The Cruiserweight

by L. Anne Carrington

  “Don’t believe everything you hear. You’re better than that.” Brett picked up his backpack, grinning, and patted Patrick on the shoulder. “Come on, partner, we have a meet and greet to do.”

  *****

  Post-show meet and greets were popular with wrestling fans; it gave them the opportunity to get up close and personal with their favorites, and that night was no exception. The line for Brett and Patrick was the longest, with ambience of fans’ anticipation filling the room. Both men were gracious and overstayed their scheduled time to make sure everyone went away with sought-after autographs and photos.

  When Patrick had gone on a break, Brett looked up and found two eyes staring at him over the table’s edge. “Hi!” the child said.

  Brett looked down at the little girl and smiled. “Hi to you too. Like the show?”

  “Uh huh. I know you.”

  He was amused. “A lot of people know me.”

  “But I saw you before!”

  “Audrey, leave the poor man alone,” a woman’s voice said with a scolding tone before she addressed Brett. “She’s right about one thing. We have seen you before, but not when you were wrestling.”

  Brett gave her a blank stare. Huh? Is this some chick I’d laid when I was stoned or something? “Sorry if I’m having a major brain fart, but I’m trying to remember where we met before.”

  “I’m sure you meet lots of people in your business. I’m Samantha, and this is my daughter, Audrey. We met you when a flight to Los Angeles, which all of us were to fly home, was delayed because of the fires last summer.”

  A huge smile of recognition crossed his face. “Of course! It was a café near that airport, right?”

  “Yes! Audrey noticed you were laughing at something on your computer and decided to play Twenty Questions. We had no idea who you were, at least until we came tonight.”

  “Just as well, I enjoyed spending time with you.” Brett smiled down at Audrey. “Now what can I do for such a beautiful little lady?”

  “Picture with you?”

  “Sure, come around.”

  “Can I sit on your lap?”

  Samantha was flabbergasted. “Audrey!”

  “It’s fine,” Brett reassured her. “I have kids on my lap all of the time at these things.”

  “Mama, take our picture. Please?”

  “Okay, but sit still and none of your silliness. I want this to be a nice picture to show Daddy when he comes from work.”

  The little girl nodded while Brett held her on his lap. He whispered in her ear, and at the moment Samantha’s camera flashed, she caught the two of them making funny faces together. Instead of scolding her young daughter, however, Samantha shook her head and chuckled.

  Audrey hugged Brett’s neck and kissed his cheek. “I like you,” she said.

  “I like you too, sweetheart, but I don’t think your parents would approve of our age differences.” He helped her down. “It was nice to see you and Mom again. Come back for another show sometime.”

  Patrick returned to the table, grinning. “Still have a way with the ladies, I see,” he said in a joking manner.

  Brett punched him in the arm. “Shut up, or you’re going to be paying for my beer later.”

  *****

  “You ever think about it?” Patrick asked as he and Brett headed to a nearby pizzeria when the meet and greet was over.

  “Think about what?”

  “Having kids. I couldn’t help but notice how good you were with that little girl. You really made her night.”

  “Kind of funny you asked, man. For a long time, I thought I’d put off the whole starting a family thing until I was done with wrestling. But I’m going to be thirty-one in a few months, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I’m happy in my career. At the same time, I don’t want to start raising kids with some trophy wife when I’m sixty like some guys have.”

  A goofy grin crossed Patrick‘s face. “Nothing wrong with the trophy wife part.”

  “Smart ass. On the serious side, doing both independent dates and Orlando Wrestling, my schedule isn’t as insane as it once was, and other guys have started families. They’ve managed it and wrestling, so why can’t I?”

  “How do you plan to accomplish the having a kid part? You and Karen don’t see each other often enough as it is, and I doubt she’s thinking about popping out a little Brett at her age. Then again, there’s sperm banks for chicks who want to go the turkey baster route. Do you even know if your swimmers work, since you smoked all that pot?”

