12-21-2022, 07:40 AM
December 13th, 2022
It is true that she was a mother before, but the joy of motherhood had completely enveloped her. Her son, Charly Quinn, with her former boyfriend Cody Knox, sadly passed away at the tender age of two. He died as a result of a fatal heart defect that caused his death. As she sits in front of her now two-year-old daughter, Sarah, who is playing with a combination of little people figures and building blocks. The child tries to put one of the plastic dolls in her mouth, but her mother reaches out to stop her.
“No, no, that doesn’t go in your mouth.” The mother doesn’t come close to putting her hand on the toy, as her daughter quickly clutches it tight to her chest.
“No, mine!” The mother pulled her hand back, as she knew that it was going to be pointless to try to wrestle the toy again from the toddler. She had attempted to break the death grip on the same toy before with disastrous results. Not only did she fail to get the toy away from her daughter, but she sent her into a full-blown tantrum.
“Now, Sarah, that’s a toy not food.” Suddenly, the front door was sent crashing open, as the cold night of Raleigh, North Carolina spilled into the home. As the top of a pine tree slowly crept through the door, its branches started to push through. The toddler wildly stared at the new sight before her. As she’s still not old enough to understand the concept of a ‘Christmas’ tree. “What's that?”
The toddler just watched in amazement as the tree inched a little more into the house before it jerked back a little bit. What seemed like a lifetime for the young child. However, in reality it was just about three minutes before the tree, and the person responsible for bringing it inside, finally arrived.
"How are my girls doing?" the bearer of the tree asked, as he closed the front door, finally putting an end to the invading cold air from outside. In a state of exhaustion, he dropped the pine tree on the floor near the door after moving it into the house through the door. In doing so, snow from some of the branches fell to the ground, much to the dismay of the toddler’s mother.
“Better now that the door is closed, right baby?” The toddler’s mother playfully reached out to tickle the young girl’s tummy. A small giggle escaped her lips at that point, as a smile spread across her face as she laughed. However, for the most part she was just staring in wonderment at the tree and the man that brought it into the house. At least until he raised his hands up and pulled back the hood, revealing an unkempt beard and long wild hair. The man looked like a real old-time lumberjack, but he was more than that.
“DADDY!” The toddler’s face lit up when she recognized her father’s face. The young girl dropped her toys, jumping up to her feet, and wobbling towards her father. Her father, Woodrow “Woody” Hoyt, scooped the girl up into his arms. She screamed out loud as he kissed her cheek. She felt how cold his nose was and she giggled at the sight of the coldness of his nose, resulting in a series of giggles from Sarah.
The mother, Patience Hoyt, sighed as she knew that if she didn’t get the mop the front foyer of the home wasn’t going to get cleaned up. However, she couldn’t help but smile at the situation as well. In the past, she never imagined she would have a family like this. Her ex-boyfriend, Cody Knox, slept with another woman after finding out that she was pregnant leaving her alone the entire time. Sure, he came around and wanted to be part of their son’s life, but it was too little, too late.
Charley passed away not long after they got back together, and it was the final nail in their relationship’s coffin. After the trauma of the breakup and the loss of her son, which piled on even more when she was in a car accident that broke her neck. She decided that it was time to put the world of wrestling behind her for good. However, she fell in love with Woody, married him, and while he was working for her uncle Rick’s wrestling school met Ashlynn Harte.
There was just something about her that drew Patience into that woman’s orbit. To say that they were fast friends would be an understatement. Within a few weeks Patience was critiquing her form, getting in the ring with her, working on her basics, and finally debuting as the new tag team Embers and Ashes in the SCW. Embers and Ashes had a rocky run with the company racking up losses to The Red Empire, The Hollow, and No Fucks to Give among others. However, as soon as their run began, it came to an end. Shortly after losing to No Fucks to Give, Patience found out that she was pregnant with her second child.
Which was a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because after the birth of Charley, she was informed due to internal injuries she sustained when Pierce Manning put her through a stack of tables in SCCW. Furthermore, she may never be able to conceive again due to these traumas and the recent trauma of giving birth to her son.
