‘I gotta admit, Jude, you’re good. Really good. Where’d you train?’
‘I was training with Nick Raven, but… I can’t afford the sessions any more.’
‘He’s that indie wrestler, right?’
‘Yeah. You know him?’
‘Heard of him. Wrestling and MMA tend to share the same scene. But you’d know that already.’
‘That’s right. Ideally, I’d like to be a wrestler one day. I know it’s a tough industry to break into, though. That’s why I want to go to university, for a backup career.’
‘Yeah, don’t blame you. There’s fuck all else in Sunset Valley. Get out while you can. Still, I’m happy to keep you on. There’s been a big surge in interest for women’s MMA. I can definitely find a slot for you.’
‘Thanks, Boss. That’s perfect.’
‘So… what’s the deal with Susannah?’
‘Oh, it’s kind of a long story.’
‘Alright, I’ll keep my nose out.’
‘I take it you know her, too.’
‘’Course. And you knew where to find me, didn’t you? Pretty obvious we run in the same groups. Or rather, you were born into it.’
‘I’m not the kid she wanted. Well, she didn’t want a kid at all, but I’m kind of a shit daughter for her to relate to. I’m not feminine, I’m into wrestling, and for a while everyone was convinced I’m a lesbian. See, even you’re looking surprised.’
‘Ain’t nothing wrong with being a lesbian.’
‘No, but it kinda sucks to have guys pass over you ‘cos they think you’re too butch, and they’re threatened by muscular women. But it’s fine. I found a guy who likes me for me.’
‘Well, good for you. You can invite him to your debut.’
‘Ha. No, I’m keeping this secret. He’s from a much nicer background… don’t wanna suddenly introduce him to all this gang shit.’
‘You’re just gonna fight, Jude. Leave the gang shit to me. I’ll let you know when I’ve booked you onto the card, anyway. A lot of the other fighters hang round my gym anyway, so whoever it is, you can probably meet her before the event.’
‘That’s great. Thanks again.’
‘Don’t mention it.’
‘Man, you guys have had a shit time of it lately, haven’t you?’
‘You’re telling me.’
‘…Sorry, am I allowed to swear around the baby?’
‘It's fine for now, but once they’re older, it’s obviously not allowed. I might’ve grown up around swearing, but I don’t want to see my own child doing it.’
‘Yeah, same here. It’s trashy. Fuck knows I don’t wanna follow my mum’s example, if you can ignore the irony of that statement.’
‘We’re adults. We can swear among friends, just as long as we’re not teaching it to the little ones.’
‘Are you alright?’
‘Yeah, don’t worry. Mum being shit is nothing new. She must’ve been desperate to come to me, though. It’s been two years.’
‘It’s her own problem. If you’d given in to her, she’d just keep coming back for more whenever she feels like it.’
‘What he said. Addiction’s a terrible thing, but you have to try to take responsibility for it at some point. It’s not an excuse to be nasty to your own child.’
‘I fucking hate drugs. Which makes picking this profession a stupid idea. Who heard of a fucking rocker who hates drugs?’
‘Straight edge exists for a reason, man.’
‘I’m not straight edge.’
‘But still. At least you’ve got a better choice at living longer.’
‘You don’t need to be some stereotypical rock star to be a musician. At the end of the day, you’ll come home to a nice family – without that cow involved in it – and be safe.’
‘You’re forgetting one big thing.’
‘What?’
‘He joined into the Farrington family.’
‘Well, I meant safe from vices, not safe from… bald twats.’
‘Oh, jeez. I’m worried enough about Mum without having to think about Tate coming after us as well.’
‘It’ll be me he comes after, if anyone. You don’t need to worry.’
‘Uh, that’s a pretty valid thing to worry about.’
‘What are you gonna do? Do you think he’ll come after you?’
‘Maybe, maybe not. He said it was a final warning…’
‘I’m not letting shit happen to any of us. He’ll have to go through me if he wants to get to you or Mattie.’
‘This is some bullshit, man. We should be happy at a time like this. You’ve just had a baby.’
‘But you look pretty good, all things considered!’
‘Not being the one to push it out helps! I’m pretty exhausted, though.’
‘I know the feeling. After Nix was born, me and Ellis were zombies for a while.’
‘You having Nix makes this a lot better for us, though. Obviously, there’s my mum as well, but it helps that I can ask you for advice. You’re another young dad like me.’
‘Any time. If either of you find yourselves alone with Mattie, feel free to come over to ours.’
‘Thanks.’
‘In fact, why don’t we make some kind of arrangement? I know your hours aren’t regular, Logan, but maybe we could agree to have one afternoon a week with the kids?’
‘Yeah, like a Dads Club!’
‘That’s a great idea! I think that’d be great for both of you.’
‘It’d be good for Nix to spend time with her cousin and get used to interacting with babies. I can support you, and the two of us can chill! Well, as much chilling as is involved with little kids, anyway. Not very much of that with Nix right now, but y’know.’
‘I really like the sound of that. We should definitely do it.’
‘Damn, you’re almost making me want to get a baby and join in.’
‘You still get uninterrupted sleep, though, so not having a kid does give you that big advantage.’
‘Good point! I’ll carry on valuing it.’
