==========
July 13th, 2020
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
Every hero has their weakness. Every Superman
has their kryptonite. For someone who truly believes herself to be the
one true hero of professional wrestling, Glory Braddock would of course have to
have some kind of weakness. But what exactly is her weakness?
Fear.
Those who know The British Bombshell the best would
say that “fear” is an odd weakness for someone as strong and well respected as
Braddock is. Glory Braddock has faced down monsters twice her size, she
has faced down insurmountable odds and overcome them all throughout a hall of
fame career. The self-proclaimed Best in the World should have no reason
to fear anything and yet fear seems to have her paralyzed. Braddock is
paranoid and fearful primarily over the state of her mind. Her once
proud, knowledgeable, well educated mind is riddled with guilt and doubt as she
second guesses her own decisions, as she second guesses the path she has
chosen.
The path she has chosen is not unlike that of Lucky
Luciano, Paul Castellano, and Frank Costello. The path she has chosen is
that of a power hungry tyrant. A belief that she alone knows what is best
for professional wrestling and, in particular her company, has led her to
utilize bribery and blackmail in order to gain control over her wrestling
company’s Board of Directors. Then paranoia that she might lose her power
led her to having her own sister locked up, all in a ploy to paint herself as a
hero. But those closest to her know the truth. Those closest to her
can see through the facade and recognize that she is acting just like the
tyrants she used to oppose.
Whatever happened to Glory Braddock? How did
she let herself become like this? And furthermore, is there a way back
from it? Braddock isn’t even sure she wants to come back at this
point. She does enjoy the power and influence she has. She is an owner
of a wrestling company, a wrestling school, and she is an active competitor in
Supreme Championship Wrestling. Glory Braddock is arguably the most
influential wrestler in the world today and she is happy with herself.
She is happy with what she has accomplished.
Yet she realizes that it all could come crashing
down around her if she cannot get her paranoia, fear, and guilt under
control. All of this stress put upon her mind has led to a resurgence of
her post traumatic stress syndrome. She tried to strangle Meagan Collins,
a business associate she is currently blackmailing. She even nearly
assaulted her own daughter, Melinda Braddock, in a blind rage. The
British Bombshell realizes that she is losing control of herself and that she needs
help. As much as she hates to admit it, she needs help.
Her family, but more importantly her mother, had
suggested for a long time now that she see a psychiatrist. Braddock had
already been to see a psychiatrist once before as part of a plan to appease her
company’s Board of Directors but she stopped seeing the psychiatrist the moment
the Board was satisfied that she was well. Hindsight is always 20/20 and
perhaps leaving so soon wasn’t a good idea? Perhaps if she had stuck it
out these mental issues would not be a problem right now. But what’s done
is done and all Glory can do is hope a return to the psychiatrist will do the
trick.
Lucky for her. Dr. Frederick Fitzgerald was happy
to treat her again; but only on the condition that she does not stop the treatment.
Glory must continue seeing Dr. Fitzgerald until he says she is “cured”.
Braddock hates not being in control. She hates not being able to make the
final decision. But in this case she needs him and he knows it. So
reluctantly, Glory has agreed to the terms. And as promised, The British
Bombshell has returned for her second session with Dr. Frederick Fitzgerald.
Braddock is lying down on the comfortable crimson
red sofa in Dr. Fitzgerald’s office. She is wearing a set of purple
women’s dress pants, matching purple high heel pumps, a white silk blouse, and
a purple blazer. Yes, Glory really likes the color purple. Her long
blonde hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length. The rest of the office
is small and drab with navy blue carpeting and two gray chairs that look rather
uncomfortable. Dr. Fitzgerald himself sits in a black swivel chair behind
a light brown desk. He has a pen in hand and a notepad on the desk ready
to take notes as they proceed with this session.
“I must admit that I am pleasantly surprised that
you returned, Ms. Braddock.”
“I told you that I would. Didn’t you believe
me?”
“You left without a word to me the last time, Ms.
Braddock. And you have made it abundantly clear what you think about
this, and knowing how stubborn you can be made me doubt your sincerity.”
Even Glory herself cannot help but smirk at
this. The truth is that Glory Braddock is indeed very stubborn but she
gets it honestly. She gets the stubborn streak from her mother’s side of
the family. Mary Ford and her sister, Kelly Jones, the mother of Glory’s
cousins Angelica and Kayla Jones, were just as stubborn as Glory, if not more
so. Realizing that the psychiatrist raises a valid point, The British
Bombshell nods her head.
