“And to think, a certain hot yogi and her son came to see you. Guess you won’t be finding them after the match, huh?” Greg laughed when Graham growled. “Get over your bad mood. You won. The woman you want came to see you. Her kid’s basically president of your fan club. Other than almost getting burned out of the gym, it’s been a pretty good night.”
“Yeah.” Locker room candle aside, it hadn’t been a bad day. Maybe he could even convince Kara to let him take them out for a celebratory ice cream . . . if Zach could have any. He’d have to check with Kara on that.
The rest would level itself out. Brad was right. It was time to stop dicking around with the MPs and handle their business in-house.
*
KARA let Zach greet a few of the boxers, knowing he’d be safe with them while she spoke to Marianne. She didn’t know the whole team as well as she did Brad, Greg and Graham, but they were all a decent bunch of guys and didn’t mind playing up the superhero card for Zach. Having a young boy idolize them was right up their alley.
“This is insane,” Kara said as she hugged Marianne. They were bumped from behind by another hugging duo, and scooted over a bit. “Like high school graduation or something. The crowd is all over the place.”
“Welcome to the world of boxing, where first you throw a punch, and then afterward you grab a beer with the guy you just punched.” Her friend grinned, face flushed with excitement, baby-fine blonde hairs sticking to her sweat-dampened temples. “I’m going to need Brad to give me a two-hour-long hand massage, after wrapping so many wrists, fingers and ankles, but this was great.”
Marianne was in her element, that was for sure. Caring for athletes, and being a part of the team, had always been her dream. She was living it. “Well, go you.”
“Reagan’s around here somewhere. The guys will have a team meeting after this dies down a bit. Do you want to grab a drink? Oh wait, you’ve got Zach.”
“Yes, and while I lifted his grounding to attend tonight, he’s got to serve the rest of it out, no questions asked.” Why was it that nobody told you when you became a mother, your child’s punishment was just as much your punishment?
“Understood. We’ll do a rain check.” Marianne rubbed Kara’s arms briefly. “I’m glad you came, though. I saw you cover your face a few times—”
“More than a few,” Kara admitted.
“—but you stayed, so that was big. Reagan still battles back nausea half the time.”
“Speaking of our professional lady, where is she?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere talking to a media person, maybe. Or taking photos to tweet out. Who knows?” Marianne grinned as Brad walked up behind, wrapped his arms around her waist and yanked her back against his chest. “Hey, handsome.”
Sensing the couple would want some privacy, she congratulated Brad on his win, then asked if he’d seen Zach.
“I think I saw him with Graham. They were walking toward the parking lot. Probably wanted some fresh air.”
“Thanks. Great job,” she told them both, then hurried off to catch her son before he conned Graham, or someone else, into helping him extend his day off from grounding.
As she rounded the corner that would lead her to the parking lot, she heard her son’s voice. She slowed, wanting to catch him in the act of deception before accusing him.
“But you totally could have kicked his ass,” Zach said, deep confusion in his voice. Kara winced at the use of the word “ass,” but held her tongue and listened.
“Sometimes, winning early isn’t the right choice.” There was a pause, then, “There’s not always honor in kicking someone who can’t keep up. It’s a fine line between patronizing the guy—you know what patronizing means, right?”
Zach scoffed, and she could almost see his eyes rolling in the back of his head. “Yeah. I’m ten, not two.”
“A wise guy.” The amused tone of Graham’s deep voice made her smile. “You can’t patronize him, ’cause then it’s almost worse. But there’s no point in coming out and aiming for the knock out. Not when he’s got family here to watch him, and he’s working his as— sorry, butt off to compete. There’s no honor in that. So you use the chance to learn something new. Try out a new technique. Improve your footwork. It’s a chance to learn, not to kick someone whose skills aren’t up to your level and think that’ll make you feel good.”
They were both quiet, and she sensed Zach was absorbing the information. Her heart swelled a little at Graham taking the opportunity to give her son an important lesson, and in an age-appropriate way. She rounded the corner and found them both leaning against the wall across from the doors. Graham’s back was against the brick, with one knee bent and the foot flat against the wall. Zach’s posture mimicked the older man’s, and she struggled to not run up and hug him and beg him to not grow up too fast.
“Mom.” Straightening, Zach bounced over to her. Still a boy in so many ways. Just not for much longer. “Graham says we can get ice cream, and he’ll even drive all the way across town to that place we can eat at.” Meaning the one ice cream place locally that managed to cater to all his allergy requirements.