As a result, when she told the SCW about her condition and that her pregnancy was deemed high risk, not only for her well-being, but for the baby, she was advised to retire immediately. The SCW was more than generous to her as they allowed her to stay under contract, because it was a small, short-term deal. As they wanted to make sure the expecting family would be able to take care of the child after its birth. On the flip side, they decided to release Ashlynn from her contract, because with her mentor slash tag partner leaving, the fact that she was still very much green in the ring, and creative didn’t have anything for her outside of Ember and Ashes there was no point in keeping her around.
Which caused a wedge between the two women. Although they used to be close friends, it's been nearly two years since they spoke to one another.
Two hours after her husband brought the tree into their home, it was set up with all the decorations, and the front foyer was cleaned up from the melting snow. Patience and Woody both sat together cuddling, looking down at Sarah, who was passed out in front of the tree. The different colors of the lights illuminated her face briefly.
“Babe, have you heard from your father?” He kissed the top of his wife’s head as he awaited her answer.
“Yeah, while you and Munchkin were getting the decorations out of the attic.” She sighed a little bit as something seemed off about the conversation she had. Granted, she was relieved to hear that his back surgery ended well, but it was like he was hiding something from her. “The doctors were able to relieve some of the pressure on his spine.”
“But?” Even though he hadn’t heard the conversation between Patience and her father, he could tell something was bothering her, because he could feel it.
“My dad said that they were going to have to do the surgery again in a couple of days and then maybe they will be able to fuse the disks together to keep the pressure from getting so bad.” Which the thought of them having to have another surgery so soon did have her worried about her father, but still there was something else that was bothering her.
Her husband said, "Your dad is one of the strongest men I know. It took a strong man to deal with the injuries since he retired and not take pain medications to endanger his sobriety." Hearing him say that just made the knot in her stomach grow a little bigger as her father was never the same after her mother passed away. He did right by her growing up, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have his demons. He did have a drinking problem. He self-medicated to deal with his injuries so that he could wrestle through them, to keep providing for her. He finally got himself clean and sober after her Uncle Rick nearly killed himself in a car accident while driving drunk. As he was navigating through his first divorce with her Aunt Jasmine.
"You're right, it’s just that he asked me an odd question.” Patience reached up and started to stroke her husband’s beard. Normally, it would be enough to calm her nerves, but something about the question and the situation in general is really getting to her.
“What was the question?” He was really starting to worry about his wife, because he hadn't seen her this worried since she tried to return to wrestling leading up to her first match back
“He asked me if Ashlynn and I had made up yet.” She knew that it was a simple question, but it was just the timing of the question that was odd. She didn’t even realize that he knew Ashlynn. However, he could have met her at Uncle Rick’s wrestling school on one of the days that she wasn’t there. He often stepped in from time to time to work with the students that wanted to learn more of a high-flying style instead of the technical side that Uncle Rick and Woody taught.
“While the timing is odd, who knows they might be seeing one another?" For some reason Patience cringed at the thought of Ashlynn and her father being a couple. “As serious as his surgeries are... he might be looking towards the future and wants your blessing. Have you made up with her?”
“Not for lack of trying on my part. She just won’t answer or return my calls.” Patience sighed again, as her focus moved towards their families’ memory wall. A wall that is decorated with pictures mostly of Charley and Sarah but sprinkled in are pictures of their careers. Woody’s SCCW Pure Championship, Patience's multiple SCCW tag titles as well as the first promotional picture of Embers and Ashes.
Silence fell over the living room as neither one of them could pinpoint why her father would ask such a question. However, the uneasy pit in Patience’s stomach wasn’t going away as she found herself staring at the promotional photo of her and Ashlynn. Though she was unsure why, she had a feeling her former tag team point was relevant to what was currently being discussed, but what was the question?
“Are you thinking of heading back?” Woody noticed that his wife was staring at the wrestling photos a little more than normal. On most days, it is very clear that wrestling is behind her, but at the moment, he believes she is having second thoughts.
“No, just thinking about Ash.” Ashlynn was furious when she got her release from the company and screamed at Patience for nearly two hours about how she was sabotaging her career, ruining her dream, and the like. No matter how many times Patience and Woody told her that SCW was just one door and when one door closes another door opens. However, she wasn’t having any of it.