“Fair enough.”
“I’m sure you’re anxious to get started, but before
we do I want to stress upon you that this is not a quick fix. That was
your mistake the last time. You thought this session was a quick fix to a
problem you had. This very well could take a long time before you are
fully healed. Are you prepared to go the distance this time and not...how
is it that you put it in your business...tap out?”
Braddock rolls her eyes as she knows that he said
that to push her buttons. She won’t be easily provoked though. “I’m
in it for the long haul, mate. Trust me.”
“Good, so let’s begin with a simple question; what
is it that you fear the most?”
“Seriously?” Glory
asks incredulously. The psychiatrist nods his head.
“Yes. From what you told me you have done
some very serious things from bribery, blackmail, and you had your sister
locked up in a sanitarium on trumped up charges. There must be a reason
for this and I believe it is fear. You are afraid of something.
What is it that you are afraid of? What scares you so much that it drove
you to take such drastic actions?”
“This is bloody ridiculous! You know damn
well why I did all that crap because we’ve been through this before!”
“Humor me.”
“Fine.”
Braddock sighs, rolling her eyes. “I did that because I was afraid of losing
my company.”
There is a long pause as Glory stares up at the
ceiling, waiting for the psychiatrist’s response. After several tense
moments she hears a response she wasn’t expecting.
“You’re lying.”
“What?!” Glory
swings her legs over the side of the sofa and stares a hole through Dr.
Fitzgerald.
“You’re lying and I know you’re lying because
you’re right, we have been through this before. You told me during our
last sessions, the ones you skipped out on too early, that you were afraid of
losing your company and even then I had my doubts that it was as simple as
that. What you have done since then, what brings you back to me today,
the mere fact that you problems persist, confirms in my mind that I was
right. There is a deeper fear inside of you that is driving this whole
thing, Ms. Braddock.”
“Well then what the bloody hell do you think it
is?!”
“I don’t know. Only you can answer that.”
“Then what the hell am I paying you for?!” Braddock
exclaims angrily.
“Just lean back and relax, ok?”
“Is this that hypnotherapy crap?”
“Just relax.”
“Fine!” Braddock
sighs as she lies back down on the sofa and does her best to relax. Dr.
Fitzgerald presses a button on his desk and soft, relaxing, classical music
begins to play in the background. The psychiatrist then begins in
earnest…
“Just relax. Empty your mind. Take a
few breaths to calm yourself. Think of nothing. Listen to the
music. The soft, soothing music.”
Glory is still skeptical of this but she does feel
somewhat more comfortable right now than she did earlier. The anger she
had been feeling and frustration that had been building up is beginning to die
down as she takes the deep breaths, as she listens to the soft soothing
music. After nearly a minute of total silence...except for the music,
that is...Dr. Fitzgerald begins to speak out again.
“Honesty, Ms. Braddock. Think only of honesty
because that is important to recovery.”
“Honestly.” Glory
says, her voice sounding somewhat distant.
“Yes, honesty. Now tell me, honestly, what is
it that you truly fear?”
“Failure.”
“Interesting.” The
psychiatrist is somewhat surprised by this response but he does not doubt
it. Still, how could someone as successful as Glory Braddock fear
failure? He decides to press further. “Explain, Ms.
Braddock. Why is it that you fear failure?”
“Failure has been a part of my family. My
dad’s marriage failed because he was obsessed with his career. My dad’s
dream of competing in the Olympics as a wrestler failed because he got injured
in a match. My sister failed to handle the pressures of the spotlight and
the stress of living up to the Braddock name so she became a drug user. I
failed to help my sister deal with her drug use. And ultimately I failed
to stop Aphrodite Noel. Then I failed my company once and lost control of
it to an enemy of the family.”
Tears form in Glory’s eyes as she pauses just
momentarily. “Failure after failure have littered my family’s past.”
“So you chose self-destructive methods to deal with
your failures?”
“I didn’t view what I did as
self-destructive. One thing I learned from my dad is to never stop
learning and to always learn from your mistakes. So I learned from the
one person who had defeated me...Aphrodite Noel…”
“I understand the logic, learning from one who
bested you, but you must understand that everyone will make mistakes. So
why did you take such drastic actions? Why go to her?”
