by MLJ Quigg
“Yes, sir. Thanks for this.”
“You’re both welcome, anytime. The ring is empty for you guys. Go on and get changed, and I’ll help you glove up. Three-minute rounds okay for you guys?”
We both nodded, and I could see that Tiny was excited, and a small smile graced her lips. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I returned it and slipped off to get changed.
Once we were changed and gloved up with helmets and mouth guards, we met in the middle of the ring. We touched gloves, and then it was on. She moved with lightning speed, and I blocked her first punch. I knew how she fought and would have to watch myself. She was a phenomenal fighter and could wipe the floor with me if I lost my concentration for one tiny second.
After the fourth round, I could see a change in Tiny. I knew this was the point she needed to get to. She was about to lose it. She spat out the mouth guard, then she used her teeth to undo the gloves to get them off and undid her helmet and chucked it across the ring. She gripped her stomach, and I watched as she collapsed to the floor. I did the same as well, and I grabbed her and held her tight as she started crying. I looked around and thanked God we were alone. I felt something beside me and looked down to see a box of tissues. Ben must have slid it over to us when she lost it. I didn’t even see him do it. He was nowhere in sight now and must have left the room to give us privacy. I held her tighter and cradled her in my arms. It was so heart-breaking to watch, but I knew she needed this. She couldn’t continue the way she was.
“Let it out, Monique. I’ve got you,” I urged her.
She did just that, she absolutely lost it. Tiny was the most robust woman I’d ever met, and she didn’t show her emotions often, but I knew she was bottling this all up. It was doing her more harm than good. I held her for a good half an hour as she let it all out.
“You’re going to be just fine, honey. I know it hurts like hell right now, but it will get easier day by day,” I said looking into her eyes when she finally pulled back.
Tiny nodded her head and smiled. It was the first real smile she’d given us since her father had died. I picked up the box of tissues, and she gave a small giggle as she took some out and wiped her eyes then blew her nose.
“Thank you, Mike. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off me. It felt like the grief was surrounding me, but I had to stay strong for the kids. I promise I will never get to that stage again. I will talk to you or Dave if I ever start to feel like that. I think it all just got to me… Derrick, the attack, leaving the military, taking over the company, losing Mum and then Dad. I thought I was handling it better than I was.”
“You’re more than welcome, honey. You know I’ll be here for you whenever you need. I’m so glad to hear that you’ll talk if you need to. It’s been hard to see you go through this, and know we’re right on the sidelines waiting for you to give us a signal. How about we grab a shower and make our way back to the others?”
“Sounds like a great idea to me. Thanks again, Mike. Love you so much.”
“Anytime, Tiny. Love you, too.”
She climbed off me and groaned as she stood up. I did the same and fuck was I sore. This little lady sure knew how to punch, hard. No doubt I’d have a few bruises come morning. I stood tall and wrapped my arm around her as we made our way out of the ring.
Ben met us after we had cleaned up, and he hugged Tiny and whispered in her ear. She nodded and kissed his cheek. I shook his hand once again and thanked him for letting us use the gym.
We climbed into the car and made our way back to the others.
We spent a week in Adelaide visiting all the areas they wanted us to see, and on the last night, we walked along the Semaphore Pier and scattered the ashes into the water. We all said our goodbyes and told Richard and Mary how much we would all miss them. I promised them that I would always be there for Tiny, Dave, and the kids. It was a beautiful farewell, and I knew they’d be looking down and smiling on us.
Mike
It had finally quietened down for us. The last three months we had no problems, no enemies, no arsehole recruits, and it was so peaceful. Tiny and I were due to fly over to New York and London to set up offices there in a few days. We were packed and ready. Even though I knew we were only going to be gone two weeks, I was very wary of leaving the others.
