Next, they talk about his opponent, Tyler “Striker” Greene. Tyler is on his sixth straight win, although he has never fought Kennedy. They talk about him being a “Powerhouse Boxer,” and they say that if Kennedy expects to keep his championship belt, he’ll have to work for it.
I turn off the television and Leah is standing there with her arms crossed. “You’re going to that fight, aren’t you?” Damn, she’s pissed. Her pregnancy makes her more concerned about me. She wants me to be around to raise our child.
“I am.”
“Walter and Dad are going, too.” It’s not a question but a statement. I only nod. “When were you going to tell me?”
“I was going to tell you over dinner.”
“You heard what they said about Kennedy — he’s in great shape. And you still want to fight him.”
“I do. I want to fight the best. Defeating the worst brings me no satisfaction.”
“Let’s go. I’m ready.” I watch her storm towards the front door.
“Leah, let’s talk about this,” I say as I stand up from the couch.
She turns around and storms back towards me. “You want to talk about this?”
I have to look down at her. “I do.” My height usually intimidates people, but not Leah.
“Fine, I don’t want you to go and I don’t want you to fight anymore. I don’t like it and I don’t like worrying about you out there in the ring.”
I didn’t expect her to be so blunt. I know she worries about me. I take her hand and we both sit on the couch together. “Leah, I’m sorry you worry.”
“Did you hear them? He’s in great shape. He’s been in hiding for training. You lost the fight when he wasn’t in this great of shape.”
“In case you didn’t know, we must be evenly matched. I work out five and six days a week for eight hours. I run 20 miles and I beat the shit out of a punching bag for hours. I do that so that the next time I’m in the ring with him, I’ll come out wearing that championship belt.”
“Robert, I worry about you. I don’t want to see you hurt or worse.”
I wipe the tears from her cheek. I hate seeing her cry. “Leah, one more fight with him and I swear, it’ll be my last fight. I’ll hang up my gloves, forever.”
She wipes the tears from her eyes and whispers, “Ace, you’ll have to survive it first.” She stands up and walks out the door.
Leah
Robert left to work out, and my mind keeps replaying what they said about Kennedy being in great shape. I was pretty upset when I learned that Dad and Walter are also going to Las Vegas with Gus and Robert. Robert isn’t going to stop until he beats Kennedy. I get online and search to see what is being said about the fight. I have to see what Kennedy’s been up to. I see a recent picture of him and he looks like he’s on steroids. My stomach does a flip. I continue to read and it says that Kennedy has been exclusively training with a new trainer and if anyone plans to fight him, they need to be prepared to bring it.
Robert isn’t fighting him, but he and his entourage of Dad and Walter are going to check out Kennedy’s moves. Gus got them ringside seats. I guess if you want to watch him, that’s the best place for it. I like Gus, but at times like these, it’s very difficult. I search for the prices of the tickets and they are very expensive. All the good seats are, of course, already taken. My phone rings; it’s my mom.
“Good morning,” I answer a little too happily. I don’t want her to know I’m up to something. If she thinks I’m planning a trip to Vegas with Robert, she won’t be happy.
“Good morning to you. What are you doing this morning?”
“Nothing,” I lie. “What’s up?”
“Do you want to go to breakfast with Margie and me?”
“I’m meeting Brooke to discuss her book signing. I can see if she wants to have breakfast first.”
“Great, meet us at the Broken Egg at Lakewood Ranch in an hour.”
“See you soon.”
I hang up and call Brooke to see if she wants breakfast first. She does. I meet her at the shop and we drive over together. Mom and Margie are already there having coffee. Brooke and I sit down and we both order orange juice.
“What are you guys doing today?” I ask.
“We’re going antiquing after we leave here,” Mom says, then sips her coffee.
Brooke says, “I love antiquing. I haven’t gone since we moved to Florida.”
“You two should come with us.” Margie looks from me to Brooke and back to me again.
