Facing The Future

The nightmare of my epic failure in Puerto Rico is over.  I am the Queen of Redemption and once again I have redeemed myself in at least my own eyes as I claimed more gold here in Supreme Championship Wrestling.  But this wasn’t just about erasing a nasty past but it was also about moving forward.  This is my first time as the SCW Television Champion and hopefully it will be a long, gratifying reign as champion.  And what else does the future hold for The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling?

Donovan Kayl.

I think my future is looking pretty darn good right now, if I do say so myself.

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Off Camera

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Marie’s life, both personal and professional, has been wrought with second guessing herself.  She did not, however, have to second guess anything that she did on this past Breakdown; The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling took full advantage of her opportunity and became the new SCW Television Champion.  It was a great moment for Marie, a moment she could cherish and celebrate for a long time to come, for she could finally erase that mistake of Puerto Rico out of her mind due to the fact that she stepped up her game and won back some gold.

This win also sends her into Retribution with a great deal of momentum against her opponent who is none other than Donovan Kayl.  He is legendary in the SCW circles and a recent Television Champion in his own right.  He also is the older of a Trios Contract and a living legend of SCW fame.  The Phoenix feels as if she has arrived but perhaps there are still doubters?  Perhaps there are those who still second guess whether or not she belongs in the big time?  Defeating Donovan Kayl would definitely silence a great many of those critics.

Still, even with that Television Championship and even with the momentum heading into a big match against Donovan Kayl, Marie isn’t completely happy with where she is in her life.  Professionally she’s great, but personally she still feels down in the dumps due to the secret she recently revealed to her son; the secret of his true biological father.

Sean Connor Jones has always been a bright and tough young kid but no matter how tough you may be, it is very challenging to accept the fact that you father was a rapist and that you were the product of a rape.  It is this truth that Marie is worried will break her son.  And it is for this reason that she second guesses her decision to tell him the truth.

There are very few people alive who could empathize with Marie’s situation.  One of those individuals is her own mother, Angelica Jones.  This is what brings her to Angelica’s large estate in Boston, Massachusetts; an estate that Angelica playfully and jokingly calls “Purgatory.”

Currently mother and daughter are outside in the garden.  Angelica’s garden is exquisite to say the very least.  The bonsai trees lined the perfect lawn in their wooden boxes.  The flower beds were a riot of May color and even on close inspection they were weed-free.

“Keeping up the garden, I see.” Marie notices.

“Of course.”

Marie is dressed in a tropical print peplum hem lace-up back mini sundress.  Her feet are encased in black sandals.  Her mother, Angelica Jones, is wearing a bohemian print spaghetti strap v-neck maxi dress.  Angelica is wearing simple flip flops.  They walk through the garden, enjoying the beautiful visions of loveliness that Angelica has planted here.

“Congratulations, by the way.”

“Huh?” Marie was busy admiring one of the bonsai trees when she hears her mother’s voice.  She turns to face her with an inquisitive look. “Congratulations…” Just then Marie’s facial features changes as it appears as if a bolt of lightning just hit her “…oh, you mean the Television Title?”

“What else?” Angelica asks with a smirk. “Glad you brought it back to the Jones family.  Just do me a favor and keep it longer than I did.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Marie chuckles lightly. “But I can tell you, Beard will be tough.  And it doesn’t help matters that I have Donovan Kayl at Retribution first.”

“No, no it doesn’t, but that’s the life of a wrestler.”

“Very true.” Marie says, nodding her head in agreement.

“You will do fine against Kayl.” Angelica remarks pointedly.

“I’m glad you are so sure, and I appreciate the support and confidence in me, but he has been on a roll lately.  A reign as the Television Champion and a Trios Tournament win…” Marie’s voice trails off “…this will be tough, mom.”

“Yeah, it will be tough, but trust me, you can beat him.  I know because you have surpassed me.  You are better now than I ever was, even in my prime.”

Those words are high praise coming from the matriarch of the Jones family and Marie’s mother.  Marie fights back some tears, for she does not want her mother to see her cry, and she does not want to cry now knowing that tears may be shed for other reasons real soon.

