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James Raven · (07-10-2022)

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TORONTO, CANADA

TYLER CAGE
So, I’m picturing an entire section of baddies, right?

Cups in hand, we make our way from the counter and towards the front door of the coffee shop. I pull the glass door open and step aside to allow a young couple to enter, but Tyler bursts through the threshold and onto the sidewalk as if he heard someone fire a starter's pistol. I shrug to the couple apologetically and wave them inside before exiting behind my new employee and “best friend”, still continuing with his pitch.

TYLER CAGE
Every time you cut to Centurion and I at the commentary desk, there’s just a sea of them behind us. They’re jumpin’ up and down, they’re hype as hell, they’re all lookin’ TOO fine… and Cent and I just do our thing, you know? He’d be all “Peter Vaughn is looking good here tonight” and I’ll be like “HELLLLS YEAH HE IS!” but the whole time there’s big titties behind us, right?

I sigh softly, taking a sip from my cup as he turns to walk backwards on the sidewalk in front of me so he can look me in my eyes with that expectant grin of his.

JAMES RAVEN
Uh-huh. What exactly is the point of it?

His grin fades, and he looks befuddled.

JAMES RAVEN
What does it DO for the WGWF?

TYLER CAGE
Are you insane? Half this business is perception, you know that. It makes us look like the place to be! It tells all the guys watching at home that if they come to our shows in their crispest wrestling tees and shave their neckbeards, they might bag themselves a baddie! You gotta imagine it James, like, really try and picture it. You know my fit is gonna be on point. Cent in a suit. A bunch of perfect tens leaning over the railing and screaming our names before you and Chris kick off Monday Night Brawl… the hottest new/old show in wrestling…

JAMES RAVEN
Right.

He shrugs his shoulders indifferently and spins away from me again to my sweet relief. I take another sip from my cup, quietly pulling my cell phone from my pocket and checking the screen for any new messages. Nothing. I drop it back into my pocket as we continue to walk, and Tyler continues to pitch from a few paces ahead of me.

TYLER CAGE
You’re not feeling it yet. That’s cool. It’s not like I’m coming to the table with one idea. Lemme fill the merch booths at the WGWF shows. Branded bikinis, a Baddy of the Month calendar, or-

JAMES RAVEN
I really think you’re narrowing in too hard on one specific lane. Let’s try and think outside of that box a little bit, drift out of your comfort zone and see what you come up with.

He’s quiet for a moment, lost in his own mind. He stops walking in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking the way for an elderly man passing in the opposite direction. Tyler turns to me slowly.

TYLER CAGE
Well, it’s got nothing to do with wrestling, but I did have an idea for a TV show I wanted to talk to you about. It’s kind of awkward to be the guy that starts working with you and day one says “give me my own show”, but I really think it’s got a lot of potential, I just need to work out the details.

I’m taken aback by his sudden sincerity, and grab him by the elbow to drag him over to the edge of the sidewalk and out of the way of the old man (that could have very easily just stepped into the street and passed by now, but chose to be entitled about it) who grumbles and moves on after losing a few of the precious seconds he has left.

JAMES RAVEN
Alright. You’ve got me interested. Let’s hear it.

TYLER CAGE
Well- no, nevermind man, it’s not ready. I shouldn’t have brought it up yet.

JAMES RAVEN
We develop. We produce. Just give me the elevator pitch, it doesn’t need to be fully formed.

He takes a deep breath.

TYLER CAGE
I want to host, like, a reality competition or something. We take ten aspiring baddies and-

JAMES RAVEN
Jesus Christ, Tyler…

I turn away from him and walk off the sidewalk into a small parkette, striding across the grass to a nearby bench that sits in the shade of a giant maple tree. I collapse onto it, taking my phone out again to check for non-existent messages before balancing it on my thigh and taking another sip from my cup as Tyler makes his way over and sits down behind me.

TYLER CAGE
This coffee is trash, in this goofy ass tiny cup…

JAMES RAVEN
It's espresso.

TYLER CAGE
Is that French for trash?

JAMES RAVEN
It’s Italian.