I look at Brooke and I can see hope in her eyes. “We can always talk about the book signing later.”
“Well, antiquing it is.”
After breakfast, we all go to some antique shops. Margie says, “Once when Robert was three or four years old, I took him to an antique shop and he was fascinated with the skeleton keys. When I told him what they were called, he said, ‘“That’s stupid, skeletons don’t need keys.”’
In one antique store, we saw this sign: “Antiques. Grandma had it. Mom threw it out. I bought it back.”
When I finally go home, Robert is still not home. Instead of starting dinner, I decide a nap is in order.
I wake up to a dark room. The bathroom door is closed and the shower is on. The light peeking out from under the bathroom door is the only light in the room. Still surprised that it’s dark out, I am even more shocked to see that it’s after 9:00 p.m. I wonder how long Robert’s been home.
I stay in bed and wait for him to finish. He walks out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He stops suddenly when he sees me awake.
“How long have you been home?” I ask.
“A couple hours.” He walks over to his dresser and slides on a pair of white boxer briefs, a black pair of sleep pants, and a crisp white t-shirt.
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“I figured you needed your rest. Dinner’s almost done if you want to eat.”
“I do, just give me a minute.”
Robert and I eat mostly in silence. We still have some tension between us about Kennedy and the fight.
“Robert, I was thinking about the fight with Kennedy,” I say, not looking at him but playing with my food.
“If this is going to turn into an argument, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I wanna go to Vegas with you.”
“Damn it, Leah,” he says with a raised voice.
“I’m going with you, or I’ll go without you. But one thing is sure, I’ll be at that fight.”
“Why? What’s you being there going to prove?”
“I don’t know,” I say honestly.
“And yet, you’re determined to be there?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll be five months pregnant sitting at a boxing fight at ringside seats. This should be interesting.”
We go to bed angry, but he still reads to me and I still cuddle into him.
Today is Brooke’s book signing and Jo made some of her mini blackberry and cherry tarts along with some mini blueberry and banana nut muffins. Because she bakes so many sweets, we sometimes call her the Bad Tooth Fairy. Thankfully she also made some mini quiches and some mini sandwiches. She and Carl set up a stunning table for hors d’oeuvres, punch, coffee, and tea. Brooke, Emma, and Molly set up her table with a white linen cloth and displayed each book on a gold metal plate stand on the left side of the table. Molly, our friend, designed the banner and made Brooke’s book covers. Bethany and I stand back and take several photos of Brooke sitting at the table. The banner is behind her, and it has her name and the titles of all three of her books, as well as some purchasing links, nicely displayed on it. The banner stands about five feet tall and stands about three feet off the floor. It’s the perfect size to display behind her when she is sitting down.
“I think I’m going to have a heart attack,” Brooke says, looking almost sick.
“Don’t be silly; this is what you’ve been working for.”
“Who knew people would love
Dante?”
“I did. Did you not read those books?” I look at her, she looks at me, and we both laugh. “You wrote them, so of course you read them.”
“They are brilliant,” Bethany confirms.
The bell over the door chimes and in walks Dove, carrying her overly large camera. Behind her is … a cameraman would be my guess. “Looks like it’s show time,” I whisper to Brooke.
I walk over and greet Dove with a hug. She pats my baby bump and tells me how happy she is for us. Brooke walks over and shakes Dove’s hand.
“Thank you so much for agreeing to do this,” I say.
“Don’t be silly. Brooke’s famous in our town and I couldn’t be happier to interview her and do the follow up to the story with the book signing. I told you I was going to be following up on this story.”
I stand back with Brooke’s husband, Brice, and Robert and watch the interview. Robert nudges me and I look in the direction he’s looking in. Cars are pulling into the parking lot, and a line is already forming outside the locked doors.
I say, “Brice, I think your wife’s a rock star.”
He looks outside and a proud smile forms on his lips. “It would appear so.”
I look over at him and ask, “Have you read her books?”
