NaNoWriMo Story Snippets

70. Excerpt from FLAMES

For Camp NaNoWriMo, so it's unedited, etc

"You wrote a book, Mama?" Judging from the awe and surprise in Roux's voice, she clearly thought it was an incredible feat, and Becky was inclined to agree. It wasn't just that she had done a complete overhaul on the book; Becky had also made the decision to show the good and bad, the highs and lows, the struggles and the times where she was definitely in the wrong. It had been exhausting, both physically and emotionally, and with the book-signing tour coming up—right before WrestleMania, no less—things weren't slowing down any time soon.

"I did." Becky picked up her daughter and showed her the stacks of books on the dining table. She had already signed the bookplates and sent them back to the company that was selling signed copies of her books. Most of the copies she was giving to friends and family were already signed and ready to go; it was only the livestream signing she had left to do. "That's what Mama was always doing on the computer when she was typing."

Roux glanced at all the piles slowly, eyes wide with wonder. "Did you write all of them?"

Becky kissed her daughter's head before setting her back down. "These are all copies of the same book," she explained. "And you're in it too! Did you want to see?"

"Yeah!" Roux was already running for the couch, treating it like story time.

Becky grabbed a copy off the pile of ones for friends. If it somehow got damaged, a friend would be more forgiving than a stranger who had paid a significant sum to have it autographed. "Look! You and Dada are mentioned right at the start, because you're so important." She pointed to the last lines of the dedication and started to read them. "To my husband, Colby—"

"That's Dada," Roux interrupted with a hint of confusion. Most kids only knew their parents by two names: their legal name and something like Mom or Dad. Roux also knew their ring names, of course, and juggling all three could be a hassle.

"That's right. To my husband, Colby, and my daughter, Roux, Becky continued, already feeling her eyes getting misty, "for giving me a life and love beyond those wild dreams." As she sniffled, she kissed the top of Roux's head. "Thank you, Roux. I couldn't have done this without you."

Roux beamed and snuggled up to her side. "Are there pictures?"

"There are!" Becky paged ahead to the photo section. She wouldn't completely avoid the mirror selfie, but she wasn't going to deliberately show it to her daughter either; Roux would undoubtedly see it soon enough. "That's me on Halloween," she began, pointing to the first picture. "I was a werewolf." Then she flipped to the next pages. "And here's me and Uncle Richy ready to go to school."

Roux was already trying to turn the page. "And Grandpa?"

"That's right." Becky lingered on that page for a moment. There were so many pictures of her father she could have included—that she wanted to include—but she tried to limit herself. She hardly wanted to start bawling at book signings every time she caught a glimpse of the photos, after all. Clearing her throat, she flipped ahead a bit. It meant skipping over some of her favourite pictures with her friends, but it also meant avoiding the mirror selfie. "And here you are! That's when you were in my belly," Becky explained, pointing to the picture of her and Seth on their babymoon. Then she tapped the photo below it. "And that's just after you were born."

Roux looked at the picture for a long moment. "You look sleepy. Did you have a nap?"

Becky laughed. "It was a long day, but I got to meet you, so it was all worth it. And yes, I did have a lovely nap afterwards." Turning to the next page, she couldn't help but smile. "And here's when Dada and I got married! That was a fun day."

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