Post by Rick Majors on Mar 25, 2019 20:16:43 GMT -5
“So, how are you feeling today, Rick?”
“Fine.”
Rick Majors shuffles in his seat and looks slightly down, avoiding the gaze of the man seated across from him. The man pauses for a moment and leans back, his office chair rocking ever so slightly. He then moves forward again and looks right at his patient.
“Rick, I’ve known you for many, many years. You’ve been coming here since shortly after your wife’s accident. I know when you say ‘fine,’ you’re not fine.”
“No, really,” Rick responds, again adjusting himself in his seat. This couch is quite uncomfortable to sit on, but laying down on it has never felt right, despite what they show on TV. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t have to be fine. You don’t have to be anything. This isn’t a place of judgment, you’re here to talk about your current state of mind, whatever it may be.”
“I’m here because you scheduled me to come in once a month and I forgot to cancel in time to avoid paying your fifty dollar fee.”
“Rick, come on.”
Rick Majors looks down at the floor. After a brief pause, the doctor speaks again.
“You’ve been through a very traumatic experience and it’s only natural that it negatively affected you, both physically and emotionally.”
“So you’re saying I’m sick.”
“That’s an oversimplification. People tend to believe that there’s only sick or well. But it’s not a binary thing. Everyone has some anxiety, some fear, some negative parts of their life that they’re trying to overcome. I’m not here to declare you to be sick or healthy. I’m here to talk with you and allow you to work through whatever you might be having difficulty with.”
Majors sighs.
“Rick, we’ve only met once since you came back from everything that happened with Jason Willard and that cult. To be honest, you appear to be doing remarkably well, but that’s only on the outside. You must be having a lot of feelings that you’re not sharing with everyone.”
Majors sighs again before he starts to speak.
“Okay. I’ll talk, but in all honesty, I do feel pretty good. I have my freedom again. I have my work again. I feel like myself again.”
“In many cases, I’d understand a person who just wanted to go back to their normal life after something like this happened. There is a certain comfort to routine, to going back to work, and that can be very healthy. But it’s not like you’re an accountant or a web designer. Your line of work isn’t just physically dangerous but it’s also very emotionally draining.”
“Look, you know I have an unhealthy history with wrestling. And I know it too. But I honestly think that this is helping me right now. I got to get back in the ring and I won my first match back. And, yes, there was a pretty big revenge element to that match which probably wasn’t healthy, but wrestling again made me feel normal for the first time in a while.”
“I actually saw that match. You could have been seriously injured.”
“I’ve been seriously injured hundreds of times,” Rick replies. “Sorry… I don’t mean to be short with you. What I’m trying to say is that for almost two years I had to be someone else. Yes, I still wrestled, but I didn’t do it for myself. I did it for him. It wasn’t the same. It wasn’t the same at all. But it felt good to go back and have my kind of match, with my theme music and my ring gear and my wrestling moves. You know I don’t have much in this world, but I’ve always had wrestling. And it feels good to have it again.”
“So it feels different when you wrestle as Rick Majors as opposed to Gabriel?”
“Definitely,” Rick says immediately. “During the time as Gabriel, I tried to throw away everything about Rick Majors. Sero… Willard told me too. He demanded it. And I started to believe it. I started to believe I was a new person. But I wasn’t. And I’m not throwing that time as Gabriel away. That’s a part of me, but it’s just a part where I went horribly wrong.”
“Rick, you were taken advantage of. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. That’s not important. What’s important to me right now is that I can get my old life back. I’m starting to feel like myself again and wrestling is a big part of that.”
“I completely understand that, but – and I’m saying this as someone who has known you for many years, not as a professional – but you’re not a young man. I don’t want to insult you, but this sport is dangerous for a twenty year old. You’re almost fifty.”
“I’m aware of that, thank you,” says Rick in a low voice. “But, honestly, I appreciate your concern.”
“Before you came in today I was reading a bit about your upcoming opponent, a man who goes by the name of ‘Sicko.’ He seems quite dangerous.”
“Do you want me to give him your number?” laughs Rick. “He’d probably be a really good patient for you.”
Now it’s the doctor who sighs.
