Post by matt on Aug 1, 2020 13:38:31 GMT -6
==========
July 20th, 2020
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
The meaning of the term the best laid plans of mice and men is that no matter how carefully something is planned out, it might always fail or go wrong. The term the best laid plans of mice and men finds its origins from the poem 'To a Mouse' which was written by Robert Burns in the late 1700s. Glory Braddock’s initial plan last Saturday was to bring herself closer to her mother by joining the Catholic Church and, at the same time, eliminate some of the guilt she had been feeling by donating money to the church. It made perfect sense to The British Bombshell. She spent so much time and effort, and money, blackmailing and bribing her way to corporate power, this way she can get give back monetarily and surely that would eliminate her guilt.
Unfortunately for Glory Braddock things did not go as planned. Instead of eliminating the guilt, Braddock only added more guilt to her already overwhelmed conscience. The priest, Father Sebastian, was clearly disappointed that Glory was trying to “buy her way to salvation” as he put it. Glory’s mother, Mary, who she was trying to rebuild a damaged relationship with, was also disappointed. Mary informed her that could not always just throw money at a problem and expect it to go away so easily. Mary insisted that professional, psychiatric help is what Braddock really and truly needs.
Psychiatric help isn’t what Glory wants, though. Admitting that she needs psychiatric help is the last thing Glory wants to do, which is why she has been trying to keep it a secret from anyone and everyone that she is currently seeing Dr. Frederick Fitzgerald, a local psychiatrist in Miami, about her post traumatic stress. In an ideal world The British Bombshell never would have gone back to him but she did. She went crawling back, seeking his help. All he wanted in return was a promise that she would not give up so easily on the treatments.
Glory Braddock has thus far kept her promise to continue with these sessions, even if she doesn’t like it one iota. The British Bombshell is humiliated with the thought that she needs psychiatric help. Yet it is an indisputable fact. She has lost control in recent weeks, months even, and if nothing is done then her mental state of mind will only get worse.
“What do you see?”
That is the voice of Dr. Fitzgerald. He sits in his comfortable black swivel chair but he is not at his desk. He is sitting right next to Glory Braddock, who is lying down on the red comfortable sofa. He has several ink blots in his hand. Braddock is trying her best to take this seriously. She really and truly is. But she is finding it very difficult to take this or the hypnotherapy he suggested seriously. Still, deep down in her heart and soul, Glory wants to believe that she can do this on her own, that she doesn’t need any help from this psychiatrist.
“I see a greedy psychiatrist trying to make money by telling me how I feel…”
“I wish you would take this more seriously, Ms. Braddock.”
“At least I answered you this time.”
“This is true.” He puts the ink blot away and produces another one. “What do you see?”
“An ink blot.”
Dr. Fitzgerald sighs and puts the rest of the ink blots away. He stares at his patient with a disappointed gaze, much like the disappointment she felt from Mary and Father Sebastian Saturday, only this time she doesn’t care. She doesn’t care about what this psychiatrist thinks about her.
“I am disappointed in you, Ms. Braddock.”
“Too bad.”
“We had made such good progress our last two sessions. You were really opening up to me and we were close to figuring this out. But now you seem so closed off now. What is wrong?”
“None of your business.”
“Actually it is my business.” He smirks. “That is what you’re paying me for.”
Glory rolls her eyes. She watches as Dr. Fitzgerald rolls in his chair back to his desk. He presses the button from a week ago, the one the started the soothing classical music, and sure enough, the music returns. Last week she was almost immediately induced but this week is different. Glory is so angry and frustrated that the music takes awhile to do its job. Dr. Fitzgerald is unrelenting and just keeps up the pressure.
“Just relax, Ms. Braddock. There is no need to be so angry. Just be calm. Listen to the music and relax.”
Braddock rolls her eyes. She considers just for a moment about the possibility of making a snide remark but decides against it. She just remains silent. Dr. Fitzgerald, however, continues pressing the issue…
“Shut your eyes, Ms. Braddock, and just relax…”
Glory does indeed shut her eyes. Several moments pass before Dr. Fitzgerald feels confident that his patient will cooperate. “Tell me, Ms. Braddock, why are you so tense? What has upset you?”
