Jerome Louis rolled off of the couch at the first crack of dawn. Welp. Time to go to work.

He put on a pot of coffee on the stove. Black and strong, with a little bit salt. Reaching up in the cabinets for a cup, he heard something crinkle in a pocket. He pulled out a rather smushed chocolate bar. Oh yeah forgot about that. Doc had been trying to cut back on eating his chocolate bars. It would encourage Mac to stay diligent in eating healthy, and Doc knew he'd have to spar with Mac eventually, and wanted to be as best of shape as he could be. Not that his fat ass would be in much shape. But it was about the effort. I'll just get an orange. He decided.

As he drank his coffee, the phone started ringing. Damn. Someone's up early calling.

"Hello?... Yes this is the home of Reese Louis... well you're actually speaking to Jerome Louis, what do you need?... the WVBA... yes... yes... no... no... I actually don't know that, or can't confirm it... he said he was 14... there's nothing?... really now... okay. Okay. Well, I can assure you I will get this straightened out as soon as possible. Thank you. Have a nice day."

"Jerome!" Granny Louis shouted from upstairs. "Who was you talking to on the phone this early in the morning?"

"Mama! You got a computer in here?" Doc asked.

"Nah I ain't got none of them computers in this house! Whatchu need it for?"


Resse quickly walked into Mac's room and shook him awake. "Come on boy. Get up!"

"Y-Y-Yeah?" Mac said, stirring. "Granny, what do you need?"

"Pack up your stuff boy, Jerome out gettin' plane tickets."

"Plane tickets? Where are we going?"

"Back to New York."

"New York? Wait, why now? What happened?"

"Jerome got a call today from some lawyer with the WVBA. They was asking about you."

"About me what?"

"They couldn't any of ya birth records. Nothing certificate or anything. Nothing to verify your identity. You got anything on you?"

"...No. Nothing."

"Oh Lord." Granny Louis ran her fingers through her hair. It seemed to be greying by the second. "Well, like I said, you need to get ready to leave. Go shower, get ready, and I'll cook you a 'lil something for the road, alright?"

"Alright." Mac hopped out of bed. "Granny Louis, are you okay?"

"Yeah child, I'm fine." She took a deep breath. "Go on and shower. Let me go make you this breakfast."

Doc came through the front door, clutching two tickets in his hands. "Got the tickets. Where's Mac?"

"Up in his room." Granna Louis was placing some scrambled eggs onto a plate. "When are you leaving?"

"Plane taking off in an hour and a half," Doc said. "I'mma have to call Mario before we go up in the air so he already knows. We'll figure something out."

"Jerome, I don't like this." Granny Louis just kept shaking her head. I don't like this one bit. That boy ain't got a paper on him at all? Not one?"

"Mama calm down. I'll take care of this."

"Don't you tell me to calm down, boy!" Reese had to resist the urge to throw her spoon at him. "You can fight a man, Jerome, but you can't fight the law. What if they take his blood and they find out that he's Canadian, or Mexican, or Chinese? What if he gets deported?!"

"Momma, he ain't gonna get deported!" Jerome said. "I told you, I'm gonna figure this out! That is my student, and I will not let anything happen to him. Nothing. I'll spend every dollar I got before I see some people take him away."

"Don't act like that's a lot of dollars now. If you had the money you did before you got caught up in all that foolishness, that'd be one thing. Now as things are the way they are now, you look a little worse for wear."

"Mama, I swear with all my heart and soul that if I could do it all over again, I would change so many things." He put his large hands on her shoulders and brought her into a close embrace. "I would change so many things, Mama. But I can't. But what I can do now, what we can do now, is keep our heads on our shoulders. Now can you do that Mama? If not for me, for him?"

"Jerome I'm trying. I'm trying." She sobbed, resting her head on his chest. Her fingers pressed into his back, bringing him as close as possible. "But you know how evil people can be. You know some people would take Mac away with a smile on they faces. And actually have the nerve to say that they're doing what's best for him. And the fact that that could happen just hurts me, Jerome. It just hurts. I lost my husband to a bullet, and for years I lost my son to the world. I'm tired of losing my boys, Jerome. I don't want it to happen no more."

