Purgatory

I consulted Jen, Manny and Jenks about the decision, and about the training I would need. We set up a regimen and I followed it. Jenks was of the opinion that sexual abstinence would be necessary. Jen overruled that.

I trained, and went to Philadelphia for the fight. The opponent was Rick Sutter. He was almost exactly my size, with a shaved head and flamboyant, pugnacious style. Jenks and I studied video. He had fought thirty-four times, and won all but one.

This is not a boxing story (yet), so I can simply say that the fight went all twelve rounds, and I wore him down. I did not emerge unscathed as I had before. I was sore in my body for two weeks from clinches with this guy. I knocked him down once, in the tenth, with a right cross. I thought he was out, but he got up. The bell saved him. And he recovered enough to finish. He was a really game fighter and I admired him, flash or not.

After the fight, I did a quick presser, claiming to have no idea if I'd fight on. And I retreated to the Farm. I called a real estate woman about the abandoned ski resort. Fifty-two acres, a lodge and cabins. It had been being used as a summer camp for the YMCA. So the buildings weren't too dilapidate. With the 150k I had from the fight, after taxes, I was able to buy outright, using some money from my savings.

I also made a deal to sell my business. It had been doing very well, and I sold it to the employees, in a complex deal that left me with some cash and a continuing semi-annual payment.

Now I was a land owner.

For Manny, Rob (Chin) was working out very well. He more than made up the slack caused by my boxing. He had a close friend named Billy Williams. They were friends from the military and had similar backgrounds. Manny hired him as well. Business was good. Guys came and went, and all paid. It always surprised me that Manny's business model worked. But I never asked too many probing questions. What really made it work was Manny's ability to teach. There were many people like Rob and Billy. But only one Manny.

After all the hoopla about me as a boxer died down a bit, I was again in a peaceful mode at the Farm and with Jen. Then, as if fate disliked me being content, Kim broke up with Jamal. She moved back with her folks, and seemed okay with that. But not for long. She arrived at the Farm with little Johnny after New Year's Day.

We put them up in a room upstairs -- a small room. Then the three of us, Manny, Jen and I, had a discussion of what to do with her. I went up and took her to another spot for a private talk.

I asked, "What happened with Jamal?"

"He felt like I brought him bad luck. You know, he was never going to be a permanent thing. He's too....well, he was too good looking, and young."

"Uh huh. So, what now?"

"I thought. I thought that Johnny needed you in his life. His dad. And, although I love my folks, I don't want to live with them. I wondered if there might be work for me up here, and a place."

"Let me think it over, Kim. You know, that stunt still rankles. Hell, more than rankles."

"Okay. I'm not a fighter, but I can organize stuff, and I have a quick head. I mean for

practical things. I can only apologize so much. But I am truly sorry."

"In the end, you left me for a pretty face."

"More than just a pretty face, boy!" She started laughing.

"Not so pretty any more, though." I started laughing. And she didn't stop.

I asked, "How is he now?"

"He's mainly back, after rehab. He's starting to go back to the gym. He wants to fight the guy you just fought."

"Okay. Well, I don't have a lot of interest. He dished it out, then he paid. Even up. Except for you."

"I'm not kidding about getting on somewhere here. I want to pay my way, if I stay."

I had some more discussion with Manny and Jen about Kim. Jen wasn't bothered if she stayed. Manny looked at me and asked, "What about you, Brian? Can you manage seeing her around?"

"Yes. Because of Jen. She messed me over and I'm way better for that."

"What can she do, for work?"

"She's smart. She's fit but doesn't know anything about what we do here. She was a business major in school. Accounting also."

Manny said, "What are your plans for the ski camp?"

"I'm going to renovate, and try to rejuvenate it as a vacation spot for nature and fitness people. Trails, swimming, rafting, archery, and so on."

"And you need someone to organize renovation, and figure pricing, borrowing costs, and so on. Could she....contribute there?"

Jen said, "She could have one of the cabins."

That's what we arranged. I took another bout to make some more money. It was with the number one contender, in New York. The guy was Rodrigo Sanchez. I realized that I'd have to work hard to keep from getting waxed by him. Jenks, and sometimes Manny, helped out. We studied video of all his bouts. He was intimidatingly powerful.

