Chapter 11
Mark watched as Glen sat alone in the corner of the locker room, lacing up his boots. He had been extremely quiet and withdrawn since he had returned from his trip and Mark assumed that things hadn't gone well with Susan. He could see that his big friend was hurting. He just wished there was something someone could do to help ease his pain. Mark walked over and took a seat beside of him, hoping to bring him out of his sullen mood.
Glen nodded at him as he took a seat.
"You all ready for your match tonight?" he asked, as Mark sat down.
"Yeah. You?" Mark asked.
Glen nodded again. "Yeah. It's good to be back to work. Maybe it'll help keep my mind off of things."
"I take it that things didn't go well with Susan?"
"No. I tried to talk to her…but she was too upset. She's terrified that if her husband finds out about what happened between us, then he'll leave her." Glen replied.
"Have you decided what you're going to do yet?" Mark asked.
"I don't know. I'd give anything to be able to help raise my child, but she's adamant about not wanting me around. I know I could force the issue in court if I had to but that would only cause more problems for her and the last thing I want to do is hurt her again."
"Well, you've still got some time left to think about it before you need to make a decision." Mark replied.
"I know. That's the reason I called Vince and came back to work a few days early. I wanted to get out of there before I did something that I regretted."
"Just give it some time. Who knows… maybe she'll start to feel guilty and she'll come clean with her husband and then you won't have anything to worry about."
"Yeah. Maybe." Glen replied softly. "Look, I gotta go. It's almost time for my match. Catch you later, okay?"
"Yeah. Talk to you later." Mark replied, as he watched Glen disappear out the door, wondering if his friend was going to be alright.
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Over the next few weeks, Glen returned to his new home on his days off, although he made no attempt to contact Susan. He thought it was best if he waited until he had made his decision about what to do before he talked to her again, not wanting to cause her any unnecessary grief. However, on occasion, he would drive past her house, sometimes parking down the street in the shadows, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Somehow it made him feel a little better just knowing that she and the baby were doing well. She was starting to show more now and every time he looked at her growing stomach, he longed to take her in his arms and hold her and feel his child moving inside of her. He would watch her until he was certain that everything was fine, then he would head home and crawl into his own empty bed and dream of things that could never be.
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For a few days after her encounter with Glen, Susan had been completely on edge, waiting to hear from him again. She had honestly not expected her threats to work. Glen knew she couldn't file a police report without taking a chance that the truth would come out. But after several days had passed without incident, Susan began to feel at ease again. She hoped that maybe she had been able to convince him once and for all to leave her alone.
She tried to push all thoughts of Glen to the back of her mind, wanting to concentrate instead on her future with her husband and upcoming baby. She was a little concerned about David. He had seemed to have lost a little of his enthusiasm about the baby, but she just assumed that the idea that he was going to be a father was starting to hit home. There was no doubt that this baby would be a big change in both of their lives. But she was sure that he would make an excellent father and she tried to give him his space to deal with things at his own pace.
Since becoming pregnant, Susan had cut back on her hours at work. Now at five months along, she worked mostly in the mornings, occasionally working over into late afternoons if they were shorthanded around the office. This often left her with plenty of free time in the afternoons to do whatever she wished. She kept herself busy by turning one of the spare bedrooms into a nursery. She spent hours on top of hours working on every small detail. From the paint to the furniture to the decorations, she wanted everything to be perfect for their new arrival. With each passing day, Susan was even more grateful that she had been able to keep her marriage together. And now they were going to be a real family and nobody, including Glen, was going to tear them apart.
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Glen continued to travel home each week on his days off to check up on Susan. He was still conflicted over what he was going to do and it didn't look like the answer was going to be easy to come by. There had been many times when he had thought he had made a firm decision, only to change it again a few hours later. After bouncing back and forth so many times, he discovered that if he poured all of his attention into his work, then he often didn't have time to think about it at all.
