“Meeting Madison’s boyfriend”
(After gaining the courage to tell the entire family about her pregnancy, including her parents which was an adventure that included them making a trip to the states. Madison had another issue that needed to be explored with the family, her boyfriend. The boyfriend has yet to meet the family and with everyone being so busy right now, it’s hard to sit everyone down to meet the boy. Leroy is the boy’s name, and it’s someone Madison has been dating for the past 8 months after a friend introduced them to each other.)
Leroy: You sure your family will like me?
Madison They’d better! I mean you’re the father of our kid and you’ll be around for a while. I know my sister and EJ don’t get along right now, I hope it’s not another repeat of that drama.
Leroy: I heard about that!
(Madison chuckles before knocking on Gracie’s door for a second, she doesn’t know if she’s home or not, because of her busy schedule. A couple of minutes go by before Gracie opens the door, and saw the couple standing there.)
Gracie: Oh hello, I see you brought a friend.
Madison Yeah, I wanted you to meet my boyfriend. I wanted to do this sooner but you’re always busy with wrestling and your kid.
Leroy: You have a kid? You look amazing!
(Gracie felt a bit caught off guard with that statement, not that she was flattered but the boy’s girlfriend is standing RIGHT there, and she didn’t want to say anything stupid so she just nods her head.)
Gracie: I get that a lot…
(All Madison did was smile before walking into Gracie’s house. She saw Gracie’s daughter in the playpen enjoying herself, almost like she was having the time of her life with the toys she has, which are scattered around. Leroy walked in as well.)
Madison So, this is Leroy by the way.
(Gracie refuses to shake the boy's hand because she smelt something off-putting,
Gracie: Hm, ah yes... but you smell like pickles, why do you smell like pickles?
Madison Gracie!
Gracie: What?!
Leroy: It’s fine, I got some on me when I was delivering to the last house before I ended my shift.
Gracie: A delivery boy too!
(Leroy didn’t like that too much but by the way, she’s acting he knows she’s joking around with him so he laughs it off.)
Leroy: I’m sure you’re job isn’t better…
Gracie: I’m a wrestler.
Leroy: Really? How does that work?
Gracie: I can show you.
Madison No, you will NOT throw my boyfriend to the ground!
(Gracie looks at both of them with a smile before sitting down in the living room, the couple follow her as well.)
Gracie: I’m just busting your balls man, my dad used to do that to my dates when I introduced them to him, so I figured I’d take a shot at it.
Leroy: Oh thank god! I thought you hated delivery boys for a minute there…and pickles!
Gracie: Gah! I hate pickles! I could talk about how I hate them all day but I don’t think I have the time right now, I have to get going soon.
Leroy: The wrestling?
Gracie: Yeah, I have a match with an under talent this week. I wouldn’t say it’s a week off because there’s some challenge to it but yeah.
Leroy: Under talent?
Madison That’s her nice way of saying bottom-of-the-barrel talent. It’s basically enhancement talent that has a ceiling that will never amount to much in the business. There’s a handful of those people where we work. They’re just lucky enough to get a roster picture.
Gracie: Yeah, that was me being nice for once…
(Madison shakes her head slightly, she knows that Gracie can be uptight but she can be nice every once in a while. Gracie is starting to feel a little bit more comfortable around the boy but it’s gonna take a lot more to gain her trust, but this is a good starting point in a good foundation.)
Leroy: So, wait if you wrestle who takes care of your kid?
Gracie: I take her with me, it’s what my dad used to do with me, and my grandpa did to my father too. See, I think of it this way, it’s my kid and it’s my responsibility to raise her, it’s not other people's job too. Yeah, being a single parent is hard but it has its rewards with it. I have my dad and Jenn to help when I need them, and they’re always up to seeing their grandkid. Besides, PWS has a good assortment of babysitters in the back, like they always have.
Leroy: Oh. That makes sense.
(He’s still very confused about this whole wrestling thing because he never watched it growing up, so he’s going to be overwhelmed by being in a wrestling family like this because the family will be watching tapes, old tapes, studying, and whatnot. But Leroy is willing to adapt to anything this family will offer, he’s like a sponge waiting to absorb knowledge.)
Gracie: I’m sure you live with Madison right?
Leroy: Wellllll….
Gracie: Is your shift over by 8 pm?
Leroy: Yeah.
Gracie: Well, go to her place and watch this week's show, you’ll get a taste of what I do for a living and what Madison does too. I know it’ll be a lot to take in at once but we’ll help explain it to you. That baby will be part of the wrestling family, and you will too. So you gotta learn what this means to us.
Leroy: Fo sho.
(The trio talk some more before Madison and Leroy left. Leaving Gracie to shake her head slightly with a smile on her face, she’s happy that Madison found someone that makes her happy after all the past events in her life.)
