Coming Full Circle

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Family Matters

Part 4

Off Camera

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“You can choose your friends but you sho’ can’t choose your family, an’ they’re still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge ‘em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don’t.” --- Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” is a classic piece of literature and this quote by the famous author from that novel explains a reality, a harsh reality for some, about family.  You can choose your friends and who you want to associate with; that much is within your power of control.  You cannot choose your family.  Your family will always be your family regardless of whether or not you acknowledge them or disown them, regardless of whether you associate with them or not.  You may absolutely hate and disdain some of the things your family members do, but ultimately, at the end of the day, they are still your family whether you like them or not.

This is a fact of life that Julia Alexis Braddock has come to accept.  She was never brought up in the proud, privileged, arms of a wrestling legend like Glenn Braddock.  Her father was Peter Braddock, Glenn’s brother, a man who was not known for anything truly spectacular.  Still, being the niece of a legend like Glenn Braddock, cousin to another legend like Glory Braddock, it was something for Julia to be proud of.  She held her head high knowing she was a member of the Braddock Family.

The trouble with being a member of a proud, famous family is that there are usually high expectations set for you.  When Julia Braddock started her own career path in professional wrestling, an attempt to follow in her uncle and cousin’s footsteps, she realized how difficult and challenging the world of professional wrestling could be.  Wrestling, and winning, came naturally to Glenn Braddock and his daughter Glory, but it did not come so naturally to Julia.  She had to work hard, extra hard, and even then she would usually come up on the losing end.

Glenn was disappointed in her and his disappointment was clear and apparent.  She turned to drugs as her method of dealing with the stress and pressure of living up to the Braddock name.  That’s when Aphrodite Noel came into the scene.  Aphrodite Noel felt Julia’s pride in her family name was unearned and unworthy and she used knowledge of the drug use as a blackmail against Julia and forced her first to serve her and then, after some brainwashing, convinced her to disavow the Braddock name altogether, legally becoming Julia Alexis Noel, Aphrodite’s adopted daughter.

Surprisingly enough, the role of Aphrodite’s daughter was a role that Julia relished.  She enjoyed being treated like a queen, like royalty, and she felt that finally she had a family she belonged in.  She even assisted Aphrodite in capturing and brainwashing Glory as well, bringing her into the fold as Julia’s “sister.”  It was shortly after bringing Glory into the Noel family that Julia began to come to her senses and she realized the terrible mistake she had made.

It was at that time that she realized the truth behind what Harper Lee had been trying to say in “To Kill A Mockingbird”…you can’t choose your family.  And as much as she had tried to create a new family for herself with Aphrodite Noel, her true family would always be the Braddock Family, no matter how much turmoil they would endure, no matter how much grief she may catch for them  for her disappointing wrestling performances.

Now her family situation is in even more turmoil than it was before.  Julia has been forgiven for the part she played in nearly destroying the Braddock Family, but she has recently discovered a dark secret held firmly by Glenn, Glory, Glory’s mother Mary, and even Julia’s own father Peter.

For all of Julia’s life, she thought Glenn and Mary had broken up because Mary could not stand living the life of wrestler’s wife.  Julia assumed that Mary was upset with the amount of time Glenn put into his wrestling and so she left him.  That may have something to do with it but the reality of it is actually far deeper and more complex than just that.  As it would turn out, Mary had been having an affair with Peter Braddock and that affair produced a child, a daughter she would name Julia Alexis Braddock.

And that meant Julia and Glory were half-sisters, same mother different father.

Julia found out from Glenn Braddock but she also confronted Glory with the information, wanting to know how much Glory knew and how long Glory has known.   As it turns out, Glory has known this secret ever since she met Aphrodite Noel.  It was Aphrodite who told Glory that she and Julia were not just sisters in legal terms but sisters biologically as well with Mary as their shared mother.  Julia demanded to know more, specifically as to why Glory refuses to acknowledge their mother, their true mother, Mary Ford.  At first Glory was hesitant to say anything, but eventually she conceded and agreed to speak with her about the truth of the Braddock Family.

The truth is something Julia truly desires but now, after all of the lies and deceit she has uncovered, she isn’t sure she can even trust her own sister to tell her the truth.  If she were to speak with Glory again, would Glory still hide more of the truth?  Would Glory lie to her again?  As far as Julia is concerned, there is only one person who can tell her the truth and that person is their mother, Mary Ford.