"It won't," Doc said. "It won't." You ain't losing him, Mama. That kid has a bright future, and I'm not gonna let it end before it starts."

"I'm ready!" They heard Mac say from upstairs.

"We'll talk about this later," Doc said. "Mac, go pack the car!" He shouted.

"Call me when anything happens," Reese said. "Good or bad. I mean that boy. Don't you leave me in the dark now. I'mma be waiting for the phone call after you land."

"It'll come. I promise."

"See you soon baby. I'mma come up there for ya fight now. Don't worry."

Once they finished packing the car, they were on their way to the airport. "Now remember Mac, you stick close to Jerome. If anyone ever separates you two, you don't have to say anything. Jerome, you wrap this up as fast as possible. Don't you leave any loose ends. When this is over, I want it to be over, you understand me?"

"Yes Mama," Doc said. "After I call you, I'll call Mario. See if he can help us. Let me just think for a second." He sat back in his seat.

"All right then. Won't bother you no more." Reese said. The car ride to the airport was quiet. Doc was either thinking or dozing off. Either way, just let him rest for now. Looking in the rearview mirror, she saw Mac was just looking down. She could have asked him how he liked his time in Alabama. She could have asked him how he thought his training went. She could have given him all kinds of tips on getting ready for his fight. The words were right on the tip of her tongue but right when she was about to speak, her throat went completely dry. The words just didn't feel genuine. Talking just to be talking.

Reaching the airport, they all got out, Mac picking up the luggage.

"Well Mama, thanks for everything. Always good to see you." Doc gave his mom a kiss on the cheek.

"W-wait," She said. "Before you go, let's just, let's just pray a little." Reese grabbed Doc and Mac's hands, and the three formed a circle. "Father God, we come to you in a time of great uneasiness. We pray that you give us the sound mind, body, and spirit, to traverse all the obstacles that the devil lay in front of us because you are stronger than him and we put all our faith in you. Protect us from his evils, and make us stronger for going through this. Let thy will be done, in Jesus' name, amen."

"Amen," Doc said, squeezing Mac's hand.

"Amen." Mac quickly let out.

"Alright then. I'mma let y'all go now. Come on, give ole Reese a hug." She gave Mac and Doc strong hugs before watching them walk out the door. "Remember, call me when you get back to New York!"

"We will Mama!" Doc repeated.

"Goodbye, Granny Louis!" Mac said, giving a little wave.

"Nah son." She beamed. "See you later!"

Mac shuffled into the window seat as the plane got ready for takeoff. Doc took the aisle seat again, stuffing a Burger King wrapper in his pocket. "Ugh. I'm exhausted." Doc groaned. "What time is it?"

"It said it was lik 8:20 on one of the screens."

"Man, it's too early in the morning for this. I'm sleeping till we get to New York. Let's see... it takes about 4 and a half hours to get to New York. from 8:30 to 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30 30 minutes is 1, plus the time zone difference, that puts us at 2 PM EST. We should have enough time to go to wherever we need to sort this out quickly."

"Uh, Doc? What's it mean when you get deported?"

"It means when the government kicks you out of their country." He rubbed his chin. "So you heard all of what me and Mama was talking about, huh?"

"Y-Yeah." Mac admitted.

"Not surprised, considering how much Mama was shouting. Don't worry about getting deported, Mac. Moms overreact and worry too much. Happens all the time." He said. "This is a good lesson, you know. Sometimes things get tough. But You gotta be tough. Keep your head on your shoulders. Tough it out. Keep your fortitude. Nothing good happens as a result of panicking. Just gotta stay cool, calm, and collected. That's how you solve problems. So before I go to sleep, you got any other questions you want to ask me?"

"Doc, do I exist?"

Doc rolled his eyes, "I'm talking to you, aren't I?"

"But, what Granny Louis said, that no one can find me-"

"Take it from me, kid. Sometimes, you don't want people to find you." Doc said. "It's what I don't like about this whole new digital age. Everyone's become easier to track. Like hunting deer. Makes my skin crawl sometimes."

