A Promise Kept Ch. 04

I only hoped that I was the one who would be there when the time came for Tommy Powers to answer for his sins. However, if it was God's will that I face him, I prayed that I would have enough control so as not to kill him. But then again, his life meant very little to me at that time; and if he so much as even acted like he was going to attack, then it would be best that he go ahead and give his soul to God...because the rest of his little punk Ass belonged to me...and I was going to make him pay dearly if I ever got my hands on him....

~~~~~~

TWO WEEKS LATER

Dr. Robert Dresden had gone to trial, and after he was found guilty, he was taken to a prison somewhere out of state to do his time, (Two Years) where afterward he and his family would go into the witness protection program.

The day was Monday and after having already fought in one Karate tournament, each of them winning first place in their individual weight classes; my girls were preparing for their next tournament, which was taking place on the up and coming Saturday. To say that I was merely proud of my girls was one the biggest understatements in the whole wide world. I was not only proud of them; I was ecstatic and bragging on my girls at every given opportunity...

~~~~~~

Chapter Five

That night when I got home, Kara and Jayne met me at the door, Jayne carrying a cup of coffee for me, while Kara handed me a tumbler full of Jim Beam™ bourbon to pour into my coffee.

"Welcome home, baby," Kara cooed, gently kissing my lips, "I love you."

"Thank you, my sweet," I smiled, "I love you, too."

"I hope you like the coffee, Michael," Jayne sweetly smiled, then leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, "And I love you, too, just not like Kara does."

"I know you do, Jayne sweetie," I warmly replied, gently placing my arm around her waist and hugging her, "I love you, too..."

~~~~~~

I could tell that Kara and Jayne had been busy in the kitchen by the aroma that wafted into the den where I sat and sipped my Jim Beam and coffee. Another thing that Jim Beam is well suited for and that's analgesic relief from aching muscles, as well as being a good stress reliever, too.

"I don't what you two are cooking in there," I told Kara and Jayne, "But it smells absolutely heavenly. What is it?"

"It's a surprise," Kara grinned, "But I'll give you a hint and tell you that I got the recipe from your Mom."

"Jeez, it could be anything," I teased, "How about another hint?"

"Nope," Jayne knowingly smiled, "You'll just have to wait until we're finished, Mister Smart ass."

"Jayne's right," Kara teased, "You are a smart ass and would have it figured out in no time if we gave you another hint."

"Come on now," I grinned, "Ya'll are too damned pretty to be so mean."

"We're not trying to be mean, Michael," Jayne giggled, "It's just that Kara is right...you're too smart for your own good sometimes," and then her little comment was followed by a barrage of female laughter...

~~~~~~

The surprise dinner turned out to be Frito© Pie, one of my all time favorite things to eat when I was a young boy, and to say that it tasted great would be another of many understatements that has been made throughout the telling of this tale.

"So, tell me, baby," Kara asked, after I'd taken the first bite, "How does it taste, sweetheart?"

"Shh," I quietly grinned, "I'm having an orgasm," which again, was followed by another barrage of female laughter.

"You're so silly," Kara laughed, "But I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Michael," Jayne grinned, still giggling, "But guys are can be really sick sometimes," after which she and Kara, again, fell into another fit of female laughter, only this time, they each rose from their seats to come around to my side of the table, throwing their arms around me, still smiling and snickering.

"We love you, Michael honey," Kara softly smiled.

"Mmm, hmm," Jayne gently cooed, "We sure do..."

~~~~~~

That next morning when I got to my office and was preparing to teach my first morning class, the phone on my desk rang, as I picked it up part way through the third ring.

"This is Coach Walker," I answered, "Can I help you?"

"Wow, big brother," my sister, Brittany giggled on the other end, "You sound so official."

"I assume you have an important reason for calling me at work," I teased, "Otherwise it sounds like you're calling to waste my time, girlie."

"Gimme a break," she playfully groaned, "You don't have to be at the gym for at least another thirty minutes, so; quit bitching."

"Whatever," I grinned, "Seriously though, what can I do for you, Britt?"

"I was wondering if it would be alright if I came over to ya'll's house this evening?" she sweetly asked, "I need to speak with you privately about something that I doesn't necessarily need to be talked about over the telephone, okay? Besides, it's really important...please, Mikey?"

"Okay, baby girl," I gently replied, "I'll be home around five-thirty so; if you could get here somewhere between six-thirty, or seven o'clock; that'll be fine, okay?"

"That sounds good to me," she replied smiling, "Thank you, big brother...I appreciate this more than you could ever know."

"Aw, you know that you're always welcome at my house, Britt," I told her, "At least I hope that you know that anyway."

"I do know," she softly replied, "And thank you again, Michael. That's just another one of the many reasons that I love you, big brother..."