TYLER CAGE
For trash?

I shake my head and sigh, a more and more frequent occurrence with each day he and I spend together. I lean back against the bench, staring absently into space for a long and quiet moment as Tyler pulls the lid off of his cup and pours the remainder of its contents into the grass beside him. He leans back beside me and soaks in the silence for as long as he can. It might have been forty five seconds.

TYLER CAGE
You good, GOAT?

JAMES RAVEN
Yeah, I’m good.

TYLER CAGE
You sure? You’ve been quiet. No jabs, no quips.

JAMES RAVEN
Just preparing you to work with Centurion.

I look down at my phone again. No messages. He points at me immediately, shaking his finger like a parent when reprimanding their child.

TYLER CAGE
And what’s up with that? Why do you keep checking your phone every three minutes? Am I boring you or something?! You got somewhere else you gotta be? ‘Cause I can go if you want, man, it’s a big city but I can find somebaddy to show me around, ya know?

JAMES RAVEN
It’s nothing like that.

TYLER CAGE
So what is it? You can’t bring me to fuckin’ Canada from Los Angeles and then stiff arm me the entire time. Somethings up with you. What’s good? If you’ve got something on your mind or somebody bothering you, let’s take care of it and then start having some fun. I got you.

I can see the spark in his eyes as the adrenaline starts to pump and I instantly hold a hand out to stop him, or at least slow him down.

JAMES RAVEN
Relax! It’s nothing like that. It’s Atty. I’m just checking to see if there’s anything from Atty.

He takes a breath. His eyes soften.

TYLER CAGE
Is everything good?

JAMES RAVEN
It’s great, Tyler. We’re going on a trip.

He lights up excitedly.

TYLER CAGE
AYYYYE! Living that jet-setting life! You guys been planning something, or just taking off somewhere spur of the moment?

JAMES RAVEN
We’re going back to Greece. It’s impromptu, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while.

He nods his head enthusiastically, a smile spreading from ear to ear across his face.

TYLER CAGE
I like it. Maybe I’ll fly out. I can bring a couple of-

JAMES RAVEN
Tyler, if you say the word “baddies” I swear to God you’re fired, and if I see your face in Athens I will end you.

TYLER CAGE
You can’t hog an entire island, bruh. I’m sure there’s plenty of beaches.

JAMES RAVEN
It’s not “an island”. Look at a fucking map.

TYLER CAGE
Why would I look at a map when I’m tryna just go there?! But you’re out here being an entire asshole about it!

I drop my head, rubbing my eyes with my thumb and forefinger. I take a deep breath to calm myself and stop from assaulting this near-child in public.

JAMES RAVEN
I’m not taking her home for a vacation, OK?

TYLER CAGE
So what? You have some little business sum’n sum’n or somethin’?

JAMES RAVEN
No business. No vacation. We just need to go back for a little bit, leave it alone.

He shakes his head furiously, standing up from the bench and standing in front of me on the grass.

TYLER CAGE
Nope. You gotta tell me what’s up, now. This is the most interesting thing you’ve had to talk about all day. If you don’t tell me why you’re going to Greece, then bet I’m gonna run up on you there and find out.

JAMES RAVEN
Shut the fuck up.

TYLER CAGE
I'm not playing. I'll be there in a toga with a baddy feeding me grapes unless you tell me what's up.

I take a deep breath, trying to find the words. He stands patiently, arms crossed and eyes locked on me.

JAMES RAVEN
I just have a few people I need to talk to. Things have changed over the past few months, and I don’t want to waste any more time, you know?

TYLER CAGE
I dunno. Maybe.

JAMES RAVEN
It’s just… like… I don’t know. I’ve spent a few months trying to figure some things out, and it’s been a whirlwind of fucking thoughts and feelings to fight through, and it just finally seems so obvious. I spent so much time worrying about who I used to be, or who I still can be, or what people expect me to be… and there’s really only one thing I want to be… one thing that I think about every day, from the second I wake up until the second I fall asleep again.

He listens carefully, but I get the distinct impression that some of the sentiment is lost on him. I shrug my shoulders, and leave it there.

