Velvet Crowbar

four.

After a long discussion with the landlord, Tommy and Emma were able to move into a new apartment just two weeks after the incident. Returning to the building after an afternoon at the diner, Emma was surprised to find that Tommy had his own ‘friendly conversation’ with their punk of a landlord and upgraded them to the two bedroom apartment with the eastern facing roof terrace, all for a very discounted price.

“Listen Tommy... I don’t want any trouble, alright?”

The fighter rolled the toothpick around in his mouth, “I don’t see no trouble, just came for a little chat, yeah?”

Jacob, the landlord, nodded slowly, “You’ll get about twenty-thousand dollars from your renters insurance policy but other that, my hands are tied.”

“Let me untie them for you,” Tommy leaned forward, a menacing look on his face, “I doubt Warren would want to hear about the face that you’ve got several security complaints, asking for alarms and cameras, sitting in that nice leather briefcase you carry around.” He popped the toothpick out of his mouth, snapping it with ease between his pinky and ring finger, “You know the ones I’m talking about. The complaints you’ve done nothing about...? Or maybe he’d like to know about what you use the basement for.”

The business man was unnerved and nearly jumped out of skin as the fighter began cracking his knuckles. Jacob pulled out a file from his desk drawer and flipped through the pages for a moment before smiling nervously. He swung the file around so Tommy could read it, “This just opened up- completely furnished. It’s yours for ten percent less.”

“Twenty.”

Jacob stood and outstretched his hand, “Done.”


The brunette ran her hand across the marble countertop in the kitchen. The double door fridge with bottom drawer freezer in stainless steel caused her giggle in pure excitement. She walked briskly through open living space and opened up the sliding glass door, stepping into the warm August air. There was a gentle breeze that brushed against her skin.

After enjoying her new view of downtown Pittsburgh, Emma wandered back into the apartment, admiring all the hard work that must have gone into curating such a beautiful place to live. As she ran her hand against the exposed brick in the bedroom, reality finally sunk in. The front door shut abruptly causing the brunette to jump and peak around the corner to see Tommy sliding off his sneakers.

Emma felt her face grow warm as she watched Tommy stretch his hands above his head and bend back slightly. His physical therapist had just cleared him for light work outs and Tommy’s body definitely showed it. “Babe, that you?”

The brunette squeaked and snapped back around the corner. She took a few deep breaths to cool herself down before heading out into the open living area. “Good session?”

Tommy raised his eyebrow, staring at his fiancé skeptically before nodding, “You like that place?”

“Tommy, it’s perfect.” Emma swooned as her eyes continued to jump all around the room, “I’ve always wanted-”

“Marble counter tops and exposed brick.” Tommy smirked, “I do listen when you ramble on about stuff you know.”

The waitress looked at the fighter incredulously, “How are we supposed to pay for this?” Her voice retracted back to one that reminded Tommy of the night he picked up in the pouring rain just a few nights after they had been robbed. It was soft around the edges with a ball of fear in the center.

Tommy stepped forward and pulled Emma into his arms, “I worked out a deal with Jacob. Plus, I’ll be back in the cage soon and Colt’s got a few things lined up for me that’ll settle everything.”

Emma couldn’t help but have a daunting feeling soon rain on her parade as she looked down at the ring on her finger. She twisted it around for a moment, feeling Tommy watching her. “We ever going to get married?”

“Don’t ask stupid questions.” Tommy grunted moving away from her, toward the bathroom, “We’ve got more important shit to take care of first.”

The brunette stood, her feet glued to the ground. She listened for the water to turn on before grabbing a piece of paper from her purse and heading back onto the terrace. Emma stood against the railing looking down the street below, the warm sun kissing her skin. She looked down at the invitation in hand and sighed.

Emma ran a delicate finger over the embossed gold lettering. The brunette smiled to herself as she thought back to the day the large box of seventy invitations arrived in the P.O. Box. She remembered the buzz of excitement in the apartment as she and Tess looked over the invitations and filled all the envelops with the thick card stock. As the brunette continued to read over the invitation, her thoughts drifted to a much more somber moment.

The five hour drive to Philadelphia served as a great time to be alone with her thoughts as Emma drove to spend the weekend with Tess and Brendan. Tommy was still pissed about giving money to his father. He was even more pissed when they had to pick a new date after spending a month trying to find a day that the photographer, catering, and officiant were all available.

The sun had already set by the time Emma reached the Conlon household. A small smile crawled onto her face at the sight of the tiny Barbie tricycles on the front lawn. She knocked twice before being greeted by Tess who held a sleeping Rosie in her arms. After putting her to bed, Tess joined the brunette and her husband around the small dining room table.

“Uncle Howie, it’s Emma.” she greeted, crossing her uncle off the call list, “I’m doing well thanks, and you? Oh, awesome! Well listen, I’m calling about the wedding...”


It seemed world was working against them, causing havoc any time the day of their nuptials grew closer. As Tommy stood beneath the hot pellets of water, he felt the tense and aching muscles in his shoulder relax. At first, the brooding fighter didn’t mind the idea of a wedding. His mother had passed away so he had a ring in his pocket and a beautiful girl waiting for him back in the Burgh.

After a while, planning the wedding became more work than play and the appeal lessened with each passing day.
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