Sins of the Father: Act 3

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Sins of the Father

Act 3

Off Camera

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T.S. Eliot once said “what we call the beginning is often the end.  And to make an end is to make a beginning.  The end is where we start from.”  Well, one Marie Annabelle Jones is about to experience a combination of beginnings and endings in the very near future as her entire life as she knows is about to  be changed forever, in ways that she can see coming and in some ways that she cannot see coming, ways that will take her by complete and total surprise.

Dean Stanley once said “a happy marriage is a new beginning of life, a new starting point for happiness and usefulness.”  This is the beginning point that the young Jones is looking forward to the most right now.  All throughout Marie’s life she has known nothing but the turmoil and the drama that went with being not just the daughter of a famous wrestler like Angelica Jones, but also of being the daughter of a sociopath like Sean Williams.  The poor girl had to deal with her father and mother’s tumultuous break up and the pain that went with it, including Angelica trying to steal Marie from Sean, Sean in turn stalking Angelica, and then the final act being Angelica putting a bullet through Sean’s head.

It is a disturbing trend of children going through life with only one parent, so that much wasn’t too terrible for Marie. There have been many children whose mother or father have been murdered before, so that also was normal in a way, if not also a terrible circumstance.  But what child has ever had to live with the knowledge that their father was murdered by their own mother?

Marie, though, had to deal with all of that and the repercussions that came with it.  Those repercussions came in the form of Kimberly Williams.  Kimberly, as it turns out, was also a child of Sean Williams and whatever made him into a sociopath made her just as psychotic and sociopathic.  Kimberly felt an incredible loyalty to her father and wanted to get revenge against the Jones family for what she perceived as a crime, an injustice done against him.  That led to Kimberly taking up arms against Marie and Angelica both in a war that would last years and would include some of the most dangerous and some would even say hair-brained schemes on the part of Kimberly.

And yet now the two have mended fences and are at peace.  Kimberly, in fact, is to be one of four bridesmaids at the joint wedding of Marie Jones to Arthur Pond and Corey Jones to Kyle Butler.

That’s right, after all of the grief and turmoil, after all of the ups and downs that has been the roller coaster ride of Marie Jones’s life, finally the red-headed Boston, Massachusetts native will get a happy ending that she never thought she’d receive.  She finally found the Mr. Right she had been searching for all of her life.

Finding “Mr. Right” was another problem for the young Jones.  Marie had been raped several years ago and got pregnant as a result.  Most women would have aborted the pregnancy but Marie, oddly enough, refused that option.  She wanted to give this child, her child, a good life.  She wanted to raise him and give him everything he needed.  Marie had always wanted to be a mother.  And what was a horrible crime done to her and to her body, a glimmer of hope and light did come from it.  And thus her son was born.  She named him Sean Connor Jones after her biological father, Sean Williams.

Marie wanted to give Sean the one thing she had never had growing up; a father figure to look up to and model his life after.  Unfortunately for Marie, every single man that came into her life turned out to be a flop.  One was abusive towards Marie and she had to escape that situation.  Another dumped her quickly after finding out about Sean.  Time and time again, Marie’s quest for Mr. Right came up short.  It got to be very discouraging for Jones and she began to think that she never would find that right guy to be a father figure for Sean.

Then Arthur Pond came into her life.

Marie had her doubts, doubts that came as a result of disappointment after disappointment from the men in her life.  Arthur, though, proved that he cared about Marie not just for her looks but for who she was as a person.  To top it all off, as icing on the cake, Arthur seemed to gel with Marie’s son Sean.  Sean adored Arthur and Arthur enjoyed Sean.

Arthur and Marie’s relationship even proved to be strong enough to sustain the trying times; they were assaulted in a park in Boston by a gang of thugs, Marie later learned about Arthur’s time in a mental institution and how he hid it from her, this and other instances and yet the relationship held steadfast and strong.  They worked through it and grew to love one another even more.

It seemed to be a perfect match and so it wasn’t a surprise to anyone that Arthur would eventually pop the question and that Marie would say “yes”.  What makes this unique for the entire Jones clan is that Marie’s sister, Corey Jones, was proposed to around the same time by her longtime boyfriend Kyle Butler.  It just seemed too perfect for the family to pass up.  Thus a joint wedding was arranged.  Marie would get married to Arthur and Corey would get married to Kyle on the same exact day in one big ceremony.