JAMES RAVEN
Don’t worry about it. I just need to talk to some people, that’s all.

TYLER CAGE
You can talk to me, GOAT. Just stop being so cryptic.

I wink at him.

JAMES RAVEN
Never. I need to talk to different people, but don’t worry. If this weekend goes well, you’ll find out along with everyone else.

He shakes his head in resignation.

TYLER CAGE
Fine. Keep your secrets. Can we at least hit the gym or something?

I feel my phone vibrate and immediately scramble for it, seeing the new message on the display; “I’m ready. Let’s go.”. I pop up from the bench, firing an apologetic look to Tyler as I take a few steps across the grass away from him.

JAMES RAVEN
Sorry, man. I’ve got a flight to catch.

TYLER CAGE
Now?!

JAMES RAVEN
Right now!

TYLER CAGE
What the fuck am I supposed to do?!

JAMES RAVEN
Work!

I turn away from him, breaking out to a near sprint as I take off back towards the coffee shop and the car.

TYLER CAGE
I don’t even know how to get back to the studio! I’M NOT FROM TORONTO YOU DICK!

JAMES RAVEN
I’ll send you an Uber!

I feel bad. I didn’t know I was going to be leaving like this when I asked Tyler to come up from California, but when the time is right… you can’t let it slip away.

TYLER CAGE
You forgot your coffee!

JAMES RAVEN
It’s trash!

Wish me luck, kids. This is the rest of my life that we're talking about.

FADE

OUT

ATHENS, GREECE

He strokes his heavily bearded chin, smiling warmly as he studies me from behind his desk. I can't help but shift slightly in my seat as I offer my own uncomfortable grin and a wiggle of my eyebrows in return. I sink deeper into the plush armchair with each subtle attempt to slide out, and I become painfully self-aware of his eyes on my struggle and resign myself to collapsing fully into the cushions. He says nothing, his hand moving instinctively from his beard to straighten a large golden crucifix hanging around his neck.

JAMES RAVEN
That’s a nice piece. You should be shooting music videos with bling like that.

He continues to smile, and shrugs his shoulders softly.

PRIEST
A bit of the reference is wasted on me, I admit, but I’m sure it was very charming.

Swing and a miss. I feel like my heart is beating in my throat, and I can feel my stomach twisting and tightening nearly enough to double me over. I haven’t spoken to someone like him in a long time. I’m not exactly what you’d call a “true believer”. I shift my eyes off of him and glance around his office as I take a deep breath to steady myself. Rich wood, and earth tones. The wall to my right is lined floor to ceiling with more books than a local library, the wall to my left tall windows that look out over Athens with a stained glass border across the top that casts red and golden hues upon us as we meet.

PRIEST
Relax, James. We’re just chatting. Surely you’ve faced higher stakes than this, before.

JAMES RAVEN
I think you’d be surprised, Father. Am I supposed to call you Father?

PRIEST
Call me whatever puts you at ease.

I nod, but say nothing else. He allows us to steep in the silence, giving me a moment to take a few more calming breaths as he reaches to lift a water pitcher from the corner of his desk and pours two glasses. He offers me one, then leans back and resumes stroking the graying patches of his long and dark beard.

PRIEST
If you don’t mind, tell me a bit of your background…

JAMES RAVEN
You mean, like, my career? You want me to do my whole schtick and rattle off the resume?

He shakes his head with an amused twinkle in his eye.

PRIEST
The championships you’ve won aren’t something that factors in here, I’m afraid. Where are you from? Tell me about your family.

I feel my face grow hot with embarrassment. Right. That makes more sense. I take a deep slug from my water glass and set it down on the desk.

JAMES RAVEN
I was born in Toronto, Canada. My parents lived a comfortable life, and I’m the middle of three children. My father was a doctor, and my mother was… everything… everything you ever needed her to be. She passed away when I was a teenager, and my older brother passed a few years later.

PRIEST
My condolences.

I smile gratefully.

