“Whew . . . yes, as I’ll ever be.”
Dario got out of the truck and came around to my side to let me out. By the time I had stepped onto the driveway, Veronika was right there to draw me into a warm, heartfelt hug. At that exact moment, we became two women sharing in the emotion of now having this beautiful kid in common.
“Thank you for my grandson, Chanel,” she said, looking into my tear-drenched eyes. “We are family.”
I nodded through the tears because words were difficult to pull off. So much was hitting me at once and the most prominent was the fact that for the first time, I saw my baby’s eyes in another person. Rai had his grandmother’s eyes. He really had her eyes!
“Are you ready to go inside so we can all talk?” she asked.
The soothing feeling of Dario’s hand traveled down my back and I managed to respond with, “Yes.”
Veronika reached down to grab my shaking hand into hers. “Okay,” she remarked, choking back tears of her own. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 56
Chanel
The closer we got inside the manor—if that’s what it was. It was certainly huge enough for the title!—the tighter my grip became on Dario’s hand. Had I been paying enough attention, I’m sure I would’ve discovered that my blood circulation was fighting for survival. I would’ve thought that with having him to hold onto, I would’ve been in a place where the comfort was enough to keep me calm. But I was wrong. On the other side, I barely felt Veronika holding onto me as we chartered into the unknown. It was an unknown that would soon be a major part of life for everyone present.
My world was about to change drastically, and so was my baby’s. He’d been through so much in such a short period of time that I was just hoping that it wasn’t too much for him to handle.
My maternal instincts had me wanting to run to Rai’s side and latch onto him so tightly that we were sharing in the same air supply. I wanted to pull him in close and shield him as I always had . . . or was it me that I wanted to shield? I didn’t know. But realizing that this moment was external to what had always been just the two of us, was a pain that I hadn’t prepared myself for. Could you even be prepared for something like this?
Watching Rai and Freddie give each other what I guessed was their version of a ‘bro hug’, made my heart warm. Rai didn’t have any sisters or brothers, and though he had a multitude of friends, he now had family outside of my small side of the family, to call his own. I sighed inwardly.
When I stepped inside of the extremely large foyer with the sky-high ceilings and tasteful decorations, I took in the scenery of the elegant home, but I couldn’t fully appreciate it—yet. All eyes were on Veronika when she released my hand and walked over to an attractive, beautifully designed, aquamarine glass cabinet and pointed to a few frames for Christoph to retrieve for her.
“Rai . . .” Veronika called out, softly.
For some reason hearing her call out to my baby so personal, and so intimate, made my heart do a light jolt. The thumping of my heart’s beat was so fierce and so loud that I swore it could be heard by everyone in the room.
“Yes, ma’am?” Rai responded to her.
“Can you come here, sweetheart?”
“But Ma!” Freddie called out. “I want to give Rai his birthday—!”
While Rai made his way over to Veronika, I shot a quick glance over at Antonina, who was already dabbing at the corner of her eyes. Giuseppe made sure that he had a comforting arm around her in the same way that his son had one around me. Christoph stood not too far from his wife after having sat the frames on the table that she stood next to.
“Freddie,” Dario quickly interjected, but not quickly enough for Rai who turned around to face us on his way to Veronika.
Smiling big, he asked, “Is this some sort of surprise for my birthday?”
“You could say that, sweetheart,” Veronika answered. “Come on,” she urged. “I want to show you something,” she said pointing at the three framed pictures that portrayed Lucas at various stages of life. I had finally gathered a bit of courage and stepped forward to join them. I needed to be with my son.
When Rai felt my hands around his shoulders, he turned around to look at me briefly before asking, “What’s wrong?”
“My dear boy,” Veronika said, choking back tears. “My dear, beautiful, Rai. You have no way of knowing just how much joy you have brought to my life . . . to my heart.”
“Ma, what’s wrong?” Freddie asked, suddenly appearing at his mother’s side.
“She’s fine, son,” Christoph reassured him, pulling his back to him, allowing Veronika to continue.
