The gates opened and Jameak?s black nondescript town car pulled down the bumpy cobblestone drive towards the private home tucked away from the world in the heart of New Haven luxury. It was mostly obscured from the street by the leafy cover of grand old trees but as the car stopped at the rounded arch of the circular drive, the exterior of the home was revealed. It was large, particularly considering the fact that the man and woman who owned it had grown up in shoebox apartments in which one would not need to raise their voice to talk to someone in the opposite end. However, it was not the ostentatious show of wealth that one might expect, considering it was nouveau riche athletes.
The house was a rough hewn gray local stone with sharp white trim. Stately, elegant. Water twinkled merrily from the fountain in the center of the island created by the drive.
Unlike when he normally drove, Jameak had obeyed the speed limit going through New Haven, and he pulled the car to a smooth stop in the drive. No squealing tires, and he kept his music down to a level that didn't escape the sedan. Once he had parked, he hopped out of the vehicle, opened the back driver's side door to retrieve the crutches Jay had stacked back there, and then brought them passenger-side. Jay opened his own door, took the crutches with a small smile and murmured "thanks" for the half-orc. Jameak just grunted and shrugged his shoulders as he walked back over to the driver's side and leaned against the side of the vehicle. He watched carefully as Jay hobbled up the drive and approached the rounded front steps.
The crutches made it harder for him to get up and under the awning above the front door, leaving him grimacing and a little out of breath once he finally made it. He pressed the doorbell and resisted the urge to lean against the door while waiting to be let in.
He barely had time to ring the doorbell. Given that visitors at the gate had to be buzzed in through the intercom system it was typically no surprise when someone arrived at the front door. The door swung open and the nine year old little girl that was suddenly grinning up at Jay was a familiar face. "You are busted up!" Adie said, opening the door wider to invite him in.
Jay couldn't help but laugh at the spot-on description of his current condition. He would have held a fist out for Adie to bump, but his hands were wrapped tightly around the handles of his crutches. "I totally am. How've you been? I haven't seen you in a while."
"Good. Only 40 more days of school before summer. Ma said she's been working out with you in the mornings. I figured you'd come over for cookies eventually," Adie said sagely as she closed the door once Jay was inside. Arches transitioned one room to the next in the open floor plan. There were coffered ceilings, detailed mouldings, and more space than she knew what to do with. The hardwood floors had plenty of character, aged by both time and wear. Adie's bare feet padded against them as she slowly led Jay towards the kitchen.
"Then you gotta do summer school, right?" he asked, as he followed her into the kitchen. It was good-natured teasing, the likes of which he had rarely engaged in until he had joined the Crew. One learned how take a joke -- and hand out a good ribbing -- after spending some time with the Grazianos and the rest of the Crew. "I keep getting offered cookies everywhere I go and I'm gonna end up like your uncle." Jay would have rubbed his belly, if his hands were free.
Adie giggled girlishly as they entered the kitchen. It was the safest bet on where Maria might be in her home at any given moment. She loved cooking and had put the time and energy into the kitchen to make it her own. It was welcoming and lively with a neutral beige on the wall spliced with flashes of brilliant blues and teracotta. The rustic Tuscan feel made it feel warm and homey despite the elegant touches. And, because this was a house of small children, there was a clear view into the living room where Brooklyn was building block towers and Maria's youngest -- a handsome little boy of five months -- was asleep in a swing.
Cookies were laid out on cooling racks and Maria stepped away from the bowl she was washing in the sink. "Hey, Jay," she said warmly as she crossed to give him a one-armed squeeze. She'd heard about the injury but hadn't yet seen him since it.
"Yo." Jay took a moment to take in the family scene, his eyes darting from child to child but never lingering long. "Mind if I take a seat?" he asked, after Maria hugged him.
"Go for it," she replied, nodding to one of the bar stools before turning to Adie to motion her towards her younger sister. Jay would have just talked to her at the facility if the topic didn't need a degree of privacy. Once Adie was headed off into the other room, she moved to ease onto a bar stool. "What's up, Jay?"
He set the two crutches leaning against the counter, before gingerly pulling himself onto a stool. He tried to smooth out the wrinkles on the khakis he so rarely wore as a way to buy some time to ease into the conversation. He knew he couldn't just stall with pleasantries and small talk. However, he couldn't bear to strike right at the heart of the matter. "I have a problem. And not an injured leg problem, or the fact that I'm getting my ass kicked all across the Outback and Arena problem."
