Manny stood outside the closed door to his bedroom with a frown, trying to figure out a strategy. He scratched his scalp continuously but there was no itch to scratch. The obstacle he now faced was more challenging than any punch Flavio or any other boxer could have thrown, and he couldn’t weave, duck or counter his way out of this one.
Similar to his perfect win streak in the boxing ring, Manny also had a perfect streak in losing arguments with his wife. To be fair, it was a broken game to play.
Even if he did somehow miraculously win he lost because he would wake up with an angry women and if you were a sane man, you didn’t want that. You never wanted that. It was like winning a boxing match only for the referee to knock you out and steal your title.
Accepting his fate, Manny opened the door and almost immediately a deadpan stare locked onto him.
“Hey, Sonya.”
She looked him up and down for a brief moment before returning back to her book.
Manny sighed.
Great. The silent treatment. Why do they call it “treatment” anyway? I’m getting everything but treatment. Silent punishment sounds better or maybe silent psychological-slap-in-the-face. Ah, but she looks so cute when she’s mad. How long have I been standing still? I should say something.
“Thanks for organising the party. It was really something special. You know, it was almost perfect but you weren’t there so…”
Manny’s words trailed off, hoping to see a positive reaction. Sonya turned the page of her book, facial expression still emotionless.
He gulped.
“I’m sorry. I did the best I could. There was nothing I could do.”
“There was nothing you could do,” Sonya echoed in a bored tone of voice. “I see, I see. Makes perfect sense.”
“What doesn’t make sense is you’re mad at me for getting punched in the face repeatedly. You should be showing at least a bit of concern.”
Sonya fake laughed at the words. “I’m mad at you for breaking your promise. I’m mad that our eight-year-old daughter saw her father get knocked out.”
“No, I got back up.”
“Huh?”
“That was simply a knockdown, not a knockout. I got back up.”
“What’s the difference?”
“What’s the difference?” Manny repeated, a look of confusion on his face. “Defending the heavyweight title and winning my last fight is the difference.”
“That’s all you care about!” Sonya yelled. “Win, win, win! We agreed to let Phoebe watch the fight on the condition you stayed on your feet. You said you were 100% certain you could finish your last fight without getting knocked out but I guess that was a lie, right?”
“I was confident,” Manny mumbled. “Look, I don’t even see what the issue is here. She saw me overcome adversity. It’s a very important lesson to learn and she’s going to be exposed to violence much worse than this anyways.”
“Phoebe was crying her eyes out! She thought you were dead! She was traumatised!”
Manny stayed silent momentarily as he let the information sink in. “I didn’t mean… Is she okay?”
“I was able to reassure her. She’s in her brother’s room.”
Manny sat on the edge of the bed and hung his head low. “I’m sorry. I just wanted her to see me win.”
“It was selfish of you,” Sonya said.
Manny suppressed the natural urge to retort. The words cut deep.
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She was right and the behaviour wasn’t a rare occurrence. Manny had a track record of putting boxing before family. Throughout his boxing career, he had spent most of his time away from home, taking part in intensive training camps and preparing for his next fight. He never took holidays and only took breaks in order to allow his body to recover from injuries.
While there was no excuse for such actions, there was another reason aside from wanting to win…
Manny couldn’t explain why but when he threw his fist, whether fighting in the ring or simply hitting a heavy bag, it calmed his anxiety. It was an action he had performed so many times in so many different ways that he never really had to think of anything. In the focused fighting state, he didn’t have to dwell on the mistakes of the past. He didn’t have to think about the friends and family members he’d lost. He didn’t have to worry about the responsibilities of being a parent. It brought him solace in dark times.
Manny clenched his fists but they soon relaxed. He considered giving a speech about how everything would change now that he was retired but dismissed the idea. Instead of declaring that he was going to become a different man he was simply going to show that was the case.
“Tomorrow will be a family day,” Manny said. “We’ll go out.”
“Don’t be silly,” Sonya replied, hugging him from behind. “You need to rest.”
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For one minute, Manny watched his two children pretend to be asleep and held in a laugh as they struggled to maintain their facades.