JAMES RAVEN
Thanks, padre. Anyways, my younger sister lives in Virginia Beach right now. She’s awesome, but we don’t see each other often. My dad lives… I don’t even know where. We don’t see each other at all.

He slowly nods, listening carefully. Thankfully he doesn’t pry.

PRIEST
Did faith play any sort of role in your life?

Fuck. I wish he had pried. I suddenly feel like I’m traversing a minefield, the slightest misstep ready to blow me and my aspirations to smithereens. He senses the tension that overtakes me.

PRIEST
James! Relax! I’m just asking you a couple of questions, I’m not here to judge you.

JAMES RAVEN
… yeah you are.

PRIEST
Well, maybe a little bit.

He winks from across the desk.

JAMES RAVEN
My mother was Christian. My father was too, I guess, but it was for her. As soon as she was gone he never went back. I didn’t either. I don’t know that I was ever really bought in before then, though. Faith is a weird word for it. I was interested in philosophy. I believed in the possibility of there being more to life, and stuff like that… but… I don’t know if that’s enough for what you’re asking.

PRIEST
Faith in anything is still faith, and it’s good. I’d like to discuss some of that further with you another time, if you’re open to it.

I nod my head solemnly, biting my tongue to stop myself from telling him that I’d do basically anything he asked me to do at this point if it helped my cause even slightly.

PRIEST
Were you baptized after birth?

JAMES RAVEN
I was, uh… I was not.

PRIEST
Would you perhaps be open to it?

Caught slightly off guard, I glance around the office, my eyes settling on the pitcher of water on the table.

JAMES RAVEN
Now?

PRIEST
No, of course not now. Perhaps soon, though? Something to think about over the next couple of months?

Like I said, I’d do basically anything.

JAMES RAVEN
I’m open to it.

Seemingly satisfied with my anwer, his smile grows somehow warmer. He takes a drink from his glass for the first time, and I take the opportunity to snatch my glass and drain nearly every drop. He pushes the pitcher towards me, motioning for me to refill and settle in.

PRIEST
I understand you have a child on the way. Congratulations, I’m sure you’re very excited.

JAMES RAVEN
Thank you. I am. I can’t appropriately describe it.

PRIEST
What are your plans for the baby? In regards to the church, of course.

For the first time my answer flows off my tongue without the slightest hesitation.

JAMES RAVEN
She’ll be baptized, and she’ll be raised Orthodox. Atara and I bought a house in the Greek neighborhood in Toronto, and we’ve already looked at a few churches.

PRIEST
There’s no objections, or maybe doubts on your end? However small?

I shake my head firmly.

JAMES RAVEN
Not at all. It’s important to Atara, and it’s important to her family. Why would I object?

He shrugs his shoulders casually.

PRIEST
Maybe as someone whose own faith has been, let's call it “vague”, you would find the whole thing a bit silly. Maybe you’d see the energy and belief of others being directed to something intangible, and would find it to be misdirected.

I think about his words carefully, and choose my own even moreso.

JAMES RAVEN
I fell in love with Atara. Everything she is and everything that made her this way. I always kind of chased “what's next”, especially when I was younger, because I didn’t have a lot to look behind me and take pride in. I left home early, and I wore my family name like an albatross around my neck… a constant reminder of my father, the constant shadow of an older brother that laid out the path I followed… but Atara wears hers like her badge of honor. She’s nothing but prideful of her family, and the place she came from, and the faith that she has. The strength she’s pulled from all of that has been unwavering, and inspiring. So if I love her and everything that’s shaped her, I think the only silly thing would be refusing to offer my daughter all of those same things just because it’s a little out of my comfort zone. There’s not a single one of the Themis women that I wouldn’t be proud to see my daughter grow up into, so… I have faith.

He nods slowly, and winks reassuringly at me.

PRIEST
As I said. Faith in anything is still faith, and it’s good. There’s a twinkle in your eye when you speak of this child. Is it your first?

JAMES RAVEN
No. I have a son, his name is Tyler.

He strokes his beard thoughtfully, taking a sip of water as he considers this new information. I decide to jump right to the answers, before he can ask any more questions.

