got herself comfortable as he sat down. She was so tiny, even at three. Of course, when you were as tall as he was, there weren't many people who weren't tiny. But this was different. He felt that he wanted to protect her over everyone else, and hated that he lost so much time with her. If there was one thing he looked forward to with retirement, it was becoming a full-time dad.
But that was in the future, and for now he would do the best he could. She didn't seem to mind either way. As she put it, she had two homes now instead of one.
"Settle in then. Let's see what your dad can come up with."
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Okay kiddo, our story begins...
You're right, sorry.
Once upon a time, there lived an old king who led the great nation of Rivendell. He had won many wars over his lifetime and he earned the crown due to how good he was at winning. Rivendell was a vast kingdom full of many treasures and wonders, and everyone respected the king. Whether they loved him or hated him, they respected him.
And things were good for a while. He had his Queen, he had a young princess to look after and he had family and friends who loved him. He liked being King, even if he missed the days when he was a knight. After all, a little known fact about warriors is that they like fighting. It's why they become warriors.
But they'd talk behind his back, they'd gossip and they'd scheme against him. He knew that his rule would come to an end if he didn't show just how strong he still was. The last thing the King needed was for someone to invade and take everything he had because he couldn't defend himself anymore. So he sent his trusted advisor out of the kingdom to seek out global challenges.
His advisor came back with great news! There was such a challenge in the far away land of Coalitia. The knights there were tough and they had skills. More importantly, some of them were underhanded and liked to cheat. The King had to be very careful if he went there, because something could go wrong and then he would suffer the consequences.
So he left on a long journey to Coalitia, leaving his brother and the Queen in his stead to watch the Kingdom. He traveled for many a day and many a night, but eventually, he found where he was intended to go. He also found out there would be five tests.
You see, his next test was the test of skill against a younger opponent. It was an archery contest, which means they had to shoot a bow and arrow at targets. Whoever did the best won. But his opponent was a dastardly knight named Sir Duncan of Rydonia. Do you know what he did?
"Who goes there?" asked the grumpy guard outside of the Coalitia archery range.
"I am a distant traveler," the King said. "I come from a land of chaos and havoc. But I come here now to prove myself a great warrior."
The guard looked him over, inspecting his clothes, his bow and his quiver.
"Who are you?" the nasty knight asked.
"I am a distant traveler," the King repeated. "I come here to prove myself as a great warrior. And to prove that I'm a better archer than you, Sir Duncan."
"That sounds arrogant," Duncan replied. He seemed hurt by the King's words, but the King paid him no attention. Instead, he turned his attention to the other eight archers. One by one they all shot their arrows and hit the targets in one way or another. Eventually, Duncan shot his arrow and so did the King. When the judges looked at where the arrows landed...it turned out that everyone else was eliminated!
The only two that weren't were Sir Duncan and the King. They were too close to each other to call, which meant they had to go into sudden death!
So with the tiebreaker, they brought out an even smaller target and set it in the middle of the field. The King, always respectful, graciously allowed Duncan to go first. He fired the arrow and landed a bullseye right away!
"You play a good game, stranger," Sir Duncan said. "But I think the game has just been won."
But the King smiled.
"I haven't fired my shot yet, knight," he said.
He got right in the middle of the field, staring down the target. With the target right in his sights, he fired his arrow. It flew through the air and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. Then, the arrow flew right into Sir Duncan's arrow. It didn't just hit it though, it split the arrow in two and hit the bullseye! Sir Duncan's arrow fell out of the target and landed on the ground.
The King was the winner!
"You...you were banned!" Sir Duncan said with a gasp.
"Yes, but you cannot keep a good warrior down, even with your silly, childish games. The truth will out, Sir Duncan. And on this day, the truth has revealed that I am a better warrior than you."
Sir Duncan lowered his head, knowing he had been had. He shook his head and then raised his hand, sticking it out for the King to shake.
"Very well, King of Rivendell. You played a better game than I did. It seems you won two contests on this day."
The King, not one to hold a grudge, took Sir Duncan's hand and shook it.
"Think nothing if it, good knight. You tried your best and today you were bested. But you are still a great archer and on this day, we shall no longer be enemies."
And they weren't. After they had earned each other's respect on the field of combat, the two became allies in the months ahead. For competition can make people get mad at each other, but once they have it out of their system, they realize how silly they were and get over it.
Now that the King had won...
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As he was in mid-sentence, with a story that stole from everything from Lord of the Rings to Robin Hood, his daughter let out a big yawn. She looked at him sheepishly after, as if that were something to be embarrassed about.
"Looks like you've had enough story for tonight," he said smiling warmly at her. She frowned in response.
"No! I'm not sleepy!" she protested, but then yawned again and seemed upset that her own body made her a liar.
Joe simply chuckled. "Yes you are. It's time for bed, honey."
He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead again. "Goodnight Lizzie. Daddy loves you."
"Goodnight Daddy," she said sleepily.
Joe, a 44-year-old wrestler who was just days away from his own contest, felt completely at ease for the first time in a long time. It seemed the story did more for him than it did his little girl. He got up and walked towards the door, when he heard a small voice behind him, barely audible because Lizzie was slipping into sleep quickly.
"What happened next?"
"The King has two challenges left."
"Will you tell me about them tomorrow night?"
He smiled again, and what he said next made him cringe a little on the inside. But she was three, she hadn't seen the movie he stole it from.
