Post by logansky on Jun 17, 2024 2:54:54 GMT
Tim opened the door to the simple pop up trailer that served as the office on his job site and looked in at Kurt as the young boy was sorting invoices into their appropriate files.
“Hey sport, it’s quittin time. Let’s get you home.”
“I only got a little bit left to do Uncle Tim.”
“Don’t worry about that. It’ll be here on Monday. Your mom wanted me to make sure to get you home right away tonight. Grab your lunch box and I’ll pull the truck around.”
“OK, Uncle Tim.”
He nodded his head and stepped out of the office and went down the steps. As he walked over to where his truck was parked he offered nods to the workers that were lazing around at the site still, finishing their cigarettes and talking about which bar they were going to hit up. He climbed up into his truck and tossed his hard hat into the back seat. He started it up and rolled down the windows and turned on the fan to help push the hot Texas air from the cab as he pulled around in front of the office. A moment later, Kurt stepped out of the office and locked the door with the keys that he borrowed while on site. Tim nodded in approval as the boy checked his own hard hat before making his way down the steps. Kurt was kept well away from any places on the construction site where he would be in danger, but instilling safe habits made sure that even the worst could be prevented.
Kurt opened the door and took his time climbing up into the cab and tossed his hard hat into the back next to his own before closing the door. Then he put keys in a cup holder.
“Thanks sport. Ya did some good work today.”
“Thanks Uncle Tim.” The boy reached up and pulled his seatbelt on and settled into his chair. He’d been pretty distant since he started working for him. Not that Tim could really blame him.
He pulled the truck out of the gate and onto the road and the two of them drove in silence as he switched the truck over to the AC and rolled up the windows. But once he pulled off onto the freeway Kurt turned and looked at him.
“Why’d you have to tell my mom, Uncle Tim.”
Tim tightened his hand on the steering wheel and let out a slow breath of air.
“I did it to keep you safe, Kurt. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to you.”
“I don’t think grandpa would ever hurt me.”
“You’d be surprised, kid.”
Kurt shifted in his chair to look at him for a long moment.
“He never did before. Did he hurt you?”
Tim shook his head and let out another breath.
“He never hit us or anything like that. But ya, he hurt us. He would say some mean stuff sometimes. But mostly he only ever cared about his drugs. He was almost never there for us. I haven’t spoken to him since mom’s funeral though. I have no idea what he’s like now. People change. Especially when drugs are involved.”
“Oh.” He turned and looked out the windshield, watching the traffic around them. “OK. I guess that makes sense. I wasn’t gonna contact him though. I just wanted to know about him. It was weird having kids at school know more about my grandpa than I did.”
Tim quickly glanced over towards Kurt before focusing back on the road.
“Really. You weren’t gonna try and reach out to your wrestling grandpa?”
Kurt appeared to consider that for a moment.
“I don’t really know him. What would I say? Like I think wrestling is kinda cool. But it’s also really silly.”
Tim snorted softly. “Ya, I always thought so too. But the fact that it’s silly is what made it fun.”
Kurt grinned brightly. “Ya. It is.”
The two rode in silence for another moment longer.
“Can ya maybe tell me a little bit about him, Uncle Tim?”
Tim let out another breath and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I’ll have to talk to your mom first.”
“Oh come on…”
Tim cut off his nephew's protest with a single finger. “I won’t tell her it’s your idea. I’ll say it’s mine. But I don’t want her to find out I was telling you stuff without her knowing about it. You think I want her mad at me?”
Kurt was silent for a moment as he contemplated that before he slowly nodded. “Ya, that’s fair. OK.”
“Thanks Sport.”
“Thanks Uncle Tim.”
~_~
Our scene opens with Logan sitting on a workout bench, a piece of paper clutched in one hand. He stares at it for a long moment before lifting a hand to run over his close shorn blonde hair.
“What in sam hell is this then?”
He lifts the paper in his hand and waves it through the air. Then he holds it back in front of his face, his eyes squinting slightly as he adjusts the distance from his eyes.
“Is this right? It can’t be right. Now look, I am a professional. I’ve competed against a lot of weirdos, freaks, and nut jobs in my career. But this has to take the cake.”
He lifts a hand and slaps it against the sheet of paper.
“We got some nut case that seems to worship that big scary bastard that threw me out of the roulette and writes poetry about ducks. Good poetry. Really fuckin weird poetry, but it’s not bad.”
He pauses and looks at the camera.
“What, you think some old, down home Texas boy has never read a poem? Well I have. So there.”
He shook his head.
“Anyways, duck poetry and worshiping a big slab of demon. That’s… well it’s not the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. But it’s pretty goddamn weird.”
He looks at the paper again.
“Then we got an orc. Now listen here Hellscream. I don’t know what the hell Azeroth is. I never actually got around to the Silmarillion. That bored me to tears and was honestly a big damn book for a simple Texas boy like me. But I’ll still kick you and the Mallard all the way back to Osgiliath and then some. I’m no ancient line of kings returned to claim my birthright but I’ve done some duck hunting in my time and I expect that an Orc can be tossed around the ring just as well as anyone else.”
He crumples up the sheet in his hand and tosses it into a wastebasket behind him.
“Which brings me to my partner this evening. Nate. Son. I get that you are probably unhappy with this situation. I’ve been in a tag team before and it’s always damned frustrating when you are teamed up with a stranger instead. I’m not the partner you want, but I’m the partner that you got. But don’t worry, I’ve danced these steps before. I ain’t so good at it as someone who has spent most of their career doing it, but I know what to do. I’ll follow your lead in this. I want the win just as much as you do. Long as neither of us lets our egos get in the way and work together we’ll tear apart these two… wrestlers across the ring from us. Let’s go to work, son.”