“My mom.”
“Your mother upset you? Well then, let’s discuss your family life. Tell me about your family.”
“I’m married to Kurt Logan who is a wonderful step-father to my daughter, Melinda Braddock. I have a sister Julia who I do not get along with. I have cousins...Angelica Jones and Kayla Jones-Snow.”
“Do you get along with your cousins?”
“Yes but we’re distant. We don’t talk much.”
“Are they from your mother’s side of the family or father’s?”
“Mother’s.”
“Describe your relationship to your mother.”
“Strained. She divorced my father when I was still young. I was angry with her for leaving us but I’ve been trying to repair the relationship. I recently decided to become a Catholic because she is a Catholic. I thought it would form a bond between us.”
Dr. Fitzgerald nods his head. “It’s a nice thought. How did that go?”
“She thinks all that I’m doing...from joining the church and making donations to the church...is just my way of paying off my guilt.”
“Is she right?”
“...yes…”
Dr. Fitzgerald pauses to consider what he just heard. A few moments later he stops the music. Immediately Glory sits up and turns around in the sofa to stare at the psychiatrist.
“Ms. Braddock, you are angry with your mother but I also sense that you are angry at yourself. You feel disappointed in yourself. I sense some inner turmoil, in a sense you are fighting yourself. All because of the guilt you feel, your mind is telling you that the actions you have taken recently are justified but your heart tells you that you are wrong. And your entire problem lies with the fact that you do not know which to trust...your heart or your mind.”
As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, the psychiatrist makes a lot of sense. The British Bombshell sighs deeply and shakes her head. “What do you think I should do?”
“Maybe you need another sounding board.”
“A what?”
“A second opinion, my dear. You have been to your mother, a church, and to me, all seeking out an answer to a question you cannot seem to answer yourself. Just find someone you trust and pour your heart out. See what they think. Trust me, getting this off of your chest will make you feel better.”
Glory ponders the words of her psychiatrist for a few moments. Then she smiles as an idea enters her mind. “You know what they say...confession is good for the soul…”
“Indeed it is, Ms. Braddock.”
==========
July 24th, 2020
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
This early morning in Miami, Florida at Corpus Christi Catholic Church is the time and place for The British Bombshell to take the next important step to repairing that damage. For a long time she and her mother, Mary Ford, had nothing in common at all whatsoever. But now Glory is going to become a Catholic, just like her mother. But then that action in and of itself raises the question; why is Glory doing this?
It is a question that has been asked of her multiple times ever since she made her intentions known. Braddock herself isn’t entirely sure of the honest answer, even as she sits here in the empty Corpus Christi Church, in the back pew next to her mother, staring up at the front of the Church at the massive crucifix hanging high up in the front. To one is a statue of The Blessed Virgin Mary and to the other side is a statue of St. Joseph.
Glory Braddock grew up as a member of the Church of England. This was primarily because of her late father, Glenn Braddock, who raised her and refused to let her be anything else but a member of the Church of England. This sudden change, Glory claims, is because she wants to bond with her mother, Mary Ford. She claims this is her way to help repair the damage that was done. But is this secretly, subconsciously, just a way to wash away any guilt she feels at what she has done lately?
There’s plenty of reason to feel guilty. Glory blackmailed Meagan Collins into working for her, into doing her dirty work for her. She blackmailed members of her company’s board of directors and bribed others, all in order to gain control over them. Then to keep control and to ensure no one could challenge her corporate power, she had her own sister locked up in a mental ward on false charges. Glory Braddock has always viewed herself as a hero but these aren’t the actions of a hero. These are the actions of a criminal. What happened to Glory Braddock?
“Are you really prepared for this, Gloria?”
“Of course, mom.”
“Is this really and truly what you want to do?” Mary presses. “I don’t want you doing this just to make me happy.”
