A Long Time Coming

Darren Maddox: That's not what I have to talk to you about. I'll be in here for a couple days, then I have to go home to rest for the week. I'm gonna be fine.

Darren Maddox: What we need to talk about is...Well...I don't know if your mother told you this yet, but your Auntie Lexi finally confronted her face to face tonight at the show. It didn't come to a fight or anything, but...this is gonna be far from over.

My son was so smart for his age. So mature. That was why I knew I could be completely up front with him. He could handle it.

Darren Maddox: Your Aunt Lexi is now on the ICW roster. She's made it official. You and I both know your mother isn't gonna be happy at all about this. There's gonna be a lot of tension within our family over this. You need to know this so that you're prepared for the war that's about to come. This is gonna get ugly Mav.

Darren Maddox: So...what I need you to do is to be a strong young boy and just follow my lead, alright? I don't want you to take any rebellious actions against your mother over this. I know how you can be sometimes to try to help a situation. But right now, you need to let ME handle this. Just stay on the sidelines.....because I don't want you in the middle of this. I don't want you to get hurt.

I paused for a moment, then continued with the GOOD news that this would mean for Maverick.

Darren Maddox: And now the GOOD part of what this all means for you...

Darren Maddox: Now that your Aunt Lexi is back permanently which, the main reason for that is because of you and how much she loves you....

Darren Maddox: You're gonna get to start seeing your Aunt Lexi on a regular basis. Because I know how much it's hurt you to be away from her for so long. Well...no more. You're gonna start seeing her. I'm not gonna let anyone get in the way of that.

I knew this was going to cause a major blow up between me and Lycra. But...this was about Maverick. I was just gonna have to take that chance.

TBCB: Maverick

I stayed cool and collected. I turned my head and looked at Maverick.

Darren Maddox: Don't be afraid Mav. Look at your mother and tell her why the visit with Aunt Lexi was arranged.

He was reluctant.

Darren Maddox: It's alright...She needs to hear it from you. Tell her how you've been feeling about all of this.

I looked back at Lycra. I knew I had to let Maverick tell her his feelings himself. If I did it for him, Lycra would not believe any of it.

TBCB: Maverick

I was so proud of Maverick. He couldn't have said all of that any better than what he did. I knew it wasn't easy for him to state his honest feelings about this, knowing that his mother would hate to have to hear it. I looked at Maverick. I kept a calm voice.

Darren Maddox: You did fine Mav. You're not in any trouble. I want you to go and sit with your grandmother in the lounge right outside my room. She's waiting for you.

Maverick very cautiously walked by Lycra and left the room. I then looked at my wife. This conversation wasn't going to be easy by any means. But I was going to be as firm as ever about this.

Darren Maddox: Just so you're aware, I was going to tell you about the visit Makarios had with Maverick. But at the time, there was already enough going on. I was dealing with Johnstone and everything he was doing to our family and friends. I didn't want to start a war with you on top of that.

Darren Maddox: But...now you know. Maverick finally got to see Makarios last month, and he loved every second of it. I haven't seen that boy this happy in a VERY long time. And that is why he IS going to continue to see Makarios on a regular basis....

Darren Maddox: I know how upset you are about this... But Maverick has to come first....BEFORE your personal feelings.

Darren Maddox: And I know this is PERSONAL for you....

I stopped talking as I kept my eyes on hers.

TBCB: Lycra

I shook my head in frustration.

Darren Maddox: What happened between the two of you? I've asked you many times to tell me, but you refused. You two were the tag team champions. Hell, you guys were unstoppable. And not only that, you two had a long history of being close friends. Things were going GREAT for you two. That doesn't just disappear without a reason Lycra....

Darren Maddox: So....I ask you again....WHAT HAPPENED?

TBCB: Lycra

Darren Maddox: What's that supposed to mean?

My wife stood silent, refusing to answer my question. I leaned back against the pillows and I thought about all this for a minute. If she wasn't willing to open up to me, then I was going to have to go on facts that I already knew in order to figure this out on my own.

I kept my eyes on her.

Darren Maddox: If there's one thing I know for a fact about Makarios, it's that she's big on her loyalty to her family and friends. She hates being betrayed by anyone, so there's no way she would inflict it on someone else. Especially you. You're Maverick's mother. She would never hurt Maverick.

Darren Maddox: If you were innocent in this, then you wouldn't be refusing to tell me why you abandoned her. So....that only means one thing....

Darren Maddox: ....It's something YOU did.

Lycra's track record was just as checkered as mine. I knew she was capable of being the guilty one. That was why she didn't want to tell me anything about this.

Hard to talk about something when you're guilty.

TBCB: Lycra