“Where is she?!”

Ah but despite the fact that this is supposed to be the happiest day of her life, Marie is still allowed to be panicked by even the smallest of issues.  Marie Annabelle Jones finds herself standing just outside of the door of Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic Church in Boston, Massachusetts.  The red head has her long gorgeous red locks of hair done up nicely while the rest of her body is clad in the long flowing white wedding gown that symbolizes purity, a purity that Marie admits herself that she probably does not deserve to wear.  Next to her, similarly attired in the same type wedding gown, is Marie’s sister Corey Jones.  Behind them stands Summer Newman, Corey’s Maid of Honor, and Kimberly Williams, Marie’s Maid of Honor.  But there is one person missing from Marie’s wedding party….

“Where is Sophie?!”

The Sophie that Marie is referring to is Sophie James, Marie’s tag team partner in UWA.  Together they make up Ginger Nation, the UWA World Tag Team Champions.  Sophie was one of the few people willing to give Marie a second chance after she chose to turn over a new leaf and Sophie has remained steadfastly aligned with Marie ever since. Marie felt she could not have a wedding without Sophie playing a role, even if Sophie isn’t exactly the girly-girl wedding type.  But the mere fact that she isn’t the type to get all dolled up and trussed up for events like this makes Marie worry if Sophie ditched.  And it’s up to Summer Newman and Marie’s sociopathic maid of honor Kimberly Williams to try and calm the firey red-head down...

…a task that is easier said than done.

“I’m sure she’s on her way, Marie.”

Summer’s words try to echo the calm, soothing tone of voice that Marie needs to hear right now.  Corey Jones, Marie’s younger sister, nods her head in agreement.

“Yeah, it isn’t like Sophie would ditch you on such an important occasion.  You know?”

Kimberly Williams, who had been quiet up until now, suddenly bursts into laughter. This draws quizzical glares from both Summer and Corey.

“What’s so funny?”

Corey asks.  Kimberly just snickers in response.

“You don’t know Sophie that well, apparently.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that she would definitely ditch our little Marie here in her time of wedded bliss.”

Corey and Summer both let out sighs in unison as they watch hopelessly as Marie snaps, letting out a squeal of fear before shouting out in an exclamatory fashion.

“My life is over!”

Kimberly shakes her head and places her arm around Marie’s shoulder in a vain attempt to comfort her.

“Oh, sis, don’t be so melodramatic!  Your life is most definitely not over.”

Marie shakes her head and points towards the doors that lead into the church.

“My mother is in there.  My entire family is in there.  This is supposed to be the happiest time of my life and one of the most important people in my life isn’t here to share in it and take part in it!”

Marie buries her face in her hands.

“Yes, my life is over!”

Kimberly again shakes her head.

“No, darling sister, your life is not over.  Now if we were all gunned down in the crossfire of two warring street gangs, then yes, your life would be over.  But I don’t think your life will end simply because Sophie James doesn’t show up today.”

Marie looks up at Kimberly, tearing her face away from her hands long enough to glare at her.  But that glare quickly turns into a light-hearted chuckle.

“You really do take things way too literally, Kim.”

The other bride-to-be, Corey Jones, takes Marie’s hands and squeezes them tightly.

“You need to calm down, Marie.  You seriously do.”

Marie sighs and nods her head in agreement.

“I know, sis, and I wish I could.  I really wish I could just forget all of my troubles but you know me and you everything that I have been through all of my life, all of the trials and tribulations, all of the troubles I’ve dealt with…”

Kimberly raises her hand as if she were a child in class waiting anxiously to be called upon.  Marie rolls her eyes upon seeing this.

“…what is it, Kim?”

“I just want to apologize.”

“Apologize for what?”

“I was among the primary individuals responsible for the troubles you’ve dealt with so…um…yeah, I’m sorry…”

Marie sighs and shakes her head.

“…look, just forget it, Kim.  I don’t want to focus on the past anyway.  Today is supposed to be about the future.  Today is supposed to be about my future with Arthur.”

Corey nods her head in agreement.