“I know, you and Father Sebastian made it abundantly clear that I can’t do this for the wrong reasons. But I know what I’m doing. And I want to do this.”
“Fair enough…” Mary smiles warmly at her daughter “...and yes.”
“Yes what?”
“It does make me happy.”
That one statement right there makes Glory’s day. If nothing else she did make her mother happy and she finally feels a bond with her mother, one that she had long since lost. So if nothing else, she has been successful in this regard; she has a relationship with her mother. Now she is ready to join her mother’s church; the Catholic Church.
As if on cue, a door can be heard opening and shutting. Glory and Mary turn around in their seats and they spot Father Sebastian entering the church and making his way towards them. Upon entering the sanctuary he genuflects and then towards the front and then turns to approach Glory and Mary. Father Sebastian has a warm, pleasant smile on his face.
“Glory, Mary, how are you doing today?”
“We’re doing wonderful, Father.” Glory answers. Mary nods in agreement with her daughter.
“Great. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”
“Not at all.”
“Good. Well I already spoke with your mother over there. Apparently you were baptized by a Catholic Priest already.”
“Yes she was.”
“Knowing how dad felt about Catholics I can only imagine how he took that news.”
“He never found out.” Mary says with a sly grin on her face.
“Baptism is considered so important in our faith that parents are obliged to see that their infants are baptised within the first few weeks just in case the unthinkable happens.” Father Sebastian quickly answers.
“Well if that’s out of the way then what’s next?”
“Confirmation. Your very first communion in the church. But before that, confession.”
Braddock nods her head. She’s heard of this before but confession still confuses her. “What exactly is confession?”
“You’re just going into that box over there.” He points over to the back of the church. “I’ll be on the other side listening. Only I will hear. You confess any and all sins, leaving nothing out.”
“Everything?” Glory asks, arching a brow. The priest nods his head.
“Don’t be embarrassed. I’ve heard it all. I’ve heard things that would make your skin crawl. And don’t worry about any secrets getting out. I am not allowed to tell anyone about what is said inside confession. Everything in that box is between me, you, and God.”
“But why is confession so important?” Glory asks.
“We need regular occasions for confession or we will otherwise suffocate from all the secrets inside us and from the fear of being judged and condemned. We need the opportunity to let another human being know the complex, peculiar and sometimes desperately unimpressive reality involved in being us.”
In so many words, Father Sebastian just summed up what Glory’s psychiatrist, Dr. Fitzgerald, had said several days ago. Telling someone else about her guilt and shame, telling someone else about her problems, could help alleviate some of the pressure she is currently feeling and enduring. Glory sighs deeply and nods her head.
“Ok then, let’s do it.”
Father begins to approach his end of the confessional booth and he steps inside. Glory Braddock exits the pew and approaches the confessional booth. She takes in a deep breath and then steps inside as well. There is a thin wall separating the two and a tiny veil where she can barely make out the priest and where they can communicate to one another. Glory recalls how her mother and Father Sebastian taught her to do this…
“Father forgive me, for I have sinned. This is my first confession.”
“Very good. What are your sins?”
Where to begin? Glory Braddock thinks back to her life but mainly sticking to the recent actions. She thinks back to hiring Seth Rogers and how the information he dug up gave Glory the information she needed to blackmail Meagan Collins.
“I hired a crooked private investigator to dig up information on my enemies to use it against them. I used the information to blackmail a woman into working for me. I had her dig up information on members of my company’s Board of Directors so I could blackmail them into taking my side at all times. I bribed a few of my Board members as well.”
“Lying...thievery...these are all sins but you must remember that honesty and truth is what God wants from his children.”
Glory nods her head in agreement. She thinks back to her sister Julia Braddock…
“I got my sister locked up in a mental ward based upon charges that were completely false.”
“Family is a very important part of our life. Why would you do this to your sister?”
“I was afraid of losing my power because of her.”
“Family is more important than power. You need to make things right with your sister. Your penance will be to say three Hail Mary’s for your sister. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Good. Now say your act of contrition.”
“My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against You Whom I should love above all things, I firmly intend, with Your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.”
