Rekindled Flames

Under the dim lights of the dark arena, two professional wrestlers were beating other senseless, the fans in the crowd went wild as this violent and physical art form played out in the ring. The fans and the ring were separated by a mystical cloud of smoke, the wrestlers battling in the ring were in front of it while the fans in the crowd were behind it. As some of the smoke cleared, Eddie Daniels, a 20 something year old individual appeared with another fan.

Eddie asked ‘’Man, isn’t this great?’‘

‘’Yeah, these two hate each other so much, look at how they’re tying it up in the ring!’‘ said the other fan.

The two wrestlers started to brawl outside the ring as the fans caused a riot. One of the wrestlers took a vicious bump into Eddie causing him to fall, and get hurt. A couple of paramedics rushed into view, and carried Eddie out on a stretcher. Ted Daniels, the 40 something year old wrestler responsible for injuring the fan walked the paramedics through the entrance as they wheeled Fan #1 to the backstage area. Once they were backstage, the wrestling promoter awaited for them.

‘’Good show tonight!’‘ he said.

The promoter paid the wrestler his money for the night. He also paid the paramedics, and Eddie as he got up off the stretcher. It turned out the shady figure was Jerry Daniels, he was a short 60 something year old man with a gravel voice.

Jerry said ‘’See? What did I tell you child? This business is about how well you work the marks who buy the tickets.’‘

‘’Yeah Grandpa I know,’‘ Eddie replied ‘’You’ve told me over a thousand times.’‘

‘’Hey Dad, we gotta stop at the nearest kayfabe before moving onto the next town.’‘ Ted mentioned.

The three of them went to a seedy backwater establishment in a hidden part of town. Someone waits for them at the door.

‘’What’s the password?’‘ the doorman asked.

‘’Kayfabe....no shit, I’m the promoter you idiot.’‘ said Jerry.

The three of them walked in, and the place appeared to be a throwback to the old speakeasies of the 1920's. Old jazz music swelled in the background as they spotted a large group of the boys sitting at a table, each of the three grabbed a seat at the table.

Jerry commanded ‘’Alright, before we discuss the finish for tomorrow night’s main event, we need to address the attendance at the gate, it’s been down for quite a while, and we’re losing a lot of money. And for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.’‘

‘’It could be shootfighting, they’re drawing 18,000 people hand over fist while we’re struggling to draw 300 people anywhere in the territory.’‘ one of the boys mentioned.

‘’I think your right on the money there, those shootfighters and the promoters there have a good thing going for them, but how are we gonna compete with them and get our business back at the gate?’‘Jerry asked..

Eddie said‘’Well, we could promote shootfights of our own, but work the marks to draw even more money. And call it ‘’entertainment’‘ to keep the state athletic commissions off our backs, and draw even more money than we’d already be bringing in with the worked shootfights.’‘

‘’Damn your learning fast, even for your age, baby boy!’‘ Jerry said ’‘ I love the idea, but we need some kinda back up plan in case it doesn’t work.’‘.

‘’What do you have in mind?’‘ asked Ted.

Focus shifted from the speakeasy style kayfabe establishment to some big mansion with these huge fancy overhead lights shining bright over deep stained wood wall panels and flooring, and the brown leather furniture. Alexis Morell, a brunette wearing an elegant and refined gown had a cocktail when all of a sudden Krystle Grant, a blonde wearing a simpler outfit stormed into the room all pissed off.

‘’You stole my husband you bitch!’‘ Krystle shouted.

The two women engaged in a catfight destroying all the furniture, pulling each other’s hair, and screaming. Alexis picked up a vase, and threw it at Krystle, but it missed and hit the wall instead.

An individual offscreen uttered the words ‘’And cut!’‘

The camera pulled back to reveal a director advising two actresses in a scene, there were other actors and actresses walking around, talking, and carrying scripts. Writers and producers were also looking on. Everyone cheered for an intense scene well done, with the two actresses who were fighting in front of the camera smiling and taking a bow. As the camera pulled back even further, the logo for the long running soap opera The Innocent Years appeared on a video monitor as a beautiful piano ballad played in the background followed by a plug for the show’s sponsor.

‘’The Innocent Years, brought to you by Avant Garde soap, the world’s most innovative consumer product.’‘ said the announcer.

A meeting went on between the writers and producers of the show on one end with network executives and representatives from Avant Garde soap on the other. The guys from the network and the sponsor seemed uptight and not too happy.
‘’This show is facing cancellation.’‘ said one of the network executives.

