Flames

"One Year Ago", part 2

Time was always relative for a wrestler. There were no 'weekends' like many jobs had, and even off-hours were often devoted to working out or doing interviews. Becky had quickly learned how to make the most of her phone's calendar and she knew their wedding anniversary was today, but the little reminder ding was still strangely sweet. Sometimes all of it—the wedding, having Roux, even just getting together with Seth—still felt surreal, and little real-world reminders reinforced that this weird, wonderful life she was living was absolutely real.

The noise startled Roux and she scampered over to her mother. "What's that?"

"It's a reminder," Becky explained. "It tells me when it's a special day. One year ago, Dada and I got married. We had a big party." As Roux clambered up onto the couch, Becky went into her phone's photo gallery and found the folder dedicated to the wedding. "You were really little, so you won't remember." That saddened her somewhat. It had been hard enough not having her father there, but the pandemic had still been a big factor and many of their friends weren't able to attend either. On one hand, it was incredible to have Roux there, but she was far too young to remember any of it. "Do you want to look at some pictures?"

"Yeah yeah!" Roux nodded so enthusiastically she almost headbutted Becky's shoulder. Since they had done so many video chats with Becky's family back in Ireland, Roux loved videos and pictures and often asked who someone was. For a while, Becky and Seth thought it was simply another inventive way to delay bedtime, but Roux listened to the stories raptly and seemed to remember most of the names and details she was told.

After adjusting the screen brightness, Becky lowered her phone so Roux could see. The album was full of photos she didn't mind sharing with friends, so she knew there was nothing in there she had to worry about. "There's Mama and Papa and—"

"Oshy!" Roux pointed at the screen and gently petted over Joshy's head. Joshy was one of her favourite honorary uncles and she loved touching his shaved head.

"Yep, that's Uncle Joshy and Auntie Jen." Becky swiped through a few more of Joshy so Roux didn't keep trying to touch the screen. "And there's Mama and Dada and Roux!" She gave an exaggerated gasp. "Look how little you were then!"

A sound at the front door made them both look up as Seth walked in with a tray of drinks from 392 Davenport. "Why do I feel like I walked in on something?" he laughed, setting the tray and his keys down as soon as Roux slid off the couch and ran over to give him a hug. "Hello, sweetheart! What are you and Mama doing?" he asked, swinging her up into a hug.

Roux pointed to her chest. "Me, Dada, Mama!"

Seth looked over her head at Becky. "Translation?" They could fill in most of the blanks in her statements, but sometimes Roux's imagination left fairly wide gaps.

Becky held up her phone. "Looking at pictures from the wedding."

"Dada pretty," Roux declared.

Another look was shot Becky's way, this one somewhat sterner. "No, Mama was pretty on our wedding day." Seth carefully kicked off his shoes and made sure the door was locked before bringing the drink tray over to the couch. Roux's special 'coffee' milk was in a child-friendly sippy cup, but the two adult coffees had sloshed over a bit on the ride home and he didn't want to spill any on Roux.

Roux seemed to think for a moment. "Mama and Dada pretty?"

Becky did her best to stifle her laugh. Roux was constantly trying to mimic their speech and she didn't want to discourage her. "That's right. Come sit, Dada."

Handing the tray to Becky, Seth sat and waited for Roux to decide where she wanted to sit before he got comfortable. She settled on his lap, holding out her hands eagerly for her drink. "One coffee for Roux," Seth called out, mimicking the baristas at the cafe. "Coffee for Roux?" Becky solemnly held out her special cup.