04. Remembrance
Summary: Logan remembers his past....Loves and Losses
“Mariko”
Thirteen years ago (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
“Ladies and Gentlemen….” The potbellied MC yelled into the mike. “Tonight’s winner and still undisputed champion…THE WOLVERINE.”
The boisterous crowd went wild as the champion stepped forward, his hands raised, one foot planted on the back of the unconscious challenger.
“Is there anyone here who dares challenge the unbeatable Wolverine?” At this announcement, the crowd grew silent. No one stepped forward to answer the challenge. They had seen three fighters…more like three fools getting their asses handed to them that night itself and no one else wanted to try their luck out.
When no one came forward, the cage door opened and Wolverine stepped out and a throng of women hoping for a pay night romp with the Wolverine surrounded him. Not interested in any of them, well, not that night, Wolverine just pushed them away and made his way to the showers, an unlit cigar in mouth.
-----
“Here are ya?” Paul, the owner and MC at the fighting bar, tossed two bundles to the Wolverine. “Twenty five….ten and fifteen,” he dropped his voice. “Enough?” He asked good-naturedly. He always did that. The Wolverine was his largest money making machine and did not mind giving him a few extra dollars.
“Nah,” the young man grunted as he tossed the larger bundle back to Paul for safekeeping.
“Gimme a double.” The words barely left his mouth, before a double shot of whisky was placed before him. Paul knew that the Wolverine was legal now…he hadn’t been the first time he had come to the bar three years ago. He didn’t bother with the legalities…it wasn’t as if the cage fighting was legal by itself.
The champ gulped down three double shots one after the other before he slowed down to enjoy the fourth one. He was still feeling the adrenaline rush from the fight and needed a good drinking spell to get it down….especially now that he had given up on tonight’s ‘fuck’ dosage.
He was on his fifth drink when the bar doors opened. Taking a glance, he immediately knew who it was.
“Heyya runt,” the deep, gruff voice was followed by a large hand coming to rest on his shoulder.
“Whatdya want Creed?” Wolverine grunted back.
“Got a job fer ya?” whispered Victor ‘Sabertooth’ Creed. A one-time fighter himself, he had moved on to more ‘lucrative’ job options.
Taking the seat next to Wolverine, he ordered two doubles for himself.
“Not interested,” Wolverine said dismissingly.
“Money’s good…”
“NOT interested,” the second time around it was louder. Standing to leave, Wolverine found his *to go* beer already waiting for him.
Nodding his head at Paul, he walked out into the dark cold night.
----
He had barely gone two blocks, when a loud scream rang out into the night.
“Another one,” Wolverine grunted taking a last swig from his beer bottle to empty it. It was one of the seediest areas of the city and robberies, rapes and murders were commonplace. Cracking his neck, he continued walking towards his one room apartment.
Suddenly something or someone ran into him, pushing him onto the road.
“Watch it bub,” the growl was mildly threatening. It looked like a small boy or something. Trying to push him pack, Wolverine frowned when the youngster seemingly stuck to him, groping him tightly.
“Pl…pleeease help” the voice was of a young girl and from the accent he realized that she wasn’t from the area, most probably not even from the country.
Before he could say anything else, two men came charging through the alley and instinct made him move the clinging girl behind him, so that he was standing between her and the pursuers.
“We got nothin’ with ya. Just give us the girl and we’ll let ya go,” one of the men threatened.
Nodding the Wolverine just stepped aside and pushed the tearful girl away from him.
“Please” she pleaded again, her large black eyes overflowing with tears, which then ran over her stained cheeks.
“Smart guy” the second attacker smirked stepping towards the girl. Reaching near the girl, he reached into his jacket and withdrew a short rope and a gag.
“Pleeasse….” The girl pleaded again, getting a chuckle from the man in front of her.
“No one’s going ta help youuuuuu…” The next moment he found himself flying through the air into the garbage bags resting in front of the area diner.
“Now you are gonna get it,” his partner snarled, whipping out a knife.
“Get back” Wolverine ordered the girl, his eyes never leaving the goon and the knife he held in his hand. “Ya call that a knife” Wolverine gave an evil grin. With that, he reached behind his back and pulled out his own knife. “How about this?”
“Holy shit,” the color drained from the man’s face as his eyes fell on Wolverine’s knife – a two-inch thick, nine-inch long, serrated edged blade glinting under the streetlight.
He immediately stepped back in fear.
“Heyyy…man,” his voice cracked, all his confidence gone. “We just wanted ta have some fun. No need ta get angry. If ya want her she’s yers” with that he turned and ran into the alley he had come from, leaving his unconscious friend sprawled among the torn garbage bags and rotten food.
After a couple of minutes, Wolverine slid his knife back into its sheath and started walking away. What he did not notice ‘immediately’ was that the girl had started following him.
“Whatdya want?” he grunted at the girl, surprised that she didn’t flee as soon as the men left.
“Help….please,” she pleaded softly. Wolverine was about to turn her away, when something pulled at his heart. He wanted to keep her safe…..he wanted to see her smile.
