Post by matt on Jun 24, 2020 11:05:40 GMT -6
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June 19th, 2020
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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Paranoia can eat away at a person like a cancer. In Glory’s case, she has two cancers eating away at her; paranoia and guilt She is paranoid because things now are spiraling out of control. She had only wanted this to be a simple trip to visit her cousin Angelica in Boston, Massachusetts to help prepare for her match against Selena Frost. That was all this was supposed to be. Yet now, thanks to Angelica’s words, Glory finds herself approaching the front door of her cousin’s home, a home Angelica mockingly calls “Purgatory”. Where does the guilt come in? Glory won’t admit it, but her cousin made very good points. Angelica really hit home by stating that Glory isn’t the same as she used to be, that she has changed and not for the better. What hit home the most was Angelica’s accusation that Glory no longer cares about family.
Glory does care about family; or at least she used to. Recently she had her sister locked up in a sanitarium. In doing so The British Bombshell has also coerced Julia into doing what Glory herself had done little over a year ago; disavowing and rejecting any and all connection to Aphrodite, a woman whom both were so close to that they had considered her a mother figure. Would Glory do that to someone she considered family? Glory is facing the real possibility that she has changed. Even if this is not true she must at least consider the possibility. She must do something to put her mind at ease.
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re doing this.” Angelica says to her cousin as she and Glory approach the front door. Both women have already showered and changed out of their exercise gear and into different attire. Angelica is dressed more casually in a maxi-skirt, flip flops, a white t-shirt, and her signature black leather jacket. By contrast Glory Braddock is wearing a sleeveless pink midi-dress and pink patent leather high heel pumps. The British Bombshell rolls her eyes and turns to face Angelica as they stop at the front door of Angelica’s Boston home.
“Right, just do me a favor. I want to speak to her alone.” Glory is stern and defiant. She means business and she will dig in her heels on this if she has to. “Let me do this on my own and deal with this on my own. Can you handle that?”
“I’m not sure I should…”
“Oh don’t worry about me. I can handle it. But can she handle me?”
“I’m not worried about that.” Angelica says with a smirk on her lovely face. “Aunt Mary grew up in one of the worst environments imaginable. I think she can handle someone like you.”
Mary Ford is Angelica’s aunt but Glory’s mother. May Ford wasn’t always her name, though. Maria Kurensky was the birth name of Mary. Mary’s sister, Kelly, was Angelica and Kayla’s mother and her birth name was Klementina Kurensky. Both women were from Soviet Russia and daughters of an ex-KGB agent who defected from the Soviet Union to America when he became overcome with a rush of conscience and guilt. He changed the names and identities of his family in order to protect them. Mary’s father had always been concerned that Stalin’s agents would try and track them down. They lived in constant fear of reprisal due to their defection. Needless to say, Angelica isn’t concerned about whether Mary can handle this.
The British Bombshell rolls her eyes. Angelica opens the door and steps inside. She motions to the living room, indicating that Mary is there waiting. Angelica turns and walks down the hall towards the kitchen while Glory makes her way into the living room. It is also clean; almost to perfection with barely a spot and even if one exists, it isn’t noticeable. The cream colored sofa is soft, comfortable, and plush. It is situated in front of a large flat screen television mounted on the wall above a fireplace. The fireplace does seem slightly out of place as it is the only piece in this living room that looks relatively traditional. Glory notices her aunt Mary sitting in a recliner in the corner of the room.
“Mom…”
“Gloria?” Mary looks up at her daughter and a warm, loving smile that only a mother can produce forms upon her face. “I didn’t believe it when Angelica told me you were coming. But you’re here. You’re really here.”
“Yeah, I’m here.” Glory says as Mary gets up off of the recliner. The two meet in the middle and embrace in a tight hug. Mary laughs lightly as she motions to the sofa, seeming to suggest that this may be a better place for the two of them to sit. Glory nods and follows her mother to the sofa. Mary sits down first and Glory sits down next to her. Tears are evident in Mary’s eyes, despite a low laugh that escapes her lips.
“It’s been far too long, Gloria.”