“I haven’t. But I can tell you everything that’s in there, including the characters’ names.” He says they’re very fortunate to be able to pay off some bills with Brookes’ royalties.
I nod and look back outside at the quickly growing crowd. “How many books did she bring?”
“Not enough,” he says, looking outside.
After the interview, Dove stays a little longer and takes some shots of the fans and of Brooke signing books. Bethany and I refill the food and drinks as needed and Robert entertains Brice. Because they are the only two guys in the building, I’m not surprised they are hiding out in the kitchen. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Jo stocked the refrigerator with subs for them. The signing goes well and, some of the fans already own the books they want to be signed. Angel, Sara, and Brea come towards the end of the signing; I know it’s so they can stay and mingle.
Robert comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me. I lean into him and sigh. “Looks like a huge success,” Robert whispers into my ear.
“It is. Brooke is on her way to being a New York Times bestseller.”
“Do you think so?”
“I do. Look at her.” She is standing up and getting pictures taken with some fans. Emma is sitting at the table with her, acting as her personal assistant.
“Are you tired?” he asks, concerned.
“I am. I feel like I’m becoming anemic like I did when I was pregnant with Jamie.”
“We can call the doctor on Monday about your fatigue.”
I nod and we just watch the last few stragglers.
“Did you see Molly?” I finally ask.
“I did. She looks good and I think married life is agreeing with her.”
“I think so, too.”
“She said she hopes that she sees us at church on Sunday.”
“It’s been a few weeks since we were there.”
Dove snaps some pictures and tells us she thinks she has everything she needs and leaves. I watch as she interviews a few patrons sitting outside. I smile. Brooke really is on her way. Once everything is cleaned up and put away, Robert and I lock up and go home. I fall asleep in the car on the way.
I wake up feeling refreshed. I make smoothies and vegetables with egg-white omelets for breakfast. Robert is downstairs so I am assuming he didn’t sleep well. I think Robert still has nightmares about the accident, but he won’t tell me. Even when I ask, I think he isn’t completely honest with me. When I open the door, I hear the shower on. I text Bethany while I’m waiting for Robert.
Leah: What are your plans today?
Bethany: No plans. Kyle’s golfing, but he’ll be home by noon.
Leah: Do you guys want to come over for a cookout and maybe a swim?
Bethany: Are you up to it? You looked pretty tired yesterday.
Leah: I feel fine. About 4:00?
Bethany: Sounds great, we’ll see you then.
Leah: Great, we’ll see you soon.
Robert
Time passes quickly and we are getting ready to leave for Las Vegas for the Kennedy fight. Leah insisted on coming. When I say insisted, I mean demanded or even forced her way into this trip. I tried everything to get her to stay home and nothing worked. My last hope was the doctor saying it wasn’t safe for her to travel during her pregnancy, and even that failed. So… what was going to be a training/learning/observation two-day trip is now a four-day family vacation. Gus, his wife, Dove, our parents, and Bethany and Kyle are also coming as a late honeymoon. As you can see, I really put my foot down.
“What time’s the fight tomorrow?” Leah asks as she puts more clothing into her suitcase.
“It starts at 8:00 p.m.” I search for the nicest way to say this. “Leah, I really don’t want you going to the fight,” I say as nicely as I can.
“And I really don’t want you boxing,” she says just as nicely. She stands there with her hands on her hips, daring me to say anything. I don’t. She stands there wearing a pink maternity shirt and a white pair of capris and yet she intimidates the hell out of me. My wife is a mighty one that I can’t say no to. Jamie used to say that I was the boss in the gym and Mommy was the boss at home.
When the last article of clothing is in her suitcase, I know she is ready. It was the last thing she needed to do. When we get to the foyer, Gus and Dove are just pulling into the driveway.
“Just in time,” Leah says as she opens the door and walks out onto the porch.
