"Good Mac, good." Doc Louis nodded in approval. "Work that bag. Keep at it."

Sweat flowed down Mac's face. The black body bag stood in front of him once again. One more chance to develop a better form. Once more chance to last longer. Move faster. Hit harder. Do better. Be better. Maintain form. Move the feet. Drop the hips. Punch. Punch. Move. Keep the hands up. Circle the bag. Move the head. Watch breathing. Don't punch until you're absolutely set. Stay on the ball of the feet. Power comes from the entire body. Keep going. Keep going. Maintain form. Move the feet.

"Keep that up Mac, I'll be right back." Doc walked to the other side of the gym. He felt his hands tingle in anticipation. Hopefully, Mac was up to the challenge. Going to one of the cabinets, he opened it up and pulled out white boxing gauze and some scissors. He mumbled a little tune to himself as he started wrapping his hands. "There must some kind of way outta here..."

"Hey Mac, that's enough!" Doc shouted from behind, breaking Mac's concentration.

"Huh?" He turned around, puzzled. "Doc, I was only at it for 15 minutes. Something wrong?"

"Nothing at all, boy," Doc replied. "You know, someday all boxers have to move from a bag to something that can fight back." Doc decided. "And for you, today's that day. It's time for you to spar with me."

"Y-Y-YOU?" Mac's jaw dropped. "Are you sure?"

"What, you scared?" Doc Louis reached for his brown gloves, dusting them off. "Surely someone in your shape can take an old man like me."

"It-It'sa just, just that, I wasn't expecting this." Mac could barely stammer a response.

"Challenges can come at any time, Mac. You gotta be ready for 'em." Doc climbed the steps and made his way into the ring. "I wouldn't be doing this to you if I didn't think you were ready."

Mac gulped, looking up at the man standing in the middle of the ring. His felt weaker than they did a second ago. He couldn't even take a step forward, instead bouncing in place with a nervous energy. "I mean...wow. You might be the greatest boxer of all time."

"I was, in a past life, kid." The words came off of Doc's lips a little more sadder than he had intended. "But those days are over. And now, I'm just a fat guy in a dusty gym in Manhattan. I'd rather you fight with me before you fight for a contract. Now get in here, show me what you're made of."

Taking a deep breath, Mac stepped forward, sliding underneath the bottom rope.

"Don't hold back, I sure won't." Doc stretched his body, bouncing in place trying to warm up.

"Okay, you got it." Mac got into his fighting stance.

"Woah there son, the bell hasn't rung yet," Doc said.

"Oh, sorry."

"You're too tense." Doc bent down and tried to touch his toes, almost being able to reach them. "Don't get tunnel-vision, that's how you miss things that could help you out in a fight. Loosen up a little. There's a procedure for starting boxing matches. Both fighters walk to the center of the ring, they touch gloves to show respect, they walk back, the bell gets rung, and then it's on."

Doc walked to the end of the ring, going to a giant time. "Let me just set this for 5 minutes..." Pressing the button, he slid it out the ring, making sure it hit the bell on its way down.

"Get ready to study hard, Mac. This is called 'Old School'." He gave a hearty laugh.

"Uhhh, if you say so," Mac said.

"Keep it clean." He said, touch gloves with Mac. "Let's go."

Mac touched gloves, then took two steps back, getting into his orthodox stance. Doc did the same, the pair matching stances.

"Keep 'em up." Doc threw the first punch. A straight left jab. Mac raised his gloves in front of his face, covering up to try to absorb the blow.

The impact made him rear his head back, take a step or two backward. In all of their training, Doc had never shown this amount of power. Had Doc been working out? Or had he been babying Mac the whole ti-

A right hook came sailing in. By the time Mac realized it, it was too late. Doc's larger size put him at an elevated position advantage. Bringing his right fist down like a sledgehammer, the glove smashed into Mac's ear before drilling into the rest of his head.