JAMES RAVEN
I was married once. It was a long time ago.

PRIEST
You and I may have slightly different definitions of “a long time ago”. What happened?

Well. There’s a loaded question.

JAMES RAVEN
The short version? I was young. I was with someone that I loved, and I trusted, and I thought I had my life and career figured out and that it was the next logical step. It was what I was always told you were supposed to do, and I jumped in headfirst. We just… we weren’t ready, and we weren’t right… and it took a few years to grow up and figure it out.

PRIEST
Give me a slightly longer version.

JAMES RAVEN
We met when we were 18. We fell in love traveling the world together and we bonded through the business. We were rookies, everything we saw was a new and shared experience and there’s this… electricity… that came with all of that. We were too young and naive to recognize what that was. It felt like passion, I guess, something unique and deep and long lasting. A little while after Tyler was born we walked away. We went to take care of our son and focus on our family, and everything else disappeared. She was my best friend and I loved her, but things just changed. We were 23, and we wanted different things, and we grew further and further apart. Eventually it was just over. I wanted to get back to work, and it made the most sense for Tyler to go with her. They’re in Arizona now.

We sit in silence for a long time. He doesn’t pry further. Eventually I chuckle softly and try to ease the tension.

JAMES RAVEN
Hopefully that’s not a HUGE strike against me.

He shakes his head gently.

PRIEST
We have a saying. We bless the first marriage, we perform the second… it goes on from there, but hopefully I’ll never need to speak to you about any of those parts.

I feel the tightness of excitement in my chest as I try to read between the lines.

He stands up from his chair to extend his hand over the desk to me. Slowly I stand and extend my own. He looks straight into my eyes as he shakes.

PRIEST
It was a pleasure to speak with you, James. I was serious, though. I’d like to go a little deeper on some of the things we talked about sometime, if you’re open to it.

JAMES RAVEN
Of course. Whatever you want, Father. I’m definitely open to it. So just to be clear… you’re good? We’re good? It’s all… it’s all good?

He winks at me again.

PRIEST
We’ll talk more, but I think we’ll be able to figure it out.

I pull his hand toward me and lean in to hug him over the desk. A long and incredibly awkward embrace. I pull away slowly.

JAMES RAVEN
Your beard smells like sandalwood.

PRIEST
Th-thank you.

FADE

OUT

BLINK

I open my eyes, sand squishing between my bare toes as I stand underneath the night sky and stare out across the ocean. The waves lap towards us, an older man and woman standing on either side of me as they tell me the history of this place. The man tells me of a great battle that was fought here many years ago, and of how he used to run the shores as part of his training while his daughters splashed in the surf. The woman tells me a story about the gods, and of how she once brought her granddaughters here to look at the moon and the stars and tell them the same story.

She asks me why I’m still wearing a shirt.

Dirty Yia Yia.

BLINK

I open my eyes, squinting in the bright daylight as The Goddess dances delicately in the shallow water ahead of me. The beach looks different than it had the night before, but the beauty of anything but her is lost on me as she kicks her feet gently in the ankle depth as she walks. She smiles as the beads of water catch the glimmer of the sunlight on their way back down to the surface. She turns slowly to face me, her smile coy as she extends a hand for me to join her.

I hope it never fades.

The sand squishes between my bare toes as it had the night before, and I make my way from the shore to the surf.

Then she asks me why I’m still wearing a shirt.

It must run in the family.

BLINK

Yia Yia likes to instigate. She reminds us of the time I came to Greece and fought him. She nudges him in the ribs, and reminds him that I won. I can see his jaw clench in the moonlight, but he simply rolls his eyes and says nothing. She turns to me and asks if I think I could do it again. I look down at the ground awkwardly, my neck red with embarrassment as I also say nothing.

She calls us both cowards.

I tell them both that I went to the church earlier. I tell them about my conversation with the priest, and everything that came from it. I tell him what I want to do, and what I'd be willing to make it happen and earn the blessings of everyone involved. They both listen to me carefully, and he runs his fingers through thick hair as he thinks.