“I grant you absolution in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
“Amen.”
Glory sighs deeply as she stands up and exits the confessional. Once outside she sees Father Sebastian there, as well as Mary. “Welcome to the family, Glory!”
“Thanks, Father.”
“Now I understand you have commitments this weekend, correct?”
“Yes. In fact after this I’m going to pack and then catch a flight to Minnesota for SCW Rise To Greatness.”
“Good luck with your match, Glory. When you get back we can talk about confirmation and first communion. Ok?”
“Sounds good, Father.”
Glory Braddock turns and, with her mother, exits the sanctuary. They are silent as they approach the front door and then push it open to exit the church itself. They are still silent as they descend the steps. It isn’t until they get down from the steps and to a nearby bench when Mary breaks the silence, confronting her daughter.
“Well?”
“What?”
“Do you feel any better?”
Glory sighs and shakes her head. “No, the guilt is still there.”
“Glory, I appreciate that you’re trying to help yourself and to help me, but I still wonder if you are doing it for the right reasons.” Mary motions to the bench. Glory sighs and sits down. Mary sits down next to her and takes Glory by her hands. “You and your father loved one another but we loved one another for the wrong reasons. I may not look it now but back when I first met your father I was gorgeous. In fact, early on in my life I was a model. Your father fell into LUST not love. He loved my outward appearance. And me, well I wasn’t much better. I fell in love with the legend that was Glenn Braddock. Your father was well renowned throughout all of Europe as Britain’s Best. He was a great wrestler, very famous during his era, and knowing that I had the chance to date...and eventually marry...a living legend was too much for my senses.”
Glory is stunned to hear this. Mary reaches up and wipes tears from her eyes. “I realized our mistake too late, after we had been married. But then I was pregnant with you and I had so hoped having a child would bring us both back to reality. For your sake and for Julia’s sake I gave the marriage a chance. But I saw having children didn’t change him...or me...I feel guilty to this day that I ran out on you and your father, I feel guilty for not giving you or your father another chance but I felt I had to get out of that situation. I knew your father was lost but I still wanted better for you and your sister. I just wasn’t willing to stick around and see that you made it.”
A proud, motherly smile forms upon Mary’s face. “But then you shocked me. You became BETTER than your father could ever hope to have been. And no, I’m not talking about your wrestling accomplishments, although they did supersede your father’s; what made you better than your father wasn’t your fourteen world championships or any Hall of Fame rings you own. What made you better than your father was the fact that you did all of that and yet you still managed to put family first. I remember the night when you first challenged Isis Derrida for the FWA World Championship. Isis attacked your father, who was sitting ringside. You had Isis on the ropes and you could have beaten him but you checked on your father instead and that caused you to be counted out. That is my daughter. That is the night you truly became better than your father and truly became the Best in the World. And one thing your father never told you but he did secretly admit to me, was that on that night he realized that he never would have done the same thing. Your actions made him see the light and helped put him on the path to redemption.”
Mary shakes her head. “But now...ever since joining MWE, you have become something and someone I don’t recognize. You’ve become your father. You’ve taken up the same self-destructive path he took. That path led to the end of his career and the end of his marriage. And Glory, I’m just afraid that the same may happen to you if you don’t change your ways.”
The British Bombshell is stunned into silence by the words of her mother. They are tough, harsh words but they ring true with Glory Braddock. Still, a sense of pride fights back from admitting it. Braddock is about to speak but that opportunity is taken from her when a car comes screeching to a halt right up by the sidewalk of the church. Before Glory and Mary can react masked gunmen step out and begin firing.
“Mom!” Glory dives to protect her mother, trying to cover her up and knock her out of the way. It only lasts a few seconds but it seems like an eternity as the gunmen complete their firing, and then get back in the car and speed away before anyone can call the authorities. Glory is shaken, frightened by this whole event, but she manages to pull herself up.
“Mom...are you ok?”
“I…” her mother’s voice trails off. She seems pained. Glory looks down and gasps in shock. Blood is pouring. Her mother has been shot.