After our trip to Adelaide, Tiny and the kids seemed like a weight had been lifted off them. They were less stressed. I had a long talk with the kids, and they all had the same fears and sadness. After our talk, they were so much lighter like the sadness was fading. I knew it would be a long time before they all were back to themselves, but it would take a long time for them to recover from their losses. To lose both Mary and then Richard in such a small amount of time was hard on Dave and me. I could only imagine what they were going through, and it wasn’t pretty.
I walked into the main training room from my office and watched as everyone was sparring. I could hear laughter and jeering coming from the corner, and looked that way to see Madilyn and Jackson sparring. They had on helmets and gloves. I walked closer to hear what they were saying and laughed at the conversation going on.
“Come on, Jacky. You hit like a girl,” Madilyn jeered at her brother.
“I’ll show you, girl. Your mamma’s a girl.”
“Are you serious right now? Are you dense? She’s your mother, too, ya knob.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Mum,” he yelled.
Tiny was watching, shaking her head with a smile on her face. I walked up next to her.
“Idiot,” Tiny muttered laughing.
“And, what have I told you about calling me, Jacky? I hate that name. Seriously, you do it just to piss me off.”
“Uh, yeah… come on, Jacky, put some backbone into it. Fight me. Or are you scared of little ole me.”
“Get your head in the game, Jack. She’s baiting you. Don’t let her get to you. Come on, you can do it.”
“Shut it, Con, you had your turn, now it’s his.”
Jackson shook his hands and rolled his shoulders, his sights set on Madilyn. You could visibly see he was in the zone, not letting anything get to him. It was on now.
They met in the middle and touched gloves and started circling each other. Madilyn tried to throw a dummy punch, but Jackson was waiting for it. He moved in the opposite direction and pushed left and hit her with a knee to her rib, she bounced back, and he swiped her feet out from under her.
“Did you just fall?” Jackson asked.
“No. I attacked the floor.”
“Backwards?”
“I’m freaking talented,” Madilyn urged and used a spinning kick to get up.
She shook her hands and held them up, and then gestured in a come-get-me motion with her hand.
Jackson watched what she was doing, and I knew before he did he was going down. In a lightning quick move that you see the Black Widow use in The Avengers—yes, the kids loved that movie, and we all watched it regularly—she was on him and climbed up his body. She wrapped her legs around his neck and flipped forward carrying the momentum, so Jackson had no choice but to follow. He was on the floor and Madilyn straddling his chest before he even knew what had hit him.
She got off him, and they both got up by doing a backbend and flipping on their feet like ninjas. They were both so fit.
“I’m a ninja,” Jackson blurted with a smile.
“No, you’re not.”
“Did you see me do that?”
“Do what?” Madilyn asked.
“Exactly.”
“Oh my God, Jackson. You’re such an idiot,” she muttered while shaking her head.
“I’m awesome. I’m here for your comic relief. You couldn’t live without me.”
They continued on for another few minutes before Tiny called it time for them to finish. They both stopped immediately and walked over to Tiny and took off their helmets.
“Perfect, kids. You held back your punches and kicks, and you knew when to attack. I know I don’t need to rem
ind you that you’re only to use these skills in defence. You never attack someone for the hell of it. I’m proud of you kids so much. Why don’t you go and jump into the shower and get dressed, then we’ll go out for dinner? Claire’s going to meet us at the restaurant.”
They nodded their heads and took off towards the changing room.
I agreed with everything Tiny said, they were good kids. Madilyn was the sarcastic one, she had a smart-arse comment for everything. Jackson was the joker, always laughing and playing jokes on others and using everything to make people laugh. It was usually at him and his stupid comments, but we all laughed just the same. Conner was a mixture of the both. He was sarcastic and a joker, but nowhere near as bad as the other two. However, get them all together, and it was usually bedlam. Even though they all had those personality traits, they were also very loving and smart. They did get bored easy, and we were always finding different things to keep their minds occupied. They all had a serious side that came out when they were hurt or caring for others. I couldn’t have been prouder of them. They were growing up so fast, and soon they wouldn’t be little kids anymore. I pitied Tiny when they grew up and got more independent.