Charlene Dobson, the show’s creator asked ‘’Why? We’ve been telling some of our best stories in years!’‘

‘’Your stories have been fantastic, yes, but your show has also fell victim to rising production costs in the last 10-15 years, and plus ratings have fallen because of cable and The Internet, and those are avenues in which our sponsor Avant Garde soaps are looking towards.’‘ The executive replied ‘’ So if you can’t turn things around in 13 weeks, we’re gonna have to pull the plug, I’m sorry.’‘

Charlene was an attractive 30ish-40ish-50ish year old woman with blonde hair. She was crying over the possibility of losing her show when the Caller ID on her cellphone lighted up. The call turned out to be from Jerry, who was also her ex-husband. She didn’t wanna speak to him, but hit the ‘’talk’‘ button anyway.

He said ‘’Hi Sugar, can we talk for a minute? There’s something important I wanna discuss with you.’‘

‘’I got the alimony check in the mail yesterday’‘ She said. ‘’But now’s not a good time for me to talk.’‘.

‘’Why not? Are you crying darlin’?’‘ he asked.

She said ‘’Just go ahead and tell me what was so important, and then kiss my ass by hanging up the phone, alright?’‘

‘’Our attendance is down at the gate, and we’re losing money so we might need your help.’‘ he mentioned.

She sobbed ‘’Well, the timing’s perfect ain’t it? My soap’s losing money, and it maybe cancelled in 13 weeks if we can’t turn the show around. I don’t know what to do.’‘

‘’Look, we’ll figure something out, don’t get so upset. Just calm down, and let’s get together and talk about it. Let’s help each other out, baby doll.’‘ he said.

Charlene walked into the old speakeasy style kayfabe establishment for the first time in years. She spotted old friends of her ex husband she hadn’t seen in years. They were all happy to see each other. She engaged in hugging them, and kissing them all on the cheek before sitting down at the table.

‘’Alright, I love the idea of cashing in on the shootfighting boom, working the marks and calling it ‘’entertainment’‘ to get larger attendance at the gate. I think we should go back to the carnies, and try the approach they had. But we need to add something juicy to the mix to make it seem more personal.’‘Charlene said.

Jerry asked ‘’I don’t know, but the carnie approach died years ago, and how could you make it more personal, honey?’‘.

Charlene mentioned ‘’I write soap operas, remember? Everything I do is personal.’‘
‘’But how can you pull it off?’‘ Ted asked.

Jerry asked‘’Are you forgetting how many years she spent in years she spent in soaps, and how much time she spent here when she had a vacation from the show during the years we were married? She has a good idea of how our operation works.’‘.

‘’But she has no idea of how things operate in or around a wrestling ring, no idea of the importance of the role each person plays in a match.’‘mentioned Ted.

‘’She’s a beautiful, capable woman, and I have faith in her, end of discussion.’‘ said Jerry.


Jerry walked onto the set of his ex wife’s soap opera, he had a familiarity with the cast and crew who worked there for many years. Most on the set seemed ambivalent towards him because of how nasty their divorce was. He took a seat with the writers and producers who seemed to have a cold, calm demeanor.

‘’I think one of the main problem with the show right now is the type of stories you do. They’re the same ones you’ve been doing since the 80's with wealthy characters and over the top plots.’‘ said Jerry ‘’Why not try focusing on working class characters and more realistic plots?’‘

‘’But the network and the sponsor want wealthy characters and over the top plots.’‘ responded one of the writers.

Jerry said ‘’And the funny thing is, the network is plummeting their own ratings, and the advertisers are losing their own money because of it.’‘.

‘’What do you suggest we do?’‘ asked another writer.

Jerry told him ‘’Don’t let them know what your doing until your already writing a producing a certain story, and do what you want and don’t give a shit about what they think.’‘

‘’Do you know the history of our show or are you familiar with our characters?’‘one of the producers asked.

Jerry mentioned ‘’No, but I think if we stick to realistic stories, and stop focusing on what the network and the sponsors want, we might pull off some good stuff.’‘.

‘’Are you gonna let this dirty old man for an ex-husband run the show? He has no idea of the show’s backstory, plus he cheated on you, and you had to find through an article in the newspaper for Christ’s sakes!’‘ exclaimed yet another writer.

‘’It’s long in the past, and as far as I’m concerned it’s water under the bridge. I think he deserves a shot. And I suggest you watch how you talk about my ex-husband.’‘said Charlene.