“I know. I don’t think we’ve spoken since dad died.”
“We haven’t.” Mary admits with a sigh and a nod of her head. “I admit that I took your father’s death exceptionally hard but, still, that’s no excuse.”
“It’s ok, mom. I haven’t exactly gotten over his death either.”
“He’s still with us, Gloria...in our hearts…”
“I wish he was here physically, you know? I wish he was here to talk to. There have been so many things I have endured lately, so many difficult decisions I have had to make, and I wish I could have asked him for some advice.”
“Don’t you have new friends you can talk to?” Mary suggests. “I do still follow your career. Aren’t you friends with Sienna and Bree now?”
“Yes but I’m not sure they would understand some of the decisions I have had to make. To be honest, I’m not sure anyone could understand the decisions that I have had to make.”
Glory Braddock seems to long for her mother’s warm embrace but she still emotionally keeps her at arm’s length. A part of her is still unsure whether she is ready to fully accept her back into her life. Since Glory is unwilling to reach out, Mary decides to reach out instead.
“Gloria, I do not pretend to understand everything that you go through. Your father was an amazing man, he was a great wrestler and his wisdom and teachings helped create a movement in British wrestling. But you have far surpassed anything he could have ever imagined.”
“I’m not better than dad…”
“Yes you are. He won European wrestling tournaments and European championships. You are a fourteen time world champion. He started a wrestling school and now you are running that school but you went and topped that by purchasing your own wrestling promotion and building both up into its own power house corporation. So no, i do not pretend to understand what you have to deal with from day to day, but there is one question I do have for you…”
“What’s that?”
“Why did you have your sister institutionalized?”
Glory’s starting to lose control again. Her anger and PTSD is boiling over. “You’re right, Mary, you have NO IDEA what I go through in my day to day life! That’s been your family’s M.O. since day one! When the going gets tough you run away, right? Things got bad in Stalinist Russia and did you stay and fight the good fight? Did you fight the tyrants? No, you ran away. When life with dad became difficult did you even try to work things out with him? No, you left him to raise me on his own. And I tried to put all of that aside and work things out with you, I tried to make peace with you, and we made significant progress but then dad died. And what happened? You left me.” Tears are now flowing down Glory’s cheeks. She points an accusatory finger at Mary.
“You haven’t been in contact with me since dad died so don’t pretend that you have any moral high ground here, Mary!” Glory’s voice is dripping with venom. Things go silent immediately after Mary rears back and slaps her daughter across the cheek. For her part, Glory is shocked that Mary did that. Braddock rubs her cheek.
“I’m sorry, Gloria, but you were being out of line. I don’t pretend to have any moral high ground. I just want to know why you had your sister locked up. That’s all.”
“You want to know why I had Julia institutionalized? It was for this family’s own good. It was for the good of the Braddock family. I already had this discussion with Angelica but I’ll tell you the same thing I told her. We were traumatized and mentally twisted into becoming the children of Aphrodite Noel, we were tricked into joining her “family”. And we have you to blame for that because we never had a true mother figure to speak of, since you left when we were young. I got the help I needed and then I got her the help she needed.”
“What kind of help did you get her?”
“All you need to know is that she is once again a Braddock. I saved our family. Our family is once again whole, no thanks to you.”
The British Bombshell gets up and walks over to a window. She stares blankly outside, thinking about how she just reacted towards her mother. A few moments later Mary speaks up, breaking the silence. “You know, I was very hurt when I heard you and your sister had joined Aphrodite’s ‘family’ and had become her daughters.”
“Good. You deserved to be hurt.” Glory snaps back, spinning around and facing Mary with an angry glare etched across her face.
“It hurt me even more when I learned that your sister was not coerced into joining, that she did so willingly. I had run from my problems, just as you said, and that meant I had failed as a mother. I’ll admit that.”
“At least you’re willing to admit it.” Glory says sarcastically.
“But are you willing to admit your part in this? I mean, this is a two way street. You could have come to me anytime, you know. And tell me this, Gloria; did you become Aphrodite’s daughter voluntarily like your sister or were you coerced?”