“I get what you’re saying and, again, I appreciate it. But your concern isn’t needed. Everyone in this business has the potential to be very dangerous, and that includes me. Sicko – his name is Ephrain, by the way – claims that he’s back in PCW because he wants to eliminate the ‘weak links’ that have been taking up time in the Underground or something. I’m not a weak link. As Gabriel I held the Underground title and, as Rick Majors, I’ve been through wars after wars after wars and I’m still here. I’m not some chump he can take out to that ridiculous ice cream truck of his and drive away. No one is taking me anywhere. Not again. In this match, I might have to endure a bunch of punishment like I did against Holden, but I’m going to defeat him.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you or anything I was just…”
“No, it’s okay,” says Rick, cutting him off. “And I’m sorry for cutting a promo on you there. It’s just that I enjoy wrestling, and I’m glad to be back.”
“Alright, it does seem to be doing something positive for you.”
“Sicko’s not exactly a young man either,” shoots Majors, again cutting the doctor off.
“Okay, I understand.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” the doctor pauses for a moment before continuing to speak. “Have you been in touch with any of your family? Your mother? Your ex-wife?”
“I haven’t spoken to Kelly in years, since before all this happened. But, yes, I talked to my mother. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant conversation.”
“Tell me more about that.”
“Well, when I was Gabriel, she tracked me down and begged me to snap out of it. I refused and it got quite heated. I said some things that were very hurtful. And she hasn’t quite gotten over that yet.”
“I would advise that you try to mend that relationship if you can, Rick.”
“I know, and I’ll try. She’s done so much for me in my life and she’s put up with even more from me. She doesn’t deserve the kind of treatment I gave her. And she’s 70 years old. I don’t want to have any regrets.”
“Then tell her that. Tell her exactly what you just told me.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“I know it’s not, but it would be incredibly positive for you if you could have that connection in your life once again.”
“I’ll try.”
“Okay Rick,” says the doctor looking at his watch, “it appears that your time is up. I’ll see you next month, unless you want to come sooner.”
“Maybe I do…. this was actually good. Thanks.”
“Schedule your next appointment with Harold at the front. I’ll see you next time.”
“Thanks,” says Rick Majors as he stands up, shakes hands with the doctor, and walks out of the room. There’s a rare sight as he leaves. A small smile forms across his face.
“Fine.”
Rick Majors shuffles in his seat and looks slightly down, avoiding the gaze of the man seated across from him. The man pauses for a moment and leans back, his office chair rocking ever so slightly. He then moves forward again and looks right at his patient.
“Rick, I’ve known you for many, many years. You’ve been coming here since shortly after your wife’s accident. I know when you say ‘fine,’ you’re not fine.”
“No, really,” Rick responds, again adjusting himself in his seat. This couch is quite uncomfortable to sit on, but laying down on it has never felt right, despite what they show on TV. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t have to be fine. You don’t have to be anything. This isn’t a place of judgment, you’re here to talk about your current state of mind, whatever it may be.”
“I’m here because you scheduled me to come in once a month and I forgot to cancel in time to avoid paying your fifty dollar fee.”
“Rick, come on.”
Rick Majors looks down at the floor. After a brief pause, the doctor speaks again.
“You’ve been through a very traumatic experience and it’s only natural that it negatively affected you, both physically and emotionally.”
“So you’re saying I’m sick.”
“That’s an oversimplification. People tend to believe that there’s only sick or well. But it’s not a binary thing. Everyone has some anxiety, some fear, some negative parts of their life that they’re trying to overcome. I’m not here to declare you to be sick or healthy. I’m here to talk with you and allow you to work through whatever you might be having difficulty with.”
Majors sighs.
“Rick, we’ve only met once since you came back from everything that happened with Jason Willard and that cult. To be honest, you appear to be doing remarkably well, but that’s only on the outside. You must be having a lot of feelings that you’re not sharing with everyone.”
Majors sighs again before he starts to speak.
“Okay. I’ll talk, but in all honesty, I do feel pretty good. I have my freedom again. I have my work again. I feel like myself again.”
“In many cases, I’d understand a person who just wanted to go back to their normal life after something like this happened. There is a certain comfort to routine, to going back to work, and that can be very healthy. But it’s not like you’re an accountant or a web designer. Your line of work isn’t just physically dangerous but it’s also very emotionally draining.”