"You're already in much better shape than you came back in. Just keep at it. You'll work your way through it," she reassured on his second issue.
"After a couple of weeks," he said, tapping his right leg. "That's obviously not why I'm here, though." Jay breathed out a quiet sigh, looking up at the ceiling. "It's personal, and it's professional, and it's...complicated. You've seen my Tweeter account, right?"
"Yeah, I keep an eye on it," she replied with a steady nod.
"They're using it to put me out there as this...heart throb." They most likely meant David Ballard, one of the Crew's PR flacks. "Like, there's all these messages out there about keeping me single, talking about me as a 'bae', whatever that means...stuff where they talk about how happy they are that Sami and I aren't together anymore. And...please don't get me wrong. I owe you guys so much. I don't mind the signings or promo stuff. But I can't do that anymore." His shoulders rolled forward after he finally finished speaking.
"You know what Tical taught me? You are a brand. That's a hard concept. It's hard to figure out how to package yourself up and present yourself to the world but that's the job. That's how we secure our future and our kids' futures. You've got to decide on your packaging. You've got to decide your brand. I'm the heel. It's my thing. It's where I'm comfortable. You consult with the marketing team and put together something you're comfortable with. They work for you."
"It was just so easy starting out to go with that. I didn't have to really speak much, you know? And people didn't seem to mind it when I first joined, when they knew I was in a long-term relationship. But now that they think I'm not..." Jay tried to bury the lede, the admission he had come to Maria's house to make. He balled his hands into a fist, lifted them over his head, and spread out his fingers. "Boom. I spent almost two years away, no press, no nothing, and it's even bigger than before."
Now that they thought he wasn't.... She didn't miss the line and concern slid across her expression. "Jay, are you and Sami back together?"
"Yeah. About three weeks now." A smile crept across his face, as he finally admitted it. though it was beaten back quickly when he saw the look on Maria's face.
At first, when Jay and Sami broke up and Jay had started going to school, Maria had considered the break-up a good thing. Jay was finally following his dreams. But then he had slid away from them and she had started to wonder. That wonder was confirmed by the state he returned to them in. For as long as she knew Jay, Sami had been there. She drew in a breath, releasing it heavily. "Well, we'll fix this. It's not a big deal. The two of you have been together forever. Your target audience freaks over those sorts of love stories. We'll package it right. I know she's never much been for the spotlight and we'll keep her out of it. This is good. I'm happy for you."
He had begun to set his jaw, narrowing his eyes slightly in preparation for a determined defense of his relationship. Instead, Maria stood up for it. A quick breath escaped his lungs, and he glanced down at the tops of his hands. His left knee moved up and down involuntarily, until he forced it still, pressing a palm down onto his thigh. A moment later, he looked back up at her with his earlier smile back on his face, before he remembered the second part of his dilemma. The thornier part. Convincing the PR people to spin him a different way in the public's eye was never really a concern for him. This, however, would be much more difficult...
"It's gonna be a little more complicated than that. You remember how I was after we broke up..." It was half-question, half-statement. The grin was gone, and he began scratching at his knuckles.
There was a crash of blocks behind them but no one was crying so Maria kept her brown eyes steady on Jay. "Yeah," she said with a gentleness she usually only saved for her kids and Tical. "I remember."
"It was, like, a hundred times worse for her. I...can't go into details, really, but Stick sent her away. She got a job with, like, some mercenary group or private army or something. I guess it was real rough. But when she joined...she used my last name. Said it helped keep her going."
It took a couple moments of blinking at Jay before the whole weight of just how bad that was came crashing down on her. "Oh God, Jay. She's using your name? We're lucky that the press haven't already found out. They're going to find out and when they do they're going to ask you if you're married. If you say no, there's no way in hell they believe you. And if you say yes... I'm guessing there is a couple girls that can give interviews that could paint you out to be a total cheating asshole."
"More than a couple," he murmured, although the expression on his face stayed neutral. In his mind, those dalliances were past, unchangeable, and therefore not worth dwelling on. There was no reason to regret it because he could not alter what he had done. All he could do was learn and move forward. Still, those old one-night stands and abortive relationships made things awfully tricky at the moment... "You're the first person I've told that we're back together. Sami's only told one of her closest friends. That's it."
Her eyes lingered on him for a moment but this was over her head. It was totally over her head. And there was only one thing to do when she met up with a PR issue that was over her head. "I have a friend. Johanna Hayes. I'm going to get you in touch with her. The Crew will foot the bill but... she'll only take your case if you listen to her completely. Okay?"
