Page 37 of Daddy's Little Chaos Gremlin

“Huh-uh, no way would he wreck Jeff, or Undertaker.”

“Undertaker’s retired, what would he wanna come back for the rumble for?”

“A title shot?”

“He doesn’t need one, he’s done everything.”

“So has Mox,” I reminded him.

“So has Jeff.”

“I know but it’s so cool to see him do the Swanton off everything,” I replied. “He always does something super extra at pay-per-views.”

“Yeah, but he got hurt lots ‘cause of it, too, just like Moxley.”

“True.”

“Surprise entrants rarely win anyway,” I said, sighing because it was always hard to pick, even when I’d been watching wrestling for years. I hadn’t been able to catch up for a while, though, and was hopelessly behind when it came to knowing who was on the main roster and who was out with an injury. People moved up from NXT all the time, too, and I hadn’t caught one of those shows in almost a year. Paulie hadn’t been a big wrestling fan, but sometimes he’d watch it with me when he got bored.

“What about Dirty Dom?” Tristan suggested.

“He’s awesome, but he’s kinda small to win a rumble.”

“He’s bigger than his dad and his dad won one.”

“Ohh, you’re right. I’d forgotten about that. I still think it’s gonna be one of the bigger guys, though. Braun Strowman maybe, or Roman again, or one of the Usos.”

“Please not Roman again. He’s awesome, but he’s already won everything, too.”

“I’m gonna cheer for the Usos then,” I told him.

“You can’t cheer for both.”

“Yeah I can. I’ll just cheer loudest for whichever one makes it to the end.”

“And if they both do?”

“Then I’ll just be cheering loudly,” I declared, while he grinned and shook his head at me.

Giggling, we found that we could both see the television better if we wiggled around to lay sidewise like two little spoons waiting for our big spoon to come back. Daddy did, a few minutes later, with three strawberry smoothies on a tray filled with cut up melon pieces, pastries, and a bowl of sliced andouille sausage sauteed in maple syrup. The scent hit me before I registered that it was there, but Daddy saw my eyes dart to it and plucked a piece from the bowl that he held to my lips and let me eat from his fingers.

“You two will have to sit up to eat,” Daddy said. “As comfy as you look, I won’t have you guys choking trying to eat that way.”

Obediently we sat up, and he passed us each a smoothie. I loved that Theo had started freezing juice in the ice cube trays to make our smoothies with, so they wouldn’t taste watered down. Instead, they were packed with flavor.

“Ohhh yum, so cold and nummy,” Tristan declared after he’d bitten into a chilled piece of honeydew.

He pressed the rest to my lips so I could taste, too.

While I was perfectly content with my smoothie after nursing from Daddy, I happily ate all the fruit and sausage pieces they offered me, since they never offered too much. I loved that I didn’t have to be afraid of food here. No one ever told me that I shouldn’t eat something because it would make me gain weight, but they also never made me feel bad for nibbling or taking half and quarter portions. It felt good not having eyes on me judging what I was doing when I wasn’t intentionally trying to stand out or be picky.

“Ohh nice, looks like they’re kicking things off with the women’s rumble,” Daddy said, rubbing his hands together as he stared at the screen.

“If I could have found a wrestling school, I’d have loved to do what they do,” I said. “Especially the ladies and the luchadores. The way they combine acrobatics and wrestling techniques is awesome.”

“Really, is that something you truly wanted to do?” Daddy asked, eyes on me now instead of the screen.

“Uh-huh, but the nearest school was really far away from where I lived, and I’d have had to save up money for bus fare to get there, as well as for the school and a place to live. On top of that I’d have had to get a job and I don’t know how that would haveworked with training. The only way I might have been able to make it happen was if I saved up enough for a whole year’s rent and utilities, so I could afford to work something part-time that fit around my training schedule. That’s what I was trying to do with the troupe and I was close, before they decided they hated each other.”

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