One Fall
CHAPTER 14
They landed at the Green Dragon coffeehouse, one block down from the hotel. When they arrived a little after twelve thirty, the cafe was empty, no music was playing, and Joey was sure the shop was about to close. Fifteen minutes later, the place was filled with twenty-somethings, more employees seemed to materialize, and two folk singers with guitars took up stools in front of the empty fireplace.
“The bar crowd,” explained Jade. “As the bars close, they come here. They’ll keep this place hopping until four in the morning.”
“You’ve been here before?”
“Oh yeah. We usually hit Houston twice a year. I always stay at the Hyatt, and I always come here after the show. You’ll find yourself doing the same. As the tour goes on, pretty soon the cities stop changing. You hit the same places, you start to learn what’s where. You’ll develop these little spaces of familiarity at each stop.”
Joey looked down at his coffee. He didn’t want it. Over the years, he’d trained his body to reject anything that was off the path of supreme fitness. He could have ordered juice, or water. But Jade wanted to go out for coffee. Jade stood by him when...he didn’t even want to think about the damage she might have done to her own standing backstage tonight. The least he could do was have coffee with her.
“I think I experienced some of that in the indies. The second time through a town, it already felt like home,” he said.
“That’s right. Just wait until the tenth time through, or the twentieth. Houston’s a city we usually hit twice a year. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been to this coffee house. But I know those paintings on the walls. I know these cups. I know these singers. Next time I’ll probably even know their songs.”
“Do you get tired of it?”
“Sometimes. Everybody does. Especially when things aren’t going well. Last year I had a stretch where I did a gravy bowl match one week, a bra and panties match the next, then was off TV for three more weeks.”
“I remember that. I wasn’t in the GWA yet, but I remember those two matches, then a long stretch where we didn’t see you.”
“I hope you’re the only one. I sure want to forget it. We had two shows in Vancouver that time around. I just did dark matches, and at the second one I blew a spot, botched a suplex and dropped Barbara Lipke on her head. She was alright, but I could have paralyzed her, easily. That night I decided I would retire when my contract was up.”
“Really? It was that bad.” Joey wondered if he should be feeling worse than he was about tonight’s accident with Goliath.
“Oh yeah. I was sure I was done. It wasn’t remotely worth it. Here I was, thirty-one years old, divorced, no kids, lots of money but no time to spend it and no one to spend it on – after that match with Barbara I just knew I’d regret it if I didn’t get out and start a normal life before it was too late.”
Joey looked at Jade and imagined her as a mother. It fit, and for an instant, everything seemed clear. What he was doing was absurd. He was pretending to beat people up every night in a different stadium in a different city, all the while clamoring for their adoration. He did it because it made him a star. It gave him the riches and accolades that made celebrities superior to everyone else. He was living the dream. But in doing so, he was giving up a lifetime of moments like these. Sitting in a coffee shop with a woman, talking about whatever came up.
“What happened?” he said.
“The tour went on. I wrestled more shows. I got back on TV. Duke put me in a program with Safire that got hot. When my contract came up in February, I remembered wanting to quit, but I just couldn’t do it. And, totally in the moment, I asked Duke if he could extend my new contract from two years to three. He did. I thought it was for the best. If that desire to quit ever came up again, I’d have to wait even longer before I could do it. It was a huge mistake.”
“Why, because you want to go to Revolution?” Joey said.
“That’s part of it. There’s other stuff too.”
“Like what?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Jade’s voice and body turned rock solid. Joey could tell she didn’t like talking about this part of her past.
“I wonder if I’ll ever want to quit,” he said.
“Don’t be surprised or scared if, at some point, it gets to be too much and you want to quit. It happens to everyone. It hasn’t happened to you yet because you’re still on the upswing. You’re chasing the title for the first time right now. You’re the new, hot thing going and the fans love you. Even all this shit backstage and tonight’s mess isn’t going to derail you. What you need to do now, more than anything, is enjoy this. Someday, after you’ve been the number one guy for awhile, some new kid is gonna come up and the fans will take to him. You’ll be asked to change your gimmick and become a heel. You’ll play the coward and the fans will boo you. You’ll tell everyone you love it when the crowd gets hot, when you’ve got them all worked up, and a part of you will. But secretly you’ll wish they still loved you. Not because you don’t like playing the heel, but because you know that some of that hatred you’re getting from the stands is real. Some of that hatred is their way of saying they’re bored with you.”
“Gracious,” Joey said, smiling. “That’s a fun thing to think about.”
Jade’s face lit up with the realization that she’d said too much. “I’m sorry, Joey. I don’t mean to sound bitter. I should slow down here. I hope you don’t think I’m bitter.”
“I don’t think you’re bitter at all Jade. I think you’re a realist who’s aware of how things are and I appreciate you sharing your wisdom with me.”
“God, I feel old tonight,” Jade said, then she laughed in an attempt to defuse her seriousness. Joey reached across the table and touched her hand. He gave a light squeeze on her fingers and smiled at her.
“Seriously Jade, I appreciate you sticking up for me tonight in the locker room.”
“I didn’t stick up for you.” Jade had turned her palm and they were now holding hands across the table.
“Yes you did. You stayed around after all the guys went their separate ways and...I know that just by being with me tonight you’re making all sorts of trouble for yourself.”
“I’ve already made all sorts of trouble for myself, Joey. Whatever falls out after tonight will be small potatoes. And trust me, I know firsthand how unfair the politics around here can be, and I think it’s shit. We’ll see what comes of Goliath’s injury and deal with it from there. I think this whole thing will blow over by next week.”
“I hope so.”
Jade took her hand back to grab her coffee mug and finish it off. Joey looked at the wall clock behind the counter. One in the morning. It reminded him that he was supposed to be sleepy.
“You ready?” Jade asked.
Ready to face the other wrestlers in the locker room? Ready to deal with the fallout on the Internet of tonight’s title match? Jade had pushed her empty coffee mug to the center of the table. She must have meant ready to leave.
“Yes,” said Joey.