Glory Braddock has disowned Mary.  She refuses to acknowledge her as her mother.  The funny thing is, she won’t say why.  She just cryptically says that Mary is a terrible person who has done terrible things and has tainted the Braddock Family name.  Glory does not want Julia to speak with Mary, that’s why this visit with Mary is being kept a secret from Glory.

Mary Ford is the sister to Kelly Jones, who happens to be Angelica and Kayla Jones’s mother.  That makes Mary their aunt and, ever since her break-up with Glenn, Mary has spent the majority of her time in Boston, Massachusetts, visiting with her nieces whenever she could.  Yet even Angelica and Kayla have seemingly disowned Mary from the family.  Even they will not acknowledge her.  This adds to the curiosity level for Julia Braddock.  What exactly has Mary done to anger so many members of her own family?  Nevertheless, Julia Braddock has made a special trip to Boston so that she could track down Mary and have a long conversation.

Julia is sitting at a white table in an outdoor café, wearing a royal blue sleeveless mid-length dress with a V-Neck and an open back.  Her feet are encased in silver-heeled sandals and her long light blonde hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.  A waitress approaches her table with two cups of coffee.

“French Vanilla for you and…your friend will have black?”

Julia nods her head as she takes the cup of French Vanilla from the waitress.

“That’s correct.  Thank you.”

The waitress places the cup of black coffee down on the table.  She looks back up at Julia.

“Your friend is not here.  Are you sure she is coming?”

“Oh she’ll be here.  She just has a habit of being late.”

“If you say so.”

With that, the waitress turns and walks off.  The ‘friend’ to which the waitress is referring to is none other than Mary Ford.  Julia is almost certain that Mary will make it eventually.  The text message she sent Mary was one that she could hardly ignore.  She told her she knew she was her daughter and demanded to speak with her.

And while Julia’s family situation is on a roller coaster ride, the same can also be said of her professional wrestling career…

Julia Braddock’s quest to become number one contender for the UWA World Championship ended before it even had a chance to begin when she and Danny Darko were defeated in the first round by Alana Starr and Myra Lynwood.  It was just yet another unfortunate set of circumstances that seemingly have been placed there by destiny in order to deny Julia Braddock.  And while crying and complaining seems to be the popular thing to do in professional wrestling lately, the youngest member of the Braddock Wrestling Family chooses to take a different track.  Instead of showing weakness she will show strength by persevering through the turmoil and work her way into the next challenge that has been placed before her…

…a five person round robin league to determine the new UWA Queen of the Ring Champion.

The Queen of the Ring Championship had been held by Eve but then, due the order of Ba’al and Sinistry, was dropped in a dog and pony show of a match to Jessica Wilde.  David Helms, the man who runs things in UWA, had none of it and stripped Wilde of the belt.  Now it’s up for grabs and any of five potential athletes could end up with the gold.  Those athletes are Jessica Wilde, Kathryn Pearson, Grace Morningwood, Selena Frost, and none other than the Kensington Knockout herself, Julia Braddock.

In this round robin style of competition, Julia Braddock will have to face each one of her four opponents individually in order to prove her worthy status as champion before she is awarded with the title; two points will be awarded for a win and one point awarded for a draw.

Winning the round robin league to become new Queen of the Ring Champion will be a tough hill to climb for Julia Braddock, but she is determined to make the most of this opportunity granted to her.  After her recent string of losses and draws, a failure to win the Last Stand Rumble, and this loss in the tag tournament, she hasn’t proven herself worthy of anything in UWA and yet David Helms saw fit to grant her this opportunity anyway.  She will not squander that opportunity.

Her first opponent will be a familiar face; namely, Selena Frost.  The two were at odds back in the Independent Wrestling Cartel when Julia considered herself “Queen” Julia Noel.  Those were not Julia’s happiest of memories.  She remembers quite clearly some horrible things that she did or tried to do to many IWC superstars at the time, to Selena as well, all in the name of becoming Queen of the Ring Champion.  But now Julia has a chance to revisit that history and, this time, right those wrongs and win the right way and, in the process, take one step closer towards winning the league and becoming new Queen of the Ring Champion in UWA.

But first…

“Julia?”

Her attention is snapped as she hears the familiar voice of Mary Ford off in the distance.  Julia turns her attention in the direction of the sound.  She sees Mary Ford dressed in a simple, modest attire of a maxi skirt, long sleeved blouse, and flats.  Julia frowns as she watches her approach the table.  Mary knows that Julia is not too happy right now and thus waits for permission before she sits down.  Braddock nods to the empty chair at the table.

“You can sit…mom.”

Mary sighs and pulls the chair out.  She sits down in the chair.  Ford looks at her coffee and then back up at Julia.

