by H. T. Night
I laughed at his confidence. I needed a good laugh. “You do that,” I said. “You’ll be champion when I retire from the ring and not before.”
“Seriously, Tommy, what do you think would happen if we went toe to toe?”
“I honestly don’t know. You are the only person I met who thinks he is as tough as me. It’s a little bit weird, to be honest with you, Josiah, knowing that one day, my sparring partner, who knows all of my moves, and my close friend, who knows my heart, is going to be in the ring with me. You’ll know everything there is to know about me. All of my battle strategies, all of my weaknesses and strengths, they will be well known to you.”
“You’ll know the same about me, Tommy.”
“I guess that’s true,” I replied. “Look, Josiah, I know you’re pretty damn capable and you learned how to fight on the streets. I learned most of my fighting in the gym. It would be an interesting bout. With our contrasts and likenesses.”
“Is that your way of saying you think I’d win?”
“No, Josiah. It’s my way of saying that you may get a few good licks in, but once I had you to the ground and fired down some elbows on your head and body, you’d be done, either a submission or a knockout. I like you, so I’d probably just knock you out to put you out of your misery. And not pummel you after you’re down.”
“Wow, you think you can win.” Josiah sounded extremely confident.
“Josiah, I know I’d win.”
“Hey, Tommy?”
“Yeah?”
“I hope we never have to fight each other. Even though I pretend to want it, I don’t really want to knock the hell out of my friend… my mentor. It would be like Rocky beating up Mickey.”
“Mickey? You compared me to Mickey? Mickey was like 100 years old. I’m at least Apollo in Rocky 3. Where I let you think you can win, but deep inside, I know I can kick your ass.”
“Nothing better than a Rocky training montage,” Josiah said. “I have the greatest hits on my iPod.”
“Yeah,” I said. “You’re just crazy enough to have that.”
“You have to admit no one trains like Rocky.”
“He is a fictional character,” I reminded Josiah. “You are aware of that?”
“Bite your tongue. Rocky is the reason all the old-school fighters were into MMA. You need to recognize that, Tommy Boy.”
I said, “I recognize that someone made a great fictional movie that inspired a lot of fighters. Still doesn’t take away from the fact that you’re in no position to fight me. So, like you said, let’s drop it.”
Josiah continued, as mature as I had ever heard him speak. “There is a certain amount of respect and care that you have earned with me, Tommy. I don’t want to see scars on your body and know that I made them. I don’t want to maim you or permanently damage your brain, stuff like that. You’re gonna be my bro, for real. I always, always, want to have your back.”
I smiled. “So do I, little brother, so do I.”
“I mean, unless you still think you can take me down, ya chunky old man,” he joked.
I chuckled, took a moment and said, “I have a question to ask you.”
“What is it?” Josiah seemed intrigued.
“I want to ask you something important. I need for you not to mess around and joke when I ask you.”
“This sounds important. I better switch gears and put on my mature face. Hold on.” Josiah sighed and said, “Go ahead, I’ll be as serious as I can be.”
I waited and then said, “Will you be my best man?”
“Seriously?”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. I thought you asked one of those guys at the gym or one of your Army Reserves buddies.”
“Nope, I didn’t. I’m asking you. You’re a good kid. To be honest, your entire family are the closest people to me.”
“What about your grandma?”
“She’ll be invited, but I don’t think she would want to be my best man.”
“I mean… aren’t you two close?”
“We were at one time, but that was a while ago. I think that we only keep in touch now because we are related and it feels like an obligation. She’s not on board with my MMA career and as you know, it’s not just my passion, it’s my life. This is how people part ways. It hurts, but there you are. Sometimes, you have to choose a path that others will not agree with, but you choose the path that defines you as a man, Josiah. Everything you do as an adult is a legacy. You create it.”
“True. You know, I have never been a best man before.”
“Why would you? You’re eighteen, and most of your friends won’t be getting married for years. So, what is your answer?”
