Chapter 22

“You feel okay? You’ve been eating a lot of potato chips lately. We have to tell the doctor that. Maybe it’s a salt deficiency or—”

“Would you calm down, Enzo?” JL said as she unsuccessfully tried to button her jeans. “You’re making me nervous.”

“Sorry. Sorry. I’ve never been to an ob-gyn before.”

She laughed. “I should hope not.” She lay on her bed and sucked in her breath.

“Stop doing that. You’re going to dent my baby’s head trying to squeeze into those jeans.”

JL stood up, giving up on the jeans and settling for her trusty old yoga pants. “I don’t get it. I’ve met pregnant women before who didn’t show until well into their second trimester. I feel like a bloated whale less than two months into this pregnancy.”

“No offense, sweetheart, but you haven’t stopped eating.”

JL’s eyes opened wide. “Did you just call me fat?” She shoved him.

“No, baby! That’s not what I meant. What I meant was that maybe if you—” He blew out a breath. “I don’t know what I meant. You look beautiful. I don’t know why your clothes don’t fit.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Good save, Pretty Boy.” She grabbed her purse. “Let’s hit it.”

The drive to the doctor took forever, and she was nervous and anxious, but he looked even worse, which in a morbid way made her feel better. He was going to be a great father and, she hoped, husband one day. It had been about a week since he told her he was unemployed and disinherited, but he only seemed concerned about her health. They sat in the reception area filling out forms, his leg bobbing up and down as they waited not so patiently.

“You excited about the fight tomorrow night?” she asked, trying to get his mind off things.

“Yes,” was all he said.

“You ready? I don’t want to have to go on a date with that Neanderthal.”

“Yes.”

“So I think I’ll wear my short red dress and no panties. Now that my boobs are bigger he’ll probably like me even more, right?”

“Yes.”

JL huffed and shoved him on the shoulder. “Lorenzo!”

“What?” he said, rubbing his skin.

“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said.”

He took her hand. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m nervous. I want everything to be perfect. I want you to be healthy and I want the baby to be healthy and—”

“Don’t worry so much,” she said. “Remember that first date we had? You were acting like a lunatic who can’t relax and enjoy the moment, and you’re doing it again. Stop. Breathe.” She inhaled deeply and then gestured for him to do the same. “In and out. Come on. Do it. Life’s great, things are perfect.”

“Yes. Life’s great, things are perfect.” He repeated her chant until he began to feel a little better.

Once she was called into the room and asked to change to the uncomfortable paper gown and the doctor had asked a few questions, it was time for the ultrasound. “Seriously? That thing is going inside of you?” Enzo gestured over to the ultrasound wand.

“Dr. Willard already explained that I’m too early for a regular ultrasound. Relax. Remember: life’s great, things are perfect.”

He took deep, slow breaths, repeating the mantra over and over, as the doctor came in and turned the lights off. Enzo stood by JL’s head and looked into the screen. There were a few moments of silence, and he found himself repeating her chant in his head: Life’s great, things are perfect.

The doctor was tinkering with the screen, adjusting and measuring things, and then the noise changed to a fast thump. “Mommy and Daddy, this is the heartbeat of your baby.” Enzo’s eyes suddenly got moist, and he heard JL’s sniffle. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles.

“It’s amazing,” Enzo said.

“Told you. Life’s great, things are perfect.”

The heartbeat sounded like a galloping horse. “Uh-oh…,” the doctor said, moving the wand around. Enzo’s heart stopped for a split second.

“Mommy, Daddy, how would you feel about twins?” Dr. Willard announced as the sound of the two heartbeats intensified.

Neither said anything. Not a word. Finally Enzo squeezed her hand. “Oh my God, baby, we’re having twins,” he said breathlessly, with a weak smile and a knot in his throat as the doctor turned the lights on and stepped out of the room so she could dress.

JL still didn’t say anything, but her hands shook as she dressed. He cleared his throat, barely able to speak with so many emotions running through his head. “Sweetheart?”

“Oh my God, twins? What are we going to do with twins?” She sounded slightly hysterical.

“It’s okay.” He pulled her close and held her. “Life’s great, things are perfect, remember?”

She pushed him away. “Oh, shut the fuck up!” She huffed out of the room, and he couldn’t help but double over in laughter. Life with Jamie Lynn would never be dull.

“Where are we going?” JL asked as they left the hospital.

“It’s a surprise.”

He parked by her wall. “I haven’t seen your painting in months and I know that it calms you. I texted Jonah and he is meeting us here with the crew. I want to see what you’ve done so far, and I want you to relax.”

Her eyes shone brightly. “You’re the best. You really are. I’m sorry I freaked out there.”

