10-03-2021, 08:43 AM
10-04-2021, 08:31 AM
OOC: 1 of 2. Good luck.
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September 29th, 2021
London, England
Off Camera
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Albert Schweitzer once said that ‘happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.’ Being an outside looking in, you might think that Glory Braddock has had nothing but good memories and has lived nothing but a blessed life full of luxury. The truth is that The British Bombshell’s life has been far from easy and never as luxurious as it may seem right now. Her past is littered with bad memories, painful memories that she wishes she could erase but knows it is impossible. Since erasing the past is not possible, Braddock has settled for trying to forget those painful memories. She has settled for pushing them into the farthest reaches of her mind and hoping to never again be reminded of them. Unfortunately life is not fair and you do not always get what you want. In the case of Glory Braddock, there is one particular memory that she has tried to keep buried and locked away, but now has recently resurfaced and returned to haunt her. This memory is a person and his name Thomas Gage.
Braddock knew Thomas Gage when they were both teenagers in secondary school. They were young, reckless, and in love. They did not care about the consequences of their actions, they just cared only about the love they had for one another. As one may expect their love led to unrestrained and, most notably unprotected, sex, which led to Glory Braddock getting pregnant. The young British Bombshell was fearful of the prospects of motherhood but had hoped that the support of Thomas would help her get through it and maybe bring the two even closer. Braddock was disappointed when Thomas ran away, skipping out on his fatherly duties. Glory was pregnant as a teenager still in school, abandoned by the father of her child, and no idea what would come of her.
Luckily she not only survived but thrived thanks to the strong support system she had from her father and other family members. She gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Melinda Braddock, and has gone on to follow in her father’s footsteps as a professional wrestler. Glory would continue to raise Melinda as a strong, independent young woman. Meanwhile Thomas had never bothered to even reach out and contact his former lover. They had not spoken to one another for twenty years. Glory had hoped to push the memory of Thomas Gage out of her mind. But now that their daughter has come of age, Thomas has finally reached out. He finally has made contact, and now wants to meet his daughter and attempt to make things right between the three of them.
The happiness of Glory Braddock and her daughter Melinda is now in jeopardy thanks to the return of a bad memory known as Thomas Gage. Still, despite the bad feelings and bad memories that Gage brings, Glory is going to allow Thomas to see Melinda. He is, after all, her biological father. And after meeting with him twice now, Glory seems to believe that he may be sincere about his desire to make up for his past sins. What she is concerned about is if he has other ideas and another agenda? Does Thomas believe that there is still a chance for he and Glory to have a romantic relationship? She has already told him that anything beyond friendship was out of the question because she was happily married to Kurt Logan now. But she still has her doubts, she has her concerns, and she will be concerned until this meeting is over and finished.
The Braddock home just barely within the boundaries of London, England is alive with excited tension. The air is thick with anticipation as ‘The British’ Bombshell’ Glory Braddock sits on the sofa next to her daughter, young Melinda Braddock. This has been the familial home of the Braddock family. Glenn Braddock grew up here, he raised Glory and her sister Chastity here, and now Chastity lives here. Though Chastity is not here on this evening. She has left for the night leaving her older sister to utilize their family home for this special occasion to meet Thomas. Glory has a dual purpose behind wanting to utilize this home as the meeting place; number one, Thomas knows this place all too well. He and Glory share many memories of special times, romantic times in this home. There were times that they made love here in this home and Glenn never knew about it. Thus Thomas already knows how to get here and will not need directions. The other purpose behind using the Braddock family home is that Glory will feel comfortable here. This is her home turf. She has home field advantage.
“Do you think I look ok, mom?” Melinda asks nervously. Glory looks her daughter up and down. She is wearing a pink dress with half-sleeves and a hemline that stops just at the knee. For her part, Glory is dressed in a tight form fitting purple sparkly dress with a hemline that stops just above the knee. Both are dressed nice for this special occasion. Braddock smiles warmly at Melinda and nods her head.
“You look gorgeous, Mel.”
“Ok, good, cause I am a little nervous. Y’know?”
“I can imagine.” Braddock answers, nodding her head. “It’s perfectly understandable to be nervous.”
“It’s just that I thought you said I didn’t need to know anything about dad other than he ran out on us. But here we are getting ready to meet him. Why the sudden change?”
The British Bombshell sighs as she nods her head. “Yeah, you’re right, I haven’t exactly made your father sound like much of a saint. But as you know he did reach out to me recently. He claims that he’s changed.”
“Do you believe him?”
“Honestly?” Glory shrugs her shoulders. “I have no idea. It is hard to trust anyone when they have done what he has done. It will take a lot for him to earn my trust back, Mel. But I can say he at least sounds sincere. And besides, you did ask about him, and he IS your father. You two deserve to at least know one another. Right or wrong, that’s what I think.”
Melinda thinks upon her mother’s words for a few moments before she nods her head. “Fair enough. But uh, what’s he like?”
“What do you mean, love?”
“Well, um…is he older than you or younger than you? Were you a cougar?”
Glory chuckles. “No, I wasn’t a cougar. I’m still not, by the way. Your father is a couple years older than me.”
“Is he real tall, real short, medium sized, muscular, skinny?”
Again Glory laughs. “He’s taller than me but I wouldn’t say that he is exceptionally tall.”
“Fast or slow? What does he do for a living? And…”
“Bloody hell, stop it, love!” Braddock says as she cannot control her laughter. Even Melinda blushes and eventually starts laughing as she realizes what she was doing.
“Sorry, mom. I’m just nervous, that’s all.”
“It’s ok to be nervous. But everything will be fine. Trust me.” She takes her daughter by the hand and clasps it tightly. “I’m with you. And to answer your last question, your father is a businessman who deals primarily in insurance.”
Braddock pulls Melinda in and hugs her tightly. As they continue to embrace a doorbell is heard ringing. Glory immediately breaks up the hug as she realizes that this must be him; Thomas Gage has finally arrived. She sighs and forces a strong smile on her face, turning to look over at her daughter.
“Well he’s here, love. Are you ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“That’s my girl.” Glory stands up. “Wait here.”
Melinda nods her head and leans back. Glory then turns and walks away from the sofa and out of the living room. Braddock turns to walk down the hall until she reaches the door. She opens it up and sees Thomas Gage standing there in a three piece suit looking as stunning and handsome as ever. He bows like a chivalrous gentleman.
“My princess…”
“Thomas.”
He reaches into his coat pocket and produces a small box. He pops it open and pulls a diamond out of it. He passes it over to Glory. “This is for you, a princess like you deserves the finest of diamonds.”
“Thomas I…” she shakes her head “...I can’t accept this.” She tries to push it away but Thomas shakes his head and pushes it back towards her insistently.
“I insist.”
“I told you, I’m married.” She flashes her wedding ring in Thomas’s face. He sighs and nods his head.
“I know. This diamond is not meant to intrude or step over your marriage. This is merely a gift from me to you and I expect nothing in return for it. As I said, I am doing my best to make up for my past sins. Consider this yet another way of apologizing for abandoning you and our daughter.”
Glory sighs deeply. A part of her feels as if this is basically just buying her forgiveness, paying her off for the wrongs he did to her in the past. But another part of her looks at that diamond and cannot help but be astounded at its beauty. Reluctantly she accepts the diamond. “It is a gorgeous diamond.”