July 20th, 2020
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
The meaning of the term the best laid plans of mice and men is that no matter how carefully something is planned out, it might always fail or go wrong. The term the best laid plans of mice and men finds its origins from the poem 'To a Mouse' which was written by Robert Burns in the late 1700s. Glory Braddock’s initial plan last Saturday was to bring herself closer to her mother by joining the Catholic Church and, at the same time, eliminate some of the guilt she had been feeling by donating money to the church. It made perfect sense to The British Bombshell. She spent so much time and effort, and money, blackmailing and bribing her way to corporate power, this way she can get give back monetarily and surely that would eliminate her guilt.
Unfortunately for Glory Braddock things did not go as planned. Instead of eliminating the guilt, Braddock only added more guilt to her already overwhelmed conscience. The priest, Father Sebastian, was clearly disappointed that Glory was trying to “buy her way to salvation” as he put it. Glory’s mother, Mary, who she was trying to rebuild a damaged relationship with, was also disappointed. Mary informed her that could not always just throw money at a problem and expect it to go away so easily. Mary insisted that professional, psychiatric help is what Braddock really and truly needs.
Psychiatric help isn’t what Glory wants, though. Admitting that she needs psychiatric help is the last thing Glory wants to do, which is why she has been trying to keep it a secret from anyone and everyone that she is currently seeing Dr. Frederick Fitzgerald, a local psychiatrist in Miami, about her post traumatic stress. In an ideal world The British Bombshell never would have gone back to him but she did. She went crawling back, seeking his help. All he wanted in return was a promise that she would not give up so easily on the treatments.
Glory Braddock has thus far kept her promise to continue with these sessions, even if she doesn’t like it one iota. The British Bombshell is humiliated with the thought that she needs psychiatric help. Yet it is an indisputable fact. She has lost control in recent weeks, months even, and if nothing is done then her mental state of mind will only get worse.
“What do you see?”
That is the voice of Dr. Fitzgerald. He sits in his comfortable black swivel chair but he is not at his desk. He is sitting right next to Glory Braddock, who is lying down on the red comfortable sofa. He has several ink blots in his hand. Braddock is trying her best to take this seriously. She really and truly is. But she is finding it very difficult to take this or the hypnotherapy he suggested seriously. Still, deep down in her heart and soul, Glory wants to believe that she can do this on her own, that she doesn’t need any help from this psychiatrist.
“I see a greedy psychiatrist trying to make money by telling me how I feel…”
“I wish you would take this more seriously, Ms. Braddock.”
“At least I answered you this time.”
“This is true.” He puts the ink blot away and produces another one. “What do you see?”
“An ink blot.”
Dr. Fitzgerald sighs and puts the rest of the ink blots away. He stares at his patient with a disappointed gaze, much like the disappointment she felt from Mary and Father Sebastian Saturday, only this time she doesn’t care. She doesn’t care about what this psychiatrist thinks about her.
“I am disappointed in you, Ms. Braddock.”
“Too bad.”
“We had made such good progress our last two sessions. You were really opening up to me and we were close to figuring this out. But now you seem so closed off now. What is wrong?”
“None of your business.”
“Actually it is my business.” He smirks. “That is what you’re paying me for.”
Glory rolls her eyes. She watches as Dr. Fitzgerald rolls in his chair back to his desk. He presses the button from a week ago, the one the started the soothing classical music, and sure enough, the music returns. Last week she was almost immediately induced but this week is different. Glory is so angry and frustrated that the music takes awhile to do its job. Dr. Fitzgerald is unrelenting and just keeps up the pressure.
“Just relax, Ms. Braddock. There is no need to be so angry. Just be calm. Listen to the music and relax.”
Braddock rolls her eyes. She considers just for a moment about the possibility of making a snide remark but decides against it. She just remains silent. Dr. Fitzgerald, however, continues pressing the issue…
“Shut your eyes, Ms. Braddock, and just relax…”
Glory does indeed shut her eyes. Several moments pass before Dr. Fitzgerald feels confident that his patient will cooperate. “Tell me, Ms. Braddock, why are you so tense? What has upset you?”
