The Cruiserweight (18 page)

“Sure
…
Stephanie
. I’ll see you early on Sunday.”

Brett walked out of her office, appearing
nonchalant as he passed several of his soon-to-be co-workers. When
he made it to his car in the parking lot, he looked around to make
sure no one could see him.

“YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” he shouted,
pumping both fists in the air. “Brett Kerrigan has come back to
television, baby!”

I just wish I could call Karen with
the news, but I’m sworn to secrecy until the PPV in case there’s a
leak to the media. Wouldn’t want to spoil anything before my first
match, would I?

CHAPTER 32

Patrick had come to visit Brett in Orlando and
the two had agreed to watch a movie that evening when Brett came
back from his meeting with Stephanie. What he hadn‘t counted on was
the film Patrick chose was the same one he‘d often used to heckle
his best friend.

“I don't know what makes me like this so much,”
he said between gasps of laughter while they watched
Headlocked
. “A B movie that stinks, but I kind of dig the
action scenes.”

Brett gave him a dirty look. “Do you enjoy
torturing me? It’s the
fifth
time you‘ve watched this movie.
Face it, my acting sucked.”

“Come on, you did pretty good in the opening
scene, man. And that Bobby Berger guy was okay as a wrestler.
Crappy movie, but it’s entertaining.”

“My moves looked like shit.”

“I’ve seen people in the ring these days who
perform worse than you did back when the movie was
made.”

“Show that piece of garbage to anyone else and
you’ll be lucky if I let you live.”

“Damn, Kerrigan, it isn’t like you’re
performing the male lead in a porn. It’s a B movie about a bunch of
dudes who want to be wrestlers on the local circuit. You made a
quick five grand from that opening scene. You could’ve done worse
earning
ten grand
making gay porn.”

“Hilarious, Pat. Easy for you to joke around;
you had Daddy paying the bills when you started out.” Brett got up.
“I need a beer. Want me to get you one while I‘m up?”

“Sounds good. How was your meeting with Orlando
Wrestling?“

“Went good, but if you’re trying to fish for
details, don’t waste your time. I can’t say anything to anyone
until Sunday. You’ll just have to order the pay-per-view like
everyone else, buddy.”

“You suck.”

“Not my choice to keep quiet. If it was up to
me, I’d shout details to every person I saw. I can’t even say a
word to Karen.”

“Must be something big if you can’t even tell
me or your own woman.”

Brett gave a knowing smile. “You could say
that.”

“By the way, how’s the little lady?”

“I haven’t talked to her for the last few weeks
or so, but as far as I know, she’s okay.”

“Think Karen will order the PPV?”

“She reviews them as part of her job, dude.
Kind of hard for her to write an analysis without ordering
one.”

“Good point. Good luck in your dark
match.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Brett turned away so Patrick
couldn’t see him grin.
Dark match, my ass. Those days are
over.

*****

One hundred thousand words. Karen was delighted
how well her book had progressed since she started the project a
year earlier. Through writing, rewriting, editing and re-editing,
the outcome had arrived. Developing a novel didn‘t happen
overnight, but she knew the finished product was going to be worth
every effort she’d put into it.

Editing helped keep her mind off her pregnancy
and how life was about to change the following summer with
impending motherhood. At least when she went to Orlando, she
wouldn’t have to worry about running into Brett. Karen still
agonized over whether or not to contact him about the baby, but
things had progressed so well in his career, she presumed it wasn’t
the ideal time to lay such news on him.

On the off chance I do see him, I
won’t be showing yet, so the news can be delayed a little
longer.

At six o’clock, Karen took a break to make a
latte before noticing she was low on milk. She walked to the store
located a few blocks away and returned a short time later to find
Phoebe waiting.

“What are you doing?” She took the bag. “You
should be resting, not carrying heavy things!”

“Exercise is good for pregnant women. What
brings you over?”

“Wanted to check to see how you were. Anyway,
when’s your first appointment with the obstetrician?”

“Funny you should ask. They were able to fit me
in next Friday morning. Dr. Sheppard is supposed to be very good
with pregnant women over forty.”

“You’re not sick, having weird food cravings or
anything like that?”

“Outside of belching like Lou does after he has
a huge meal and having mad cravings for lattes, which is why I went
for milk in the first place, no. Would you like one?”

“Sure, why not? Have you talked to
Brett?”

“Not for about three weeks, but he’s been busy
with his wrestling bookings.” She went to the kitchen to make
lattes, offering one to Phoebe.

She sipped the beverage. “Not sure if you know,
but word has it he’s relocated to Orlando.”

Karen went white. “Why would he do that? I know
Brett often felt like he didn’t fit in L.A., but that’s a big
move.”

“Let me finish. Eddie said there’s a buzz going
around that Brett’s either signed or going to sign with Orlando
Wrestling.”

“Do you two still believe things they write on
those wrestling sites? As journalists, you should know
better.”

Phoebe shrugged and took another sip of the
latte. “Maybe you’re right and it’s just someone’s wishful
thinking. I think it would be a great move.”

“Sure, if one wants to sign with a promotion
that snatches up talent released from their last
companies.”

“God, Karen, you act like it would be an
unpardonable sin. Look at it this way, Brett’s back on television,
and earning a steady paycheck.”

“I don’t know, the last time he’d signed with a
big company, he ended up being a glorified jobber for most of the
major names if not in a bunch of stupid story lines.”

“This is
Orlando Wrestling
. They don’t
screw their wrestlers over like some other multi-billion dollar
company whose name I won’t mention does. Stephanie Cross has a
great reputation for treating her roster members with respect and
giving them chances.”