~~~~~~

That night will forever remain one of the sweetest moments that I remember ever spending with my sweet and precious little sister, Brittany. Of course she and I had always been close growing up so; there were many tender and very loving moments that I spent around Brittany. However, this particular night remains at the top of the list of experiences I'd shared with her over the years...

~~~~~~

THAT NIGHT
FRIDAY 6:42 PM

"Hello there, my soon to be sister-in-law," Brittany smiled, as Kara opened the front door of the house to let Brittany in, "It seems like forever since I last saw you...well, except for the other day in the gym. How are you, sweetheart?"

"Mmm, I'm doing great," Kara purred, as she and Brittany hugged one another, "How in the world are you doing, Britt?"

"I'm a little bit worried," Brittany quietly replied, "That's why I wanted to talk to you guys. I heard something about Tommy Powers that I think you guys should be made aware of."

"Come on in," Kara smiled, "We were just deciding on what to cook for dinner."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Britt asked, "I really don't mind at all."

"Nonsense," Jayne smiled, walking into the foyer at the front door to greet Brittany, "You're a guest, and guests shouldn't be made to help in the kitchen."

"Hi, Jaynie, sweetie," Brittany delightfully squealed, throwing her arms around Jayne's neck and giving her a gentle hug, "It's been too long since I've seen you, girl. How have you been?"

"I've doing well, Britt," Jayne widely smiled, returning the hug, "Thank you so much for asking..."

~~~~~~

"Hi, Mikey," Britt smiled, as she sat down next to me on the couch and laid her head on my shoulder, "I love you."

"I love you, too," I told her, "Now what is so important that you couldn't talk to me about it over the phone?"

"It's Tommy Powers," she dreadfully replied, "He's been making some God awful threats, Michael. A friend of mine told me that Tommy said that at his earliest opportunity...he was going to kill you and Kara."

"Bullshit," I laughed, "He's just pissed off because he got his ass beat by a girl."

"Oh, my God," Brittany smiled, "My only regret is that I didn't get to see it...that would've been funny as hell."

"He only got hit twice," Kara snickered, "I hit him; and then he hit the ground."

"I don't know," Jayne warned, "We all know that he's crazy, you guys. I think that maybe you two should take what seems like bullshit to you right now, a little more serious."

"I agree with Jayne," Brittany said, and then her eyes suddenly filled with tears as she gently took my arm and sniffled, "That fucker is crazy, Michael...and I think you'd better find a way to stop him before he has the chance to follow through on his threat. Besides, my friend said that Tommy had a very strange look in his eyes, and that he was acting like he was on some kind of drug, or something."

"All the more reason not to worry," I said, "He's a dope head and that says it all. Relax, ya'll are making a mountain out of a mole hill."

"Did you, or did you not say that people who use drugs are very unstable people, Michael?" Kara suddenly asked me, as I nodded, "Alright then, I think that we should listen to both Brittany and Jayne. Besides, in a combat situation, wouldn't the information that Britt brought to us be called a pretty damn accurate intelligence report?"

"Alright, you ladies win," I finally conceded. Then I looked at Kara and reminded her, "We have the tournament tomorrow with the girls at T.S.U. (Texas Southern University), and, we're going to be fighting on their turf."

"You'd better be careful, Michael," Brittany warned, "I'm not trying to sound like a racist, but you know that Texas Southern University is primarily black don't you?"

"Of course," I ignorantly replied, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I went to the TSU campus to get a book that we didn't have in the bookstore here at the U of H," she began, "And out of curiosity, I wandered over to the their gym to have a look at their Karate team. You wouldn't believe the things that their coach was telling those girls. He said, and I quote, "You're going to be fighting a bunch of weak ass white girls, and if you don't win your competition...then you'll answer to me after the tournament is over. There is no room for weakness on this team, no room for forgiveness on this team, and last but not least; there is NO room for mercy either." Those girls are big and mean looking, too, Michael so; be sure you tell our girls to be careful, okay?"