“Black…”

“Just how you like it, if I recall.”

Mary nods her head.

“You’re right, I like my coffee black.”

Mary takes a sip of her coffee and then sets the cup down on the table.  She sighs.

“So, your father told you, I take it…that I was your mother…?”

“My father?!”

Julia’s eyes flash red with anger.

“My daddy is DEAD!  He died of cancer last year!”

Mary gasps as she holds a hand over her mouth.

“He died?  I….”

She shakes her head.

“…I’m so sorry, Julia.  I had no idea.”

“Of course you didn’t, because you have never been an active parent!  You were an absentee mother to Glory, who I now realize is my sister, when you moved away to the United States, leaving Glenn to raise her all by himself.  You could have been there for Angelica and Kayla, your nieces, but you couldn’t even be bothered to play an active role in their lives either.”

“Julia…”

The blonde shakes her head.

“No, mother, you shut up and listen!”

Mary is immediately silenced by this.  She wasn’t expecting this reaction from the woman who just found out she was her daughter.

“Angelica and Kayla haven’t had a mother since they were thirteen and twelve respectively…”

She points a finger at Mary.

“…you could have been that mother-figure for them but you were never there for them.  You abandoned Glory, you abandoned Angelica, you abandoned Kayla, and you did worse to me.  You pretended I didn’t even exist.  As far as you were concerned, you had only one child…and that was Glory.  Where was I in your life, mom?  Why couldn’t you find a place for me in your life?!”

Julia has finally finished her ranting as she stares across the table into Mary’s eyes.  Mary remains calm, cool, and collected through all of this.  There is a pause before Mary, finally, speaks up.

“So…may I talk now?”

“Yes.”

“Good…because I need to tell you my side of the story.  It isn’t as cut and dry as you want to think.”

Julia picks up her coffee cup and takes a sip.

“I’m all ears.”

Mary takes a big swig of her black coffee, perhaps to ease the nerves, and then sighs after setting the cup back down on the table.

“Please understand that this is not easy for me.  I loved Glory…just as I loved Angelica and Kayla…and hell, I even loved Glenn and his brother, your father Peter.  And perhaps taking myself completely out of their lives was wrong, but I felt it was for the best for all parties involved that you all forget about me completely.”

Julia shakes her head.

“That doesn’t make any sense, because shouldn’t that be for me to decide?”

“Maybe…”

“Maybe?”

Julia blinks her eyes furiously, not quite sure she heard Mary properly.

“Maybe?  Mom, you cheated on Glenn with his brother Peter.  I was the product of that affair.  Yes, I can see why Glenn was upset with you, but it’s not all that unusual.  Andreas Lasiewicz was married to Angelica Jones, YOUR niece.  They had a child, Corey Jones.”

“I know this.”

“Then maybe you will also note how after they broke up, he started dating Kayla Jones, Angelica’s sister.  And he and Kayla had twins.  Do you see Angelica and Kayla at one another’s throats?  Do you see Andreas Lasiewicz ignoring all of his children?”

“No…”

“So do you see why this doesn’t make any sense to me?”

Mary nods her head.

“I do understand why none of this makes any sense to you, Julia.”

Julia reaches out and grabs Mary by her hands.  She squeezes them tightly.

“Then try and help me understand.  Glory, your own daughter, has disowned you…”

Tears are forming in Mary’s eyes.  She nods her head.

“Yes, I know this…”

“…but I don’t want to disown you.  I want to give you a chance but for me to give you a chance I need to hear the truth.  Glenn lied to me all of my life, so did my own father, and even Glory has been giving me the run around.  All I want is the truth.”

Julia stares across the table, waiting on her mother to respond.  Mary is uneasy and hesitant…

“I…”

“The truth, mom.  That’s all I want.”

“I just…”

Mary shakes her head.

“…I just can’t.”

“You can’t tell me the truth?!”

“I can’t.”

Julia sighs and shakes her head.

“Thanks for nothing, then.”

Julia reaches into her purse and produces a few dollar bills and plants them on the table.  Julia then pushes her chair out and stands up.  She stares down at Mary.

“Perhaps Glory was right about you all along.”

“Julia…”

Julia shakes her head.

“No!  You have had your chance and now I am through!  I wanted to know the truth about my family heritage, I wanted to know the truth about who I am!  Glory offered to tell me but I was willing to give you a chance first!  Clearly this was a mistake, because despite everything that has gone on, despite someone being willing to give you a chance, you still do not seem ready to be a mother.”