Jerry and Charlene were in bed together. She had her arm around him while the two shared a long passionate kiss, and moved her long fingernails up and down his hairy chest. Then moved them down his bulging stomach, and then poked one fingernail into his gigantic bellybutton, and gives him a navel massage.

‘’Was it good for you as it was for me baby girl?’‘ he asked.

She moaned ‘’Hmmmmmmm, I loved it! But what’s everyone gonna think when they find out we slept together?’‘

‘’Who cares what they think? It’s just between you and me, sweetie’‘. Jerry said ‘’They don’t matter.’‘ .

‘’But we’re divorced.’‘ Charlene reminded him.

He asked ‘’So what? I’ve slept with everything on the road anyway! Why can’t I sleep with my ex-wife?’‘

‘’I see your point.’‘ She said ‘’Anyway, I just wanna thank you for offering to help out with the show.’‘

Jerry said ‘’It’s no big deal, being in bed with is all the thanks I need.’‘

‘’Anyway, your welcome for the help with the wrestling promotion.’‘ Charlene said.

‘’Gee, thanks.’‘said Jerry.

‘’Who knows?’‘Charlene asked ‘’ Maybe we all need each other.’‘

‘’Maybe your right.’‘ he responded.

Jerry and the rest of the boys were back at the speakeasy style kayfabe establishment. They were all drinking liquor, laughing, and eating food. All the guys at the table raised their glasses, and saluted each other by slamming the glasses together.

‘’So, is it true you and the ex-wife slept together last night?’‘ asked one of the boys.

Jerry said ‘’Yeah, we kinda did.’‘

‘’So is she taking you back?’‘ asked Ted.

‘’It was just a one night thing, boy.’‘ said Jerry.

Eddie said ‘’Yeah, sure it was.’‘

‘’So, when’s the big day?’‘ asked another one of the boys.

Jerry asked ‘’What big day?’‘

‘’When are you and her getting re-married?’‘ he asked.
Jerry told him ‘’We ain’t getting re-married.’‘.

‘’Why not?’‘ he asked.

‘’What existed between me and her years ago is long gone.’‘ Jerry mentioned ‘’ I’ll always love her, but what’s going on now is just business.’‘.

‘’Yeah, sure it is.’‘ said Eddie.

A man sat at the next table with a tape recorder picking up everything they said. He also started making notes with a pen and paper. He turned his ear to the conversation with the tape recorder in one hand, and then with the other, he wrote down his notes.

Charlene was working on the set with a staff writer on The Innocent Years. They were flipping through the staff writer’s script, and Charlene made changes to it with a red pen.

‘’Are you and your ex-husband getting back together?’‘ asked the staff writer.

Charlene asked ‘’What?’‘

‘’Oh, come on, everyone knows you guys slept together.’‘ said the staff writer.

Charlene exclaimed ‘’It was just one night!’‘

‘’One night leads to a whole lotta other nights.’‘ the staff writer teased.

Charlene laughed ‘’Your so full of shit!’‘

‘’Maybe I am, but then again, maybe I’m right.’‘ the staff writer replied.

A woman hid behind one of the corridors in the studio. She wrote the entire conversation on a notepad. As she looked on, she almost chuckled as she continued to record what they were saying by as she continued to write it down in her notepad.

The next morning, Jerry and Charlene were sitting at the kitchen table having breakfast. He was reading an issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated while she read an issue of Soap Opera Digest. They glanced over at each other’s magazines, and they noticed their business arrangement and one night stand had made the cover of both magazines.

Charlene exclaimed‘’Oh my god! Look what they’re saying!’‘

‘’Well, don’t worry about it sugar, the press’ll do anything for a story.’‘ said Jerry

The door to an arena opened, as a poster read ‘’Southern Fried Entertainment Presents Mixed Martial Arts’‘. Under the dim lights of the dark arena, one shootfighter was beating the other senseless in the ring. The shootfighter on the defensive end was dazed from all the fighting, and the offensive shootfighter gave him a swift kick to the head. The defensive shootfighter went down for the count, and the referee ruled the fight a knockout.

‘’Step right up! Step right up! Those who can spend five minutes in the ring with the champ will receive a cash prize of $5,000!’‘ the ring announcer barked.

A mystical cloud once again separated the ring from the crowd, and a young 20 something year old male fan emerged from the smoke. The ring announcer walked over to interview the fan with his microphone in hand.

‘’Well, what do we have here another challenger? Please tell us, what is your name and why you wanna take on our champion?’‘ asked the ring announcer.

