ERIK EAD. Over the last year, I’ve felt as if I had lost a dear brother. Having A-Train move from Kansas to Texas was a difficult change for all of us. Seeing A-Train now and witnessing the changes in him caused me to take a step back and see all of the good being in Austin had provided him. He is a different man today, and I am grateful.

It’s been said war is hell. I must agree. For A-Train, war wasn’t only hell, it was his life. A living hell. It was all he knew, and in his mind and the minds of many of his Marine brethren, it was where he belonged. Today, he has found a way to separate his life in the war from the life he’s attempting to now live on this earth.

Seeing the differences in him causes me to believe I haven’t lost a brother, I have only gained a dear friend.

“I’ll bet any one of you he’ll knock this big bastard out,” I said as I looked up and down the row of seats beside me.

“There ain’t no way Doc. The Alabama boy’s an animal,” Teddy argued.

“A hundred dollar bill says he’ll drop him. I bet it won’t go two more rounds. This Dekkar kid can box, and he’s built like a Greek God. I’m telling you, he’s going to out think Brock. And for what it’s worth, Brock can’t take a punch,” I smiled.

“Says who?” Teddy grunted.

“Says me, Crash. Dekkar hit him with a right cross and Brock eyes said it all. I bet Brock’s never been hit like that. Give Dekkar two more rounds, and he’ll own your Alabama boy,” I nodded.

“Do you really think he’ll win?” Kelli asked as she tapped me on the arm.

I nodded my head and smiled, “If he keeps fighting the way he is now I sure do, Baby Girl.”

Kelli smiled and turned toward Dekkar’s wife and began talking again. I had boxed for over a decade, and if there was a sport I knew and knew well, it was boxing. As in any sport, there was never any form of assurance of a win; but as an outsider looking in it was easy for me to see. Dekkar was a better boxer than he probably even knew. From what A-Train had told me, he was a humble man. Humble and tough. After seeing him fight, there was no doubt he was tough, but there remains a huge separation between tough and talented.

It appeared he was a fine balance of both.

Not since Mike Tyson’s debut had I seen a boxer who had the ability to punch as fast or with as much power as Dekkar. One punch, only one, was clearly enough to drop any fighter who opposed him. Regardless of his opponent’s weight or size, Dekkar had the ability to win the fight with one punch. All he needed to do was find a way to believe, and develop an inner reason to want to fight. Simply being in the ring was never enough for me, and I knew it would never be enough for him. Stepping into a ring and boxing is second nature for any boxer. Stepping into a ring and fighting for what you believe in or want is another story all together.

All Dekkar needed to do was decide he wanted to fight.

“Hey Doc, what are you thinking?” A-Train yelled.

“I’m thinking he’s going to knock Brock out,” I shouted down the aisle.

A-Train simply nodded his head and smiled.

“He’s probably got the fastest hands I’ve ever seen. Faster than Tyson,” I said.

“Shit. He’s a damned sight faster than Tyson. Faster than greased fucking lightning, Doc,” A-Train laughed.

Kelli tapped me on the shoulder. I turned toward her and smiled. Seeing her giggle and laugh with Vee and Kace while playing with and holding the babies was a pleasant sight. Recently, I had begun to think Kelli and I would need to have a baby of our own someday. After seeing Ripp and Dekkar’s babies, I’m afraid the time has come for Kelli and me to have one of our own. As she smiled in return I leaned into her and kissed her lightly on the lips.

“Who owns your gorgeous little ass,” I asked as our lips parted.

“The one and only,” she responded.

“Say it,” I whispered.

“Erik fucking Ead,” she grinned.

I smiled and kissed her lips lightly.

“Erik?” she whispered as I leaned away.

I raised my eyebrows.

“I want one,” she smiled as she tossed her head toward Kace and Casey.

“A baby?” I asked.

She nodded her head eagerly.

Ding!

The bell sounded, starting the next round of boxing.

As Dekkar began to step toward Brock, I looked Kelli in the eyes and smiled. By my calculations, this fight was all but over. Maybe two more rounds. I’ve been surprised before, but I doubted anyone in the next decade would beat Dekkar. In my professional opinion, the only one who would ever beat Dekkar was Dekkar.

“If he wins this fight, I’ll give you a baby. How’s that?” I smiled.

She nodded her head, smiled, and quietly stood from her seat. As she raised her cupped hands to her mouth, I grinned and turned toward the ring. Dekkar was taunting Brock, trying to lure him into a fight.

That’s it, kid. That’s it, this fight’s yours. Knock that mother fucker out cold.

As Dekkar swung a left cross into the chin of Brock, I heard Kelli scream. She had a vested interest in the fight now, and it was apparent.

“Kick his fucking ass, Dekkar!” Kelli screamed.

Ring side seats at the heavyweight Championship of the World and the possibility of having a baby with Kelli.

I have been blessed.

I stood from my seat, raised my hands to my mouth, and screamed the only thing that made good sense.

“Kick his fucking ass, Dekkar!”