"Aaaaaah!" Mac stumbled to the right. Damn, that hurt.

"Come on Mac, you gotta move!" Doc held himself back, keeping his instincts at bay. He should have followed up with a flurry of punches and go for a knockout. But he shouldn't have gotten this far, at least not this fast. "You're too fast for an old man to be slapping your head around. You in a fight now kid, come on! Let's go! Pick it up!" If he was going to give Mac time to recover his bearings, he was at least going to shout some sense into him.

Mac got his form back. He'd been distracted. Doc was right. Being so tunnel vision on just one punch had cost him.

"Look for an opening and attack, Mac!" Doc threw a left jab. Mac raised his gloves to block it. Again the force pushed him back. Doc turned up the pressure. This was a flaw, and he had to expose it. Left jab. Left jab. Left jab. Mac kept backpedaling until he felt something hit his back. He turned his head and looked back, finding himself pressed against the ropes. Turning back around, Mac saw a brown glove an inch from his face. OH SHI-

Doc pulled his punch back, shaking his head. "Never, ever, take your eyes off your opponent. Mac, you've been in this ring before. You know there are ropes, and if you go backward enough, you're gonna hit them. I'll let you off the hook this time Mac, but I won't next time, and trust me, the punches you don't see coming hurt the most."

They moved back to the center. "If something ain't working Mac, don't keep doing it. There's more than one way to skin a cat. Utilize your advantages and use them to win.

Mac nodded. "I understand." They got back into their stances.

Let's change it up a little. See what he does. Doc went for a right cross, turning his body to the left with the punch.

Mac saw it coming, feeling it charge at him with the force of a freight train. I have to dodge that.

Mac juked to the left, sidestepping the blow. Doc was wide open. Mac threw his left jab, aiming at the right side of Doc's fast. If he could get him once...

Doc tucked his head in, his left glove coming in to block the punch.

"What?"Mac stepped back. He couldn't believe it. He was faster than Doc and had the better angle on him. How could he have blocked that punch?

"You think you're the only one that's going to use his advantages in a fight?" Doc asked, getting back into his form. Mac might have been faster, but Doc had the considerable size advantage. And even better, he had instincts. He knew exactly where Mac was gonna place that punch.

"You were right to dodge Mac, and right to punch too. But you gotta keep going. This is a fight. If you see an opening, take it. You shouldn't have let up on me. Let's go!" Doc threw another left jab. Mac stepped back, getting out of Doc's range.

Doc stepped up, going after Mac. Left jab. Left jab. Left jab. Instead of going straight back, Mac circled around Doc, trying to use his speed to move around and stay near the center of the ring.

Doc started moving sideways, always keeping his jab ready. Slowly moving forward. Mac kept his distance, staying out of range. Doc kept moving sideways.

As Mac looked behind Doc, he realized the corner on the other side of the ring was getting farther and farther and farther away. He's cutting off the ring from me! He realized. It was only a matter of time before he hit the ropes or the corner. He had to do something, fast. There had to be an opening somewhere, but where? Doc blocked a punch to the face, and Mac couldn't move to the side or else he'd hit the ropes, so what on earth could he possibly do to get out of this?"

"What's your move, Mac?" Doc threw another left jab. Mac, knowing he couldn't block, ducked underneath. His stomach! Mac threw a quick right jab, hitting Doc in the stomach.

"Ooof!" Doc froze, stunned by the impact

Mac followed up with a right hook, placing it just above Doc's hip. Doc reeled back, lowering his hands. His face is open now! Mac threw a left cross. Doc raised his right hand up to try to block it. Not quite fast enough. The back of Doc's glove popped Doc in the face as he tried to block Mac's punch. Mac stepped to the left side, hitting Doc in the stomach with another right jab, and swinging his arm and bashing it into Doc's right side with a massive hook.

"HACK!" Doc dropped to his knees, falling to the mat.

"Doc, are you okay?" Mac said, trying to lift his trainer back to his feet.