“You’re in his image a lot,” Veronika continued. “His eyes. Oh my God. You have his eyes. You have my eyes.”
“Huh?” Rai asked, confusion present in his voice.
“These pictures are of my son, Lucas, who I lost some years ago.”
“I know about Lucas. Dario told me they were close like brothers. I’m really sorry.”
Veronika’s strength broke in half as tears began to form. I saw the struggle in her as she tried to keep her emotions at bay. “Yes . . . they were close,” she said, looking over at Dario.
I wanted to console her, but I knew that it was something that she needed to do. I stepped around to the front of Rai and grabbed Veronika’s hand into mine.
“Baby . . .” I began, rubbing the side of his face. “Lucas . . . Lucas . . . is your father. Veronika is your grandmother. Christoph is your grandfather. This is your family,” I revealed, breaking the news that also broke my heart into a thousand pieces. It wasn’t that I didn’t want it for my son; indeed, I did. It was that Veronika’s hurt transferred onto me in that moment—all of it.
My baby had just made it back to me where Veronika’s baby never would. It destroyed me. I had rushing visions of Rai hooked up to machinery. I saw his blood on the ground from that day. I saw Dario holding his cousin in his arms, devastated. I saw Veronika receiving the news that her baby was gone forever. I saw it all. It broke me down and my tears rushed uncontrollably. The struggle to remain on my feet was severe.
“I don’t understand, Mom,” Rai relayed, looking from me then to his grandmother, who softly cupped his chin between both palms.
With tears falling from her eyes and down around her cheeks, Veronika spoke. “You, honey . . . are my gift from your father. You are my gift,” she cried. “You are my gift . . .”
CHAPTER 57
Dario
The next few months flew by in a blur of excitement. Up until earlier this year, I could probably count the number of times I’d even said the word, ‘excitement’, and it would all be on one hand. There were still moments where I’d stop and reflect on where I was—from being in love for the first time in my life, to finding out that Lucas had a son. Wow, that one alone still gets me. It’s still the one thing that tugs at my emotions on any given day. All of that and more is what continuously forces me to look at just how fortunate I am. Soon I’d be retiring from the only occupation I’ve ever held—a job that saved me from self-destructing. A job that’s gotten me through many of life’s worst moments. Leaving it behind would be bittersweet, but for sure with zero regrets.
The families were good and bonds were being formed—even between Zie Veronika, my mother, and Denise—who had not only started to hang out every so often, but who were also collaborating on an engagement party for me and Chanel.
Wicked was done and business was good. In fact, it was better than good. As I’d always predicted, the location was in a prime spot, and being there had really paid off. Situated adjacent to Raiders training camp, it served to attract the attention of a mixture of clientele—celebrity and not.
Yeah, life was for sure happening . . . in a good way. What took up the bulk of my time lately were the preparations for my last dance in the octagon. I was actually looking forward to being outside of the ring and doing more real world stuff: being a businessman, a husband, and one day, a father
. There was an entire life to live that I’d never stopped to investigate. Anger wouldn’t allow it. And a broken heart kept me from caring whether it found its way to me at all. Chanel, in all her essence, came along and changed all of that—just by being her. And Rai . . . he just added the icing on the cake.
“Whoa! Shit!”
When Darrius, my trainer, caught me off guard with a combination of punches to my jaw and upper chest, I had to shake myself from my reverie, and get back in mode to fully mesh with the moment. Either that, or get fucked up, and the latter was not an option.
“Man! What’s up with that?!” Darrius yelled out behind a peek-a-boo guard stance. “Where’s ya head at?! That shit ain’t s’posed to happen, DC!”
“You got lucky!” I laughed, as I took off throwing and landing a few upper-body jabs of my own.
“Alright! Prove that shit, then!”