"He said that, huh?" I asked, as Brittany nodded her head, making me pick up the phone and start dialing, "Don't you worry your pretty little self about it anymore, Britt. I'm going to put a stop to this shit before it ever gets started..."

~~~~~~

What I'd done was called a friend of mine who was not only a member of the Board of Directors for the N.C.A.A., but also the A.A.U. Her name was Patricia Sawyer, and her Grandfather, Granville M. Sawyer, in whom the Regents at T.S.U. named their auditorium after, was basically one of the founding fathers of the athletics program there, and was instrumental in making sure that young black athletes had just as fair of an opportunity in being accepted by both organizations as young white athletes did...Not to mention her entire family is African American...which, the color of someone's skin has never once mattered to me, as I've encountered people from all over the world.

Still though, even back then there was racial prejudice amongst the white and black people in Texas, and anyone who ever lived there back in the time period I'm talking about knows exactly what I mean. Granted, I always thought that if someone was prejudiced, then that meant that they hated everyone, not just black people. Either way, it sucks, and I'm not only ashamed of them, but I pity anyone who let that particular outlook on life overtake them to begin with.

However, I wasn't worried about any of that occurring, hence the reason I called Patricia to begin with. I knew that she would put a stop to anything prejudicial from happening, whether it done by an athlete, coach, or staff. And knowing her like I did, she would more than likely see to it that anyone acting like that would be either fined, disqualified, or both...She was a no nonsense girl when it came to business, hence the reason she always received my utmost respect

~~~~~~

THE NEXT DAY

"Michael," Patricia smiled, waving her arms in the parking lot as me, Kara, and I guess now our girls pulled up in a minibus, sporting the U of H logo on the sides, "Hello, handsome, how are you?"

"Hi, pretty lady," I grinned, hugging her, "It's so good to see you."

"Oh my," Patricia smiled, when she saw Kara come off of the bus behind me and take my hand, "Who is this beautiful woman beside you?"

"Hi, Ms. Sawyer," Kara cordially smiled, as the two women shook hands, "Michael's told me a lot about you, and I must say that I'm very honored to meet you."

"Girl, please," Patricia delightfully giggled, taking Kara into her arms and hugging her, "My name is Patricia and not Ms. Sawyer; and from looking at how beautiful you are, it looks like Michael has finally met his match."

"Excuse me for asking," Kara smiled, "But Michael never told me how you two know each other."

"That's easy," Patricia grinned, taking my arm, "If it weren't for Michael, I would've never made it through Hospital Corpsman School when he and I were in the Navy together."

"Please," I laughed, "You were smart enough to pass that class all on your own. All I did was to show you that you should study during the week, and chase guys on the weekend."

By this time, Patricia's pretty golden cheeks were beginning to turn pink in embarrassment, and after playfully smacking me on the arm, she laughed and said, "And you shouldn't tell everything you know either."

"Sorry darlin," I laughed, "But you started it this time..."

~~~~~~

After I'd got all my girls registered, and had been given our own locker rooms, I called them all together to speak to them.

"Okay girls, there are a few things I want to say to you before you get suited up," I began, "Let me start by telling you all how proud of you that Coach Matlock and me are. You girls are all good girls, and when you go out there to fight, I want you to not only give it everything you've got, but above all, I want to be fair, okay?"

Because Jillian Hendricks was the highest ranking black belt among them, I knew that she'd been voted the one to speak for all of my girls when she stood up and said, "We want you and Coach Matlock to be proud of us, Coach Walker. But we've all heard how mean the girls here are, and I'm speaking for all of us when I say that we're not gonna put up with any of their shit. While we don't intend on breaking any rules, we're not going to let any of those girls get away with shot. Do you understand, Coach?"

"Of course I do," I chuckled, "But if you're gonna do anything that will cost you a point, I want you to make damn sure that the referee doesn't see it."

"You got it, Coach..."

~~~~~~

Because of the fact that, and I didn't know it at the time, Jillian Hendricks was reigning champion, it mean that she'd only have to fight ion the final bout. However, just because she didn't have to fight but one time, it didn't mean that she was standing ringside at every match.

