On the Ropes (Down for the Count) (11 page)

A smile crosses my face as I remember all the good and even some of the bad times here. I would’ve loved to have seen this place on its opening day because I’m sure it was great. Man, I bet Frankie was also a sight to see in his heyday. I wonder how often he’d gotten in the ring back then. On occasion, he does still spar with me, but he says his sciatica bothers him too much to do it often. He usually just sticks to being my “chief second”; head trainer. The thought of not training with him in this gym anymore actually makes me depressed.

I begin to think back to the brutal training Frankie put me through when I was prepping for the Golden Gloves. My body was so run down, he literally had to drag me out of my bed some mornings because I physically couldn’t get out of bed. That’s when his mantra for me began, “Never give up, kid. Never give up.” It’s what he used to chant to me when he could see the misery in my face as the tears ran down. When I felt like throwing in the towel and giving up, Frankie would get right in my ear and say it over and over again. He wouldn’t let me quit, even if I wanted to.

“Hey kid, you okay?” Frankie’s voice wakes me from my memory.

“Jesus, Frankie, why you sneaking up on me like that?”

“Sneaking up on you? I walked right past you. Where were you anyways?”

“Ah… I was just thinking about the ole days.”

“The ole days? What ‘bout em?”

“Nothin’ really, just how ‘Never give up’ started.”

“You’re not givin’ up on me, are you Gabriel?”

“No, nothin’ like that,” I shake my head.

“Well, what gives?”

“I’m just thinking about how much I’m gonna miss training in this place.”

Frankie does a double take at what I just said. Then a smile quickly forms on his old wrinkled face. “You’re gonna take Blaine’s offer?”

“Yeah,” I sigh.

“Gabriel, I think this is the smartest thing you’ve ever done in your life. Well, besides walking into this gym,” Frankie chuckles.

“God, I hope so, Frankie… I hope so,” I reply. I’m still second guessing my decision.

“There’s nothin’ to worry ‘bout, I’ll be with you the entire way. You’re not gonna get rid of me,” he smiles. “I’m gonna go call Blaine.”

“You can’t,” I stop him.

“And why the hell not?”

“Because it’s only five thirty.”

“Oh, right. Well, I’m gonna go prepare for the day. The kids will be showing up in no time. After you get back from taking them to school, we’ll call Blaine and tell him the fantastic news,” Frankie whistles happily as he walks to his office.

“Sounds like a plan.”

I watch him sit down behind his desk, his face still beaming. How can I
not
trust him? He’s always had my best interests at heart. He’s one of the only people who’ve been a constant in my life; no matter how much I fuck up, Frankie is always there.

The kids begin to show up and I go through my morning routine with them. When it comes time to walk them to school, I’m out the door quickly. I don’t fall for any of their stalling tactics this morning. A lot of these kids remind me a bit of myself when I was their age. They have an answer for everything and think they can pull one over on everyone. Little do they know, I wrote the book on excuses and lies for getting out of school. Well, except for the girls, they have one up on me. They use their “that time of the month” card and that usually sends Frankie and me into a tailspin. Neither of us knows how to deal with that. I’ve seen Frankie turn about five shades of red when one of the girls told him she had her period and couldn’t go to school. He had the school nurse on the phone so quickly, it was like she was on speed dial. The nurse explained to Frankie that having her period did not prevent her from attending school and to send her in with me. That was the last time Frankie fell for that line, but he still gets uncomfortable when one of the girls mentions it.

“Alright guys, let’s go… pick up the pace! I need to be back at the gym as soon as possible,” I say, loud enough to get their attention.

“You got a hot date or something, Saint?” Jeannette teases.

“No, Jeannette,” I answer her, “Frankie and I got some business to take care of.”

“I heard there was some really hot chick here last night,” Antonio chimes in.

“Where’d you hear that from?” I raise one eyebrow.