“Everyone makes mistakes but I’m NOT everyone!” Glory
exclaims loudly. “I strive for nothing but the best. I strive for
perfection. If there is a flaw it must be eliminated, that’s how my dad
trained me. We would not stop our training sessions until I did whatever
exercise he asked of me perfectly. So I went to Aphrodite to become
perfect, to fix the mistakes I made. I became her daughter and I began to
learn from her…”
Dr. Frederick Fitzgerald nods his head as he takes
this all in. He knew most of this but never knew it went as deep as it
did. Fitzgerald decides that this is enough for now. He presses the
button again and the music stops. “Ok, Ms. Braddock, sit up.”
“Huh?” Glory
swings her legs over the side of the sofa and sits up. She turns and
looks at the psychiatrist. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just want to ask you a few more
questions...about Ms. Noel…”
“No…”
“Ms. Braddock, it is imperative that we…”
“No, you told me all I needed to do was be
honest. I think I’ve been very honest today.”
“But you cannot avoid difficult subjects. It
is unhealthy for our mind to keep bottling it up. Look at what it made
you do.”
“I know damn well what it made me do, doctor, and I
admit, I need to talk about this, but not now.” Braddock
shakes her head. “Not now.”
“Why not? What are you afraid of?”
“You already know...failure…”
Dr. Fitzgerald nods his head. “At least you’re
willing to admit what the real problem is. You must understand, Ms.
Braddock, that failure isn’t a problem. Everyone makes mistakes and no
one is perfect.”
“But I have to try to be perfect…”
“That’s fine, but you must always remind yourself
that you will never BE perfect. If you hold yourself up to too high of a
standard you could be in for a huge letdown and that could lead to further
stress. I believe this failure is what brings about your post traumatic
stress. Any reminder of your failure triggers it.”
“I know…”
Braddock reaches up to wipe tears from her eyes “...and that’s why I need a
break.”
“But we just got started?”
“Please?”
The psychiatrist sighs but eventually relents. “Fine,
let’s take a break.”
Dr. Frederick Fitzgerald gets up and exits the
room, shutting the door behind him. When he is gone Glory Braddock buries
her face in her hands and begins to cry.
==========
Two Hours Later
Off Camera
==========
Glory Braddock wanted to leave the psychiatric
session with Dr. Fitzgerald so badly. He had managed to get inside of her
head in a way that very few have managed. It frightened her to the extent
that she considered stopping this altogether but then she thought about the
commitment she made. She promised to finish these sessions, she promised
to trust Dr. Fitzgerald with his work, even if it did make her feel
uncomfortable. And yes, today definitely made her feel very uncomfortable
because it hit her where it hurts the most...her pride.
Most professional athletes are very proud,
especially those who come from famous wrestling families like Glory
Braddock. But The British Bombshell feels a great pressure to be exactly
what she claims to be: The Best in the World. Anything less is
unacceptable. These failures that she has had in her past are haunting
her and are causing her to lose focus and to lose control. These failures
and the fear of those failures are causing the PTSD to kick back in.
Glory realizes that now but she feels helpless. She realizes that she is
not the hero she once was, that she has become the tyrant she once opposed, but
she cannot figure out how to make things right.
To make matters worse, Glory Braddock is still
adding more guilt to her already overburdened conscience. The British
Bombshell lied to her family about these psychiatric sessions. She never
told anyone that she did agree to return to Dr. Fitzgerald. She wants
people to think that she is strong enough to defeat this on her own. She
doesn’t want anyone to believe that The Best in the World needs any help.
So she’s been lying about this ever since it began. So now she must sneak
back into her own home and avoid the family so as to not create any doubt or
suspicion.
The sunlight is just beginning to fade away into
the distance as nighttime takes hold in Miami, Florida. The session ran
longer than Braddock would have hoped. She told her husband Kurt and
daughter Melinda that she was going out to “run errands”...very vague but it
satisfied them. But she’s been gone for far too long. Braddock is
concerned that they will be suspicious. She doesn’t want them asking where
she’s been. She needs to get back in without anyone noticing.