When the first match took place, it was between Emma McNealy, and a girl from Rice University named Helen Young. It was a good clean fight, both girls were black belts; however, Helen didn't have the experience fighting in the ring. Emma, on the other hand, was used to being in the ring, and being as good as she was, she took the match ninety seconds into the first round by getting Helen into a submission hold that made her tap out.

And again, because of her experience; Emma refused to get excited prematurely, as she still had more matches to fight. Speaking of fighting, not all of my girls were competing in the ring, only Emma McNealy, Pamela Delgato, the Lynch twins, Jeri and Janie, and then last but certainly not least, Jillian Hendricks, also our highest ranking black belt. I later found out that among the female black belts at the tournament that day, Jillian outranked every single one, making me that much prouder of her.

The rest of my girls were either competing in "Forms" or Katas, and/or "Weapons", being one of three, the Hong Bo, or, Bo Staff, Nunchaku, or Nunchucks, and then last, the Sai Swords; of which I'd seen Petra Anderson, my second highest ranking black belt, use them with very deadly results. If I was sure of anything that day, I knew that Petra would at least make a good showing, if not placing first...

~~~~~~

After the initial competitions had been completed, and the semi-finalists had been selected, imagine the thrill I experienced when I discovered that all of my girls had made the cut; and would go on to the semi-finals that afternoon and then whoever made it past the semi finals would compete in the finals that night...

~~~~~~

"So, tell us, Coach," Laura Bonham smiled, "What are thinking right now."

"Not much," I gratefully replied, "Just how proud I am of every single one of you girls. Because you all made the semi-finals that let me know that I did my job as your coach."

"Aw, come on, Coach Walker," Taylor Johnson sweetly told me, "You're more than just a Coach to us ya know," and then all my girls began nodding their heads in affirmation, "You've been the closest thing to a father that some of us has ever known," and then as her big pretty blue eyes began to full with tears, she leaned over, and while gently hugging me, softly sniffled, "We all love you, Michael, every single one of us."

"Aw, thank you, sweetie," I replied, thoroughly moved, "You ladies honor me way too much."

"Oh, no they don't," Kara smiled, quickly kissing my lips in front of my girls, "You're more than worthy, baby. Isn't that right, girls?"

"He sure is," Petra Anderson impishly replied, "If he argues with you again, Coach Matlock, let me know and I'll stab him in the ass with one of my Sai Swords," which of course caused the rest of the girls to devilishly agree with her, laughing as they did so...

~~~~~~

That afternoon marked the beginning of where I would cause an awareness of racial bigotry being taught in college sports that would reach a nationwide proportion. It all began when Emma McNealy stepped into the ring to begin the quarter-final matches.

Her opponent's name was Leticia Williams, who was herself, an up and coming contender in the amateur ranks of Martial Arts Competition. Little did I realize that the match between her and Emma would turn out the way it did.

They fought neck-and-neck and were tied at the end of the second round, before the beginning of the third round. However, what I, nor the referee saw, was the fact that Leticia's coach put a different pair of gloves on her hands during the break. And it was those very gloves that would cause me to fly into a rage, making certain that their coach was banned from ever teaching again after the tournament was over, the racist son-of-a-bitch.

Emma was very good at sticking her opponent and then moving out of the way before Leticia could counter, All of a sudden, Emma's opponent threw a punch that Emma didn't see, and it connected square on the chin, dropping her to the mat.

However, what struck me as strange was the fact that when I stepped into the ring to check on Emma's well being, I saw a familiar looking powder that was caked up around her mouth, and all over her chin. I was compelled to do what I did next. I reached down with my index finger and took a swipe of the powder off of Emma's face, placing it in my mouth.

My suspicions were confirmed when I tasted the familiar taste of plaster as it coated the inside of my palette, which, made me immediately made me stand up and yell, "FOUL, REF, FOUL..."

~~~~~~

The fight was immediately halted, and samples of the powder were taken from around Emma's mouth. What happened next was by pure luck when I saw the T.S.U. coach trying to discretely dispose of the gloves that Leticia Williams had worn when she assaulted my Emma.

"STOP RIGHT THERE YOU CHEATING FUCK," I yelled at the TSU coach, causing Patricia Sawyer to rush to the Coach, quickly seizing the gloves from him before they could be disposed of. "Now you're fucked, you cheating piece of shit," I victoriously, as well as poisonously told him, "And I'm going to see to it personally that you never get the chance to pull this kind of chickenshit crap again; you racist asshole."