Taking Help from Mr Jordan - 5. Chapter 5

Most preliminary bouts only last seven rounds, and this one was typical. Jim so outranked his opponent, that he was having a romp, but he didn’t want to short change the paying crowd. He waited until early in the seventh round, and with one quick jab, the other boxer was on the floor. He didn’t pass out. Jim knew just how to control the jab to stun his opponent, but not knock him out. When he stood up, the poor guy couldn’t keep his balance, and his second threw in the towel. The referee raised Jim’s arm, and declared him the victor.

Mr. Jordan, who was seated in the arena, engaged two burly men to act as Jim’s seconds at ring side, and to look after him, in general. Vinnie was there also. He would always be at ringside when Jim boxed locally. The seconds put a robe around Jim, and hustled him to the locker room. When they were certain that he was fine, they sent him to the shower, and they went home. Jim exited the shower, and entered the locker room. Mr. Jordan was waiting for him. Jim dressed quickly, and drove himself and Mr. Jordan back to Miami. Jim got home about five minutes before Parker.

“How was dinner?” he asked as if nothing had happened to him that evening.

“It was fine,” Parker said, “and thank God.”

“What are you thanking Him for?” Jim asked.

“That you don’t have a mark on that beautiful face. I was so worried.”

“That punk never got near me, but I want you very near me. Let’s go to bed. I’m all keyed-up, and I think you are going to love my keyed-up love making mode.”

******

For two years, Jim participated in preliminary bouts, and during that time, he and Parker married. Sometimes, he couldn’t remember if he was Joe or Jim. Once again, he toyed with the idea of begging Mr. Jordan to erase Joe from his memory, but he kept procrastinating. He feared that if he forgot Joe, he wouldn’t fight as well as he was doing.

With each preliminary, he moved up closer and closer to the main event. One time he was scheduled for a prelim just before the main bout. Mr. Jordan came into the locker room before being seated in the arena. He was smiling, and he told Jim, that he had hired people to poll the audience, and most of them had come to see him, and not either of the two participants in the main bout.

“In fact,” he grinned, “I’ve booked your next bout in Madison Square Garden in New York City. It’s the main event.”

His bout that evening was a ten-rounder, but Jim was too excited to fool around. He wanted to get home to Parker with the good news. Love making was always in the stratosphere when they celebrated something special in their lives. Jim floored his opponent in the middle of the first round. Instead of cheers, he was booed out of the ring. He realized that he had really flubbed it, and swore it wouldn’t happen again. He should have given his fans their money’s worth. If he could have, he would have redone the evening, and prolonged the fight.

The bout was in Tampa. Jim hadn’t worked up a sweat, so without showering, he jumped into his car, and drove Mr. Jordan and himself home. He bounded into his house, grabbed Parker, and almost smothered him with kisses.

“What happened?” Parker asked He really didn’t care, because Jim showed no physical damage from the fight. He asked, just to be polite, and show an interest in his husband’s obsession, even if he didn’t share that obsession.

Jim recited all about the up-coming main event in New York. He purposely didn’t tell Parker about the first-round knockout. He was too ashamed of himself.

“When’s the fight?” Parker asked. “Let’s spend at least a week in New York. I’ll get us a batch of theater tickets for nights when you aren’t boxing.”

“I was so excited, I forgot to ask Mark when the big night was. I’ll call him tomorrow, but for now, shower with me. I didn’t shower after the fight. I was too excited.”

They never slept that night. They made love instead, and employed every trick they knew; sucking, fucking, rimming, golden showers, between the thighs, between the armpits, and more. Some of their activity that night, had never been done in any porn film. They kidded each other about the possibility of making their own amateur male film, before their bodies got flabby.

Before he fell asleep that glorious night, Jim knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that if he was still Joe, his life would be meaningless without Parker in it. He loved Parker as much as Parker loved him, and he was content.

******

Jim won the next five of his main events. In fact, he had an undefeated record. The big day finally came when he was to fight for the middleweight championship. It just happened to fall on his twenty-sixth birthday.

He begged Parker to come to the arena in Chicago, but Parker refused, and refused adamantly. Jim’s parents wanted to take their sons out on Jim’s birthday, but Jim made up some flimsy excuse, and they settled on the next day. This time dinner was to be in Miami, and Jim’s parents would stay over.

The bout was a fifteen-round event, and lasted for the full time. It was hard fought, and bloody, but in the end, Jim won in a split decision. Parker refused to watch the fight on the sports channel, so he was spared seeing his husband all bloodied up. Once Jim was cleaned up in the locker room, he didn’t look too bad He had a cut on his right cheek, and that was the worst of it. He had looked much worse after the boating accident.

After he was made presentable looking, he was interviewed by the press.

