Diamonds
Are
I: Friday, November 5, 2004: The
Childe Harold Restaurant and Saloon, Washington, D.C.
The Childe Harold seemed a decent enough establishment when I waltzed
in its doors those few years ago, on my first ever visit to Washington
D.C. It became a favourite soon after, and I made a point of visiting
in whenever I was in the area.
With OLW right down the road in Baltimore, I could frequent it at whim.
I had given Seamus a buzz, to see what he was up to. Since BWWa's
closure, he had been taking it easy, spending time with his little
boy. I knew the draw to stay with his family was strong, but I
managed to talk him into visiting, and seeing what OLW was about at the
very least.
The dreaded "r word," retirement, had been tossed around by him.
But by no means had he made his mind up yet, which was a relief.
It'll only be a matter of time when the Whiskey Devils will be the
first OLW Tag Team Champions in its history.
A few bottles of scotch, some good memories, and hopefully Seamus will
cement his will, and sign with OLW.
I entered the bar and took a seat, awaiting Seamus, who apparently had
just landed at Ronald Reagan a short while ago.
I nursed a small Remy Martin cognac until from the entrance came the
familiar call:
"Auch there ye are lad! And
barkeep: bottle of Glenfiddich!!"
I smiled and got up to shake my long time tag team partner's
hand. He looked none the worse for wear from his flight from
Arizona.
"Good to see ya lad...how was
your flight?"
Finnegan took a seat.
"Auch, ye know, lad, the usual,
terrible food, lousy in-flight movie...feckin' Jane Austin marathon, so
it was!"
I rolled my eyes with a smirk. His editorialism was missed.
"Awful, simply awful.
Guess I'll have to pick up the tab for you tonight to compensate for
you being good enough to fly on out here to see what OLW's about."
The barkeep brought the bottle of Glenfiddich, and poured two helpings
into two glasses.
"Cheers to yer health lad!
And to OLW! So, where's that Marissah lass o'yers, lad? Home
keepin' yer slippers warm for ye or somethin'?" the Irishman
said with a wink.
I wished.
"Actually, she's in
London. We arrived in Baltimore a few days ago to settle in and
prepare for the debut show...but she had a sudden urge to take off and
do some pre-marital shopping."
Seamus snickered quietly. He didn't need to say anything, I knew
what he was thinking. And who could blame him.
"Auch, careful now lad...she'll
have ye in the poor house if yer not careful there...ye know how lasses
are wi'money, aye?"
I took a generous helping of the sweet scotch.
"Of course...but, it is for our
wedding. I assume. She comes home from Harrod's with a
tiara though, then we'll have to talk. But again, it's not
everyday that a man gets married...this is my second time around.
I intend it to last."
I raised my glass. "Here's
hoping, at least."
"Auch, aye...here's hopin'! She's
a rare one, yer Marissah...hang on to her, lad!"
She's rare all right.
"I'd rather an assurance that
we can hang on to our tag team lad. I didn't ask you here just to
have a few glasses of scotch, of course! Have you and Rebecca
talked more about your career's future?"
Seamus nodded, "Aye, always...and
to be honest lad, I think it's harder for me than it is for her,
really. She's grown quite accustomed to this lifestyle, but to be
honest...I'm not so sure I'm accustomed to it anymore. At least, not as
much as I once was."
I understood and appreciated his arguments.
"Well lad, I know what you
mean. All this traveling, all this getting up, going around...fed
to fed, league to league...it'd be nice to have some stability.
OLW seems to be fairly stable..."
What did I know about that though? We hadn't even had one show
yet.
"...the roster itself is
impressive, and they won't let things fall apart without a fight.
And your presence on it would just bolster it all the more."
Seamus thought for a moment. "Aye...aye,
I suppose it...might."
I knew he was deep in thought. Wrestling was in his blood...as it
is mine. But I knew the other side of the coin.
"You've not committed to
anything though, right, one way or another. Going to think it over a
while longer, yes?"
Seamus took a long, thoughtful sip of his Glenfiddich. "Aye, lad...definitely."
That's all I needed to hear.
My mobile rang. It was Marissah, in London.
"My cherry cheesecake.
Yes. Oh, you've found something?"
I looked at Seamus who listened intently.
"What is it...I see."
My tone dropped.
"And it's how much...are you
sure you need...of course you may get it." I clinched my
teeth.
"Ta my love."
I closed my eyes and shook my head.
Seamus laughed. "I can see
where this is going laddy."
I grabbed the bottle of Glenfiddich and refilled my glass.
"Well lad?"
I pursed my lips and looked at him. "She's buying a diamond tiara."
Thank God diamonds are...forever.