One night, after another grueling match against HHH, Glen flipped himself over the top rope and made his way back up the ramp, ready to head back to his hotel room for some rest. Once he was safely behind the curtain, he removed his mask and quickly headed back to the locker room to shower and change. As he made his way though the backstage area, he was stopped by a noise coming from behind a large stack of boxes. He looked around and noticed that the immediate area was completely deserted, so he crept closer to the sound, curious to see what it was. Glen peeked around the corner of the boxes and was surprised to see a small girl, curled up on the floor crying. Creeping closer, he knelt down beside of her and rubbed her back gently, as he spoke to her.
"What's a matter, little one? Why are you crying?" he asked softly, hoping that his large size didn't frighten her.
"I can't find my mommy." she said between sniffles, looking up at him with her big, brown eyes.
Glen smiled at her when she looked up at him. She was a beautiful little girl and she couldn't have been over five or six years old. He wondered where her parents were.
"Well, come with me and we'll see if we can find your mommy, okay?" he replied, reaching out to help her up. Glen picked her up off of the floor and carried her back out into the hallway.
"What's your name, sweetheart?" he asked, looking around to see if there was anyone else nearby who could help him.
"My name's Ashley. And you're Kane." the little girl replied, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck so she wouldn't fall. She stared at him for a moment before she spoke again. "You're not so scary without your mask."
Glen smiled at her again. Maybe she should tell that to some of the women he had tried to date in the past.
"Okay Ashley. Can you tell me what your mommy's name is or tell me what she looks like so I can help you?" he asked her, as he headed toward his dressing room again.
"She works here." Ashley replied.
"She does?" Glen answered in surprise. "I've never seen you around here before. Do you know what she does?"
"She fixes people's hair."
"Well, let's go see if we can find her then." Glen replied, heading in the direction of the makeup and wardrobe area. He rounded the corner and spotted Trish talking with Jeff Hardy further down the hall.
"Hey guys. This pretty little lady here is telling me that she's lost. Either of you know who her mother is?" Glen asked as he approached them.
"Ashley! I bet you mother's worried sick about you! How many times has she told you not to go wandering off like that?" Trish asked, when she saw who Glen was holding.
"I take it you know her mother then?" Glen asked as he looked down at the little girl again.
"Yeah. She belongs to Jenna, the new girl in makeup." Trish replied.
"Come here baby and I'll take you to your mom." Trish said, holding her arms out for Ashley to come to her.
"NO! I want Kane to take me!" Ashley yelled, wrapping her arms tighter around Glen's neck.
Trish smiled again and shrugged her shoulders.
"What can I say big guy? I think she likes you."
Glen chuckled as he tried to loosen Ashley's grip on his neck so he could breathe.
"It's okay Trish. I'll take her myself. Thanks for your help."
Glen made his way on down the hall, until he came to the wardrobe area. Ashley's mother squealed and rushed toward them when she saw that her little girl was safe.
"Young lady, you are in big trouble!" her mother fussed, as she fawned over the small child.
"I'm sorry mommy." Ashley replied, pouting her small lips. "I just got lost again."
"Well, we'll just have to make sure that it doesn't happen again now won't we?" her mother answered, hugging her tight.
"Thank you for bringing her to me. I hope she wasn't too much trouble." Jenna said, standing up and turning to Glen.
"It was no problem. I'm glad I could help." Glen replied, smiling at the two of them. "Well, I guess I should go. I still need to take a shower and change before I can leave."
He kneeled down on the floor in front of the little girl and motioned for her to come closer.
"It was very nice to meet you Ashley. You make sure that you mind your mommy and don't go wandering off again, okay?"
"Okay." the little girl replied, before moving forward and giving Glen another hug.
"You're nice." she said, when she released him and stepped away. "You'd make a good daddy."
"You think so?" Glen asked her with a smile.
"Uh-huh. As long as you didn't wear the mask."
Glen smiled at her again. "I'll try to remember that sweetheart. You behave for your mom now, okay?"
Glen stood up and turned to walk away before Ashley yelled at him again.
"Bye Kane!"
Glen turned and waved at her again before disappearing out of sight. He smiled to himself all the way back to his dressing room. He couldn't believe it but a five year old had just helped him decide what he was going to do. And after being around that adorable little girl for the past five minutes, he knew in his heart that it was the right decision. He was going to go back and talk to Susan and he was going to fight for his child. Ashley was right…he would make a good daddy… and now it was time for him to prove it!