Two Years ago.

August 15th 2008
 
The mantel clock’s delicate gold hands made the final movement to signal that the hour had been reached, and the mechanism moved into the drawn-out process of chiming to signal it was four o-clock. Its was a process that this clock has gone through twice a day for 250 years, and would likely go through for another 250 with unstinting precision; The march of time, so consistent, so constant.
 
The delicate peel of the bell rang out across the drawing room, lifting and becoming lost in the plasterwork and gold leaf high in the ornate ceilings of this grand house.  There were many clocks in the house, ranging from the enormous English longcases in the hallway, to modern digital clocks in the kitchen. Time was a precious commodity, and one which the owner of Asterson House did not often care to waste.
 
David used to be a stickler for time. He was always accurate and punctual and despised anyone who wasn’t. He had been ruthless in business deals with people – actually broken their companies – simply because they had kept him waiting for a few minutes, and woe betide the driver or other flunky who was not ready at the exact moment Shand demanded.  This was a man who planned by the second and accounted for every one. He expected others to do the same.
 
However, as the clock chimed now, that sense of urgency and precision all seemed a million miles away.  Today there was no rush, no hurry, no need to watch the seconds.  He tilted his head in the direction of the clock with an amused smile, and returned to the novel he was reading, pausing to brush his hair out of his eyes with a casual languid movement.
 
The simple sight of the man once known as the Soul Reaper relaxing on a sofa with a book was one which he knew it had taken time for his family to get used to. Just his presence around the house for such a sustained period of time was unusual. Luke still had a tendency to demand David’s attention and action immediately, rather than agreeing to wait until later or tomorrow. That was a legacy of the fact that the boy was used to having to snatch time with his father when he could, and of “we’ll do that tomorrow” leading to “Sorry son, but something has come up”. Though he had worked hard since his retirement to make it up to the boy, it was a legacy David was still trying to erase.
 
When it wasn’t the wrestling world which pulled Shand away from his Oxfordshire home, it had been the business world. His corporate empire spread far and wide, but not a deal went down without David knowing about it. His passport was thick with stamps, and he knew his way around every major financial centre in the world.
 
So what had changed, why was he now dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a sweater, stretching out his long frame on the cream Georgian sofa ? The markets were still open, he could be making money – not that he needed it – or plotting yet another takeover to add to his expansive portfolio.
 
The truth was that David hadn’t so much as looked at a financial report or a business deal since that night in Japan at Rising Thunder when Justin Marsham had pinned his shoulders to the mat.
 
But don’t make the mistake of thinking it was because Shand had withdrawn in some way - angered or ashamed by his defeat.  Win, lose, draw, it didn’t matter in that match, because it wasn’t what the night was about. It was simply about the competition – about going out there and doing something he loved to do simply because he loved to do it.  When he had walked through the curtain as the English Lion – his original gimmick from his first Japanese matches – he had felt something which he’d not experienced in years: freedom.  The match had been a dream, everything he hope it could possibly be and more, and one of the best of his career. A cold examination of the match would show David could have won it at several points, some had even questioned whether he held back, purposefully not gone all out for a win. But himself, he’d never analysed it. The result wasn’t important, and one loss would hardly damage his cast iron reputation.
 
When the match was over, he’d walked backstage and into a locker room that met him with a standing ovation. And when they had all left, he had remained behind, sitting in the silent room simply soaking it in.  The sense of release, of joy, about the whole experience was palpable, and on that night, he changed.
 
As he sat there, he’d realised what it meant to him to be able to be a part of the business because he wanted to be. For no other reason than that. No pressure on him, no demons haunting his emotions and clouding his mind; no sense of a thirst for blood or revenge. He was actually there to enjoy himself. He was doing it because it was what he loved to do.
 
It was a joyous moment for him, but also one of sadness, for it cast into sharp relief the fact that so much of his life had not been lived that way. His entire adult existence he had been driven not by natural desires to enjoy life, but by dark and negative forces. At first it had been the need to escape his father and protect his brother, then it had been the need to turn escape into revenge, then it had been jealousy and paranoia, and finally blind rage when he had lost Lauren. So much time had been lost, so many relationships fractured forever.
 
Rachel and Luke already knew of his plans to retire after the match, but when he’d returned from Japan, he’d made those plans concrete and taken them a stage further. The door to the museum in which David kept his wrestling trophies had been symbolically locked, and he had not set foot in the room since. He did not return phonecalls or emails from promoters wishing to book him, equally blanked offers of TV appearances, and took down his official website. 
 