“I appreciate you saying that, mom.  I really do.  But you have no idea how tough it is to hear you say that.  Especially since you and Aunt Kayla are leaving SCW entirely too soon.”

“Too soon?” Angelica arches her brow. “Marie, if anything we should’ve left a long time ago.”

“But you two still have a lot of gas left in your tank.  You still have a lot left to give to SCW and the sport as a whole.  You could win the tag titles for a third time.”

“You’re right, we could.  I won’t deny that.” Angelica nods her head. “But what point would that prove?  We won them twice before.  Doesn’t that prove how good we are?  Doesn’t that prove that we were one of the best tag teams in SCW?  We don’t need to prove that point any longer.”

The elder Jones, in what is almost like a passing of the torch moment, reaches out and touches her oldest daughter on her shoulder.

“It’s time for others to step up and carry on in our stead.  You and your sister Kimberly…it’s your time now, Marie.  Winning the Television Title, and the United States title before that, it just proves to me that it is your time.  And when you defeat Donovan Kayl at Retribution, everyone will believe it. So just embrace it, sweetie.”

“Again, thanks for the vote of confidence, but you’re still full of crap.” Marie says with a smirk, wiping away a tear. “You and Kayla have a lot left in you.”

“And we’re giving it all away at Retribution.”

Marie and Angelica share a laugh and a heartfelt hug.  After the hug, though, Marie stares into her mother’s eyes and thinks long and hard about things.  She realizes that she cannot avoid the reality of the situation for much longer.

“You do realize that I didn’t come all the way here to talk wrestling, right mom?”

“This is the Jones family, sweetie, what else is there for us to talk about?”

Angelica says with a slight laugh in her voice.  Marie, who does not find it all that humorous, places her hands on her hips and glares at her mother.

“Be serious, mom!”

“Ok, ok, sorry!” Angelica says. “Yes, I figured you came here for other reasons.” Angelica motions towards her house. “Want to come inside?”

Marie nods her head and follows her mother further down the garden and towards its exact, which is a gate.   The gate was somewhat rickety. It had surely been sturdy when it was made. It was solid cedar wood and held together with great iron nails. But it had not been varnished for many years and the rot had set in. The hinges and nails had become rusted and the gate hung at a jaunty angle.  Mother and daughter Jones exit through this gate and walk up the walkway that leads towards Angelica’s main house.

The French doors open and Marie and Angelica enter into the dining room area.  The dining-room was exquisite. The walls were covered with a shimmering gold paper and in the middle of the ceiling above the carved oak table was a candelabra. Down the center of the table was a runner with Celtic design woven in gold and green into the fabric itself. At the end of the table were floor to ceiling french doors, left slightly ajar to let in the scented summer air. The polished silver cutlery was heavy to the hand and shone brightly in the early evening light. At each place stood a tall empty wine glass and there were beautifully folded napkins to match the runner. All that was missing was the food and the guests.

Guests are not coming.  Marie knows that her mother, the ever illustrious Angelica Jones, enjoys the finer things in life.  To a degree, Marie understands this.  A lifetime of hardship, trial, and tribulation that Angelica had to live through has made her believe that she has earned this decedent lifestyle.  Marie has a sense of that pride running through her veins, as well.  She may not been left wanting for much growing up, but she still had pains and heartaches of her own.  The most recent heartache being the one involving her son and the secret of his biological father.

“Find a seat, Marie.” Angelica says, motioning to the table. “I’ll get the wine.”

Marie does as she is told, sitting down and waiting patiently for her mother to get the wine.  Her mother is quite the wine drinker.  Angelica always has quite the variety but has a strong preference towards the reds.  Marie anticipates a red wine and, sure enough, Angelica reaches into the refrigerator and produces a bottle of Cabernet sauvignon.  Smiling pleasantly, the elder Jones pours some of the wine into Marie’s glass.  Then she pours some wine into another glass, presumably for herself.  Angelica then sits down as well.

