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The Color Blue
Topic Started: Feb 26 2011, 12:10 PM (45 Views)
Sara Pettis
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sVo Tap-Out Champion
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
It's early in the morning on Monday as I show up at the airport. It's earlier than I ever wanted to get up, but with the time difference, and fact that I know getting through the airport security is going to be a bitch, its for the best. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. As I hobble through the McCarran International Airport on my crutches, I feel a sense of relief at getting to return home for the first time since the New Year. 2011 has been eventful, and I haven't had a chance to share any of it with the people I love. I'm not bringing much with me, just the essentials, a few changes of clothes, some hygienic items....oh, and the ever present sVo referee. It's the young guy, Brett Lukas, who's getting an expense paid trip to NYC. Something I'm sure Matt Anderson and the rest of sVo's suits are really happy about. As I move along on my crutches, my travel bag slung over my shoulder Brett follows with his own overnight bag.

"You know Sara, I can carry your bag for you if you'd like." Brett says as we start to approach the terminal.

"Nah, it's OK Brett, I'll be fine...besides, its supposed to be like you don't even exist isn't it?" I ask him.

"I exist. I'm just not supposed to influence your title reign." Brett responds.

We get to the terminal, and begin the enviable task of security checks. Brett puts his overnight bag on the conveyor belt, and steps through the metal detector. Everything checks out fine. I start to take the bag from my shoulder, and about lose my balance in the process. Brett catches me though. I can feel my face burning red with embarrassment as I put my bag on the conveyor. I give the crutches to the guy checking the bags, and hobble on my one good foot through the metal detector. It goes off.

"Ma'am, will you please remove your shoes." the security guy says from behind his little computer kiosk. I look down at my feet. I'm only wearing one shoe, as my bad foot is in a walking boot.

"Uh...I'm only wearing one shoe." I say too him.

"I understand ma'am. Will you please remove your shoe, and the boot." he says. I sigh. I lean on Brett and slip the walking boot off, and hand it too the security guy who runs it on the conveyor. I try to take my other shoe off, but can't put any weight on my bad ankle. Brett can tell I'm struggling.

"Here, let me help." Brett says lifting me up, and holding me in his arms. I wasn't expecting it at first, but then laugh. He slides my shoe off my foot and puts it on the conveyor.

"You don't have to do this, I could've just sat down and taken the shoe off." I tell him.

"This is much quicker." Brett says as we wait. Finally my shoe and the walking boot come out the other end of the x-ray machine. The security guy gives them back, along with my crutches, and says we're good to board. Brett sets me down, and I put my shoe and boot back on. I take my crutches, and we make our way to the gate.

"Thanks for the help." I tell Brett, "You didn't have to hold me like that though...if I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to show off."

Brett shrugs, "I like to think of myself as a gentleman. Besides, its not like you're that much to carry." I notice now that Brett is a little bit larger than the typical sVo official, and a lot younger than most of the others for that matter.

"Brett...are you a wrestler?" I ask him.

Brett laughs, "Kind've. I'm still training. But I hope to get in the ring someday. But my trainer got me this gig following you around. Said I might get a try out with sVo through it."

I'm surprised I've never noticed Brett's physique before. Then again, this is the first really extended period of interaction we've had. Normally when he's following me, it's in the middle of the night when I'm in my apartment, and the poor guy has to stand out in the hallway. And now here we are, going to my home in New York together...

----

We land in New York City's JFK Airport around noon. As we're leaving the terminal, I see Will and Declan Schorg waiting for us. I look at Brett, "There's our ride." I tell Brett pointing at the pair of brothers who trained me to be a wrestler. They see us coming, and Will does his best to put on a smile. Declan doesn't really react.

"Hey Sara, how are you doing?" Will asks putting his arms around me.

"I'm doing alright Will. How are you guys doing?"

Will looks back at Declan, who doesn't really look at me. He turns back and gives and awkward smile, "You know...we're getting by. What happened too you?" Will asks pointing at the boot on my foot.

"Yea, that...24/7 championship. I got jumped last week, and they slammed a car door on it...and pretty much everyone has just been going to town on it since trying to get me to tap." I tell him.