"But people need to know that I exist! That's what makes me...me."

"Let me tell you something kid. There ain't no piece of paper that could ever define you. You define you. Becuase at the end of the day, all that stuff is just paper and ink. And hey, you know what this really means? Donnie King is nervous."

"Nervous?" Mac repeated.

"Yep," Doc replied. "He scared. So out of the blue, he's gonna throw a bunch of legal stuff at you to stop the fight from happening, or distract you from your training. Now we're gonna lose some time taking care of this, but you can best believe that I'm gonna make sure you work up for lost time. So I suggest that you take a nap while we in the air and rest some more. Now if you want to want to stay up, that's on you, but I'm gonna catch some Zs. "

While Doc sat back in his seat and closed his eyes, he kept his right eye just open enough to look at Mac. Mac was looking up at the ceiling, trying to go to sleep but having absolutely no desire to rest. Trust me kid, I feel the exact same way.


"Mama. we landed." Doc said from a pay phone in JFK Airport. He looked to the side and saw the time. 2:23 PM.

"Good, how was your flight."

"It was nice."

"How's Mac?"

"He's holding up as best he can."

"Let me talk to him."

Doc passed Mac the phone. "It's for you." He picked up the phone book as Mac took the call.

"Hello, Granny Louis?"

"Hey baby, how you doing?"

"I feel okay, just nervous about all of this."

"That's alright. Just remember what I said. Stay close to Doc and everything will take care of itself. Now I won't hold you up any longer so let me get off this phone. I love you, and I'm praying for you. See you later sweetie."

"Goodbye Granny Louis." Mac hung up the phone.

Doc put some more money into the phone and dialed another number.

"Let me go on and call Mario."

"...Hello?"

"Mario, we just got back in new york. were at JFK. What are you doing?"

"Oh alright. Right now I'm cleaning the apartment because insurance people are coming. Why are you back so soon, anyway?"

"Something came up with Mac. You got his adoption papers?"

"He's not adopted."

"So you got the number of his legal guardian?"

"No I'm taking care of him, he's just not adopted. We never did anything with legally adopting him."

"WHAT?" Doc roared. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw several people startled by him, including a security officer. "Kid's been acting up, you know how it is. Leave for a week and they think they run the house, excuse me," he said to the officer, before going back to the phone. "Why not?" He said in a terse whisper.

"Luigi and I didn't adopt him because that would mean we'd have to send him to school and we kind of wanted to keep him in the apartment and we kind of wanted to keep him at the house and we're pretty sure he has the education of a 5th grader at best."

"We could have taken care of this in a minute! Are you trying to fuck everything up?" Well, the first thing we have to do is get him adopted. And I cant do it because that would look suspicious to Donnie King and the WVBA."

"I know someone that will. Shit. Insurance people here. Listen, meet me at my apartment. I'll try to be finished with this before you get here. We can plan this out once you get here. 3891, Miyamoto Avenue. I'll see you later."

Hanging up, Doc checked the time. 2:30 PM EST. "Kid, you hungry? We can grab a bite and head to his place afterward."

Vegetarian restaurant.

I probably should make Mac walk and run the miles, but I don't want him to be alone.

"I'll get a cab."

Reached Miyamoto Avenue. Mac saw a flyer on one of the mailboxes.

WARIO BROTHERS PLUMBING - THE ONLY PLUMBING BUSINESS AROUND

Mac clenched his fist. This two had set Luigi up. They were the cause of all of this. He wasn't sure how, but Mac swore he would get them back.

Walking into the apartment, the first thing Mac saw was the boxes. Taped up boxes all pushed to the long wall on the left side of the apartment, which had been stripped bare of any trace of the occupants that had stayed here.

"There you guys are." Mario was on the couch. "Doc, always a pleasure to see you. And Mac! How you doing man? You look good. Got a nice tan and everything."

"Yeah, nice be back," Doc said. "So what's the plan?"

"We gotta go to Kishima, my parents are waiting."

"Kishima? The hospital? Why we going there?"

"My parents are there, we're gonna need their help with this," Mario said as he grabbed his coat.


