The Art of Being Tony (Tony Winters Book 1)

by P. S. Power

  On the very top looking like it had been pulled out on purpose, was a postcard. It had a sunny tropical beach on it with very white sands. On the back, almost shockingly, it was addressed to him.

  He read it out loud, smiling a bit, bemused.

  “Hi, honey. Work is hard, but I’m making it here. I hope things are good for you? Better than they were? I should be in town in a few months. I’ll write again soon. Love, Mom.”

  He made a sound that was slightly skeptical and wondered if she’d been possessed while at sea. There were at least three things wrong with that message after all.

  First, it had happened at all. Second, she was making work happen for more than three days before quitting. Third, she’d noticed that his life might not have been perfect all the time. None of those sounded like her. The writing did look like the chicken scratches that she preferred however, a kind of printing that had slantiness to it.

  If she ever showed up again, he’d be surprised, but he nodded for a bit and then took the card up to his room. After all, in the years to come this might be the only sign in existence Deirdre Winters had ever thought about him at all. Not that it really mattered, but it was nice to hear that it might be possible.

  That night, when he slept, he dreamed of her.

  Not how she’d always been, but working each day. Cleaning rooms and folding towels. Fluffy ones. At night, tired from being up all day, doing things that helped people, she slept. There was no drinking and she didn’t have three different men in her life each week. Or if she did, they were people that also worked and didn’t send her kid to deliver drugs, because he looked like the kind that no one would bother to search.

  It was a little boring, but, in the end, she seemed almost happy. Smiling and at times even meaning it. He’d seen her smile of course. Normally while very, very high. Other than that it had been rare and when it happened, he normally wasn’t involved.

  When he woke up, a horrible thought occurred to him. She’d been really young when he’d been born. As she’d mentioned, just in casual conversation, about twenty times, she’d tried to have an abortion, but had gotten there too late for the state to allow it. Too far along. Then she’d never really worked out how to give him up for adoption and by the time she might have done that, he was too old for anyone to actually want.

  He’d always figured that was roughly the truth. That her life had, in a way, stopped because of him and she hadn’t been able to grow up, because she was trapped into being his mother. Now though, since he was old enough to abandon without feeling too guilty, she had a shot at being a better person. The one that she was supposed to have been all along.

  Anthony felt bad as he opened his eyes. Then he shook his head and finished waking up. Maybe that was all true. He not only couldn’t know, but it wasn’t his fault, or even doing. She could have gotten rid of him at any time, just by pushing him off on Rick, or even her parents. That she’d lived life her way, instead of thinking about him, wasn’t worth his feeling guilty over now.

  Then something else clicked.

  He’d always kind of thought that, given how broken she was, that he kind of had to end up the same way. Making all the wrong choices and drifting from one horrible place to a worse one. Ruining lives as he did it.

  That wasn’t reality, though.

  Rick didn’t live like that. He had a good business that he worked hard at. Jen did the same thing. Even Ashley had a career going on. They were a little strange, maybe, but also good. Constantly. They worked hard and helped the people around them, even if they didn’t get enough back for it to make it worthwhile.

  They’d even taken him in, thinking that he’d be… Well, Anthony. Along with all that meant. The drugs and women, the crime and the horrors that he’d seen. Yes, he’d given them Tony, which was an act, or had been. Now though he wanted to be Tony.

  Not just because it was working for him and made him look good, but because these people, all of them, deserved to have someone like that around.

  It was strange, but as he got up, to get to his day, he kind of owed it all to his mother.

  Not for being the worst mom ever, but for finally seeing that she had a chance to make things better and even if it wasn’t on purpose, doing the same for him. Sending him away from her had been the best thing she’d ever done for him. No matter why she’d done it.

  It was something.

  Which was better than what he’d ever gotten from her before that point. By far.

  Chapter fourteen

  The bus trip was interesting this time. More people were going to the fight for one thing. It wasn’t too far away and in the nine fights planned, they had four fighters. That made the event kind of important to everyone. Plus, Steve Lopez was doing commentary for it and it was going to all be on television. The professional fights would. Even the amateur ones would be on some cable channel that no one had or watched.

  That meant everyone else was kind of busy, planning, practicing mentally, or going over their notes. In Anthony land there was very little for him to be doing, except making sure everyone that needed it got water constantly. Not everyone could do that, needing to cut weight in a few cases. That wasn’t Nick, since he was doing pretty well weight wise, due to all the extra training he’d received.

  Lexi was a bit leery that way, but should be all right, if she didn’t load up right before the weigh-in. Even then, she’d probably get her fight. Odds were, in an amateur bout like she had going on, the person coming in would be about five pounds heavier than they were supposed to. It was, apparently, nearly a curse. First fights always had something like that going on.

  You’d be fine the night before, then suddenly gain five pounds without doing anything. That didn’t seem possible to him, but some of the people on the bus swore to it.