“So what’s on your mind?”Angelica asks, taking a sip of her wine.

“I can probably don’t need to go into any sordid details about what I did.” Marie remarks. “I imagine Aunt Kayla told you.”

“Yeah, she probably did.” Angelica shrugs her shoulders. “But she tells me lots of things.  She called me acting delirious over Tom Brady hurting his finger during the playoffs.”

“Seriously?” Marie asks with a frown.

“Yes, seriously.” Angelica remarks slowly, nodding her head. “So yeah, it could be any number of things she told me.  What is it?”

“Did she tell you anything about your beloved grandson?”

“Oh you mean Sean?” Angelica sighs before taking another sip of her wine. She instantly realizes what this is about. “Yes, she told me all about it.  How is he taking the news?”

“I wish I knew…” Marie takes a sip of her own wine and then sighs deeply, shaking her head “…he seems distant but, then again, he’s always been kind of quiet around most everyone, including family.  It’s hard for Arthur or myself to get a good read on him.”

“You were the same way at first, if I recall.” Angelica says with a wink. “You started out quiet but as you grew older you definitely grew out of your shell.  It sounds as if Sean is taking after his mother.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Marie sets her wine glass back down and stares across the table into her mother’s eyes. “I don’t believe I took it too well when you shared your deep dark secret with me.”

“You’re right, you didn’t.” Angelica says, shaking her head. “But I can’t say I blame you.  I did…well…” Angelica cannot finish that statement so Marie finishes it for her.

“You killed my father.” Marie says with a sneer.

“Yes, yes I did.” Angelica takes a sip of her wine.  Tears form in her eyes. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t regret that.  That action I took on that terrible day nearly tore you away from me.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Marie snaps back with venom in her own voice. “You hurt me by taking my father from me and I hated you for that.  I hated you for a long time.  And it…it broke me…” now it’s Marie’s turn to take a sip of wine “…and I guess that’s really what I’m afraid of.”

“What?”

“I’m afraid that this secret will make Sean snap. I’m afraid it’ll break him.” Marie places her wine glass back on the table and then bangs the table with her fist. “It just isn’t fair, damn it!  It isn’t fair what Oliver Hardy did to me!  And his evil lives on to torment poor Sean, because he has to live knowing he was the product of a rape!”

“Life isn’t fair, Marie.  We Joneses should know that better than anyone else.  My parents were both con-artists who abandoned Kayla and I.  Kayla ended up in the home of a sexual predator while the memory of my parents broke me and drove me to a few suicide attempts.  I killed your father.  You were sexually assaulted by the same monster who assaulted your Aunt Kayla.  But guess what?”

“What?”

“We survived.” Angelica forces a smile onto her face despite all of these painful memories that she brought up. “That’s what we are at the end of the day; we are a family of survivors.  Sean is a Jones, so he can survive this, Marie.  I know it.”

Angelica places her wine glass back down and then holds up one finger.

“I just have one piece of advice for you.”

“What’s that?”

“Talk to Sean about all of this.  If he doesn’t want to talk about how he feels about this, fine, but at least give him a chance.  Approach him.  Try to talk to him.  But don’t make the mistake I made.” She shakes her head as she wipes tears from her eyes. “I didn’t want to talk to you, I didn’t want to approach you.  I wanted it all to go away and for the two of us to just be a happy mother and daughter.  But I was wrong to think that the problem would just go away.”

Angelica reaches out and snatches her daughter’s hands, squeezing them gently but firmly.

“You have to talk to your son.”

“I will, mom.” Marie nods her head. “As tough as it may be, I will talk to him.  And you’re right, Sean can take it.  He is tough, just like his mother…and just like his grandmother…”

“I’m not sure how tough I am.” Angelica scoffs. “I’m the one retiring.”

“Yeah but before you do you have to fight Aunt Kayla.” Marie reaches up and grabs her jaw. “Are you ready to lose a few teeth?”

“Are you ready to drop Kayl on his head with an Ave Maria?”