There is another tense pause as mother and daughter stare into one another’s eyes. The British Bombshell can tell that Mary Ford is studying her intensely, looking for any sign. Braddock steadies herself and quietly says…
“No…”
“No what?”
“Just...just no…”
Mary chuckles. “My dear child, you’re not the only one who learned things from their father. Your grandfather was KGB. I learned many things from him, one of the simpler things I learned from him is how to tell when someone is lying.”
“I’m not lying.” Glory says weakly as tears once again flow down her cheek. Mary approaches her daughter lovingly.
“You aren’t lying...but only because you never definitively answered my question.” Mary reaches out and takes her daughter by the hands. “Your father isn’t here anymore to help you and I have been absent most of your life but I would like to make up for that. I would like to help you but I need to know what’s wrong. I need you to be honest with me.”
Glory walks slowly back to the sofa where she sits back down. Mary sits down next to her and wraps a comforting loving arm around her daughter’s shoulder. “My mind isn’t…”
“It isn’t what?”
“...it isn’t right. What I mean is that I’ve changed and I’m not sure if it’s a good change or a bad change. I’ve done things, mom. I’ve done horrible things that I never would have even conceived of doing, all in the name of the greater good.”
“Have you been to see a psychiatrist?”
“Yes and I was told it was a form of post traumatic stress syndrome. And to answer your next question, no I am not seeing that psychiatrist anymore.”
“Well you should.”
“But my reputation…”
“Suck it up and deal with it.” Mary says scoldingly. “Your reputation can deal with it. If the public were to find out they’ll forgive you. There’s nothing wrong with having a problem so long as you are seeking help for that problem. So go see a psychiatrist and I admit that I have played a role in this because I was never there for you growing up. I want to help you now.”
“How are you planning to help me?”
“You were right earlier, Gloria. We were making great progress just before your father died. I stopped calling and stopped visiting because I knew seeing you would bring back memories of your father would make me sad. Maybe it’s time we helped each other? Maybe we need to try again?”
Glory Braddock nods her head. “Yeah, I like that.”
“You help me move on from your father’s death and I’ll help you become a better person.”
June 19th, 2020
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
==========
Paranoia can eat away at a person like a cancer. In Glory’s case, she has two cancers eating away at her; paranoia and guilt She is paranoid because things now are spiraling out of control. She had only wanted this to be a simple trip to visit her cousin Angelica in Boston, Massachusetts to help prepare for her match against Selena Frost. That was all this was supposed to be. Yet now, thanks to Angelica’s words, Glory finds herself approaching the front door of her cousin’s home, a home Angelica mockingly calls “Purgatory”. Where does the guilt come in? Glory won’t admit it, but her cousin made very good points. Angelica really hit home by stating that Glory isn’t the same as she used to be, that she has changed and not for the better. What hit home the most was Angelica’s accusation that Glory no longer cares about family.
Glory does care about family; or at least she used to. Recently she had her sister locked up in a sanitarium. In doing so The British Bombshell has also coerced Julia into doing what Glory herself had done little over a year ago; disavowing and rejecting any and all connection to Aphrodite, a woman whom both were so close to that they had considered her a mother figure. Would Glory do that to someone she considered family? Glory is facing the real possibility that she has changed. Even if this is not true she must at least consider the possibility. She must do something to put her mind at ease.
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re doing this.” Angelica says to her cousin as she and Glory approach the front door. Both women have already showered and changed out of their exercise gear and into different attire. Angelica is dressed more casually in a maxi-skirt, flip flops, a white t-shirt, and her signature black leather jacket. By contrast Glory Braddock is wearing a sleeveless pink midi-dress and pink patent leather high heel pumps. The British Bombshell rolls her eyes and turns to face Angelica as they stop at the front door of Angelica’s Boston home.
“Right, just do me a favor. I want to speak to her alone.” Glory is stern and defiant. She means business and she will dig in her heels on this if she has to. “Let me do this on my own and deal with this on my own. Can you handle that?”
“I’m not sure I should…”
“Oh don’t worry about me. I can handle it. But can she handle me?”