“It’s okay if you are... I mean it’s almost the end of the year.” Woody's lips curled into a smirk underneath his out-of-control facial hair. Which meant that the end of the year invitational was just right around the corner. Thanks to the SCW’s generosity they don't need money but having that prize money for Sarah’s college fund and a second car would be a pleasure to have.
“Yup, Uncle Rick’s and Sam’s birthdays are right around.” Patience knew what her husband was hinting at, but she wasn’t allowing him to bait her into it.
“That too, but just think of what the prize money and car would do for us.” Patience turned her attention to her husband. He knows that his heart is in the right place, but it would feel wrong if she were to enter the Invitational after costing Ashlynn her dream. Granted, Ashlynn could have easily entered last year and the year before that but chose not to for some reason.
“If it’s that significant to you... you enter.” Woody’s face crinkled up, because he knew that she had him by the scruff of the neck. He could easily enter the match, because he himself is a professional wrestler.
“I would, but I learned long ago that I’m a much better teacher than a wrestler.” Hearing her husband say that made Patience’s heart hurt a little bit. His confidence in himself was destroyed by the likes of Nevaeh Summer and Nova Wonder when he finally made the main roster of the GDW.
“Babe, you need to let go of the pain of what those two did to you.” He knows that he really needs to, but it's unfair of her to ask him that considering that she can’t let go of things in her past to return to the ring.
“Okay, well then what would help get you back into the ring?” He was more than ready for her to dodge the question like she has done in the past, but as he looked into her eyes, he saw something that was different.
“If and when my dad decides to have a retirement match, I’d love for it to be a father-daughter team up. It’s the one thing that I haven’t done.” Woody was surprised by her answer, because it implied there was a chance that she would get back into the ring. However, with regards to his recent surgeries and recovery time it isn’t like it’s going to happen any time soon either.
"Daddy, I’m cold." Suddenly came a very sleepy sounding Sarah’s voice. Her parents watched her rub her right eye as she struggling to sit up.
“Okay, daddy will take you to bed.” Woody and Patience moved away from one another so that he could stand up to his feet. A few steps later, he was standing over his daughter, bent over to pick her up with his hands behind her back and under her knees. She reached up to wrap her tiny arms around his neck as he bent down to pick her up. He placed his hands behind her back and under her knees.
“Night momma.” The girl sheepishly said, as she yawned massively while her daddy picked her up off the floor.
“Night sweetie.” Patience smiled as she waved to her daughter as Woody started to make his way towards her bedroom. The young girl didn’t make it very far in her daddy’s arms before she was passed back out. Looking at the time it was nearly midnight. Therefore, it was pretty late. If she wanted to visit her father in the morning, she was going to have to get to bed herself.
However, she knew that she couldn’t leave Sarah’s toys out on the floor like that. She tried to stand up, but her phone started ringing beside her. Considering how late it was she couldn’t imagine who would be calling her.
“Hello, who is this?” Even after looking at the caller ID on her phone she had no clue who it was, because the number was unknown. It was possible that a fan somehow got her number, because it wouldn’t be the first time that had happened.
“Yes, this is her, OH hey Dr. Hall. My father, is he giving you trouble?" Patience shook her head as it wasn’t uncommon for her father to cause a tad bit of chaos in the hospital by hitting on the hot nurses. Even though she’s a grown woman, he was desperately trying to fill the void left by her mother’s death when she was three years old. However, the smile that was starting to form on her face was frozen in its tracks as her face lost all of its color.
“No, no, no, no.... this can’t be happening!" Patience's voice trembled a little bit with each no that she said, as she dropped her phone down to the floor before she herself dropped down to her knees with a loud thud. Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. The doctor in charge of her father’s care just informed her that his heart had stopped beating and that they were in the process of trying to revive him. Woody came running back into the room after putting their daughter down in her room.
“What happened? What’s the matter?” Woody asked, as he rushed to his wife’s side wrapping his arms around her. Even though he did not know what was happening, he tried to comfort her..
“I need to leave... I need to go to the hospital.” Patience stammered, as she was having a hard time putting her thoughts into words. Which means she already knows that she isn’t in the right mind to be driving herself to the hospital.
“Why? What’s wrong?” While still holding on to his wife, Woody tries to look for any signs of injury or pain that she could be in. His mind is focused on the possibility that she is having a medical emergency.