“Does Maya know you were going to ask me?” Josiah asked.
“She will. I’m pretty sure she will love the idea.”
I could hear in his voice that Josiah was grinning from ear to ear. “Tommy, I’m honored that you asked me. It’s about the coolest thing that anyone has ever asked me.”
“Well, don’t get too sentimental about it. I might change my mind.”
“You can’t fool me, Tommy. Under all that macho exterior, you are a sweetheart.”
“Josiah?” I said.
“Yes, big guy?” Josiah switched gears again to his mocking voice.
“Don’t ever call me a sweetheart again. Or I’ll get you back in ways you cannot even imagine.”
Josiah laughed. “No problem, buddy. You’re not a sweetheart. You just play one on T.V.”
“Ha ha, very funny.” I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I am only going to say this once, Josiah. Of course, you are the best man in my wedding. Who knows? Maybe someday I’ll be an uncle to your children.”
“My children? You’re the one who’s getting married. I don’t even have a girlfriend, Tommy!”
“And why is that?” I asked.
“I’m just putting training first. Girls are a hassle.”
“How would you know? Aren’t you still a virgin?”
“Try not to say that too loud. I have a rep to protect.”
“A rep that says you’re an 18-year-old virgin.”
“That’s the way I want it. Trust me, I have had my chances.”
“But Josiah is waiting for his true love,” I said, giving Josiah a hard time. In reality, I admired that he had waited.
“That would be a ‘yes.’”
Josiah became serious. “Okay, Tommy. Okay. I’ll be your best man. And you can be the uncle of my unconceived children.”
“All right, thank you.”
We said goodbye. I was confident that not only everything in the wedding was going to tick like clockwork, but my life would, too.
9:00 a.m. Maya was in the bedroom. I walked in there and hugged her tightly.
“What’s all that about, handsome?”
“I just love you, that’s all,” I said.
“You’re sweet, but let go. You’re making me so hot.”
“I bet I am,” I snickered.
“Not that kind of hot. I think I might be getting a fever. I feel awful.”
“Really?” I went to the bathroom and opened up the medicine cabinet and grabbed the only thermometer we had in the house. I handed it to Maya and said, “Put it under your tongue.”
After three minutes, Maya had a 99-degree fever. It wasn’t that hot but it could get hotter.
“Why don’t you rest? We don’t have to meet your parents for dinner.”
“No, for some reason, tonight is important to my dad. He really likes you, Tommy, and he wants to get to know you more.”
“You and I have been together a pretty long time. I asked him for his blessing to marry you. I’m obviously comfortable with the guy. And he is with me, too.”
“He just wants to be your friend. I think it’s cute that he wants to male bond with you, and unless my fever rises to 100, I’m going to go tonight. I don’t want to disappoint my parents.”
Maya went to the medicine cabine
t and took some Tylenol. Hopefully, that would break her fever.
“Hey, guess what?” I said.
“What is it, sweetie?”
“I finally chose a best man.”
“You did? Is it one of those guys up north?”
“Nope.” I was quiet, waiting for her to inquire further.
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense. I need to know who it is because we need to get him fitted for a tuxedo.”
I smiled and said, “I asked Josiah.”
“Josiah… my brother?”
“No, Josiah, the Prince of Egypt.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. I just now asked him. He said he’d do it.”
Maya sat on our bed with tears streaming from her eyes.
“Are you upset?” I asked.
“No, I’ve never been happier. I knew you and Josiah were getting close and a part of me wanted you to ask him, but I would never have said a word to influence your decision. I wanted it to come from your heart and it has. It touches my heart that you came up with it all on your own. You are such a special guy, Tommy. Both Josiah and I are lucky to have you.”
I sat next to her on the bed and held her tight. “Sweetheart, I’m the lucky one. I am who I am because of you. You have changed me and for the better, too. Loving you has softened my heart and strengthened the motivation behind my goals. I am in high gear as a man, in all ways. You did that, just by being you. And being with me.”
