The First lay under his hearse in the garage of his house in Salem. The hearse was his one big luxury he’d allowed himself in his career. He’d always wanted to own one because he felt they were cool, something designed for the service of death. He hardly ever drove the thing but it was his baby and today was as good a day as any to give it an oil change.
Well to be completely honest today was a better day than most to change the oil of the hearse because it meant he was able to avoid his wife for at least a couple hours and any time spent apart from her between now and the Super Bowl was a blessed thing.
Thanks to a bet made by a friend while they were in Vegas in 2008, Muse had won 400 dollars in a game when the New York Giants had beaten the Dallas Cowboys. Having never cared about football before this moment she became a game of Big Blue and Eli Manning and all the rest of it. Playful barbs about how the Giants had ruined the Patriots perfect season were par for the course, First would just laugh at her and remind her she wasn’t a fan then so it didn’t count, and so for 3 odd years they had these cheerful arguments off and on whenever football season was upon them.
Now Fate, because Fate is a total prick, had set it up so that the Giants and Patriots were in a rematch and for the past week and a half Muse had been completely insufferable. She had re-dyed her blue hair a deeper shade of blue to back the Giants. The Tyree authentic jersey she bought was a bit excessive she felt and he won some points by bringing up the fact that Tyree was a homophobic bigot, but in the end nothing was going to shame her into not wearing the thing. The past couple days she was in an Eli Manning road jersey.
The oil had been changed and he was technically done with work on the hearse for the time being. He debated going for a ride in the thing and leaving the house for a few hours. At that moment his phone buzzed, a text message. He reached down and looked at it, it was Muse sending him a photo of Asante Samuel’s failed interception at the end of Super Bowl 42, with the words “you were so close
18-1!” under it. Even here he could not escape her wrath.
It was about 4 hours from the game, and he knew Muse would impossible to deal with at least till kickoff, when she tended to get just as nervous about the game as he would be, having things outside your control, having to depend on fate always was hard, unless he’d had one of his visions he tended to be pretty much a wet blanket, no lead ever was safe no amount of time left on the clock small enough.
He remembered being at a bar for Super Bowl 42 and having a drunk in a Patriots jersey scream “We got them right where we want them!” after Moss made it 14-10 and he began walking around talking big to all the Giants fans, they could have ended the game then and made it easier on everyone, you don’t talk till the game’s over.
He got in the hearse and started it up. Opening the garage door he wondered what Muse would do in response to him leaving. Thankfully it was nothing and he backed out of the drive way and headed down the street, exactly where he was going he didn’t know, but he figured he had time to kill so he’d go somewhere.
He stopped at Harrison’s Comics and decided to hang out with Devil. Devil was one of the staff there who has facial hair that people said was devil like so he got called Devil a lot. “So you’re The First huh?” Devil said sarcastically “First I’ve heard of you” he said with a laugh.
“Yeah that Jace guy is a real brain surgeon.” First replied. “I’ve never heard such wit from an opponent before. Seems interesting that he had a girlfriend for a tag partner and he had to beat her up for betraying him.”
“Well when you’re as dumb as he is, I’d figure a woman would get bored pretty quickly with the whole deal, and for a VWF legend, he sure doesn’t seem like a big deal, he lost to Cruise last time out and now they got him tagging with some crazy chick.” Devil said before taking a drink from a pepsi bottle he had behind the counter.
“Oh that girl, I truly don’t understand her. She’s just like a pile of clichés wrapped up in a bow. She’s a hard-ass, who likes to dress in sexy clothes for attention. A family brutally murdered and so she’s going to prove to us she’s strong by making out with backstage reporters. I have no idea what she’s thinking or what she’s going to do. I honestly doubt she has any idea either. She seems really lost. She’s a soul without direction or purpose, just sort of going this way and that because it seems like it’s what she’s supposed to do. That fate is just pulling her along but she’s just going for the ride. Those who are lost on the path of their own destiny are the saddest of creatures.” First said, shaking his head as he talked.
“I hate when you get that way.” Devil said with a smile. “Set her on the right path with some kicks to the skull, now I gotta go get some displays set up, going to be slow with the game tonight.” Devil pauses and then his eyes lit up. “You’re here cause of Muse! She’s driving you nuts with all her Giants bullshit!”
“Yup, you got me…Every second out of the house is a blessing.” First said, he gave a wince. “Religions, races, all that jazz, love overcomes everything, I guess sports is no different. Everything will be better within a week…Although I’ll have to take more shit if the Patriots lose, but it won’t be on this level.”
“Well we’ll see how it goes.” Devil replied. “Should be a good one either way.”
“Oh definitely…It’s so much easier being in the ring, being the one who decides if you win or lose, that’s where it’s fun, watching, watching is a horror…Like if Cruise got hurt and the two of them are beating on him, that’s the part of tag wrestling that sucks, not knowing if you’ll get a chance to get back in there and do some damage, I mean getting pinned sucks, but at least you were the one that fought and fell, if it’s out of your hands it just sucks.”
“I bet that is a shitty part of the job.” Devil said. He moved from behind the counter. “I got cleaning to do, feel free to loiter and avoid your wife.” And with that he was off to do honest work in the store.
First sighed as Devil walked away, he thought about the match and that he was confident in Cruise and felt they were the better team, but you never know what will happen, and when Cruise was in the ring there would be little he could do for him. All you can do is watch, wait and hope.
“Go Pats.” He said to nobody as he walked out of the store.
