Epilogue
Ten Years Later
“You about ready, babe? The boys and I are ready and we really need to get going,” I call out from the top of the stairs.
Peering down the hallway, I see Taryn whip out of the bathroom and into our bedroom.
“Trenton!” she shouts. “I can’t find my other earring and I seriously just had it.”
Laughing to myself, I follow the sounds of her frustration. As I approach the doorway of our room, I watch as she stands in the middle of the floor with one hand on her hip and the other the top of her head. The look of confusion on her face is priceless and one that I’ve grown to love more and more over the last decade.
“Baby, come here,” I say with my arms opened out to her.
With a pout on her gorgeous face, she drops her arms to her sides and walks into my embrace.
“I’m losing my mind, Trenton. I seriously just had the damn thing and out of nowhere poof, it’s gone.”
“You’re not losing your mind. You’ve got a lot going on and a tribe of mischief begging for your attention. Everything will be fine. In fact, everything is going to be perfect. I’ll find the earring while you finish getting ready. Okay?”
Looking up to me, she stands on her tiptoes and kisses my lips.
“I don’t know how you do it, but you always know how to calm me down. What would I do without you? I love you, Trenton.”
“I love you too, baby, and you’ll never have to worry about that. You’re stuck with me for life,” I remark while slapping my hand on her ass.
“Damn straight,” she giggles. “And I wouldn’t want it any other way,” she responds while reaching around to grab my ass.
Brushing her hair off her shoulder, a soft clink sounds onto the hard wood floor. As I shift my gaze from her gorgeous brown eyes and down to the floor, the missing earring glistens between our feet.
“Found it,” I remark before bending down to pick it up.
“Yes!” she exclaims. “You are my hero.”
“Aww, shucks. Thanks, my love,” I respond. “Now let’s get our asses in gear before we’re late,” I say in a joking manner before kissing her forehead.
“Yes, dear,” she quips. “Last one down the stairs has to load up the truck,” she continues while rushing past me and racing down the stairs.
As I approach the final two steps, she stands at the bottom of the stairs with her hands on her hips and her foot tapping, waiting on me. The look of victory splayed across her face makes me want to laugh, but this time . . . this time I will give her exactly what she wants. I’ll let her win.
“You got me. You beat me, baby,” I cheer with my hand raised into the air for a high five.
“You’re too much, Trenton,” she giggles slapping the palm of her hand against mine. “Now hurry your ass up. You’re gonna make us late.”
“You kill me, woman,” I respond. “I’ll get the boys and meet you in the garage.”
“Deal,” she replies before blowing me a kiss and turning on her heel toward the garage.
Pulling into the back lot of the Cage, a million and one memories flood my mind. Everything I’ve known, every milestone I’ve achieved and every dream I’ve ever had started within this building. As a child, I may have been hesitant. I may have preferred to stand back in the shadows of my brother and best friend, but as an adult I am glad I chose to follow the path my father set out for me. I don’t know where I would be without the knowledge, discipline and skills I learned from becoming a fighter. Looking back now, I know I did what was best for me and that my father would be proud of his sons for all that we’ve accomplished.
Today is a day of celebration for the Cage and I, for one, am honored to be a part of it. Fifty years ago, Birch Morris had a vision. He wanted to find a space that would allow men to control their aggression and turn their weaknesses into strengths. He wanted a place where they could train and fight with a purpose. When he opened the doors to his establishment, he had no idea it would bring together a community as it has. Now, fifty years later, he has retired and turned the reins over to his family. Together, Taryn and I are proud to run one of the most successful MMA training facilities on the East Coast. Men and women from around the country come to our facility to train and witness top-notch MMA fighters spar with one another. It was Birch’s dream that has come to life and today we will celebrate as a community and as a family.
“Babe? Babe?” Taryn’s voice rings within the cab of my truck.
Looking to my right, her hand rests on my forearm and a concerned expression is etched across her beautiful face. Without saying a word, I pull her face toward mine and capture her lips with my own. For a brief moment, I hold her close to me. Everything about this day represents us. We’ve overcome a lot. As husband and wife, we found a love truer than another other and created a life that makes me want to be a better man. She is everything I’ve ever wanted, yet at first didn’t realize I would need. She is the woman I want to conquer the world with and grow old with by my side. Every fight I ever endured was worth it knowing it was her love, compassion and trust I won.
