“The reveal”
(Over the past few weeks, Eddie has been on a hunt to find out which member of the family is pregnant. With everyone being so busy as of late, which is normal for this family, he hasn’t figured out who yet. Eddie found himself in LA again and the weather there is sketchy at best, and unfamiliar at worst. It’s cold, windy, and somewhat snowy, which many people haven’t really seen in this area in ages. This time he goes to Madison’s house to check up on her, she hasn’t been seen much as of late because of her rehabbing the ACL injury she suffered 10 months ago. He knocks on the door, and she answers!)
Madison: Oh, hey Ed! What brings you around here?
Eddie Sr: I was just checking up on ya, and seeing how your rehab is going. I know you were at the training center with Gracie.
(For a second Madison hesitates to answer him, but she answers anyway. She hopes he didn’t catch the hesitation.)
Madison: … Yeah… I was with her to make sure she was ready for her title match coming up and then she yelled instructions at some students there.
Eddie Sr: Ahhh, always barking orders!
Madison: I wonder where she gets it from….
(Madison stares at Eddie for a moment knowing that’s where Gracie got her stubbornness from. Back when Madison trained, Eddie used to bark orders at her when she made mistakes. But she heard Eddie chuckle at that remark she made, and playfully shoved her. Not to hard but enough like siblings would do.)
Eddie Sr: ….I know where she gets it from and I wish she didn’t but then again I got it from my dad so I guess it’s hereditary.
(Eddie shrugs his shoulders.)
Madison: Oh god, your dad was barking orders till his last breath!
Eddie Sr: Hell yeah he did. Did you get in the ring and train or were you still on the outside.
Madison: On the outside, I still haven’t gotten doctor's orders to get in there yet….
(Deep down she knows that’s not true. She got cleared for in-ring action a couple of months ago but something else is holding her back from getting in the ring, but she doesn’t want Eddie to know... The only person who knows so far is Gracie.)
Eddie Sr: Interesting, when I tore my ACL I started training 6 weeks later…..
(Eddie becomes suspicious of Madison but before she could rat her out, Gracie comes walking into the door with a bag in her hand. A bag of food if you will, enough for 3 people….which makes Eddie even more suspicious of what’s going on.)
Eddie Sr: Ok, is one of you guys pregnant?
Gracie: Not me, I have a match coming up with Jack and I have to get going here in a few hours. Besides, I have a daughter and I’ve been training for this match too so that’s taking up most of my time. I don’t have time right now for any more kids, even tho deep down I want more.
Eddie Sr: That’s the same thing Jenn said…. that counts you out.
(After weeks of hiding it, Madison feels like the walls are closing in on her and she knows she can’t keep hiding it for much longer. So she steps up)
Madison: I’m the pregnant one… How’d you know?
Eddie Sr: I used to do the same thing when I found out I was having Gracie. I used to hide stuff from my parents but they found out anyway. I mean you’re speaking to a person who gave their father a heart attack when they found out because he was angry at me for hiding it but They were supportive. But I had that fear like you do, which is ok.
Gracie: I didn’t go through that, but we had a different way for when Manny was born but as long as the baby is healthy, nothing else matters.
(After hearing what the family has to say, her fears started to go away. She thought the worst of them but she’s glad she has the support they’re giving her.)
Eddie Sr: Did you tell your sisters?
Madison: No. The only people who know are you and Gracie. I told Gracie first. But the plan is to tell them, but i have the same fears that I did when i told you guys.
Gracie: Some word of Advice? Tell them. Don’t let them find out like my dad did because that’ll anger them a tad. Jenn and Alexis if I know them as I do, they’ll be supportive of you. I know we have a lot of babies running around here now but it’s special. It’s special to me too, because 2 of my best friends are gonna have babies at the same time, you and Bella. Just uh…one more thing… at least that baby doesn’t have to carry the burden of being a Carpenter…. It’s gonna have a more successful lineage….
(Madison stood there for a second after hearing that, for a moment she got angry but as soon as that came it went away with a growing smile. She knows Gracie telling the truth there. Madison did NOT have a great relationship with her ex-father, or that family she grew up in.)
Madison: THAT family won’t ever be mentioned to the baby and that piece of shit ex-father of mine won’t be either. As far as the baby is concerned, Makarios and Lopez are her families. Everything that Jorge taught me during my short time with him will be taught, everything you, Eddie, taught me will be passed down, and you too Gracie. The baby won’t grow up in the bullshit I had to, so it makes me happy.