They all returned not long after, and made their way out of the building with Tiny. I smiled as they ribbed each other and laughed at their antics.
God love them.
I still had work to do and went back to my office to finish the paperwork which was always piled up. Finishing it within two hours, it was knock-off time, and I made my way out of the building and to my car. I drove home where Dave was cooking dinner tonight.
I glided up behind him and spread my hands under his arms and rested them on his stomach as I put my chin on his shoulder. He leant into me and brought his head around to give me a kiss on the lips. I slid my hand up and grabbed his chin lightly, angling his head further and kissed him deeply. I pulled back, and we resumed our positions in front of the stove, so he could continue cooking. I kissed his neck and drew back and went to set the island for dinner.
After we’d eaten and cleaned up, we made our way to the lounge room and put on a movie. Dave laid down with his head on my lap, and I ran my finger through his hair. After the movie finished, we made our way to bed, and I made love to my man, then we fell asleep in each other’s arms.
At work the next day Tiny knocked on my door and walked in. She plopped herself on the chair opposite my desk. I dropped the paperwork I was looking over and gave her my full attention.
“Claire got a phone call from Brisbane Hospital last night. They want to do some more tests on her to see if her memory is coming back at all. They’re going to run a weekend of sleep and hypnotherapy tests as well to see if it triggers anything. She’ll be leaving on Thursday morning and be back on Tuesday. Seeing the kids are still at school during the day, and I have a couple of meetings next week at night, I was wondering if you and Dave could look after the kids when they aren’t with me. I just got off the phone with Dave, and he said he can take time off work to watch the kids if I wanted. I wanted to make sure it was okay with you, though?” she asked.
“Sure is, Tiny. We love having your kids over. It’s been too long,” I replied.
“Thanks. I knew it wouldn’t be a problem, but I wanted to ask anyway. It’ll be good for the kids and me as well. I can relax knowing they’re in good hands.”
“Sure can. How are you doing anyway?”
“Better. I feel so much better since we got back from Adelaide. I know I wasn’t coping well before, and since talking to the therapist and having the breakdown, I feel I’m coping better now.”
“That’s fantastic, Tiny. I know I don’t need to remind you but we’re here if you need to talk.”
“I know, and I thank you for kicking me in the arse and making me see sense.”
I smiled and nodded my head.
“We have the new recruits coming in tomorrow, and I’d like to join in the training of them. I have a few meetings, but they’re mainly at night, and I don’t have much to do during the day. I thought it might take my mind off things.”
“Absolutely. We’d love the help. There are thirty this time, so we can divide them if you want. I could take hand to hand, and you could do the weapons, and then we can swap next week if you want? You do hand to hand, and I’ll do the weapons with my group.”
My phone started to ring, and I looked down and noticed it was Dave calling.
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll let you get that. Talk to you later,” she urged standing up and walking out.
“Hey, babe,” I answered.
“Hi. Just a quick call to let you know about a phone call I had from Monique.”
“Yeah, I already know. She was just in telling me about it. It’s fine with me.”
“Cool. Alright then… not much more I can say to that. I gotta go, I have a client about to come in. I talk to you when I get home. Love you.”
“Love you, too. Bye.”
I hang up and continue to go through the paperwork.
The next day we have our weekly team meeting. Tiny and I sat at the end of the table and the rest of the guys settled into their seats and quietened down as we started.
“I haven’t got much to report. I have meetings with potential clients two nights this week and three next week. Apart from that, we’re sitting pretty. So far, we have over two hundred and fifty employed by us full-time. We also have contractors who we can call when we need more for the arenas when we cover concerts. All up, when we have them included, it’s over fifteen hundred. As far as that goes, everything’s running smoothly. Claire’s going to be away from Thursday to Tuesday next week, so expect to see more of the kids here. Apart from that, I’m done. Mike?”