Again, the bout went all twelve. Again, I knocked the opponent down, this time in the ninth round. But he got up angry. And he returned the favor at the end of the round. That really pissed me off. I did my calming routine in my corner. My head cleared. But I decided to crush this guy. Well, that proved to be much more difficult than anything I previously experienced. He was also still angry. And, contrary to all my training, I engaged in toe to toe exchanges throughout the remaining two rounds. No one went down, but lots of punches landed. For me, I shoved the guy into a corner and worked the body. He just kept firing at my head. He connected a few times, but I reacted by bulling him. I must have fired thirty body shots in each round. I had rage, no doubt about it. Later, I understood that the crowd was standing and roaring. But when it was happening, I only saw this guy. It was him and me. That's all. I finished the twelfth round pounding him in a corner. I never heard the bell. I had to be pulled away by the referee.              

I looked at Sanchez. I was amazed he could stand up. But he looked right back at me. I nodded, and so did he. The fight was scored a draw. Looking at it later, I thought it was fair. At the time, I just didn't care. And, here's what I really thought. If it had been fifteen, I would have won. Or maybe died trying.

No way were we driving home after that. We had rooms in a nearby hotel. I had to be checked out by a doctor before I could leave the arena. Sanchez went to the hospital, but didn't stay long. He had a cracked rib. I slept fitfully after the bout. Then I slept in the van all the way back to the Farm. Then I slept another eighteen hours. When I woke up, it was morning, and, testing my body, I found I was sore, but could function.

There had been no presser after the fight, because neither of us could do it. Jenks again set up one in his side room, for five that day. Before I went down there, Manny and Jen and Jenks and I watched the whole fight. At the end I believe all of us accepted the draw scoring. If I could have avoided that knock down at the end of the ninth, I would have won. I won the last three rounds. All the judges scored the ninth as a tie.

Before the press meeting, Jen and I discussed whether I wanted to continue fighting. Her opinion was that Sanchez was the best fighter I would ever face. She was dismissive of the champ. He was a puncher, she said. Sanchez would beat him. And then I could make a fortune fighting Sanchez again.

I said, "You know, Jen, that fight was.....so totally and completely engrossing for me. For the last part, there was nothing else in the entire world....just the fight. I could get addicted to that. But I'd end up with a lot of damage."

"You came out of this okay, though. Still, I'm worried. If you do take another fight, that has to be your last. We'd make enough. Actually, we made enough now."

I started the press conference with a statement complimenting Sanchez and wishing him luck when he fought the champ. I meant every word. I believe a kind of bond developed between us, during the fight.

There were lots of questions about the bout, which was being called a classic. My answers about the first eight rounds were analytical. About nine through twelve, all I could say was, "It -- those rounds, were so much fun. Not fun, really. Rewarding. Just hard to describe. I'll never forget it. Well, unless I take too many head shots." They all laughed at that. Jen didn't think it was so funny.

I again got a (muted) round of applause from the guys at the gym. I gave a little speech of thanks to them. We had a small party, later.

Life then resumed at the Farm. I had spoken to Kim about employing her to organize the new enterprise. She had been excited, but also terrified.

She said, "How could you trust me to do this, after what happened?"

"Because we're not married. You're free to hook up with anyone -- except Jen. This is business. I trust you because it's something you're good at."

"Okay. I can say this, Brian. The thing I want most in the world now is not to let you down." She was crying a little when she said it. I believed she meant it -- when she said it.

We were calling the new venture "Mountain Adventures." Kim interviewed for an overall construction foreman, and we hired Harvey Bristol -- Harve. He was forty, experienced not only in building restorations, but in landscaping. We all thought he'd be ideal. The one thing that bothered me a little about Harve was that he had been through a bad divorce the year before. He and his wife shared custody of the two teenage boys. I wondered if he might be distracted. I had a conversation with Kim about that before we made him the offer.

"I was a little worried about his family situation. He might still be caught up in it."

"I...I believe I can...ease his pain, Brian."

He was a big, ruggedly handsome guy, dark haired and stocky. I smiled at Kim.

"You mean, you're going to seduce him?"