“My mom.”
“Your mother upset you? Well then, let’s discuss your family life. Tell me about your family.”
“I’m married to Kurt Logan who is a wonderful step-father to my daughter, Melinda Braddock. I have a sister Julia who I do not get along with. I have cousins...Angelica Jones and Kayla Jones-Snow.”
“Do you get along with your cousins?”
“Yes but we’re distant. We don’t talk much.”
“Are they from your mother’s side of the family or father’s?”
“Mother’s.”
“Describe your relationship to your mother.”
“Strained. She divorced my father when I was still young. I was angry with her for leaving us but I’ve been trying to repair the relationship. I recently decided to become a Catholic because she is a Catholic. I thought it would form a bond between us.”
Dr. Fitzgerald nods his head. “It’s a nice thought. How did that go?”
“She thinks all that I’m doing...from joining the church and making donations to the church...is just my way of paying off my guilt.”
“Is she right?”
“...yes…”
Dr. Fitzgerald pauses to consider what he just heard. A few moments later he stops the music. Immediately Glory sits up and turns around in the sofa to stare at the psychiatrist.
“Ms. Braddock, you are angry with your mother but I also sense that you are angry at yourself. You feel disappointed in yourself. I sense some inner turmoil, in a sense you are fighting yourself. All because of the guilt you feel, your mind is telling you that the actions you have taken recently are justified but your heart tells you that you are wrong. And your entire problem lies with the fact that you do not know which to trust...your heart or your mind.”
As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, the psychiatrist makes a lot of sense. The British Bombshell sighs deeply and shakes her head. “What do you think I should do?”
“Maybe you need another sounding board.”
“A what?”
“A second opinion, my dear. You have been to your mother, a church, and to me, all seeking out an answer to a question you cannot seem to answer yourself. Just find someone you trust and pour your heart out. See what they think. Trust me, getting this off of your chest will make you feel better.”
Glory ponders the words of her psychiatrist for a few moments. Then she smiles as an idea enters her mind. “You know what they say...confession is good for the soul…”
“Indeed it is, Ms. Braddock.”
==========
July 24th, 2020
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
This early morning in Miami, Florida at Corpus Christi Catholic Church is the time and place for The British Bombshell to take the next important step to repairing that damage. For a long time she and her mother, Mary Ford, had nothing in common at all whatsoever. But now Glory is going to become a Catholic, just like her mother. But then that action in and of itself raises the question; why is Glory doing this?
It is a question that has been asked of her multiple times ever since she made her intentions known. Braddock herself isn’t entirely sure of the honest answer, even as she sits here in the empty Corpus Christi Church, in the back pew next to her mother, staring up at the front of the Church at the massive crucifix hanging high up in the front. To one is a statue of The Blessed Virgin Mary and to the other side is a statue of St. Joseph.
Glory Braddock grew up as a member of the Church of England. This was primarily because of her late father, Glenn Braddock, who raised her and refused to let her be anything else but a member of the Church of England. This sudden change, Glory claims, is because she wants to bond with her mother, Mary Ford. She claims this is her way to help repair the damage that was done. But is this secretly, subconsciously, just a way to wash away any guilt she feels at what she has done lately?
There’s plenty of reason to feel guilty. Glory blackmailed Meagan Collins into working for her, into doing her dirty work for her. She blackmailed members of her company’s board of directors and bribed others, all in order to gain control over them. Then to keep control and to ensure no one could challenge her corporate power, she had her own sister locked up in a mental ward on false charges. Glory Braddock has always viewed herself as a hero but these aren’t the actions of a hero. These are the actions of a criminal. What happened to Glory Braddock?
“Are you really prepared for this, Gloria?”
“Of course, mom.”
“Is this really and truly what you want to do?” Mary presses. “I don’t want you doing this just to make me happy.”
“I know, you and Father Sebastian made it abundantly clear that I can’t do this for the wrong reasons. But I know what I’m doing. And I want to do this.”