‘’I’m his illegitimate son Peter Crane, and I have a right to claim this legacy, and I won’t stop til I get what I want!’‘ said the fan.

‘’Alright, get in the ring, and show your daddy what you’ve got!’‘ shouted the ring announcer.

Peter Crane got in the ring, and as the bell rang, he and his alleged father started beating the crap out of each other with the fans cheering. After several minutes of this, he put his father in a submission hold, and the father tapped out three times. The referee called for the bell, and handed the illegitimate son the prize money.

The new champ walked out the entrance to the back where the wrestling promoter, the soap opera writer, and the rest of the boys were waiting for him. His deadbeat father soon appeared backstage a second later.

Jerry appearing screaming‘’The show tonight was amazing! I was just counting the ticket money, and you wouldn’t believe it!’‘.

He pulled out a strongbox, he opened it, and everyone looked starry eyed as if they had just found buried treasure. Jerry pulled a huge wad of cash out of the strongbox, the wad was so huge, someone would mistake it for lottery winnings.

‘’We drew 20,000 people with tickets at $5 a pop. Somewhere around $100,000.’‘ said the wrestling promoter.

Everyone backstage went nuts as if they hit the jackpot. He then took the money out of the strongbox, and started paying everyone off. Their eyes all gleamed, at least they all had a decent payoff, paying their dues to reach this moment at last.

A girl was being raped in a college dorm room by a frat boy, she glanced at the bright fancy overhead lights as she struggled to break free. Her frightened eyes also looked around at the deep stained wood wall panels and flooring as well as the leather brown furniture. She slapped, punched, and kicked the frat boy with all her might. She glanced at his crotch, and gave him a hard kick in the balls which prompted him to back off.

‘’GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’‘ she screamed.

‘’Cut! Perfect!’‘ shouted the director.

The camera pulled back, and the rape turned out to be a scene which had just finished taping for The Innocent Years. Everyone on the set screamed and cheered as the two actors in the scene hugged each other for a performance well done.

Jerry and Charlene were looking all happy and giddy as if they were proud parents of the two young actors. Charlene’s cellphone rang, and the Caller ID revealed the phone call to be from the network. She was frightened they’d announce the show’s cancelled, but hits the ‘’talk’‘ button anyway.

‘’Hello?’‘ she asked.

‘’Great news! The show’s ratings have gone from next to last to one of the top three soaps for the first time in years! And Avant Garde soap wants to put more money into the show! We’re renewing it for another five years!’‘ exclaimed the network executive.

‘’Alright everyone!’‘ She shouted ‘’ I got a big announcement!’‘

She rushed back over to the set where most of the cast and crew gathered together. They could tell by the look on her face if something good had happened. She couldn’t wait to tell everyone the good news, the cast and crew wondered what was going on.

She said ‘’As a result of the new direction for the show involving down to earth characters and realistic storylines, the show has moved from next to last to one of top three highest rated soaps for the first time in years! This has convinced Avant Garde soap to put more money into the show, and the network has decided to pick up the show for another five years!’‘

Everyone working the show started cheering and screaming, their hard work had at last paid off. From the daytime television legends who’d been on the show for decades to the young rising stars who were just building their careers, everyone seemed happy.

Jerry and Charlene were in bed together, she rubbed an ice cube all over his hairy chest. She rubbed the ice cube in the small spot where his heart was located, and his heart pounded against his chest as the cold ice cube melted.

Jerry said ‘’I’m so proud of you darlin’, you sure put your soap back on the map.’‘

‘’Yeah, but most of it was because you helped out.’‘said Jerry.

‘’Anything for my baby girl, and besides you returned the favor with the wrestling business.’‘ Jerry said ‘’Where do we go from here?’‘

‘’Maybe we should get back together.’‘ suggested Charlene.

‘’You mean it?’‘ Jerry asked.

Charlene nodded ‘’Uh huh, but we ain’t getting re-married. It’ll just give you a reason to cheat on me again.’‘

‘’Don’t worry, it’s alright.’‘ he said ‘’You have every right to feel the way you do.’‘

‘’Right, but it doesn’t stop me from loving you, living with you, and sleeping with you.’‘ said Charlene.

She planted a big wet kiss on his lips, and clawed her fingers down his hairy chest and huge stomach. She listened to his heartbeat with her head on his chest, and with her hands on his stomach as she felt it growl. He put his arms around her, and they stared at the starry night sky reflecting on the past and wondering about the future.