“I’m not worried about that.” Angelica says with a smirk on her lovely face. “Aunt Mary grew up in one of the worst environments imaginable. I think she can handle someone like you.”
Mary Ford is Angelica’s aunt but Glory’s mother. May Ford wasn’t always her name, though. Maria Kurensky was the birth name of Mary. Mary’s sister, Kelly, was Angelica and Kayla’s mother and her birth name was Klementina Kurensky. Both women were from Soviet Russia and daughters of an ex-KGB agent who defected from the Soviet Union to America when he became overcome with a rush of conscience and guilt. He changed the names and identities of his family in order to protect them. Mary’s father had always been concerned that Stalin’s agents would try and track them down. They lived in constant fear of reprisal due to their defection. Needless to say, Angelica isn’t concerned about whether Mary can handle this.
The British Bombshell rolls her eyes. Angelica opens the door and steps inside. She motions to the living room, indicating that Mary is there waiting. Angelica turns and walks down the hall towards the kitchen while Glory makes her way into the living room. It is also clean; almost to perfection with barely a spot and even if one exists, it isn’t noticeable. The cream colored sofa is soft, comfortable, and plush. It is situated in front of a large flat screen television mounted on the wall above a fireplace. The fireplace does seem slightly out of place as it is the only piece in this living room that looks relatively traditional. Glory notices her aunt Mary sitting in a recliner in the corner of the room.
“Mom…”
“Gloria?” Mary looks up at her daughter and a warm, loving smile that only a mother can produce forms upon her face. “I didn’t believe it when Angelica told me you were coming. But you’re here. You’re really here.”
“Yeah, I’m here.” Glory says as Mary gets up off of the recliner. The two meet in the middle and embrace in a tight hug. Mary laughs lightly as she motions to the sofa, seeming to suggest that this may be a better place for the two of them to sit. Glory nods and follows her mother to the sofa. Mary sits down first and Glory sits down next to her. Tears are evident in Mary’s eyes, despite a low laugh that escapes her lips.
“It’s been far too long, Gloria.”
“I know. I don’t think we’ve spoken since dad died.”
“We haven’t.” Mary admits with a sigh and a nod of her head. “I admit that I took your father’s death exceptionally hard but, still, that’s no excuse.”
“It’s ok, mom. I haven’t exactly gotten over his death either.”
“He’s still with us, Gloria...in our hearts…”
“I wish he was here physically, you know? I wish he was here to talk to. There have been so many things I have endured lately, so many difficult decisions I have had to make, and I wish I could have asked him for some advice.”
“Don’t you have new friends you can talk to?” Mary suggests. “I do still follow your career. Aren’t you friends with Sienna and Bree now?”
“Yes but I’m not sure they would understand some of the decisions I have had to make. To be honest, I’m not sure anyone could understand the decisions that I have had to make.”
Glory Braddock seems to long for her mother’s warm embrace but she still emotionally keeps her at arm’s length. A part of her is still unsure whether she is ready to fully accept her back into her life. Since Glory is unwilling to reach out, Mary decides to reach out instead.
“Gloria, I do not pretend to understand everything that you go through. Your father was an amazing man, he was a great wrestler and his wisdom and teachings helped create a movement in British wrestling. But you have far surpassed anything he could have ever imagined.”
“I’m not better than dad…”
“Yes you are. He won European wrestling tournaments and European championships. You are a fourteen time world champion. He started a wrestling school and now you are running that school but you went and topped that by purchasing your own wrestling promotion and building both up into its own power house corporation. So no, i do not pretend to understand what you have to deal with from day to day, but there is one question I do have for you…”
“What’s that?”
“Why did you have your sister institutionalized?”
Glory’s starting to lose control again. Her anger and PTSD is boiling over. “You’re right, Mary, you have NO IDEA what I go through in my day to day life! That’s been your family’s M.O. since day one! When the going gets tough you run away, right? Things got bad in Stalinist Russia and did you stay and fight the good fight? Did you fight the tyrants? No, you ran away. When life with dad became difficult did you even try to work things out with him? No, you left him to raise me on his own. And I tried to put all of that aside and work things out with you, I tried to make peace with you, and we made significant progress but then dad died. And what happened? You left me.” Tears are now flowing down Glory’s cheeks. She points an accusatory finger at Mary.