DING DING DING! The alarm went off. 5 minutes had passed.

"...Nice...one..." Doc wheezed between gasps of air. "... Liver...punch..."

Mac helped Doc into a corner. "Take a second, okay?"

"Thanks..." Doc coughed, pausing to regain control of his breathing. Steady breaths, steady breaths...

"Alright, I'm good," Doc said, still holding his lower chest. "Good placement on your punches. Swarming in and out of opponents attacks will serve you well. You have the speed. Ugh. I need some chocolate. Whewie! I know I'm out of shape! Help me get these gloves of, son."

Getting out of the ring and wiping the sweat off with a towel, Doc grabbed one of his chocolate bars and started eating. "Go hit the showers Mac! That's enough for today."

"Yeah, what time is it?" Mac checked the clock. 8:55 AM. "Yeah I gotta shower quick Mario is coming soon."

"Is that a fact?" Doc raised his eyebrow, then looked outside. Mario's car wasn't there. Yet.

"Yeah, Mario wanted to pick me up so we could all see Luigi after his surgery."

"Wait a second Mac, come here. Let me talk to you." Doc put his chocolate bar in his pants.

"What's the problem?"

"Son, I'm gonna keep it honest with you. You should be careful around Mario."

"Doc, what are you talking about?" Mac shook his head. "Where is all of this coming from?"

"Listen, son, I been around for a long, long time. I've been around a lot of shady characters. And let me tell you, that Mario guy is bad news."

"Doc, I don't know what you think happened, or think you saw or heard or whatever, but Mario is a good guy."

"They'll start like that." Doc nodded. "You're so grateful to them that you disregard all the bad things they do. How much they care about money. How they put money before everything, even other people. They'll treat you nice because you line their pockets. But every now and again they'll slip. Shittalk you. Show what they really think about you. They'll apologize, and you forgive and forget. They won't tell you things cut you out and leave you in the dark about what's really going on. If you try to lend a hand, they'll tell you not to worry about it, to stick to boxing. Really, they just think you're incapable or don't want you to know about all the shady things they're running around doing. And when things go wrong, they'll take it out on you. They'll abuse you. Now sometimes you dont take it and you fight back but sometimes you just want to let it slide and be the bigger man because you think they're your friend. Listen Mac, just because Mario lifted you up to this point doesn't mean you owe him for life. You think you owe them because they pamper you. You are your own person. No matter what happens,at the end of the day, you are responsible for yourself. You don't owe anything to anybody except yourself."

Mac backed away slowly, giving a little nervous laugh. Everything that Doc was saying, it was a little too much to take in. "Listen Doc, I know you've had a hard life but Mario ain't like that he's genuinely a good guy I'm telling you man."

"He's not." Doc snapped. There was venom in his voice Mac didn't normally hear. " and the faster you accept that, the better off you'll be. I've lived through it, Mac. Don't make the same mistakes I did."

A car horn was honking outside Mac look out the door and saw Mario in the pickup truck. "I-I gotta go. See you to-"

"Wait." Doc grabbed Mac's arm with a strength Mac didn't know Doc had. Mac yelped and turned to face Doc, looking him right in the eyes.

Anger. Pain. Regret. All these feelings were seared in Doc's eyes as he stared back at Mac. But the most important feeling with fear. Fear Mac would walk down that same painful road he did. And maybe not survive it like he did.

"Promise me one thing Mac," Doc's iron grip got tighter as he spoke "Promise me that when Mario starts treating you like I know he will, promise me you'll accept it and you come to me so we can work it out together. Promise me that. Promise me."

"I-I promise." The words stumbled out of his mouth as he nodded in agreement."

Doc nodded back as he let Mario go. "Take care of yourself Mac. I mean it see you tomorrow, kid."

"Yeah, later." Mac held his arm as he walked out of the door.

Kishima Hospital

"Whats the matter kid, you alright?" Mario gave Mac a concerned look.

