To Train Up a Champion - Part 3
#3 of To Train Up a Champion
After Ian's display of poor sportsmanship at his final amateur bout, the mood at the McGregor household was one of tension. As ordered by his father, Martin, Ian was forced to address the entire crowd at the gym, apologizing for his poor sportsmanship and foul language. He vividly remembered the look on his mother's face as he gave his half-assed apology. Not only was she upset at his behavior, she looked angry, and that was very uncommon for her
On the ride to the hospital, neither Martin nor Ian said a word to each other, making the trip extremely tense and unpleasant. Jordan Metzgar, the tiger who Ian had floored had already been given a CT scan to check for any serious injury. Upon seeing the large folf, the tiger started crying, telling him to leave him alone. Ian apologized and was told to wait out in the car while Martin spoke with Jordan. Martin explained to the injured feline that with an amateur record now at 4-13, the tiger would be wise to consider a sport other than boxing, or any combat sport for that matter. Jordan, holding the left side of his jaw said that as of the end of the fight, he was officially done with boxing and gave Martin a hateful look as the folf left his hospital room. Just as it had been on the ride to the hospital, the ride home was spent in complete, utter silence between father and son.
At home, the usually sweet, pleasant Olivia scolded her son his appalling bad behavior in front of everyone, especially his younger, impressionable siblings. What was really upsetting her was knowing that several beasts in attendance had been recording the fight with their cell phones, almost guaranteeing it would be on YouTube sooner rather than later. Ian knew full well that once the video was on the internet, it was there to stay for good. He went to bed that night depressed that he'd angered his mother, but was angry himself at how his father had treated him right after the post fight. So what if he knocked the guy out and called him a little bitch? Ian knew that his own father had a reputation for being a cocky fighter, so what was the big deal?
Coming inside from having just run five miles, Ian made sure to take his shoes off while still on the inside door mat. It had been rainy that day, and he knew that his shoes were caked with mud even without looking at them. Wiping sweat from his forehead, he watched his younger siblings running around the living room playing like the care-free little cubs they were. Not surprisingly, both sets of Ian's grandparents were also present, with Johnna and Tori looking after the youngest cubs while Bradley and Will were busying watching a daytime baseball game on television. What really got the big folf''s attention was the smell emanating from the kitchen. Ian let his nose lead him out to the kitchen where he saw his mother fixing lunch for everyone. He went over and kissed his mother, giving her a hug.
"Hi, Mom," he said. "Food smells good."
"Hi, sweetie," she said. "Have a good run?"
"Yeah," he said "Kinda rainy outside, but I gotta keep up my road work if I'm gonna be doing this for a living. Hey, need any help with lunch?"
"Sure," she said, grateful that her oldest cub was volunteering his services. "Could you set the table, please? Oh, and be sure to set out the drinks for everyone. I just made lemonade a couple of hours ago and there's sweet tea too."
The folf did as he was told. Though he was still pissed off at his father, he never liked the idea of doing something that would upset his mother. Going to one of the kitchen drawers, he removed several forks, knives and spoons before going over to the long dining room table to set them in their places. Ian was about ready to get some plates, when he saw someone come up behind him.
"Need some help?"
Ian turned around to see that it was his sixteen year old brother Luke who had asked the question. Though Ian could be contentious much of the time, Luke, who was the second born, was his pal. The younger folf had no ambitions of becoming a professional boxer, he was none the less a talented athlete. Only slightly smaller than his older brother, Luke was the quarterback of the high school football team and had won state that year in the wrestling team. Ian grinned at his younger brother.
"Sure," said the older folf. "Wanna get the plates?'
Olivia smiled at her two oldest boys. With twelve Cubs to take care of, squabbling was common in the McGregor household, but Ian and Luke never fraught at all. Luke would even get up early to go running with Ian, spot him when lifting weights, or help him with his punching by putting on punching mits. Ian didn't mind at all when Luke hung out with him, Barry and Zeb.
"Thank you, boys," said Olivia. "I appreciate the help."