“Look, you know I have an unhealthy history with wrestling. And I know it too. But I honestly think that this is helping me right now. I got to get back in the ring and I won my first match back. And, yes, there was a pretty big revenge element to that match which probably wasn’t healthy, but wrestling again made me feel normal for the first time in a while.”
“I actually saw that match. You could have been seriously injured.”
“I’ve been seriously injured hundreds of times,” Rick replies. “Sorry… I don’t mean to be short with you. What I’m trying to say is that for almost two years I had to be someone else. Yes, I still wrestled, but I didn’t do it for myself. I did it for him. It wasn’t the same. It wasn’t the same at all. But it felt good to go back and have my kind of match, with my theme music and my ring gear and my wrestling moves. You know I don’t have much in this world, but I’ve always had wrestling. And it feels good to have it again.”
“So it feels different when you wrestle as Rick Majors as opposed to Gabriel?”
“Definitely,” Rick says immediately. “During the time as Gabriel, I tried to throw away everything about Rick Majors. Sero… Willard told me too. He demanded it. And I started to believe it. I started to believe I was a new person. But I wasn’t. And I’m not throwing that time as Gabriel away. That’s a part of me, but it’s just a part where I went horribly wrong.”
“Rick, you were taken advantage of. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. That’s not important. What’s important to me right now is that I can get my old life back. I’m starting to feel like myself again and wrestling is a big part of that.”
“I completely understand that, but – and I’m saying this as someone who has known you for many years, not as a professional – but you’re not a young man. I don’t want to insult you, but this sport is dangerous for a twenty year old. You’re almost fifty.”
“I’m aware of that, thank you,” says Rick in a low voice. “But, honestly, I appreciate your concern.”
“Before you came in today I was reading a bit about your upcoming opponent, a man who goes by the name of ‘Sicko.’ He seems quite dangerous.”
“Do you want me to give him your number?” laughs Rick. “He’d probably be a really good patient for you.”
Now it’s the doctor who sighs.
“I get what you’re saying and, again, I appreciate it. But your concern isn’t needed. Everyone in this business has the potential to be very dangerous, and that includes me. Sicko – his name is Ephrain, by the way – claims that he’s back in PCW because he wants to eliminate the ‘weak links’ that have been taking up time in the Underground or something. I’m not a weak link. As Gabriel I held the Underground title and, as Rick Majors, I’ve been through wars after wars after wars and I’m still here. I’m not some chump he can take out to that ridiculous ice cream truck of his and drive away. No one is taking me anywhere. Not again. In this match, I might have to endure a bunch of punishment like I did against Holden, but I’m going to defeat him.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you or anything I was just…”
“No, it’s okay,” says Rick, cutting him off. “And I’m sorry for cutting a promo on you there. It’s just that I enjoy wrestling, and I’m glad to be back.”
“Alright, it does seem to be doing something positive for you.”
“Sicko’s not exactly a young man either,” shoots Majors, again cutting the doctor off.
“Okay, I understand.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” the doctor pauses for a moment before continuing to speak. “Have you been in touch with any of your family? Your mother? Your ex-wife?”
“I haven’t spoken to Kelly in years, since before all this happened. But, yes, I talked to my mother. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant conversation.”
“Tell me more about that.”
“Well, when I was Gabriel, she tracked me down and begged me to snap out of it. I refused and it got quite heated. I said some things that were very hurtful. And she hasn’t quite gotten over that yet.”
“I would advise that you try to mend that relationship if you can, Rick.”
“I know, and I’ll try. She’s done so much for me in my life and she’s put up with even more from me. She doesn’t deserve the kind of treatment I gave her. And she’s 70 years old. I don’t want to have any regrets.”
“Then tell her that. Tell her exactly what you just told me.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“I know it’s not, but it would be incredibly positive for you if you could have that connection in your life once again.”
“I’ll try.”
“Okay Rick,” says the doctor looking at his watch, “it appears that your time is up. I’ll see you next month, unless you want to come sooner.”
“Maybe I do…. this was actually good. Thanks.”
“Schedule your next appointment with Harold at the front. I’ll see you next time.”
“Thanks,” says Rick Majors as he stands up, shakes hands with the doctor, and walks out of the room. There’s a rare sight as he leaves. A small smile forms across his face.