“My dad... my dad... is possibly dying right now!” Patience could not hold back her tears as her voice was hoarse from the emotion and the crying. Woody at that moment was completely dumbfounded as to how Patience’s father shifted from successful surgery to possibly dying at this moment.
“Go get in the car.” Woody said he knew that he had to try his best to get her to the hospital to be with her father. “I’ll grab Sarah.”
He didn’t like the idea of pulling Sarah out of bed after just putting her into it, but he knew that he couldn’t leave her home alone either. With the road conditions and how far the hospital was from their home it unfortunately took them an hour and a half to get to the hospital. It probably would have been longer if it was the middle of the day with more traffic on the streets. So, they were lucky in that regard, but even with that small win in their favor. They were too late. Upon their arrival they learned that Michael Charles Young, who was known as The Tragic Hero throughout his career had passed away.
The hospital staff told them that they could take all the time that they needed to say their goodbyes. That they would wait till everyone left the room before they would come remove his body. Over the course of the next few hours as Patience sat with her dad everyone from her aunt and uncles, Rick, Jasmine, Johnny, to her grandparents, to her cousins Jesse, Sam, Eric, and Ayden, to Ryan Singer, Chris Pressler, and even some of their families that trained under her father came to visit him.
After finally letting everyone that wanted to say goodbye have a turn, she was finally ready to let go of her father. However, as she was about to leave the room, she came face to face with an unexpected sight. Ashlynn was standing at the door looking like she was out of breath, and tears streaming down her face.
“I’ll leave you two alone.” Patience said, as she pushed past Ashlynn to leave the room. She knew that she needed to make up with her, because it seemed like her father wanted that, but there was no way she was doing it right now. She wasn’t inclined to make up with someone that could possibly be her father’s lover over his dead body.
“Patience wait, there is something that I need to tell you!" Ashlynn yelled after her, but Patience didn’t stop or even turn to look back at her. So, Ashlynn had to prioritize what she wanted to do... was it more imperative to talk to Patience or was it more critical to say goodbye to a man that she hardly knew? In this case, the man that she hardly knew won, because this was going to be the last time that she got to see him.
{ To Be Continued }
It is true that she was a mother before, but the joy of motherhood had completely enveloped her. Her son, Charly Quinn, with her former boyfriend Cody Knox, sadly passed away at the tender age of two. He died as a result of a fatal heart defect that caused his death. As she sits in front of her now two-year-old daughter, Sarah, who is playing with a combination of little people figures and building blocks. The child tries to put one of the plastic dolls in her mouth, but her mother reaches out to stop her.
“No, no, that doesn’t go in your mouth.” The mother doesn’t come close to putting her hand on the toy, as her daughter quickly clutches it tight to her chest.
“No, mine!” The mother pulled her hand back, as she knew that it was going to be pointless to try to wrestle the toy again from the toddler. She had attempted to break the death grip on the same toy before with disastrous results. Not only did she fail to get the toy away from her daughter, but she sent her into a full-blown tantrum.
“Now, Sarah, that’s a toy not food.” Suddenly, the front door was sent crashing open, as the cold night of Raleigh, North Carolina spilled into the home. As the top of a pine tree slowly crept through the door, its branches started to push through. The toddler wildly stared at the new sight before her. As she’s still not old enough to understand the concept of a ‘Christmas’ tree. “What's that?”
The toddler just watched in amazement as the tree inched a little more into the house before it jerked back a little bit. What seemed like a lifetime for the young child. However, in reality it was just about three minutes before the tree, and the person responsible for bringing it inside, finally arrived.
"How are my girls doing?" the bearer of the tree asked, as he closed the front door, finally putting an end to the invading cold air from outside. In a state of exhaustion, he dropped the pine tree on the floor near the door after moving it into the house through the door. In doing so, snow from some of the branches fell to the ground, much to the dismay of the toddler’s mother.
“Better now that the door is closed, right baby?” The toddler’s mother playfully reached out to tickle the young girl’s tummy. A small giggle escaped her lips at that point, as a smile spread across her face as she laughed. However, for the most part she was just staring in wonderment at the tree and the man that brought it into the house. At least until he raised his hands up and pulled back the hood, revealing an unkempt beard and long wild hair. The man looked like a real old-time lumberjack, but he was more than that.