“A gorgeous diamond for a beautiful woman.” He kisses Glory’s hand. Braddock can see that his pouring on the charm offensive big time for this occasion. Nevertheless, she turns and motions for Thomas to follow her inside. He shuts the door as he follows her down the hall and then through to the living room. Then it is almost as if there was a silent cue, or maybe she just heard their footsteps coming, but as soon as they enter the living room Melinda Braddock stands up and turns to face the newcomers. Glory smiles warmly and motions to Thomas.
“Melinda, this is Thomas Gage…he is your father.”
Melinda is unsure what to do, unlike Thomas who takes the initiative by walking towards his daughter. As Thomas gets closer, Melinda extends a hand for a handshake. Thomas takes her hand and kisses it. Then he spins her around as if they were dancers on a dance floor.
“My life was incomplete and empty, missing hope and purpose, until I learned of you. Knowledge of your existence was enough to give me the hope that I never before had. Seeing you now fills me with joy that I never before knew. Having you in my life will restore purpose to my life.”
“Uh…thanks?” Melinda is dumbfounded by her father’s poetic words. Glory smirks knowingly as she watches from afar.
“That doesn’t sound very Biblical. Are you stealing from someone else other than Song of Solomon, mate?”
Thomas turns to look at Glory and winks. “Borrow, Gloria, my dear, it is called borrowing. And that was not theft. It was an original I came up with on the fly, as they say.”
“Wow, you came up with all that on your own?”
“But of course.” He turns his attention back to his daughter. “I am a bit of a poet.”
“Mom told you were just an insurance salesman.”
Gage chuckles. “There are a great many things your dear mother does not know about me. But hopefully our time together tonight will allow the three of us to make up for lost time. Before we can do that I have something for you, my precious daughter.” He reaches inside his coat pocket and produces a small box similar to the one he gave Glory earlier. He opens it up and produces a diamond necklace. Melinda stares in awe at the necklace. Even Glory herself is stunned.
“Wow…”
“You are almost speechless, my daughter.” He chuckles. He takes the necklace and places it around her neck. He clasps it on behind her. He then takes a step back and looks at her. He nods approvingly. “You look even more beautiful, if that were possible.”
Thomas guides Melinda towards the sofa where the two sit down. Glory follow suit, sitting down on the other side of Melinda. “My dear Melinda, my daughter, I know I have missed out on your infancy, your childhood, your teenage years, and now here you are an adult. I missed out on a great deal and that is my fault. As I told you mother, I am sincerely regretful of my actions and I want to make things right. This…you, me, your mother…this is what I have in mind for the three of us. Reunited as a family, as we should be.”
“Thomas, don’t…” Glory says sternly as if warning him. Thomas nods his head.
“I know, Gloria. I know things cannot be perfect. They never will be. But we can still be part of each other’s lives. That’s what I want. I just want to be a part of your life, Gloria, even if it is just as a friend. And I want to be a part of your life too, my daughter.” He turns towards Melinda again. “Your mother told you about me. But what about you? What is your chosen career path?”
“I’m…uh…” Melinda is still somewhat taken aback by her father’s personality. “...I’m a wrestler.”
“Ah yes; that is understandable. Your grandfather was quite the wrestler, your mother surpassed his success, and if that pattern continues then you will be an even better wrestler than both of them.”
“I kinda doubt that.” Melinda says shaking her head.
“Confidence, my daughter.” He pats her on the shoulder. “If I teach you nothing else, then learn this from me…if you have confidence then you can do anything.”
“Ok, da…I mean Thomas…”
“Thomas?” Gage seems curious as to why his daughter did not call him dad. He arches a brow. Melinda is noticeably upset and stands up.
“I, uh…I need to leave. I need to get some fresh air.” Melinda turns and walks out of the living room. Glory can hear the front door open and shut. Braddock turns and glares angrily at Thomas.
“Congratulations, mate. You upset her.”
“It was not my intention, I assure you.”
Braddock sighs and shakes her head. “Look, you seem genuine. You appear to sincerely care about her. And maybe you do care for her. But I want to warn you right now not to get her hopes up. She had to live a tough life growing up not knowing who her father was; she was picked on and teased by other kids who had normal families and at the very least knew the identities of both her parents. Melinda knew nothing. But she was strong and she endured it. Now in the span of a few weeks everything she knew that was real has been turned on its head. She now knows her father. She met him tonight. Usually she is strong enough to handle anything but this…” Braddock’s voice trails off “...she’s not taking this well and I don’t know why.”
“Perhaps this was a mistake?”
“It’s not just her, Thomas. I am not taking this very well either. You may not be able to see it because I have become very good at bottling up my emotions, but right now my mind is exploding with a mix of grief, joy, and hateful rage. Because you’re right, I did love you. I was prepared to commit to you. I had hoped that the pregnancy would lead to us getting married. When you ran off my entire world was crushed. For the first few months I was depressed. The only way I knew to handle it was to push those feelings and emotions away. And I never wanted to feel those painful feelings again so I became a tomboy hoping I wouldn’t attract the affections of anyone else. I wanted to be alone.”
“But you ended up marrying twice…first to Randall Williams and then to your current husband Kurt Logan.”
Braddock nods her head. “Yes, I had to go through a lot of grief and pain to get to the point where I could start having a romantic relationship again but I did. I want to spare my daughter from the pain and trauma of having something you love and cared deeply about only to lose it.”
“So you think our daughter…” his eyes light up “...cares about me?”
“Yeah, I think I do. I think that’s why she’s upset right now. She’s out there crying tears of joy, happy that you are in her life.”
“What about you?” Thomas asks. “Are you happy that I am back in your life?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I haven’t decided yet. I still don’t know if I can trust you yet. But what I can tell you is that you already let me down once and that’s fine. I can take it if you let me down again. But Melinda seems to trust you. She seems happy that you are back. If you let her down, then by God I will make you pay.”
Thomas nods his head. “I understand. But Gloria,” he takes her by her hands and squeezes them tightly “I will never again abandon you and Melinda. I will never again let you two down. You have my word.”
Braddock sighs and shakes her head. “This isn’t about me, Thomas. You and me, whatever we once had, it is done. Ok? Maybe we can be friends, that is a possibility, but outside of that there is no future for you and I. You need to concern yourself more with not abandoning our daughter. Do not let her down, Thomas. I am taking a big risk here in letting you back into her life. Don’t make me regret it.”
The British Bombshell turns and storms out of the living room. The blonde beauty turns and walks down the hall towards the door. She exits and finds her daughter standing just outside. Melinda is sobbing lightly. Glory Braddock feels some slight guilt, bearing some of the responsibility as she helped set this up. She embraces Melinda in a tight hug.
“It’s ok, Mel. I know it is all overwhelming but it’s ok.”
“Mom?” Melinda looks up at her mother.
“Yes, love?”
“Thanks.”
“Thanks for what?”
“Thanks for letting me meet my dad. I know you had your reservations but I wanted this; maybe I needed this.” Melinda smiles as she wipes a tear from her eye. “Thanks.”
“Anything for you, Mel. Anything at all. I love you.”
