Against the Odds (22 page)

I gather my purse and leave without saying
goodbye to Bethany and Dove. I didn’t want to explain what was
going on. I try to calm down before driving home. I call Mom and
check on Gracie and that seems to help. I’m relieved when I don’t
hear Gracie screaming in the background.  

Next I return Robert’s three missed calls. I
know he’ll be worried.  

He doesn’t say hello, he answers with “Is
everything okay? I’ve been calling.” 

“
Everything’s fine. I had
to go to the shop and get a few things and I left my cell phone in
the car. Are you having fun?” 

“
I won some money on the
tables.” 

“
That’s good, so it’s not
all work?” 

“
No, not hardly. I would
still rather be home.” 

“
Me, too. I miss
you.” 

“
Are you sure everything’s
all right?” 

I try to put on my happy voice. “I am. Just
heading home. I wanted to call before I got on the road.” 

“
I’m glad you did. Be
careful and I’ll call you later.” 

“
Sounds good. I love you,
Ace." 

“
I love you, too,
Sweets.” 

I couldn’t tell Robert about Chelsea. Not
over the phone. This is something I need to say to him in person.
When I get home, I have to feed Gracie right away. I was gone
longer than I wanted to be. After she eats and she lies down for
her nap, I tell Mom and Margie what happened. “Oh, that poor girl,”
Margie says talking about Chelsea. “To just wait and wait, knowing
you’ll lose custody of your daughter.” 

“
I know, I feel terrible,”
I say. 

“
Oh, Leah, this isn’t your
fault. You shouldn’t feel bad. Madison is your biological daughter,
so she belongs here with you and Robert,” Margie
clarifies. 

“
It’s not her fault
either. There isn’t a good ending for anyone. I worry about
Madison. We don’t know her and she doesn’t know us. She’ll be
traumatized.” 

“
The courts and social
workers will work with everyone to make the transition easy for
her. I imagine it’ll be a long and gradual process,” Mom says as
she stands to fill her coffee cup.  

“
Chelsea said she thought
Drake was losing it. What do you think she meant by
that?” 

Margie says, “I have no idea,
Leah.” 

“
What about Caden? Will he
even understand about Madison
and
Jamie?” I put my hand on my stomach. I think I
may be sick.  

“
I’m sorry, Leah. I wish
it were easier.” 

Later that night when I go bed I hold Gracie
a little bit longer. I pray to God and talk to Jamie that
everything will work out as it should. I run every scenario over in
my head and in every scenario someone is going to get hurt. There
isn’t any way around it. 

Robert

The next morning we have a large buffet-style
breakfast before the news conference. I wore the suit and tie as
Leah instructed. Good thing I did because everyone else did too. It
appears that Abel Kennedy and I are the guests of honor. We sit
together at the head table with our team members at our side. Leah
isn’t here because of the baby, but Kennedy is also here alone.
Come to think of it, I saw him with a woman only one time. That is
what started my vendetta against him. I remove the thought from my
head.  

After breakfast we mingle and give short
comments to questions as we were instructed to do prior to the
breakfast. I see Drake and he is talking with Mr. Pelayo. Kennedy
and I are cordial, but not friendly. We pose for several photos
together and make pleasantries. I watch him closely as he walks
around the room. His gait is off again today and his limp is
heavier than it was yesterday. I ask Gus, Dad, and Tim to watch him
and see if they can see a difference in his walk.  

We meet our supporters and
get our pictures taken with them. Drake Sinclair is on his best
behavior. I watch and he appears to be very friendly and well liked
with everyone. I wonder if his anger just surfaced after he learned
about the baby swap
and if he is normally
a good guy. 

During our break I call Leah. “Hey Sweets,
did you sleep well?” 

“
Sleep? What’s that?” she
giggles. “I think I remember sleep. I also think I remember
something called sex.” 

“
I’m
sorry.” 