“You haven’t been in contact with me since dad died so don’t pretend that you have any moral high ground here, Mary!” Glory’s voice is dripping with venom. Things go silent immediately after Mary rears back and slaps her daughter across the cheek. For her part, Glory is shocked that Mary did that. Braddock rubs her cheek.
“I’m sorry, Gloria, but you were being out of line. I don’t pretend to have any moral high ground. I just want to know why you had your sister locked up. That’s all.”
“You want to know why I had Julia institutionalized? It was for this family’s own good. It was for the good of the Braddock family. I already had this discussion with Angelica but I’ll tell you the same thing I told her. We were traumatized and mentally twisted into becoming the children of Aphrodite Noel, we were tricked into joining her “family”. And we have you to blame for that because we never had a true mother figure to speak of, since you left when we were young. I got the help I needed and then I got her the help she needed.”
“What kind of help did you get her?”
“All you need to know is that she is once again a Braddock. I saved our family. Our family is once again whole, no thanks to you.”
The British Bombshell gets up and walks over to a window. She stares blankly outside, thinking about how she just reacted towards her mother. A few moments later Mary speaks up, breaking the silence. “You know, I was very hurt when I heard you and your sister had joined Aphrodite’s ‘family’ and had become her daughters.”
“Good. You deserved to be hurt.” Glory snaps back, spinning around and facing Mary with an angry glare etched across her face.
“It hurt me even more when I learned that your sister was not coerced into joining, that she did so willingly. I had run from my problems, just as you said, and that meant I had failed as a mother. I’ll admit that.”
“At least you’re willing to admit it.” Glory says sarcastically.
“But are you willing to admit your part in this? I mean, this is a two way street. You could have come to me anytime, you know. And tell me this, Gloria; did you become Aphrodite’s daughter voluntarily like your sister or were you coerced?”
There is another tense pause as mother and daughter stare into one another’s eyes. The British Bombshell can tell that Mary Ford is studying her intensely, looking for any sign. Braddock steadies herself and quietly says…
“No…”
“No what?”
“Just...just no…”
Mary chuckles. “My dear child, you’re not the only one who learned things from their father. Your grandfather was KGB. I learned many things from him, one of the simpler things I learned from him is how to tell when someone is lying.”
“I’m not lying.” Glory says weakly as tears once again flow down her cheek. Mary approaches her daughter lovingly.
“You aren’t lying...but only because you never definitively answered my question.” Mary reaches out and takes her daughter by the hands. “Your father isn’t here anymore to help you and I have been absent most of your life but I would like to make up for that. I would like to help you but I need to know what’s wrong. I need you to be honest with me.”
Glory walks slowly back to the sofa where she sits back down. Mary sits down next to her and wraps a comforting loving arm around her daughter’s shoulder. “My mind isn’t…”
“It isn’t what?”
“...it isn’t right. What I mean is that I’ve changed and I’m not sure if it’s a good change or a bad change. I’ve done things, mom. I’ve done horrible things that I never would have even conceived of doing, all in the name of the greater good.”
“Have you been to see a psychiatrist?”
“Yes and I was told it was a form of post traumatic stress syndrome. And to answer your next question, no I am not seeing that psychiatrist anymore.”
“Well you should.”
“But my reputation…”
“Suck it up and deal with it.” Mary says scoldingly. “Your reputation can deal with it. If the public were to find out they’ll forgive you. There’s nothing wrong with having a problem so long as you are seeking help for that problem. So go see a psychiatrist and I admit that I have played a role in this because I was never there for you growing up. I want to help you now.”
“How are you planning to help me?”
“You were right earlier, Gloria. We were making great progress just before your father died. I stopped calling and stopped visiting because I knew seeing you would bring back memories of your father would make me sad. Maybe it’s time we helped each other? Maybe we need to try again?”
Glory Braddock nods her head. “Yeah, I like that.”
“You help me move on from your father’s death and I’ll help you become a better person.”