Ashes to Ashes: Part 3

==========

November 2nd, 2019

Southampton, England

Off Camera

==========

In some Christian denominations, All Souls' Day or the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, that is, of the souls of all humans who have died, follows All Saints' Day. Observing Christians typically remember deceased relatives on this particular day.  Irony of ironies that the receiving of friends for Glenn Braddock would fall on All Souls’ Day.

It is never easy losing a loved one.  It is especially difficult when you are as close as Glory Braddock was to her father, the veteran amateur legend Glenn Braddock.  He taught The British Bombshell everything he knew about wrestling, but he went above and beyond that as he raised her as a single parent after his marriage with Mary Ford dissolved.  Glenn was truly all The British Bombshell ever knew and losing him, just days before her big chamber match for the SCW World Championship at Under Attack, was challenging both mentally and emotionally.  Most individuals would have tapped out and stayed home to grieve in peace but not Glory.  She wanted to fight on, because it was what her father would have wanted.  He would have wanted her to go out and fight like the warrior he raised her to be.

It is easy to ignore or forget about what is going on in the real world with the insane action of the chamber going on right and left and people striking at her from every angle.  Now that Under Attack has come and gone and she has failed yet again to claim the SCW World Championship she can no longer ignore the reality of  her situation.  The reality of the loss of her beloved father is beginning to sink in as she stands by the open coffin containing the body of her father, Glenn Braddock.  Glory is wearing a black knee length skirt, black patent leather high heel pumps, a black blouse, and a black woman’s suit coat; with her is her husband Kurt Logan and their daughter Melinda Braddock.  Today they are receiving friends and it has already been quite a busy evening, for Glenn was very popular not only in England but all over the world.  They expected a large turnout and they were correct.

Breestons Funeral Directors in Southampton is assisting with the arrangements.  Her father already had most of it paid for in advance.  He knew this day was coming and made sure everything was planned out and paid up.  This makes things easy for Glory as she definitely does not need any other stress upon her right now.

Kurt leans over and whispers quietly to his wife “How are you holding up?”

“Well enough.”

“If you need to leave just say the word.” Kurt remarks. “No one will blame you.”

“It’s fine, love.”

The truth is Glory is not certain she can make it through this without shedding a tear.  It takes every ounce of her being to contain her emotions and look strong, not only for her family but for the people who come to see her, the people who want to wish her well.  She wants to look strong, like this doesn’t bother her.  But everyone knows that it is just a lie.  It is just a front.  She is bothered greatly.

“Sorry I’m late…”

The British Bombshell notices out of the corner of her eye a figure that she immediately realizes will bother her even more.  She turns and spots her estranged sister making her way over to the group.  Dressed in a tight form fitting red dress and open toed high heel sandals, the woman born Julia Braddock but now going by the name Chastity Noel, has estranged herself from the Braddock family.  Glory knew that Chastity coming would be a possibility but she never expected her to actually show up.  Her blonde younger sister approaches and winks.

“...but traffic was hell.”

“Chastity, what the bloody hell are you doing here?!” Glory exclaims as quietly as she can so as to not cause a disturbance.

“Well gee, let me think on that for a moment, love,” she says in a rather sarcastic tone, even going as far as to scratch her chin as if she is deep in thought; a few moments later she snaps her fingers as if she comes to a realization “oh yeah!  Glenn passed away, Glenn is my father, the family is receiving friends tonight!  That’s why I am here!”

“Not funny, mate.” Glory remarks, glaring angrily at her sister. “You left the family.  You said so yourself.”

“It doesn’t matter what I said, Gloria.  He is STILL biologically my father and I have every right to be here.  Are you really going to start a fight over this now?  Here?”

At this very moment with her emotions running as high as they are Glory Braddock is almost ready to take her up on that offer.  But her husband Kurt quickly takes her hand and squeezes it tightly.  Glory looks over at Kurt who shakes his head.  “She’s not worth it, Gloria.”

“Love you too, Kurt.” Chastity mockingly blows a kiss.  Glory rolls her eyes.

“Fine, you can stay.  Just don’t cause a scene.”

“There you go again, Gloria.  Always thinking the worst of me.”