Phoebe was a better actor than her older brother, Abeo. Her facial expression was emotionless, but she sprawled in a position so chaotic that one leg hung over her brother’s chest and the other hung over the bed. On the other hand, Abeo’s face was scrunched up with eyes squeezed too tight, and his lip quivered.
“Oh no,” Manny said. “They’re asleep. That’s a shame. I had a nice surprise for them but I guess I’ll have to wait for tomorrow.”
Phoebe sprung out of the bed like a cat doused with water. “Surprise?” she blurted. “I’m awake, Dad!”
Abeo finally let out the laugh he had been holding in. “No, it’s a trap!”
“Why are you both awake at this time?” Manny asked.
“We were sound asleep until we heard you and mum arguing,” Abeo replied.
“These walls are mostly sound proof. You must have been snooping.”
“I couldn’t stay awake after seeing your glorious win and Phoebe was having nightmares.” Abeo dodged the accusation quick enough to make any boxer jealous.
“It was scary!” Phoebe ran to hug her father. “Why did you keep getting hit?”
“That’s a good question,” Abeo said. “He was eating way too many of those punches.”
“Cheeky. “ Manny ruffled Abeo’s hair. “When’s your next football game? It’s Sunday right?”
“Uh-huh.” Abeo’s smile replaced with a sceptical look. “You’re not going. You never go. I wish you would but you won’t. Wait, you’re going?”
“Of course,” Manny said. “But be warned. If you start losing, I’m going to boo.”
Abeo’s wide grin was priceless. “Finally!” he yelled, punching the air. “There’s no chance I’m losing, Dad. I’m literally better than everyone on the pitch. Last time I scored six goals, one as a goalie.”
“One as a goalie? How selfish do you have to be to score as a goalie?”
Abeo shrugged. “I’ve got skills, I keep telling you. I need to play with the older kids at this rate. I’m undefeated, just like you, Dad!”
Manny chuckled while making a mental note of his sons ego. Although proud, like any father would be, he was concerned with Abeo’s overconfidence. In any game or sport, the best never underestimated their opponents, no matter the skill difference. Maybe an early loss would be better for him as he would learn much more from it than winning.
“You said there was a surprise,” Phoebe mumbled. “Were you lying, Dad?”
Manny crouched so he could meet her level. “I would never lie to you princess. Next week, we’ll all go to the theme park as a family and maybe there will be presents for the both of you.”
“Yes!” Abeo and Phoebe both yelled triumphantly.
“Cotton candy!” Phoebe cried.
“Let’s go on all the rides!” Abeo cried.
“Cotton candy!” Phoebe repeated. “Cotton candy, cotton candy, cotton candy!”
Manny placed a finger before pursed lips to hush them. “We’ll try to go on as many rides as we can and, yes, we will eat cotton candy. But for now, I need the two of you to go to sleep. Before your mother gets mad.”
As he tucked them into bed, the injuries from the title fight intensified and a throbbing pain pulsated all over his body. The adrenaline in his system had finally faded away and melatonin levels were through the roof. He hobbled to the door and switched off the light switch on the nearby wall.
“Good night, Dad,” Abeo said.
“Good night, Dad,” Phoebe copied.
Manny fought the urge to wince and smiled instead. “Good night. I love you both.”
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Lying in bed, while slowly losing consciousness, Manny felt gratitude. He was grateful for his family and friends, the successful boxing career which he had relished every step of the way and all the events that led him to where he was now, the good and the bad. Life so far had been a compelling story with ups and downs and the odd surprise twist. It was certainly a life to be proud of.
Manny raised one arm towards the ceiling in the darkness as if reaching for a floating object.
He was far from complacent. There were still goals to chase, even if they weren’t as ambitious as the previous ones. He wanted to spend more time with the ones he loved and fully enjoy the life he had worked so hard to build. He wanted to see Abeo and Phoebe grow into accomplished adults and live a peaceful, relatively stress free life.
A distant voice flickered in his mind though it felt foreign.
I’m not done yet. Far from it.
At 1:20am, on the 27th of February 2022, Manny Okoro fell into a coma.