Chapter 18 - Five Minutes, Ten Years Later
On the tenth anniversary of the fight, somebody reposted the original video.
My hair was grayer now.
The knee was worse on cold mornings.
The gym had expanded.
Second Round operated programs in four locations.
I still sold HVAC systems.
People always found that hilarious.
They expected the viral fighter to abandon normal life.
I didn’t.
Normal life had never been the enemy.
That evening, Hannah and I watched the old clip.
Young Derek pointed at me.
Claire stood behind him.
I limped onto the mat.
Hannah paused the video.
“What would you tell him?”
“Derek?”
“No. You.”
I stared at the younger version of myself.
Angry.
Humiliated.
Trying desperately not to show either.
“I’d tell him the house won’t matter.”
“What else?”
“The marriage ending won’t kill him.”
She waited.
“And?”
I smiled.
“He doesn’t need to win.”
Hannah rested her head against my shoulder.
The screen remained frozen.
Cole Mercer, forty-four years old, standing barefoot on blue mats while strangers laughed.
I wished I could reach through time.
Not to warn him.
To thank him.
He was about to make plenty of mistakes.
May you like
But eventually, he would learn.
End of Chapter 18.