“
Don’t be. Gracie was up
with me. We all had a girls’ slumber party. I think she missed
you.” 

“
I missed her and you. Is
everything all right, there?” 

“
It’s good. My Mom’s
cooking and your Mom’s making dessert.” 

“
That’s
good.” 

“
I’m thinking of asking
them to move in. I like having my own personal
chefs.” 

“
If I didn’t know better,
I would think you were serious. But, I do know you, so therefore,
I’m not worried in the least.” 

“
Good, because I’m
kidding. How is it there? Are you making friends?” 

“
It’s good, I’m busy
today, and no, I’m not making any friends. I have to go, but I’ll
call you later.” 

“
I’ll be here. We love
you.” 

“
I love you both,
too.” 

We take our place at the press conference and
it’s in a much larger room. This time there are more cameras and
lighting and definitely more people. Kennedy and his crew are on
one side of the table while my crew and me take up the other side.
“Are you nervous? Gus asks.  

I look at him and say, “No, I just want this
over with. I hate sitting up at these things.”  

“
The sooner they start,
the sooner it’ll be over.” 

Mr. Pelayo begins by
introducing everyone. Kennedy is sitting to my right with a podium
separating us. Mr. Pelayo is standing at the podium, acting as
referee and spokesperson. Kennedy doesn’t speak or look at me. Did
you ever see
Rocky V
, where they sat there with the Russian at a press
conference?
This
reminds me of
that
. Mr. Pelayo speaks of this
fight being one of the most profiled fights of all
times. 

He stands at the podium and picks the
reporters to ask a question one by one. The questions range from
how much money we stand to make, will you fight again after this
fight, how is my new baby doing. One questions throw me off.
“Bobby, it’s no secret that you have a personal vendetta against
Kennedy. Do you want to share with us what it is?” a young woman
asks. 

“
No comment.” This is a
new question. I can see the twitch in Kennedy’s
jaw.  

“
Abel,” she continues out
of order. You get one question then you sit down and they pick
someone else to ask. She didn’t sit down and she isn’t going to
give someone else a chance to ask a question. “Isn’t it true that
you beat your girlfriend so badly that she was in I.C.U. for three
days?” 

Kennedy slams his fist down on the table.
“Did you put her up to asking that?!” I have no idea what to say.
“This is a new low for you, don’t you think, Grether?” 

She speaks more loudly and says, “Isn’t it
also true that she lost your unborn baby as a result of that
abuse?” 

Kennedy pushes the table over and stands with
his fists in the air, “You want to fight now? You want me to beat
the shit out of you, right here?” 

I quickly stand and take my stance. I don’t
want to fight him, but I will. I have no idea how she got her
information, but it wasn’t from me. I stand in front of Gus, Dad,
and Tim to protect them. Kennedy throws a punch and I dodge it. If
I fight him here, I could be disqualified. The spotlights are
turned off and the reporters are all being led out of the
room.  

“
Come on Grether, let’s
end this right here and right now,” he demands as he throws another
punch. His team is trying to get him back but it is no
use. 

People come up and separate us then lead us
to separate corners of the room. Kennedy’s mad and he is fighting
them. I’m calm and trying to figure out what just happened. How
could that reporter have gotten her facts unless… she was her
sister, or a friend? 

I remember the fight like it was yesterday. I
went to a boxing match with some buddies from college and Kennedy
lost the fight that night. He was boxing a guy named Lucca Gainey.
They were both amateur boxers back then. There was an after party
and someone said something to Kennedy about losing and it pissed
him off. He wanted to leave but his girlfriend wanted to stay. They
eventually ended up leaving a short time later.  

My buddies and I walked
outside to get some air and that’s when I saw Kennedy beating the
shit out of his girlfriend. My friends and I broke it up and then
called 911. The girl was beaten so badly she was unconscious.
Kennedy was very drunk and managed to get away while we attended to
the girl
.
 

