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Off Camera
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Marie
Annabelle Jones had been giving SCW Television Champion Ravyn Taylor the fight
of her life two weeks ago and could have potentially went on to become champion
had it not been for a few individuals who decided to interfere in her business;
namely, Bree Lancaster and Blake Mason.
One week ago Marie had an opportunity to rectify that situation and get
some measure of revenge against Lancaster in a one on one match with none other
than Kimberly Williams as guest referee.
That did not go as planned, for Marie’s identical twin sister lost her
cool and went off on Bree. Marie, not
wanting to take a win that way, allowed herself to get disqualified. Now the Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling
is set to face her one more time and this time the match will take place at the
SCW Under Attack pay per view event.
Marie wants no more games and no more shenanigans to interrupt her match
this go around; just a straight up fight between her and Bree at Under Attack
to shut this woman up once and for all.
Her
professional wrestling career is one thing; Marie has a completely different
set of issues she’s dealing with in her private, personal life outside of the
ring. Few people realize outside of
immediate family that her husband, Arthur Pond, recently walked out on her.
Why did
Arthur walk away from Marie? Why did he
leave the woman he supposedly loves?
Arthur blames Kimberly Williams, among other things. Kimberly’s crazy, insane antics have driven
Arthur up the wall and back again.
Kimberly just recently went through a psychiatric program in order to
try and better herself. She was
released from the program into the care of Marie and Arthur but Arthur himself
secretly did not believe Kimberly had changed very much.
Then there’s
Marie’s wrestling career that bothered Arthur.
Marie Annabelle Jones is a wrestler who competes full time with a global
powerhouse named Supreme Championship Wrestling. SCW tours all over the world hosting events
in every major city in the world. SCW
produces frequent house shows and Breakdown events as well as their pay per
view extravaganzas. Arthur told Marie
that she was barely there for him due to her tough wrestling schedule and that,
combined with his concerns over Kimberly, is the reason why he could not take
it any longer.
So Arthur
gave her an ultimatum; Marie can either choose wrestling and Kimberly or she
can choose Arthur. But she can’t have it
all.
It was a
trying time for Marie as she temporarily moved back in with her mother in
Boston, Massachusetts. She tried very
hard to pull herself back together and tried very hard not to blame herself for
what Arthur did. Little did she know
that she wasn’t the only one affected; Kimberly Williams, who knew that Arthur
left because of her, attempted suicide, thinking that Marie might be better off
without her.
Yes, Marie
and the entire Jones family has been going through some stressful times as of
late, but if there is any silver lining in all of it then it is this; Kimberly’s
suicide attempt did give Marie a jolt of reality. Marie realized that none of this is her
fault, none of this is Kimberly’s fault.
This is entirely upon Arthur and Marie resolved that she would not be
bound to Arthur’s ultimatum. She would
not allow him to dictate any terms.
Then the
game changed when Arthur called Marie one afternoon when she and Kimberly were
in the park. Marie pretended not to care
and for a while she did ignore his calls and his texts when he tried back
later. But curiosity, as they say,
killed the cat and she finally decided to return his call, and that’s what
brings Marie to this small café on the outskirts of Providence, Rhode Island,
the city that will host SCW Under Attack.
Arthur and Marie agreed to meet here, since Marie had to be here for the
pay per view anyway.
Jones is
outside on the café’s patio area. It lies
less than two feet from one of the busiest roads in the city. Under the unbroken cloud this late morning
could be the pre-dawn and the street is all the more grey for it. The cafe itself looks inviting, on the other
side of those doors is warmth and soft jazz, but Marie has no time for
that. Marie is wearing a faux-wrap long
sleeved sheath dress that includes a crossover V-neckline, empire waist with
slight shirring. It has a hemline that
stops just below the knee. Two hot
beverages sit in front of The Phoenix; one is a hot French Vanilla and the
other is a simple latte. Marie is sipping on the latte absent-mindedly, not
even noticing when her husband, Arthur Pond, steps through the doors of the café
out onto the patio and makes his approach towards the table.
“Marie?” He calls out as he approaches
the table. “Marie?”
“Huh?” She is startled just ever so
slightly as she turns to face the direction of her name being called. She sighs as she finds Arthur standing
there. There was a time that seeing
Arthur would bring a warm, loving smile to her face. Now it just brings trepidation, for she doesn’t
know what this meeting will bring. She isn’t
even sure if meeting Arthur here today was a good idea or not. She had been going back and forth the past
hour whether or not she should just leave the café and stand him up; not having
to deal with this inevitable meeting.