Jay laughed, shaking his head slowly. "I don't really have a choice, do I? I'll do it."
"Now have a cookie and catch me up on what's going on among the titleholders in the Arena."
The house was a rough hewn gray local stone with sharp white trim. Stately, elegant. Water twinkled merrily from the fountain in the center of the island created by the drive.
Unlike when he normally drove, Jameak had obeyed the speed limit going through New Haven, and he pulled the car to a smooth stop in the drive. No squealing tires, and he kept his music down to a level that didn't escape the sedan. Once he had parked, he hopped out of the vehicle, opened the back driver's side door to retrieve the crutches Jay had stacked back there, and then brought them passenger-side. Jay opened his own door, took the crutches with a small smile and murmured "thanks" for the half-orc. Jameak just grunted and shrugged his shoulders as he walked back over to the driver's side and leaned against the side of the vehicle. He watched carefully as Jay hobbled up the drive and approached the rounded front steps.
The crutches made it harder for him to get up and under the awning above the front door, leaving him grimacing and a little out of breath once he finally made it. He pressed the doorbell and resisted the urge to lean against the door while waiting to be let in.
He barely had time to ring the doorbell. Given that visitors at the gate had to be buzzed in through the intercom system it was typically no surprise when someone arrived at the front door. The door swung open and the nine year old little girl that was suddenly grinning up at Jay was a familiar face. "You are busted up!" Adie said, opening the door wider to invite him in.
Jay couldn't help but laugh at the spot-on description of his current condition. He would have held a fist out for Adie to bump, but his hands were wrapped tightly around the handles of his crutches. "I totally am. How've you been? I haven't seen you in a while."
"Good. Only 40 more days of school before summer. Ma said she's been working out with you in the mornings. I figured you'd come over for cookies eventually," Adie said sagely as she closed the door once Jay was inside. Arches transitioned one room to the next in the open floor plan. There were coffered ceilings, detailed mouldings, and more space than she knew what to do with. The hardwood floors had plenty of character, aged by both time and wear. Adie's bare feet padded against them as she slowly led Jay towards the kitchen.
"Then you gotta do summer school, right?" he asked, as he followed her into the kitchen. It was good-natured teasing, the likes of which he had rarely engaged in until he had joined the Crew. One learned how take a joke -- and hand out a good ribbing -- after spending some time with the Grazianos and the rest of the Crew. "I keep getting offered cookies everywhere I go and I'm gonna end up like your uncle." Jay would have rubbed his belly, if his hands were free.
Adie giggled girlishly as they entered the kitchen. It was the safest bet on where Maria might be in her home at any given moment. She loved cooking and had put the time and energy into the kitchen to make it her own. It was welcoming and lively with a neutral beige on the wall spliced with flashes of brilliant blues and teracotta. The rustic Tuscan feel made it feel warm and homey despite the elegant touches. And, because this was a house of small children, there was a clear view into the living room where Brooklyn was building block towers and Maria's youngest -- a handsome little boy of five months -- was asleep in a swing.
Cookies were laid out on cooling racks and Maria stepped away from the bowl she was washing in the sink. "Hey, Jay," she said warmly as she crossed to give him a one-armed squeeze. She'd heard about the injury but hadn't yet seen him since it.
"Yo." Jay took a moment to take in the family scene, his eyes darting from child to child but never lingering long. "Mind if I take a seat?" he asked, after Maria hugged him.
"Go for it," she replied, nodding to one of the bar stools before turning to Adie to motion her towards her younger sister. Jay would have just talked to her at the facility if the topic didn't need a degree of privacy. Once Adie was headed off into the other room, she moved to ease onto a bar stool. "What's up, Jay?"
He set the two crutches leaning against the counter, before gingerly pulling himself onto a stool. He tried to smooth out the wrinkles on the khakis he so rarely wore as a way to buy some time to ease into the conversation. He knew he couldn't just stall with pleasantries and small talk. However, he couldn't bear to strike right at the heart of the matter. "I have a problem. And not an injured leg problem, or the fact that I'm getting my ass kicked all across the Outback and Arena problem."
"You're already in much better shape than you came back in. Just keep at it. You'll work your way through it," she reassured on his second issue.
"After a couple of weeks," he said, tapping his right leg. "That's obviously not why I'm here, though." Jay breathed out a quiet sigh, looking up at the ceiling. "It's personal, and it's professional, and it's...complicated. You've seen my Tweeter account, right?"