  Mainly, Anthony sat, wondering why he was there at all. They had the doctor with them and again she just sat and read for the most part. Still, if there was an emergency, she’d be there, to take care of people. Even Ashley was more use than he was, having been a fighter for a while. She could talk to Lexi and reassure her. Tony would just be making noises if he did it and some part of her would know that.

  So the ride was long, but cheerful enough, mainly due to nerves.

  On the good side, he was able to pass out water and make certain that everyone stayed as hydrated as they were allowed to. It wasn’t a big part to play in the day, but might make some small difference. Or not. Probably that one, he knew.

  The arena they were in was good sized this time, since things that were going to be on television got advertised and that meant more people showed up. Plus, there was a pre-fight section, since they were going to shoot things for television that they normally wouldn’t have at all. People talking up the fights mainly. Interviews and things like that.

  They had good seats, near the ring, so that they could cheer their people on. A few rows back, but they’d be able to see most of it. Even better, they were kind of near the area where the announcers were. The commentators. It wasn’t a big fight, so they didn’t get the really famous people, but they had Steve, in a nice tan suit jacket, white shirt and spiffy black tie.

  The other man there was actually familiar too, since it was t-shirt guy from the Pay-Per-View thing.

  From where he was sitting with Jen and Ashley, they could hear what was being said.

  Joey was being friendly and conversational, looking right at Steve.

  “This isn’t hard. Things happen and we talk about it. We’re running three men tonight, so Ken will cover most of it, then come to us if they need to fill time. This first time, unless you have something that you just have to say, we’ll feed you questions. It’s conversational though and we cover for each other if we get stuck. We’ve got your back, so don’t worry.”

  He actually sounded like he was being cool and reassuring, instead of patronizing. Steve smiled and nodded then.

  “Good to know. I’ve been memorizing names, stats and fighting techn
iques for weeks, so I don’t blow it. The MMA stuff?”

  The other man nodded, seeming glad to hear it.

  “That’s great. You’d be surprised at how many people just walk in and think that it’s going to be easy. You’ve done the prep though and this will be incredible. Who do you like in the early section?” He sounded sly and behind them their faces showed on a large screen television, with Steve’s face showing after the question was asked.

  Steve acted like he knew he was on the air and was totally ready for it. There was a slight nod and a serious expression that held just the right amount of energy.

  “We have a lot of real talent coming in tonight. Even on the undercard. The early fights? I think that the big match up to watch will be Silva versus Deniker. That will be the last of the amateur bouts tonight. I’ve been studying their tapes and I have to say, I can’t even call that one right now. My best guess? It’s going to come down to conditioning and heart. Both are ready to turn pro. On the lady’s side, we have Lexi Quinn going up against Stephanie Lawrence. I wasn’t able to see Lawrence in action, but I caught Quinn working with Tony Winters yesterday. She looked sharp. This is either going to be a real fight, or her showing clearly that her opponent should have prepared better. Of course, she works at the same club I do, so I’m probably biased. That’s still my call on it.”

  The other man laughed a bit and nodded.

  “How about the early professional fights? I noticed that we had a drop out on the pro-side? Controversy in the back room there, since it was Dustin Levantine that had to drop.”

  Steve nodded, his face huge on the big screen.

  “Going up against Ichihiro Saka? I can see that being a problem. Saka is known not to be…” He paused and shook his head. “That is not a man to be polite about that kind of thing. I hope that Levantine is all right? I know that most fighters won’t drop a fight if they can help it.”

  “I heard that it was a car accident? He should be all right, but has some broken ribs. I…” The man touched his right ear and went a bit wide eyed. “Okay, we have a camera in the back room, Ichihiro Saka is about to make a statement? That should be good. I suppose it was too much to ask for him to just go away quietly.”

  That was played on the big screen too, though the sound didn’t come across at all. That was probably about preventing feedback. Both Steve and Joey made faces as the Japanese man spoke. There was actual wincing going on.

  Jen took a deep breath.

  “Well, that doesn’t look good. I wonder what he said?”

  That part flashed up on the screen, under the speaking man. The big white words said that Saka was planning to sue the promoter, if they didn’t have a fight for him. How come that was, Anthony didn’t really get, ready to mark it down to the man just being an a-hole. It really was his reputation, after all. The promoter spoke then, the name being Dan Sweet, which was familiar.

  “Um, isn’t that the guy that wants me to go and work with Sally?”

  He didn’t know if that was enough for the others to understand who he meant, but Ashley grunted, not seeming that happy, suddenly.

  “Yeah. I think I get it. This is a decent level prize fight, if not a major one and Saka was likely to win, which would make him twenty-five thousand or so. If he lost he’d still get ten at an event like this. At least when all was said and done. Normally it isn’t that much, but the prize goes up if it’s going to be on television. If the thing is pulled, he might get enough for his plane fare home. That would piss me off too, if I’d trained for months to have it rained out in the last hours like this.”

  Jen nodded, getting that part pretty well, it seemed.