"So...the title is available to anyone, anywhere, at anytime huh?" Declan says still not really looking at me.

"Well, yea. That's why I'm here." Brett says responding to Declan's question.

"And who are you?" Declan ask finally turning towards the rest of us.

"This is Brett. He's the ref that has to follow me around to make sure I don't Tap-Out to anyone." I tell them.

"Really? Sooooo...." Declan gets a evil look in his eye.

Will reaches over and smacks his little brother in the back of the head, "Don't even think about it Dex. Come on, lets take them back to the house so they can get settled, and then I'll take you to see your mother Sara."

Declan rubs the back of his head as Brett and I follow behind the Schorg brothers.

----

After going back to the house, and getting myself and Brett settled in, (Brett is going to have to sleep on the living room couch) Will brings the two of us to the Elmhurst Hospital, not far from the neighborhood I grew up in. As I hobble along, I notice Will keeps looking at Brett.

"You know, I get that the you have to follow Sara everywhere. But maybe you could just hang back this time?" Will asks.

Brett looks down at the ground, "I would if I could sir. I really do..." Brett starts to say.

"We're in a hospital, in New York. Do you really think someone from sVo is going to try to go after her title here?" Will cuts him off.

"You never know Mr. Schorg." Brett says with a shrug.

"It's okay Will. I'm used to it now." I tell him as we go through the halls of the hospital to my mother's room.

We get there, and Will stops me before going in, "I'm going to warn you kid...she's..." Will starts to say trying to think of the words.

"It's okay Will. I understand." I look at Brett, "Would you mind waiting out here?"

Brett nods, and leans against the wall as he typically does back in Vegas when I'm at my apartment. Will opens the door, and holds it so I can get in with my crutches.

"Beck...Sara is here." Will says, walking over to the curtain between us and her.

"Oh...hey, I just woke up, give me a second." I hear Mom say from behind the curtain, as I close the door behind me. I hobble towards where Will is standing, and watch as the shadow on the other side of the curtain sit up. I can already hear that her voice is shaky compared to normal. But what I see when she pulls back the curtain is something I wasn't expecting.

I look at my mother, the woman I've spent my whole life idolizing, and seen as something as a bit of goddess. Always a beckon of strength and determination, always willing to fight if it was necessary. Sitting before me in her hospital gown, completely pale. Her once tone physique that she had built through years of training has wasted away to bone, so much that her skin is hanging from it, it seems. Her long jet black hair is peppered with gray and white streaks. It's only been two months since the last time I saw her...I almost can't believe she's the same woman.

"Mom..." I try to think of something to say as I look at her in this state, the only thing I can think to say is, "How are you feeling?"

Mom laughs, "About as good as I look."

"Oh...well...you look good." I say lying through my teeth.

"You know a mother can tell when their kids lie." Mom says shooting a smile towards me.

"I'll go outside, and let you two ladies talk..." Will says, leaning over and giving my Mom a kiss on the forehead. He walks passed me, and tries to give a smile...and fails miserably.

I turn back towards Mom, who's looking at my ankle in the boot, "Ring mishap?" she asks.

I look down at my ankle, "Kinda. But not really." I say as I move closer to her, "Some rookie thought he could get me to Tap if he broke my ankle in a car door, then put me in a ankle lock."

"Ah, Will told me you had some 24/7 title. That sounds like..." Mom starts to cough in the middle of her sentence.

"It's been pretty unique, Mom." I say as she catches her breath from the coughing fit.

"Can I see the belt?" Mom says with a smile.

I wasn't expecting her to ask, but I have it in the bottom of my bag that I carry with me. I unzip the bag and begin to dig through it, before pulling the belt out in it's velvet bag. I untie the end of it, and slide the gold plated title belt out, and hand it too her.

"It's a new one. The one that I won originally was bent, and scraped to hell. I've had it for about a month now." I tell her as she holds the belt.