Ian and Luke had the table set in no time. The two brothers were busy chatting away with each other, seeing their younger siblings filing into the dining room, but the conversation came to an abrupt halt when Ian spotted his father. The big folf didn't even want to make eye contact with Martin, as he was still bitter about being forced to make several apologies after his behavior in the ring. Everyone sat down except Ian, who traded his spot at the table with Luke so he didn't have to sit next to Martin. Olivia, sensing the tension, patted Ian's paws, trying to calm him down. She didn't want any more tension over that incident.
"Martin," she said calmly, sweetly. "Would you say the blessing?"
Everyone present bowed their heads as the patriarch of the family gave thanks for the food. Once finished, everyone opened their eyes and reached for the various dishes on the table, wanting to fill their plates with the delicious meal. Ian, filling his plate with bread, casserole and macaroni and cheese, looked over at his father. Martin looked back at his oldest cub, wanting to say something but worried the boy might say or do something to upset Olivia, he chose to remain silent. Olivia could easily sense the tension still present. She tried to think of a way to end the problem.
"Ian," she said softly. "How would you and Luke like to go on a little trip for a few days?"
Ian looked up at his mother. "Seriously? Where to?"
Martin looked over at his wife. "Where did you have in mind?"
"How about the cabin up in the mountains?" Said the she wolf. "I think you two are old enough to go up there by yourselves. Besides, your father and I need some time to ourselves."
"What about them?" asked Luke, pointing at the ten younger McGregor cubs.
"We'll get Grandpa Will and Grandma Johnna to watch them," answered Olivia, seeing by the expession on her husband's face that he wasn't exactly keen about the idea, but Ian and Luke were clearly keen on the idea.
"Olivia," said Martin. "Do you think the boys are ready for this?"
"Sure," said the white she wolf. "Besides, we could use some time with just the two of us."
"Gross," whispered Ian to Luke, making him giggle. Martin shot his oldest son a nasty look, making the big folf lower his gaze into his plate.
"When can we go?" asked Luke.
"You can go after we've cleaned up from lunch," said Olivia.
Luke and Ian wasted no time in demolishing what was on their plates. With a household of fourteen, cleaning up from meals was quite the chore; even the youngest cub, three year old Hunter, was expected to chip in with the effort. Leftovers were placed in Tupperware, the table was wiped clean of crumbs and debris, and dishes were scrubbed clean, rinsed and dried. With permission from their parents, the two oldest of the McGregor cubs ran to their rooms, hastily backed their bags with clothes, digital devices and anything else they might want for their stay at the cabin. Satisfied that they had everything they both needed and wanted, Ian and Luke headed out the front door.
"Can't believe Dad's letting us go up there," Luke whispered in his oldest brother's ear.
"I'm telling you, man," Ian whispered back. "We're gonna have more fun than you can imagine."
As the two boys walked over to Ian's SUV, Martin came out from the front door, running towards his two oldest cubs.
"Hey," said the older folf. "I need to talk to you two."
Ian and Luke stopped, turned around and looked at their father. Martin certainly had a serious look on his face. Ian almost rolled his eyes, but thought better of it. He knew full well that such a gesture would be interpreted as a sign of contempt by his father, and that would mean he could forget about using the cabin for the weekend.
Martin looked at Ian and Luke sternly. Both boys could tell that their father wasn't exactly keen about their having the use of the family cabin for the weekend. "Look," said Martin, his tone serious. "I'm expecting both of you to behave yourselves, got it?"
"Yes," said Ian and Luke together.
"I'm not crazy about you boys being an hour away from here all by yourselves, but your mother seems to think it's okay, so that's good enough for me, that being said," he turned his attention to Ian. "You do anything, and I mean anything to screw this up, and you are both in deep, deep shit, got it?"
"Got it," said both boys at once.
"Alright," said Martin. "Have a good time."
Throwing their stuff in the back of Ian's SUV, the two brothers waited until their father had went back inside before Ian started up his vehicle and peeled out of the driveway of his parents estate. Once they were in the clear, Ian turned up the music to an ungodly level and looked over at the passenger seat in the front, seeing that Luke was thoroughly enjoying himself.
"You ready for a good time, little bro?" asked the folf.
"Sure am," answered Luke. "Whatcha got planned?"
Ian pressed the pedal to the floor, making his vehicle growl from the acceleration. "Just you wait and see."