“Miguel. He lives in my building. He said this guy pulled up in some fancy Corvette, and the girl with him looked like a movie star. Are you gonna ask her out?”

I laugh. “No, I’m not gonna ask her out; she has a boyfriend. But yes, what I have to do involves the guy in the fancy Corvette.”

“Are you buying his car off of him?” Jonathan asks eagerly.

“Ha! I wish, but no. Now, that’s enough of the interrogation. I’ll tell you guys all about it on the way back from school.”

That seems to satisfy them and the rest of our walk to school is a pretty quiet one. Their minds must be reeling with questions to ask me later. After dropping them off at school, I jog back to the gym where Frankie’s anxiously waiting for me in his office. “It took you long enough!” he shouts as I walk through the door.

“Sorry Frankie, the kids were interrogating me the entire way to school. It was like the Spanish Inquisition and it kind of slowed us down a little.”

“Come on in here and have a seat, I’m gonna put Blaine on speaker phone so you can hear everything.”

I hurry into Frankie’s office, so that he won’t bitch at me further, and sit directly across from him. He picks up his ancient, corded black phone and hits the speaker button. The dial tone is so loud, I swear you can probably hear it in the locker room. Frankie holds a notebook in his hand and his eyes are straining to read what’s written, “Can you read me that number?” he asks as he holds it out to me.

Taking it from him, I stare down at the number, “How the hell do you read your own writing?” I joke.

“Obviously I can’t, since I’m having you read it to me.”

“Hold on, I think I have his number,” I reach into my pocket for my wallet. Opening it, I rifle through a bunch of scrap paper pieces. The majority of them have girls’ names and telephone numbers on them. I guess it’s been a while since I cleaned out my wallet because half of these names I don’t even recognize. I begin making two piles on the corner of Frankie’s desk; one for girls I remember and one for those I don’t.

“What are all those?” Frankie asks.

“Nothin’, just a few phone numbers.”

“Some phone numbers?” he scoffs. “Looks like a little more than a few.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while since I cleaned my wallet out.”

Frankie says nothing, but he gives me a look of disappointment and disgust.

“Found it!” I nearly jump out of my chair to hand it to him.

“Good, now read it to me,” Frankie orders.

“Eight-five-seven-sixty-six-twelve.”

We sit silently while the phone rings.

“This is Blaine,” I hear on the other end of the line.

“Hey Blaine, it’s Frankie.”

“Hey Frankie, it’s really great to hear from you,” Blaine replies eagerly.

“I have Gabriel sitting here in my office with me,” Frankie adds.

“Hey Saint, I hope you’re going to tell me what I want to hear!”

“We’ve talked about it, and we’ve agreed that it would be in Gabriel’s best interest for you to sponsor him, and for him to begin training at your gym.”

“This is fantastic news!” Blaine exclaims. “I’m so happy you’ve decided to join our team.”

Frankie gives me a look. He glares at me, then down at the phone, and he mouths, “Say something.”

“Thank you for giving me this amazing opportunity,” is all I can come up with.

I look up at Frankie and he’s waving his hand, egging me on to say more.

“I’m really looking forward to training at your gym and I can’t wait to see it.”

Frankie gives me the thumbs up.

“Why don’t you and Frankie come by today? We’re just putting the finishing touches on a few things and are slated to open this weekend. I’d love to get you in here and training by then. It’ll be great for publicity. We’re planning a huge event for Saturday morning; Channel Five will even be here.”

“What time would you like us there?” Frankie interrupts.

“Any time after ten will be fine. I’ll be heading over there in about forty-five minutes since I have a meeting with my contractor at nine.”

“Ten it is… we’ll see you then.”

“Saint, I’m really excited you decided to do this with me.”

“I’m excited to be working with you, as well. We’ll see you around ten.”

“See you then,” Blaine answers.

I look at Frankie; he nods his head and hangs up the phone.

“Well, I guess training is out today,” I smile coyly.

“Why do you say that?” Frankie looks at me, confused.