“I love you too, mom.”
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September 29th, 2021
London, England
Off Camera
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Albert Schweitzer once said that ‘happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.’ Being an outside looking in, you might think that Glory Braddock has had nothing but good memories and has lived nothing but a blessed life full of luxury. The truth is that The British Bombshell’s life has been far from easy and never as luxurious as it may seem right now. Her past is littered with bad memories, painful memories that she wishes she could erase but knows it is impossible. Since erasing the past is not possible, Braddock has settled for trying to forget those painful memories. She has settled for pushing them into the farthest reaches of her mind and hoping to never again be reminded of them. Unfortunately life is not fair and you do not always get what you want. In the case of Glory Braddock, there is one particular memory that she has tried to keep buried and locked away, but now has recently resurfaced and returned to haunt her. This memory is a person and his name Thomas Gage.
Braddock knew Thomas Gage when they were both teenagers in secondary school. They were young, reckless, and in love. They did not care about the consequences of their actions, they just cared only about the love they had for one another. As one may expect their love led to unrestrained and, most notably unprotected, sex, which led to Glory Braddock getting pregnant. The young British Bombshell was fearful of the prospects of motherhood but had hoped that the support of Thomas would help her get through it and maybe bring the two even closer. Braddock was disappointed when Thomas ran away, skipping out on his fatherly duties. Glory was pregnant as a teenager still in school, abandoned by the father of her child, and no idea what would come of her.
Luckily she not only survived but thrived thanks to the strong support system she had from her father and other family members. She gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Melinda Braddock, and has gone on to follow in her father’s footsteps as a professional wrestler. Glory would continue to raise Melinda as a strong, independent young woman. Meanwhile Thomas had never bothered to even reach out and contact his former lover. They had not spoken to one another for twenty years. Glory had hoped to push the memory of Thomas Gage out of her mind. But now that their daughter has come of age, Thomas has finally reached out. He finally has made contact, and now wants to meet his daughter and attempt to make things right between the three of them.
The happiness of Glory Braddock and her daughter Melinda is now in jeopardy thanks to the return of a bad memory known as Thomas Gage. Still, despite the bad feelings and bad memories that Gage brings, Glory is going to allow Thomas to see Melinda. He is, after all, her biological father. And after meeting with him twice now, Glory seems to believe that he may be sincere about his desire to make up for his past sins. What she is concerned about is if he has other ideas and another agenda? Does Thomas believe that there is still a chance for he and Glory to have a romantic relationship? She has already told him that anything beyond friendship was out of the question because she was happily married to Kurt Logan now. But she still has her doubts, she has her concerns, and she will be concerned until this meeting is over and finished.
The Braddock home just barely within the boundaries of London, England is alive with excited tension. The air is thick with anticipation as ‘The British’ Bombshell’ Glory Braddock sits on the sofa next to her daughter, young Melinda Braddock. This has been the familial home of the Braddock family. Glenn Braddock grew up here, he raised Glory and her sister Chastity here, and now Chastity lives here. Though Chastity is not here on this evening. She has left for the night leaving her older sister to utilize their family home for this special occasion to meet Thomas. Glory has a dual purpose behind wanting to utilize this home as the meeting place; number one, Thomas knows this place all too well. He and Glory share many memories of special times, romantic times in this home. There were times that they made love here in this home and Glenn never knew about it. Thus Thomas already knows how to get here and will not need directions. The other purpose behind using the Braddock family home is that Glory will feel comfortable here. This is her home turf. She has home field advantage.
“Do you think I look ok, mom?” Melinda asks nervously. Glory looks her daughter up and down. She is wearing a pink dress with half-sleeves and a hemline that stops just at the knee. For her part, Glory is dressed in a tight form fitting purple sparkly dress with a hemline that stops just above the knee. Both are dressed nice for this special occasion. Braddock smiles warmly at Melinda and nods her head.
“You look gorgeous, Mel.”
“Ok, good, cause I am a little nervous. Y’know?”
“I can imagine.” Braddock answers, nodding her head. “It’s perfectly understandable to be nervous.”
“It’s just that I thought you said I didn’t need to know anything about dad other than he ran out on us. But here we are getting ready to meet him. Why the sudden change?”
The British Bombshell sighs as she nods her head. “Yeah, you’re right, I haven’t exactly made your father sound like much of a saint. But as you know he did reach out to me recently. He claims that he’s changed.”
“Do you believe him?”
“Honestly?” Glory shrugs her shoulders. “I have no idea. It is hard to trust anyone when they have done what he has done. It will take a lot for him to earn my trust back, Mel. But I can say he at least sounds sincere. And besides, you did ask about him, and he IS your father. You two deserve to at least know one another. Right or wrong, that’s what I think.”
Melinda thinks upon her mother’s words for a few moments before she nods her head. “Fair enough. But uh, what’s he like?”
“What do you mean, love?”
“Well, um…is he older than you or younger than you? Were you a cougar?”
Glory chuckles. “No, I wasn’t a cougar. I’m still not, by the way. Your father is a couple years older than me.”
“Is he real tall, real short, medium sized, muscular, skinny?”
Again Glory laughs. “He’s taller than me but I wouldn’t say that he is exceptionally tall.”
“Fast or slow? What does he do for a living? And…”
“Bloody hell, stop it, love!” Braddock says as she cannot control her laughter. Even Melinda blushes and eventually starts laughing as she realizes what she was doing.
“Sorry, mom. I’m just nervous, that’s all.”
“It’s ok to be nervous. But everything will be fine. Trust me.” She takes her daughter by the hand and clasps it tightly. “I’m with you. And to answer your last question, your father is a businessman who deals primarily in insurance.”
Braddock pulls Melinda in and hugs her tightly. As they continue to embrace a doorbell is heard ringing. Glory immediately breaks up the hug as she realizes that this must be him; Thomas Gage has finally arrived. She sighs and forces a strong smile on her face, turning to look over at her daughter.
“Well he’s here, love. Are you ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“That’s my girl.” Glory stands up. “Wait here.”
Melinda nods her head and leans back. Glory then turns and walks away from the sofa and out of the living room. Braddock turns to walk down the hall until she reaches the door. She opens it up and sees Thomas Gage standing there in a three piece suit looking as stunning and handsome as ever. He bows like a chivalrous gentleman.
“My princess…”
“Thomas.”
He reaches into his coat pocket and produces a small box. He pops it open and pulls a diamond out of it. He passes it over to Glory. “This is for you, a princess like you deserves the finest of diamonds.”
“Thomas I…” she shakes her head “...I can’t accept this.” She tries to push it away but Thomas shakes his head and pushes it back towards her insistently.
“I insist.”
“I told you, I’m married.” She flashes her wedding ring in Thomas’s face. He sighs and nods his head.
“I know. This diamond is not meant to intrude or step over your marriage. This is merely a gift from me to you and I expect nothing in return for it. As I said, I am doing my best to make up for my past sins. Consider this yet another way of apologizing for abandoning you and our daughter.”
Glory sighs deeply. A part of her feels as if this is basically just buying her forgiveness, paying her off for the wrongs he did to her in the past. But another part of her looks at that diamond and cannot help but be astounded at its beauty. Reluctantly she accepts the diamond. “It is a gorgeous diamond.”