“The British Bombshell” Glory Braddock walks
furiously up the sidewalk that leads to the front door of her gorgeous, modern
Miami home. The house looked like a cut out from a magazine. It was
beautiful. but not in the old-world quaint kind of way. Everything was
geometric, which you could say about almost any pitched roof abode with square
windows, but on this house you couldn't help but notice it. The roof was flat
for a start and the door as wide as it was tall. The windows took up entire
walls with only polished steel beams to break them into yet more rectangles.
The look would have been entirely metallic, like a mini down-town skyscraper
had it not been for the cedar beams of the external porch and the matching
raised plant beds that contained only white blooms. It looked new,
because The British Bombshell took very good care of it; or rather she paid
people to take care of it. It looked like it had been finished last week.
It looked almost too new in some strange way. It was as if it had rolled off a
production line, but they had forgotten to apply the mandatory layer of color
to it.
Braddock very quietly opens the door and then just
as quietly and as silently as she can shuts it, avoiding any and all noises so
as to not disturb the household. Glory begins to walk quietly towards the
staircase leading to the second floor when a voice calls out to her…
“Now I see where I get it from…”
Glory is startled at first but then she recognizes
the voice. She sighs as she realizes it is her daughter, Melinda
Braddock. The British Bombshell turns and heads in the direction of the
voice. She enters the living room; which is a gorgeous, sleek modern
design much like the home’s exterior. It is also clean; almost to
perfection with barely a spot and even if one exists, it isn’t
noticeable. The cream colored sofa is soft, comfortable, and plush.
It is situated in front of a large flat screen television mounted on the wall
above a fireplace. The fireplace does seem slightly out of place as it is
the only piece in this living room that looks relatively traditional. It
isn’t used often; this is Miami, after all. Sitting in a comfortable
recliner with her feet propped up is her daughter, nineteen year old Melinda
Braddock.
“Mel?”
“Now I see where I get it from.” Melinda
says, repeating herself. “I couldn’t sneak in worth a shit either. At
least I get it honest.”
“Watch the language, Mel.”
“I will as soon as you start telling the truth.”
“Oh bloody hell…” Glory
feels the frustration boiling over as she shakes her head with utter
disbelief. She starts to turn around to walk away but Melinda stands up
out of the recliner and stops her.
“We’re not done.”
“I say we are.” Glory
remarks pointedly. “Now is not the time to start anything.”
“I think it’s the perfect time. I mean, last
year you were lecturing me about sneaking out all the time whether it was on a
date with Clyde or whether it was with Matthew to train. You were pissed
at me for keeping that from you. But then you turn around and do the same
thing?”
Braddock’s temper begins to boil over again but she
still manages to keep herself in check. She doesn’t like being reminded
of last year when Melinda was involved in a relationship with Clyde Sutter, nor
does she want to think about Matthew Taylor training Melinda behind Glory’s
back.
“This is different. I was worried about you
and rightfully so.”
“How is this different? I was worried about
you. Kurt was worried about you.”
“I told you I went out to run an errand…”
“It shouldn’t take you that long.”
Melinda shakes her head as she points this out. Then a smirk forms upon
her youthful face. “And that excuse was a very lame one, mom.
Seriously? How much more vague can you be?”
“As vague as I want to be.” Glory
tries to leave the room but Melinda again jumps in her way.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Where the hell
were you?”
“None of your business, Mel. Now get out of
my way.”
“Were you out conducting more criminal activity?”
“Criminal what?! You have some nerve accusing
your own mother of criminal activity.”
“Why? I mean, I’m probably right. How
else except criminal activity did you manage to get Aunt Julia thrown into a
mental asylum? In fact, that’s probably what you were doing, weren’t
you? Plotting against Aunt Julia to silence her once and for all.”
The British Bombshell had done a thoroughly good
job of controlling herself up until this point. But everyone has their
breaking point or, in this case to use the term Dr. Fitzgerald used, “a
trigger”...and Glory Braddock has been triggered. Without any real
thought Glory lunges towards her daughter with wicked intent but Melinda
manages to take her down with an arm drag into an arm bar. Melinda keeps
in wrenched in tightly. Unfortunately the noise woke up Kurt Logan.
Glory’s husband is heard rushing down the stairs. He makes his way into
the living room and spots Melinda and Glory on the floor.
“Glory! Melinda! What the hell..?!”
