Chapter 7- All I Ask For Anymore

It was a home run when the game was tied

A pick up truck when I could drive

One pink line when Katie said I'm late

It was a passin' grade, a pretty girl

Everyone in the WWE knows that I had a wife and a daughter before I got with Nolee the first time. Samantha and I were in love, very much so. But when I came home from a tour to see her in bed with the pool boy, I knew that I couldn't stay with her anymore. The following custody battle over my princess Alanna took a lot out of both of us and eventually, we ended up getting joint custody. Anytime I was in St. Louis, I would get to see my baby girl. For a while, when I was on the road, I cared about everything but that. I cared about my friends, my job, I even cared about what the divas thought of me over what was important. I felt like a high school student again. When I was in St. Louis, I only cared for Alanna and myself. I had never thought of introducing Nolee to my daughter because I didn't know how Alanna would take to her. But now that Nolee is back with me, well, I think that it's high time that I introduce my girlfriend to my daughter. God...that sounded more awkward than it should have.

Right now, I'm driving Alanna back from her grandparents house. We have a Disney, because Alanna loves all Disney cartoons, playing in the car and she's sitting in the back seat with her barbie dolls. She looks up at me and says, "Daddy, who did you say I was going to meet again?"

"My friend Nolee," I smile, looking back at her through the rearview mirror.

All the money in the world

What mattered then kept changin' everyday

But when bow my head tonight

There'll be no me, myself, and I

She frowns, "Is it like mommy's friend Uncle Freddy?"

I have to stop myself from grimacing. Fred Roland was the man who Samantha cheated on me with. "Sort of."

"I don't like Uncle Freddy." Alanna pouts. I hated seeing my baby girl sad but I could understand it. She was still getting use to the fact that her mother and I weren't together anymore.

"You'll like Aunt Nolee," I smile softly. "She likes Disney movies just like you. Plus she likes ponies and she'll probably play Barbies with you."

"Really?" she asks, happy.

I smile, "You'll have to ask her." I pull into the driveway of the ranch that I own, the horses already put up into the barn and the crickets chirping in the woods near the house. This is what I want when I'm not on the road, my daughter and myself and possibly Nols living in a secluded area with the sounds of a country life echoing around us. I park the car in the driveway and get out of the car, going to the back to unbuckle Alanna's car seat. She sits there for a moment before outstretching her arms towards me.

"Up," she smiles.

Just watch my wife and kids please Lord

That's all I ask for anymore

Nowadays it's crazy how

A passin storm or siren sound

I pick Alanna up and she wraps her arms around my neck, resting her head on my shoulder. I walk into the house to see Nolee sitting on the couch with Blue, my basset hound, resting his head near her feet. On the television is Peter Pan, Alanna's favorite Disney movie at the moment. Nolee looks back at me and smiles, "This must be Alanna."

Alanna lifts her head off of my shoulder and looks at Nolee, regarding her for a moment. "Your Aunt Nolee?"

Nolee nods, "Yes m'am."

Alanna giggles, "I'm not a m'am! I'm a little girl! M'am's are old!"

"And how old are you?" Nolee asks, making a next segueway of the conversation.

"I'm 5," Alanna holds up her hand with her fingers and thumb up in indication of how old she is.

"Wow, you're getting to be a big girl," Nolee says, the shock in her voice actually sounding genuine though her eyes twinkling tell me she's humoring Alanna. "Did you two eat dinner yet?"

I shake my head, speaking up, "No."

"Good, I was thinking we could have an ice cream dinner and sit around and watch Peter Pan," Nolee smiles.

Alanna's eyes widen and she looks at me before looking back at Nolee, "Really? We can have ice cream for dinner?"

Can make me drop it all and pick up the phone

To hear her say that's all okay

Is all I need to know these days

Can't wait to see their faces when I get home

I smile, putting Alanna down "I guess we can if that's what my two girls want."

Alanna cheers, "Yippie! I get ice cream for dinner!"

"Why don't you run into the kitchen and pick out what you want on your ice cream," I suggest, craning my neck to glance into the other room where a variety of ice cream toppings sit on the table. She does so and I turn to Nolee, "You're serious about getting on her good side aren't you?"

"If she doesn't approve of me, we can never be a real family," Nolee says, looking away. "I...I thought that I was doing the right thing."

I put my hand under her chin and raise it to look at me, "Nolee, you're doing wonderful. I've never seen you so determined to do anything this nice."

"Yeah well when my parents died, Jerry did the same thing for me," Nolee responds. I'm silently speechless for a moment. I knew that she and Jerry were close enough that she called Jerry her uncle. I didn't know that he had taken her in. I hug her and she smiles, "What was that for?"

"I never knew..." I whisper, kissing her forehead.

"No one but me, you, Jerry, and Vince does," she replies before walking into the kitchen to be with Alanna.

And when I bow my head tonight

There'll be no me, myself, and I

Just watch my wife and kids please, Lord

That's all I ask for anymore

I enter the kitchen to see Nolee and Alanna have made the exact same sundae: chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips, whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles, and magic shell. "You eat ice cream right, Aunt Nolee. Daddy always wants me to put fruit in my ice cream and he says that vanilla is better than chocolate."

"Oh does he," Nolee smiles, "well your daddy doesn't know what's good then does he. Though, sometimes fruit is good on ice cream. Have you ever had cherries on your ice cream?"

Alanna nods, "Yes. I like cherries. But daddy likes blueberries on his."

"Ew," Nolee smiles, winking at me.

"Well you two just don't know whats good!" I stick my tongue out at them and finish fixing my ice cream: vanilla ice cream with blueberries, walnuts, whipped cream, and a single cherry on top. The three of us go into the living room and sit on the couch.

Alanna looks at Nolee and then at me, whispering in my ear, "Do you think Aunt Nolee would be mad if I sat on her lap?"

I smile and whisper back, "No, I don't think she'd mind at all."

Alanna nods and sits on Nolee's lap, who just looks at me and smiles. We all sit there, watching Peter Pan before Alanna falls asleep. Nolee looks at me and I take Alanna from her. I carry my daughter up the stairs and into her room, laying her down on the bed and covering her up with the Princess blanket on her bed. I kiss her forehead and turn off the light as I walk out of the room. I walk back downstairs where Nolee is cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen. I put my hands on her hips and smile, "You made a great impression on her."

Nolee turns and looks at me after turning the water off, "You think if we take this relationship to the next level...ever...that she'll like me?"

"I'm sure of it," I nod, kissing her sweetly. So there it is, the two most important girls in my life like each other. I'm sure there are ways that this could get better but at the moment, I can't think of any.

Let 'em outlive me by a hundred years

Let their laughter dry up all their tears

Let 'em love and be loved back like I have been

When I bow my head tonight

There'll be no me, myself, and I

Just watch my wife and kids please Lord

That's all I ask for anymore

That's all I ask for anymore