“A gorgeous diamond for a beautiful woman.” He kisses Glory’s hand. Braddock can see that his pouring on the charm offensive big time for this occasion. Nevertheless, she turns and motions for Thomas to follow her inside. He shuts the door as he follows her down the hall and then through to the living room. Then it is almost as if there was a silent cue, or maybe she just heard their footsteps coming, but as soon as they enter the living room Melinda Braddock stands up and turns to face the newcomers. Glory smiles warmly and motions to Thomas.
“Melinda, this is Thomas Gage…he is your father.”
Melinda is unsure what to do, unlike Thomas who takes the initiative by walking towards his daughter. As Thomas gets closer, Melinda extends a hand for a handshake. Thomas takes her hand and kisses it. Then he spins her around as if they were dancers on a dance floor.
“My life was incomplete and empty, missing hope and purpose, until I learned of you. Knowledge of your existence was enough to give me the hope that I never before had. Seeing you now fills me with joy that I never before knew. Having you in my life will restore purpose to my life.”
“Uh…thanks?” Melinda is dumbfounded by her father’s poetic words. Glory smirks knowingly as she watches from afar.
“That doesn’t sound very Biblical. Are you stealing from someone else other than Song of Solomon, mate?”
Thomas turns to look at Glory and winks. “Borrow, Gloria, my dear, it is called borrowing. And that was not theft. It was an original I came up with on the fly, as they say.”
“Wow, you came up with all that on your own?”
“But of course.” He turns his attention back to his daughter. “I am a bit of a poet.”
“Mom told you were just an insurance salesman.”
Gage chuckles. “There are a great many things your dear mother does not know about me. But hopefully our time together tonight will allow the three of us to make up for lost time. Before we can do that I have something for you, my precious daughter.” He reaches inside his coat pocket and produces a small box similar to the one he gave Glory earlier. He opens it up and produces a diamond necklace. Melinda stares in awe at the necklace. Even Glory herself is stunned.
“Wow…”
“You are almost speechless, my daughter.” He chuckles. He takes the necklace and places it around her neck. He clasps it on behind her. He then takes a step back and looks at her. He nods approvingly. “You look even more beautiful, if that were possible.”
Thomas guides Melinda towards the sofa where the two sit down. Glory follow suit, sitting down on the other side of Melinda. “My dear Melinda, my daughter, I know I have missed out on your infancy, your childhood, your teenage years, and now here you are an adult. I missed out on a great deal and that is my fault. As I told you mother, I am sincerely regretful of my actions and I want to make things right. This…you, me, your mother…this is what I have in mind for the three of us. Reunited as a family, as we should be.”
“Thomas, don’t…” Glory says sternly as if warning him. Thomas nods his head.
“I know, Gloria. I know things cannot be perfect. They never will be. But we can still be part of each other’s lives. That’s what I want. I just want to be a part of your life, Gloria, even if it is just as a friend. And I want to be a part of your life too, my daughter.” He turns towards Melinda again. “Your mother told you about me. But what about you? What is your chosen career path?”
“I’m…uh…” Melinda is still somewhat taken aback by her father’s personality. “...I’m a wrestler.”
“Ah yes; that is understandable. Your grandfather was quite the wrestler, your mother surpassed his success, and if that pattern continues then you will be an even better wrestler than both of them.”
“I kinda doubt that.” Melinda says shaking her head.
“Confidence, my daughter.” He pats her on the shoulder. “If I teach you nothing else, then learn this from me…if you have confidence then you can do anything.”
“Ok, da…I mean Thomas…”
“Thomas?” Gage seems curious as to why his daughter did not call him dad. He arches a brow. Melinda is noticeably upset and stands up.
“I, uh…I need to leave. I need to get some fresh air.” Melinda turns and walks out of the living room. Glory can hear the front door open and shut. Braddock turns and glares angrily at Thomas.
“Congratulations, mate. You upset her.”
“It was not my intention, I assure you.”
Braddock sighs and shakes her head. “Look, you seem genuine. You appear to sincerely care about her. And maybe you do care for her. But I want to warn you right now not to get her hopes up. She had to live a tough life growing up not knowing who her father was; she was picked on and teased by other kids who had normal families and at the very least knew the identities of both her parents. Melinda knew nothing. But she was strong and she endured it. Now in the span of a few weeks everything she knew that was real has been turned on its head. She now knows her father. She met him tonight. Usually she is strong enough to handle anything but this…” Braddock’s voice trails off “...she’s not taking this well and I don’t know why.”
“Perhaps this was a mistake?”
“It’s not just her, Thomas. I am not taking this very well either. You may not be able to see it because I have become very good at bottling up my emotions, but right now my mind is exploding with a mix of grief, joy, and hateful rage. Because you’re right, I did love you. I was prepared to commit to you. I had hoped that the pregnancy would lead to us getting married. When you ran off my entire world was crushed. For the first few months I was depressed. The only way I knew to handle it was to push those feelings and emotions away. And I never wanted to feel those painful feelings again so I became a tomboy hoping I wouldn’t attract the affections of anyone else. I wanted to be alone.”
“But you ended up marrying twice…first to Randall Williams and then to your current husband Kurt Logan.”
Braddock nods her head. “Yes, I had to go through a lot of grief and pain to get to the point where I could start having a romantic relationship again but I did. I want to spare my daughter from the pain and trauma of having something you love and cared deeply about only to lose it.”
“So you think our daughter…” his eyes light up “...cares about me?”
“Yeah, I think I do. I think that’s why she’s upset right now. She’s out there crying tears of joy, happy that you are in her life.”
“What about you?” Thomas asks. “Are you happy that I am back in your life?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I haven’t decided yet. I still don’t know if I can trust you yet. But what I can tell you is that you already let me down once and that’s fine. I can take it if you let me down again. But Melinda seems to trust you. She seems happy that you are back. If you let her down, then by God I will make you pay.”
Thomas nods his head. “I understand. But Gloria,” he takes her by her hands and squeezes them tightly “I will never again abandon you and Melinda. I will never again let you two down. You have my word.”
Braddock sighs and shakes her head. “This isn’t about me, Thomas. You and me, whatever we once had, it is done. Ok? Maybe we can be friends, that is a possibility, but outside of that there is no future for you and I. You need to concern yourself more with not abandoning our daughter. Do not let her down, Thomas. I am taking a big risk here in letting you back into her life. Don’t make me regret it.”
The British Bombshell turns and storms out of the living room. The blonde beauty turns and walks down the hall towards the door. She exits and finds her daughter standing just outside. Melinda is sobbing lightly. Glory Braddock feels some slight guilt, bearing some of the responsibility as she helped set this up. She embraces Melinda in a tight hug.
“It’s ok, Mel. I know it is all overwhelming but it’s ok.”
“Mom?” Melinda looks up at her mother.
“Yes, love?”
“Thanks.”
“Thanks for what?”
“Thanks for letting me meet my dad. I know you had your reservations but I wanted this; maybe I needed this.” Melinda smiles as she wipes a tear from her eye. “Thanks.”
“Anything for you, Mel. Anything at all. I love you.”
“I love you too, mom.”
10-06-2021, 02:08 PM
OOC: 2 of 2. Good luck.