And that’s what I did as we went back and forth, strike-for-strike. About a half an hour into my training session with Darrius, I noticed Wayne strolling into Wicked. As usual, he was dressed in designer gear: the three-piece tailored suit and tie, along with the shoes. It was like the guy needed those things to feel validated. Above all else, I knew that the way he presented himself was to attract women. Sometimes it was hilarious, and sometimes I just wanted to ask him what the fuck kind of neglect he endured as a child. To top off his ensemble, he was wearing a pair of sunglasses! We were a month away from December—the coldest part of the year—and there he was with sunglasses on when it was overcast enough to produce a goddamn storm!
“What are you laughin’ at?” Darrius asked, looking in Wayne’s direction. “Ohhh, I see,” he acknowledged, coughing out a chuckle. “That dude is so GQ I don’t know what to do, man.”
“Right?”
“You wanna stop for a minute?” Darrius queried.
“Yeah, let me see what he wants. Even though, I’m sure I already know.”
“He still trying to talk you into—”
“Yep,” I responded, cutting Darrius off. Darrius knew the situation. Wayne had been on my nuts for the past few months about reconsidering retirement. I’d repeated to him more times than I owed him, that I was done. Even though I’d made it perfectly clear, he insisted on trying to reverse my decision . . . at least twice a week.
“Hey, Darrius, how’s it going?”
“Going good, Wayne. How’s it going wit’ you?”
“Not too bad. Stopped by to see the outgoing champ. Gotta say, though,” he remarked with a sarcastic huff. “I’m a bit disappointed, DC! Your swing is looking a little weak!” he said to me, with a crooked smile stuck to his face.
I turned to Darrius, who hadn’t yet stepped out of the ring. “Let’s pick this back up in a few, D.”
“Cool.”
“What’s up with those hands, man?” Wayne goaded some more, removing his sunglasses in the process. “Is that what being pussy-whipped does?”
Darrius turned around, his brow furrowed, as he made his way out of the area. “Damn, dude, that shit is hella disrespectful,” he called out in response to Wayne.
I waited for Darrius to get out of earshot, and then slipped through the ropes. I made my way over to a still-smiling Wayne. Without warning, I tapped him with a swift punch that was just enough to stun him, and cause him to stumble back a few feet.
“Shit! Fuck!” he hollered, rapidly twitching his head side to side to shake off the consequences of his mouth. He laid a consoling hand over his reddening jaw. “What the fuck was that for?!”
“Don’t ask stupid-ass questions, Wayne,” I spat, grabbing my towel from the side of the ring, and wiping away the sweat from my face and neck with it.
“What’s stupid about it?!” he asked, angrily. “Fuuuck!” He shook his head, dropped his hand from his jaw, and stepped forward into my space.
I tossed the towel over my shoulder. “Be bold if you want to,” I warned.
He quickly rethought his position and cleared my space. “I didn’t come here to fight with you, man. I’m sorry. I came in all wrong.”
“Yeah, you did. You’ve been doing that shit a lot, and you’ve gotten passes. I’m telling you today to let that shit go.”
“We’re friends, DC. I figured . . . you know . . . that we could kid like that.”
“We’re friends, yeah. But kidding like that . . . nah, not at all. And I shouldn’t have to tell you that shit, either.”
“Okay. So, now I know.”
“Now you know? Yeah, okay.”
“Hey, in my defense I never saw you in a relationship before, so I didn’t—”
“Wayne, cut the bullshit. What are you here for?” I asked walking away from him. The urge to hit his ass again was too strong, so turning my back on him was best.
“Well, it sure in the hell wasn’t to be fucking assaulted,” he charged, from behind me. “I was coming to see if you gave any more thought to our conversation the other day.”
“Trust me, you didn’t get assaulted,” I advised, while leading the way to my office. Once we were inside, Wayne closed the door and took a seat while I chose to remain standing. “You’re lucky it was just a tap. It could’ve been worse.”
“Listen man . . .”
“Listen to what, Wayne? My last fight is next month and that’s it. I’m done. I did what I needed to do with boxing and now I’m off to the next phase of my life. You need to be okay with that, or I can look for new management.”