"Yeah, I keep an eye on it," she replied with a steady nod.
"They're using it to put me out there as this...heart throb." They most likely meant David Ballard, one of the Crew's PR flacks. "Like, there's all these messages out there about keeping me single, talking about me as a 'bae', whatever that means...stuff where they talk about how happy they are that Sami and I aren't together anymore. And...please don't get me wrong. I owe you guys so much. I don't mind the signings or promo stuff. But I can't do that anymore." His shoulders rolled forward after he finally finished speaking.
"You know what Tical taught me? You are a brand. That's a hard concept. It's hard to figure out how to package yourself up and present yourself to the world but that's the job. That's how we secure our future and our kids' futures. You've got to decide on your packaging. You've got to decide your brand. I'm the heel. It's my thing. It's where I'm comfortable. You consult with the marketing team and put together something you're comfortable with. They work for you."
"It was just so easy starting out to go with that. I didn't have to really speak much, you know? And people didn't seem to mind it when I first joined, when they knew I was in a long-term relationship. But now that they think I'm not..." Jay tried to bury the lede, the admission he had come to Maria's house to make. He balled his hands into a fist, lifted them over his head, and spread out his fingers. "Boom. I spent almost two years away, no press, no nothing, and it's even bigger than before."
Now that they thought he wasn't.... She didn't miss the line and concern slid across her expression. "Jay, are you and Sami back together?"
"Yeah. About three weeks now." A smile crept across his face, as he finally admitted it. though it was beaten back quickly when he saw the look on Maria's face.
At first, when Jay and Sami broke up and Jay had started going to school, Maria had considered the break-up a good thing. Jay was finally following his dreams. But then he had slid away from them and she had started to wonder. That wonder was confirmed by the state he returned to them in. For as long as she knew Jay, Sami had been there. She drew in a breath, releasing it heavily. "Well, we'll fix this. It's not a big deal. The two of you have been together forever. Your target audience freaks over those sorts of love stories. We'll package it right. I know she's never much been for the spotlight and we'll keep her out of it. This is good. I'm happy for you."
He had begun to set his jaw, narrowing his eyes slightly in preparation for a determined defense of his relationship. Instead, Maria stood up for it. A quick breath escaped his lungs, and he glanced down at the tops of his hands. His left knee moved up and down involuntarily, until he forced it still, pressing a palm down onto his thigh. A moment later, he looked back up at her with his earlier smile back on his face, before he remembered the second part of his dilemma. The thornier part. Convincing the PR people to spin him a different way in the public's eye was never really a concern for him. This, however, would be much more difficult...
"It's gonna be a little more complicated than that. You remember how I was after we broke up..." It was half-question, half-statement. The grin was gone, and he began scratching at his knuckles.
There was a crash of blocks behind them but no one was crying so Maria kept her brown eyes steady on Jay. "Yeah," she said with a gentleness she usually only saved for her kids and Tical. "I remember."
"It was, like, a hundred times worse for her. I...can't go into details, really, but Stick sent her away. She got a job with, like, some mercenary group or private army or something. I guess it was real rough. But when she joined...she used my last name. Said it helped keep her going."
It took a couple moments of blinking at Jay before the whole weight of just how bad that was came crashing down on her. "Oh God, Jay. She's using your name? We're lucky that the press haven't already found out. They're going to find out and when they do they're going to ask you if you're married. If you say no, there's no way in hell they believe you. And if you say yes... I'm guessing there is a couple girls that can give interviews that could paint you out to be a total cheating asshole."
"More than a couple," he murmured, although the expression on his face stayed neutral. In his mind, those dalliances were past, unchangeable, and therefore not worth dwelling on. There was no reason to regret it because he could not alter what he had done. All he could do was learn and move forward. Still, those old one-night stands and abortive relationships made things awfully tricky at the moment... "You're the first person I've told that we're back together. Sami's only told one of her closest friends. That's it."
Her eyes lingered on him for a moment but this was over her head. It was totally over her head. And there was only one thing to do when she met up with a PR issue that was over her head. "I have a friend. Johanna Hayes. I'm going to get you in touch with her. The Crew will foot the bill but... she'll only take your case if you listen to her completely. Okay?"
Jay laughed, shaking his head slowly. "I don't really have a choice, do I? I'll do it."
"Now have a cookie and catch me up on what's going on among the titleholders in the Arena."