Pink Is The New Purple

Clyde had an uneasy frown of his own as he shared his story with Mercy. His grimace faded a bit however as he felt the warmth of her hand upon his skin and listened to her question.

"Well... I never knew my Father. He left my Momma before me and my sister, Bonnie, were born. So Ma' had to take care of both of us all by herself, and it was hard on her. So when I was fifteen I dropped out and started workin' labor jobs ta' try and make things easier and it did get a little better for her and us." Clyde would say in a calm tone, reluctant to tell her that he was a former delinquent not smart enough to pass the 9th grade. Being a poor student also aided in his decision to drop out but Clyde left that out. He didn't want her to think he was stupid.

The statements that Mercy added kept Clyde quiet as he looked at her with an attentive and serious look. He already knew about a couple things she was talking about, but there were some things he had never considered. He really was lucky to get a job here and he honestly had no clue how long the run in AFW would last or how long he could wrestle in general.

It kept him silent for a moment and he appeared lost in thought. Mercy really made him seriously contemplate the future. He was unsure and nervous but Mercy's presence eased any anxiety he had because of how caring Mercy was.

"Well... I thought If I made it big here I could get a bigger pay at another promotion in the states... But if that didn't work out... I guess I sorta did think about gettin' a GED once this was all over." He would tell her a bit nervously, a bit ashamed at not having a better plan.

Mercy took dainty bites of her rice and sipped her coffee while Clyde spoke. She didn't really feel sympathetic for him. It sounded like an excuse to her but she also knew that people could only be as smart as they were and Clyde wasn't going to be joining MENSA any time soon.

"Clyde..." She said in a soft manner, poking her rice with her spoon. "My daddy raised me all by himself. I spent most of my childhood in the passenger seat of his old beat up pick up truck. I was lucky if I was in one school for the whole school year. I'm smart, I know." She said not trying to sound too egotistical. "But I'm not, like, some super genius. I worked hard when I had to to graduate despite my circumstances because I knew that I was not going to be able to do what my Daddy did. I'd have to make it on my own."

Mercy tilted her head, letting her thumb rub against the back of Clyde's hand. "It seems like I might be in Japan for a while. I was just trying to get away after I got fired but I actually like what I'm doing now. Still... I do want to keep at my original profession. I guess Japan's as good a place as any to get a law degree so I've thought about going back to school."

Mercy fidgeted a bit and recrossed her legs. "I could help you get your GED while you were here, you know? Find out where you could take the test. I don't know, maybe fly you back to America or something. I don't know how it works. But... it's really something you need to do. Not for anyone else, but for yourself, you know?" Mercy said and looked up cautiously at Clyde.

Clyde knew he never tried in school and more or less did not regret it because he knew for years he wasn't going to pass anyway. But after hearing how Mercy was forced to travel a lot and still worked hard to pass school, Clyde felt a little bad. He had a big disinterest but it was a poor excuse to drop out and not try, especially compared to Mercy. He found himself admiring her a lot more for her determination to get where she was now despite how difficult it probably was.

He felt a little guilty for giving up on his education while Mercy clearly wanted it growing up. But any guilt he felt was eased by her thumb gliding across the back of his hand, a small subtle touch that was enough to melt him. He would also nod along as she shared more about herself. "Well... I think you should definitely go for that law degree." He didn't really know how to express that he wanted her to succeed other than just saying that. Not to mention he was very thankful she would be staying in japan.

Now he wanted her to succeed to her fullest and he wanted the same for himself but in the ring, not in education. Clyde was visibly torn on what to do. He felt happy that Mercy cared this much and wanted to help him. He had no problem doing this for her or for his mother. But to do this for himself? Clyde wasn't sure he'd have that kind of motivation for something he never cared about.

But he did want to keep being a success.

"I really do appreciate the help you offerin' me, Ms. Mercy but what in the world could I be with just a GED in 20 years? I could go back ta' bailin' hay for...Oldman Rogers..." Clyde began to say before he remembered that one of the guys who offered him a job back in the day was really old and there was no guarantee he would even be around by the time Clyde was done with wrestling. "Aww dang." He reached a realization and sighed.

"I think you're right. I might need this more than I know." He told her with a nervous grin.

Mercy smiled at Clyde and took a sip of her coffee. She eased back in her chair, sliding her leg back so it touched Clyde's leg once more. "Thank, Clyde." Mercy said, rolling her eyes a bit at Clyde in a lighthearted way. "Well, I just want to have it. If this job works out, I may not need it." Mercy turned her head and sighed a little. "But... I don't know..." She really didn't.

"Anyway, Clyde, no matter what you WANT to be, you have to start SOMEWHERE. And you can't take that first step without your GED. Now's the time to start thinking about it. When you still CAN wrestle. Do you know how many athletes think they can just run on what they have forever? Think about what you want to do after wrestling and start taking the steps now. That way when you hang up your tights, you've already got a foot in the door. Whatever cash you have leftover from wrestling you can use to push yourself into that career.You can't just be shortsighted forever, Clyde. It's all about thinking ahead. Making a plan for the future, making sure that you're secure if things go bad. You know what I'm saying?"