Wayne rose from his seat and stood with his hands in his pockets. He walked closer to where I was. “Now, now, it doesn’t need to come to that, DC. If that’s how you took it, then I apologize. Not my intent. I’m just looking out for my friend and my favorite client. I just want you to be absolutely sure that it’s what you wanna do. As your friend and your manager . . . for all these years . . . I’d be less than loyal if I didn’t do that.”
“Or is it that you didn’t plan for your future the way that you should’ve? You’re afraid that you can’t keep your closet full of Armani and your designer sunglasses collection? Your house? Your cars? You were riding the money train, but not managing your own money. Is that it? Because if it is, that’s not my problem. I’m not your daddy, Wayne. I’m not responsible for keeping you in the lifestyle that you’ve grown accustomed to. That’s not my fucking job.”
Wayne threw his palms up in defeat. “DC, it’s just me looking out. Nothing more and nothing less. Like I said, I just wanted to make sure with us being in the eleventh hour that you’re absolutely sure that this is what you want to do. It’s my job, man.” He smirked slightly. “The extra shit, not so much. It was all in fun. You know that you and Chanel have my best wishes. I plan to be at the engagement party, the wedding, and everything else I’m lucky enough to be invited to. I think she’s an amazing woman and that you guys are good for each other.”
I didn’t know if I was being too hard on his ass or not, if I was under the stress of the fight or what, so I decided to lay off and leave things as they were. Take him at his word that he was just looking out. I guess I could see things from his standpoint, being that he had been there for the duration. However, it didn’t stop me from glaring at him for a few more moments.
“I’m not your enemy, DC. Never have been, and never will be.” He extended his hand to me. “Are we good?”
I gave him a crooked smile, reached out to enter a handshake, and then responded, “Yeah, fancy lad, we’re good.”
CHAPTER 58
Dario
December 2015
Las Vegas, NV
♫ I won't deny it, I'm a straight ridah
You don't wanna fuck with me
Got the police bustin at me
But they can't do nuttin to a G ♫
It took me all of eight seconds to come up with the song that I was gonna come out to. Tupac was perfect. There was really no other song that would have been more on time for my entrance for the last fight I would have. I was going out a champ and not many could s
ay that. To be undefeated my entire boxing career was something I would forever be proud of. With my family there to watch and cheer me on, made the event even more epic. My mother never came to the fights because she didn’t want to have to witness a loss. She had stuck to that my entire boxing career—even with all the victories. But tonight, she was right there with everybody else.
My opponent was someone new to me, but just like the ones before, his mouth preceded him. He’d been in the media spouting off threats as well on his social media and all that mess. Same story, different dude. The thing that they hadn’t learned about me yet, unfortunately, was that I wasn’t a talker. There was no need for me to scream from the rooftops that I was coming for blood, I just did. Delo Watts would find out soon enough.
When the bell dinged for the fight to begin, I had one thing on mind and that was to finish this fight so that I could get my celebrations happening. The moment we entered battle mode and dude was able to land a punch, I knew I needed to refocus. I snapped out of the celebratory part of the evening real quick. With his strike, the crowd went crazy with a mixture of boo’s and ahh’s. The smile on Delo’s face told me that he felt as though he’d just hit the jackpot.
“Thought I was gonna be an easy lay, huh?!” he bragged as he threw his next punch.
When I blocked, then locked on his jaw with a left hook, I said nothing, just offered him a smile. He bounced back to escape the second punch I sent his way, but I followed, and connected him twice, making his head bob back from the impact.
“Easy lay?” That’s a fucked up word choice. Makes you sound like a woman!” I taunted. “You said that shit with too much ease!” I remarked, as I connected with his jaw once again. I knew that we shouldn’t have been talking, but he’d started it and so I was going to finish it . . . and him.
After the third round, the momentum had intensified. The moment that the bell sounded, Delo rushed at me. I should've stopped him but I let him progress thinking that he'd come with something more than what he'd had so far. Instead, he immediately wrapped me in a clinch. I already knew that he was leaning toward desperate. If he was everything he said he was pre-bout, there would've been no reason for him to try foolish tactics so early in the match. But he had and it was for sure going to work against him.
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