“DADDY!” The toddler’s face lit up when she recognized her father’s face. The young girl dropped her toys, jumping up to her feet, and wobbling towards her father. Her father, Woodrow “Woody” Hoyt, scooped the girl up into his arms. She screamed out loud as he kissed her cheek. She felt how cold his nose was and she giggled at the sight of the coldness of his nose, resulting in a series of giggles from Sarah.
The mother, Patience Hoyt, sighed as she knew that if she didn’t get the mop the front foyer of the home wasn’t going to get cleaned up. However, she couldn’t help but smile at the situation as well. In the past, she never imagined she would have a family like this. Her ex-boyfriend, Cody Knox, slept with another woman after finding out that she was pregnant leaving her alone the entire time. Sure, he came around and wanted to be part of their son’s life, but it was too little, too late.
Charley passed away not long after they got back together, and it was the final nail in their relationship’s coffin. After the trauma of the breakup and the loss of her son, which piled on even more when she was in a car accident that broke her neck. She decided that it was time to put the world of wrestling behind her for good. However, she fell in love with Woody, married him, and while he was working for her uncle Rick’s wrestling school met Ashlynn Harte.
There was just something about her that drew Patience into that woman’s orbit. To say that they were fast friends would be an understatement. Within a few weeks Patience was critiquing her form, getting in the ring with her, working on her basics, and finally debuting as the new tag team Embers and Ashes in the SCW. Embers and Ashes had a rocky run with the company racking up losses to The Red Empire, The Hollow, and No Fucks to Give among others. However, as soon as their run began, it came to an end. Shortly after losing to No Fucks to Give, Patience found out that she was pregnant with her second child.
Which was a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because after the birth of Charley, she was informed due to internal injuries she sustained when Pierce Manning put her through a stack of tables in SCCW. Furthermore, she may never be able to conceive again due to these traumas and the recent trauma of giving birth to her son.
As a result, when she told the SCW about her condition and that her pregnancy was deemed high risk, not only for her well-being, but for the baby, she was advised to retire immediately. The SCW was more than generous to her as they allowed her to stay under contract, because it was a small, short-term deal. As they wanted to make sure the expecting family would be able to take care of the child after its birth. On the flip side, they decided to release Ashlynn from her contract, because with her mentor slash tag partner leaving, the fact that she was still very much green in the ring, and creative didn’t have anything for her outside of Ember and Ashes there was no point in keeping her around.
Which caused a wedge between the two women. Although they used to be close friends, it's been nearly two years since they spoke to one another.
Two hours after her husband brought the tree into their home, it was set up with all the decorations, and the front foyer was cleaned up from the melting snow. Patience and Woody both sat together cuddling, looking down at Sarah, who was passed out in front of the tree. The different colors of the lights illuminated her face briefly.
“Babe, have you heard from your father?” He kissed the top of his wife’s head as he awaited her answer.
“Yeah, while you and Munchkin were getting the decorations out of the attic.” She sighed a little bit as something seemed off about the conversation she had. Granted, she was relieved to hear that his back surgery ended well, but it was like he was hiding something from her. “The doctors were able to relieve some of the pressure on his spine.”
“But?” Even though he hadn’t heard the conversation between Patience and her father, he could tell something was bothering her, because he could feel it.
“My dad said that they were going to have to do the surgery again in a couple of days and then maybe they will be able to fuse the disks together to keep the pressure from getting so bad.” Which the thought of them having to have another surgery so soon did have her worried about her father, but still there was something else that was bothering her.
Her husband said, "Your dad is one of the strongest men I know. It took a strong man to deal with the injuries since he retired and not take pain medications to endanger his sobriety." Hearing him say that just made the knot in her stomach grow a little bigger as her father was never the same after her mother passed away. He did right by her growing up, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have his demons. He did have a drinking problem. He self-medicated to deal with his injuries so that he could wrestle through them, to keep providing for her. He finally got himself clean and sober after her Uncle Rick nearly killed himself in a car accident while driving drunk. As he was navigating through his first divorce with her Aunt Jasmine.
"You're right, it’s just that he asked me an odd question.” Patience reached up and started to stroke her husband’s beard. Normally, it would be enough to calm her nerves, but something about the question and the situation in general is really getting to her.