——————————————————-
==========
October 3rd, 2021
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
Last week was an emotional roller coast for The British Bombshell. She walked right into SCW Apocalypse and defeated Drake Hemmingway of The Jackals. He had a size and power advantage and had been planning to send her to the hospital, but in the end it was the British Bombshell who dropped Drake on his head and it was Glory’s hand that was raised in victory. First defeating The Jackals in the eight person tag, then defeating Drake Hemmingway one on one at Apocalypse, getting back to her winning ways felt good for Glory Braddock. But as sweet as victory in professional competition can be, she still had to endure the potential bitter taste of painful and bad memories a few days later in her own home of London, England.
Yes, Glory Braddock had been approached twice by Thomas Gage, a man whom she had a romantic relationship with when they were both teenagers. During one of their passionate nights of love making Thomas would end up getting Glory pregnant. The pregnancy would frighten Thomas away and send him running for the hills. Glory was forced to raise the child, Melinda Braddock, practically on her own with sole help of Glenn Braddock, Glory’s father. Thomas remained off the radar for twenty years until he finally reappeared and twice asked to see his and Glory’s daughter. Despite her reluctance, The British Bombshell did agree to a reunion. And that meeting took place just a few days following her one on one victory over Drake Hemmingway.
The meeting went well enough. Thomas poured on the charm and while Glory still is not fully convinced of his change of heart, Melinda Braddock seemed to be genuinely happy to have met her father. She seems to buy into her father’s sincerity about being a changed man and about wanting to make up for his past, wanting to atone for his sin of abandoning Glory and Melinda. Melinda Braddock appears to once again be happy, which is at least one good thing to come of this; for poor Melinda has not truly been happy since she lost the love of her love, Archie Van Stanton, several months ago in a home invasion. The return of her father has at least in part helped raise Melinda’s spirits.
Glory Braddock is still worried that Thomas will let her down. He already ran off and abandoned her once before. He swore that he would not do so again but Glory isn’t ready to believe him just yet. Plus she isn’t quite sure what Thomas’s true agenda actually is; does he just want to be back in Melinda’s life or does he want more? Does he want Glory back as well? She wishes she could have gotten more answers but there was little time. Glory Braddock was needed back in North America. In Toronto, Ontario for Breakdown she will be competing one on one against Diamond Steele. Plus she will find out her potential fate for the next installment of the Trios Tournament. Braddock won the Trios Tournament in back to back years. If she gets chosen for Trios again and wins again, this would be the third year in a row she won the prestigious tournament.
So The British Bombshell finds herself back in Miami, Florida. Her luxury home has its own private gym and that is where the blonde beauty finds herself right now. She is in purple shorts, white shoes, and a plain white t-shirt. Her long blonde hair is pulled into a ponytail in the back. She is at a heavy bag furiously attacking it with right hands, left hands, and occasionally mixing in a few kicks for good measure. The look upon her face is one of intensity and that is because she does not see a heavy bag in front of her. She sees the object of her aggression; no, not her opponent coming up on Breakdown, not Diamond Steele. When Glory looks at that heavy bag, she sees Thomas Gage. She looks at that heavy bag and sees Thomas, she thinks of how he abandoned her when she was pregnant, she thinks of how now twenty years later he shows up and wants to suddenly be a part of Melinda’s life. It brings anger into Glory’s heart and soul and she unleashes that anger upon the heavy bag. Braddock’s intense workout has her so focused she doesn’t even notice her husband walking in.
Kurt Logan had planned to get some work out in himself. He is dressed in black workout shorts, shoes, and no shirt. He smirks knowingly as he watches his wife furiously attack the heavy bag. He has seen her like this before. This is nothing new for him. He folds his arms over his chest and chuckles. A few moments later Glory does finally figure out that she is being watched. She stops her assault on the heavy bag. She sighs and turns to face her husband who now has a big grin on his face.
“Don’t stop on my account, Glory. You were teaching that bag a lesson it won’t soon forget.”
“Funny, mate. Real funny. What are you doing down here, anyway?”
“Dawn [Logan] fell asleep watching a movie. So I figured why not come down here and workout? Just because I’m not an active wrestler doesn’t mean I don’t want to stay in shape. You never know when I may decide to make a comeback.” He winks knowingly. Glory chuckles as she approaches her husband. They lock lips in a brief but passionate kiss.
“I know that’s a lie.”
“You think you know me so well, eh?”
“Yes.” Braddock nods her head. “You love me and our children too damn much to ever come out of retirement. That girl up there, Dawn, you love her too much to come out of retirement and force her on the road all day every day just so you can relive your glory days.”
Kurt chuckles lightly and nods his head. “You’re right, I would never do that to Dawnie or Mel. Or to you.”
Glory kisses him on the lips again. “And that’s why I love you. There is more to being a parent than just having similar DNA. I wish Melinda knew that.”
“Care to talk about it?”
Braddock sighs. She turns and walks over to a bench that is set up against a nearby wall. She sits down. Kurt sits down next to her. Glory picks a towel and wipes the sweat from her face. “I’m just worried that Melinda is setting herself up for disappointment with Thomas.” Glory shakes her head. “I’m afraid I made a mistake in letting her meet him.”
“You didn’t make a mistake.” Kurt states, wrapping an arm around his wife’s shoulder to comfort her. “Did Thomas make a mistake? Damn right he did. But he is still Melinda’s father and Melinda is a grown woman, she is an adult, she has every right to get to know him if she wants.”
“Yeah and that’s another thing, I feel terrible leaving her alone there in Europe in such close proximity to her father.” Braddock growls with a hint of frustration in her voice. “I should have stayed there with her!”
“Did you forget what I said about Melinda being a grown woman now?” Kurt says as he smiles knowingly at his wife. “You have to trust her judgment. Besides, she is not alone. She has her aunt. Didn’t your sister promise to look after her?”
Braddock nods her head. “Yeah, I suppose Chastity will make sure nothing happens. But still…”
“What would happen? He may be a jerk for running out on you but he is still Melinda’s father. Surely he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”
“You don’t know him like I do.” Glory says, shaking her head. “But you’re right, he is her father. I would like to think he wouldn’t do anything. And Chastity is keeping tabs on Mel; so anytime I want an update on Mel I can just call Chastity.”
“Right and besides, you have responsibilities here and now of your own. You want to stay active. You told me that yourself, you said that you preferred to remain active rather than take any sort of break. I questioned your decision at the time but you’ve proven me wrong. You worked excellently with Lucas, Cannon, and Christy in defeating The Jackals. You defeated Drake Hemmingway at Apocalypse. Now you have another match, this time against Diamond Steele on Breakdown. Now do you still want to remain active?”
“Yes, of course.” Glory nods her head definitively.
“Then you need to stay here and trust your grown up daughter to make her own decisions, you need to trust your sister to take care of her if needed, you need to just learn to let go and trust.” Kurt leans over and kisses Glory on the cheek. “Believe that everything will be ok.”
Braddock forces a smile on her face. “Ok, Kurt, I’ll try. It’s just hard to cut the apron strings, you know? It’s hard not to want to try to maintain control of everything. Then again, my dad was like that. I suppose I get it honest, at least.”