The camera fades as Logan reaches down to grab a dumbbell to start his workout.
“Hey sport, it’s quittin time. Let’s get you home.”
“I only got a little bit left to do Uncle Tim.”
“Don’t worry about that. It’ll be here on Monday. Your mom wanted me to make sure to get you home right away tonight. Grab your lunch box and I’ll pull the truck around.”
“OK, Uncle Tim.”
He nodded his head and stepped out of the office and went down the steps. As he walked over to where his truck was parked he offered nods to the workers that were lazing around at the site still, finishing their cigarettes and talking about which bar they were going to hit up. He climbed up into his truck and tossed his hard hat into the back seat. He started it up and rolled down the windows and turned on the fan to help push the hot Texas air from the cab as he pulled around in front of the office. A moment later, Kurt stepped out of the office and locked the door with the keys that he borrowed while on site. Tim nodded in approval as the boy checked his own hard hat before making his way down the steps. Kurt was kept well away from any places on the construction site where he would be in danger, but instilling safe habits made sure that even the worst could be prevented.
Kurt opened the door and took his time climbing up into the cab and tossed his hard hat into the back next to his own before closing the door. Then he put keys in a cup holder.
“Thanks sport. Ya did some good work today.”
“Thanks Uncle Tim.” The boy reached up and pulled his seatbelt on and settled into his chair. He’d been pretty distant since he started working for him. Not that Tim could really blame him.
He pulled the truck out of the gate and onto the road and the two of them drove in silence as he switched the truck over to the AC and rolled up the windows. But once he pulled off onto the freeway Kurt turned and looked at him.
“Why’d you have to tell my mom, Uncle Tim.”
Tim tightened his hand on the steering wheel and let out a slow breath of air.
“I did it to keep you safe, Kurt. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to you.”
“I don’t think grandpa would ever hurt me.”
“You’d be surprised, kid.”
Kurt shifted in his chair to look at him for a long moment.
“He never did before. Did he hurt you?”
Tim shook his head and let out another breath.
“He never hit us or anything like that. But ya, he hurt us. He would say some mean stuff sometimes. But mostly he only ever cared about his drugs. He was almost never there for us. I haven’t spoken to him since mom’s funeral though. I have no idea what he’s like now. People change. Especially when drugs are involved.”
“Oh.” He turned and looked out the windshield, watching the traffic around them. “OK. I guess that makes sense. I wasn’t gonna contact him though. I just wanted to know about him. It was weird having kids at school know more about my grandpa than I did.”
Tim quickly glanced over towards Kurt before focusing back on the road.
“Really. You weren’t gonna try and reach out to your wrestling grandpa?”
Kurt appeared to consider that for a moment.
“I don’t really know him. What would I say? Like I think wrestling is kinda cool. But it’s also really silly.”
Tim snorted softly. “Ya, I always thought so too. But the fact that it’s silly is what made it fun.”
Kurt grinned brightly. “Ya. It is.”
The two rode in silence for another moment longer.
“Can ya maybe tell me a little bit about him, Uncle Tim?”
Tim let out another breath and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I’ll have to talk to your mom first.”
“Oh come on…”
Tim cut off his nephew's protest with a single finger. “I won’t tell her it’s your idea. I’ll say it’s mine. But I don’t want her to find out I was telling you stuff without her knowing about it. You think I want her mad at me?”
Kurt was silent for a moment as he contemplated that before he slowly nodded. “Ya, that’s fair. OK.”
“Thanks Sport.”
“Thanks Uncle Tim.”
~_~
Our scene opens with Logan sitting on a workout bench, a piece of paper clutched in one hand. He stares at it for a long moment before lifting a hand to run over his close shorn blonde hair.
“What in sam hell is this then?”
He lifts the paper in his hand and waves it through the air. Then he holds it back in front of his face, his eyes squinting slightly as he adjusts the distance from his eyes.
“Is this right? It can’t be right. Now look, I am a professional. I’ve competed against a lot of weirdos, freaks, and nut jobs in my career. But this has to take the cake.”
He lifts a hand and slaps it against the sheet of paper.
“We got some nut case that seems to worship that big scary bastard that threw me out of the roulette and writes poetry about ducks. Good poetry. Really fuckin weird poetry, but it’s not bad.”
He pauses and looks at the camera.
“What, you think some old, down home Texas boy has never read a poem? Well I have. So there.”
He shook his head.
“Anyways, duck poetry and worshiping a big slab of demon. That’s… well it’s not the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. But it’s pretty goddamn weird.”
He looks at the paper again.
“Then we got an orc. Now listen here Hellscream. I don’t know what the hell Azeroth is. I never actually got around to the Silmarillion. That bored me to tears and was honestly a big damn book for a simple Texas boy like me. But I’ll still kick you and the Mallard all the way back to Osgiliath and then some. I’m no ancient line of kings returned to claim my birthright but I’ve done some duck hunting in my time and I expect that an Orc can be tossed around the ring just as well as anyone else.”
He crumples up the sheet in his hand and tosses it into a wastebasket behind him.
“Which brings me to my partner this evening. Nate. Son. I get that you are probably unhappy with this situation. I’ve been in a tag team before and it’s always damned frustrating when you are teamed up with a stranger instead. I’m not the partner you want, but I’m the partner that you got. But don’t worry, I’ve danced these steps before. I ain’t so good at it as someone who has spent most of their career doing it, but I know what to do. I’ll follow your lead in this. I want the win just as much as you do. Long as neither of us lets our egos get in the way and work together we’ll tear apart these two… wrestlers across the ring from us. Let’s go to work, son.”
The camera fades as Logan reaches down to grab a dumbbell to start his workout.
Well howdy there pardner.