“I sincerely am going to cry now.”
“Shhh.” I kissed her gently on her lips and said, “Sometimes saying ‘I love you’ isn’t enough. So, I’ll say this: You are the greatest thing to ever happen to me. Ever.”
“So are you, sweetheart.”
I chuckled because a few minutes ago I had told Josiah to never call me sweetheart. It was a lot different when Maya said it.
She was the only one who would ever get away with it.
Chapter Fourteen
9:30 a.m.—2:30 p.m. I played video games, showered again, napped and spent maybe ten minutes talking about shampoos with Maya.
I didn’t know if she was delirious from fever or just being a girl, but she had a lot to say about different brands of shampoo. No wonder we had so many different bottles in the shower. She had different shampoo and hair product strategies for good hair days, bad hair days, rainy days, dry days, and so on. I had a small view into the feminine mystique—of their grooming rituals—and it was amusing and not boring because it was Maya talking.
Finally, Maya’s fever completely broke, and she said she was feeling fine. She happily said we would be meeting her parents in Fullerton at the flower shop. Again, I had an odd feeling. I couldn’t pinpoint it, but I began to think that I was getting sick, too.
A worst-case scenario flashed through my head. Runny noses at the wedding! I banished the silly thought from my mind.
2:45 p.m. I was on the 91 freeway heading west toward Fullerton with Maya in my passenger seat. Maya was draped over the right side of my body. She was practically lying in my lap. She loosened her seat belt and I held her hand tightly.
“Is something wrong?” Maya asked.
I turned my head and looked at her and said, “No, nothing’s the matter. Why?”
“You seem a bit stressed, Tommy.”
“No, I’m okay. I just have a weird feeling that I can’t shake, that’s all. I might be coming down with something myself.”
Maya felt my forehead. “You don’t feel hot.”
“I don’t know. I just don’t feel right. It’s probably nothing. Just a little bit of unease.” I kept my eyes on the crowded traffic lanes, with people changing lanes, honking and all sorts of ridiculous motorcycle riders splitting the lanes in near-suicidal maneuvers. “Traffic really sucks. As usual.”
“Sweetheart?” Maya asked. “Do you want me to give you something else to think about while you drive?”
I smiled at Maya and thought about the Mustang’s dark-tinted windows, and then looked ahead at the stop-and-go traffic that was like a 3D video game of obstacles. “Funny girl. Absolutely no horseplay while I’m driving. I’ll take a rain check though, for home. But it’s going to be mutual. As always.”
She blushed, my pretty bride-to-be. A tingle spread through me and my pants got a little tight. God, I loved her like crazy.
I continued to drive west down the freeway, making our way toward the Lemon Street exit.
3:15 p.m. We met Maya’s parents at the floral shop in Fullerton that supplies high-quality flowers at reasonable prices.
After I pointed out a purple flower for our men’s boutonnières, Josiah’s, too, Daniel and I stayed out of the picture as much as possible.
The girls agreed to fit the color scheme of the flowers for the rest of the wedding, using the purple flower I chose for the boutonnières as the base flower for the bouquet. Okay, now I was starting to understand why I had to be here for the flower shop thing.
“You ready for this, Tommy?” Daniel asked.
“For the wedding?” I asked.
“Forget the wedding. That’s the easy part. Are you ready for the marriage?” Daniel wasn’t grilling me. In fact, he was speaking to me in a casual way, as if he was trying to be a friend.
“I’m not exactly sure if I’m ready. All I know is, I want to be with your daughter all the time. I have never felt this way about anybody or anything.”
Daniel grinned. “To be young and in love… I remember it well. You want to know the only thing that’s better than that?”
“What is that?” I asked.
“To be old and still be in love. It is even better.”
“Really?”