“And you always resented him for not trusting you more. You resented him for trying to control everything. You don’t want Melinda to grow to resent you the same way you resented your father, do you?”
Braddock shakes her head. “No, no I don’t.” She stands up, so does Kurt. “It’ll be tough but I am going to trust Melinda to handle herself when it comes to Thomas. But that doesn’t mean I trust him. I’m not sure if I will ever trust him.”
“You don’t have to trust him, Glory. From what you’ve told me, I can’t blame you for not trusting him. But you should trust Melinda. Be there for her when she needs you, but you should still trust her and if she wants to give him a chance, let her give him a chance.”
“And if she’s wrong?”
Kurt sighs. “Sometimes we learn valuable lessons from the mistakes we make.”
“But at what cost?”
“Your sister is there to make sure nothing bad happens to her.” Kurt places his strong but comforting hands upon Glory’s shoulders. “Just give your daughter the chance to step out on her own and make her own life decisions. You are here for her now but one day you won’t. She will have to learn to do this on her own eventually. You can’t be there to hover over her all the time and protect her all the time.”
Tears are forming in Glory’s eyes. Kurt immediately embraces his wife in a tight hug. “It’s ok, Glory. It’s ok.”
“I know you’re right, Kurt. I want to let go and let her make her own decisions. I want to let Melinda walk on her own. I don’t want to become like my father. It’s just so hard to do that with Thomas back in the picture. I know what he did to me. I know how he let me down and I don’t want that to happen to Melinda.” She shakes her head. “I can’t let that happen to her.”
==========
October 6th, 2021
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
On Camera
==========
We open inside of a production studio. The cameras are locked upon a plain blank set with lights set up nearby. A few moments later and the clicking of heels on concrete floor can be heard. Then ‘The British Bombshell’ Glory Bradddock steps into the scene from stage left. The beautiful blonde is wearing a black knee length skirt, white silk blouse, black blazer, and black patent leather high heel pumps. Her long blonde hair hangs straight to past the shoulders. A confident grin is etched across her face as she stops dead center in front of the camera.
“Apocalypse has come and I want to just say that I feel absolutely fantastic. I am riding high on cloud nine and what wouldn’t I be? I did exactly what I said I would do; I marched right into Denver, Colorado and got myself a hard earned win. Furthermore I exposed one of the Jackals, Drake Hemmingway, for the fraudulent piece of crap he truly is.” She chuckles. “Drake, mate, you talked about how you were going to send me to the hospital? You ran your mouth as if you were planning to break me in half. Yet here I am, looking better than ever. Hell, I look like a million bucks.” She points a finger at the camera.
“But you were humbled at Apocalypse. You didn’t send someone much smaller than you to the hospital. Instead you got your ass kicked all over Denver by someone much smaller than you. I hope that serves as a lesson not only to you, not only to the rest of your little Jackal pals, but to anyone else who thinks that they can push The British Bombshell around. I have made a career out of getting back up time and time again and fighting all comers, of defeating the toughest of challengers. Did you think I would sweat you, Drake Hemmingway? Did you think I would sweat any of your Jackals? I don’t sweat you. I don’t sweat anyone in SCW. And the challenge I laid out on social media weeks ago is still there for anyone who wants to face me…just give me a call, I’m not that hard to find, and I will fight you. But if you step up then be prepared to bring your best because you will be facing one of the very best professional wrestlers in the world today.”
Braddock chuckles. “That brings me to Diamond Steele. I don’t believe we’ve met but I look forward to meeting you and facing you in the ring at Breakdown. After fighting a bunch of tantruming gimp children for the past month or so I am definitely looking forward to what hopefully will be a normal, respectful, wrestling match. Imagine that? A normal wrestling match! You don’t see that nowadays? It seems that there’s always someone out there who wants to interfere in something that has nothing to do with them, or someone who wants to spit in the face of tradition by introducing a little anarchy and carnage instead of simply wrestling. I don’t know you, mate, but I am an optimist and I am the kind of person willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. So maybe, just maybe, you and I can actually have a wrestling match on Breakdown that doesn’t devolve into chaos.”
“And for you this must be a great opportunity. If you have any kind of intelligence within you then you will know enough to do your homework. You will know that I am a former SCW World Champion, a former SCW Adrenaline Champion, and a two time Trios Tournament winner. And as it turns out, Trios Tournament is returning and the brackets will be announced on the same night we face off. If I’m chosen for the tournament, I guarantee that I will win the bloody thing three years in a row. I can say all of that with confidence because I know how good I am. I know that there are very few who can match my technical ability inside that ring. If you want evidence just look at what I did at Apocalypse. A big monster, or maybe I should say a big bully named Drake Hemmingway, he thought he could push me around. Instead I made him my bitch, dropped him on his head, and beat him in the center of the ring.”
“What were you doing at Apocalypse?” Glory asks curiously. She pauses, as if waiting on an answer. She smirks. “Oh that’s right, you weren’t there. Now that’s not intended to disparage you or disrespect you. We all have runs of bad luck. You had a match at Rise To Greatness, but you lost to Crystal Zdunich. In fairness I also had a match at Rise To Greatness and I, too, lost. We both had opportunities since then to rebound and that’s where we go our separate ways. You lost to Jessica Tremor. But I fought side by side with Cannon, Knight, and Christy Matthews to take down The Jackals. Then I defeated Drake Hemmingway at Apocalypse. Now you have another chance to make a statement, another chance to prove your worth to Supreme Championship Wrestling. It is quite an opportunity you have in front of you, Steele.”
“Can you seize this grand opportunity before you, mate?” Braddock shakes her head. “I’m not sure you can. You have yet to prove yourself in SCW. But me, I have proven myself time and time again as someone who can seize upon opportunities. And I will seize upon this opportunity to once again prove myself as one of the best wrestlers on this roster. That’s what you are to me, Diamond. You are an opportunity. But me? What am I?”
Braddock shakes her head. “I am not merely an opportunity. And you are definitely not going to make a name for yourself in SCW at my expense. Like I said, ever since Rise To Greatness we have gone our separate ways and we will continue to go in those separate directions. Me? I am going to continue my winning ways and you will once again go down in defeat. You will again fail to seize upon a great opportunity presented to you because you will not outwrestle me, you will not outthink me, and you will not defeat me on Breakdown.”
“What is this match for me? It is my time to serve notice to anyone else out there who may doubt my guts, my courage, and my will to win. The Jackals doubted me, so I took the fight to them. Drake doubted me and I dropped him on his head. And if you doubt me, Diamond, then I may drop you on your head too. Or maybe I will make you tap out to the Shekhinah Glory? Either way the end result is the same; I will be victorious, continuing my climb back to the top, and no one will stop me.”
Glory shuts her eyes. “Sic Semper Tyrannis…”
——————————————————-
==========
October 3rd, 2021
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
Last week was an emotional roller coast for The British Bombshell. She walked right into SCW Apocalypse and defeated Drake Hemmingway of The Jackals. He had a size and power advantage and had been planning to send her to the hospital, but in the end it was the British Bombshell who dropped Drake on his head and it was Glory’s hand that was raised in victory. First defeating The Jackals in the eight person tag, then defeating Drake Hemmingway one on one at Apocalypse, getting back to her winning ways felt good for Glory Braddock. But as sweet as victory in professional competition can be, she still had to endure the potential bitter taste of painful and bad memories a few days later in her own home of London, England.