“What was the question?” He was really starting to worry about his wife, because he hadn't seen her this worried since she tried to return to wrestling leading up to her first match back
“He asked me if Ashlynn and I had made up yet.” She knew that it was a simple question, but it was just the timing of the question that was odd. She didn’t even realize that he knew Ashlynn. However, he could have met her at Uncle Rick’s wrestling school on one of the days that she wasn’t there. He often stepped in from time to time to work with the students that wanted to learn more of a high-flying style instead of the technical side that Uncle Rick and Woody taught.
“While the timing is odd, who knows they might be seeing one another?" For some reason Patience cringed at the thought of Ashlynn and her father being a couple. “As serious as his surgeries are... he might be looking towards the future and wants your blessing. Have you made up with her?”
“Not for lack of trying on my part. She just won’t answer or return my calls.” Patience sighed again, as her focus moved towards their families’ memory wall. A wall that is decorated with pictures mostly of Charley and Sarah but sprinkled in are pictures of their careers. Woody’s SCCW Pure Championship, Patience's multiple SCCW tag titles as well as the first promotional picture of Embers and Ashes.
Silence fell over the living room as neither one of them could pinpoint why her father would ask such a question. However, the uneasy pit in Patience’s stomach wasn’t going away as she found herself staring at the promotional photo of her and Ashlynn. Though she was unsure why, she had a feeling her former tag team point was relevant to what was currently being discussed, but what was the question?
“Are you thinking of heading back?” Woody noticed that his wife was staring at the wrestling photos a little more than normal. On most days, it is very clear that wrestling is behind her, but at the moment, he believes she is having second thoughts.
“No, just thinking about Ash.” Ashlynn was furious when she got her release from the company and screamed at Patience for nearly two hours about how she was sabotaging her career, ruining her dream, and the like. No matter how many times Patience and Woody told her that SCW was just one door and when one door closes another door opens. However, she wasn’t having any of it.
“It’s okay if you are... I mean it’s almost the end of the year.” Woody's lips curled into a smirk underneath his out-of-control facial hair. Which meant that the end of the year invitational was just right around the corner. Thanks to the SCW’s generosity they don't need money but having that prize money for Sarah’s college fund and a second car would be a pleasure to have.
“Yup, Uncle Rick’s and Sam’s birthdays are right around.” Patience knew what her husband was hinting at, but she wasn’t allowing him to bait her into it.
“That too, but just think of what the prize money and car would do for us.” Patience turned her attention to her husband. He knows that his heart is in the right place, but it would feel wrong if she were to enter the Invitational after costing Ashlynn her dream. Granted, Ashlynn could have easily entered last year and the year before that but chose not to for some reason.
“If it’s that significant to you... you enter.” Woody’s face crinkled up, because he knew that she had him by the scruff of the neck. He could easily enter the match, because he himself is a professional wrestler.
“I would, but I learned long ago that I’m a much better teacher than a wrestler.” Hearing her husband say that made Patience’s heart hurt a little bit. His confidence in himself was destroyed by the likes of Nevaeh Summer and Nova Wonder when he finally made the main roster of the GDW.
“Babe, you need to let go of the pain of what those two did to you.” He knows that he really needs to, but it's unfair of her to ask him that considering that she can’t let go of things in her past to return to the ring.
“Okay, well then what would help get you back into the ring?” He was more than ready for her to dodge the question like she has done in the past, but as he looked into her eyes, he saw something that was different.
“If and when my dad decides to have a retirement match, I’d love for it to be a father-daughter team up. It’s the one thing that I haven’t done.” Woody was surprised by her answer, because it implied there was a chance that she would get back into the ring. However, with regards to his recent surgeries and recovery time it isn’t like it’s going to happen any time soon either.
"Daddy, I’m cold." Suddenly came a very sleepy sounding Sarah’s voice. Her parents watched her rub her right eye as she struggling to sit up.
“Okay, daddy will take you to bed.” Woody and Patience moved away from one another so that he could stand up to his feet. A few steps later, he was standing over his daughter, bent over to pick her up with his hands behind her back and under her knees. She reached up to wrap her tiny arms around his neck as he bent down to pick her up. He placed his hands behind her back and under her knees.
