The Boxing Tournament Part 2
By M.C.
Victoria and Richard square off


The two boxers left their corners with determined looks on their faces.
Richard Miles wanted to avenge his son's humiliating loss at the hands of
Victoria's daughter and prove that men still 'rule the roost' in the boxing
ring. Victoria wanted to punish Richard for the demeaning comments he made
about Linda and his attitude towards his own son which, she felt, was very
abusive. As the two circled each other, Richard arrogently said, " you and
your daughter will both wish you stayed in the kitchen when I'm through with
you ". Victoria simply laughed and responded, " I think it's about time you
and your ideas joined the dinosaurs in extinction ". She fired off a left jab
which connected with Richard's jaw. Without a moments hesitation she fired off
two more. Richard countered with a few jabs of his own but Victoria blocked
them . He then threw a wild right hook which his smaller opponent easily
ducked under. Unprotected, she was able to land several hard blows to his
midsection forcing him to retreat. " What's the matter tough guy ? Your
tummy's a bit soft. You've been eating too many twinkies I see, tee hee hee ".
Angered by her teasing, Richard attacked her, but Victoria proved must too
quick for him as she deftly avoided his punches. Everytime he left himself
open she would flick him with a jab or two but, for the most part, Victoria
seemed content to let Richard be the aggressor. After the bell sounded to end
the first round, Richard threw a punch at her which she blocked. " Now, now
big boy ", she said comely, " if you don't fight fair I'm going to get
angry....and you don't want to see me get angry ". She smiled at the
frustrated fighter as she went to her corner.

" Mommy, you' re great !!! ", Linda said as Victoria sat down on her stool. "
I never knew you were a boxer ". Victoria smiled at her daughter. " I 've
never boxed before in my life ", she answered. '' What I've learned, I've
learned from watching you in the ring ." Victoria playfully punched Linda in
the nose and the two of them shared a giggle. Across the ring, Richard sat and
stared at them. He couldn't believe that this woman, seven inches shorter and
60 pounds lighter than himself, had survived the first round. He would have to
double his efforts in the second. " Can I get you some water, dad ? " Roger
asked him. " No, damn it !!! ", he barked back. " I 'm going to smash this
woman this round ", he growled. The bell sounded and the battle was resumed.

Richard charged out of his corner and immediately began throwing punches. " I
see we're getting impatient aren't we " , Victoria teased as she blocked or
avoided his blows. As the larger, stronger man stalked her, she gracefully
danced around him. Whenever she saw an opportunity to counter, she did;
usually with lightning quick jabs which she was landing with increasing
regularity. She even began to lecture him. " You know tough guy ", she began
as she landed two punches to his head, " I really find this 'macho' attitude
of yours very old fashioned ", she ducked as a wild right went harmlessly
overhead, " but what's worse than that ", she sent several hard punches into
his mid - section, " is that your ideas are poisoning your son's outlook ". As
he staggered back, Victoria pressed her attack. " He seems like a very nice
boy ", she lands a soild right cross to Richard's jaw, " but if you continue
to try to impose your outdated views on him ", she hits him with another
series of quick jabs to the face, " he'll be scarred for life...just like you
". Victoria has now backed Richard into a corner. He's bleeding from the nose
and has a swollen lip. Unlike Linda, she has no intention of easing up,
however. Only the bell, ending the second round, saves Richard from further
punishment.

"You know Mommy, you really should try to understand his situation ", Linda
began as Victoria sat down on the stool. " His wife died and there's no one to
temper his personality, maybe he's doing the best job he knows how to do ".
Victoria looked at her daughter with a mixture of both pride and wonderment. "
You're sweet honey, but I'm not a psychologist. Nor do I think years of
therapy will help Richard 's relationship with his son. Since your father died
and I took over the business there's one thing I've learned; men respect
strength - if you're not strong, they'll walk all over you. When I first took
over the company I tried to be nice, but all of the male employees interpreted
that for weakness. It's only when I started to be tough that things began to
change for the better. Once they've realized and accepted that you're the
boss, then - and only then - can they be delt with. Men respect toughness. The
only way to change Richard's attitude - and help his son - is to beat that
attitude out of him. And besides ( at this point Victoria's tone changed and
she even smiled at her daughter) this boxing is fun. I can see now why you
like it so much, it's a good way of getting out your anger ". While this
philosophical discussion was taking place in Victoria's corner, Richard was
fuming in his. " I'LL KILL HER !!!", he screamed." What right does she have to
tell me how to raise my son ? I'm going to kill that BITCH!!! " Roger said
nothing. He knew from experience that when his father was in this kind of
mood, it's best to keep your distance. He glanced across the ring and saw
Linda; the girl who had beaten him up only minutes before. She winked at him
and, for some reason which he couldn't understand, he felt good inside.