The two brothers enjoyed the scenery that they passed by, seeing the Catskills Mountains of Upstate New York. It was almost an hour into their journey when they passed through a small town that preceded their summer home, when Ian got an idea in his head. Slowing down, he paralleled parked right next to a small shop. Luke, who was almost asleep, despite the loud noise was fully aware of just where his brother was going.
"Hey," said the younger folf. "You going where I think you are?"
"Yeah," said Ian. "Gonna get a couple of kegs."
Skeptical of his brother's ability to actually acquire booze, since Ian was three years away from legally purchasing alcohol, he was stunned when the big folf came back to the SUV with two large kegs hung over his back. Luke was speechless for a moment, not believing what he was seeing.
"How," said Luke, "How the hell did you do that?"
"Simple," said Ian, throwing the kegs in the back of the SUV. "They never bothered to check my ID."
"Really?" said Luke, still in disbelief.
"Guess I look over twenty-one, huh?"
Luke grinned mischievously as Ian floored the SUV, ready to get to their destination.
The McGregor summer home, which they called a cabin, was actually a three story dwelling deep in the Catskills Mountains, equipped with all the modern luxuries one could expect that a wealthy family would possess. Stopping the SUV, Ian and Luke got out, smelling the sweet summer aroma of nature.
"Ah," said Ian. "Glad to be back here."
The cabin, built on a hill, had an outside deck on the third floor that looked out to the mountains and woodland, quite a picturesque view for anyone looking for a lovely scenery. Taking the keys his father had given him, Ian unlocked the front door and flicked on the lights to the living room. Despite having not been in the home for months, everything looked clean, organized and in place. The McGregor's employed a caretaker to clean the inside of the house, as well as the outside property. Throwing their duffel bags on the nearest couch, Ian looked over at his younger brother.
"So," said Ian. "How about we call some friends up?"
Luke, though normally a very responsible, well-behaved teenager, thought the idea to be a great one. Here they were, over an hour away from their house; so why not have some fun? Not wanting his parents to find out what they were up to, the boys decided against making a post on Twitter or Facebook; instead they simply got the party started by calling up a select group of their friends. As Luke invited people over, Ian went back to his SUV, retrieving the two large kegs he'd illegally purchased at the liquor store . Placing them on the kitchen table, he went back out to the living room and turned on the stereo, cranking the music up to get in the party spirit. Dancing around, he grinned at his younger brother.
"This is gonna be a night to remember, little bro!" he said without a care in the world.
Martin and Olivia had sent their remaining ten cubs off to spend the night with their maternal grandparents. The normally busy, loud McGregor Mansion was unusually quiet now, with only Martin and Olivia occupying the immense dwelling. Martin sat down on a couch, closing his eyes and basking in the tranquility.
"It's so quiet in here," said the folf, stretching his arms.
Olivia sat down right next to her husband, feeling his arms wrap around her body. Martin opened his eyes as Olivia nuzzled him before stopping at looking at her husband. The folf smiled at her. Here he was with the love of his life; the girl who he'd been in love with even years before he told her that. He grinned from ear to ear.
"What?" asked Oliva.
"Nothing," said Martin, trying not to giggle. "I was just thinking about the first time you tried to kiss me."
"How could I ever forget that?" said Olivia, who was unable to keep from giggling. "I remember how you ran over to your Dad and hid behind his tail, like you were being hunted."
"Kind of felt that way at the time," said Martin.
"I would have kept trying to kiss you if my Dad hadn't stopped me," said Olivia, giving her husband's nose a tickle. "Though I probably would have scared you away for the rest of our lives."
"Oh no," said Martin, taking hold of his wife's paw. "I think that day, the very first day we met was the day I realized I was in love with you; just didn't know how to deal with it at six years old."
"I did," said Olivia. "That's why I was trying to kiss you."
"I know," said Martin, giving his wife a kiss on the cheek. "And every day since then, I've been lucky to have you in my life."
Olivia again nuzzled her husband, letting the top of her head rest under his muzzle. The two lovers staid there for some time, but it was Olivia who finally broke the silence.
"Martin?"
"Yes?" said Martin quietly.
"Been a while since we danced together," observed Olivia.
"It has," said Martin, slowly getting off the couch and going over to the entertainment center. "How about something nice and slow?"