Karen mulled the idea over for a moment. “Do
you think they’d do the same for Brett?”

“Have you seen the Florida Flyers
division?”

“I’ve heard it’s quite good.”

“Brett would liven up Florida Flyers with his
present gimmick.”

“I could watch Orlando Wrestling this week. I
need to be familiar with the show, since Mr. Sullivan is sending me
to cover a pay-per-view this weekend.”

“I thought you were supposed to
…
”

“It’ll be my last assignment before being
relegated to the office. Mr. Sullivan an I made a compromise. Since
Brett is alleged to be in Orlando, maybe I’ll see him and we can
catch up.”

“Did you ever talk to him about
…
”

“No. I’ve made up my mind it’s best that I
don’t, at least right now. He has his career and own life issues to
deal with.”

“What if he notices that you’re
pregnant?”

“That’s also the nice thing about being more
‘voluptuous‘. I won’t show very much, if at all. So if we do see
each other, I‘ll just look like I gained a few pounds, and Brett
won‘t care.”

“Unless you’re having twins.”

“Don’t even joke about that, Phoebe! I’m still
trying to deal with the thought of having
one.”

“Oh! I just remembered. I brought something for
you. I found these in one of the bookstores during lunch.” She
reached in her bag and handed Karen two books.

“Cool Names for Babies?
I’m only about
twelve weeks along. I don’t even know what I’m having
yet.”

“It’s never too early to start thinking about
names. Check out the second book.”

“What to Expect When You’re Expecting.
Okay, this is more like my style, since I‘m clueless about the
whole pregnancy idea.”

“I figured you’d have a lot of questions on
your mind the doctor might not have time to answer. From what I’ve
heard, it’s sort of a Bible for pregnant women.”

“Thanks. Lord knows I could use all the help I
can get and I’ll at least have a general idea of what’s going on
when I see Dr. Sheppard on Friday.”

“Too bad it won’t prepare you from the ribbing
you’ll get from some of the guys at work, except from
Eddie.”

“I’ll find a way to deal with the guys one way
or another. I’ve been in that office long enough to know who’s
capable of what. Come to think of it, it will be nice not to rush
around on assignments for awhile.” She took Phoebe’s cup. “Another
latte?”

“Sure,” Phoebe replied. “Fill it up, then we
can figure out when to go baby shopping while I help you pack for
your trip to sunny Orlando.”

CHAPTER 33

“Are you sure you’re up for the plane ride?”
Eddie asked the following morning. “Sullivan said it was okay to
change your mind.”

“Nice try, Eddie, but I’ll be fine. Covering
the Orlando Wrestling pay-per-view is my last field assignment for
awhile, so at least let me enjoy it.”

“Some of us should be so lucky. I’m stuck here
freezing my balls off covering one of Dad’s shows this weekend in
between doing more cartoons while you’re going to be basking in the
Florida sun.”

“I won’t be ‘basking’ very much. Most of the
time will be spent watching the run-throughs, interviewing
Stephanie Cross, attending the pre-show press conference, covering
Sunday’s show, and getting the story together. That‘s a lot to get
done in four days.”

A knowing grin crossed Eddie‘s face. “Maybe
some hot, sweaty sex with Brett in between.”

“Get your mind out of your pants. I know he
signed with OW, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be at Sunday’s show.
Besides, I don’t know if sex would even be a safe option in my
condition.”

“Yep. Terry said when his wife was knocked up,
she wanted to fuck all the time, and the kid came out
fine.”

“As often as you have sex on the brain, you
should consider getting a girlfriend, Eddie.”

“Um
…
I wanted to talk to
you about that.”

“You’re a nice guy, but one, I don’t date
anyone I work with, and two, I’m already taken.”

“Funny. No, I was going to ask some advice
about Pheebs.”

“You want to go out with Phoebe? How
sweet!”

“Even if she can be a pain in the ass and nosy
sometimes, she’s kind of cute, with beautiful eyes, a nice ass, and
a great rack Having a killer personality doesn’t hurt,
either.”

“It’s hard
not
to like Phoebe. But I
wouldn’t think about trying to get her into bed on the first few
dates if I were you.”

“K, come on, do I look like a guy who’d try to
get into girl’s pants right away?”

“You don’t want to know my answer, given my
experience with the rare guy or two I dated before Brett. Some
think just because they buy a woman dinner, it’s automatic sex in
return. Not my policy.”

“Not mine either. Okay, I’ll admit I’ve fucked
a few lady wrestlers and valets from Dad’s company, but most of
those didn’t mean anything beyond the chicks and I being horny and
we needed to ‘scratch our itches’, to put it in polite terms. I
have too much respect for Pheebs to see her like that.”

“Then why not ask her out? You don’t seem the
type who has trouble attracting women.”

“Kind of hard since we’ve been friends for
awhile.”

“Brett and I started off as friends too. You
won’t know until you take a chance, Eddie.”

“You think she’d go out with me?”

“I
know
she would.”

“Okay, but if I make an ass of myself and
Pheebs turns me down, I’m pinning it on you.”

“I have a feeling that won’t happen.” An
announcement came over the intercom. “There’s my flight number. I
need to get ready to board.”

“Good luck, K. Have fun.”

“I will. Ask Phoebe out!”

*****

“Hey, my man, I was going to go down to the new
chicken place and get some dinner,“ Patrick said. “Want to come
along?“

“You buying?” Brett teased.

“Yeah, why not? You were nice enough to let me
stay here instead of me blowing money on a hotel, not to mention
not making any smart comments about me checking out hot chicks when
we drove up to Cocoa Beach this afternoon.”