Page 45 of Until We're More
“True. I just…I’ve got a girl here.”
“Girls come and go. Belts are forever.” Dad had used the line before, but it hit me stronger than it ever had. Before, it was a throwaway line, one that didn’t apply to me. Girls like Chelsea didn’t come along every day, but she would go, and in a matter of weeks at that.
She’d taken the news that I wasn’t going to make her celebration dinner like a champ, the way she always did. Because we were friends, and friends understood that kind of thing. I couldn’t help but wonder if it’d be different if…if things were different.
Dad nudged me. Right. My part. I detailed the way we trained, bragged about several of our fighters’ records, and mentioned we had a relationship with an emerging promoter who was quickly landing more venues with higher payouts. That was usually the end, but I found myself adding, “L.A.’s not that far.”Not like fucking Denver.“You know how it is with nonstop training. You only see your girl for a couple hours during the week anyway.”
That’d be me in two weeks, no life besides training camp, even before Chelsea left.
Maru ran his fingers along his jaw. “I hear you.”
“Let me guess why you left your other place…” I made sure not to sayteamin these situations, because we all felt some sense of duty to our teams, and a part of us always would. “They didn’t treat you like a priority. We will.”
“We’ll also push you to your breaking point and then put you back together,” Dad said. “That’s what it takes to be at the top—I would know.” He always had to slip that in, like they didn’t already know, but it was funny how saying it out loud always drove the point home. “You wanna settle for up-and-coming for a few more years, or you want people to know your name? To saythat’sthe guy I want to fight next?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. Small, but there, and just like that, we had him.
…
“Not that I’m thinking of retiring anytime soon,” Dad said as I pulled up in front of his house. Since neither of us was big talkers, the drive back was mostly silent. That, plus it was pushing one a.m. “But it’s nice to know that once I do, the gym will be in capable hands.”
“Finn and I will take good care of it. When the time comes.”
“You’ll need Finn’s help, of course, but I’m well aware that you take on most of the finances and the nuts and bolts of the place, as well as the stress. For a while there, I worried I was going to leave you with a burden instead of a legacy. I know I haven’t always been the best dad, but I hope you now recognize that a big part of what I do is for my family. Maybe I went about it wrong, but we’ll have built something that withstands time. Our best days are still in front of us; I can sense it.”
I nodded, doing my best not to let the pressure slowly tightening my lungs show. I wanted that, too. To add my name to the list of champions in the gym and to get us back to our former glory and surpass it. I wanted to do what our name said we’d do—dominate.
But unlike him, I wouldn’t settle down and have kids I couldn’t pay attention to. If I went that route, it’d be in another five to ten years or so, when I could give my family more than a legacy. Sure, I had some fond memories, but nothing outside the gym or fighting world, and while I’d argue that we’d turned out okay, the lifestyle had taken its toll on all three of us at one point or the other. Dad, too.
Tonight had only reminded me of how far we had left to go to get the gym to where we needed it to be. We had so much riding on Finn’s fight, as well as mine, and I had a lot of blood, sweat, and tears ahead of me to ensure I walked away with the title I’d had my eyes on for as long as I could remember. As if that wasn’t enough, we’d just promised Maru an intense training program where we made him a top priority, and I planned on honoring that. But with each fighter we added, the more my already full plate filled. How in the hell was I going to do it all? Were there even enough hours in the day?
“Night, son. See you tomorrow. Not too late—we need to start working on matchups for Tautolo. Show him that we can follow through on our promises.”
“I was just thinking the same thing. Adam still needs a fight as well, but I have feelers out, so hopefully I’ll hear something soon. We did get the contract in for our newbie, and everything looks good, so he just needs to sign it.”
“Good, good.” Dad nodded a couple times, then shook himself awake and pushed out of the truck. He walked up the sidewalk, and I noticed the lack of lights inside. No one was waiting for him, and for all my talk about not being willing to pull someone into my consuming lifestyle, it struck me as sad.
It also made me wonder if we shared the same fate.
So I wouldn’t go thinking too hard about that, I buzzed to my apartment. Chelsea wasn’t on the couch, so I was sure she’d already gone to bed, but she’d left the kitchen light on and a line of pink Post-its hung on the fridge. Not only had she written a long-enough note to need several of the squares, she’d written them in sparkly purple pen, and affection swelled in my chest.
I bought food as promised. Not sure Italian is the breakfast of champions.
I’m guessing most fighters don’t down pasta before
they go work out all day, but maybe…
My gaze skimmed down to the next square.
You can be different from the crowd.
Start a trend. Is puking cool in the gym?
Hey, new cutting weight trend! No need to thank me.
I’m here for your…
Next square.