"Exactly what I was thinking," said Olivia.
Martin selected the slow song that he and Olivia had always enjoyed dancing to. With music filling the spacious living room, Martin took hold of his wife, and the two danced around the living room to the romantic number.
"You know," said Olivia. "I always enjoyed watching you dance around the ring."
Martin laughed. "Different kind of dancing, my dear. In the ring I was trying to knock guys out."
Olivia giggled. "You were pretty good at that too."
Martin, still dancing, grinned at his wife's comment. Her words were true. Martin, considered one of the greatest defensive boxers of all time, was usually successful at knocking his opponents out, and even when the fight went the distance, he always won, and like his father, retired with a perfect record. As the couple danced, they talked about Martin's boxing career. Olivia recalled how after her husband had won the undisputed middleweight championship he and his former opponent had become such good friends that Ian and Molly O'Brien had named as godparents to their oldest cub, and even named him after his rival.
"You know what impressed me so much about that?" asked Olivia.
"What's that, my snowy she-wolf?" Martin said, holding his wife close.
"You fought a few more times, then held a press conference telling the world you were vacating your titles," she said.
"I had to," said Martin. "I know I was offered a king's ransom to fight Ian again, but I just couldn't. Sure, I would have probably beaten him again, but I couldn't get in the ring and fight a friend."
"I know," said Olivia. "You were always so cocky before a fight, but always showed good sportsmanship after winning."
"Dad instilled that in me," said the folf. "I'm just glad that Ian got to become an undisputed champion after I moved up to Super Middleweigth."
"And I'm glad that you became the undisputed Super Middleweight champion after that."
Martin and Olivia continued dancing until the song was over. Martin was just so glad that he and his beloved wife were able to spend some quality time together; quite a rare occasion considering they had a brood of a dozen cubs.. With the music slowly fading to silence, the folf gave his wife a deep kiss. Breaking their kiss, the white she-wolf nuzzled her husband as she slowly, carefully pulled at his paw. Martin opened his eyes, seeing that his wife was pulling his arm in the direction of their bedroom. Grinning, he picked his wife up, carrying her away like he did after his big fight with Ian O'Brien.
As Martin and Olivia were in the throws of passion, over an hour away, the McGregor summer home was the scene of wild, drunken debauchery. Over two dozens rowdy teenagers were there, drinking, playing games and tearing up the place. Luke, tipsy from all the alcohol he consumed, was in awe of his older brother. Ian, though just as drunk as Luke, had been engaged in an arm wrestling contest, taking on all-comers. The big folf had just beaten a tiger, who looked every bit as powerful as the folf, but was quickly defeated by the muscular beast.
"Damn," said Luke. "That's five guys so far, man."
Ian stood up, trying not to fall over. He flexed his arms for the crowd and recited a poem he'd composed some time ago.
_"I'm Ian McGregor, the baddest folf.
One quarter fox, three quarters wolf.
I'm so strong, I knock over brick walls,
So come and challenge me, if you think you've got the balls.
With a strong left hook, and right uppercut,
I'll knock you on your butt.
Yeah, I'm the baddest man alive,
So don't give me any of your silly jive!_
Everyone laughed at the folf's antics. No one else wanted to challenge Ian, as they could see he was clearly a superior arm wrestler, and everyone present knew that he was even deadlier in the ring. With another victory under his belt, the folf took yet another shot of some whiskey that one of the party goers had brought to the occasion. Thoroughly intoxicated, Ian tore his shirt off, flexing once more for the crowd. Everyone clapped and shouted as they were having the time of their lives. Nothing was going to ruin their fun.
Martin felt his gorgeous, snow white she-wolf cuddle up against him after they had just made love. With a house full of cubs, they normally had to be much quieter when they were intimate, but with the McGregor Mansion all to themselves, they were free to be as loud as they wanted. The sex had been intense; Martin even got light headed during the experience.
"Wow," said the folf. "We need to do this more often."
Olivia giggled. "Don't you think we do that enough, Martin? We have twelve kids."
"No," said Martin. "I mean we need to get wild like this more often."
"Oh," said Olivia. "I'm not sure you could do that again. I thought you were going to pass out."