Resting my forehead onto hers, I breathe a sigh of relief.
“You okay?” she asks.
“I’m more than okay,” I respond with a smile. “Let’s get inside and get this party started.”
Opening my door, I hop out of the cab and open the back door. One by one, our three boys jump out and rush to the back entrance of the building. With Taryn by my side, we follow them inside our arms filled with everything we’ll need for the day.
Upon entering, we walk through the hallway toward the front desk. For years there were two faces that welcomed the guests and members before they’d embark on their training sessions and today is no different. As our boys approach the desk, both Traci and Jamie capture them within their arms. Watching the happiness and love that they share and the sounds of laughter from my sons brings a warmth to my heart that I never knew I had in me.
“It’s about time you five got here. I’ve been handling the crowd control and just about everyone is here except Hank. Mike sent him a text a wee bit ago and he said he’s on his way,” Traci remarks with a roll of her eyes. “Figures he’d be the one to be fashionably late.”
“Thanks for all of your help today, Traci. What can I do, or should I ask, what else needs to be done?” Taryn asks.
“Nada, Chica. We’ve got everything under control.”
“I can’t say that I’m surprised,” Taryn laughs while wrapping her arms around Traci.
“There’s my crew.” Birch’s voice draws near.
“Papa,” the boys call out, running over to their grandfather.
“Good to see you, old man,” I remark while shaking my father-in-law’s hand.
“I’ll show you an old man, Trenton. Let’s shuffle around in the cage and we’ll see who comes out on top,” Birch responds with a laugh and a firm clap to the back of my shoulder.
“Settle down, killer. Today isn’t about which one of us is better than the other. We don’t want to take away from the main event,” I reply.
“You two make me crazy. You’re both pretty and now that we’ve got that settled, why don’t we go find Mike and the kiddos. The first lesson is going to begin in a few minutes and I know he’s anxious to get started.”
“Yes, dear,” Birch agrees.
“Sounds good to me,” I respond while ushering my boys toward the cage.
Nearing the wires of the cage, Mike and his two daughters stand watching as two fighters match one another. My boys creep up behind the girls, tugging on their ponytails to get their attention. Together, they spin around and attempt to take one another until they fall down onto the floor in a fit of screams and laughter.
“Hey, man,” Mike says while wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
“Good to see you, bro,” I respond. “Think we should untangle the mess of arms and legs over there?” I ask, looking to the kids wrestling on the ground.
“Nah, my girls can hold their own. I don’t think we have anything to worry about for the next few years. Right now, they just want to beat up on the boys and embrace the bragging rights.”
“Ha! Yeah, let’s see how long that lasts. Before we know it, we’ll keep them in separate rooms with the doors open and lights on.”
“Dude! Shut up. Don’t ever bring that up again,” he gasps. “Those are my girls and they are your boys. I don’t want to even think about that,” he states while running his fingertips through his dark hair.
“Relax, it was a joke.”
“Mm hmm.”
“They’re here,” Traci’s voice sings as she claps her hands and begins to jump up and down.
I turn from Traci’s celebration dance to where my brother and his wife stand. As he catches sight of us, they begin to walk in our direction, pushing their newborn baby boy in a stroller.
“You’re late,” I quip.
“Are you surprised? It takes hours to get out of the house with him. I never could have imagined that a baby would require so much sh– . . . err . . . stuff. I mean, I feel like we packed up the entire house for an afternoon adventure,” he says while resting his forehead into the palm of his hand.
“You’re being dramatic,” I respond.
“How the hell do you and Taryn do it with three? You guys are insane.”
“Haha, you’re killing me,” I laugh. “You made it and that’s all that’s important right now. Mike is ready to start so let’s go take our seats and enjoy the day.”
“Sounds like a plan, bro.”
Together, Taryn, Traci, Hank and I sit with our families as Mike leads our children into the wires of the cage. Watching as my three boys tap their gloves with Mike’s girls is an overwhelming feeling. Flashbacks of our childhoods scatter through my mind and it fills me with pride to watch our children join in on something that is so important to us. This is our life and where we are all supposed to be.
There is no more reason to fight.
There are no more battles to overcome.
There is only one thing left to do, embrace the win.