Kishima Hospital

"Mario, there you are," Lou said as Mario walked into Luigi's room.

"Hey bro, how's it hanging?" Luigi said.

"I'm doing alright man, how about you?" Mario replied. "Surgery's tomorrow, big day."

"Yes, and we have just been praying day and night that it's a complete success!" Yoko said excitedly. "My baby's going to walk again, I just know it!"

"I hope so mom because I can't wait to get out of here. You don't appreciate walking down a street until you've spent weeks on a bed and can't move one foot." Luigi said, rubbing his legs.

"Well, I'm glad I got all you guys here, because mom, dad, I need a huge favor."

"Is that what you were talking about over the phone?" Lou raised an eyebrow at his son. "Is this about your case?"

"This isn't about me at all," Mario replied. "It's about my friend, Mac."

"Mac? What's going on with Mac?" Luigi asked.

"You know who Mario's talking about Luigi?" Lou said.

"Yeah, he's a homeless kid we took in. Where's he been, anyway?"

"I had him stay with Doc since the shooting," Mario said.

"Wait, homeless kid? How long has this been going on?" Lou asked. "How long have you known him?"

"A month. Not too long. We were going to introduce you to him but then everything happened, isn't that right, Luigi?" Play along. He mouthed to his brother as his parents turned to Luigi.

"Yeah. Good kid." Luigi said. What are you doing? He mouthed back behind his parents' back.

"Actually, I got him waiting outside now." Mario quickly said. "I didn't plan for you guys to meet like this, but I guess it's just the way things turned out. Mac, Doc, you two mind coming in now?"

Doc and Mac stepped inside. "Good afternoon," Doc said, visibly reflecting the awkwardness and abruptness of this situation.

"Doc Louis?" Lou said, mouth agape. "Mario, what the hell is this?"

"This is the boxing friend I think I told you about before? Anyways, Mac was living with us, Doc was training him, we had the whole thing set up. Now recently, he got offered a fight, and if he wins, he'll get a contract with the WVBA. A lot of money, and a bright, bright, future. All we need now is to get his legal documentation set up. That's all I'm asking you to do."

"You want me and your mother to adopt someone? First of all, why don't you do it?" Lou said.

"I have a court date coming up while being charged with several crimes. Sorta can't." Mario said.

"If the boys trust him this much, Lou, he's gotta be good," Yoko said.

"Yoko, let's just look at the insanity of the situation. Our sons are asking us to take someone that we don't know, and just call him our son and make him part of our family. And not only are they asking us something as out of this world as this, they're just springing it on us!"

"I'll just go back outside. Mac, why don't you come too." Doc said, taking his leave.

"Yeah, I will." Mac mumbled, following him.

"Lots of things have been sprung upon us recently Lou. You have to learn how to trust your heart and land on your feet. Besides, our boys would never do us wrong. If they ask us for something like this, I trust them."

"Do you really need to get him adopted now? Like, now now?" Luigi looking at Mario. Don't lie to me. He mouthed silently.

"Yes. Yes, I do." Mario replied sternly took his brother. "Mom, Dad, I'm not asking you this because I want to, I'm doing this because I got no one else that I can trust, and Mac has got nowhere else to go."

"I'll do it." Luigi raised his hand. "There's no need to involve Mom and Dad in this."

"Let's be real Luigi. To adopt someone, you need to be in stable medical condition and have a stable income and resources to adopt a child. Our plumbing business is done for. And not only do Mom and Dad have the pizza place, they are already parents, so they have experience. It's our best shot of getting this done clean and quick."

"...He's right. Dad," Luigi said. "Please do this. He's my friend. Please take care of him."

"Look, I'm gonna need some time to just sit down and process this-"

"They're really isn't a lot of time Dad." Mario said. "We just found out about this today. Mario and Doc flew in from Alabama. They just came from the airport. We need to do this fast."

"If it's really that urgent... I don't wanna stress you out, but Mac needs this, and trust me, he deserves it. Please do whatever you can to help him."

Lou took a deep sigh and stared out the window for a second.

"Fine. Tell me what I gotta do."