“Fair enough…” Mary smiles warmly at her daughter “...and yes.”
“Yes what?”
“It does make me happy.”
That one statement right there makes Glory’s day. If nothing else she did make her mother happy and she finally feels a bond with her mother, one that she had long since lost. So if nothing else, she has been successful in this regard; she has a relationship with her mother. Now she is ready to join her mother’s church; the Catholic Church.
As if on cue, a door can be heard opening and shutting. Glory and Mary turn around in their seats and they spot Father Sebastian entering the church and making his way towards them. Upon entering the sanctuary he genuflects and then towards the front and then turns to approach Glory and Mary. Father Sebastian has a warm, pleasant smile on his face.
“Glory, Mary, how are you doing today?”
“We’re doing wonderful, Father.” Glory answers. Mary nods in agreement with her daughter.
“Great. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”
“Not at all.”
“Good. Well I already spoke with your mother over there. Apparently you were baptized by a Catholic Priest already.”
“Yes she was.”
“Knowing how dad felt about Catholics I can only imagine how he took that news.”
“He never found out.” Mary says with a sly grin on her face.
“Baptism is considered so important in our faith that parents are obliged to see that their infants are baptised within the first few weeks just in case the unthinkable happens.” Father Sebastian quickly answers.
“Well if that’s out of the way then what’s next?”
“Confirmation. Your very first communion in the church. But before that, confession.”
Braddock nods her head. She’s heard of this before but confession still confuses her. “What exactly is confession?”
“You’re just going into that box over there.” He points over to the back of the church. “I’ll be on the other side listening. Only I will hear. You confess any and all sins, leaving nothing out.”
“Everything?” Glory asks, arching a brow. The priest nods his head.
“Don’t be embarrassed. I’ve heard it all. I’ve heard things that would make your skin crawl. And don’t worry about any secrets getting out. I am not allowed to tell anyone about what is said inside confession. Everything in that box is between me, you, and God.”
“But why is confession so important?” Glory asks.
“We need regular occasions for confession or we will otherwise suffocate from all the secrets inside us and from the fear of being judged and condemned. We need the opportunity to let another human being know the complex, peculiar and sometimes desperately unimpressive reality involved in being us.”
In so many words, Father Sebastian just summed up what Glory’s psychiatrist, Dr. Fitzgerald, had said several days ago. Telling someone else about her guilt and shame, telling someone else about her problems, could help alleviate some of the pressure she is currently feeling and enduring. Glory sighs deeply and nods her head.
“Ok then, let’s do it.”
Father begins to approach his end of the confessional booth and he steps inside. Glory Braddock exits the pew and approaches the confessional booth. She takes in a deep breath and then steps inside as well. There is a thin wall separating the two and a tiny veil where she can barely make out the priest and where they can communicate to one another. Glory recalls how her mother and Father Sebastian taught her to do this…
“Father forgive me, for I have sinned. This is my first confession.”
“Very good. What are your sins?”
Where to begin? Glory Braddock thinks back to her life but mainly sticking to the recent actions. She thinks back to hiring Seth Rogers and how the information he dug up gave Glory the information she needed to blackmail Meagan Collins.
“I hired a crooked private investigator to dig up information on my enemies to use it against them. I used the information to blackmail a woman into working for me. I had her dig up information on members of my company’s Board of Directors so I could blackmail them into taking my side at all times. I bribed a few of my Board members as well.”
“Lying...thievery...these are all sins but you must remember that honesty and truth is what God wants from his children.”
Glory nods her head in agreement. She thinks back to her sister Julia Braddock…
“I got my sister locked up in a mental ward based upon charges that were completely false.”
“Family is a very important part of our life. Why would you do this to your sister?”
“I was afraid of losing my power because of her.”
“Family is more important than power. You need to make things right with your sister. Your penance will be to say three Hail Mary’s for your sister. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Good. Now say your act of contrition.”
“My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against You Whom I should love above all things, I firmly intend, with Your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.”