Glory Braddock can only stare intensely and angrily at her sister as she stands there, greeting visitors as they come by.  Glory can barely concentrate on those that stop by to wish her well.  Chastity’s presence is disturbing to say the least.  Kurt Logan and Melinda Braddock are also bothered by this turn of events as well but they do a better job of hiding it than Glory does.

As more and more visitors come through to visit with the family, Glory Braddock almost forgets about Chastity; or maybe ‘forgetting’ isn’t the right word.  More appropriate would be to say that she is finally beginning to ignore her presence.  Hopefully no further surprises are in store.  But then she spots another familiar pair approaching.  Two redheads known in wrestling circles as The Sisterhood.  To Glory they are her first cousins, Angelica Jones and her sister Kayla Jones-Snow.

“We are so sorry, Gloria.” Kayla gushes.

“Yeah, we are sorry for your loss.”

“I’m surprised you came.” Glory answers back.  Kayla chuckles.

“How come?  I mean, he was our uncle.  It was by marriage only but still that counts, right?”

“I don’t mean that.” Glory shakes her head. She stares directly at Angelica. “I’m surprised YOU came.”

Angelica smiles sheepishly.  The last time Angelica and Glory spoke, the redhead was trying to convince Glory to work together with Sienna Swann.  Then on Breakdown Sienna betrayed Glory, abandoning her in a handicap situation.  The British Bombshell trusted Sienna only because Angelica assured her it was a good idea.  Angelica can tell that Glory is not happy with her right now.

“Are you still sore with me about Sienna?”

“What would give you that bloody idea, mate?!” Glory exclaims with venom dripping from her voice.  Angelica sighs.

“Look, I’m sorry things didn’t work out between you two.  I thought it was a sure thing.”

“Really?  I trusted you, Angelica.  Then she betrayed me.  Now she’s world champion.  I guess you and Kayla are thrilled about that.”

Angelica is about to respond but Kayla cuts her off. “Yes, we are friends with Sienna and we are happy for her, but believe me when I say that we were cheering for you at Under Attack and we would have rather seen you win.”

“Bullshit.”

Kayla sighs and turns and walks away with Angelica in tow.  Chastity giggles in response. “Getting nasty, aren’t we Gloria?”

“Shut it, Chastity.  I’m not in the mood for any more of your crap right now.”

Chastity takes the hint and remains silent.  The next pair in line to visit with the family come as to no surprise at all and their presence brings a small to Glory’s face; it’s Sophie O’Brian and her brother Mark O’Brian.  The O’Brian siblings together wrestle as a tag team  known as Total War and are also trainers at the Braddock Wrestling School which is where they got their start.  They owe a great deal to Glenn Braddock not only for him training them how to be wrestlers but also for supporting them after they walked out of an abusive family situation.  Sophie and Mark are not saints by any stretch of the imagination but they are definitely loyal to the Braddock family because of how much Glenn helped them.

“If there is anything we can do for you, anything at all.” Sophie says quietly, solemnly to Glory.  The British Bombshell nods in response.

“Thanks, mate.”

“What about me?” Chastity pipes in from out of nowhere.  Sophie immediately turns, physically and emotionally as anger seems to come out as if the floodgates were opened.

“You abandoned this family and rejected that man’s name!” She points to the coffin and body of Glenn Braddock. “That man saved my life and my brother’s life!  You should be proud of him and yet you reject him?!

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Sophie.” Chastity snaps back.

“I know enough!”

Glory senses that trouble is brewing.  The British Bombshell can contain herself but Sophie is not known for containing her temper.  She is a known sociopath.  She doesn’t trust her friend to stop herself from starting trouble here while receiving friends.  Braddock steps in between Sophie and Chastity to ensure that they do not come to blows.

“Now isn’t the time, you two.” Glory turns to face Sophie. “Thank you, Sophie.  I do mean it…”

“Yeah, sure…” Sophie’s voice is distant as she stares a hole through Chastity.  A few moments later Sophie turns and leaves with Mark in tow.  As soon as they are gone Chastity rolls her eyes.

“Can you believe them?  I didn’t say a bloody thing to offend them!”

“Your mere presence here offends them, Chastity.” Glory answers quietly. “It offends me too but you’re lucky that I can remain calm and keep my composure.  Sophie cannot.”

“You have such wonderful friends.” Chastity says sarcastically.  Just then Chastity’s face lights up like a tree on Christmas Day. “Destiny!”

“Huh?”