“It’s okay. It makes you human. The fact that you were so calm was freaking me out,” he admitted.

He stepped back and looked at the wall she’d been working on. “Wow!” he gasped. “This is…this is…” He shook his head. “I’m amazed.” A replica of Degas’s Little Dancer at least twenty feet high stared back at him. Every single crease on the skirt, every single line around the eyes and lips, the pointed toe—everything had the precision of a professional artist. It was a breathtaking work of art. Behind it was what seemed to be hundreds of faces that couldn’t exactly be made out, watching the little dancer dance in an auditorium. “I didn’t realize you were almost done.”

“Yeah, pretty much,” she said, looking up at her masterpiece. “You really like it?”

“Like it?” He took out his phone and began to photograph it. “You need to be doing this for a living. This is spectacular, sweetheart.”

“God, this pregnancy is making me a girly mess,” she said, wiping tears away. “Last week I even got the balls to do the top. I was nervous, but I did it.”

“You are so brave. I’m so damn proud.” He eyed the platform that still hung on the top of the wall. “Although I’m glad I didn’t know you were getting on that contraption. I’d have had a heart attack. Is that even safe?”

“Safe enough.”

While they waited for her friends, he held her close as they stood across the street looking up at the dancer painted by his little pixie, who he vowed would be his wife within the week.

“Remember how nervous you were yesterday at the doctor?” JL said as she paced around the locker room watching Cain tape up Enzo’s hands. “That’s me now. I might throw up.”

“Why?” he asked. “Because of the fight?”

“Yes, because of the fight!” She continued to pace. “You cannot get hurt, Enzo. We are having two—two!—babies. I need you. You have to be safe. I cannot do this alone.”

“Two?” Travis said from across the room. “Twins? Why am I always the last to find this shit out?”

“Congrats, man,” Cain said.

“I called you yesterday, but you didn’t answer,” JL said to Travis.

“Oh, that’s right.” Travis was jumping up and down, warming up. “I meant to call you back. I was helping Penny with inventory.”

“You’re working at the Pier?”

“No, but I was there and there were boxes of liquor that needed to be carried back and counted and she was alone with the customers.”

“You’ve never once helped me,” JL whined.

“I don’t want to sleep with you.”

“Ew!” JL said. “Are you still trying to get that poor girl to go out with you?”

“She’s going to go out with me. Just a matter of time, darlin’.”

“Bless your arrogant little heart,” JL said with a giggle.

“So…twins, huh?” Travis pulled JL into a hug. “I’m sorry for giving you a hard time about things. You’re going to be a great mom.”

“Thanks, Trav,” she said with a sniffle. “Wonder what Mom would’ve thought.”

“Who knows? Guess it would’ve depended on whether she was sober or not.” He wiped the tear under her eye.

“Sorry,” she sniffled. “Damn hormones are making me cry all the time.”

“You doing okay?”

“I think so. Day by day, right?”

“Day by day.” He kissed her cheek and went back to warming up.

Most of WtF Academy’s amateur fighters were competing, and the rest of the guys and their wives were all there supporting the team. “Huddle in, guys. Got some news,” Slade said as he walked into the room, followed by Tony and Francesca. Cain, Travis, and Enzo came closer. “A few months ago Tony got a call from his agent asking if he was interested in doing a reality TV show. The producer got to talking about possibly doing a show based on the Academy. She’s here today. I don’t want to put more pressure on you and I know this is just a small local fight, but this could be a lot of money for everyone involved. A lot! So give them a show they won’t forget, okay?”

Travis whooped and hollered, Cain shrugged, and Enzo decided at that moment that this would be his first and final fight. He still loved the sport and felt passionate about it, but this couldn’t be his priority. He would continue training and sparring with the guys, but he wouldn’t continue to harass Slade and Tony about taking him pro. A few months ago he’d never thought he would love something more than fighting, but that was before he found out he was going to be a father. He loved jiujitsu, but he loved Jamie Lynn more. He wanted a happy life with his girl and babies. Having Jamie Lynn worried was not at all worth it anymore. He cleared his mind of the producer and every other worry that could possibly alter his concentration and began to warm up.

“Are you nervous?” JL asked Enzo.

“A little,” he said. “Are you still nervous?” His eyebrows drew together. She was biting her nails and looking jittery.

“A little.” She rolled her eyes, “I mean, I wouldn’t want you to mess up that pretty face of yours.”

“I think you’re secretly hoping for that date. A closer look at that head tattoo.” He spun his finger in circles in front of his ear. “Crazy.”

She snorted, then kissed him. “I love you. Be safe.”

“Love you too. Sit with Frances, okay?”