As the third round began, Victoria comely strode out to meet Richard's vicious
attack. His powerful blows, the ones that no one in the YMCA could stand up
against, were either blocked or avoided. After about a minute of this,
Victoria decided it was time. " O.K. Richard, I think it's time we settled
this matter of ours ". She began to throw punches at a rate that he found
impossible to stop. Unable to attack anymore, he was reduced to trying to
block her blows, something which was becoming more and more difficult. The
crowd, who never did like Richard's bullying attitude, stood up and cheered as
Victoria battered Richard around the ring. Again she backed the helpless man
into the corner and began to pound him at will. The referee didn't interfere
as he also thought Richard had this coming to him. " Well Richard, it looks
like we've come to the end of the line; I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed
this workout ". He was bleeding from the nose and mouth and would probably
have at least one black eye - if not two. Never in all his years of boxing had
he recieved a beating such as this. " Before I send you into dreamland, I want
you to realize that not only were you beaten up by a smaller woman, but by one
who had never put on a pair of boxing gloves before today. So much for your
'macho' male chauvanism ". Victoria reared back and let loose with a powerful
right cross that sent Richard spinning around twice before he landed flat on
his back. The last thing he remembered seeing before he lost conciousness was
Victoria standing over him... smiling down at him.

Linda was the first to greet her in the ring with a hug; " Oh Mommy, you were
totally awesome ". Victoria laughed, " nothing like a boxing tournament to
bring a mother and daughter together, eh ? Come, let's go out and celebrate
our dual successes ". As the victorious mother/daughter combination left the
arena, all those in attendence cheered. Later on, as they drove home, Linda
was in a pensive mood. " What's the matter, honey ? " Linda sighed, " I was
just thinking, do you think Roger could ever like me after I beat him up and
humiliated him ? " The question caught Victoria off guard. Although she sensed
Linda was concerned about Roger, it had never occured to her that THAT was the
reason. Slowly, it began to dawn on Victoria that Linda was fast approaching
16 years old...and all that 16 implied. " I don't know, honey; I honestly
don't know. Aren't there other boys that you like ? " " Not as much as Roger
". After several minutes of uncomfortable silence Victoria said, " I think you
might have a problem there ".

Linda noticed that Roger didn't attend school the next day...nor for several
days after that. The beating she gave him wasn't so severe that he couldn't go
to school - nothing more than a few welts and bruises. Something was
definiately wrong. On Thursday afternoon, she dropped by the high school gym;
where Roger liked to hang out. As she entered, she heard a lot of murmuring
from the boys who were working out there. " Has Roger Miles been here today ?
", she asked the gym instructer. " I haven't seen Roger for a few days now ".
Then he looked at her more carefully. " You're Linda Gage, the girl who kicked
his ass in the boxing tournament, aren't you ? " The murmuring turned to
laughter, and suddenly Linda understood. Without saying another word she left
the gymnasium. It took her a very long time to walk home from school that
afternoon. When she arrived at home, Victoria was already there; and
intuitively knew that something was wrong. "It's Roger ", Linda said sadly, "
he hasn't been at school all week ". Victoria had come to feel that she could
handle any problem that faced her. But even she had to admit, this was a tough
one. After years of unintentionally neglecting her daughter, they finally
reconnected.....ironically, through boxing. The last thing Victoria wanted to
do now was turn away from her again by saying something like, " that's his
problem, not yours ". After several minutes of careful thought she said, "
honey, it's a long shot, but there is something that we might try..."