Yes, Glory Braddock had been approached twice by Thomas Gage, a man whom she had a romantic relationship with when they were both teenagers. During one of their passionate nights of love making Thomas would end up getting Glory pregnant. The pregnancy would frighten Thomas away and send him running for the hills. Glory was forced to raise the child, Melinda Braddock, practically on her own with sole help of Glenn Braddock, Glory’s father. Thomas remained off the radar for twenty years until he finally reappeared and twice asked to see his and Glory’s daughter. Despite her reluctance, The British Bombshell did agree to a reunion. And that meeting took place just a few days following her one on one victory over Drake Hemmingway.
The meeting went well enough. Thomas poured on the charm and while Glory still is not fully convinced of his change of heart, Melinda Braddock seemed to be genuinely happy to have met her father. She seems to buy into her father’s sincerity about being a changed man and about wanting to make up for his past, wanting to atone for his sin of abandoning Glory and Melinda. Melinda Braddock appears to once again be happy, which is at least one good thing to come of this; for poor Melinda has not truly been happy since she lost the love of her love, Archie Van Stanton, several months ago in a home invasion. The return of her father has at least in part helped raise Melinda’s spirits.
Glory Braddock is still worried that Thomas will let her down. He already ran off and abandoned her once before. He swore that he would not do so again but Glory isn’t ready to believe him just yet. Plus she isn’t quite sure what Thomas’s true agenda actually is; does he just want to be back in Melinda’s life or does he want more? Does he want Glory back as well? She wishes she could have gotten more answers but there was little time. Glory Braddock was needed back in North America. In Toronto, Ontario for Breakdown she will be competing one on one against Diamond Steele. Plus she will find out her potential fate for the next installment of the Trios Tournament. Braddock won the Trios Tournament in back to back years. If she gets chosen for Trios again and wins again, this would be the third year in a row she won the prestigious tournament.
So The British Bombshell finds herself back in Miami, Florida. Her luxury home has its own private gym and that is where the blonde beauty finds herself right now. She is in purple shorts, white shoes, and a plain white t-shirt. Her long blonde hair is pulled into a ponytail in the back. She is at a heavy bag furiously attacking it with right hands, left hands, and occasionally mixing in a few kicks for good measure. The look upon her face is one of intensity and that is because she does not see a heavy bag in front of her. She sees the object of her aggression; no, not her opponent coming up on Breakdown, not Diamond Steele. When Glory looks at that heavy bag, she sees Thomas Gage. She looks at that heavy bag and sees Thomas, she thinks of how he abandoned her when she was pregnant, she thinks of how now twenty years later he shows up and wants to suddenly be a part of Melinda’s life. It brings anger into Glory’s heart and soul and she unleashes that anger upon the heavy bag. Braddock’s intense workout has her so focused she doesn’t even notice her husband walking in.
Kurt Logan had planned to get some work out in himself. He is dressed in black workout shorts, shoes, and no shirt. He smirks knowingly as he watches his wife furiously attack the heavy bag. He has seen her like this before. This is nothing new for him. He folds his arms over his chest and chuckles. A few moments later Glory does finally figure out that she is being watched. She stops her assault on the heavy bag. She sighs and turns to face her husband who now has a big grin on his face.
“Don’t stop on my account, Glory. You were teaching that bag a lesson it won’t soon forget.”
“Funny, mate. Real funny. What are you doing down here, anyway?”
“Dawn [Logan] fell asleep watching a movie. So I figured why not come down here and workout? Just because I’m not an active wrestler doesn’t mean I don’t want to stay in shape. You never know when I may decide to make a comeback.” He winks knowingly. Glory chuckles as she approaches her husband. They lock lips in a brief but passionate kiss.
“I know that’s a lie.”
“You think you know me so well, eh?”
“Yes.” Braddock nods her head. “You love me and our children too damn much to ever come out of retirement. That girl up there, Dawn, you love her too much to come out of retirement and force her on the road all day every day just so you can relive your glory days.”
Kurt chuckles lightly and nods his head. “You’re right, I would never do that to Dawnie or Mel. Or to you.”
Glory kisses him on the lips again. “And that’s why I love you. There is more to being a parent than just having similar DNA. I wish Melinda knew that.”
“Care to talk about it?”
Braddock sighs. She turns and walks over to a bench that is set up against a nearby wall. She sits down. Kurt sits down next to her. Glory picks a towel and wipes the sweat from her face. “I’m just worried that Melinda is setting herself up for disappointment with Thomas.” Glory shakes her head. “I’m afraid I made a mistake in letting her meet him.”
“You didn’t make a mistake.” Kurt states, wrapping an arm around his wife’s shoulder to comfort her. “Did Thomas make a mistake? Damn right he did. But he is still Melinda’s father and Melinda is a grown woman, she is an adult, she has every right to get to know him if she wants.”
“Yeah and that’s another thing, I feel terrible leaving her alone there in Europe in such close proximity to her father.” Braddock growls with a hint of frustration in her voice. “I should have stayed there with her!”
“Did you forget what I said about Melinda being a grown woman now?” Kurt says as he smiles knowingly at his wife. “You have to trust her judgment. Besides, she is not alone. She has her aunt. Didn’t your sister promise to look after her?”
Braddock nods her head. “Yeah, I suppose Chastity will make sure nothing happens. But still…”
“What would happen? He may be a jerk for running out on you but he is still Melinda’s father. Surely he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”
“You don’t know him like I do.” Glory says, shaking her head. “But you’re right, he is her father. I would like to think he wouldn’t do anything. And Chastity is keeping tabs on Mel; so anytime I want an update on Mel I can just call Chastity.”
“Right and besides, you have responsibilities here and now of your own. You want to stay active. You told me that yourself, you said that you preferred to remain active rather than take any sort of break. I questioned your decision at the time but you’ve proven me wrong. You worked excellently with Lucas, Cannon, and Christy in defeating The Jackals. You defeated Drake Hemmingway at Apocalypse. Now you have another match, this time against Diamond Steele on Breakdown. Now do you still want to remain active?”
“Yes, of course.” Glory nods her head definitively.
“Then you need to stay here and trust your grown up daughter to make her own decisions, you need to trust your sister to take care of her if needed, you need to just learn to let go and trust.” Kurt leans over and kisses Glory on the cheek. “Believe that everything will be ok.”
Braddock forces a smile on her face. “Ok, Kurt, I’ll try. It’s just hard to cut the apron strings, you know? It’s hard not to want to try to maintain control of everything. Then again, my dad was like that. I suppose I get it honest, at least.”
“And you always resented him for not trusting you more. You resented him for trying to control everything. You don’t want Melinda to grow to resent you the same way you resented your father, do you?”
Braddock shakes her head. “No, no I don’t.” She stands up, so does Kurt. “It’ll be tough but I am going to trust Melinda to handle herself when it comes to Thomas. But that doesn’t mean I trust him. I’m not sure if I will ever trust him.”
“You don’t have to trust him, Glory. From what you’ve told me, I can’t blame you for not trusting him. But you should trust Melinda. Be there for her when she needs you, but you should still trust her and if she wants to give him a chance, let her give him a chance.”
