Page 83 of Keep Your Guard Up
Gus quickly caught up to my side. I squinted slightly at the figure standing at the base of Knock’s’ driveway. Her frizzy, curly orange hair swayed slightly in the wind. Paige’s hair was that thick, that curly, that it was too heavy for the wind to really move.
“Hey, Paige,” I said as we got closer.
She held a large brown box in her hands. Gus took an immediate liking to her bright pink pants, sitting at her glossy red-booted feet and leaning into her legs. I could practically see the black hair that would be littered on them when he moved away.
“I brought you some photos!” She beamed, her big teeth glistening under the afternoon sun as she shook her head lightly to clear hair from her face. Despite the orange hair falling all over her forehead, it was hard not to smile back at her. She was one of those special people whose happiness was contagious.
“Oh, that’s really kind of you.” I offered her a smile, though I could see on her face instantly that she didn’t believe me. “You didn’t have to come all the way down here. I would have picked them up.”
“On a beautiful evening like this? No way was I passing up the opportunity for your view! The views from Knock’s are the best when a storm rolls in!”
“Here, let me take that for you.” I pulled the box from her arms, and she staggered forward slightly.
“Thanks! I hope you don’t mind, but I had some of the nicer photos framed. I noticed a lot of Al’s art and pictures were gone, so I thought some of these would make a nice replacement!” She and Gus bounced alongside me up the driveway. Paige, because she was excited about the storm rolling in. Gus, because he thought her theatrical happiness was her initiating play.
“That’s really thoughtful of you, Paige. How much do we owe you?” I slid the key into the bulky padlock and pulled it open with a jimmy. Gus bolted inside, immediately zooming around the place, presumably looking for JJ.
“Not on the mats!” I called, already knowing I would have dirty paw prints to clean off.
“Oh, bless his little heart!” Paige gushed. “Photos are on the house! I owe you guys—it’s the least I could do.”
I forced my shoulders to relax at her timid smile. I often forgot about Paige staying with us for that six months when she first moved to town. She’d done such an incredible job with photography for Knock’s that she’d had offers from a boatload of other clients. I couldn’t work out why she’d chosen to stay here in Soggla and only do work trips rather than move to the big city. But Paige deemed herself a ‘Soggla girl through and through’ and loved this town as much as the rest of us did. Maybe even more.
I sighed and placed a hand on her purple-denim clad shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You don’t owe us anything, Paige. Your debt was fulfilled a long time ago,” I said, reminding her of the investment she made in Knock’s when we were struggling.Of the meaning behind the tattoos she had on her hand that matched mine.
“Believe me, Mari. If you knew what I’d come from, you’d understand why I would disagree.”
~
I’d ruffled and faffed around in the office for fifteen minutes before curiosity got the best of me. After stacking the pile of invoices and receipts on my desk, I grabbed my packing knife from the top drawer of my desk. Slicing through the tape, a dozen packing peanuts came tumbling out.
“No!” I told Gus, who had deemed them a worthy snack size. His ears dipped in disappointment before he turned, returning to his spot on the couch.
Sitting on folded knees, I pulled the first picture out. Like the others in the box, it was framed in a matte black frame with the slightest white edging. JJ’s arm was in full extension as he rammed in his lead hand into the beat-up pad Al was holding. Wearing his signature cap, Al’s mouth was open mid-sentence—most likely calling the next combo.
The next one was of some of the older guys who trained, arms linked together, teeth gritted, in the midst of a burnout round of sit-ups.
I pulled the one of Nan and Gus aside. They were walking up the Knock’s driveway, the midmorning sun shining brightly over them. Nan had stopped to bend down and give Gus’s head a scratch. She was smiling down at him, cooing terms of endearment at him no doubt. Gus had his ears pinned all of the way back, tongue halfway hanging out his mouth in an attempt to lick Nan’s chin.
Six more photos had lain delicately in the box, each depicting another artery in the heart of Knock’s. Liv mid-roll with her very first brown belt student. Ash and Hogs leaning on the edge of the MMA cage as they coached two fighters inside. Mel beamingproudly from her front desk. Beautiful images that captured the passion and tenacity of this community.
A note was taped on top of the third-to-last photo, a red velvet blanket covering the rest.
These are my favourites,
Paige x
The velvet slid off to reveal that same matte frame, but this time with the hint of gold edging the image. My breath caught in my throat at the picture, the truly candid moment in time. It was that fateful night of the party at Rock-It’s. Chance and I were running down the hall and he had our favourite bottle of whiskey in his hand. His blue eyes were alight with joy, staring straight over at me. My mouth was thrown open in laughter, that open and free bliss that I’d only ever felt with him.
The next photo was of him holding pads for me. Deep concentration was etched on his face, but that signature smirk still lifted his lips.
The last photo was of us—a moment we thought we had stolen but Paige had captured on camera. We smiled at each other from across the mats. Countless pairs of people were sparring and rolling, all blurry silhouettes. But Chance and I were in colour.
Paige had nailed it, the picture showing exactly what my world with Chance Riordan in it was like. Without him, I might as well have been one of those blurry, blacked-out figures.
I sat up on my folded legs, letting out a shaky breath. I studied each photo, my heart crumbling that little bit more each time.
Each time I saw him, the man I was stupidly falling in love with.