But therein
lies the rub; it is an inevitable meeting.
Marie realizes this, she knows that she will eventually have to have
this face to face with Arthur, either at a somewhat friendly environment of a café
or in the cold unwelcoming environment of a courtroom during divorce
proceedings. A face to face with her
husband is in her future. She will have
to face him eventually.
And there’s
no backing down now. He’s here.
“Oh, hi Arthur…” Marie says, forcing a
smile upon her face as she motions to the table “…uh, sit. I went ahead and
ordered for you.”
“Ok…” Arthur’s voice trails off, clearly
he is also having some issues with this meeting. Marie is glad that she isn’t the only
one. Arthur sits down and takes the
French Vanilla that Marie slides across to him.
He takes a sip and then a genuine smile spreads across his face as he
tastes it.
“French Vanilla; my favorite. You remembered…”
“Well it’s hard to forget,” Marie said
with a wink “it’s my aunt Kayla’s
favorite too.”
“Oh, well that is true.” Arthur says
with a chuckle. “What is the name of this place anyway?
I missed it on the way in.”
“I don’t see how you missed it.” Marie
says snickering. “The name is plastered
on the door in big bold letters; Small Point Café.”
“Oh…” Arthur again chuckles “…yeah, I guess my mind is just, elsewhere….”
“You’re not the only one whose mind is
elsewhere.” Marie says with a sigh.
“I missed this, Marie.” Arthur says,
motioning to him and her. “I missed this
back and forth, I miss what we have…”
“What we had…” Marie says, correcting
Arthur, who winces as he hears it.
“Yeah, right, but I do miss what we had and
I want to see if we can work it out.
That’s why I called. That’s why I
wanted to meet. I want to see if
together we can make things right.”
“You know what you are, Arthur?” Marie
says, glaring a hole through her husband, venom dripping from every word she
utters. “You are an insensitive asshole.”
Once again
Arthur winces in pain, but he nods his head in agreement. “Yeah, I guess I had that one coming, but try to understand why…”
“No, YOU listen to me!” Marie shouts,
pointing a finger at Arthur. “You knew
what you were getting yourself into when you started dating me, and then you
should’ve known when you put this wedding ring on my finger…”
She flashes
up her hand at Arthur, displaying the wedding ring she still wears “…that you were not just marrying me, you
were marrying into my life; a life that includes my entire family, Kimberly
included, and you were marrying into my career, a career that allows me to live
the kind of life that we live.”
She pokes a
finger into his chest. “You work
PART-TIME as a secretary at my mother’s church.
Do you think you can manage to keep the both of us up with your
paycheck?”
“No…” Arthur says, sighing as she shakes
his head.
“No, you can’t. I was and will be the money maker and bread
winner of this household for the foreseeable future. And my professional wrestling career is what
allows us to live the way we live. Is it
a luxurious life? Hell no, it isn’t! We do travel a lot, we’re away from family
and even each other a lot, but it’s the way I make my living. I’m not like the Blake Mason’s and Bree
Lancaster’s of the world who can buy up private jets and small island chains
just for shits and giggles. But my
family is a proud wrestling family. We
have a legacy and reputation for being among the best athletes in this
sport. Us Jones women do this not for
the money, though it does allow us to live our life; we do it because we love
it. And you…”
She pokes
her finger at his chest again “…you are
ignorant or just completely too wrapped up in yourself to even care about any
of that. You dumped this ultimatum on me
a couple of weeks ago; remind me what that ultimatum was.”
“Do I have to?”
Yes!”
“Fine…” he sighs “…I asked you to choose your wrestling career and your sister Kimberly
or me.”
“Right, you threatened to walk out on me, to
walk away and leave me, if I didn’t dump not only my wrestling career but my
own flesh and blood, my twin sister Kimberly, just to keep you happy. Did you even have a plan what you were going
to do to after the fact if I had decided to go along with you and dump my
wrestling and my sister? Because like I
pointed out, you are a PART TIME secretary.”
“No, I guess I didn’t think that far into
it.”
“Exactly.
And by the way, your timing thus far has been splendidly crappy. You dumped that ultimatum on me a few days
before I would challenge Ravyn Taylor for the SCW Television Championship. Don’t you think THAT was on my mind instead
of Ravyn herself? And now you called me
and want to meet me to discuss all of this, just a few days before I fight Bree
Lancaster at Under Attack.”
