CHAPTER 21 - Armageddon – Part 1
It was almost Christmas time and half of WWF's workers were organizing to go home, to spend a few days with their family. The others would have remained at work, for the Christmas shows. Fresia was among them because she was working for the Federation only for six months and had accrued just a few days of vacations, not enough to go back home in Italy to spend the holidays with her family. So, according with her parents and brother, she decided to go see them later in the year, at Easter time. In the meanwhile she asked to her sister in law, who owned a clothing shop in Italy, to send her a series of items for her friends and Mark, as Christmas gifts: a dress, two belts, a purse and silk underwear for her friends; a designer tie for Jason and a fabulous, elegant leather jacket for Mark.
Fresia had spent a fortune, but it was worth it. She loved her friends because they had made her feel at home. And she loved Mark, Fresia considered him her fiancé even if there was nothing to make it official. To hell with it, for her it was more than official, they practically were living together! Surely it wasn't a ring at her finger that could represent love. She loved Mark with all her heart but didn't run to buy him a ring to show her love to the world. The important thing was that Mark knew it and Fresia was sure that he felt her love for him.
As for Mark, he neither had bought a ring for her, of course. In fact he'd never given anything to her. Well, they went shopping together a few times and he insisted to buy her some stuff, but in Fresia's heart it wasn't the same. Mark earned a lot of money in WWF and he knew how to invest it so you could say that he was a wealthy man. It wasn't hard for him to extract his credit card, offering to buy her a pair of shoes rather than a purse. But Fresia couldn't care less about valuables. A simple flower was more precious at her eyes, if Mark would have taken the time to buy it personally, choosing it because suited her hair or eyes….
Fresia had spent hours on internet, in the middle of the night while he was sleeping, to pick the right gift for him. Who knows if Mark had done the same for her? She hoped it ardently. After all Christmas could not be ignored that easily. Fresia smiled picturing Mark frowning in concentration, a serious look on his face while he tried to find the right gift for her. Yes, it would have gone like this and she already was quivering with anticipation, thinking about the moment of exchanging gifts, at Christmas Eve, perhaps under the Tree…
While she was lost in her fantasies, Fresia realized an important detail: Mark hadn't told her about his planes for Christmas still. She knew that the day after Christmas, Monday night, The Undertaker had to take part in the Raw show, so he would have been there. But he didn't say anything about the days before Christmas. Was he planning to go home? Above all, was he going to ask her to accompany him?
Fresia was doubtful about it. Introducing her to his family was like making their relationship "official" and Mark wasn't ready for that. Anyway a girl could dream, right? She thought, entering the arena and going to the hair and makeup area. She had to unpack her equipment and then wait for Mark, who was filming some spots for the incoming show, Armageddon, together with Paul, Steve Williams aka Stone Cold, Kurt Angle, Dwayne and Rikishi. The five men were scheduled for the main event, a "Hell in a cell" match for the World title.
Walking along the central corridor she was joined by Paul Levesque, coming out from Stephanie's office.
"Ciao Blondie" she greeted him, as she always did.
"Ciao shorty" he replied using his preferred nickname for her.
"How is our Princess today? Since you two are together I can't see her anymore" she joked.
"You know, I am a very demanding man, I want her all for myself – he chuckled – Anyway she is fine, very busy organizing Christmas. You know her".
"Of course! She is a McMahon after all, everyone at his place and with a well-defined task".
The McMahon family was occupied with the shows and the Christmas advertising so they would have worked all the holidays and since Paul had to work too and his hometown was too far, he and Stephanie would have spent Christmas together. What a romantic thing, Fresia thought.
"Have you already bought the gifts? – she asked curious – I just did it".
"Yes, me too but I have no intention of telling you anything or I run the risk to spoil the surprise".
"Are you calling me a chatterbox? Me?"
"Nooooooooo, you're kidding. I'm just saying that secrets don't suit you and I don't want to risk anything – Paul laughed – What about you? What did you pick for Mark?"
"I'm not telling you, you big lout" she replied making a face at him. "But just so you know it, I ordered something special for Stephanie, something that you will like a lot" she said winking, entering her room.
"What is it?" Paul asked very curious.
"Uh uh, no way – she said shaking her finger – Go to your job Paul, you're late. Ciaoooo". With that she closed the door in his face.
Fresia worked all the afternoon, with Cindy and Laura, chatting pleasantly while positioning the equipment for the next evening. A knock at the door distracted her from the bottles of shampoo.
"Come in" she yelled, putting the last one on the shelves.
"Ciao bella" Jason greeted.
"Ciao bella" Fresia replied smiling "What's up?"
"I'm going to the ring to control that my boys had done a good job with the cage so, since I'm here, I was thinking about offering you a mug of tea. Are you coming?"
"Good idea Jason, after all a real lady always gets her tea at five o'clock in the afternoon".
Jason rolled his eyes, laughing.
"Girls, we have finished here – said Fresia to her friends – I'm going to take a break. What about you?"
"You go Fresia – said Cindy – We will wait for the men here. It will take them a while anyway, they always linger for hours chatting, after they have done with the job".
"Right. I will pass by their locker room going to the bar, so I can inform Mark that he will find me there when he'll ready" she said, before going out.
Mark was in a bad mood. He had just had a meeting with the boss who told him that the plans for Armageddon were changed and Stone Cold Steve Austin would have won the belt instead of him, keeping the title till WrestleMania. Then he had to repeat the same segment four times, because that airhead Angle thought he could change the script at his liking, making the director and the cameraman crazy. As if it wasn't enough, his knee was hurting like hell, keeping him from concentrate.