"Well just do what ya' love the most, babe." Clyde would add, leaning his leg slightly against Mercy's leg. "I think you got plenty of time ta' decide." She was obviously in her early 20s.

Mercy then went on to add more information regarding a smart career path and Clyde just nodded along. Of course he payed attention but this was a lot to take in for him and he was quick to start imagining himself in a situation similar to Tyson, but at a smaller scale.

"Shit! I don't wanna go bankrupt!" He thought in a small inner panic. Mercy's advice made a lot of sense and it was making Clyde reconsider all his plans. He lived for the present and not the future but the idea of going more broke than he was at birth was not cool at all. It all left a bewildered and astonished look on his face.

"Yeah....God... We ain't get paid 'nuff for this job, Mercy." He'd add as he thought about his career so far brief career, running his hand through his hair. "AFdubya needs a retirement plan. I ain't bout to end up poor again!" He gave Mercy a very concerned a serious look. This was serious business now!

Mercy glanced sideways. "Uh... I am Clyde..." She added with a little bit of a huff. She listened to Clyde and heard his words. She smirked a little it. "Well, it's not as good as my last gig, but I'm living pretty comfortably." She said and stuck out her tongue.

Mercy sipped the last bit of her coffee as the check was brought. "Well, that's what I'm saying. You need to think about these things. When you're ready to take that next step, just let me know."

Mercy then eased away from Clyde and stretched cutely, pulling her arms against her body when she was finished. She was starting to feel a little cold in the cool air conditioned restaurant.

"Well... How was it, Clyde? Wasn't it just the most adorably delicious thing you've ever eaten?" She said beaming as she thought about the awesome food she just had.

"Oh..." Clyde felt like he stated something dumb. "Well what was your last gig?" He asked curiously as he leaned back in his chair, thinking about how tough it was probably going to be having to relearn things in school he most likely forgot about.

He nodded at her. "Of course! Will do, Ms. Mercy. I promise." He said in a cheerful tone, winking at her. He meant it. He wanted to succeed but he also thought this would make his mom happy... Maybe Mercy too.

His attention would remian her, watching her cute stertch before she asked a question that snapped him out of admiration. "Hm? Oh! Yeah I liked it.... More than I thought I would. It wasn't bad at all." He gave her a coy look. "...Think I still perfer Burgers and Steaks more though, babe." He teased. "But I'm just glad you enjoyed it."

"Uhhhh...' Mercy was about to go off on Clyde a little bit. How could he NOT know what her last gig was!? But then, she realized that how WOULD Clyde know? She recollected herself and then looked at Clyde. "I worked as a paralegal for Margaret Sinclair. She was Lukretia's personal advising legal counsel. It was a sweet gig. But when Lukretia fired Ms. Sinclair, she fired me." Mercy frowned. "Then a bunch of crazy stuff happened and Hilde let me work for her for a while... and then... Rally hired me when she found out that she hated paperwork and I liked it."

Leaving out most of the juicy details, that about summed things up. She hoped he meant what he said. Sort of. While they were dating, she wasn't going to date a loser. That was for sure. But she didn't really expect things to last for very long and after wards, what did she care what Clyde did?

Mercy stared at Clyde as he went on his spiel about burgers and steaks. Her face fell a bit. Clyde didn't actually care if she liked it or not. That was stupid. It wasn't like she would think that if he took her to a burger joint.

'Oh, Clyde, as long as you enjoyed that manly burger, that's all I care about. You're so big strong and handsome.' Was that how he really saw things/ How could someone be such a rube? Mercy shuffled to the edge of the booth. "Well, Clyde..." She said. "Thanks for the dinner. I'm going to powder my nose and meet you up front." She said and smiled at him as she shuffled off.

Clyde heard from Taylor that a paralegal was basically assistant lawyer or something so he knew what that was. He swore he heard the name Sinclair before but he brushed it aside. He heard a lot of names. Still, as awful as paperwork sounded, if Mercy seemed to like it, maybe getting fired wasn't so bad. He wasn't about to say that but Clyde felt that some things have to end to give you something better and Mercy clearly liked her job.

Watching Mercy shuffle out before stating she needed to powder her nose, Clyde nodded. "A'ight." He said, smiling pleasantly as she went away. He fished out his wallet and paid the bill without a fuss, leaving some yen for a tip before making his way back up to the front, hands stuffed inside the pockets of his suit jacket, waiting for Mercy as he thought about doing school work again and what he planned on doing for King and Bree when he went back to work. Musing that if he got hurt, he'd have plenty of time to actually study.

He sighed uneasily. Did he really just agree to return to something he ran away from? Did he really want a GED? "Ain't I a success already?" He asked himself while starting at his shiny loafers, waiting for Mercy. Getting the notion that she wanted him to succeed more than he did. Perhaps that was all the motivation he needed.

Mercy wasn't very long taking care of her business and greeted Clyde with a smile. She slipped her hand into his and took off out of the restaurant. "So, I guess you can call me a cab. " She said. "Oooooorrr...." She said. "You can walk me to the train station." She said and winked at Clyde. "Whichever." She added with a shrug as she lazily pulled him away from the front of the restaurant.

"Do you have a match coming up soon?" She asked, just a little curious while he decided. Though, she was pretty sure what he might chose.