"Yeah." Mac was still grabbing his arm, resting it on the arm of the chair. "Doc hit me in my arm while training today."

"You want something for it, get it looked at? We are in a hospital, after all."

"I'm fine. It's just sore." Mac turned his head and stared at the floor.

"Well, when you're an athlete, these things happen." Mario paused. Mac seemed a little off today. Kept lookig away from Mario in the car. Mac wasn't the most social guy, but he seemed to revert back to his old behavior from when they first met. Maybe he was stressed about the fight. Maybe Doc said something. He would have to look into this later.

"Tell you what how about tonight you come over to me and Pauline's place later? Get some food, play a round or two of UNO. How's that sound?"

"Great." Mac actually perked up a little.

Mr. and Mrs. Martinette walked in, swiftly taking their seats. "Sorry we're late, ran into some traffic," Lou said. "The doctor come out yet?"

"Nah, still waiting," Mario replied.

"You think the operation worked, Lou? You think our baby's gonna walk again?" Yoko clutched her husband's arm.

"I hope so, Yoko. Been praying long and hard about it." Lou sighed, his voice full of exhaustion.

"Mom, I hate to say this but," The sick feeling in Mario's stomach grew, holding him back from saying the words. He turned away from his parents, clenching his fist.

"But what, sweetie?" Yoko asked, cocking her head to the side. "Are you okay?"

"I just... I want you guys to know that this might not work, and to be prepared for that. I-I mean, I hate saying it, but-"

"We understand," Lou said, a clear viciousness in his voice.

"I'm sorry." Mario went quiet.

"It's okay baby," Yoko replied, cracking a smile. "No one's blaming you." She squeezed down on Lou's arm.

"Yeah. We're only here to support Luigi." Lou quickly said.

One of the doctors walked into the waiting room. "Are you the Martinet's?"

"That's us." Lou stood up. "How's my son?"

"Well, the surgery was a mild success. We managed to remove some of the bullet shrapnel. However, we didn't have much success realigning the damaged spinal cord. There is still significant nerve damage."

"Will he ever be able to walk again?"

"With advances in technology and therapy, maybe one day he can regain use of his legs, but that looks like it could be very far into the future, if at all."

"Well can I at least see him?"

"He's resting right now. It would be better if you came back tomorrow."

"Alright. Thanks." Lou sighed, reaching for his coat.

"Don't worry Lou, I'll cook you a little something when we get back home." Yoko said.

"Actually, let me look at my watch... 10:20. I gotta go open the restaurant soon."

"Wait, Dad." Mario said. "I been working through my last appointments, and my very last one is at 12:30. Then I'm done for good. I'll be at the shop around 2."

"See you then, I guess." Lou said, walking out.

"Wait a second, what about Mac?" Yoko asked. "Why don't you take him with you Lou? I bet he would be great at pounding dough witj those strong arms of his."

Mario glanced at Mac. "You wanna do it kid?"

"Honestly? Doc and I trained for hours and my arm still really hurts. Sorry Mr. Martinet."

Lou waved it off. "Ehh it's no problem. We close at 9. Just come in later."

"I'll take Mac back to Pauline's place so he can nap. Come on, kid." Mario got up, holding his keys in his hands.

"Later boys!" Yoko said, giving a small wave.

Mario came to a halt at a traffic light. "Feeling kinda hungry kid, what about you?"

"I could eat."

"They got a place right up the street thats makes realy good paninis." Mario drove the pickup truck drove down the street and swung into a parking space. Mario crushed the snow under his feet. "I'll get it all to go."

"Welcome to Panini Paradise! How may I help you?" The lady at the register asked.

"2 Chicken Parm paninis and uh... what do you want, Mac?"

"Turkey."

"2 Turkey clubs."

"Would you some Manhattan clam chowder? One bowl is half off with the purchase of 2 paninis."

"I'll have one, all of it to go, please. What about you, kid?"

