On the Road to a Perfect Match by Gold Elizabella

Author:Gold, Elizabella [Gold, Elizabella]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2013-07-13T16:00:00+00:00

April 2, 1997

“GOOD to have you back, kid,” Artie said, clapping me on the arm. “Ol’ Bratly here (apparently that was what he called Brad now) cried and moaned every day you were gone. I thought he’d never shut up.”

“Yeah, that’s right, I did,” Brad said, obviously realizing he should go along with the joke. “I cried buckets, I did, because I had to deal with you slobs all the time.” For that he got a fierce headlock from the teacher, while the others, like Huck, cheered him on and catcalled at Brad.

Finally Artie released my friend and said, “Okay, clowns, let’s get down to business. I haven’t got all day.” Although really, he did.

We commenced to getting in the ring. Since I was pretty rusty, Artie had me work with Brad, since he knew me best and had picked up a lot of new things while I’d been gone. This comforted me for two reasons: one, because that meant that Brad was doing well; and two, they all knew we were best friends. As if they hadn’t already figured it out, or like they even cared. No one was going to try and become his new best friend. But still, I liked that they knew it.

After a while, I started getting the hang of things again, the ring rust coming off like sweat in the summer. I could see Brad beaming at me more and more as I got him in various locks and holds, and then gave him a body slam for good measure.

“Not bad, not bad, Toddmeister,” Artie said, calling me by my least favorite nickname ever. Even the guys back home never called me that unless they wanted to get their asses kicked. But I just smiled and said thank you.

We went back home, tired and sore but happy. Ralph had stopped by briefly and told us about a new show going on in Eugene (where Jimmy and Rick would be right at home) two weeks from now, and how he could get us a spot in it, no problem. He knew lots of bookers, which was convenient for us.

The thought of tagging with Brad again set my heart at ease. Even though I’d been away from home for two days, already my mind was starting to become uncluttered. I was still thinking about my mother, of course. I would never forget about her. I still called her every day. But it wasn’t my foremost thought. And I knew that was what she wanted, which made me happier in turn— she had done this for me and I was able to do this for her as well.

When we got back to the apartment, Rick and Jimmy were there (I didn’t feel I knew Jimmy well enough yet to start referring to them as Dick and Jizzy, like Brad did). I found myself wishing they weren’t there, as much as I liked them. And that thought definitely made the angry butterflies come back, though they were joined by a timid, tiny, happy one too.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.