NaNoWriMo Story Snippets

29. Excerpt from a prequel scene to THE ARRANGEMENT

Author's note: Unedited, subject to change, etc. Someone had requested a scene showing the conversation Roman and his wife would have had before THE ARRANGEMENT began. I'm not sure whether to start a new "bonus scene" style story (since there likely wouldn't be many for THE ARRANGEMENT) or to just sneak it in the front of the existing story. I'll have to decide.

Roman had far too much experience with children, his own and those within his very large and extended family, to be comfortable with quiet. A quiet house when there were children around usually meant something had happened, was in the process of happening, or was about to happen, and whatever that something was wasn't good. He had come home to kids who had tried shaving their own heads—or their sibling's—or thought it would be a grand idea to try pouring a gallon of milk into a cereal bowl, and somehow the culprits had always managed to be quiet while committing their various atrocities.

"JoJo?" He always called for his daughter first. She was the oldest, after all, and she liked to say that gave her special privileges, but in all honesty it had been him, Galina, and Joelle for so long that they were like a family within a family. He called for his sons next, which was always hit or miss, but the house stayed suspiciously silent. Did I forget an appointment? he wondered, pulling his phone out of his gym bag to check his schedule. He had been working out around the clock to prepare for his return to WWE, and without his phone, he probably would have forgotten to eat on occasion.

When the rest of the day showed as mercifully clear, Roman frowned. It wasn't like Galina to take the kids anywhere without telling him so he didn't worry. "Hey, baby!" Galina's voice seemed extra loud in the uncharacteristic quiet. "Be right there! Meet me in the dining room!"

"Sure thing." Roman chuckled to himself and set his gym bag on the floor. That was the other possibility: that Galina had arranged for a relative to watch the kids so the two of them could have some rare and cherished alone time. Those days usually came with some sort of hint, though: flower petals on the floor, a conveniently placed receipt detailing a new lingerie purchase, a bottle of his favourite champagne on the counter. When he entered the dining room, however, there were no lit candles for a romantic dinner, no strains of sexy music in the background.

There was, however, a stack of bright white papers on the dining room table, filled from margin to margin with small print. High quality paper and thick blocks of text usually meant only one thing: paperwork. Legal paperwork.

Shit, Roman thought, his stomach dropping. Divorce papers? On one hand, he knew he should be grateful: Galina was doing it discreetly, at least, at home when they were alone. He had seen wrestlers' marriages dissolve in real time on social media or backstage, and it was never pretty.

Before he could collect himself enough to reach for the papers and read them, though, Galina strode into the room. He felt like a detective, trying to glean clues from what outfit she had on to how she moved. She wasn't wearing one of her power outfits, but she wasn't dressed casually either, so that wasn't much help; her movements were a bit brisk, but there was nothing particularly angry in her expression. "Hey, baby. Have a good workout?" She leaned in for a hug and kissed his cheek.

"Yeah...." Roman cast another furtive look around. Nothing looked like it was missing; he had heard horror stories of ex-spouses who made sure to remove prized possessions before dropping the break-up bomb on their significant other and he didn't think that was Galina's style, but he had no clue what was going on. "What's up? Where are the kids?"

"Nia and your mom took them to the beach." He must have looked terrified, because Galina patted his cheek and laughed. "Nothing's wrong, I promise. I just want to talk about something."

I just want to talk. Roman was pretty sure that ranked somewhere just under It's not you; it's me, but he nodded silently. It wasn't easy to be the wife of a wrestler, especially during the hard times when he was making his way up the roster, but Galina had stood by him through it all. If she had concerns, he needed to know what they were. "JoJo's grades okay? I know she was having problems with math there for a while."

Galina nodded, gesturing to the table. "They're fine, Roman. Honestly, nothing's wrong. Let's sit." When he hesitated, she sat first, flipping over the daunting stack of papers so it couldn't distract him.

"I—okay." Roman slowly lowered himself into the seat across from his wife, forcing himself to look at her rather than the glaring pile of paper. If things were good, you usually didn't need that much paperwork to prove it. "What do you want to talk about?" Then he remembered the last stack of papers he had received: a set of evaluation forms from WWE for Roman's various doctors to sign, confirming that he was healthy enough to return to regular competition. "Was there a problem with the doctors' paperwork?" He hadn't spotted the WWE logo on the letterhead, so he didn't think they were release papers, but maybe Galina had put something else on top to soften the blow.

"No. You're still cleared to compete." Galina's expression budged for the first time then, worry creeping into her gaze. "And you know I'm still worried about that."

"Galina, I'm good to go. You know I am." Roman gestured towards his gym bag. "I'm probably working out more often than half the current roster does when they're active. My trainer says I'm in the best shape of my life." He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "So stop worrying."

"I'm not worried about this," Galina replied, gesturing with her free hand at his arms and his chest. She worked out with him often, so she knew exactly how much work he was putting in. Sighing, she scooted her chair closer and held his gaze as she tapped his head. "I'm worried about this."

Roman frowned a bit. "There's concussion protocols and—"

"Not like that." Galina held both his hands. "I know you're physically ready, Roman. You're in better shape than anyone in that company. But I'm worried about you being... alone."

"Alone?" Roman's chuckle was warm, but Galina didn't seem reassured. "Baby, there's dozens of people on the roster. I'm friends with most of them. I have plenty of people to hang out with on road days, and then I get to come home and be with you and the kids the rest of the time." He laughed again, winking as he added, "You're not used to me being home so much. I thought you'd be glad to get me out of your hair for a while."

Galina's sombre expression softened somewhat, and she raised one of his hands to her mouth to kiss her knuckles. "I didn't mean that kind of alone."