The little girl wept quietly into her pillow, not wanting to make noise. She looked over to where her teddy bear was, sitting comfortably on her chair. She sniffled, wiping her hand to her nose and stood up to get him. She was in her pretty room with her pretty bed and all her favorite dolls. However, little Sofie Sinclair was very sad.
Her mommy left to a better place, 'rejoining the universe' her Uncle Rick says, even though Sofie doesn't really understand what that means. She missed her mommy and wanted to see her. Daddy was very quiet all the time and his eyes always looked empty for these last couple of months. Uncle Rick is Daddy's younger brother and had moved in with Sofie and Daddy to keep them company. Sofie sat on her bed and hugged Paco, her teddy bear.
A soft knock sounded and Daddy opened the door quietly. He crept his head in looking towards the bed.
"Sofie? He spoke gently. "Are you okay, baby?"
"Yes. I miss mommy." She said.
"I miss her too, baby. It's okay to be sad but Daddy will be here with you, ok?" He sat down on the bed next to her, picking up her little hand.
"Daddy, Uncle Rick and Grandpa are going to watch some TV. Why don't you and Paco come sit down with us? If you fall asleep, Daddy will bring you to bed and tuck you in."
Sofie hugged her father's neck as he carried her downstairs to the living room.
"What's on?" He asked Rick as he sat down with Sofie on his lap.
"This 'Wrestlemania' is about to start. Should Sofie be watching this kind of stuff?" Rick asked.
"She'll be fine. If there are any 'no DQ' matches she'll close her eyes, right Sofie?" Grandpa asked the little girl as she hugged Paco. "Right, Grandpa!"
The four of them sat down and watched the first Wrestlemania and the men cheered and booed as wrestling history would be made. They explained the stories to Sofie and answered any queries she had. The main event started and the four watched Hulk Hogan and Mr T fight Paul Orndorff and his partner, Roddy Piper.
Sofie liked Piper and chanted "Roddy, Roddy!"
When Hogan won after Cowboy Bob Orton interfered Sofie asked why that was allowed.
"That's not fair!" She said, "He cheated! I don't like Cowboy Orton!"
The men laughed and explained that it was just for fun, that she needn't get upset.
Daddy picked up Sofie and took her to bed. He tucked her in and spoke softly to his daughter.
"Get some sleep little lady, tomorrow you've got school and Daddy has to work. I love you very much, baby." He stroked her hair and kissed her cheek goodnight.
"Daddy?" she called out as he was leaving the room.
"Yes baby?" He asked the sleepy child.
"May I always watch Roddy with you?" she asked rubbing her eyes.
"We'll see, baby. Now get to sleep." He closed the door and smiled. He had fun watching wrestling with Sofie. She was curious and enjoyed asking the three men questions. He had genuinely enjoyed the night and not once thought of how he and Sofie were all alone now.
For many years the four of them came together and watched Vince McMahon's wrestling show. They laughed over dinner and placed friendly bets, celebrating when one would win. Uncle Rick became close to Daddy again and when Grandpa expressed his wish to move in, they bought a bigger house. Sofie stopped feeling lonely and very rarely became sad over Mommy anymore.
Over the years, Daddy said the favorite part of his week was when the four would join in the living room and watch wrestling. It became their tradition and even after Grandpa died, the three would still get together to watch.
Sofie fell deeply in love with the WW(F)E and as she grew older her want to be a part of that world grew larger as well. She would do whatever it took to work with Vincent Kennedy McMahon.