The Bachelor Party

In the two months since his promotion into management officer, John felt like life was finally getting better. The week he spent in another branch were some of the easiest work weeks ever. He got to work on the backlog there and make the week back to regular work easier and he got in a lot of gym time and mma training. It was only two months, but he knew that he was looking in better shape already.

Things with Mandy also felt so much better. They hadn’t argued once and all memories of his suspicion that she had cheated on him had faded. He knew she worked with Eric a lot, but he had to trust her, he told himself whenever he remembered his boss had texted her about her big ass. That was his ass and in about twoweeks, the marriage license would be signed to prove it.

Tonight, though, was a night of celebration. His bachelor party would only be a one night event, though he knew that Mandy was going to make her own party in Vegas a week long event. For the rest of the week while Mandy was gone, he and the boys would just be hanging out together doing a trip to remember his life up until now.

“I still remember the first boxing match I saw,” said Eric as they got out of the airport. “MMA was hardly a thing then, seen as a brute sport. I always respected it. I had put some seed money in the UFC in the 90s.”

“What was it?” asked Enrico, a huge combat sports enthusiast. He often went on and on about how combat sports were the last real definition of what made a man, how they were art and showed real sportsmanship.

“February 1978,” answered Eric.

“Ali vs Spinks,” nodded Enrico.

“It wasn’t Ali in his prime,” said Eric. “I wish I could’ve seen the man then. The Ali I saw was sad, in a way but either way, it sparked a love for the fight in me.”

“Oh yeah? You ever see Tyson live?” asked Tyrell.

“The funny old guy from movies?” laughed Kendall.

“Once,” said Eric. “Just like Ali, though. Not his best night.”

“What was it?”

“February 1990,” answered Eric. John and his friends looked to Enrico to see if he knew the answer. Enrico’s eyes were almost bulging in admiration. It took him a second to learn that the answer was being expected from him.

“Oh, uh, Mike Tyson vs Buster Douglas, the underdog match of the century,” answered Enrico.

“Everyone thought Tyson had it in the bag,” said Eric. “He was the bigger fighter. The more aggressive fighter. The more talented fighter. He should have won easily. But not even a month before it, Buster’s mother died and his fiancee was dying. I’d like to imagine that in times like those, even we can emulate Buster.”

“I’d like to think I could for Mandy,” said John. “I don’t think anything could come between us and if it does, I can fight through.”