"As you wish."
He left the room and shut the door quietly, only to turn around and see Lucy staring at him, chuckling. She was shaking with a hand over her mouth, the other holding what was apparently a refill of the drink she got earlier.
"I'm glad I could entertain you," he said, smirking. "How much of that did you hear?"
"Oh I came in right around the time you won the archery contest the same way Robin Hood did."
"She put me on the spot, I had to think of something."
"And 'as you wish'? From Princess Bride? God, you're corny."
"I love you too, Luce."
"Oh I love you, but you're corny as fuck."
She chuckled again, heading towards the bedroom with her recently acquired beverage. He smiled and followed her, happy that she was smiling for once.
It was a good day.
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JC, the man who was still known as 'The Answer' even though he didn't want to be anymore of a whiteboard with the standings for the Global Challenge written on it. He looked at the names, seeing his place in second with two points (behind Randy Boolzian and Duncan Ryder) and frowned. He then turned back to address his match on this week's Synergy.
Anyone else might be embarrassed about losing to someone like Randy Boolzian. And to some degree, I suppose I am. I mostly just hate that I was proven right about his ability at my own expense. It's bittersweet, you know? And now, I've lost my edge in the B block, with two people above me and two people below me in the rankings.
But my goal in 2021 is to move on from the past. So let's move on from last week and focus on this week.
Because the pressure is on and I work very well under pressure. And just going from the schedule, I knew that things were only going to get more difficult from here. Basically, if I don't win this next match, I'm playing spoiler for Sebastian in week four. You know what? I don't want to be limited to just trying to spoil someone else's success. It's not my style.
He shrugged after making a matter-of-fact statement, not really caring how he was judged for anything he was about to say. It seemed people had issues with him no matter what he did, so he was going to focus on winning. He grabbed a dry-erase marker and circled Duncan Ryder's name, right after he erased everyone else on the board.
You know what else isn't my style? Arrogance. I don't believe in it. And I'm well aware that I can come off as that on my worst days, but I never take my opponents lightly anymore. I know very well the caliber of wrestler I'm in the ring with. I just also know my own skills and I'll be damned if I have to come in here walking on eggshells to avoid offending someone.
It seems that by saying I will win this thing, I've hurt the poor fee fees of Duncan Ryder.
God forbid someone says they are good at something and bets on themselves to win. God forbid people talk trash to promote a wrestling match. Can you imagine?
He feigned being upset in a dramatic fashion, similar to how he did to his own daughter a night before. After all, Ryder was being childish and whining, so he might as well treat him accordingly.
Newsflash, wrestlers have to be dicks to each other the moment we punch each other in the face for our jobs. I'm contractually obligated to be an asshole to you by way of booting you in the teeth. Doesn't mean I don't like or can't respect you.
Maybe I'll face consequences, or maybe I won't. Likely I won't, since I don't give a shit what people think of me and there hasn't been anyone in nearly 21 years that's been able to shut me up or keep me down.
JC smirked, thinking of people in his past who didn't like the way he approached his trash talk. But then the past was the present, as he had another person who was bothered. It seemed he lived rent-free in a lot of heads, especially in UGWC.
And that's the real thing that bothers you, isn't it Duncan? It's not that I've held a lot of titles, titles which I myself said don't apply to UGWC. It's not that I'm confident in my chances and tell the world how I feel about it. You're worried that you don't have it in you to keep me down. After all, the end of last year saw Hide Yamazaki give me the beating of my life and Tempest take me down dark roads I wasn't sure I'd come back from.
But here I am.
And if I can come back from that, what chance does someone like you have?
He smiled again and gave a wink to his opponent, saying some things that could be considered 'arrogant' would surely bother him.
Pretty good, actually. See, I'm not an idiot, Duncan. I'm not the knuckle-dragging Neanderthal people like to paint me as. I know of your abilities. I know that on any given Sunday, or in this case Monday, anything can happen. You've been champion here and you haven't lost in the Global Challenge yet, which is more than can be said for me.
So I know what you're capable of. But I also know your weaknesses. Your biggest one is pride. You can't stand the fact that someone, anyone, could think little of you. You also Can't handle loss. Can't even handle the idea of losing. If Duncan Ryder loses, he'll be perceived as a loser and that's something you can't comprehend.
None of us like losing, but for you, it makes you desperate and sloppy. I watched your match with Boolzian. I saw your confidence seep away from you with every passing second that he wasn't put away. By the end, you were making little, almost imperceptible mistakes. Your timing was off here. You took a wrong step there. Mistakes that you may not even realize you made. But I saw them.
JC pointed to himself as he spoke to drive home his point.
Just the very thought of someone thinking they're better than you makes you defensive. Any time you suffer any kind of setback you whine about it. So I wonder, what will your reaction be when it comes time for you to drop your first loss in the Global Challenge? Because I know how I'm reacting.
Determination. Renewed passion. I know these next two matches are must-win and so I'm either going to go out there and beat you or I'm going to make sure you head into your final match feeling every single second you didn't put me away quick enough.
But let's be honest, my only mistake against Boolzian was not throwing my boot. And Duncan, you may be a technically gifted wrestler. You may have my respect, but everyone stares at the lights when I kick them unconscious.
That doesn't make you a loser. That just makes you the next victim.
He concluded his latest speech by grabbing the eraser and wiping out Ryder's name from the board. He turned and smirked again before walking off, leaving only his own in view.