“That’s right, and my future with Kyle Butler.  Don’t you see?  That’s what this is all about.  Those trials and tribulations you spoke of, that’s over.  This is a new beginning for both of us.”

Marie smiles warmly and pleasantly.

“You know, you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right.”

“And you know what else?  As painful as the past may have been, the past did help shape who I am today and the past did help lead me to Arthur.  And that past, that painful past, that is one journey that has come to an end but today a new journey starts.  Your journey with Kyle begins and my journey with Arthur begins.”

Marie and Corey embrace for a brief moment.  But they stop as they lay eyes upon Kimberly Williams, who is using a sharpie marker to write something on her hand.  Marie frowns.

“Kimberly, what the hell are you writing?”

“Oh I’m just quoting you.”

“Why?”

“Because what you just said was so meaningful I had to capture it for posterity.”

Marie grins.

“Thanks.”

“And I want to make an internet meme out of it.”

Marie rolls her eyes.  Corey points to the marker.

“Where did you get that marker?  It isn’t like these dresses have pockets.”

Kimberly grins with mischief in her eyes.

“But I do have cleavage.”

Marie shakes her head with disgust.

“T…M…I!”

Kimberly is laughing hysterically while Marie and Corey, along with Summer, just look on with disgust.  It seems as if, despite the absence of one of the bridesmaids, that maybe Marie’s wedding will go off without a hitch after all.  At the very least, Marie has been calmed down.  Peace has finally been achieved.  That is the important thing.  But then the peace is abruptly ended.

“Am I late?!”

Marie, Corey, Kimberly, and Summer all turn and look as, a few yards away, they see a figure dashing towards them.  It becomes clear that this is none other than the missing bridesmaid, Sophie James, one half of the UWA World Tag Team Champions.  But this current bridesmaid is definitely not dressed for the occasion.  James is wearing denim jeans, flip flops, and a plain black t-shirt.  As soon as she arrives, breathing heavy from running, she is scanned heavily by Marie and Summer, Corey and Kimberly.  Sophie notices this and blinks a few times quizzically.

“What’s wrong?”

She opens her mouth and uses her fingers to pick through her teeth.

“Is something in my teeth?”

“Sophie, where is your dress?”

“Dress?”

Marie nods her head.

“Yeah, dress, as in the BRIDESMAIDS dress…”

“Oh that thing…”

Marie sighs and again nods her head.

“Yeah, that thing.  Where is it?”

“I forgot it.”

Ok, now Marie is incensed.

“YOU FORGOT IT?!  WHAT?!”

Sophie grins knowingly.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Oh you most certainly did…”

Kimberly, surprisingly the voice of reason here, steps in between Marie and Sophie.

“Whoa, hold on there, Marie.”

Kimberly turns to face Sophie.

“Marie is just nervous.  Why don’t you go inside and we’ll be there momentarily?”

Sophie shrugs her shoulders.

“Sounds cool to me!”

Sophie opens the doors and bolts inside the church.  The doors shut behind her.  Marie, meanwhile, shoots Kimberly an angry glare.

“She’s not dressed appropriately!”

“Just let it go, Marie.”

Corey nods her head in agreement.

“Yeah, let it go.  There are bigger fish to fry today.”

Corey looks over at Kimberly.

“Shall we?”

“Marie and I are ready whenever you and Summer are.”

Corey turns back to face Marie and grins.

“Then, time to get married to the loves of our lives!”

Marie is still somewhat shaken and upset by what has happened but she forces a smile on her face, for she knows deep down inside that this is the end of this journey and the beginning of a new journey; a journey with Arthur Pond by her side.

The doors to the church are opened.  Summer Newman leads Corey into the church and Kimberly Williams leads Marie into the church.  The first sight that Marie sees as the door is opened is the scene at the front; a priest, Arthur Pond on one side of the priest and Kyle Butler on the other side.  Also standing up near the front is Angelica Jones, Corey and Marie’s mother.  Marie can also see Kelly Jones, Corey and Marie’s youngest sister, as well Kayla Jones, Marie and Corey’s aunt.

The elder Jones sibling wants to be certain that she soaks up the atmosphere, for this hopefully will be a once in a lifetime experience.  She looks to her right and spots a baptismal font in the back of the church.  Marie then turns her head to the left, and she spots some visitors and guests in the back pew…

…and standing up in the corner, crouched down low, perhaps to avoid being seen, is a man who has been haunting Marie’s dreams and vision for weeks now…

“NOOOOO!”