"I'm good."

"He's good."

"Will that be all, gentlemen?"

"Yes, thank you."

After paying, Mario and Mac took their seats. Mac drummed his fingers on the table. As Mario looked around, he realized there were gingerbread men, reindeer, and candy canes spread around the shop. The sizzling of the grill was paired with Jingle Bell Rock.

"The hell day is it?" He turned to the sign next to the menus. December 14.

"Shit. Christmas is in 10 days. I haven't been paying attention with all the shit that's been going on." He ran his fingers through his hair.

"What are you gonna get everyone for Christmas?" Mac asked.

"Honestly...shit man, I don't know. Maybe some jewelry for Mom and for Dad some new boots. What about you? What do you want."

"I... don't really know. I can't remember the last time I got a present for Christmas."

"I'll take you out Christmas shopping sometime soon. We'll see what we can get."

"Your order is ready." The woman placed a couple of bags down on the counter.

"Hey, you wanna eat in here?" Mario asked, getting the bags.

"Don't you have an appointment soon?" Mac responded.

Mario checked his watch. "Ehh, I got time."

"Alright then I'll eat now." Mac reached into a bag.

Mario took a few bites of his paninis. "Mmm. Good. Really good." He said to the lady at the counter.

"Why thank you!" She gave him a sweet smile.

Mario turned back to Mac. "What about you? You liking that turkey?"

"It's fine." Mac quickly said between rapid bites.

Mario decided to wait until Mac was done scarfing down both his sandwiches. At this rate, it wouldn't be long anyway. Mario wouldn't adress this issue today. There were more important things.

"Hey, listen Mac," he started off. "once all these things going on start wrapping up, alot of things might be different and we could go through a bit of a rough patch for a while."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, once this adoption stuff is done, we're gonna be brothers."

"Isn't it step-brothers?

"We"re gonna be brothers. And Luigi's probably gonna be in a wheelchair for a while. Mom and Dad will do their best, but they're getting older. It's gonna be up to you and me to shoulder the load and make sure things stay okay. Now I know you got your whole boxing thing, and however that turns out is how it turns out, and I'm not gonna sit here and demand you become some expert caregiver. I just want you to promise me that you're going to try you best to help this family. That's all I'm gonna ask of you. Can you do that for me?"

Mac gave him a blank stare, then instantly snapped out if it and nodded. This was all the proof he needed that Doc was wrong. Mario was a great guy! "Sure Mario," he said, grinning. "I'll do what I can."

"Welp, here we are." Mario looked at the sign.

YO! LOU'S PIZZERIA LAND

Mac looked around as they walked in. Modest lighting kept the place from being too bright. In fact, the dimness made it feel more cozy. The floor was a red-and-white checkerboard pattern. The booths that were placed next to the wall had green vinyl seating and rectangular sandy colored tables. The circular seats in the middle of the restaurant was the same color, although surrounded by wooden chairs. To the right end of the restaurant, there was a cabinet labeled 'GAME NIGHT' and a note under it said 'SOMEONE BRING DOMINOES'. At the left wall was a jukebox, currently playing a hot new song by Pixies. All along the walls were pictures. One of the pictures was a much younger Lou posing with some woman. LUCILLE BALL: MARCH 25, 1963. Whoever that was. There was a glass bottle model of some sort of spaceship. The label said. The Apollo 11. Something he did recognize was a picture of the Giants winning the Super Bowl. Then something else caught his eye. A very official looking man standing at a podium.

"Hey Mario, whose the guy in that photo?" He pointed out.

"Dude, that's JFK." Mario replied, confused.

"Who?"

"Kennedy man, what's wrong with you? How do you not know who Kennedy was? He was a president!"

"Kennedy F Kennedy?"

"You know what? We are gonna watch the Discovery Channel sometime." Mario said as they approached the register.