“
Bobby, what the hell was
that about?” Gus asks. 

“
I have no idea,” I lie.
This is
my
memory
and I don’t want to share it. I have seen Kennedy many times since
then and he is always alone. Never with a date and he never
married. 

“
Bobby, what in the hell
was that?” Gus demands in a tone I don’t
appreciate. 

I said, “I don’t know!” 

“
The press conference is
now closed. Thank you, everyone, for coming. Grether and Kennedy,
you two stay, everyone else leave,” Mr. Pelayo
announces.  

Abel Kennedy

I tell Tony and Mack to leave. They are
demanding answers and damn if they’ll get them. Who in the hell was
that girl, that damn reporter. I have no doubts that Bobby put her
up to it. He wants the damn championship so badly, he’ll stoop to
great depths to get it.  

“
This conversation isn’t
over with yet,” Mack says sternly. “Come straight to the suite when
you’re done.” 

I don’t say anything and this conversation is
closed. If the boxing commission finds out about this, I’ll be
disqualified to fight. I made a terrible mistake, and I have been
paying for it every day since then. I was drunk, young, and stupid
and none of those are excuses. There is no excuse to hitting a
woman. I was never charged with the assault so there is no record
that I was involved. Surprisingly no one from the party said
anything. I paid the girl off and she accepted as long as I stayed
away from her and we never spoke of this again. I had no idea she
was pregnant. She never said anything about a child. So why is this
resurfacing now?  

When the room clears and Bobby, Mr. Pelayo,
and I are the only ones in the room, Mr. Pelayo demands answers.
“Who is going to tell me what that shit was all about?” 

I get ready to tell him when Bobby speaks up
and says, “I have no idea what she’s talking about.” Leah would not
be happy about me lying about this. 

“
And you?” he says looking
at me.  

I look at Bobby and just a few minutes ago, I
thought he paid her off to say something. Now, I have no idea. “I’m
in the dark,” I lie.  

“
Abel, you know if the
boxing commission finds any truth to this, this will destroy your
career in boxing.” 

“
Yes, Sir,” I say. “There
isn’t any truth to anything she said.” 

“
Well, let’s hope not.” He
looks from me and then to Bobby. “I’ll be in touch. I imagine they
are already questioning the reporter and searching for the truth.
Stay out of trouble, no fighting and be present for the Blackjack
Tournament tonight. I expect you both to be on your best
behavior.”  

“
Yes, sir,” we say in
unison.  

Robert

I follow Kennedy out of the room and the
hallways are empty. No hint that a press conference just took place
less than a half hour ago. Kennedy stops at the elevators and says,
“Bobby, I don’t know what to say.” 

“
I didn’t do that for you.
I did that for me.” I get on the elevator and leave Kennedy
standing there. It took everything I had to not tell everyone the
truth. I have spoken to his ex-girlfriend several times after the
abuse and she told me she and Kennedy worked out a deal. I didn’t
pry. Whatever they worked out was none of my business. I visited
her often while she was in the hospital. I tried to talk her into
pressing charges or going to a home for battered women, but she
wouldn’t listen to me. Once I knew she was going to be all right I
never contacted her again. I don’t want him to be disqualified. I
want to fight him and win the championship belt fair and square. I
want to beat him like he beat her.   

I enter the hotel suite and everyone is
sitting at the bar. “What in the hell was that about?” Dad
asks.  

“
Kennedy’s limp is fake.”
I don’t say it to distract them, I say it because right now, that
is the most important thing going on.  

“
What?” Gus asks, “How do
you know that.” 

“
I’ve been watching him.
His limp was originally on his left leg, then it was his right leg,
and just now, he didn’t have one at all. He’s using it as a tactic
to throw me off when we fight.” 

“
Are you sure about that?”
Tim asks.  

I get my laptop and show them the video on
YouTube that I watched last night, then I show them the video that
Dove made. I wait as they watch the video’s.