“I grant you absolution in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
“Amen.”
Glory sighs deeply as she stands up and exits the confessional. Once outside she sees Father Sebastian there, as well as Mary. “Welcome to the family, Glory!”
“Thanks, Father.”
“Now I understand you have commitments this weekend, correct?”
“Yes. In fact after this I’m going to pack and then catch a flight to Minnesota for SCW Rise To Greatness.”
“Good luck with your match, Glory. When you get back we can talk about confirmation and first communion. Ok?”
“Sounds good, Father.”
Glory Braddock turns and, with her mother, exits the sanctuary. They are silent as they approach the front door and then push it open to exit the church itself. They are still silent as they descend the steps. It isn’t until they get down from the steps and to a nearby bench when Mary breaks the silence, confronting her daughter.
“Well?”
“What?”
“Do you feel any better?”
Glory sighs and shakes her head. “No, the guilt is still there.”
“Glory, I appreciate that you’re trying to help yourself and to help me, but I still wonder if you are doing it for the right reasons.” Mary motions to the bench. Glory sighs and sits down. Mary sits down next to her and takes Glory by her hands. “You and your father loved one another but we loved one another for the wrong reasons. I may not look it now but back when I first met your father I was gorgeous. In fact, early on in my life I was a model. Your father fell into LUST not love. He loved my outward appearance. And me, well I wasn’t much better. I fell in love with the legend that was Glenn Braddock. Your father was well renowned throughout all of Europe as Britain’s Best. He was a great wrestler, very famous during his era, and knowing that I had the chance to date...and eventually marry...a living legend was too much for my senses.”
Glory is stunned to hear this. Mary reaches up and wipes tears from her eyes. “I realized our mistake too late, after we had been married. But then I was pregnant with you and I had so hoped having a child would bring us both back to reality. For your sake and for Julia’s sake I gave the marriage a chance. But I saw having children didn’t change him...or me...I feel guilty to this day that I ran out on you and your father, I feel guilty for not giving you or your father another chance but I felt I had to get out of that situation. I knew your father was lost but I still wanted better for you and your sister. I just wasn’t willing to stick around and see that you made it.”
A proud, motherly smile forms upon Mary’s face. “But then you shocked me. You became BETTER than your father could ever hope to have been. And no, I’m not talking about your wrestling accomplishments, although they did supersede your father’s; what made you better than your father wasn’t your fourteen world championships or any Hall of Fame rings you own. What made you better than your father was the fact that you did all of that and yet you still managed to put family first. I remember the night when you first challenged Isis Derrida for the FWA World Championship. Isis attacked your father, who was sitting ringside. You had Isis on the ropes and you could have beaten him but you checked on your father instead and that caused you to be counted out. That is my daughter. That is the night you truly became better than your father and truly became the Best in the World. And one thing your father never told you but he did secretly admit to me, was that on that night he realized that he never would have done the same thing. Your actions made him see the light and helped put him on the path to redemption.”
Mary shakes her head. “But now...ever since joining MWE, you have become something and someone I don’t recognize. You’ve become your father. You’ve taken up the same self-destructive path he took. That path led to the end of his career and the end of his marriage. And Glory, I’m just afraid that the same may happen to you if you don’t change your ways.”
The British Bombshell is stunned into silence by the words of her mother. They are tough, harsh words but they ring true with Glory Braddock. Still, a sense of pride fights back from admitting it. Braddock is about to speak but that opportunity is taken from her when a car comes screeching to a halt right up by the sidewalk of the church. Before Glory and Mary can react masked gunmen step out and begin firing.
“Mom!” Glory dives to protect her mother, trying to cover her up and knock her out of the way. It only lasts a few seconds but it seems like an eternity as the gunmen complete their firing, and then get back in the car and speed away before anyone can call the authorities. Glory is shaken, frightened by this whole event, but she manages to pull herself up.
“Mom...are you ok?”
“I…” her mother’s voice trails off. She seems pained. Glory looks down and gasps in shock. Blood is pouring. Her mother has been shot.