Lou popped up from the kitchen. "You guys are here. Great. Just come around back and put on these smocks. Then go wash your hands, I'll be right back after I get a pie out of the oven. Let's go."

The boys quickly tied the black aprons around their waists. "Don't stress Mac." Mario said. "It's not too hard. I been working here since I was like 7 years old. You'll get the hang of it fast. Just be calm."

Lou came back in. "Mario, I trust you still remember what to do?"

"Yeah, I got it. Where do you want me?"

"Wherever you think you'll be most useful. That's all."

As Mario walked away, Lou turned to Mac. "OK kid," Lou cracked his knuckles. "Time for you to learn the ropes. First things first, are your hands washed, boy? I run a clean restaurant."

Mac nodded. Him and Mario had arrived at the family restaurant around 6:30. Mario had forgotten how well the smell of hot, cheesy bread was.

"Good. Already better than one of my last employees, he was a junkie. Now, what you're gonna do is get a can of dough, put it on the slab."

Mac set it down, making sure he got all the plastic off.

"Now put the dough in the flour container and flip it around, make sure that thing gets covered in dough. Like that. You're doing good. That's enough. Put it back on the slab."

"Now what?"

"Press down on it. Then get that rolling pin. And really flatten it out. Now what you're gonna do, take the rim of the pizza, and just fold it up. That's gonna be the crust. So we need that higher than the rest of the dough. Here, do it with me." Lou and Mac started scrunching up the edge of the pizza.

"You're not trying to tear it. There should be no yanking motion." Mario said, throwing the dough into the air. "Just sorta push it up."

The two made their way around the dough together. "Good." Lou said. "Now the next thing you would normally do is throw the dough up and catch it like how Mario's doing, but we're not gonna do that until you've had some practice at home and not wasting dough learning on the company dime." Lou turned his head to the rest of the kitchen. "Hey John, get over here! Throw this dough around and teach Mac how to to spread the sauce!"

He turned back to Mac. "John is my right hand man. You'll be in good hands. I just gotta talk to Mario real quick in my office. I'll be right back."

Mario walked into his father's office. "This can't be good."

"What makes you say that?" Lou asked, closing the door behind him.

"Well, you wanting to speak to me in private isn't a good sign, and closing the door isn't helping."

Lou sighed. "Am I really that predictable to you?"

"Yeah. Yeah you are." Mario said. He leaned on his dad's desk, gripping the end of it, trying to brace himself. "So what happened?"

"Luigi's bills started rolling in. It's alot."

"What's alot?"

"So far, it's added up to 30 grand."

Mario's eyes went wide with shock. "Thirty thousand dollars? That's insane."

"I tried calling the hospital to work something out. They said that as soon as he is stable, they are kicking him out. Roll him out on a wheelchair."

"How long until that?"

"Less than a week."

"Have you told Mom?"

"Not yet."

"Then why... oh, now I get it."

"You want me to ask Pauline for money."

"Is that really such a crime for me to ask that of you?" Lou was exasperated. "The bill is 30 grand and counting! She's not exactly hurt for cash. Come on now! This money ain't for you, it's for Luigi."

"Dad, I didn't say no this time." Mario got off the desk, walking to the door. "Take Mac home. I'll be at Pauline's place. She wanted me to get pizza for dinner, so I'm taking two pies."

"Whatever." Lou mumbled as Mario walked out of the office. "Might help with the sales pitch."

"Oh my God." Pauline leaned her head back into a pillow, a slice of pizza in her hand. "Mario, I forgot how good your Dad's pizzas were. They are sooooooo good."

"I'll tell him you said that." Mario smirked.

"I'm serious, I should try to invest in that place. Get a chain going. There's gotta be a place nearby to start making a second restaurant." She took a shot of brandy, straight from the bottle.

"How long would that take anyway? To make a second restaurant?"

"About 4-6 months." She said, taking another bite and enjoying every second of it. "My parents hate when I eat so many carbs. They don't want me to get fat at all. My mom says that I'm at my 'natural weight' and that I shouldn't ruin my figure."