But the real source of all his troubles was her, Fresia. She was pretty, funny, frank and sincere and had brought a blast of fresh air in his life. He was sexually fulfilled as it didn't happen often… after all a stable relationship had its pros. What he liked mostly about her was that she never obsessed him with plans for their future together. She simply enjoyed what they had, as he did. Their relationship was enough for her and that made Mark very serene.
But lately he had the sensation that things were a little different. With Christmas approaching, Fresia seemed to have the need to be near him constantly, hugging him and smiling sweetly. As if she was waiting for him to say something…special. She didn't ask him about his plan for Christmas, but had bought a new dress to wear that special day and was organizing to cook some biscuits that, she said, he would have surely loved.
Mark knew that she couldn't go back to Italy to stay with her family and she was upset. Consequently, not wanting to spend the festivities alone, she was hoping to be invited by him. Mark personally had no problems with that, but he had promised to his family to go home for a few days before Christmas and he didn't want to take her with him. Introducing her to his parents was like making their relationship "official", surely much more of a simple sex affair. He had never brought a woman at home to know his family, they would not have let him leave in peace, after it. So he decided to go alone and knew that he was going to hurt and disappoint her, but he didn't know what to do. A part of him was annoyed by the thought of hurting her; on the other side the consciousness of how much he had changed because of her, irritated him.
Dulcis in fundo there was the stupid behavior of his coworkers and friends, who were unequivocally by Fresia's side. They tormented him with a thousand of "why", especially Glen. That's what happens when you get softer: everybody felt the right to criticize you! Why didn't they understand that he wasn't a domestic guy? A man who couldn't be tamed and put on a leash?
The director was saying that the shootings were finally perfect and everybody was free to go. Mark, Dwayne, Glen, Kurt and the massive Rikishi went to the dressing room. The wrestlers were sharing two rooms and the Divas stayed all in a locker, because the arena was little and the space narrow. After a hot shower, Mark sat on a couch to slip his shoes on. He had to fetch Fresia, before going back to the hotel. That night he would have talked to her, communicating her his decision to go home for a few days… alone. It was not so hard, wasn't it?
Glen sat beside Mark, talking continuously with Paul, explaining in details what he had bought for Jessie. He was sure he had found the right gift for her and couldn't wait to deliver the small package to his girl. Paul in turn was saying that he too had purchased Christmas gifts but he had no intention to say a word about it. If he didn't tell Fresia, imagine if he would have said it to that big mouth of Glen.
"Speaking of Fresia – said Paul turning to Mark – She told me she had found the perfect gift for you but don't ask me what is it because she didn't want to talk about it".
"I'm not asking you shit" he grumbled irritated. The other two exchanged an eloquent glance.
Fresia had bought him a gift? Of course, it was almost Christmas. Damn, he still hadn't bought anything for her. Truthfully he hadn't thought about Christmas gifts at all. It was always like that, every year. He ended up taking home some valuables he found in one of the airport he frequented for his job, especially abroad. But this year there was Fresia. What should he do?
"Have you already found the gift for Fresia, Mark?" Glen asked.
Mark didn't answer, annoyed, fastening his shoes.
"I can help you with that – intervened Dwayne with his usual sarcasm – Give her a little of cheerfulness, coming from you it will surely be an incredible surprise".
"There is nothing to think of – Kurt said – Give her a jewel. Women love precious stuff and then they will let you do what you want".
"You should ask a piece of advice to her friends, they sure know what she likes" Paul reasoned.
"Hey, what about a journey, just the two of you. A couple of days of love on a beautiful Hawaii's beach" Rikishi suggested, denoting a romantic soul that clashed with his dimensions.
"What a wonderful idea! Cindy would love it" said Dwayne.
"On condition that you really intend to do it. The gift, I mean – said Glen in a severe tone – Or maybe your time is too precious to waste caring about Fresia?"
Mark had enough. How did they dare to look at him with disapproval? Who the hell did they think they were? Why didn't they mind their own business? Irritated by the criticism and tormented by the sense of guilt, he exploded, standing up abruptly and placing himself in front of his accusers.
"What I do with Fresia is my business, period. I don't tolerate interferences in my private life and I don't give a shit about what you all are thinking" He paused, looking at them one by one.
"Look at you, all of you. You're pathetic. A pussy has been enough to reduce you a bunch of spineless dummies".
"Hey, this has nothing to do with me" Kurt protested but a glower from Mark was enough to shut him up and a nod sufficient to make him sit down on a bench at the end of the locker room, hoping to go unnoticed.
"I don't care about stupidities, such as love – he thundered – Fresia is just my woman, she's neither my fiancé nor my future wife. I could replace her tomorrow if I wanted it so I would even resolve the awful problem of Christmas gifts". He concluded with a derisive sneer.
The silence in the room was total, almost palpable. But it was a strange silence. Mark caught his breath, after the tirade, if someone of those cocks would have pecked him, he was ready to answer back. Then he realized that the attention of those presents wasn't on him. Everybody was looking at the door, at Mark's back.
He turned around to understand what it was and saw her. Fresia was on the door of the locker room, which was open directly on the central corridor. The initial shock painted on her face developed little by little into sorrow, clearly visible in her eyes. Then she had a dignity gesture, turned on her heels and ran away.
At that point the silence was going to scream. Jason, who was with Fresia, seeing her flee away looked at Mark as if he was the Devil himself
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he said, before leaving in search of his friend.