Gracie: Smart kid….we gotta get him away from pickles.
(Manny, the baby, looked up at her mother and blew a raspberry, she’s trying to say she’s not a fan of pickles either even though she doesn’t know what they are right now. Gracie smiles at her daughter as the scene ends.)
“Who is Dawn?”
(Everyone knows that Chicago is a hotbed for wrestling, it’s a city that the Lopez’s love to wrestle in since the 1960s when Jorge was around, even before that with how deep this family goes in wrestling. So, Chicago is a home away from home for this family. We see Gracie at a local hotel coming in after grabbing some food from a nearby restaurant. In the room, we see Manny and Eddie Sr. He managed to get himself on the ground to play with the baby and the two of them are enjoying each other's company.)
Eddie Sr: Oh hey! Did you get the food?
Gracie: Yeah. did you change her diaper?
Eddie Sr: She’s fresh now. How are you feeling after the match with Jack? I know it was highly emotional for both of you.
Gracie: You’re right dad, it was emotional and I think that’s what drove us to have the match of the night, I’m not going to sugarcoat that. Yeah, the world title was a great match too but I think Jack and I outshined that. I would be lying if I wasn’t feeling it but it’s part of the sport. I’m sore, I’m stiff and I’m not going to complain, that’s not who I am. The show must go on, right?
Eddie Sr: It does… it never stops. Just don’t overwork yourself, but that hasn’t stopped you before.
(Gracie shakes her head before placing the food down on the table. She takes the food out of the bag and it’s 2 plates of spaghetti, and cheesy french bread. Eddie works to get himself off the floor which he does, he’s not as fast as he used to be when it comes to getting off the floor.)
Gracie: Hard time?
Eddie Sr: Nah, I got it. Anyway, are you ready for the match you have this week?
Gracie: Well, I have one question, who the hell is Dawn?
Eddie Sr: I unno.
Gracie: What do you mean you don’t know? You’re on management you should know who the wrestlers are.
Eddie Sr: I don’t know who she is and I really don’t care. I’ve heard some bad things about her and that’s all I know. Let’s put it this way, she’s down there with the Landersons and I don’t really care for them either.
Gracie: Well damn….
(Gracie thought she was the only one who didn’t like the landerson’s but her dad? She’s not going to question why because that leads to stories and rants and another can of worms that she doesn’t want to open right now so she’s going to leave it be. Gracie rubs her temples because she knows she’s going to drop IQ points by even trying to figure out Dawn.)
Gracie: October is the last time anybody has seen Dawn around here, that was a few months ago and yet a lifetime ago. A lot of things have changed around here, some for the better and some for heartbreak, Jack is the new United champion and I’m proud of him. I walk around and say how wins and losses don’t matter, that match was proof of that. It was for a fallen family member, it was emotional and I’m never EVER going to forget about it.
(Gracie lets out a small sigh.)
Gracie: I’ve had a few of those emotional matches lately and all of them feel different from each other, from my grandfather to my dad and now Nic. I hope for a while I don’t have to do a match like that, it plays with your mind man, it plays with your emotions… Jack and I put on a match that he would have loved. Now, I have to come from a high like that to facing Dawn, that’s a falling down the rabbit hole, isn’t it?
(Gracie looks at her dad having a field day with his food, he didn’t even wait for her to finish talking!)
Gracie: Tell me Dawn what makes you special? What makes you think you stand a chance in the ring with me? I can answer both of them for you, the 1st answer is nothing and the 2nd answer is you can’t. What about the wins and losses? Who cares, I don’t. Every time that bell rings, I put on a show, and I steal the show. Every single time, no matter if it’s against my family, against Jack, or against the world champion, it doesn’t matter. That’s why the crowd loves me, and they motivate me each and every time.
(She’s starting to become annoyed…)
Gracie: I do this because I love this business, I have passion for this business. I don’t need wins or losses to prove that, Hell I don’t need to prove anything to anybody. I’m here every single goddamn week, and where are you? You’re finally gonna show your face after 5 months and then what? Leave for another 5 months? We don’t need you here Dawn. If you left tomorrow nobody will remember you, if you leave here right now nobody will remember you, hell when you’re in the ring with me NOBODY REMEMBERS YOU. so, take your part-time loving ass and leave. Do everyone a favor and get the hell out of this business and go do something useful like being a plumber or itching your ass or sniffing your ass or whatever you do in your free time.
(Gracie couldn’t take looking at the food anymore, she knows it was cold but she doesn’t care. She starts to devour the food like she hasn’t eaten in weeks, but it’s only been hours. It doesn’t take long before the food is gone to her father's surprise. Gracie chuckles toward him. The scene comes to an end with them talking a private issue about Madison.)
End