Mary opens her mouth to speak but before she can get anything out, Julia has already spun on her heel and is storming away to a nearby car parked on the street.  Mary rises from the table and considers giving chase but decides against it as she watches her daughter get into the passenger’s side of the car.  Inside the car, Julia Braddock finds her boyfriend JaMarcus Avery sitting there behind the wheel.  He looks at Julia clearly noticing how distraught she is.

“Is everything ok?”

Julia shakes her head.

“No…”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Later.  Just drive.”

JaMarcus nods.  He places the key into the ignition, turns the key, and the car starts.  He starts to drive away.  Meanwhile, as the car is going down the street, Julia takes out her smart-phone and pulls up Face Time.  After pressing a few buttons she waits and, eventually, sees her sister Glory Braddock appear on the screen.

“Hello…oh, Julia!”

“Hi, Glory.”

Glory’s face furrows and contorts as she studies Julia.

“You don’t look so well, Julia.  Is everything ok?”

“Everything is fine.”

JaMarcus, who can’t help but listen in on all of this, sighs as he realizes Julia is lying.  She isn’t ok, nothing is ok.  But he can’t do anything about it right now.  He just continues to listen intensely.

“What can I do for you, sister?”

“I can’t talk over the phone, Glory, but I just…”

Julia sighs.

“…I’m tired of the lies and the deception, from everyone. I want to know the truth, Glory, the truth about my family heritage and family legacy, and most importantly I want to know who I am.  You told me that you would explain all of these things to me.  Are you still willing  to do this for me?  And can you…”

Julia reaches up and wipes some tears from her eyes.

“…can you help explain to me who I am?”

A wide, ear to ear grin forms across Glory’s face.

“Of course I can and I will!  What are sisters for?”

Julia nods her head.

“You’re right.  And I’m sorry for ever doubting you, Glory.”

“There is no need to apologize.  We are sisters and we help one another.  I will help you, Julia.”

“Thank you, Glory.”

With that, Julia hangs up the phone.  JaMarcus quickly shoots Julia a glance before looking back at the road.

“I take it that meeting with your mother didn’t go well.”

“She wouldn’t say anything to me, JaMarcus.”

“Did you give her a chance to?”

“I gave her plenty of opportunities to tell me the truth but she wouldn’t say a word!  I tried to hear her side of the story, now I’ll hear from the one person willing to speak with me…Glory Braddock.”

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Coming Full Circle

On Camera

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The sky is a bright Carolina blue and the sun is shining overhead as we catch a glimpse of the impressive Big Ben clock tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England.  The camera zooms out so that we are at ground level and we see the black iron gate that surrounds the famous tower.  It isn’t long until the familiar face of Dr. Henry Van Stanton steps into view.  He is wearing a pair of sangria colored pants, matching jacket, and a black vest over a white silky button up shirt.  A smirk is etched across his face.

“My name is Dr. Henry Van Stanton and I am the agent and manager of “The Kensington Knockout” Julia Braddock.  I fiercely represent my client to the best of my abilities but unlike other managers I do not take credit for their success.  The success or failure of my clients is entirely on them.  I merely work to get them the opportunities they so rightly deserve.  Now the question remains, does my client deserve to be in the round robin league for the Queen of the Ring Championship?”

Van Stanton shrugs his shoulders.

“I don’t know, granted she didn’t win the Last Stand Rumble and she lost in the first round of the tag team tournament to crown new number one contenders for the UWA World Championship.  Perhaps the argument could be made that my client doesn’t deserve any further opportunities…”

He shakes his head.

“…I disagree.  Let’s face facts, my client was one of the finalists in the Last Stand Rumble.  She was within a hair of winning it all.  And as for this tournament that is currently under way, she did not get to choose a partner, she was randomly paired with someone she had no history with, she was NEVER pinned in the match, her partner was, and finally, to top it all off, my client and her partner would have won had it not been for the underhanded tactics of the opposition.  That being said, facts are facts and a loss is a loss, but my client is prepared to bounce back from this and she is excited about this next opportunity she has, an opportunity to claim a prize she had been after back when she joined the Independent Wrestling Cartel, only this time to do it the right way.”

He chuckles.

“My client has said it before, but I hope she doesn’t mind me saying it now, but the fact is that she truly has come full circle.  She is back where she started, challenging perhaps for the Queen of the Ring Championship.  And her journey towards that goal starts now, right here in London, England.  So, without further delay, please welcome Julia Alexis Braddock.”