The wedding march stops dead in its tracks.  Kimberly, Summer, and Corey all turn to stare with concern at Marie.  Corey is the first to break the silence.

“What’s wrong?”

Marie seemingly ignores he question.  She just shudders with fear as she points ahead of her, towards the corner.

“HE’S HERE!”

“Who’s here?”

Kimberly asks pointedly.  But again, Marie ignores the question.

“HE’S HERE!”

Marie pulls away from Kimberly’s grip and takes off out of the church.  As she bolts out the door she trips over her wedding gown and falls forward.  Her head bounces off of the concrete.  She turns over onto her back and stares upward into the sky.  The last image she sees as things start to go black, as she slowly slips into unconsciousness, is her father, Sean Williams staring over her.

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On Camera

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We start in what is clearly nothing but pitch black.  Lucky for the viewer, the darkness slowly gives way to light, a light that begins as a spotlight shining in the center of the scene.  We can see nothing but a wood floor and what could be an off-white wall in the background.  The sound of clicking can be heard off in the distance.  The sound grows louder until, eventually, the lovely female figure of Marie Annabelle Jones steps into view, stopping in the center of the spotlight.  The fact that she is wearing a pair of stylish red high heel pumps tells us that she is the one behind the clicking noise.  The beautiful red head is also wearing a nice fancy pair of black pants paired with a dark crimson red blouse.  Normally the eyes are the window to the soul, but a pair of sunglasses that cover Marie's eyes hides that soul pretty darn well.  One cannot tell what is going on in her head right now.  It isn't long, however, until the self-proclaimed Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling spills her guts to the entire world.

“This journey is nearing its end.  Finally, after over two months of running off at the mouth, over two months of shenanigans, over two months of war, we are about to end this tournament and find out the names of two more of the participants who will go on to Olympus and compete for the UWA World Heavyweight Championship.”

A half smile crosses her face.

“For me, I look at this journey as going all the way back to the days before the Independent Wrestling Cartel went on hiatus.  I go all the way back to the day of the IWC draft and the Uprising brand of wrestling was born.  You remember who the number one overall draft pick was, don't you?”

Jones nods her head and then points to herself.

“That's right.  It was me.  And I did not, nor did I appreciate then, the amazing journey I was about to embark upon.  To be totally honest, I acted like a spoiled little brat.  My actions were those of a snot nosed little punk bitch who did not deserve to be number one overall draft pick to the new Uprising Brand.”

She snickers.

“Hell, I was clearly proving to the entire world that I didn’t deserve to be in this sport to begin with, and I didn’t deserve it because I didn’t appreciate it.  I didn’t appreciate all of the opportunities that Uprising provided.  I looked at Uprising the same way so many in IWC and, to be perfectly frank, so many all over the wrestling world looked at Uprising; a little upstart group that wouldn’t amount to much.  Riot was the premier brand, Riot was the original show, as they all loved to point out.  Uprising would always be second best.  And then when Drew Bryant decided to take this supposed ‘second best’ brand and branch off into a federation of its own, the world laughed.  The world laughed and said we couldn’t succeed.”

Marie shrugs her shoulders.

“So what did the Uprising brand do?  What else could we do?  The UWA superstars went out to the ring week in and week out and we proved our worth.  We busted our asses and proved that the Uprising Brand was just as solid a show as the Riot Brand.  And then when we branched off and became our own promotion, we proved that we could compete with anyone, whether it was with IWC or SCW or GCW it didn’t matter.  We could compete with anyone.  Oh and by the way, those who did doubt us, those who claimed Riot was superior, those who claimed IWC was superior, tell me one thing…which company is on hiatus and which company is about to host its first major pay per view?  Answer that question!”

There is a hint of intensity in the voice of The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling.  And yet that intensity subsides as she takes in a deep breath and lets out a big sigh.