“I’m…I’m sorry, Marie, I truly am.” He
shakes his head in shame. “I just didn’t
know.”
“You weren’t thinking.” Marie snaps at
him venomously.
“I am sorry, Marie. But try to understand where I am coming from,
because I did not mean any of this with bad intentions. I only wanted what was best for us. I wanted us to have a normal life that normal
people lead and, from what you yourself have told me before, you always wanted
that normal life for yourself and for your son.”
Marie nods
her head as she takes a sip of her latte.
Sean Connor Jones means the world to Marie. She is her only son and she has always wanted
him to have some kind of father figure, something Marie never had herself. She had hoped that Arthur would finally be
that father figure for Sean but now that hope is being put in jeopardy.
“You’re right, Arthur, at one time I did
want to lead a perfectly normal life.
There was a time when I was ashamed of my own family. That’s why my sister Jessica and I formed a
tag team called Redemption. We felt that
it was our job to redeem the family name.”
She shakes
her head. “But I realize now that I don’t
need to redeem anyone or anything. What
my mother does, what my aunt Kayla does, what any other member of the Jones
family who still actively wrestles, none of it should matter to me. I should do the very best I can to be the
very best person I can be and be the very best athlete I can be inside the
ring.”
Arthur takes
a sip of his French Vanilla and then sets it back down. Marie then reaches out and takes Arthur by
his hands and squeezes them tightly as she looks deep into his eyes.
“I’ve come to accept my family, stains and
all. Most importantly, I am happy with
who I am. I wouldn’t trade this life for
anything. And I do love you,
Arthur. I really do…”
“I love you too, Marie.”
“….but if you want to spend the rest of your
life with me, you have to also accept The Crown Jewel of Professional
Wrestling. You have to also accept The
Phoenix. They are every bit a part of me
as is the part that is your wife, Marie Annabelle Jones-Pond.”
“I think I can.” Arthur nods his head. “I do want to spend the rest of my life with
you, Marie, and I admit, I was wrong for placing that ultimatum on you. I didn’t consider how important wrestling was…still
is…to you. If you want to be a wrestler
then you have my full support.”
“Good,” Marie says with a warm smile “but that’s not the end of it. If you want to spend the rest of your life
with me, then you also have to accept my family, and that includes Kimberly
Williams.”
“Right, Kimberly.” Arthur says, showing signs of
trepidation.
“What is your problem with her?” Marie demands as she and Arthur break their
grip on one another’s hands.
“I get it, she is your sister and you care about
her. That is sweet and touching. But understand who Kimberly is.”
“She is my sister.”
“Yes, and she’s also the same woman who
kidnapped you and held you hostage while she tried to take your place in your
life. She is the same woman who to this
day will attempt to switch places with you and sneak a kiss with me, knowing
that I would have no way of telling the difference between the two of you. You told me all of the stories, Marie, do not
make me list all of the times she attempted to ruin your family.”
“She’s trying to change.” Marie
responds. “She even checked herself into
a mental health program in order to deal with her problems.”
“I’m skeptical.” Arthur states plainly. “Who is to say she isn’t just pretending to
be ok, leading you on until the time is right to strike?”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“Am I?
She did it before. She pretended
to befriend you so that she could kidnap you.
So it wouldn’t be the first time she pretended to be normal in order to
lead you into a trap.”
Arthur sighs
as he takes a sip of his French Vanilla. “Look,
Marie, I’m sorry if I sound insensitive about Kimberly. And I’ll be the first person to apologize to
the both of you and especially to her if I’m wrong, but I just don’t…I don’t…”
Real tears
form in his eyes “….I don’t want to see
her hurt you again.”
Jones gazes
into the tear filled eyes of her husband and is genuinely touched by how much
he cares. She reaches out and grasps his
hands again.
“You know, maybe I take for granted how much
you and the rest of my family worry about me?
You weren’t the only skeptic regarding Kimberly. Our own mother was skeptical for awhile about
her. But she’s changed, Arthur. I truly believe she has changed. What she needs now is support; support from
everyone. And if she gets the message
that people do not think she’s capable of bettering herself, if she gets the
idea that she can’t make it, then she’ll get worse.”
Tears now
form in Marie’s eyes. “Kimberly, she…she
attempted to kill herself the other week.”