Julia Alexis Braddock steps into the scene from stage right.  The blonde is wearing a sheath silhouette spaghetti strap sweetheart neckline natural waistline sleeveless backless dark blue dress that extends down to mid-thigh length.  Her feet are encased in black high heeled pumps.  She shakes hands with Henry and then watches as he steps off screen stage left.  Julia turns to face the camera and smiles.

“Behind me is Big Ben and other than the fact that this awesome landmark is in my home of London, England, this incredible piece of history is also representative of the journey I have been on since my arrival in The Triad, when I signed with the Independent Wrestling Cartel back last year.  Back then I signed because I wanted to be Queen of the Ring Champion.  I wanted to force the people of IWC to worship me.”

Julia shakes her head.

“No, I was not a good person back then.  And no, I did not accomplish my goal, either.  Marina Valdivia became IWC Queen of the Ring Champion and looking back, she truly was the most worthy of that title.  She earned it the hard way, the right way, unlike me, who was willing to do anything and everything, willing to break every rule, in order to become champion.”

“At that point I knew I had to change, I realized how wrong I was, I realized I had become a monster.  So I worked hard and with the help of my family and with the help of my agent Dr. Henry Van Stanton, I changed my ways and I became a better person.  Eventually I got the chance to start fresh in the Uprising Brand, which would become UWA, and now here in UWA I have a chance in this round robin style league to once again compete for the Queen of the Ring Championship.”

Julia turns around and gazes up at the Big Ben clock tower.

“Time is a funny thing.  I don’t believe that we as people truly or fully understand it yet.  But one thing we can know for certain about time is that, if you wait long enough, everything will come full circle.  You start at midnight, if you wait twenty-four hours, those hands on that majestic clock will once again rest upon midnight.  That’s just how time works.  It’s a cycle.”

Julia turns back around to face the camera.

“I have come full circle in more ways than one, because now I am competing once again for that same championship I had initially wanted so badly, and furthermore I am competing against someone with whom I have history with from my early days in IWC…”

She pauses as a grin forms across her face.

“…Selena Frost.”

Julia nods her head.

“That’s right, we’re up first in this Queen of the Ring Championship League.  And I am so thrilled to have this opportunity to face you one more time, because the last time we fought one on one was back in IWC and back then I was a self-centered, conceited, uncaring monster.  Back then I was Queen Julia Alexis Noel and I did my best to keep you away from the Queen of the Ring Championship.  I tried to stop you at every turn.  That showed disrespect, not just towards you but towards this sport.  For that I apologize.  Now I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I had to ask your forgiveness because it’s the right thing to do.  I’m not even going into Outbreak expecting to win.”

Julia chuckles lightly.

“It would be so easy to guarantee victory.  I mean, I could talk endlessly about how I come from the famous Braddock Wrestling Family, but honestly, what good has that done for me lately?  I could also talk about how this match will be held in my hometown of London, England!”

Braddock smirks knowingly.

“You can’t ask for much more of a hometown advantage than that, now can you?  They may be your True Believers but they are MY countrymen and they will all be in my corner at Outbreak because England honors and respects the Braddock Family.  That’s not hype, that’s a fact.  But will even that make a difference at Outbreak?”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“Ultimately all that matters is Selena Frost versus Julia Braddock and which one of us is the best.  That’s how it should have been back in IWC but my attitude, my jealousy, and my obsession got in the way and distracted from what could have and should have been an excellent match.  But this time will be different.  This time you and I are going to step into the ring and bring down the house!  We are going to have the show-stealing match that our fans deserve!  You and I are going to not just show what UWA wrestling is all about but what women’s wrestling is all about!”

“But make no mistake about it, Selena, at the end of the day there can only be one winner and in a round robin style league such as this, so let me break it down for you.  There’s five of us in this league and it’s round robin rules, meaning we have to fight each and every individual in this league.  Two points are awarded for wins and one point is awarded for draws.  Every win matters.  And don’t think for one second that your history in these things have escaped my notice.”

She nods her head.

“You were a semi-finalist one year and the winner the very next year in two straight Shot of Adrenaline Tournaments in SCW.  You know how to win these things.  I get that.  But my strategy is very simple.  I’m just going to take it one match at a time and my motto for this is simply ‘keep on winning’…so you can tell me to ‘believe it’ all you want, because I am going to keep on fighting, God willing I will keep on winning, and if I’m good enough, if I’m talented enough, and maybe if I have a little bit of luck on my side, I will defeat you, make you a believer in Julia Braddock, and go on to beat the other three opponents in this league and win the Queen of the Ring Championship…”

A knowing grin forms on Julia’s face.

“…believe it, Selena.”

The camera fades to black.