She asks if I have cute friends that are single. She explains that she has many single grandaughters that are getting old, and that she needs to find suitors for so that her friends will stop laughing at her. I tell her I can handle one of those grandaughters for her now, and I'll work on the rest.

BLINK

Atara takes my hand and lifts it into the air, twirling herself underneath it and spinning slowly and gracefully into my chest. She looks up at me and bats her eyelashes, my hands dropping down and wrapping around to hold her and feel her stomach. She kisses my cheek and whispers softly in my ear. Je T’aime, I whisper back.

The sun beats down on us as we stand in the ocean and look out across the water together. She tells me that she used to come here with her family.

I pretend this is new information.

BLINK

He asks me if I'm doing this out of a sense of obligation. He asks if I really understand what I'm asking him for, or if this is just some attempt to "do the right thing". It seems like a lot of trouble, and a lot of hoops to jump through, he proclaims. Am I ready for this sort of change? He strokes his chin as Yia Yia nods her head in agreement, studying me as if waiting to see if I throw my hands up in the air and quit.

There's no obligation. There’s no trouble.

Nobody asked me to do any of this, but I want to. I tell them this is all I’ve been able to think about for months, and something that’s been building much longer than that... since the moment I met her. There’s no hoops to jump through. There’s just steps to take, and ones I’d take happily to reach what’s on the other side. I spare them the cliches, the sappy verbiage and cheesy imagery. I would do anything I could to help ease her mind, and theirs. Ensuring nobody faces eternal damnation included.

I love her, and in a way that was unimaginable to me. I’d always loved her, but in a way that had been indescribable for me.

Yia Yia asks if we’re talking about the same person. It doesn’t sound like the Atara she knows.

He smiles.

He asks me what I see when I look at her.

BLINK

She spins away from me and continues to dance in the water.

I see hope.

I see someone that has shown me nothing but kindness and understanding, even in my darkest moments, and who’s given me an opportunity to bring more of that into a world that desperately needs it. I see support and inspiration that’s kept me going when I’ve wanted to quit, and I see compassion that has cooled me when I felt spiteful. I see a beacon that draws the love and the goodness out of everyone around her, and pushes me to try and heal old wounds and be better each day than I was the day before. I see the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on, full of strength and confidence and grace. Brilliance. Ambition.

I see someone who has never asked or exected me to be anything. Who never needed me to be The People’s G.O.A.T. or unbeatable. Who never cared what I would be next. Who just needed me to be.

And for some unknown reason, she wanted me to be with her.

I see the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, and striving to be better for.

BLINK

They’re both smiling at me. Yia Yia turns away to look up at the stars, taking a deep breath to steady herself in the moment. He puts a hand on my shoulder, and offers only the slightest of nods before turning out to look over the ocean once more.

BLINK

I take a few steps in the water behind Atara. Her back is to me as I approach, her arms stretched out at her sides as she soaks in the sun. Carefully, I slide my hand into my pocket.

BLINK

He tells me I always struck him as the type to make a big show out of a moment like this. Was this really how I wanted to do it? On a beach, away from everyone else? I tell him it feels right. We didn't need anyone else around, our relationship had always been just for us anyways. I just knew I'd wanted to bring her home.

“Good luck, James.”

“Thanks, Eros.”

“You’re still wearing your shirt.”

“Sorry, Yia Yia.”

BLINK

I pull the ring box from my pocket and hold it in my hands, waves crashing into my ankles as my eyes stay locked on Atara. My heart races, breath catching in my throat as I take a few paces closer to her. Her eyes are closed and her face upturned to the sky as the breeze whips strands from behind her ear.

My hand reaches for hers, and I whisper her name.

She turns to me slowly, happy and beaming to be home. She quickly recognizes the change in my expression, her eyebrows furrowing as she tries to figure it out. She looks me up and down, the smile fading ever so slightly as she notices the small box in my hands. Her eyes widen, her lips parting slightly.

I sink slowly to one knee in the water, my eyes never leaving hers as I open the box.

"Atara, will you marry me?"

BLINK

FADE

TO

BLACK

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