Melinda is too stunned to answer. Even she
wasn’t expecting herself to so naturally, almost as if on instinct, take her
own mother down. She releases her grip on Glory and slowly pushes her
back up to her feet.
“Uh, I’m sorry...it’s just…she…”
“No, Mel.” Glory
says as she takes her husband Kurt’s hand and helps herself to her feet. “It’s
not your fault.”
“Will someone mind telling me what the hell just
happened?”
The British Bombshell gazes deep into her husband’s
loving eyes. She can see the worry and concern that is eating him
alive. Glory then sees the same worry and concern in her own daughter’s
eyes. Braddock realizes that she caused this, all of this, and this just
adds more guilt to her already overwhelmed conscience. Glory sighs and
motions to the sofa.
“Come on, sit down. I owe you both an
explanation.”
Glory Braddock leads Kurt and Melinda over to the
sofa. Glory sits down first followed by Kurt who sits down on her right
side. Melinda Braddock sits down to her mother’s left. The British
Bombshell sighs deeply as she prepares for what she knows will be a difficult
admission.
“My post traumatic stress...it’s back...in fact, I
don’t think it ever truly left.”
“I thought your psychiatrist, Dr. Fitzgerald, I
thought he said you were cured?”
“No. I lied.” Braddock
shakes her head. “I just never went back to see him. But now the PTSD
is worse than ever and it’s harder for me to control. I lost control just
now and went after Melinda. She was just defending herself.”
Glory turns and looks at Melinda. “I’m sorry…”
“It’s ok, mom.”
Glory turns and looks over at her husband.
“Kurt…”
“You know what you need to do, right?”
“I know and that’s what I’ve been doing.
That’s why I was late tonight. I was out seeing Dr. Fitzgerald.”
“Why didn’t you just tell us that’s what you were
doing? We would have understood.” Kurt
asks. Glory sighs and shakes her head.
“Yes but you don’t understand where I’m coming from
here, love. I am Glory Braddock. I am The Best in the World.
I have conquered the wrestling world and the business world. I shouldn’t
need anyone’s help. I should be strong enough to beat this on my own,
damn it!”
“You are the best but you’re not perfect.”
Kurt says softly as he gently takes Glory’s hand and squeezes it tightly.
Braddock pulls it away as she shakes her head.
“But I should be…” Glory
gets up and walks away. Kurt and Melinda watch her exit the living room
in silence but sharing the same thought: what happened to Glory Braddock?
The beautiful blonde makes her way upstairs slowly,
trudging with her head bowed in shame at what she did tonight. She
shouldn’t have attacked her daughter but she lost control. She shouldn’t
be losing control. None of this is right and Glory doesn’t see a solution
in sight. The psychiatrist, Dr. Fitzgerald, has made progress but this
isn’t quick enough for Glory. She needs more. She is The Best in
the World and she should be able to conquer this on her own. She should
be able to tackle this on her own.
As Braddock gets to the second level of her Miami home
she gets an idea. She goes into her bedroom and picks up the
landline. She immediately dials a number and waits patiently for an
answer. A smile creeps across her face.
“Yes, mom...do you mind coming down to Miami
Saturday?”
==========
July 18th, 2020
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
Guilt and fear can be crippling and in the case of
“The British Bombshell” Glory Braddock, this fear and guilt have been doing
damage to her psyche. Mentally she is feeling so much pressure and stress
than she has ever felt. This added pressure, stress, along with the guilt
and fear, have all come together in a perfect storm to trigger a resurgence of
the post traumatic stress she had been dealing with for several years.
Braddock was determined to beat this on her own, she was determined to fix
herself without the assistance of any specialist in the field of mental
help. It was her pride that was getting the best of her. She is,
after all, The Best in the World. Surely she can overcome something like
this on her own?
Yet thus far she has been unable to manage it as
well as she had thought she would. Earlier in the year she snapped and
tried to strangle her business associate Meagan Collins. Then she snapped
and nearly strangled her own daughter. That was what ultimately prompted
her to finally relent and see a psychiatrist again. The British Bombshell
had hoped that seeing the psychiatrist would finally settle her problems but
then, earlier this week, Braddock again lost control and went after her daughter.
Control is important to The British Bombshell. She enjoys the feeling of
being in control and the fact that she has seemingly lost control is most
troubling to say the very least. But how did it get this bad? Maybe
the better question is, what happened to Glory Braddock?