But as he withdrew from the wrestling world, he decided to take it a step further. Calling a meeting of the executive board of Shand Holdings, he announced a restructuring of the company. Still retaining overall control, he delegated much of the day to day running to others, placing himself more as a figurehead (though one who was in no position to be usurped). Why not ? He had good people around him. The company was safe. He’d earned a chance to relax.
 
And relax he had done ever since. Christmas had been taken at the home in the Maldives, Spring spent on the ranch in Montana, and now he’d returned to England to see out the long days of Summer. He was happy.
 
That was the revelation – that he could be happy doing this; Doing nothing. He had no plans to change that, and no reason to question it.
 
Or at least he didn’t until last week.
 
He’d been working out in the gym which occupied part of the ground floor of Asterson House, simply working on a heavy bag landing solid left and right shots, when Luke had come in. Now rapidly approaching his 14th birthday, the boy was keenly into sports and had begun to join David on runs and in workout sessions. He wasn’t yet able to match his Dad for pace – and was obviously nowhere near in strength – but he was large and athletic for his age.  Luke had asked David if he’d show him a few basic wrestling moves, and they’d run some simple drills on the mat. After about an hour, Luke had suddenly turned to him and said
 
“You miss this, don’t you – wrestling I mean?”
 
He’d been surprised to find that he couldn’t answer immediately. He’d expected to be able to issue a vehement denial, but the words didn’t form immediately. Instead he took a breath.
 
“No, what makes you say that?”
 
Luke had grinned
 
“The smile that has been on your face for the past hour. Its your real smile – not the one you use in meetings. You only smile like that when you are really enjoying yourself”
 
He’d laughed and denied it of course.
 
“Luke, I’m enjoying myself because I’m spending time with you. Wrestling has nothing to do with it”
 
Luke was his father’ son though, and he’d learned a lot in his 13 years.
 
“Yes it does. C’mon Dad, I’m 13, I’m not stupid. I know you love wrestling, you always have, and I know that, even a little bit, you’d still like to be doing it”
 
“I’m retired”
 
“Yes, just like uncle Matt was retired, just like Myron retired, just like Terry Funk retired about 50 times….”
 
“You are a bit too sarcastic young man.”
 
Luke had held up a wagging finger
 
“Ahh, you didn’t say I was wrong”
 
“That’s enough, Luke!”
 
David’s tone was sharp, his eyes flinty, and his son had looked a little shamefaced at the rebuke. Seeing this, David had softened. He’d invited his son to sit next to him on a workout bench. He sighed and shook his head
 
“When did you get this smart?”
 
“You paid for good teachers, Dad”
 
He’d put an arm around his son’s shoulder
 
“Ok, look, I’m sorry, son. You deserve the truth. And the truth is that yes, I suppose a part of me will always want to be involved with wrestling. I did it for that long that its hard to walk away. But you have to understand that it’s not good for me to be around it. I’m better off being away from it, and right now I’m happy spending time here with you and Rachel”.
 
“But”
 
“No Luke. Now, that’s the end of it, OK ? Its over. Please I don’t want to talk about it any more. Not now. Go take your shower”
 
Luke hadn’t been happy, but he’d walked away. However, at the last moment, he turned back and shrugged.
 
“I’d just been thinking – You know the King of Europe Cup is taking place again?
 
David had paused for a moment – long enough for Luke to know he wouldn’t be sent to the shower.
 
“Really?”
 
Luke had taken the chance and walked back into the gym. He’d explained to David that he’d been sent an email by the son of another former TXA wrestler who he kept in contact with. His father had been called by KOE management and offered a spot in the tournament, and he was interested to hear if David, Matt, or Myron had been approached.  Luke had told him that his father and his uncle had never worked for the European promotions attached to the KOE, and he didn’t think Myron had either, but his friend had heard that they were interested nonetheless.
 
Luke had asked “So, have they contacted any of you, asked you to wrestle?”
 
“Not as far as I am aware. Matt hasn’t mentioned it. I’ve not spoken to Myron in a few weeks, but he’d have told me if they’d asked and he was considering it. I can tell you that no-one has spoken to me.”

“That’s strange, isn’t it?”

“No, not really. I made it pretty well known that I was done. The other thing is that they would only have had business numbers for me, and I told my assistants not to direct any calls from anyone in the business to me – you know that”.
 
Luke had looked at him, and David had known his son wanted to ask a question. He asked it for him
 
“So you’re wondering now – if they had contacted me, would I have been tempted?”
 
“No, I think I already know the answer”
 
David had smiled “Really, and how would you know what I’m thinking?”
 
Luke had grinned and started to walk toward the door of the gym. He called over his shoulder.
 
“I noticed this morning – you’ve unlocked the trophy room again”.
 

OOC: Enthralling as always.