The British Bombshell isn’t quite sure what Chastity means by that sudden exclamation but then upon looking over to the next person in line to visit with the family she sees exactly what she means.  Destiny Van Stanton, wife of Mason Van Stanton, approaches the family.  She makes a bee-line for Chastity and the two embrace in a tight hug.  Her presence is just as shocking as Chastity’s.  Destiny threw her lot in with Mason Van Stanton, marrying the man who has long since been an enemy of Glenn Braddock.  Why would she come to this visitation unless it is to merely mock and ridicule the family.  If so, Glory may not be able to contain herself any longer.  Destiny and Chastity break their embrace and then Destiny turns to face Glory.

“Glory...how are you?”

“Fine.”

“Sorry for your loss.”

“Bloody hell,” Glory rolls her eyes “lets just skip the theatrics, ok mate?  What are you really doing here?”

“What do you mean?” Destiny asks, seemingly sincere.

“You heard me.  You married a man who hates this family.  What would bring you out here unless it is some ulterior motive?”

“First, you can stop acting like you know everything because you don’t.  That’s partially why there are some people out there who don’t like you.  Yes, I know that comes as a shock to your system dear Glory, but there are those who do not like you.  Second, why wouldn’t I be here?” Destiny casts a look at the coffin and the body of Glenn Braddock.  She sighs as she wipes a tear from her eye. “Despite the differences you and I may have, I always have adored your father.  He trained me.  He taught me everything he knew.  I would not have come as far as I have in GCW were it not for him.”

“I didn’t…” Glory is stunned “...I didn’t know you felt that way.”

“You never asked.  Again, sorry for your loss.” Destiny turns and starts to walk off.  Glory Braddock is left in a stunned silence.  Chastity is loving this and again cannot stifle some laughter.

“What’s wrong, Gloria?  Cat got your tongue?”

Her temper is about to boil over as she stares at the smirking face of her sister.  The British Bombshell would love to punch her in the face right then and there but she realizes that now is not the place.  Definitely not now.  Thus Braddock just continues to stew, she continues to hold it in, taking everything that her sister dishes out.

==========

November 5th, 2019

Miami, Florida

Off Camera

==========

A few days have passed since the visitation and the burial of Glenn Braddock.  The British Bombshell sits with her legs tucked up under her on the comfortable cream colored leather sofa in her living room at Miami, Florida.  Glory Braddock is thankful that she has put the tough part behind her.  Burying her father was difficult and challenging but she got through it and now she can attempt to move on with her life, a life she knew was coming but never truly planned for; a life without her father, without Glenn Braddock.

The blonde haired beauty is wearing a pink nightgown and has a small cup of yogurt in her hand which she eats with a plastic spoon, staring blankly off at the fireplace mantle which contains family pictures of herself and her daughter Melinda, Kurt Logan, and yes, even Glenn Braddock.  These pictures are all that is left of her beloved father.

“Are you still up?” This isn’t Kurt nor is it Melinda speaking.  They are out watching a movie at the local cinema.  This voice comes from Mary Ford, Glory’s mother, who enters the living room wearing purple pajamas.  Her hair is still brown, but only because she keeps it dyed, otherwise it would be white by now.  Glory is slightly caught off guard by this, as she was lost in thought until Mary made her presence felt.  The British Bombshell smiles warmly.

“Yeah, I guess so…”

“Well you should really get to sleep.”

Mary is staying with her daughter for a few days to keep her company.  She knows better than anyone how close Glory and Glenn were and she understands perhaps better than anyone just how terribly Glory is taking this loss.  Glory and Glenn grew very close at the expense of the relationship between Glory and her mother, which was severely hurt as a result.  But a mother who truly loves her children will not hold a grudge and she wants to help her daughter in any way she can.  Mary stands just inside the living room as she watches her daughter shake her head in response.

“It’s too early for bed, mum.”

“Normally it would be.” Mary walks further into the living room, approaches her daughter, and sits down next to her on the sofa. “But you have had a rough couple of weeks and I know what you’re doing tonight, it’s the same thing you have been doing the past several nights, and it isn’t healthy, physically or mentally.”

The British Bombshell remains silent on this.  She cannot really argue against her mother, for she brings up a valid point.  For the past several days since the visitation Glory has been staying up later than usual, staying to herself, and dwelling not only on the death of her father but also upon her failure to win the SCW World Championship at Under Attack.  No silver lining this time.  The one person she did not want to see become champion ended up winning the chamber and the title; Sienna Swann.