“’Cause we’re going to check out the new gym.”

“Oh kid, you’re not getting out of training. You’re packing your stuff and bringing it with us. We’re gonna break in Blaine’s new equipment even before he opens his doors.”

I raise my eyebrows at him.

“Don’t think for a minute we’re skipping a day.”

“Alright, if you say so,” I stand up. “I’m gonna go pack my gear.”

“Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision.”

—Muhammad Ali

We arrive at Blaine’s gym at exactly ten o’clock on the dot. Like usual, Frankie is right on time.

“Wow! This place is huge,” I’m in awe. “It must be twice as big as your gym.”

“Maybe not twice as big, but pretty close,” Frankie corrects me.

The two of us exit Frankie’s car and start to walk around towards the front door. The outside of the building is painted stark white, and there’s a large sign on the parking lot side revealing that “TKO” is the name of the gym.

“I’m gonna be boxing at a gym called ‘TKO’?” I laugh, shaking my head in disbelief.

“It’s just a name, kid. Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

“That’s easy for you to say! You’re not the one who’s gonna be fighting in less than a week with the announcer proclaiming, ‘Fighting out of TKO,’ and your name.”

Frankie pauses. “Since when do you care what people think?”

“I dunno,” I reply, shrugging my shoulders.

“It’s not
where
you train, it’s
who
trains you that matters.”

As we round the front of the building, we’re looking right into the gym. The front has floor to ceiling windows, so when people are stopped at the traffic light, they can see directly inside. The place looks just as large on the inside as it does from the outside. The ring, being centered right in the middle of the room, is set up to be the main attraction. It’s in pristine condition, unlike Frankie’s used and abused canvas. I notice, in complete wonder, that there are at least a half-dozen brand new, heavy bags hanging against the back wall and some speed bags as well, which Frankie doesn’t even have at his gym. To the left of the ring, there are three stair climbers, four ellipticals, two rowing machines, and five treadmills.

I turn to Frankie, “They have cardio equipment!” I’m trying to contain my excitement, but it’s hard.

He just smiles and nods.

Opening the door, I beckon to Frankie, “After you.”

“Well, aren’t you the gentleman? No wonder all the ladies want you,” Frankie teases.

“That’s not the only reason,” I wink at him.

With a chuckle, Frankie leads the way through the gym. He walks slowly, examining everything around him, with his arms crossed at his chest, and nodding his head in approval.

“Hi, can I help you?” We turn to see an overly tanned guy coming over.

“We’re looking for Blaine,” Frankie replies.

“And you are?”

“Tell him Frankie and Gabriel are here. He’s expecting us.”

“Oh my God,” he seems stunned, “you’re ‘
The Saint
’!”

I flash him a grin, “In the flesh.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t recognize you at first. Please forgive me.”

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.”

“My name is Charlie and I’m the gym manager. Please wait here, and I’ll go get Blaine.”

We watch him rush to the back of the building, then disappear through a door.

I start howling with laughter.

“What are you laughin’ at?” Frankie asks me.

“Did you see how nervous he got when he realized who we are.”

“Not who
we
are, kid. Who
you
are.”

“Oh please,” I roll my eyes at him.

“When are you gonna realize…”

“Saint… Frankie… I’m so glad you guys could make it,” Blaine calls out from across the room.

“We couldn’t wait to come see the place,” Frankie flicks his hand, indicating the gym.

“You’ve got a really nice set-up here,” I add.

“I’m so glad you like it, Saint. That really means a lot to hear that from you. Come, let me give you the official grand tour.”

Both Frankie and I follow as Blaine takes the lead. He’s obviously proud of his gym, and with good reason. It’s extremely impressive; at least to me anyway.

“So, obviously this is our main training room. We have all the heavy and speed bags back there,” he points to the back of the gym. “Our ring here,” he says next, pointing directly in front of him, “and behind you, all the cardio equipment.”