Several minutes later they were in the car, heading towards Roger's house. " I
hope this works ", Linda said. " I just hope you won't be too disappointed if
it doesn't, honey. You have to understand men and their egos ". They drove up
to Roger's house and got out of the car. " Do you think Mr. Miles will be a
problem ? ", Linda asked as they approached to door. " You just leave Mr.
Miles to me ", Victoria answered with a wink Linda knocked on the door and,
after a minute that seemed like an hour to her, Richard Miles answered
answered the door. " WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE !!! ", he screamed.
Before he had a chance to slam to door in their faces, Victoria forced the
door open and they went inside. "Get out of here right now !! ", he demanded.
"Where's Roger ? ", Linda asked. " He's upstairs in his room, but he sure as
hell doesn't want to see you ". Victoria turned to her daughter and said
softly, " you go upstairs, honey, I 'll 'entertain' Mr. Miles down here ". The
two of them exchanged a knowing smile before Linda turned and started up the
stairs.

As she climbed up she heard, " PUNCH, WHACK, POW !! " coming from downstairs.
When she reached the door of Roger's bedroom she found it open a crack.
Without knocking Linda went in. "W - what are y - you doing here?" the stunned
boy asked ." CRACK, SLAM, SMASH !!! " " What's going on down there ? " Linda
closed to door completely. " Oh, nothing important ", she said as she sat down
beside him on his bed. The two of them starred at each other for a moment in
silence. Finally, Linda spoke. " Roger, I know you feel bad about the beating
I gave you last Sunday, but I want you to know it was nothing personal. I'm
just a fierce competitor and have my mother's drive to excel ". " WHACK,WHAM
!!! ". Linda and Roger seemed oblivious to the sounds coming from downstairs
now as they looked deeply into each other's eyes. " I know that you're
embarrassed to go back to school, afraid to face your friends; but you can't
hide in you room forever you know ". Roger sighed, " I know, but they'll tease
me ". Linda smiled, " perhaps, not if I was with you. Anybody who teases you
will have to answer to me ". She flexed her surprisingly large muscles and
gave Roger a wink. The two of them seemed to be lost in space and time.
Downstairs, a man's voice screamed out, " PLEASE, stop hitting me.....you're
hurting me...no...don't ...PUNCH, POW, SLAM, WHACKETY,WHACKETY,WHAM !!! " A
thud was felt throughout the house but Linda and Roger didn't seem to feel it.
They were embraced in a long, passionate kiss.

Several minutes later, they emerged from Roger's bedroom and - hand in hand -
came down the stairs. Linda smiled at her mother who was comely brushing her
hair as she sat on Richard's chest. He was lying, spread eagle on his back,
blankly staring up at her. "Well, I see you two love birds have patched up
your differences ", Victoria winked at her daughter. "Yes we have, Mommy. Your
plan worked very well. Roger's invited me out to dinner ". Victoria gave Roger
a stern look," can I trust you with my little, helpless daughter, young man ?
" Before he could answer, both Linda and her mother burst out laughing." Don't
worry mommy, I'm sure I can handle any situation that should arise". As they
headed for the door, Victoria called out after them, " don't be in any great
hurry to come back. Mr. Miles and I have some 'issues' to discuss ". Linda and
her mother winked at each other as they left the house. When they returned,
several hours later, the living room was empty. There was, however, a trail of
clothes on the floor which led to the master bedroom. The door was closed but
Linda and Roger could hear sounds of grunting coming from inside. " Well, it
looks as if my mom and your dad have patched up their differences also ".
Linda smiled and took Roger by the hand. She then began to lead him up the
stairs.....towards his bedroom.

Epilogue

Soon afterwards Richard Miles quit his job as a security guard and began to
work at Victoria's company...at double his former salary. Within six months
they were married. Linda and Roger were seldom seen apart from one another. As
they now lived in the same home, they frequently engaged in family boxing
tournaments...the boys against the girls. As of this writing the boys have not
won yet......but they keep hoping.