"When's the last time you had a full box of pizza?"

"Dude, I don't even know. Normally It's just a slice or two on the go." She took another bit, finishing the slice. "I think that was my fourth, and I could not give one less of a shit."

"That was your fifth." Mario corrected. "Out of 8."

"That's why you got a second box. Eyy." She shot him some finger guns and winked

"You still wanna eat?"

Pauline burped. "Ehh, give it an hour."

Mario took the brandy and pour some into his glass. "Please save some for me."

"Pizza or alcohol?"

"Yes." He replied, drinking his glass.

The house phone started ringing, causing the dogs to start barking. "Hold on, I got it." Pauline reached to the dresser and answered it. "Hello? ... Yeah, he's here." She passed the phone to Mario, face turning to concern. "It's your mother."

"Mom? Are you okay?...How much?...You're just seeing it now?... I'll come by tomorrow morning and we'll talk about it, okay?... Just get some sleep Mom. I love you... Yeah, yeah, see you in the morning."

He hung up. "Well, shit."

"The hell was that?"

"Mom just got the hospital bill. Its 30 thousand."

"Ah piss." Pauline facepalmed. "It's okay, I had a contingency for this."

"Wait, what?" Mario said as Pauline looked under the bed. She brought out a small duffel bag. "Pauline, what is that?"

"You-You know how you conned the Wario Bros for only 10k?"

"Yeah?"

"Add an extra 0, and that's what I told my dad I paid them. This is the remainder of the withdrawal."

"So that's 90 grand in there." Mario pointed, a smile coming to his lips. "Just like that?"

"Yep." Pauline took another swig of brandy. "Call your mom back, tell her you got money. I'ma get back to watching TV."

"Thanks." Mario took the phone out of the bedroom. He returned a few moments later, breathing a sigh of relief. "Mom's a lot better, sleepless night averted." He slumped back down on the bed.

"Nothing enough money can't solve." Pauline finished off her brandy. "Wanna talk?"

"'Bout what?

"'Bout anything." She shrugged. "What are you gonna do with the money?"

"Uhhh, gotta choose between keeping Luigi in the hospital, let him heal up more, and taking him out and get some help elsewhere. I've been reading up programs for disabled people. Got options."

"Hospitals are bullshit like that." Pauline said. "Take advantage of people that need them. If there's anything I know about business, nothing is more important than posturing."

"Speaking of posturing, I gotta admit, I been ducking my dad for a while."

Pauline sat up. "What are you talking about?"

"Took a few extra more appointments."

"What do you mean?" Pauline was getting more and more concerned every second. Mario...wouldn't do anything too stupid. Hopefully.

"Don't overreact. Just took a few more plumbing jobs. Relax."

"Why?"

"I know Dad still blames me a little for what happened to Luigi. I didnt feel like I deserved to be in there. Didn't wanna...face him, in the pizza restaurant. Where, if I had never left and tried to be a plumber, none of this would have happened."

"He doesn't seem upset at you," Pauline replied. At least, not anymore. "You have to blaming yourself.

Mario looked away. "Whatever..."

WHACK!

Pauline hit him right in the face with a pillow. "None of that shit anymore. You're gonna be happy with yourself goddamnit. Now give me a hug." She gave him a hearty squeeze around his body. "I'm not letting go until you hug me back. With feeling."

"Uggggh." Mario tried to push her away. "Leggo..."

"Come on. Bring it in."

"Fine." Mario wrapped his arms around her.

"With feeling."

"Fiiiiiiiiiiine." He embraced her tighter.

"I love you." She said.

"Love you too." He gave her a quick kiss.

"Now, back to TV." Pauline turned up the volume. "Oh Al Bundy, where you been all my life?"

It's raining outside man.

Aw, don't worry about that.

Everything's going to be everything.

We'll get into something real nice you know.