“Night momma.” The girl sheepishly said, as she yawned massively while her daddy picked her up off the floor.
“Night sweetie.” Patience smiled as she waved to her daughter as Woody started to make his way towards her bedroom. The young girl didn’t make it very far in her daddy’s arms before she was passed back out. Looking at the time it was nearly midnight. Therefore, it was pretty late. If she wanted to visit her father in the morning, she was going to have to get to bed herself.
However, she knew that she couldn’t leave Sarah’s toys out on the floor like that. She tried to stand up, but her phone started ringing beside her. Considering how late it was she couldn’t imagine who would be calling her.
“Hello, who is this?” Even after looking at the caller ID on her phone she had no clue who it was, because the number was unknown. It was possible that a fan somehow got her number, because it wouldn’t be the first time that had happened.
“Yes, this is her, OH hey Dr. Hall. My father, is he giving you trouble?" Patience shook her head as it wasn’t uncommon for her father to cause a tad bit of chaos in the hospital by hitting on the hot nurses. Even though she’s a grown woman, he was desperately trying to fill the void left by her mother’s death when she was three years old. However, the smile that was starting to form on her face was frozen in its tracks as her face lost all of its color.
“No, no, no, no.... this can’t be happening!" Patience's voice trembled a little bit with each no that she said, as she dropped her phone down to the floor before she herself dropped down to her knees with a loud thud. Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. The doctor in charge of her father’s care just informed her that his heart had stopped beating and that they were in the process of trying to revive him. Woody came running back into the room after putting their daughter down in her room.
“What happened? What’s the matter?” Woody asked, as he rushed to his wife’s side wrapping his arms around her. Even though he did not know what was happening, he tried to comfort her..
“I need to leave... I need to go to the hospital.” Patience stammered, as she was having a hard time putting her thoughts into words. Which means she already knows that she isn’t in the right mind to be driving herself to the hospital.
“Why? What’s wrong?” While still holding on to his wife, Woody tries to look for any signs of injury or pain that she could be in. His mind is focused on the possibility that she is having a medical emergency.
“My dad... my dad... is possibly dying right now!” Patience could not hold back her tears as her voice was hoarse from the emotion and the crying. Woody at that moment was completely dumbfounded as to how Patience’s father shifted from successful surgery to possibly dying at this moment.
“Go get in the car.” Woody said he knew that he had to try his best to get her to the hospital to be with her father. “I’ll grab Sarah.”
He didn’t like the idea of pulling Sarah out of bed after just putting her into it, but he knew that he couldn’t leave her home alone either. With the road conditions and how far the hospital was from their home it unfortunately took them an hour and a half to get to the hospital. It probably would have been longer if it was the middle of the day with more traffic on the streets. So, they were lucky in that regard, but even with that small win in their favor. They were too late. Upon their arrival they learned that Michael Charles Young, who was known as The Tragic Hero throughout his career had passed away.
The hospital staff told them that they could take all the time that they needed to say their goodbyes. That they would wait till everyone left the room before they would come remove his body. Over the course of the next few hours as Patience sat with her dad everyone from her aunt and uncles, Rick, Jasmine, Johnny, to her grandparents, to her cousins Jesse, Sam, Eric, and Ayden, to Ryan Singer, Chris Pressler, and even some of their families that trained under her father came to visit him.
After finally letting everyone that wanted to say goodbye have a turn, she was finally ready to let go of her father. However, as she was about to leave the room, she came face to face with an unexpected sight. Ashlynn was standing at the door looking like she was out of breath, and tears streaming down her face.
“I’ll leave you two alone.” Patience said, as she pushed past Ashlynn to leave the room. She knew that she needed to make up with her, because it seemed like her father wanted that, but there was no way she was doing it right now. She wasn’t inclined to make up with someone that could possibly be her father’s lover over his dead body.
“Patience wait, there is something that I need to tell you!" Ashlynn yelled after her, but Patience didn’t stop or even turn to look back at her. So, Ashlynn had to prioritize what she wanted to do... was it more imperative to talk to Patience or was it more critical to say goodbye to a man that she hardly knew? In this case, the man that she hardly knew won, because this was going to be the last time that she got to see him.
{ To Be Continued }