“And if she’s wrong?”
Kurt sighs. “Sometimes we learn valuable lessons from the mistakes we make.”
“But at what cost?”
“Your sister is there to make sure nothing bad happens to her.” Kurt places his strong but comforting hands upon Glory’s shoulders. “Just give your daughter the chance to step out on her own and make her own life decisions. You are here for her now but one day you won’t. She will have to learn to do this on her own eventually. You can’t be there to hover over her all the time and protect her all the time.”
Tears are forming in Glory’s eyes. Kurt immediately embraces his wife in a tight hug. “It’s ok, Glory. It’s ok.”
“I know you’re right, Kurt. I want to let go and let her make her own decisions. I want to let Melinda walk on her own. I don’t want to become like my father. It’s just so hard to do that with Thomas back in the picture. I know what he did to me. I know how he let me down and I don’t want that to happen to Melinda.” She shakes her head. “I can’t let that happen to her.”
==========
October 6th, 2021
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
On Camera
==========
We open inside of a production studio. The cameras are locked upon a plain blank set with lights set up nearby. A few moments later and the clicking of heels on concrete floor can be heard. Then ‘The British Bombshell’ Glory Bradddock steps into the scene from stage left. The beautiful blonde is wearing a black knee length skirt, white silk blouse, black blazer, and black patent leather high heel pumps. Her long blonde hair hangs straight to past the shoulders. A confident grin is etched across her face as she stops dead center in front of the camera.
“Apocalypse has come and I want to just say that I feel absolutely fantastic. I am riding high on cloud nine and what wouldn’t I be? I did exactly what I said I would do; I marched right into Denver, Colorado and got myself a hard earned win. Furthermore I exposed one of the Jackals, Drake Hemmingway, for the fraudulent piece of crap he truly is.” She chuckles. “Drake, mate, you talked about how you were going to send me to the hospital? You ran your mouth as if you were planning to break me in half. Yet here I am, looking better than ever. Hell, I look like a million bucks.” She points a finger at the camera.
“But you were humbled at Apocalypse. You didn’t send someone much smaller than you to the hospital. Instead you got your ass kicked all over Denver by someone much smaller than you. I hope that serves as a lesson not only to you, not only to the rest of your little Jackal pals, but to anyone else who thinks that they can push The British Bombshell around. I have made a career out of getting back up time and time again and fighting all comers, of defeating the toughest of challengers. Did you think I would sweat you, Drake Hemmingway? Did you think I would sweat any of your Jackals? I don’t sweat you. I don’t sweat anyone in SCW. And the challenge I laid out on social media weeks ago is still there for anyone who wants to face me…just give me a call, I’m not that hard to find, and I will fight you. But if you step up then be prepared to bring your best because you will be facing one of the very best professional wrestlers in the world today.”
Braddock chuckles. “That brings me to Diamond Steele. I don’t believe we’ve met but I look forward to meeting you and facing you in the ring at Breakdown. After fighting a bunch of tantruming gimp children for the past month or so I am definitely looking forward to what hopefully will be a normal, respectful, wrestling match. Imagine that? A normal wrestling match! You don’t see that nowadays? It seems that there’s always someone out there who wants to interfere in something that has nothing to do with them, or someone who wants to spit in the face of tradition by introducing a little anarchy and carnage instead of simply wrestling. I don’t know you, mate, but I am an optimist and I am the kind of person willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. So maybe, just maybe, you and I can actually have a wrestling match on Breakdown that doesn’t devolve into chaos.”
“And for you this must be a great opportunity. If you have any kind of intelligence within you then you will know enough to do your homework. You will know that I am a former SCW World Champion, a former SCW Adrenaline Champion, and a two time Trios Tournament winner. And as it turns out, Trios Tournament is returning and the brackets will be announced on the same night we face off. If I’m chosen for the tournament, I guarantee that I will win the bloody thing three years in a row. I can say all of that with confidence because I know how good I am. I know that there are very few who can match my technical ability inside that ring. If you want evidence just look at what I did at Apocalypse. A big monster, or maybe I should say a big bully named Drake Hemmingway, he thought he could push me around. Instead I made him my bitch, dropped him on his head, and beat him in the center of the ring.”
“What were you doing at Apocalypse?” Glory asks curiously. She pauses, as if waiting on an answer. She smirks. “Oh that’s right, you weren’t there. Now that’s not intended to disparage you or disrespect you. We all have runs of bad luck. You had a match at Rise To Greatness, but you lost to Crystal Zdunich. In fairness I also had a match at Rise To Greatness and I, too, lost. We both had opportunities since then to rebound and that’s where we go our separate ways. You lost to Jessica Tremor. But I fought side by side with Cannon, Knight, and Christy Matthews to take down The Jackals. Then I defeated Drake Hemmingway at Apocalypse. Now you have another chance to make a statement, another chance to prove your worth to Supreme Championship Wrestling. It is quite an opportunity you have in front of you, Steele.”
“Can you seize this grand opportunity before you, mate?” Braddock shakes her head. “I’m not sure you can. You have yet to prove yourself in SCW. But me, I have proven myself time and time again as someone who can seize upon opportunities. And I will seize upon this opportunity to once again prove myself as one of the best wrestlers on this roster. That’s what you are to me, Diamond. You are an opportunity. But me? What am I?”
Braddock shakes her head. “I am not merely an opportunity. And you are definitely not going to make a name for yourself in SCW at my expense. Like I said, ever since Rise To Greatness we have gone our separate ways and we will continue to go in those separate directions. Me? I am going to continue my winning ways and you will once again go down in defeat. You will again fail to seize upon a great opportunity presented to you because you will not outwrestle me, you will not outthink me, and you will not defeat me on Breakdown.”
“What is this match for me? It is my time to serve notice to anyone else out there who may doubt my guts, my courage, and my will to win. The Jackals doubted me, so I took the fight to them. Drake doubted me and I dropped him on his head. And if you doubt me, Diamond, then I may drop you on your head too. Or maybe I will make you tap out to the Shekhinah Glory? Either way the end result is the same; I will be victorious, continuing my climb back to the top, and no one will stop me.”
Glory shuts her eyes. “Sic Semper Tyrannis…”
10-06-2021, 10:40 PM
On Camera
Hey everyone… It’s feels like an eternity since I have been able to stand in front of you and cut a promo. To be honest I haven’t had a reason to really put a smile on my face in a long time. I guess the worst thing in my life happened and it’s devastated me in ways I couldn’t even imagine. I never expected to walk into my husband cheating on me and being with another woman. To be hoenst tthere’s so many thoughts on my mind but finally I can try to get to that of wrestling. I have a match to worry about and maybe getting back into the ring is exactly what I need.
Hey everyone… It’s feels like an eternity since I have been able to stand in front of you and cut a promo. To be honest I haven’t had a reason to really put a smile on my face in a long time. I guess the worst thing in my life happened and it’s devastated me in ways I couldn’t even imagine. I never expected to walk into my husband cheating on me and being with another woman. To be hoenst tthere’s so many thoughts on my mind but finally I can try to get to that of wrestling. I have a match to worry about and maybe getting back into the ring is exactly what I need.