After she left, Enzo found himself alone in the locker room with Travis. “Next week I’m taking your sister to Vegas and we’re getting married,” Enzo told him.

“Good,” Travis said.

“Come with us. She’ll like it.”

“You going to be around when those two babies are driving you crazy? When she’s in a bad mood? When money’s tight? When the honeymoon period’s over?”

“Stop,” Enzo said. “I’m going to be with your sister until I take my last breath. She’s not your mother. I’m certainly not your mother. I don’t bail on responsibilities. You’re my friend, Travis. Since we met we’ve been tight and I appreciate the friendship we have. But I’m not asking your permission to marry your sister. Hell, I’m not even asking for hers. I am going to marry her. I am going to raise those babies and they will be loved and they will grow up in a house filled with love. You can play the overprotective brother all you want, but the best thing you can do is get onboard with it. Instead of adding more stress to your sister’s life, come with us and support her.”

“I like that. She needs someone to take charge. Knock her down a little so that she doesn’t always have to be the driver, you know?” He extended his arm to Enzo. “You have my blessing even if you’re not asking for it. I’ll be there. When are you going?”

Enzo guffawed. “Don’t say anything for the moment. I haven’t told her we’re getting married yet.”

Travis laughed loudly as Enzo got ready to go out and fight Hernandez. “It’s probably going to be easier to take a punch from crazy-ass Hernandez than to get my sister to agree to marry you, Pretty Boy.”

They were in a high school auditorium that was filled to the brim with people. Hernandez was already in the cage wearing faded black shorts when Enzo walked in. This wasn’t what he’d imagined when he craved being an MMA fighter. He’d always pictured spotlights, music, a professional ref, a big marquee with his name, and his opponent a well-known light-heavyweight contender in a bout that would give the crowd their money’s worth for three rounds of five minutes each. This was the complete opposite of everything. Some people were walking to their seats with Styrofoam cups full of popcorn; others held soda they’d just gotten from the vending machine. The ref, a young guy he’d never seen, quickly yelled the rules, and an old man literally dangled a bell in front of a microphone to announce the beginning of the fight. The only thing that he could think of were the words Jamie Lynn had said to him months ago: Be the best amateur fighter you can be.

Who cared that this wasn’t the way he’d pictured it? It wasn’t about vanity. The thought of having kids and a wife put everything into perspective in a quick jolt. The man in front of him was overweight, even though he weighed the same as Enzo. Whereas Enzo’s weight consisted of lean muscle, Hernandez was wide and pudgy. But he didn’t want to underestimate the man’s strength, because Hernandez was, in fact, the current title holder. So Enzo tried to remember all the techniques that he’d been taught at the Academy and during his time in Brazil.

“Saw your lady sitting over there. Girl looks delicious,” Hernandez said as soon as they were close. All the training Enzo had learned went right out his head as the anger flooded in, and he threw a sloppy punch and missed. Hernandez circled around, egging Enzo on. Enzo swung again, but this time he let his guard down, and Hernandez landed an uppercut on Enzo’s right side. He heard Tony from his corner trying to guide him, but his side hurt and he was breathless. Hernandez swung again and landed another punch to his other side. When the first bell rang, Enzo was sure he’d lost the fight.

“What the fuck are you doing, man?” Tony yelled. “You know better than that. You’re throwing shit punches. That man is all brute force. You have to get him tired and take him out on the floor.” Tony handed Enzo some water and a towel.

“Enzo!”

He looked over his shoulder to see Jamie Lynn yelling to him.

“Stop getting hit! You have a baby mama now! You have to be safe!”

He was in pain, but he couldn’t help but grin. He knew she was trying to help him get his head back on straight, and Jamie Lynn had the best sense of humor of anyone he knew, but he could see even through her little jokes that she was worried.

“Don’t worry, baby. I got this,” he said as the second bell rang.

“Remember, tire him out,” Tony reminded him.

Fighting through the pain on his side, Enzo jumped up and down and threw some punches to test the distance. He circled around Hernandez, forcing the big man to move. The man threw a sluggish jab, which Enzo easily avoided. Hernandez did it again a minute later, this time grazing Enzo’s cheek but not enough to cause major damage. By the time the second round was coming to an end, Hernandez was breathing shallowly and looking tired. Enzo took that opportunity to lunge at the ogre and get him on the ground, where they wrestled back and forth. Tony yelled instructions and Enzo concentrated. Enzo had Hernandez’s arm hyperextended. He needed the man to tap out before that bell; otherwise it would be another five minutes of fighting, and Enzo was now just as tired as Hernandez. Enzo pushed the arm down and the elbow up further until Hernandez screamed and the ref called the fight.