She smiles as she holds it, and runs her fingers across the plate, "When you were growing up, whenever I won a title, the first thing you wanted to do was hold the belt. It didn't matter what title it was, or what company it came from. You wanted to hold them, and wear them. I never understood it. It wasn't like it was a new thing for you." Mom looks back up at me, "Funny how reversing the roles makes it so clear."

I lean my crutches again the bed, and sit on the edge, "Mom...whats wrong with you? Will wouldn't tell me."

Mom looks back down at the title belt, "Pfft...they don't know. I've had blood work done, biopsies, CT Scans, Ultrasounds...they just don't know. I've lost about 30 lbs. in two months, and I've felt like shit even longer." Mom tells me.

"Where you feeling like this when I was trying to talk you into coming to HOSTILITY?" I ask.

Mom doesn't answer, she just hands my belt back to me, "So, you have to defend against anyone and everyone, anywhere huh?" she asks.

"Mom, please don't...."

"And they have to make you Tap-Out right?" Mom asks another question.

"Yes, that's how it works...but don't try to change..."

"You're gonna hold that belt for awhile. You've always been too stubborn for your own good sometimes." Mom says, "Someone less stubborn would've tapped when their ankle got broken. Would've looked at the bigger picture, and thought about how they'd heal that thing if its constantly being targeted."

"Mom, you talking like you ever thought about big picture when you did things. My earliest memory of wrestling is you getting suplexed off a ladder and thru a table on a XCW Pay-Per-View because something like that had never happened to a woman. You were ALWAYS doing something like that to prove you belonged with the guys...this is me doing the same thing." I tell her, looking back down at the belt.

"That's good Sara. Do your thing, just don't go throwing away your career trying to hold onto that belt. You have a future to think about, and throwing it away just to hold that one title is stupid." Mom says laying back in bed.

I look at Mom, her light blue eyes still as bright as they've always been, despite the rest of her features having faded. "I guess I should tell you about my match on Sunday." I tell her.

Mom laughs, "You mean, 'Loser Loses Blue'?"

"You've been watching?" I ask, surprised.

"Haven't missed a match." Mom says, smiling up at me, "So you're going to do it?"

I think about it for a moment, "I don't know Mom. You know the whole blue gear...and all that...is for you right?"

"I don't recall ever having blue hair." Mom responds.

I laugh "Well, I had to add my own flare to it." I tell her.

"Sara, I knew why you wore all the blue and all that. But you don't have too anymore. You can be yourself, instead of trying to be like me if you want. Or you can keep all the blue, and make it your own. Just don't think you need to keep it all for me." Mom says.

I think about it for a minute, and look back down at Mom. I notice her eyes are closed. I reach down and nudge her, and she just kinda whimpers a little, indicating that she's either fallen asleep in the time she said what she did, or is about sleeping. I lift myself from the bed, and grab my crutches. I turn around towards her, and take her hand, "I'm going to do it Mom. And I don't plan on losing either."

----

Alright Bobby. You want this match? You want to fight over a color? Alright, lets do it. But what is really at stake for you? What does this color mean too you? Beyond your gear, some shitty sauce, and sunblock you endorse? It's your favorite color right? "California Blue", "Baby Blue", or "Carolina Blue", or whatever you want to call it. But in the end, too you it's just a color. A wavelength of light that you find attractive.

It's so much more than that to me Bobby.

It's my childhood. It's my present. It's my future. It's a symbol of everything I've ever wanted to be. The one connection I have to my mother because everything else has been trademarked, and copyright protected by a company that had less use for her than the name she went by in the ring. You want to put your tights on the line, that's fine. But I'm fight for more than just some marketing crap. I could give a shit less that our t-shirts look a like. I didn't even know they made a different Sara Pettis t-shirt.

I don't live to sell t-shirts. I don't live to sell condiments. I'm a wrestler.

In the end, one could say it's just a color. And it is. Win or lose, I will be back next week. And I am ready for if I do lose, but I plan to do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen. I don't think sVo is ready to see what color my hair, and eyes really are.
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Former sVo Tap Out Champion (80 Days)
Wrestler of the Month (March 2011)
Sole Survivor of Organized Chaos IV

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