"I don't think it'll take too much seducing. I like him. I want him. So, I'm going to take him. I hope you don't mind, Brian. It won't get in the way of business."

"Just make sure it doesn't. And Kim....you cannot screw him over. It would be bad for business. Can I trust you?"

"Yes."

Kim didn't waste any time. Harve was bowled over by her, didn't stand a chance. He moved into the back room of the cabin that she was using as an office for the project. I will say that Harve's mood improved tremendously due to Kim's intervention. And Kim's mood was also improved. I assumed they functioned as a team in bed just as well as they did on the project.

Harve's two teenage sons were working the summer on the project, general construction. They were fifteen and sixteen, but they had worked with him before and knew how to do things. They were good hires. They stayed with their mother in town, mostly. I heard them kidding Harve, though, about Kim. He shut that down fast.

Things moved along well an all fronts. But, of course, stuff does happen. Jen and I decided for her to go off the pill, and she got pregnant quickly. Then Kim also got pregnant. She and Harve were happy. I don't know if THEY planned it. But I was sure that SHE did.

(Apparently Harve's ex-wife, Alice, was not so happy. So what, eh?)

Meanwhile, Eileen and John came up to the Farm to visit Johnny and Kim. We all had a big dinner in the dining room of the lodge at Mountain Adventures. Little Johnny was now completely integrated into our lives.

Eileen and John had a room in the main building at the Farm. They were to stay two weeks. The second night they were there, I got up to piss at midnight, and when I passed Manny's room, I heard clear sounds of sex. The next morning, I asked Jen about it, but she had no real idea. To me, there was only one woman in the building other than Jen. Eileen!

I asked Kim about it later. "Oh, sure. Mom and Manny hit it off at the dinner. When they left, I was sure she'd nail him. Now you see where I get it from."

"Geez, Kim. What about your dad?"

"He doesn't mind, Brian. Mom has her needs, and he isn't always up to it. Sometimes he likes to watch. That's what she tells me, at least."

"For fuck's sake!"

"Exactly!" She laughed.

My observations during John and Eileen's stay caused me to believe that neither Eileen nor John ever slept in their own room during the stay. I can say that Manny's mood seemed somewhat less stoic when Eileen was around.

After that first visit, John and Eileen were regular guests at the Farm. All efforts to be discrete ceased when they came a second time. (Came to the Farm, I mean.)

Things were moving along well. The project and the pregnancies were in good shape.

Then Sanchez won the championship with a convincing decision. Jen reminded me that she had predicted that.

I had taken one bout down in Pittsburgh, just to keep sharp. I carried the guy for four, then dispatched him in the fifth.

All of us had a conference at Mountain Adventure about whether I should take a fight with Sanchez for the title. By all of us I mean, Jen, Manny, Jenks, Kim, Harve, and I. Both Kim and Harve were sure that the allocated funds would see the project through. So, if I took the bout, it wouldn't be so much about the money. (Although that helped.)

Manny was neutral. Jenks was avidly in favor. He told me that I could be champ. To him, it was like the Holy Grail. He never got there. He thought I could.

Jen looked at me, after all of them had had their say.

"I know you're going to do it, Brian. I have my fears, but you are who you are. This has to be the last one, win or lose."

"Agreed." I saw a small smile on Manny's face, as Jenks was jumping up and down.

The bout was set for March in Vegas. I was going to make a lot of money. Meantime, the pregnancies were successfully concluded, and the project was as well.

Jen had our beautiful daughter, Melissa. Kim had another son, Jack. (She put her foot down about Harvey.) Kim and Harve married just before she delivered. It was a small ceremony at Mountain Adventure.

I spent five weeks training for the last bout of my boxing career. Jenks and Manny spent time looking at video, both of Sanchez's fights, and of the one he had with me. They tried to figure out what Sanchez might do differently.

Jenks said, "You had him in the late rounds, Brian. This fight is set for fifteen. He'll want to end it early."

Manny added, "Not too early, though. When do you think, Jenks?"

"Nine or ten. He'll try to set up a war then, maybe eight."

They were absolutely correct. The bout started out with a boxing exhibition. I peppered Sanchez with jabs. He hit me a couple of times with good rights. I noticed that when he fired the right, there was never a jab to start. It was a straight right lead. Different from the last fight. That's how he was hitting me.