“I was wrong too.  I was wrong for thinking that I had been drafted to the second best brand.  I was wrong for thinking everything should be handed to me on a silver platter.  And just like how the superstars of Uprising had to prove themselves to the rest of the wrestling world, I had to also prove myself.  I had to set out to prove that this Phoenix was a brand new bird who had turned over a new feather.  Very few people were willing to give me a chance but one person who did give me a chance was Sophie James.  She gave me a chance and thanks to her giving me a chance, we are now the UWA World Tag Team Champions.”

Jones shakes her head.

“But that’s not enough.  I want more.  I want more because I still think back to IWC Invictus where I came so close to becoming IWC World Champion.  I think back to fighting Vanilla Skyy and Alana Starr in a triple threat match and once again coming within a hair of becoming UWA World Champion.  I have come so close on so many occasions and each time I get a shot I keep getting closer and closer to achieving my goal and I know that all I need is just one more shot…”

She holds up a finger.

“…just one more opportunity is all I need and I know I will become the UWA World Champion.  I just need that one more chance and, lucky for me, in this lethal lottery of a tag team tournament, I was paired with someone who, like Sophie James, was willing to work with me, someone who was willing to give me a chance in the hopes that together we can achieve our common goal.”

A grin forms across her lovely face.

“Willow Wilkes, we’ve walked through what can honestly be described as a twisting, turning, roller coaster of a ride in this tournament together.  From Benjamin Flynn and Gavin Taylor, to my own tag partner Sophie James and your former lover Serenity, we’ve faced all comes and we’ve knocked them all down.  Now it comes down to the finals.  Just two people stand in our way and those people are Myra Lynwood and Alana Starr.”

A light chuckle escapes the lips of the Boston native.

“Now I have a history with Alana Starr but no history with Myra Lynwood, but from what I’ve read on social media, it appears as if you’re ready to bust Lynwood in the mouth.  But none of that matters right now, does it?  All that matters is if you and I can get it done one more time and quite frankly, I think we can.  As a matter of fact, I think you would have to be really dumb to bet against us right now.  We are on a roll, Willow, and nothing short of an apocalypse and a hellacious amount of bad luck can stop us now!”

The red head points at the camera.

“Speaking of luck, Myra Lynwood has to be the luckiest person in the UWA right now because, let’s face it, you weren’t even supposed to be in this tournament.  You just walked right into the world title picture while people like myself and Willow have been busting our asses for a long time to put ourselves in and keep ourselves in the world title hunt.  Not to discount your talent, but had it not been for an injury that sidelined Jessica Wilde, you would be mid-carding Outbreak and you would have no shot at getting anywhere near the UWA World Championship match at Olympus.  You would just be an outsider looking in.  You know it, I know it, the entire world knows it.”

The Crown Jewel shakes her head.

“Enjoy the spotlight while you can, sunshine, because when Outbreak comes around, me and Willow are going to put an end to your title aspirations and we will put you right back in your proper place; on the outside looking in, right where you belong.”

She smirks.

“Oh but don’t get too down on yourself, Myra.  Since you won’t have the world championship hunt to distract you, you’ll have ample amount of time to post pointless, unnecessary tweets that no one really gives a shit about.  You can become the Queen of Social Media!  Isn’t that nice?  Now as for you, Alana…”

Jones takes off her sunglasses and tucks them in her pocket.  This reveals the intensity brewing inside of her.

“…you have had your opportunity and you blew it.  Granted, I have had my opportunities and I, too, have blown it.  One of us will get another opportunity to become World Champion…”

She shakes her head.

“…and it won’t…be…you.  You want to be a tag team with Kennedy Street?  Go and be a tag team.  Make up as many fake ass championships as you want.  Declare yourselves tag team champion of the universe.  Go play house with Ethan and have a slumber party with Keenie for all I care.  But the adults, namely me and Willow, are going to Olympus.  The adults, meaning me and Willow, are going to get a shot at the UWA World Championship and that means children like you are going to be left out in the cold.”

Marie raises up her right hand.

“The race is nearing its completion.  The quest for success is almost over.  Soon this tournament will come to an end and it will come to an end at Outbreak.  But Outbreak won’t be an end for me and Willow.  For us, it will just be a beginning as we then shift our focus towards one of us becoming new UWA World Champion.  And for you, Alana and Myra…well…we will just simply…”

She snaps her fingers and the lone spotlight in the room goes out, leaving the room in total darkness.

“…put your lights out.”