The Call

The Call (CD)

You know that feeling you get when you see or hear something that reminds you of being a kid? That little tingle in the pit of your stomach and the fleeting memory of how things used to feel? And then, as you’re just about to reach it, the memory fades and you’re left with a sort of ephemeral grasp as you snap back to the present. As much as you try to get that feeling back, it’s forever just out of your reach.

For Swanny, that feeling never left. For as long as he could remember, he wanted to a professional wrestler. He obsessed about everything related to it: he knew all the history, he watched all the tapes, and he had devoted his entire life to excelling at it. And, even though he hadn’t ever been a huge star or competed in the largest organizations, his absolute love for professional wrestling had never waned. Every moment of every day was dedicated to the pursuit and, after all the sacrifices he’d made in his life for the wrestling business. His one bedroom apartment, his ringless finger, his spartan bank account: all sacrifices in the name of pursuing a dream above all else. And now, one phone call was going to determine if it had been justified.

He stared intently at the black screen of the iPhone sitting on his coffee table. Seconds felt like weeks, but his gaze never wavered. He channeled all of his energy toward that phone, desperately focusing on its lifeless screen as if –were he only to focus enough–he could manifest the call he was waiting for.

Fucking. Riiiiiing.

At long last, the screen lit up: Jake Colton.

He snatched the phone so quickly he almost knocked it from the table.

“Jake!” he said a little too loudly. He recognized this and calmed himself. “What’s, uh, what’s the.. What’s the word?”

“Hey, pal. I just got off the phone with Lindsay Troy.”

He had been waiting for this moment for the last several weeks. Although he’d spent the majority of his life in the professional wrestling business, he never had an opportunity to compete at the highest levels. After swallowing a substantial amount of pride, he asked Jake Colton—a friend from his years in the Midwest indies—to put in a word with the matriarch of the biggest wrestling promotion in the business, PRIME. At that moment, self-doubt washed over him. Instinctively, he started to accept that it wasn’t going to happen.

“Hey, man. I get it. It was a long shot, but I really appreciate you tryi-“

Jake cut him off.

“She wants to bring you in.”

He was too stunned to speak. His entire world faded into a sort of slow motion as he registered what his longtime friend had just said. He had spent his entire life chasing this outlandish dream of being a professional wrestler and, no, not just a guy who did it on the weekends: a real professional wrestler. And now, after all this time and when it appeared that it was never going to happen for him, he was going to PRIME.

PRIME!

His ears were buzzing and only the faintest sound of Jake Colton’s voice came through.

“Swanny? Hey, you still there?”

“Uh, yeah… yeah! Yeah, man, I’m still here! I’m just shocked is all. I really can’t thank you enough for putting in a word for me. I owe you huge.”

“You don’t owe me nothin’, Swanny. Your skills got you in the door; I just knocked a little for you.”

“This is amazing, brother. I can’t wait to get started!” he responded. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll talk to you soon. Thanks again!”

Swanny ended the call and a broad smile filled his face. After all this time, he was finally getting his shot to live out his dream the way he’s always envisioned he would. This was the opportunity of a lifetime and he had no intention of wasting it.