Mario sat on a park bench. The Catholic Guardian Services adoption building rested in front of him. Mac and Mario's parents were inside, doing whatever needed to be done. Hope this means that this crisis is over. Mario thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Doc Louis approach him. And he didn't look happy.

"Didn't know you had it in you." He said, rather ominously.

"What are you talking about?" Mario feigned ignorance. He's probably just pissed I didn't get the paperwork done earl-

"I know a set up when I see one." Doc snapped. "You had everyone at the hospital so you could use Luigi to guilt your parents into adopting Mac."

Mario looked away. He'd thought no one would notice. "They were already planning to see Luigi. I just wanted to get everyone up to speed.

"Don't bullshit me." Mario wasn't looking, but he could feel Doc's glare hit him like a heat wave. "Don't know why you're trying to hide it. It worked. So congratulations." Doc replied. "Maybe I should have taken Mac after all."

"You don't trust me?" Mario asked. "You asked me to figure out how to solve this, and I did."

"Mac didn't need this distraction before his first fight," Doc replied. "And don't be so quick as to praise yourself for solving a problem you created.

"Fair," Mario responded. "But what you're not thinking about, is how everything I've done had benefitted us. You know what happens when Mac stays off the grid? Doesn't go to school? His training was astronomical. Just look at him! It hasn't even been a year and he's made incredible progress. You, the literal greatest boxer of all time, had a pet project, and so far, it's looking good. The ends justify the means."

"So you admit you're that kind of person?" Doc asked. "Somone that lives on 'The ends justify the means'?"

"I am," Mario said. "But I have my limits. Don't forget that."

"You put him in danger."

"He was already in danger when I found him on the street."

"And you think that makes him expendable?!" Doc was getting more and more pissed each passing second.

"No. Let's look at the whole picture now. I put not only myself but my brother at risk too. If the wrong person had found out about Mac, we all could have gone to jail. So don't get it twisted, I care about Mac."

"You care about what you can get out of him."

"I took in Mac before we ran into you. If you want to criticize the way I handled things, that's fine. That's fair. But don't stand here and say that I'm just using him."

"Okay then, tell me this. What happens if he loses? What if he doesn't get the contract? What are you gonna do then?"

"Well, we'll probably have to put him in school. Dad will probably want him working at the pizza shop. If you want to keep training him, that's fine. Maybe get him in a minor promotion. The name Doc Louis will always open doors, as long as you training him. Satisfied?"

Doc gave Mario a piercing stare. Mario stared right back. "I care about Mac, Doc. Whether you believe it or not."

"You lied to own parents. To your own Mama. I don't like that. It means you'll lie to anyone."

"I'll do whatever it takes to protect the people I care about."

"Or maybe you just want to protect your investment."

Lou, Mac, and Yoko walked out of the adoption agency building.

"We finish this later," Mario said curtly. "Hey, how'd it go?" He said to his parents.

"Not too badly," Lou said. "They took some of Mac's blood, and he's going to be searched to see if he's actually a missing person or something, but we got a good start. They're gonna have someone come in and interview us sometime. Hopefully, sooner than later, we can get him set up."

A city bus pulled up down the street.

"That's my ride. I'm going home." Doc said. "See you around, Mario. Mac, be at the gym in the morning. You know the drill."

"Wait Doc," Mac said. "Before you go, they ask me if I wanted to change my name to Martinet. You think I should?"

"No. The WVBA already have you as Mac Little, right? Might as keep it. Besides, you're your own person. And don't forget that." Doc's eyes cut to Mario for a microsecond before Doc walked to the bus.

"See you around Doc," Mario muttered under his breath.

"What time does he have to be at the gym?" Lou asked. "And where is his gym at, anyway?"

"5:30. Don't worry, I'll take him." Mario said. "After dinner, he can sleep at Pauline's and I'll drive him in the morning."

"Speaking of dinner, we have to get home so I can start cooking!" Yoko clapped her hands. "Mac, I just know you are going to love my chocolate cannoli!"

"He's on a diet Mom! He's got a fight in 10 days!" Mario said.

"Okay! okay! Vegetable soup it is!"


So many people live in make-believe

They keep a lot a going up their sleeves