In my corner after the seventh round, Manny said, "He drops the left when he uses the right lead. You can hook him."

The eighth round started calmly. I was jabbing, and using a right cross. Then Sanchez shot a right lead and I knocked him down with a right hook. He went flat on his ass. He got right up. He had fire in his eyes. Uh oh.

He charged at me, and I swung him onto the ropes, as I had done before. I hit him to the body, and he landed a good uppercut to my chin. Then we danced to the middle. He shot his right lead again, and I hit him with another hook. I was surprised when he didn't go down. The round finished off.

I asked Jenks in the corner, "What now?"

"He's gonna go all in now. He's losing on points since the knock down. He'll get tired if you weather the storm."

The prediction about all out was a good one. The one about him getting tired wasn't so great.

Sanchez was a rejuvenated fighter in the ninth. He fired shot after shot, from all angles. I took some good ones, especially one to the head at the end of the round.

I was tired when I went to the corner. Jenks just said to bully the guy. I knew what he meant. I had won the last fight on the ropes with body shots. I just didn't know if I could do it.

The next five rounds were a brawl. It was almost continuous, very little respite. I held my own by pushing him onto the ropes and hitting him dozens of times in his ribs and kidneys. He hit me twice with hooks that got my attention, made me woozy. I clinched him after each.

I was on the stool before the fifteenth. I felt like I couldn't move. I looked over at Jen. She held up her fist. Her right fist. She mouthed the words, 'Off the ropes.'

I got up and met him in the center of the ring. We tapped gloves. Then we went at it, full bore. About two minutes in, I bulled him into the ropes and pummeled him to the body, again. He took a few and I felt him sag. I stepped back and hit him with a right to the jaw. It was as hard a punch as I ever threw, and he fell sideways to the canvass.

I staggered away to my corner. I was sure the fight was over.

But he got up. The referee spoke to him, and he answered. We stood there for a second after the ref cleared. Just looked. Then he waved me in. I jabbed him to the face, and he shoved me. He fired a right hand at my head. The bell rang as it whistled past my jaw.

He collapsed into me and I into him. I said, "You're one hell of a fighter."

"You, too. I never fight you again."

The decision was unanimous in my favor. I was the champ.

There was no after fight presser. Both of us were in the hospital for fluids. I got out the next day. I looked like I'd been hit by a truck. Back at the hotel, Jen and I just stayed in bed for a while. I went downstairs for a press event. Jen came with me. I announced my retirement. I said that I had achieved what I wanted, and that I never wanted to fight Sanchez again. I told them that I was sure he'd win the title back.

"He's the toughest guy around. When he got up at the end, I was stunned. If he'd hit me with that last punch I would maybe be gone. That's enough for me."

I answered no questions. The next day we flew back to Mountain City.

FIVE YEARS LATER:

Jen and I have an addition, Terrence. Melissa and Johnny are doing well. They attend the local public school. Johnny has been training with Manny for a while. No one messes with him.

Kim and Harve also have another child, Joan. She's a cutie. So far Kim has not gotten anyone to beat up Harve. We're all holding or collective breath, though. There are plenty of guys around here who would fill the bill. But I think motherhood has calmed her.

John and Eileen sold up in Virginia, and moved up here. They have a small house just outside the Mountain Adventure compound. They still visit Manny. At night. Mostly both of them, but sometimes just Eileen. Never just John. They all seem happy with whatever arrangement they have. I don't ask, and they don't tell.

The Farm and Mountain Adventure are both prospering. New hires come and go. But Rob and Billy are still there, teaching with Manny and Jen and sometimes me. No women in their lives. Go figure.

Sanchez won the tournament for the vacated title.

As for Jamal Bennett. He was never the same fighter after the knockout. He retired last year and is working in D.C. for the public schools. He's married and has kids, I hear. He's not a thug. He just shouldn't have messed with a married woman. Especially Kim.

The thing about it. If he hadn't seduced Kim, I never would have been champ. I can't hate him anymore. Hate is bad for your health.             

And me? I still love to chop wood. I'll never box again. Sometimes I watch the MMA/UFC fighters. I get a kick out of that.

The end.