The Manager
Page 14
—
Once they’d whisked Ryan Byrne away for treatment and slapped some bandages on Jesse, the emcee prepared the crowd for a big announcement.
“Ladies and … Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, waiting for the deafening cheers to settle.
Jesse pushed his stool into the middle of the ring and held Tina’s hand while she climbed up on top of it.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Mankiller’s manager has something to say about his upcoming fight.” He gave the microphone to Tina.
The camera circled in on my sister. Newspaper journalists raced to the edge of the ring.
I can’t watch this, I told myself. I started walking toward the back wall in search of my father. He was heading toward me and we met halfway.
“Ellie!” He grabbed me and gave me a hug. Then he looked up at Tina in the ring. “Thank God she didn’t go through with it,” he said. “She isn’t going to—”
“I don’t know, Dad. But look what she’s done! She’s helped Jesse Mankiller to win. And Ryan to lose!”
“I’ll figure something out for us,” said my father. “I just want you two to come home, okay?”
Tina’s voice reverberated throughout the building as she spoke into the microphone.
“As you all know,” she said, “in September, Mr. Mankiller will be fighting here in Boston for the world title.”
The crowd roared.
“And …” She waited a few seconds. “And he has asked me to announce the name of his permanent manager.”
Permanent manager?
I looked at Dad, and he shrugged.
“If he will accept the position, Mr. Mankiller feels the best man for the job – the only man for the job – is my father, Sandy MacKenzie.”
The journalists started popping questions. Tina overrode them all.
“A former world-class boxer, Sandy MacKenzie now trains many fine athletes from his gym in Sydney, Cape Breton. I understand he’s in the house tonight….”
The lights started dancing and circling the arena, trying to find my father.
“Dad!” I hollered over the booming applause. “You’re going to be – you’re going to be Jesse’s manager!” He was stunned – we both were – and I nudged him into the aisle. Then I lifted my father’s arm into the air and called out, “Here he is! Here’s Sandy MacKenzie!”
The spotlight followed him as he made his way to the ring, and Jesse lifted the rope for him to duck underneath. Then the two of them shook hands.
If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn there were tears in my dad’s eyes. I couldn’t tell, because there were too many in my own.
And then I understood. I understood everything.
Tina knew Ryan Byrne wasn’t going to make it to the top; he’d never save our gym. She knew that Jesse would be the one to go the distance. She knew that he’d be the one to keep our father out of the mines.
—
Bonita and Paul pushed through the crowd until they found us, and Dan wasn’t far behind. Tina and I were standing in the corridor near the ring, and my father was in the dressing room with Jesse. Paul congratulated Tina, then hurried off to see Jesse.
“And you said men weren’t interested in you,” teased Bonita. Then she hugged my sister.
“Great about your dad,” said Dan. “He deserves this.”
“He certainly does,” said Bonita. “So what happens now?” she asked Tina. “Are you—”
“I’m not going to the hospital, if that’s what you want to know,” Tina said. “Except to talk to Dr. Campbell and thank him.”
“You’re not?” asked Dan. “It’s such a good—”
“I’ve given this a lot of thought over the last few weeks, and – well, I’ve decided to let someone else have my place in the trial. Someone who can really use the help.”
“But it’s—”
“I don’t need the operation,” said Tina.
The dressing room door swung open, and my father came out smiling. Behind him was Paul, and then came Jesse, looking as gorgeous as ever.
I’m sure that Dan and Bonita thought he was the reason why Tina didn’t need the operation anymore. But I knew better. I knew she never needed it in the first place.
EPILOGUE
Tina went back to high school. Back to Steinbeck and Cannery Row and all the things she couldn’t stand. She completed her courses and even went on to college. My father trained and managed Jesse and, with some help from Tina and her salve, he won the world title and defended it many times.
I haven’t seen Jesse in years; Bonita told me he bought a nice place in Truro for his family and that Meryl had turned her life around completely. And she heard that he’d married a young woman from Oklahoma.
Tina’s married now too. But I know that she often thinks about the summer of 1979 and our trip to Boston. And Jesse. I am sure she thinks about him.
I became a teacher, and it was when I was moving from Sydney to Halifax that I came across the letter Dot had written to Johnny Carson. Tina and I opened it together.
Dear Johnny,
My name is Dot Valentine. You might remember me as Dorothy Dean. We met thirty years ago, in 1949, in Bar Harbor, Maine. I was eighteen at the time, and you weren’t much older yourself.
We spent a lot of time together and I’ve never had such fun, before or since. I still live in Maine, have seven children and not much else, but I haven’t missed your show once since it went on the air.
When a visitor came along this summer, Tina is her name, I knew it was my chance to get this letter directly to you. I’ve tried mailing letters many times, and have received fourteen autographed photos from members of your staff, but have been unable to reach you personally, to say hello and wish you well.
I hope you remember me.
God bless,
Dorothy (Dean) Valentine
It took several calls, but we finally got through to Mr. Carson and read the letter to him. He did remember Dot and even said hello to her on his program, not long before he retired.
I asked Tina if she thought Dot was watching. She said she didn’t care, but by the look on her face, I could tell she really did.
The research and writing of this novel benefitted by support of an Ontario Arts Council Writers’ Works in Progress grant.
Many thanks to Marianne Ward for her invaluable contributions, and to Paul MacDougall, author of Distinction Earned: Cape Breton's Boxing Legends 1946-1970 (CBU Press).
Caroline Stellings
Caroline is an award-winning author and illustrator of books for children and young adults, including the best-selling Malagawatch Mice series from CBU Press. Her novel The Contest (Second Story Press) won the ForeWord Book of the Year Award and, along with The Malagawatch Mice and the Cat Who Discovered America (CBU Press), was a finalist for the Hackmatack Children’s Choice award. Caroline lives in Waterdown, Ontario.
Also published by CBU Press:
The Malagawatch Mice and the Church that Sailed
Skippers Save the Stone /
Na Sgiobairean agus an Lia-Fàil
Around the Year with the Malagawatch Mice /
Feadh na Bliadhna Comhla ri Luchain Mhalagawatch