Page 1 of The Champion
1.Window Net – Sway
Window Net – Thisis a woven mesh that hangs across the driver’s side window to prevent thedriver’s head and arms from being exposed during an accident.
Living with Jameson was...difficult.
The only person I’d ever lived with was Charlie, my dad,and those two couldn’t have been more different. Jameson was constantly leavinghis clothes everywhere, shoes in the oddest places and I don’t think heunderstood where the garbage was or that we had one. I even went as far asmaking a sign that said, “Hello, I’m the garbage can.”
Didn’t work. He still set his empty beer bottles on thecounter and trash on the counters. I didn’t understand. Even three-year oldLane, Jameson’s nephew, put shit in the garbage but my husband at twenty-three,couldn’t.
Honestly though, Mr. Jangles, my overly large cat, kepthis litter box tidier than Jameson did our kitchen.
Since we had just gotten married, I decided to wait atleast few weeks before I brought this up to him. We were still in the honeymoonstages. There was no sense in ruining that.
I’ve always wanted to have a huge family dinner. Nowclearly, I wasn’t rational when I had the idea that this would all go smoothly.I must have been high as shit.
What happened that evening was hard to describe.
After we arrived home from the small honeymoon and thechampionship awards banquet, Jameson, my NASCAR Winston Cup series championhusband, assured me the real honeymoon would come after the baby was born andwe could really have some fun. The naughty wizard (my nickname for myself)envisioned broken furniture and clothes hanging from ceiling fans—the good olePit Lizard days before I looked like a whale.
Being eight months pregnant I thought I would never seemy feet again let alone single digit jeans.
Once at our home on Summit Lake, I decided I wantedeveryone together for Christmas. I also decided to have this whole Christmasdinner disaster without Jameson’s knowledge. Nancy, Jameson’s mom, offered to help,as did Alley, his publicist and sister-in law. So I thought no problem, right?
Wrong again.
It started when I convinced Jameson we needed to drive toOlympia the day before Christmas Eve and go to Bed Bath and Beyond so I couldactually get dishes to cook with. That was one necessity our home was notstocked with. We were currently eating off paper plates with plastic forks.
His response, “I don’t think so. I have no desire to goto a Bed or Bath...or whatever else theysell. What the hell does the beyond part stand for?”
Ignoring him, I continued. “I need dishes.” I told himsitting next to him on the couch as he flipped through the channels. “Thishouse has nothing in it.”
“That’s not true,” he took another drink of his beer,nodding his head toward the kitchen. “There are paper plates in there.”
“I need dishes for Christmas dinner.”
His head slowly turned toward me. His facial expressionwas hard to read but it was something similar to the time I told Charlie, mydad, to take a flying fuck when I was thirteen because he wouldn’t let mepierce my nipples.
“Why?” he finally asked with a sour edge.
“EveryoneiscomingoverforChristmasdinner,” I blurted outas fast as I could and began to run away but was quickly stopped by a deathgrip on my wrist.
“Come again, Sway?” his eyes narrowed. “For a secondthere I thought you said everyone is coming over for Christmas dinner.”
I swallowed. It was as though I was trying to swallowover a boulder in my throat.
“I did.”
He was silent. No words, nothing, just stared at me, hisexpression tense, fixated and frankly, it frightened me. I was also almostcertain he wasn’t breathing.
I felt the need to explain and then when that didn’t workI did what any normal knocked up woman would do. I cried.
“Shhh...shhh...it’s okay honey.” He soothed rubbing my armand then swiftly pulled me against his chest when it became apparent that thetears wouldn’t end without some sort of physical assistance. “I just...don’t like my family that much. What wouldmake you think I would want them all at our house, at the same time?”
I cried some more. “I just want everyone together beforethey aren’t anymore.” I wailed in a childlike way.
That did him in. He knew right then I meant Charlie andagreed to my plan, with a stipulation.
“If those fucking twins spill anything,” he eyed mecarefully. “I’m shutting the entire operation down.”