  “Funny. I haven’t discussed the subject with Karen, but on the off chance she can’t or doesn’t want to get pregnant, maybe adoption or even a surrogate would be good options too.”

  “A strange chick having eggs mixed with your tadpoles planted in her? I thought you were the romantic type. Hell, if you want a surrogate, go knock up Kyra Dimes and save a few thousand bucks. You’ve fucked her a million times.”

  “Will you stop being an asshole? It’s just stuff I’m considering.”

  “You have been thinking about being a dad, haven’t you?”

  They arrived at the designated pizza place and found a table. “More than you know, man,” Brett said. “I still have to make a couple of calls. Think you can order our food and beer while I get this out of the way?”

  “No problem. You must be the only guy I know who schedules getting laid.”

  Brett laughed, pulled out his phone, and went to a quieter spot to take care of business. He was gone for several minutes, and their food arrived as he returned to the table with a worried expression.

  “What’s wrong?” Patrick asked.

  “I couldn’t get Karen on the phone. Dude, she always picks up and if the snow storms in her area are as bad as they’re forecasting, I doubt she’d risk leaving the house.”

  “It’s late in her time zone. She could be sleeping.”

  “Her land line voice mail didn’t pick up, and her cell’s disconnected. I just got hold of Kyra, so maybe she’ll have better luck trying. Pat, I’m not liking the sound of any of this at all.”

  CHAPTER 43

  “What the hell happened?” Brett asked when Karen answered her phone the following Wednesday. “Kyra and I were going nuts trying to contact you.”

  “I love you too,” she replied. “I had to evacuate my apartment and go to a warm shelter after the electric went off. I just came home last night after the workers had the power turned back on.”

  “I’m sorry if I snapped at you, baby. I heard about the snow storms hitting the East Coast and worried about you. Why is your cell disconnected?”

  “Some freak got hold of my number and I kept getting a bunch of weird calls. Most were hang-ups, but enough for me to get my cell phone number changed. Thank goodness my land line is a private number, and I’ve only given it to a few trusted people. I left my new number on your instant messenger account, and guessing it didn’t go through.”

  “I haven’t been on my computer this past week. Been busy as hell preparing for my shows. I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “I hate winter. Have a pen handy? I’ll give you my new cell number.”

  “I can stow you away to bring back to Orlando,” he kidded, grabbing a pen off a side table. “Go ahead with the number.”

  Karen relayed her new number. “Orlando sounds tempting. Everything around here has been a mess since Friday night. I can‘t go to work because of the bad road conditions, and we’re still under a state of emergency. Thank God for the Internet network Mr. Sullivan had set up for the staff, or I’d never get any work done.”

  “How is the print edition getting out if your office is closed?”

  “There’s a temporary stop on the paper and subscribers have either the option of getting credit toward renewals, or subscribing to website premium content at half price. Only the site is being updated on a regular basis until everything is up and running. Aren’t you supposed to be heading to New York?”

  “I’m l
eaving tonight. Lucky for me, I planned ahead to stay there an extra day just in case my flight ended up being delayed. I’m not concerned about returning since I’m not scheduled for a TV taping in Orlando until Tuesday, but I do want to be on schedule for New York’s show.”

  “From what I’ve seen, New York wasn’t hit as hard with the storms as Pennsylvania, but it was a good idea for you to plan an extra day.”

  “Yeah, going to be nice to get back to one of the early roots of my career.”

  “That appearance is getting a lot of press so far. Eddie was supposed to cover it, but with the storms, he had to cancel his plans.”

  “That sucks. He and I could’ve hung out after the show.”

  “I know, the shitty weather screwed up everything. He’s not very disappointed since there’s a chance he could come to Orlando to cover a TV taping in the near future.”

  “Awesome! I’d dig that. Hey, how’s your book progressing?”

  “Would you believe I’m almost finished? There’s some editing to do, but it looks as if I’m going to meet my goal for having it out early spring.”