“Thanks, Tiny. As stated already, Claire’s going to be away. I want Max to go with her and cover Claire while she’s away. I’ll explain why after the meeting. You’re to stick with her like glue. Do not under any circumstances let her out of your fucking sight.”
He nodded his head agreeing with me. So, I continued on, “Here are your assignments for the week,” I said handing out folders for them to go through.
“New recruits start this morning, and you’ll be split up to help Tiny and me with training. Everyone else has their orders. No doubt I don’t need to say this, but if any of you have any problems, call us, and we’ll send help. That’s it for me. Guy, you have anything to add?” I asked.
“Nope, all good here, too,” he replied.
“Alright then, meeting’s over. See you guys next week. Be safe,” Monique ended.
Mike
Thursday afternoon at about two, Tiny came storming into the warehouse looking thoroughly pissed. The kids were trailing behind her, and they were not happy either. They were in serious trouble if going by their body language was any indication.
I turned to the recruits and said to them, “Guys, take ten. Have a break.” They all nodded and walked off. I stepped over to Tiny who was reading the riot act to the kids and stood at her back.
“What’s wrong?”
“The kids decided to take matters into their own hands rather than to tell a teacher a kid was being bullied. I just got back from the school. They’ve all been suspended till Monday. They beat up seven kids and the cops were called. Plus, then I found out that they have been giving the teachers trouble. They are grounded for a month. No phones. No television. No gaming systems. No seeing friends. I am seriously not happy with the three of you. I will get to the bottom of your behaviour, but at the moment, I am too upset and disappointed in all of you. I did not raise you to be like this.”
“You didn’t. Nan and Pop did,” Jackson muttered.
We all gasped and tears pooled in Tiny’s eyes as she turned and walked away.
“What the fuck, Jackson?” Madilyn and Connor said at the same time.
I should have reprimanded them on their language, but I totally agreed with them. Jackson jumped up and ran over to Tiny and clung to her front.
“
I’m so sorry, Mum. I didn’t mean it. Please forgive me.” He was crying badly and sobbed into her shoulder. She grabbed him and hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry, Mum. You are an amazing mother and I love you. I’m so sorry. I really didn’t mean it. I’m sorry,” he cried out repeatedly.
“I know you are. Give me a minute, okay? I just need a minute,” Tiny replied.
Jackson let her go and she walked over toward the offices. He walked back to us and was just devastated by his words. “I know. I’m a fucking idiot. I can’t believe I said that. Mum’s amazing,” Jackson muttered shaking his head.
“Yeah, you are! What the hell were you thinking?” I snapped to him.
“I don’t know what to say, Uncle Mike. I wasn’t thinking. It just came out. I didn’t mean it. I feel so stupid. Why would I say that? Mum’s the best ever,” he sniffled.
Tiny came out from the hallway to the offices, and stepped straight up to Jackson and grabbed him in a hug and held him tight. “I love you, Jackson. I’m sorry if you think I don’t, but I’d do anything for you kids. I would die for all of you. You are all my life. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you guys. You’re the ones who keep me going day to day,” she declared to him and looked over to the other two. She held out her hand, and they came over and enveloped the both of them.
“You kids are my life. I love all three of you.”
“Love you, too, Mum,” Madilyn said.
“Same, Mum. I love you,” Connor agreed.
“I’m sorry, Mum. I love you… I didn’t mean it. You’re the best mum. I’m so sorry,” Jackson pleaded holding her tighter.
“I know you are, Jackson. I forgive you, but if you ever, and I mean ever, speak to me like that again, I will take you over my knee. Do you understand? You hurt me so much. I want you to think long and hard about all the things going through your head at the moment. If you can’t talk to me, you talk to someone else, but you get it all out. I never want to be spoken to like that again. You’re grounded for an extra week. You have to understand that the way you speak to me has consequences. Doesn’t make me love you any less. I’m more disappointed in you than anything. I would never have thought you’d say something like that to me, Jackson.”