Post by The Anarchist on Apr 30, 2019 14:30:10 GMT -5
"Gather around the campfire, children. I've got a wonderful story to tell you!"
The campfire is actually charcoal burning inside a grill. There was still enough life in the fire to cook up some marshmallows in the backyard. A cool mid-60's temperature in Anaheim was comfortable enough to sit outside.
"You'll learn about toasting marshmallows when you're older, Mel."
Seromine says this to Destiny's pregnant belly. She smiles and interjects with "s'mores too!" Her pregnancy was now four weeks into the third trimester. Just a little over two months to go before the final bundle of crying joy would be welcomed into the world.
Seromine gazes up at his protesting offspring. They had other things on their mind. Avengers kind of things. Three hours of not being at home things.
"Dad, is this going to take long? We'd really like to get there before the line stretches into Disneyland."
That was Kristen, otherwise known as the chaperone. She has on a grey shirt with a print of Captain America's shield. Autumn wore a black Iron Man shirt. Nancy and Lydia were into Thor. Especially because he wielded Mjolnir.
Seromine remained silent as he contemplated the nature of her question. Finally...
"Yeah? Well, did Thanos ever get assaulted with a shovel? Did Thanos ever get crucified? Did Thanos ever get cheated out of becoming a two-time World Champion?? I think not! So my little darlings, what would happen if I snapped MY fingers??"
He tries and fails. Clearing his throat isn't tipping Destiny off for assistance. Or maybe it was and she was enjoying all of this a little too much, evidenced by the creases of a smile. Seromine looks in her direction. She gives him a wink and a giggly catcall.
"Ugh. Ok. Go ahead and tell it. Just, you know, make it quick if you can."
Seromine pulls out a small book of orange binding. Embroidered on the cover was the name STORMM in grey lettering. It wasn't a fancy book. It didn't have pictures or a ton of pages to be read. It really wasn't a book at all. It was more like a folder with a few pages of notes.
Anyway...
"Now then. As everyone here knows, I have entered The Icemann Invitational Tournament again. Last year I made it to the semi-finals. Why didn't I advance to the final you ask? I---"
"Daaaad!!" Kristen pleaded.
"Ok. Ok. I'm sorry. I was just setting the stage. But you want me to jump ahead? Fine. This year I'm facing Justin "Stormm" Michaels. A man I've known for many, many years. He hasn't been World Champion in many years. A trend that will continue after I eliminate him. Right, my love?"
Seromine turns to Destiny. "Right, babe!"
"Now...you see...we haven't faced each other in three years."
"In a singles match that is."
Seromine nods over his wife's correction.
"That's right. But you see girls. I beat Justin that night. Then I went on to win the one title he never could. I eliminated him from the Deadly Rumble the following year, crushing his dreams of becoming World Champion. Which, by the way, was me. Right, my love?"
"Right, babe!"
"Right. So---"
"Dad. I don't mean to be the bookmark in your story, but we already know this." Autumn says as she impatiently checks the time on her phone.
"Justin Michaels has carried a grudge since that night. Last year he decided to go full Wizard of Oz scarecrow on your mother and I for months. XIII he called himself. Roman numeral for thirteen!"
"Lame."
"He waited to pick his spot. He tormented us, hounding and hounding, watching from the shadows. Using fake props. Using every theatric he could..."
Seomine sighs. "He took away the very moment I was about to become World Champion again. A man I call FRIEND outside of the business, wrecked everything."
"Because he wanted to end Seromine and force you into becoming "The Anarchist" again." The response was in exasperated unison this time.
"Only he failed to get the job done. Now it's my turn to wreck his moment once more. Right, my love?"
There wasn't an answer this time. "Destiny?" He looks to an empty chair. Then looks at his kids. "Where'd your mother go?"
"The bathroom. She didn't want to interrupt you. Is that the end of the story?"
"Yeah, go on. Go enjoy the movie. Make sure to call us when it gets out."
"We will. Bye dad!"
"Bye dad!
"Bye daddy!"