“Before you ask any questions, fellas,” he said, “I’ve prepared a short announcement. Please permit me to read it.”

Jim took a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it, and read:

For as long as I can remember, it was my dream to become middle weight champion of the world. The only people who know this are my seconds, my trainer, and my manager. My family members are not even aware of my dream, except for one person.

I’ve realized that dream, at last, but boxing is not what I want to do with my life. Tonight, was my last fight. I don’t need the purse, and I’m donating it all to charity. My dad has been asking me to take over his business, which is now in the hands of a very capable manager. I’m not going to shake up any of the staff, but I will be taking on the role of Chief Executive Officer I think that will make my father, and my husband, very, very happy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I have a flight to make back to Miami.

Very few people were aware that the middle weight champion of the world was gay. There was an audible gasp from the press when he outed himself. They wanted to ask him a million questions, but Mr. Jordan hustled him out of the arena.

This time, when Jim got home, and Parker saw the gash on his cheek, Parker started to cry, but more than that, he was angry. Jim was a millionaire. He could do anything he wanted to do, but he refused to give up boxing, no matter how much his husband begged him to do so.

Jim wrapped his husband in his arms. “I have something to show you,” Jim said.

He took his phone out of his pocket. “Mr. Jordan recorded this for me.” It was his farewell speech, which he was certain Parker had not seen. He was correct. Parker watched, and could not stop crying.

As the speech ended, the phone rang. It was Jim’s father.

“I just watched the late-night news. When were you going to tell me?” Didn’t you think you could trust me?”

“Of course, I trust you. I just didn’t want you and mom worrying about me.”

“We’re your parents. We’ll always worry about you. It’s in our job descriptions Didn’t we fly all the way from Paris when you had that boating accident?”

“I know, but I worry about you worrying. Does that make any sense? None of that’s important. Are you okay with my going into the business.?”

James. Sr. started to laugh and couldn’t stop. “I sure am,” he said. “You’ve just made me the happiest man in the world.”

“Great, let’s discuss it at dinner tomorrow night.”

Epilogue

James, Sr.’s business was real estate development. He inherited the business from his father, and his business had built half the high rises in The Magic City, Miami. The business had been started by Jim’s grandfather. All during his high school and college years, before he became a playboy, Jim worked at his dad’s office. He was well suited to take over the business. In fact, he was looking forward to it. Joe Lupino used to have a work ethic that far exceeded Jim’s. Jim wondered if that’s where he got his new determination.

Parker Stillman’s ancestors were among the earliest settlers of the city of Miami. They came from England, and had plenty of money. Over the years, they bought up thousands of acres of Miami real estate. They sold a little at a time, but when the Cuban migration took off, they sold off large tracts of land, and they became multi-millionaires. In fact, the Lazaruses bought a lot of that acreage for real estate development. The related businesses made the two families, close friends.

At dinner that night, the first question James, Sr. asked was, “I know what Jim will be doing, Parker, but what will you do while your other half is working?”

“Funny, you should ask,” Parker said. “During the fight last night, I got a call from The University of Miami. You all know that I majored in art history, I applied for a teaching position, and I got good news yesterday. I start teaching art history there, next semester.”

“That’s wonderful,” everyone yelled at once, and Jim jumped up, and kissed him.

“Wait,” Parker said, “there’s more.”

Everyone looked at him expectantly. Parker was just grinning, so Jim yelled at him to start talking.

“Well,” Parker said, “I applied for two jobs. I needed to get my mind off worrying about Jim getting mauled. Armed with my master’s degree in art history, I applied for a job as assistant curator at The Perez Museum.”

“And?” Jim asked. “Which one are you taking?”

“Both of them. The teaching job is less than twenty hours a week, and the curator’s job can be handled in about thirty. When the museum heard that I I was going to teach art history at the university, they wanted me more than ever, for the prestige factor. I swore to them that I could handle both jobs. So, you see, Dad, I’ll be plenty busy while Jim idles his time away in your office.”

“Trust me,” Jim’s father said. “He’ll be working his ass off.”

Jim became very emotional, and started to cry. He realized what a great life he had been gifted, and his emotions got the best of him.

“Will you guys excuse me,” he said. “I need to be alone for a minute.”

Jim’s mother patted his arm, and Jim got up to go to the men’s room. He went into a stall, and closed the door.

Please, Mr Jordan, he thought. "Please erase all memory of Joe Lupino from my memory. He's dead and I'd like to put him to rest. He pops into my head at the oddest times and it confuses me. I'd like to be James Lazarus exclusively".

In an instant, Jim looked around him. he was totally befuddled. What the hell was he doing in a rest room stall fully clothed.

I better get back to my family, he thought, before I get committed.

He never thought of Joe or Mr. Jordan again until 62 years later, when the three of them hugged each other in a warm reunion.