  “You’re reserved me a copy, right?”

  “Of course, and one for Patrick, so he doesn’t steal yours.”

  “Guess I’m not the only one who plans ahead. Listen, I need to finish packing and head to the airport, but I wanted to check in to make sure you were okay. Thanks again for your new cell number.”

  “Leave me a message when you get to New York if I don’t pick up the phone. I have this week’s editorial to finish, and then I’m going to work out, so I’ll have both of my phones turned off for awhile.”

  “At least I’ve been warned this time. Have a good time. I’ll talk to you once I reach New York.”

  CHAPTER 44

  The Superstar Grapplers’ show in New York City opened with a meeting between Brett and his scheduled opponent, Robby Powers. He arrived to the ring to his theme music from Orlando Wrestling to a tremendous reception that included streamers raining down on him. The audience was thrilled to see Brett back in the promotion where he began his wrestling career. “Welcome back! Welcome back! Welcome back!” they chanted, the sound overflowing the venue.

  Powers dominated for a few minutes with chops, suplexes and the rest of the typical arsenal for which he was known. “Welcome back, short shit,” he muttered to Brett when their backs were turned to the crowd.

  “Isn’t over yet, ass wipe,” Brett said with a laugh. He and Powers knew each other for several years, but their match was the first time the pair faced each other as opponents.

  From there, Brett got the heat on Powers outside of the ring after playing the cowardly heel, and took over with his ‘punch and kick’ offense. Powers made his comeback on the outside of the ring by pummeling Brett, who seemed to take it in stride and returned each of Powers‘ blows. “Is that the best you can do, Robby? I didn’t come here to get tickled.”

  “Tickle? I’ll show you tickle,” Powers replied as the two contenders returned inside the ring. Brett got the upper hand on Powers, resulting in several near falls, before Powers won the match with a clean pin after a butterfly backbreaker.

  When their match ended, Powers shook Brett’s hand and gave him the spotlight “Great match, man. It was an honor to wrestle you.”

  “Same to you, Roddy. Good luck on your championship match next month.”

  As Powers made his exit, the fans began to serenade Brett with chants. “Thank you, Kerrigan! Thank you, Kerrigan! Thank you, Kerrigan!”

  “Damn match was too short,” Brett said when he reached the locker room. “I wish they would’ve given me and Robby more time.”

  Someone ambushed him, grabbing him in a bear hug from behind. He was ready to attack his assailant when the unidentified person planted a wet kiss on his cheek. “Brett, baby!”

  He turned around and saw the familiar face of Brent Dillard. “What the fuck? I thought you were training down in Florida.”

  “I have a few days off, and when I heard you and Robby Powers had a match this weekend, I had to make the trip. Kick ass job, by the way.”

  “Yeah, a whole seven minutes before Robby plowed me to the mat. So how is the newest phase of your career?”

  “Can’t complain. Did you hear they cast me as one of the developmental guys on the new Future Stars TV program? Wallace Rome’s going to be my mentor. Cool, huh?”

  “Yeah, I heard about that show. Wally Rome? I trained with him after you and I left the academy. One couldn’t have a better guy as a mentor. I’m warning you, though; the guy is a stiff fighter who throws some hard punches.”

  “So I heard. I’ll tell him you said hello.”

  “Nice thing is that you’re getting some TV exposure while you’re training,” Brett said.

  “Too bad they gave me such a generic name, though.”

  “They changed your name?”

  “Donald Brent. Have you heard anything more stupid in your whole life? I guess they want to own the rights to my character or some shit.”

  “The powers that be could’ve done worse. At least they didn’t insist on you wearing some weird costume or clown makeup. I’m glad I got to keep my own name during my time in that company.”

  “You insisted.”

  “Yeah. The beginning of seven-year hell.”

  “But you liked the travel and meeting fans, right?”

  “About the only things I did enjoy. The money wasn’t bad, either, but damn, the bullshit I had to deal with to earn a paycheck. Never again, man.”