(Gracie smiles before giving Madison a quick hug after she said that. Gracie is super proud of this girl and how much she grew since they first met each other a few years ago. Their friendship has seen so much growth as well.)
Gracie: I have time before I have a plane to catch, so let's go talk to Jenn.
Madison: : I thought you had to leave?
Gracie: The plane leaves when I tell it to leave and I don’t wanna miss this. Yeah, my focus should be on my match and it is but family comes first. It’s always been that way and I don’t care if the places I work for get angry by it. Family is and always the first thing on my mind.
Madison: : [/font]Well good luck!
Gracie: Thanks, i’ll get into why this match I have is speical to me, it means alot but for now let’s go.
Eddie Sr: I’ll stay here.
Gracie: You’re coming too!
Eddie Sr: ….Fine.
(The scene comes to an end with the tro heading towards Jenn’s house to tell her the BIG news. They’re unsure what her reaction is gonna be by it but they hope it’s a positive one. As for Madison, she feels like a thousand-pound weight has been lifted off her back.)
“The memories will never be forgotten”
Few hours later
(After leaving Madison with Jenn to talk about the future, Gracie found herself on her airplane as it starts heading towards the UK, On the plane, we see Gracie herself, of course, her daughter and Brooklyn. Their friendship is starting to build more and more as the weeks go by, which is good for Brooklyn, she has an outgoing personality.)
Brooklyn: So, how’d the meeting go with Jenn and Madison?
Gracie: I think it went pretty well. But they wanted to talk alone which I understand, it’s for them to talk about. I guess I’ll find out when we get to the UK or when we return to the states. I know that Jenn has a big match herself. I mean I’ve been in battle royals before but this one has a special meaning behind it and there are a lot of big names that she has to beat, Not saying it’s impossible but it’ll be tough. But then again, she’s tough. With everything she’s been through in her life, she’ll have a good outing.
Brooklyn: I’m sure she will! And yeah battle royals are tough. I made my debut in one of them and let's just say I was one of the first people to get eliminated I mean hey at least I got my foot through the door right?
Gracie: That’s one way to do it, I kinda wish I knew you back then so I could poke fun at you for that but fate got in the way.
(A smirk came across Gracie’s face, she’s joking of course or she is?! Brooklyn smiles after that with a slow nod of the head taking in Gracie’s horsing around. It’s something their friendship is based on, they love poking fun at each other and then laugh about it later.)
Brooklyn: Speaking of matches, are you ready for yours?
Gracie: My dad and Madison asked the same thing and I told them yes, so I’m gonna tell you the same thing, yes. I get you guys are worried about me because I haven’t wrestled that much since the cage match in December, but I’m healed from it. Since Star named me the number one contender for that united belt, I wasn’t going to take it lightly.
(Gracie scratches her head for a moment)
Gracie: See, there’s a reason why they keep giving me these high-profile matches. They trust me, they rely on me and they know I won’t do anything stupid to make the other person look bad. I don’t beg for championships like some people do, I don’t beg to be put on these cards. Management knows what I can do in any given day. At the same time, they’re trying to protect me from me, they know I can go out there every single week and steal the show. They know if I get injured I’ll do the same thing, but deep down, they can’t afford me getting injured. Why? Because that’ll back them in the corner, because they know I’ll DEMAND to be booked, it’ll look bad on them and it’ll look bad on the sponsors…..
(Gracie shakes her head before she speaks again, seems like she’s annoyed by explaining any of this.)
Gracie: By no means does that make me a part-timer. A part-timer to me is a person who doesn’t do anything for 6 or 12 months and then magically enters a title match for no reason or randomly shows up. The passion I have for this business doesn’t allow disrespect like that from happening, that’s a word you’ll hear me say a lot when I talk about my match coming up, Passion, so get used to it……
(Gracie leans back into the chair she’s sitting on to relax a bit, Brooklyn is listening to everything she’s saying. She’s afraid to cut her off because bad things tend to happen when someone cuts off Gracie.)
Brooklyn: Well, your passion is showing through. I didn’t expect a statement like that but I’m glad it happened. So, Jack? What’s that relationship? I’m sure some of the new people who don’t know you guys would like to know.
Gracie: Well, I told the story of the friendship I had with Bella, Sure I can tell the story of Jack. Much like Bella, I grew up with Jack in this business. While our fathers wrestled we were in the back horsing around and telling each other that one day that’ll be us doing that, it’ll be us wrestling in sold-out arenas and it’ll be us facing each other for championships, and some years later? Everything we’ve said came true…..