  “The other side of this is that Ichihiro is small. There are some good people in his weight class, but that doesn’t mean they’re in the room right now. Most male fighters tend to be in the middle classes. Most people do, so that makes sense. So on the one hand, he needs a fight and on the other Dan probably can’t find anyone that will work. Not in time. Not one that will be willing to take a fight on no notice, anyway. The problem there is that he really could lose in court and sometimes they slap on heavy fines and fees for things like this. It really depends how the contract is written. It could cost him millions, which pretty much means going broke, for almost anyone at this level of things.”

  People were starting to come into the arena already too, the cage set up to look like an octagon, instead of a square ring. It was kind of pretty and the controversy was giving the commentators something to say already.

  They were starting the first amateur bouts and those weren’t exactly brilliant to watch. The people sort of tried hard. Part of the time. The first match actually threw him off a little. They looked all right, but just that. Honestly, he’d seen better matchups in the gym that were just thrown together. The fight was slow and boring to watch, being won by points. It was mainly two men tackling each other and doing a ground and pound, while the other tried and failed, to lock an arm. Alternating back and forth a few times.

  The next fight actually set his teeth on edge. It was two men and both were younger. Heavy set and pudgy. That was fine, given they were just starting out, but they ran at each other trying to brawl, in a way that barely worked. One finally slipped and the other laid on him and finally got into an awkward mount position that was so painful to watch that he realized he was squeezing Ashley’s hand halfway through. He let go and winced, looking at it.

  “Sorry. I thought it was the armrest.”

  She just grinned at him.

  “I get that, actually. At least we get to see Lexi next?”

  He nodded, given that she couldn’t do any worse than the last fighters, he didn’t think. Which, was honestly correct. The girl that came out to be against her was no worse than either man from the middle fight and while she looked to be about fifty pounds heavier than Lexi, she was actually only thirty pounds up.

  She was also dropped in the first fifteen seconds, their fighter boxing a lot better than she had the first day. It happened so fast that it actually threw the schedule off, which could happen at events like that. There were two more amateur fights to go, after people stopped applauding Lexi. He stood up for it, since new or not, she was one of his people now.

  “Wooo! Lexi!”

  She looked pleased when her hand was raised and the other girl said something that had the referee wag a finger at her. That got the screen to show Steve and t-shirt man again, along with Ken, who was in a decently nice black suit.

  It was impossible to hear them over the crowd, however. That was about the time that Rick and another guy came out from the back rooms, into the audience, working over toward them. Jen sat up straighter and looked worried. It wasn’t normal for them to visit out in the audience like that. It hadn’t happened at any of the other events at any rate. Not until after the last of the fights for their team.

  Jen took a deep breath before speaking.

  “Is… everyone okay?”

  Rick nodded.

  “Yep. Dan was just wondering if you wanted a fight, Tony? I told him it was up to you, since you’re here as part of Nick’s support team, but you do clear otherwise and we have a doctor here that says you’re healthy enough.”

  It took him a second to get the idea. He could do an amateur fight, obviously. So it wouldn’t be about that or Rick wouldn’t have given him an easy out, mentioning the part about Nick. On the professional side there wasn’t an age limit really, even if that had to be the big consideration at the moment. It was mainly that no one would fight someone his age. Not normally. Backstage though they had a man that seemed desperate to fight, who was threatening to sue them, probably for much more than they’d lose if they put a nobody in and lost that night. Just throwing a body into the ring would be better than doing nothing, in that case.

  “Ichihiro Saka?” He knew that his voice wasn’t all that positive about the idea. The man might have a real point, as to getting a fight that night, but it was also creepy to start out by
threatening to sue in order to get your way.

  Jen had even pointed out that doing that for real, suing, might cost this other man everything. That, of course, might well impact Sally’s fight and he was already supposed to be on her team for that. As a sparring partner, but that still counted.

  The other man, Dan Sweet, made a face that was disgusted and seemed almost apologetic at the same time.

  “Look, I’d say no, too. I get it. This would help me out, sure, but starting a career with a professional loss really isn’t worth it for you. We all get that.” He sounded disappointed, but understanding at the same time.

  Which got nods all the way around, except from him.

  “I’m… not actually planning to be a fighter. I was thinking about doing something else. Maybe medicine? Where I can help people. A firefighter, possibly?” Those were both good jobs. Ones that paid enough for him to have a good life, while allowing him to seem like a decent person. “The fighting thing is just to help out with the family business.” Which Dan going down under a lawsuit might impact. How much, he couldn’t tell, at the moment. Still, it was the kind of thing that people there had been doing. Helping each other, just because it was the right thing, even if they weren’t going to get anything from it.

  It was exactly the kind of thing that Tony would do. Risk everything to help out someone in need.

  That got everyone to stare at him, especially when he stood up. A single phrase came to him then. It was in his mother’s voice, telling him about how, when an opportunity came, you should take it. Even if it was hard. In this case, probably painful, too.

  He’d deal.

  “Sure? I need clothes. I didn’t bring anything for this.” Not even what he practiced in most days.