Braddock wants her revenge, she wants vengeance and will do anything to get her hands on Siena.  Just one opportunity is all she needs to choke out Sienna and make her pay for the betrayal and everything else she has done to her and to everyone in SCW.  Yet something is wrong.  Glory is definitely not herself and everyone close to her can tell, especially her mother who stares deep into her eyes this very moment.

“You know your father is proud of you right now.  He is smiling down on you from heaven above.”

“That’s real easy for you to say.” Braddock remarks quietly. “You’re not the one who failed.  I had one job, one simple job, and I failed…”

“That’s your father talking.” Mary remarks pointedly. Glory sighs and nods her head.

“Yes, I know, he would have said it was my fault I failed, I get that, but…” before she can finish her thought Glory is interrupted by her mother.

“You misunderstood me, Gloria.  You sound like your father because your father was just as hard on himself whenever he failed.  I was there when he lost his very first match.  I couldn’t console him.  He constantly beat himself up over it and there was nothing I could say to make him feel better.” Mary chuckles. “And you wouldn’t believe how he reacted the very first time he tapped out.”

Braddock arches her brow out of curiosity. “Was it as bad as I reacted when I tapped out for the first time”

“Oh you handled it a lot better than him.  Your father was unbearable.  Your father never could get over it but you, you picked yourself up, dusted yourself off, and trained harder, got better, and you went back at it.  And if I am correct you only tapped out one other time in your career.”

The British Bombshell appears genuinely surprised and pleased that her mother knew this information.  “Yes, that’s right.  I thought you never paid attention to my wrestling career.”

“I admit that I do hate your wrestling.  I hate watching my daughter get herself into fights for a living.  I hate watching my daughter beat herself up mentally and emotionally the same way her father beat himself up mentally and emotionally whenever he failed.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t keep up with your career.  I will always watch you, Gloria, just like I always followed your father to every one of his matches when we were married.” Mary sighs as she wipes a tear from her eye. “As much as it hurt me to watch him get hurt, I still went to every single match.”

“You loved him, didn’t you?” Glory asks.  Mary nods her head.

“Of course I did.”

“Then why did you break up with him?  Why the divorce?” Glory demands.  Her parents breaking up is one of the few things she never did get over from her childhood.  At the time, her father blamed the break up on mother and thus Glory grew up blaming it on Mary as well.  Glory always wanted to understand Mary’s reason behind leaving Glenn.  She knows it has to do with his obsession with wrestling but she still doesn’t understand.

“Everyone has their breaking point, Gloria.  I am only human and I can only take watching my husband get destroyed week in and week out for so long before I just cannot torture myself that way anymore.  I know the vows say for better or for worse, sickness and in health, but I just couldn’t handle seeing my husband get beat up.  I still loved him, though.  That’s why I never remarried.” Mary holds out her hand and Glory looks at it.  Sure enough, her wedding band is still there on her finger.  Glory looks up at her mother with wide eyes.

“Your wedding band?  You kept it.  Why didn’t I notice that before?”

“Because you don’t pay attention as much as you think you do.” Mary remarks with a wink. “I always loved your father.  I will always love you and your sister, even if you two don’t always love me.”

The mention of Chastity brings a frown to Glory’s face.  The experience back in London for the receiving of friends is still fresh in her mind. “Chastity...she calls herself Chastity now…”

“I know.” Mary wipes another tear from her eye. “As a mother now yourself you can probably imagine how much it hurts that my daughter refuses to acknowledge me, her actual mother, and instead acknowledges someone else as a her mother.”

“I cannot even begin to guess as to why she is doing what she is doing, to be honest, I was on the verge of being just like her.  Knowing this and realizing that I do not want a repeat of what happened between me and dad, I want to propose something to you, mum…” Glory reaches out and takes her mother by her hands, squeezing them tightly “...I want you to move in with me.”

“Move in?” Mary seems confused by this request. “But I already have a home in Boston.”

“I know but lets be honest, we have grown apart and it doesn’t matter whether we blame the divorce or blame me, you, or dad, it doesn’t matter, point is we did grow apart.  You grew apart from my sister as well and we lost her.  I don’t want to lose you too, mum.”