(A giant sigh happens as Gracie pauses for a moment,)
Gracie: With some unforeseen circumstances beyond our control….. Anyway… Watching Jack grow into the man he is today was an adventure, to say the least. He was a rebel for sure and he didn’t take any kind of authority, which kinda drew me towards him you know? There’s a reason why he called himself wild too because you have no idea what comes out of his mouth, he could be goofing around, saying the most random shit, or being serious. What you see on Twitter, is who he is. He’s never going to change for anybody and I don’t want him to change either, he doesn’t care about people's opinions, and never do i. It’s either you accept him for who he is, or just leave him the hell alone. Those are the 2 options.
(Brooklyn nods her head listening to what her friend is saying with a small smile on her face. She’s intrigued by this and Jack.)
Gracie: I’m gonna tell this small story before moving on here, As teenagers, he would ask me out. But I always refused. Not because I didn’t like him, it’s because It wouldn’t have worked out. Both our families are too damn competitive about everything, sports, wrestling, relaxing…it doesn’t matter. If you ever read the story of the Halfield and McCoy’s…that’s how our families are. We feud over everything, we compete over everything. Our dad’s are becoming old men and they still bicker about stuff…in a good way. In a way, I’m happy it didn’t happen, because he’s happy with his own family. I’m happy for him, and I’m happy with my own family too. We both got what we wanted, happy endings. While our father's bicker in the distance….
(Gracie chuckles softly to herself.)
Gracie: Now the title… That title is special to me, even though I never won it. But I’ve always seen that title as the workhorse title, one step closer to the world title. Over the years hall of farmers has held that title, including ones that I just teamed with not that long ago, and I’m honored to be fighting for it. I’m honored that I got the opportunity for it. I know I’ve said I’ve won championships before and I have, I even won the world title, and I don’t care if it didn’t happen here. It’s part of my resume and I’m not gonna erase it because people have ego problems….
(You can tell the annoyance is starting to grow on Gracie that she has to change some parts of her resume to please other people because they don’t like the other place she works for, and its a slap in the face to her legacy, and everything she’s worked for.)
Gracie: Sorry if that hurts your fragile feelings…oh wait, I’m not sorry at all! Annyyywayyyyy, ever since I started training at 15, I’ve always always wanted to win that United title, because of the rich history it holds. I’m one step away from winning it, and I don’t care if I have to beat my best friend to win it either. It’s been a goal of mine since day one and I’m not gonna allow anything to get in the way of it. IF Jack brings his entire family to ringside, I’ll fight them off, I’ll be defiant and I won’t back down.
Brooklyn: You think Jack will do that?
Gracie: No, but then again, I’ve been burned before so I gotta keep my eyes open….
Brooklyn: You can’t wrestle with your eyes closed…
(Gracie stares at her friend for a moment not believing what she heard. Gracie is trying her damnest to hold back a chuckle, so she shakes her head.)
Gracie: You almost got me….
Brooklyn: I’ll try again! Anyway, why is this match speical for you?
Gracie: Because it’s for Nic, and he always wanted that championship to be the workhorse title next to the world title and it is. Look at how many people have won that championship and then bounced to the world title. Or look at how many people won the United title and became hall of farmers. I’m not saying I’m going to be in the hall of fame next year, because my career is long from over. But it’ll be nice to be added to the list of hall of farmers and to the list of legends who proudly won that title. Look I have a tough task ahead of me and I know it but if winning that title means going to Destiny, let's do it. Let’s walk into destiny as champions.
(Gracie leans closer to Brooklyn.)
Gracie: Last year with my dad was a passing of the torch moment with my dad at Destiny, and to walk in as champion this year would make the circle complete. It’s what my dad wanted me to do, but took the long road to get there, and I’ve upset a few people along the way by winning the world title elsewhere, but I don’t care. I’m not here to please people and I don’t have to defend my actions. I know Jack had the passing of the torch somewhat with his dad too, but it wasn’t as memorable as mine was but I still loved it....
(Gracie looks out the window before making a decision…)
Gracie: I think I’m gonna take a nap while my daughter is sleeping, because I know she’s gonna be waking up soon and yeah…and Nic's memory will NEVER be forgotten.
(The scene ends with Gracie going to take a nap but Brooklyn stays seated and watches a movie on her tablet as they have a couple of hours left till they land in London)
End.