November 13th, 2080. Late Evening.
Rodriguez Study Room
Randy felt Kolleen's hand wrap around his own as he shut the journal for the night. "Aw, come on Grandpa. Why can't we hear more of the story?" Charlie asked. He was playing with his hair whilst laying on the carpet on his back. Randy couldn't help but laugh, the boy's ignorance was a resemblance of his own when he was a child. "You'll all have plenty of time to hear about the story tomorrow. It's already…" he cut himself off as he attempted to find a nearby clock.
"It's six fifteen." Kolleen chimed in. "Ah, yes; thank you!" She nodded as she got up and fixed the wrinkles from her dress. Then she walked over to the kids and helped Lori off of Randy's lap and the twins off of the chair. "Come on Charlie, it's best that we get dinner fixed up so the night can begin." Charlie stood up, groaning from annoyance and then followed his great grandmother out of the study room.
The amazement was still fresh in Randy's mind. He walked towards the clock on the mantle and sure enough it read: 6:20 P.M. "That's just ridiculous, how did we sit here for over eight hours?" He turned, leaving his back towards the fireplace and gazed over at his now empty chair. Resting in his seat was the thick journal although, to him, it wasn't really a journal. No, it was more of a thick book with a fading red leather cover. He went over to it and picked it up so he could just take in the history flowing through the aged pages.
Engraved into the cover, in gold were the words: A Wrestler's Dream. Kolleen told him that this title would be simple and easy to remember and that it still fit the vast majority of the story within the pages. He could remember it like yesterday; he was sitting at the table in his old house, with a box of miscellaneous items to his left. A man in a plain black suit had just left the house with a briefcase in hand. Kolleen sat by his side at all times through thick and thin, so she was there. "What are you doing?" she asked him.
He shook his head, staring down at an almost new empty storybook. Besides the few wrinkles in the pages, it seemed to be in almost perfect shape. "My Mom was a creative person. She told me the best way to describe life is through art. Whether it is drawing, music, writing, dancing, what have you; it's an amazing thing. God gave man the mind to make the world creative, to paint something anew to destroy the horrible past. She gave me this shortly after my Dad…" He trailed off. Her grip tightened on his hand, which he gave back a light squeeze.
"Well, that's something else we have in common. Both of our dad's are no longer here. We can at least grieve with each other, right?" "I want to write this all down, you know? And if the time comes that I cannot do it on my own, please tell me you will continue it." Kolleen leaned in towards him; their lips were nearly touching when a knock came from out of nowhere. The area around them began to fade away as he was brought back to the present.
"Am I interrupting anything?" Kolleen asked. He was staring at the journal still and his eyes were somewhat glazed over. He shook his head, and rubbed his eyes until they came back into focus. She put her arms around his neck and stared him right in the eyes. "Are you okay?" A loving tone caressed her voice. At first, he wasn't responding and then he brought himself back to reality. "Yes… Yes, I'm fine. I was just remembering something about the title of this book. It took me back to the glory days."
He sat back down in his chair and pulled his wife down onto his lap. They were still holding hands while the conversation continued. "Do you remember our first kiss?" Kolleen asked. "As if it happened just yesterday, I'll never forget it. But I say we should save that for the story. I don't want the kids to expect it."
"You're such a good father Ran-Ran. You're an even greater grandfather and yet a better great grandfather. You just kept getting better and better with each generation of kids. I honestly can't believe we've obtained this age rank. I mean, look at us; you're eighty nine and I'm eighty eight. My lord, where has the time gone?" Randy shook his head, with a huge grin on his face. "I have absolutely no idea Kol, but there's one thing that I do know." "What's that?" He grabbed a hold of her chin; turning her face towards him. "You've never stopped losing your beauty and that kind heart still beats within you. You never lost that and that is exactly why I love you."
She was blushing now and tried to place her shawl around her face; he pulled it away. She leaned in and their lips met, it wasn't as fresh as the first time though. Despite this, Randy could feel the electrifying touch when their wrinkled mouths met. She felt the same as well. Finally, when they stopped, Randy noticed out of the corner of his eye, a little girl standing before them. She had an old Spongebob plush toy in her hand; it's left eye was cracked and he had a few small tears in him but it was still her favorite. "What's up Lori?" he asked. She just smiled at him, "Boys think that is gross. I think it is okay." She replied. "Come up here." Randy said, lifting the girl up from the floor. "Are you done with dinner already?" The little one nodded back, still smiling. "You've inherited your great grandmother's facial expressions, don't ever lose that!"
"Yes, but you also got your great grandfather's dark hair, and that's one of the things that I love most about him; even though it's all white now." Kolleen added in. Lori nodded, running her tiny right hand through her hair so it would go behind her ears. "You have such etiquette for a kid your age. How is that possible when you're only six years old?" "I'm seven Grandpa!" She annoyingly replied. Randy grabbed her tiny nose and pulled playfully back and forth. "I know that!" Kolleen got Randy's attention. "What's going on?" "Charlie and the twins are coming back. Do you think they have time to hear a bit more of the story?" "Sure, the night is young right? Let's continue it."
"Yay!" Lori yelled, bouncing on the old man's lap. "Simmer down young one; you have to remain calm whilst I continue this story. Come in boys, sit down and get comfortable, the story shall continue." Charlie immediately got to his butt and crossed his legs. Roy and Randal both occupied a tiny love couch to the left; they normally sat there anyways. Randy motioned for his beloved to move her head in, which she did. "Do you remember the father to the twins? His name was Gorgon Streinholme II." Kolleen asked. Randy's mind clicked instantly. "Their grandfather is Giant Animal Steel?!" Kolleen nodded and couldn't help but laugh. He looked over at the twins, and then it hit him. "Of course, now wonder they're so tall for their age. I mean, look at them. They've already almost hit Charlie's height and he's ten."
The resemblance was uncanny now. Both twins looked just like miniature versions of Gorgon. "Where is he anyway?" "He's gone for the weekend Randy. He and our granddaughter are married. Ain't that a little ironic though? How the twins just kept on coming? I mean at least one generation had twins and it seems to continue." "Indeed it does. We'll get to that though later on in this story. For now…" Randy broke off mid sentence so he could get the journal. His soul mate went and sat in her chair to his right and crossed her ankles as she waited. "It's time to continue the story. Now, I'm going to go ahead and skip past the work night since you've all heard what one typically is. Plus, I want to get into the wrestling part; it's really exciting, trust me!" And then, he picked the story up following the Thursday night shift, with all those tiny faces, and the older one staring deeply into his soul.