Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
I slept in his apartment, even during the four nights he spent away when he had to go to New York City to do some UFC promo. I was upset about not being able to go with him, but we were told that the situation was going to be too close for comfort with other fighters and promoters and Kage didn’t need a tag-along. He kissed me goodbye, and we texted a lot, and Steve kept me company during his off time.
Apparently hanging out with the other fighters gave Kage sort of a tribal mindset, and he came back wanting a tattoo. “Some of the guys went out and got them on our last night there,” he said. “They invited me, but I didn’t want to get one without you there.”
“What would you get?” I asked.
“Well, they were getting stuff like their little kids’ faces or birthdays, sayings that meant something to them and their wives. One guy got a geometric pattern. That one didn’t mean anything, it just looked really amazing.”
We made an appointment at a local place with a really good reputation, and started working out what he wanted to get. It became clear early on that the main thing he wanted was an eagle, and it seemed he’d put a lot of thought into it.
“I didn’t know you liked eagles,” I said.
He looked shy when he said, “My dad was in the Army. That’s why I want an eagle.”
“Oh.” It was the first time he had ever mentioned his father, and it felt like I’d just hit the Kage-backstory jackpot. I wanted to encourage him to talk about his dad. “How long was he in?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t remember too much about him. But he always wore this green Army jacket, and we slept under the rough-ass Army blankets that my brother and I always hated. They scratched our skin, you know? Made us itchy as hell. But now sometimes… I kind of miss it.”
“That’s so cool,” I said, trying not to let on that I was about to have to excuse myself to the bathroom so I could cry. Because here was this big, brawny fighter who could whip anybody’s ass, and he turned all shy and boyish when he talked about the father he could barely remember. I made a mental note to appreciate my own father more, and to call my mother and check on her, because it had been over a week since I’d last called.
Even worse, he’d just mentioned a brother, and I’d had no clue Kage wasn’t an only child.
“I think I’ll get a rose for my mother,” he said, continuing to plan his tattoo. “No color. I want everything black.”
Father? Mother? Brother? Where were these people? Were they dead? Because that certainly seemed to be the case. I was terrified to ask.
When we went to the tattoo artist, Kage explained all of his ideas, and the guy worked up a design for a three-quarter sleeve with an eagle jutting out onto the chest. It took three weeks to get it all designed and put on his skin, but it was worth it. In the beginning, I hadn’t been a hundred percent on board with the idea, because I thought he was just jumping on the bandwagon with the other fighters. But after Kage was all inked up, and I saw him admiring the stunning results in the mirror, I realized that it was more about marking his body with the things he cared about that were no longer in his life. There was one current thing within the sleeve: an abstract fighter’s championship belt. Kage hadn’t discussed that one with me, just told the artist he wanted it. I told him he’d be getting a real one soon enough, but he just smiled and said it wasn’t the same. He also added the year in Roman numerals, to commemorate his official emergence as a pro fighter.
“And the year I met Jamie Atwood,” he whispered when the tattoo artist walked away for a minute after filling in the last of the numerals. Kage pointed at the tattoo. “You’ll always be right here. With my family.”
I nodded, but I couldn’t say anything. Instead, I stood there and blinked back tears.
Then Kage stunned me with his next suggestion. “I wanted to wait and surprise you with this. Let’s have our initials put on each other.”
I laughed. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were going to miss me when I go back to school.”
“What do you think this is? Of course I’ll miss you. You’re gonna miss me, too, right? You’ll need something to remember me by.”
I didn’t want to think about leaving. It was the most painful thing I’d ever faced, and I didn’t think a tattoo would be much comfort when I was sleeping in my bed alone at night.