  “You were a rebel.”

  Brett grinned. “You noticed?”

  “I don’t know someone for almost eleven years without learning a thing or two.”

  "Brent, you’re an awesome dude who’s going places. I could’ve molded my attitude to what other people wanted, but I didn‘t. I like being rebellious. On the other hand, you have a clean lifestyle and no problems with authority. I think that‘s one reason they chose you to work with Wally on Future Superstars. You’re open to new ideas and being molded. Me, what people see is what they get.”

  “Which is why you’re happier in Orlando Wrestling and doing independent shows on the side.”

  “Stephanie Cross gives her talent much more freedom to do other projects as long as they aren’t on live television. Competition thing, you know.”

  “It still would’ve been cool for us as a tag team.”

  “You would’ve been the surprise partner, except they never cared enough to materialize the story idea. We’ve both moved forward, and I’m not a guy who dwells on the past. Lucky for me, I’m in a position to be able to wrestle according to my own vision. Wrestle in real matches, Brent, not a bunch of two-minute bullshit because someone either didn’t like the whole pot issue, or they couldn’t find anything decent for me to do.”

  “You’ll go back someday, won’t you?”

  “Hell no! They couldn’t pay me enough.” Brett grinned again. “Want to join me in the shower?”

  “Love you, man, but not that much. How about getting together for a few beers and more reminiscing instead?”

  “You’re on! Meet you outside in about fifteen minutes.”

  CHAPTER 45

  Brett‘s phone rang while he and Dillard were having drinks. He shook his head after recognizing the incoming call‘s number. “Pat, what do you want?” he asked. “This better be important.”

  “Why, you getting laid? I thought Karen wasn‘t coming to that show.”

  “Fucking funny. Dillard paid me a surprise visit. We’re having drinks and catching up. What’s going on that you had to call at one-thirty in the morning?”

  “Only ten-thirty here. Anyway, remember that show where we’re tagging in a couple of weeks?”

  “How can I forget? I’ll have to deal with your smelly armpits and loud farts the whole weekend before I go back to Orlando.”

  “Like you never tore a few lethal ones out of your own ass, Kerrigan. Getting back to the purpose of m
y call, the bigwigs at Wrestling International scheduled a seminar they‘re holding the day before our show, and chose you and me as guest speakers.”

  The news caught Brett‘s full attention. “No shit? You didn’t have anything to do with it, did you?”

  “Not at all, but I guess someone liked us enough to make the suggestion. What do you think?”

  “Sounds like fun. What are we supposed to do?”

  “How’s this? ‘Charismatic young superstars Brett Kerrigan and Patrick Sanchez-Garcia will lead a sit-down seminar designed for already trained independent pro wrestlers. The veteran grapplers will give advice, share their experiences and evaluating talent as part of the seminar, as well as sitting down for an extensive question and answer session.’ Doesn‘t sound too hard, huh?”

  “You should do well, as much as you like to run your mouth.”

  “Come on, dude, this is serious stuff.”

  “I was just messing with your head. Seminar with indy wrestlers? It‘s going to be a blast.”

  “People who are attending have to pay twenty-five bucks a head to get in, and seating is limited. We should look into getting more public speaking gigs.”

  “Maybe you should, since you’re a more appealing guy. I’m too busy with the wrestling side. Hey, did you hear? Dillard’s cast as one of the developmental wrestlers on Future Stars.”

  “Oh, yeah, I think I read about that on one of those wrestling sites. Give him my congrats and I hope he doesn’t get fucked over the way you and I were.”

  “I think he’ll great and have few, if any, problems. Meanwhile, I need to get back to my drinking buddy for the night, and I will pass on your message.”

  “Thanks. By the way, you got an email from Kyra.”

  “What the hell were you doing in my email?”

  “You didn’t change your password before moving to Orlando. I kind of…checked it out of habit. Nothing incriminating, just wants you to call her before next week.”