The symptoms of her change have been obvious for
just about everyone except for Glory herself. The British Bombshell has
always prided herself on being the true hero of professional wrestling.
She has always prided herself on being willing to do anything for the best of
professional wrestling. Buying a wrestling promotion and then owning and
operating her father’s wrestling school were both great ideas at first but then
when she began bribing and blackmailing her enemies all just to maintain
control over her corporate empire, all because she felt she alone knew what was
best for her corporate empire, that is when things went too far. How did
she become a paranoid tyrant? How did this happen?
The British Bombshell wants to get this
straightened out once and for all and seeing a psychiatrist is only part of the
solution. The stubborn streak that she naturally inherited not only from
her mother Mary Ford but also from her bull headed late father Glenn Braddock
has caused her to attempt to seek out another potential solution. Why
must she only see a psychiatrist when Glory herself knows already part of the
problem?
Part of the problem is the damaged relationship
between her and her mother, Mary Ford.
Glory had bottled up an intense resentment of her
mother over the divorce of Glenn Braddock and subsequent abandoning them to
live in Boston, Massachusetts with her sister Kelly and nieces Angelica and
Kayla Jones. Mary’s logic and reason was certainly understandable.
Glenn Braddock was too obsessed with wrestling. He put wrestling as his
number one priority, even over his own family. Most sane women would
probably leave over this; but Glory never understood. She hated growing
up without a mother. She hated how she was different from every other
child, most of whom had both parents but she only had her father. She
only had Glenn Braddock because Mary never visited.
Most would understand Glory’s perspective as
well. Most would understand why she felt justified in her anger and
resent towards her mother. But that resentment and bottled up anger
helped turn her into this tyrant. It helped bring about these changes
within Glory Braddock. The British Bombshell knows that rebuilding that
bond with her mother is a necessary part of fixing herself once and for
all. That process already begun last week when Mary and her daughter went
to Sunday Mass at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Miami, Florida.
This was a small way for Glory to reach out with an
olive branch of peace towards her mother. Glory remembers very little of
the time she spent with her mother as a child, for she was very young when they
split up. But one of the things she does recall is the fierce battle over
religious issues that her mother and father had. Glenn Braddock was a
fierce English patriot in about as many facets as you can imagine, including
the religious. He was an active member of the Church of England and he
often argued with his wife Mary, a devout Roman Catholic, over their religious
differences. Glory remembers how her father put his foot down and refused
to let his daughter go anywhere near a Catholic Church. So perhaps
visiting a Catholic Church with her mother is a way they can bond again?
Their first visit to Corpus Christi was an eye
opening moment for The British Bombshell. It even inspired her to finally
go back and see the psychiatrist Dr. Fitzgerald in an attempt to fix her mental
issues. Glory was so moved by the service that she donated one thousand
dollars to the church right on the spot. And now?
Now she’s prepared to do something bigger…
Glory Braddock now walks side by side with her
mother towards the office building of Corpus Christi Church. It is a
small, bland, rectangular building made out of red brick. Nothing special
about it whatsoever. It’s dull appearance is a drastic contrast to the
fantastic Gothic architecture of the church itself, Glory notices.
Braddock is wearing a little purple dress that hugs her every curve and matching
purple high heeled patent leather pumps. Mary is wearing an ankle length
black skirt, black high heel pumps, and a white silk blouse.
“Gloria, I’m a little confused…” Mary
says her voice trailing off a little.
“What about, mom?”
“I enjoyed lunch with you, Glory, and don’t get me
wrong, I do enjoy spending time with you. But what are we doing
here? Mass doesn’t start for a few hours.”
“I thought you religious types always said you can
worship God anywhere and anytime?” Glory
remarks with a sly grin on her face. Mary sighs deeply and shakes her
head.
“Of course you can, Glory, but…”
“It’s ok, mom. I’m just teasing you.”
“That’s all well and good, but I still don’t
understand what we’re doing here.”
“Look, you said it yourself, we both need
this. I need a relationship with you, I need a bond with my mother, a
bond I never got growing up. And you need this so you can move on from
the guilt you felt after dad passed away. The important thing is that we’re
doing things together, ok?”
“Sure, whatever you say.”