"Bye daddy!"
The twins liked to repeat each other. The goodbyes came after an exchange of money from wallet to hand of child. Seromine smiles as they run off. "Oh, shit!"
He frantically blows out a charred, gooey, marshmallow. Around this time Destiny comes back out with her hands gently placed on the center of her stomach.
"Finally sent them running for the hills?"
He chuckles. "Yeah. Melanie deciding she wants to keep your bladder active?"
"I think she's having too much fun pressing on it, heh."
Seromine traces two lines for eyes and a smile under it. "She would agree."
Destiny stretches her back out in an effort to keep the aching down. "I'll be so glad when she's born."
"Oh, the joys we'll have again. The loss of sleep. The diaper changes. The doctor appointments. The teething and terrible twos."
"Her learning to crawl, walk, run, talk, explore..."
"Kristen is about to graduate from high school. Autumn is about to start it. Nancy and Lydia are almost at the end of elementary..."
Seromine and Destiny join hands. The realities of parenthood and aging are fresh on their minds. "Time has gone by so fast. Before you know it, this one---" Seromine points to Destiny's stomach. "Will be an adult coming to visit us in a retirement home."
He says that with a laugh. Destiny runs her free hand through his hair. "Have you thought more about retirement?"
"Always. My contract is going to end in a year. I don't know if I'll re-sign or finally step aside. I feel ok all things considered. But with you not being able to be there, and the children growing up, a new one on the way...it's something we'll sit down and discuss as a family when the time comes."
Destiny smiles sweetly. "Ok" she whispers. "Let's go inside."
"And lose out on singing Kumbaya?? Everybody has sung that around the campfire!"
"Well, you may want to check your "campfire" out, because I think it's telling you to follow me inside."
Seromine turns to see everything has died down. He sighs in faux defeat, but eventually douses the coals with water.
"You win, my love."
"I always do!" She playfully responds before a quick kiss. The couple march into the house to settle in for a quiet evening. Or as much as they can until her pregnancy symptoms act out and the girls come back home with reaction to how the movie went.
Time may be going fast, but the memories created are worth every second.
The campfire is actually charcoal burning inside a grill. There was still enough life in the fire to cook up some marshmallows in the backyard. A cool mid-60's temperature in Anaheim was comfortable enough to sit outside.
"You'll learn about toasting marshmallows when you're older, Mel."
Seromine says this to Destiny's pregnant belly. She smiles and interjects with "s'mores too!" Her pregnancy was now four weeks into the third trimester. Just a little over two months to go before the final bundle of crying joy would be welcomed into the world.
Seromine gazes up at his protesting offspring. They had other things on their mind. Avengers kind of things. Three hours of not being at home things.
"Dad, is this going to take long? We'd really like to get there before the line stretches into Disneyland."
That was Kristen, otherwise known as the chaperone. She has on a grey shirt with a print of Captain America's shield. Autumn wore a black Iron Man shirt. Nancy and Lydia were into Thor. Especially because he wielded Mjolnir.
Seromine remained silent as he contemplated the nature of her question. Finally...
"Yeah? Well, did Thanos ever get assaulted with a shovel? Did Thanos ever get crucified? Did Thanos ever get cheated out of becoming a two-time World Champion?? I think not! So my little darlings, what would happen if I snapped MY fingers??"
He tries and fails. Clearing his throat isn't tipping Destiny off for assistance. Or maybe it was and she was enjoying all of this a little too much, evidenced by the creases of a smile. Seromine looks in her direction. She gives him a wink and a giggly catcall.
"Ugh. Ok. Go ahead and tell it. Just, you know, make it quick if you can."
Seromine pulls out a small book of orange binding. Embroidered on the cover was the name STORMM in grey lettering. It wasn't a fancy book. It didn't have pictures or a ton of pages to be read. It really wasn't a book at all. It was more like a folder with a few pages of notes.
Anyway...
"Now then. As everyone here knows, I have entered The Icemann Invitational Tournament again. Last year I made it to the semi-finals. Why didn't I advance to the final you ask? I---"
"Daaaad!!" Kristen pleaded.