“My God,” Arthur gasps “I had no idea…”
“Luckily we got to her when we did,
otherwise I shudder to think of the possibilities. I may not have a sister right now otherwise. But she blamed herself, Arthur. She blamed herself for everything that had
been going wrong in my life, including you walking out on me.”
Arthur
sighs. “I…hate to hear that…”
“Arthur, please, she needs our support now more
than ever.” She squeezes his hands
tightly. “And so do I.”
“I think…” his voice trails off as he
nods his head “…I think we can work
something out.”
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On Camera
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People today
erroneously claim that money is the root of all evil. This is not the case and that, in truth, is a
misquote of the good book. The quote
actually says that the love of money is the root of all evil.
I guess I
can see why Blake Mason and Bree Lancastar are vilified and hated by damn near
all human beings. Well, at least any
human worth a damn. After all what they
love more than anything else isn’t just money, because God knows Blake Mason
has plenty of that, but it is the accumulation of the power and influence that
comes with wealth and privilege.
In a way I
pity Bree. I pity her because I tend to
believe that she’s been corrupted by people like Blake Mason. The taste and lure of money and power twisted
her and corrupted her, it reshaped her into the conniving little bitch she is.
I should
know because I was there once. I had the
allure of money and power before me once upon a time and it turned me into
something I hated. I never again want to
go back to being that person, that self-centered conniving little bitch.
Bree, you
ARE there right now. You ARE that person
right now, but this match between you and I at Under Attack isn’t a mission of
mercy. Oh no, I don’t do missions of
mercy. I’m through with being a
missionary. I’m through with redemption
because that’s yesterday’s news. This
mission is about me kicking your ass all over Providence, Rhode Island.
And if I can
be perfectly honest with you for a moment, I think that despite all of the
money and power you wield by being Blake’s woman, I still have a pretty damn
good chance of whipping your ass at Under Attack.
You have all
of the money in the world because you’re engaged to a walking piggy bank. That walking piggy bank has gone as far as to
purchase The SCW Rise To Greatness Pre-Show for you and rename it the BREE-SHOW…can
you get any more pathetic?
In your
case, yes you can. Blake flashes his
money and buys you the world. He bought
you a shot at the SCW Women’s Championship.
How did that turn out for you, by the way?
Failure number
one. But that wasn’t all. Blake would go on to throw his money around
to try and give you the world but each time you failed to deliver. What happened to that Adrenaline Championship
Tournament you were entered in, sweetie?
Failure
number two.
This isn’t
to demean or undermine any of your achievements or abilities. Make no mistake about it, you are a
tremendous competitor. Your battles with
Sienna Swann were some of the best matches I’ve seen. You don’t need your piggy bank to flash his
money everywhere in order for you to get ahead in this business.
Yet that’s
exactly what you’ve been just as happy to do lately. Instead of trying to do things the right way
you’re content to try and buy your way to the top. It’s been said that everybody has a price,
but that’s not true. What is true is
that there is a price you have to pay for your actions, good or bad, and Bree,
it’s time to pay the piper.
Your wealth
and privilege will not save your ass from the beating you will receive at Under
Attack. You say I tried to duck
you? No, I SAVED your ass from getting
maimed by pulling my sister off of you.
And with her as guest referee, I could’ve had you dead to rights but I
wanted to win the right way. That’s just
who I am. Mock me for it if you like,
quite frankly I don’t care what you think or what anyone else thinks. I know who I am and I am happy with who I
am. That’s why I took the disqualification. I didn’t want to win it that way. I have a little something that is sorely
lacking in this sport today, something you’ve clearly forgotten about…
….honor. Pride.
Respectability. I care about this
sport too damn much and I care about myself too damn much to cheapen this sport
or to cheapen myself to take a win like that.
Everything I’ve accomplished in my career as a professional athlete I’ve
earned. I earned my way here to Supreme
Championship Wrestling. And hell, you
earned your way here too, but now that you’re here and now that you and Blake
are an item, you’re content with just letting his money and influence buy you
everything instead of earning anything else in your career.
That’s going
to change at Under Attack because I’m going to beat you and I’m going to beat
you the right way, MY WAY, at Under Attack.
And even if you do manage to get past me, if you manage to beat me at
Under Attack, I’m damn sure going to make you earn it. And I am going to make damn sure that you know
you’ve been in a fight when all is said and done.