Mary is reluctant as she follows her daughter to
the front door of the tiny office building. Glory opens it and steps
inside followed by her mother. What Glory has planned isn’t too spectacular
but she still wants it to be kept a secret because she believes this will be a
pleasant surprise for her mother. Glory Braddock intends to become a
Catholic and that is why she is here to meet with the priest of Corpus Christi,
Father Sebastian.
The thing is, a desire to be closer to her mother
isn’t what is driving her to this decision. The guilt Glory feels in her
mind is partially driving this decision. She believes that giving her
life and soul to the church, and maybe just a little money as well, will wipe
away the guilt she feels. Maybe this will help clear her guilty
conscience?
The office building is just as small on the inside
as it is on the outside, if not smaller. Thus Glory almost immediately
spots a door marked “Fr. Sebastian”. Realizing that this is his office
Glory leads her mother towards the door. She knocks and a few moments
later it is opened and the two women are greeted by the young priest Father
Sebastian.
“Ms. Braddock, welcome!”
“Thank you, Father. I hope you don’t mind
that I brought my mom along with me?”
“Not at all.”
Sebastian steps aside and motions for the two to enter. Glory and Mary
nod and then follow suit, entering the room. There are two gray barely
cushioned chairs in front of Father Sebastian’s oak desk. Glory and Mary
occupy these seats while Sebastian takes his seat at the oak desk.
“Mary...Mary Ford, is that right?” Sebastian
asks Mary. She nods her head.
“Yes, Father.”
“Well, Ms. Ford, may I say that you raised a fine
daughter. Do you have any idea what she has agreed to do for the church?”
“Oh it was nothing…”
Glory shakes her head, blushing in some semblance of embarrassment.
“What did she do, Father?”
“She agreed to finance the entire remodeling of our
Family Life Center, which is in desperate need of remodeling if I do say so
myself.”
“Glory?” Mary
is somewhat surprised by this news. Glory just nods her head in
confirmation of what Mary just heard.
“It’s the least I can do to help make up
for...well...you know…”
“Make up for what?”
Father Sebastian is now curious.
“I haven’t always made the best of decisions,
Father. I haven’t always been a decent, good person. In fact,
recently I’ve done some things that I am not necessarily proud of. This
is a way I think I can give back. I can make things right.”
Mary is shocked. Father Sebastian, while at
first pleased by the donation to the church now seems somewhat disappointed in
what Glory just told him. The priest sighs as he leans back in his chair.
“Ms. Braddock, I hope you realize that if
forgiveness is what you seek, then this isn’t the right way to do it. If
the Reformation and Counter Reformation taught us anything it was that you
cannot just simply buy your way into eternal salvation.”
“I understand, Father. That’s why I also
wanted to ask if I could…” her voice trails off.
“If you could do what?”
“If I could join the church.”
Mary’s eyes grow wide as the next bombshell is
dropped. Glory ignores her mother’s reaction and just waits for what the
priest has to say. Father Sebastian nods his head.
“You can most definitely join the church but I must
ask, are you joining for the right reasons?”
“Yes.”
“I hope that is true, but just so you understand
what it is you are asking, and so you can faithfully and truthfully examine
your own conscience, I will get a book for you to read. It goes into
detail about our Catholic faith and what will be expected.”
Father Sebastian gets up out of the chair and then
exits the office. As soon as he is gone Mary turns and gazes intensely at
her daughter.
“Gloria...what on earth brought this about?”
“I already told you, we both need this. We
both need this relationship repaired. This is one idea I had to help us
bond, a way we can grow closer together.”
“I suppose that both of us being Catholic would
bring us closer together but like Father said, is that really the right
reason? And the same can be asked about these unheard of donations you’re
making to the church.”
“I need to do this, mom.”
“Why?”
“I just need to do it, ok?”
Glory is beginning to grow more and more frustrated. Mary can tell as she
looks on at her daughter, studying her intensely. After several tense
moments pass Mary speaks up.
“Glory, you feel guilty. I understand.
And as happy as I am that we will be spending more time together, as a mother I
still have to advise you that seeing a psychiatrist for your issues is the best
way to solve your problems. Throwing money at it won’t help.”
“I know…” Glory
says quietly, nodding her head “...and yes, I have been seeing a
psychiatrist.”
“Good.” Mary
takes Glory by her hands. “As much as I want you part of my life, this isn’t
the end all be all solution. A professional will give you the help you
need.”
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