The two ladies share another laugh.  Then Angelica hoists her wine glass up in the air.

“A toast…to the Jones family, may we continue to be survivors.”

“Cheers.” Marie and Angelica clink their glasses together and drink in unison.

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On Camera

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I joined the SCW roster back in late 2016.  Before setting foot into SCW, I had already proven my worth as a World Champion in both GCW and the now defunct UWA.  Still people doubted I could hang in there with the talented athletes of Supreme Championship Wrestling.  Still I had my critics who were not convinced that The Phoenix was for real and that she could do just as well here in this company as she did everywhere else she’s been.

Then May of 2017, Supreme Saturday, I defeated Tyler Tucker to become the SCW United States Champion.  Now I guess that could’ve been a fluke, it could’ve been a lucky break on my part, but you know what wasn’t a fluke; defeating Tyler Tucker AND a former SCW World Champion in Regan Street to RETAIN that same championship at Taking Hold of the Flame.

You would think that would’ve been enough to open some eyes but apparently it wasn’t.  I lost the title to Jinn at Supreme Saturday Puerto Rico and failed to win it back at Rise To Greatness and immediately the doubters returned.  The naysayers were back.  And they were all crying in unison, asking the same question…

…can Marie Jones hang in SCW upper echelon?

I am not the kind of person to sit back and take defeat oh so easily.  I fought like hell to get back to where I wanted to be.  I fought the top names in this industry, former world champions like Alistair Alloco, Ace Marshall, and Christy Matthews…some of them I beat…I fought potentially a future world champion in Bree Mason.  And no, I didn’t walk away with a title shot, but I did walk away with a little more respect from the SCW locker room.

I also walked away with a great deal of momentum.  I used that momentum to propel myself further.  And guess what?  I just defeated Aaron Blackbourne to become the new SCW Television Champion.

Not only have I redeemed myself from that loss in Puerto Rico, but I have earned respect and the credibility as an athlete who can hang with anyone on this roster and, dare I say it, DEFEAT anyone on this roster on any given night.  In my mind, there’s nothing left to prove.  In my mind, I’ve arrived.

Yet the doubters still linger.  The critics want more.  And if they want more out of The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling then by God they’ll get it.  Because I’m tired of being second guessed.  I’m tired of people doubting me.  All doubts will be eliminated at Retribution when I go head to head with Donovan Kayl.

No, wait, scratch that…when I DEFEAT Donovan Kayl, at Retribution.

You don’t want to rest on the laurels of your Trios Contract victory.  You don’t want that to be the end of the Donovan Kayl story and I appreciate that because I, also, see a much bigger future for myself outside of just a United States and Television Title victories.  Remember, Donovan, why I came to SCW in the first place.  It wasn’t to just compete against the best talent wrestling has to offer.  I came here because I wanted a FAIR opportunity to once again be a World Champion.

And I am so close to breaking through and proving to the match makers of SCW that I deserve that opportunity.  I am so close that I can taste it.  And I have a ton of momentum behind me right now.  Do you think I’m going to let you put a halt to my momentum?  Do you think I’m gonna let you delay my ride to a future world title opportunity?

Hell no!

Donovan, we are going to have one hell of a match.  We really are going to tear down the house at Retribution, because we both have a cause we’re fighting for and that cause is the greatest cause of them all…

…our futures.  I’m fighting for my future and you’re fighting for your future but something has to give.  We both can’t be the best.

But therein lies the rub.  You want to be recognized as among the best in the world.  I don’t want that.  I want to be THE Best in the World!

And to do that I have to go through people like you.  To be recognized as the best, I have to defeat people like you, the best wrestlers in the world, not just in SCW.  And that means upping my game each and every night; because if I don’t, everything I’ve done up until this point will have been squandered.

That’s how I’m approaching this, Donovan.  I’m approaching this as if it is my end all be all, as if it is the last chance.  You never know, when it comes to your future being at stake, it could BE your last opportunity.

I have a bright future, Kayl, and that’s why I can’t let you beat me at Retribution.  It can’t happen, it won’t happen.