Daniel looked me in the eye and said, “I love my wife more today than I ever have. It’s a bond that is unbreakable. My hope and my prayer is that Maya and you can experience what Margaret and I have.”
“Thank you, Daniel. It is my prayer, too. You and Margaret have become my coaches for what works in a marriage. You two do it so well. I mean that.”
Daniel squeezed my shoulder and I would remember that touch for the rest of my life. It said, “Welcome to the family, son,” without him having to say it aloud.
Eventually, Maya and her mom were done with the flower order, Daniel let the salesperson run his credit card, and we all headed out to the parking lot.
5:08 p.m. We were in the parking lot of the floral shop getting ready to go to dinner, kind of standing by our cars, as if we were saying goodbye for a long time, instead of just meeting up at the restaurant in a short time.
I had no idea that this moment would play out in my head a million times after this night.
“Hey, Tommy,” Maya said to me. “I’m going to ride with my parents to dinner. My mom bought some new Bride magazines and I want to look through them with her.”
“Oh, wow, is there more stuff to buy for the wedding?” I looked at Daniel. “Let me know if you want me to whip out my credit card, because yours is probably taking a swan dive.”
Daniel laughed. “I got it, but thanks for your generous offer. Margaret and I have been saving for this occasion for years.”
Maya beamed. It was so wonderful to see the love in this family, and the appreciation.
“Where do I meet you next?”
“The place I want to take you guys is this mom-and-pop Italian place off of Weir Canyon Road,” Daniel said. Weir Canyon was about twenty minutes up the freeway from where we were.
I said, “Sure thing, I’ll just follow.”
“It’s not too far from here,” Daniel said.
“It’s actually near where we live. I think I might know the place. Is it called Edddie’s with three D’s?”
“Yes, it is,” Daniel laughed. “Have you eaten there?”
“Nope. Not yet.”
Then a feeling of dread came over my body. I looked at Maya and said, “Why don’t you go with me and you and your mother can look at the magazines later?” Right then, I knew what that unease had been
all day. Something was about to happen and I was right on the edge of calling it déjà vu. I was trying to be cool, but my werewolf intuition was off the charts. This sick feeling had haunted me all day. And now, I knew what it was. It was dread.
“Please, babe,” Maya said, wrapping her arms around my waist. “It’s important to my mom.” There, she did it. She played the mom card. And she used it in a way that there was no defense to it.
I smiled and said the words, “Go right ahead. I will follow behind.”
“Not too close. You’ll make my dad nervous if you follow too close.”
“I’ll cover the rear. Just tell your dad not to even worry about me.” My mouth started to go dry as my ears rang with my increased blood pressure and a sick feeling of dread overtook me.
We had all done this before in a nightmare.
“No!” I cried out loud, unable to stop myself.
“What’s wrong?” Maya asked.
“You didn’t kiss me goodbye.”
“Silly. You kissed me in the flower shop.”
“That wasn’t a goodbye kiss. It was a kiss for how pretty you looked holding that purple-and-white test bouquet they made for you.” What the hell was I saying? Why was I trying so hard here?
“You’re silly. Goodbye.” She tilted her chin up to me for a kiss.
I gave Maya a big, intimate kiss. It was a bonding kiss, a goodbye kiss, a grieving kiss. I moaned into her mouth and twisted my tongue with hers. It was the most intimate kiss I had ever given her in front of anyone.
I wanted to keep her a prisoner of my kiss and she knew it. She gently backed off.
She whispered, “I will see you in a few minutes.” She paused. “Don’t tailgate like you usually do in traffic. Just relax.”
“Right.” I headed to my Mustang. My heart was hammering. I was sweating. For the first time since I had been a werewolf, I wasn’t hungry for dinner. Not one little bit.
6:25 p.m. I waited for Daniel’s blue Toyota minivan to back out of the floral shop parking lot. I could see the girls looking at the new bridal magazines through the window and chattering away. What can you do? Stand between a mother and a daughter about wedding details?