"I almost did," said Martin. "Glad I still workout like I did when I was fighting, otherwise I might have died from exhaustion."
It was true that the folf was completely wiped out, so much so that he knew he couldn't go another round that night. All he wanted to do right now was to snuggle up against his wonderful she-wolf. The happy couple had almost drifted off to sleep when Martin's cell phone rang.
"Who the hell is that?" asked Martin, reaching for his phone. Looking at the screen, he noticed the contact said ROY MONTGOMERY. Roy happened to own a home next to the McGregor's summer place, so Martin knew right away that something was seriously wrong.
"Hello?" said the folf. "Hi Roy, what's going on?"
Olivia looked over at her husband, seeing that his expression had gone from one of confusion, to that of anger in a matter of seconds. "What's wrong?"
Martin put his paw up, letting Olivia know that he wasn't done talking yet. "Yeah, thanks, Roy. I'll be over as soon as I can, just don't call the police unless something really bad happens, okay? Bye."
Olivia watched as Martin quickly got out of bed and put his clothes on. "What's wrong, Martin?"
"Well," said the folf as he pulled his underwear over his rump. "Looks like our oldest two are throwing some kind of wild party at our place. I swear, as soon as I get my paws on them, I'm gonna . . ."
Olivia stopped him. "Martin, I'm coming with you."
"No," said Martin, now pulling a shirt over his body. "I want you to stay right here."
"And risk seeing you go to jail for killing our boys? I don't think so," said Oliva, who was now out of bed and putting her clothes back on. "You need me there to keep you in line."
Martin gave an exasperated sigh. It was no use arguing with Olivia when she really wanted something. As soon as the she wolf was dressed, the couple was out the door. Olivia had to remind Martin to stay within the speed limit as they raced towards the cabin.
By the time Martin and Olivia arrived at the cabin, the party was in full swing. Even before they pulled in the long winding driveway, the couple could hear the sounds of raucous music being blasted through the stereo inside. There were over a dozen cars in the driveway, so the two were forced to walk quite a distance before they got to the door. What they saw inside made their jaws drop.
The normally clean, organized home was completely trashed, with pizza boxes, beer cans and paper plates littering the floor, as well as a couple of teenagers lying passed out from excessive drinking. No one seemed to take notice of the couple until Martin went over and turned off the stereo.
"Alright," shouted Martin, getting everyone's attention. "Party's over!"
"Hey man," said a male deer as he stumbled over to Martin. "Who the fuck are you?"
"The owner," said Martin, his eyes burning with intense anger. "You better get the hell out of here before I call your parents."
"Fuck you!" said the deer, giving Martin a shove.
"How old are you?" asked the folf, barely able to control his temper.
"Eighteen," said the insolent buck.
"Good," said the folf. Before the buck could shove him back, Martin had sent a strong left hook just underneath the buck's ribcage. The punch had the intended effect, as the male deer fell to the ground, almost paralyzed from being hit so hard in the liver. His eyes filled with tears from the horrendous pain.
"Now everybody listen and listen good!" shouted Martin. "You either call your parents and deal with them, or I'm calling the police and you'll have to deal with them and your parents, got it?"
Drunk as they were, the teens had enough sense to do as they were told, especially after watching one of their friends being floored by the angry folf. Martin had Olivia guard the front door as he went and looked for Ian and Luke, as they were not present in the living room. Going through all the bedrooms, basement and attic, the folf finally found the drunken boys in the backyard. Ian and Luke were laughing hysterically as they were pretending to box each other. Martin ran over and pulled them apart. Though he was much shorter than either of them, he was still quite strong and was not suffering the effects of alcohol like they were.
"Hey," said Luke. "Guess we're in trouble, huh?"
"Damn right you are," said Martin.
Luke, who hardly ever caused trouble, started crying. "I'm sorry, Dad."
Martin looked over at Ian, staring him right in the face. "What about you?"
Ian opened his mouth, but no apology was forthcoming. What Martin got instead was his oldest son vomiting all over him. Martin peeled his shirt off, disgusted at being puked on. Ian then closed his eyes and fell to the ground, passed out from all the drinking he'd done. Martin, now covered in vomit, with one son crying and the other passed out, knew that things were only going to get worse once they were back home.