We meet everyone at the airport and the girls are all happy and giddy. Kyle and Bethany are sitting together in their own little world. The guys are going to Vegas strictly for the fight, but the girls have made up an itinerary for all of us, including sightseeing, shows, and gambling. Leah holds my hand as she looks from her window seat to the incredible view from the airplane. We pass over the Grand Canyon and she nudges me to look. She has never been to Vegas before. I can see the excitement on her face. “Ace, do you think if we have time, we can go there?”
The Grand Canyon is in Arizona; Las Vegas is in Nevada. The Grand Canyon is fairly close by, it’s in another state but only 4.5 hours away. People who visit Las Vegas often rent a car and drive to see the Grand Canyon. When flying, they often fly over it, just like we did.
“Anything for you, Sweets,” I say and I mean it. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.
We check into our hotel and thankfully we all got on the same floor. This should make it easier to find the others. We agree to meet in the casino in an hour. Bethany and Kyle pass on tonight’s events. They could have stayed home for what they have planned. Lucky bastard. “Do you want to stay in tonight?” I ask Leah hopefully.
“No, are you kidding? Did you hear all those bells and whistles coming from the casino and those lights flashing? I may get out here only once, and I plan to take advantage of it.”
Leah checks out the room and I begin to unpack. Once everything is put away, I ask, “Are you ready? We have some time before you have to meet the others.”
“Now?” she asks.
“I’m ready whenever you are. There’s a lot to see and do here and I thought I would introduce you to some slot machines.”
“In that case, I’m ready.”
We play some slots, meet up with the others, and have dinner. We walk the strip and stop outside of the Bellagio hotel and watch the water show. The water fountains are in rhythm with the song “I’m Proud to be an American.” Leah cries and I hold her close. It is a very sentimental show. Even without her pregnancy hormones, I think Leah would have still cried. This is the same hotel sponsoring the fight, but I don’t tell her that.
Leah and I hold hands as we walk the very busy strip. It’s getting dark and the whole city comes to life. “This pl
ace is so beautiful,” Leah says, excitedly.
Las Vegas really is beautiful. Even Zen masters have wanted to go there — not to gamble but to see the beautiful lights at night. Before coming to Vegas, Leah and I did some research, and we found that that many funny stories have been told about Vegas, including these:
• Famous entertainer Pearl Bailey had a brother named Bill Bailey, who was also an entertainer. He once had a job in Las Vegas, but the city was early in its history and so it was not nearly as famous then as it is now. While driving there, he came to a fork in the road. One sign pointed to Las Vegas, New Mexico; the other sign pointed to Las Vegas, Nevada. He ended up in the wrong Las Vegas.
• Fred Smith started the company FedEx, but early in its history, it ran into financial difficulties. Mr. Smith needed money because FedEx had only $5,000 in cash and a $24,000 jet fuel bill was due. Mr. Smith took the $5,000 to Las Vegas, gambled, and won $27,000. FedEx prospered, and now Mr. Smith is a billionaire.
• Las Vegas is known as Sin City, but many people get married there. Sometimes the people witnessing the wedding and even participating in it are simply people who happen to be nearby. It is possible at a wedding to have a wino as a witness and a prostitute as a flower girl. Nevertheless, the marriage ceremony may very well include these words: “Those whom God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”
• Film director Robert Altman and a friend named Reza Badiyi, who was born in Iran, once went on a road trip. When they arrived in Las Vegas, they were penniless. They pretended that Mr. Badiyi was a famous Middle Eastern prince who spent lots of money gambling, and a hotel gave them free room and board — then the real Middle Eastern prince showed up at the hotel. Fortunately, the real Middle Eastern prince was amused by what the two had done, and he treated them to a Las Vegas vacation.
We get back to the hotel and I watch as Leah plays the slots. She gets so excited when the lights on her machine light up. I watch and it makes me happy to see her happy. I still wish she wouldn’t go to the fight tomorrow, but I’m glad she’s here with me now. She cashes in her winning tickets and she squeals and her hands shake as they count the money and place it in her hands.
A Life Worth Fighting Page 12