"Ok. Ok. I'm sorry. I was just setting the stage. But you want me to jump ahead? Fine. This year I'm facing Justin "Stormm" Michaels. A man I've known for many, many years. He hasn't been World Champion in many years. A trend that will continue after I eliminate him. Right, my love?"
Seromine turns to Destiny. "Right, babe!"
"Now...you see...we haven't faced each other in three years."
"In a singles match that is."
Seromine nods over his wife's correction.
"That's right. But you see girls. I beat Justin that night. Then I went on to win the one title he never could. I eliminated him from the Deadly Rumble the following year, crushing his dreams of becoming World Champion. Which, by the way, was me. Right, my love?"
"Right, babe!"
"Right. So---"
"Dad. I don't mean to be the bookmark in your story, but we already know this." Autumn says as she impatiently checks the time on her phone.
"Justin Michaels has carried a grudge since that night. Last year he decided to go full Wizard of Oz scarecrow on your mother and I for months. XIII he called himself. Roman numeral for thirteen!"
"Lame."
"He waited to pick his spot. He tormented us, hounding and hounding, watching from the shadows. Using fake props. Using every theatric he could..."
Seomine sighs. "He took away the very moment I was about to become World Champion again. A man I call FRIEND outside of the business, wrecked everything."
"Because he wanted to end Seromine and force you into becoming "The Anarchist" again." The response was in exasperated unison this time.
"Only he failed to get the job done. Now it's my turn to wreck his moment once more. Right, my love?"
There wasn't an answer this time. "Destiny?" He looks to an empty chair. Then looks at his kids. "Where'd your mother go?"
"The bathroom. She didn't want to interrupt you. Is that the end of the story?"
"Yeah, go on. Go enjoy the movie. Make sure to call us when it gets out."
"We will. Bye dad!"
"Bye dad!
"Bye daddy!"
"Bye daddy!"
The twins liked to repeat each other. The goodbyes came after an exchange of money from wallet to hand of child. Seromine smiles as they run off. "Oh, shit!"
He frantically blows out a charred, gooey, marshmallow. Around this time Destiny comes back out with her hands gently placed on the center of her stomach.
"Finally sent them running for the hills?"
He chuckles. "Yeah. Melanie deciding she wants to keep your bladder active?"
"I think she's having too much fun pressing on it, heh."
Seromine traces two lines for eyes and a smile under it. "She would agree."
Destiny stretches her back out in an effort to keep the aching down. "I'll be so glad when she's born."
"Oh, the joys we'll have again. The loss of sleep. The diaper changes. The doctor appointments. The teething and terrible twos."
"Her learning to crawl, walk, run, talk, explore..."
"Kristen is about to graduate from high school. Autumn is about to start it. Nancy and Lydia are almost at the end of elementary..."
Seromine and Destiny join hands. The realities of parenthood and aging are fresh on their minds. "Time has gone by so fast. Before you know it, this one---" Seromine points to Destiny's stomach. "Will be an adult coming to visit us in a retirement home."
He says that with a laugh. Destiny runs her free hand through his hair. "Have you thought more about retirement?"
"Always. My contract is going to end in a year. I don't know if I'll re-sign or finally step aside. I feel ok all things considered. But with you not being able to be there, and the children growing up, a new one on the way...it's something we'll sit down and discuss as a family when the time comes."
Destiny smiles sweetly. "Ok" she whispers. "Let's go inside."
"And lose out on singing Kumbaya?? Everybody has sung that around the campfire!"
"Well, you may want to check your "campfire" out, because I think it's telling you to follow me inside."
Seromine turns to see everything has died down. He sighs in faux defeat, but eventually douses the coals with water.
"You win, my love."
"I always do!" She playfully responds before a quick kiss. The couple march into the house to settle in for a quiet evening. Or as much as they can until her pregnancy symptoms act out and the girls come back home with reaction to how the movie went.
Time may be going fast, but the memories created are worth every second.