Nodding his head, he gestured her to follow him. “I’ve gotta a place nearby. Ya can stay there. But I’ve gotta warn ya…I stay alone.”
In response, the girl just stepped closer to him.
----
Ten minutes later both of them stepped into Wolverine’s *apartment* - a room in an old condemned office complex.
“Ya hungry?” Wolverine asked the girl. She just nodded her head, her small duffle bag still clutched between her arms.
“’k. There’s the bathroom” he pointed to a door, hanging off its hinges. Ya get cleaned up while I get us something ta eat.” Leaving her alone, Wolverine traced his steps back to the diner. It had been his destination before the girl ran into him.
Reaching the diner, he ordered his usual standard extra rare steak and for the girl….for the girl… ‘Idiot’ he knocked his head. ‘Didn’t ask her what she wanted ta eat.’
“Listen bub” he called the waiter. “Do ya have something that is not beef in yer menu.”
“Yes sir” the lanky teenager grinned at him. “We have vegetable burger, vegetable salad, veg…”
“Give me one veg burger and one veg salad” Wolverine interrupted him. “And a soda.”
“Get yer dinner,” the gruff voice called out from the door. Immediately the scent of perfumed soap and incense sticks reached him, causing him to breathe it in deeper, enjoying its calming smell.
“I didn’t know if ya’d eat meat, so I got ya…..” his words were caught at the sight before him. He had seen that the girl was good looking but….seeing her like this – all cleaned up, damp hair clinging to her cheeks, her demure curves clear under the robe.
“Thank you,” Wolverine snapped out at the sound near him. She had walked up to him and had gently taken the box from his hand.
“Huh….yer…yer welcome,” he finally managed, feeling awkward at someone acting so civil….and more so with himself responding to it.
Sitting down on either ends of the worn out ‘Goodwill’ couch, they started their dinner.
“What’s yer name?” he asked finally.
“Mariko….Mariko Yashida,” she answered, her smooth honey like voice carrying the barest of accents.
“Logan” he responded in return. “My name is Logan,” he avoided telling her his formal name. That name was only used in official work and documents….like his license, social insurance number….his police record.
“Thank you” she bowed her head slightly.
“Fer what?” he asked in his gruff voice.
“For the food…for this…” she gestured to the warm room, “….for saving me.”
“Nah…” Logan flipped his hand. “….if it weren’t me, someone else woulda saved ya,” He lied to her, not having the heart to tell her the reality of the area she was in.
At his effort, she gave a small smile. “Yes….anyone could have….but you were the one who did.”
“Hmmm…” he mused, scratching his two day old stubble. “….maybe yer right. But ya don’t have ta tell thank me fer everything.”
----
“Mariko….Why are ya running?” His question caused her to flinch as if he had slapped her, tears appearing in her eyes.
“Ya don’t have ta say if ya don’t wanta” he tried to handle the situation. “Its just that…ya don’t look like yer from around here…ya look really…ya know….really…” he tried to get the correct word. “….really….good” he finished lamely. “I…I’m sorry if I hurt ya.”
An awkward silence came over the room.
“Vancouver….” She answered softly. “That’s where I am from.”
“Vancouver huh…that’s far” Logan mused. He had never been to Vancouver, his fight circuit moving mostly in Alberta. “Why did ya run?”
For a moment, it looked as if she would start crying again, “I brought dishonor to my family.”
“Dishonor…” Logan was taken aback at her answer. He had expected an abusive boyfriend or teenage anger…but not this. “….whatdya mean?” He found himself *concerned* about the girl, something that he had never felt towards any woman. In fact, the last woman he had felt any emotion for was….the old nun who used to come to the orphanage every month and bring sweets for the children. That was years ago….she had died when he was twelve years old.
“I brought dishonor to my father….to my family,” she repeated herself and then proceeded to tell him the reason for her running away.
----
“Thank you for allowing me to spend the night…I’ll leave in the morning”
Logan’s eyes shot up. ‘Leave’ the thought of her leaving him… suddenly felt…..it felt like something he did not want to happen….leave alone think about.
“Leave” he voiced his thought. “Where’d ya go?”
“I do not know,” she answered frankly. “Toronto I guess…” she didn’t specify how she would be getting there.
“Got someone there?” she shook her head at his question.
“Got the money…?” He was sure that she did not have it, and her muted answer confirmed his suspicion.
“Ya don’t need ta go anywhere,” he answered getting up from the sofa. “Ya can stay here fer as long as ya want.”
She was surprised at his offer and a little bit fearful of his intentions. “I can not do that. I have already troubled you and cannot burden you more. I cannot pay you in any way.”
Logan caught onto her nervousness. “I don’t want money or anything else from ya….ANYTHING” he made it clear. “I won’t touch ya….” he added, with the unspoken words ‘….not until ya want me to.’
“But….” she tried again, but was interrupted by his raised hand.
“As fer paying me back….ya can do it by taking care of this place” he pointed to the surroundings. “Ya know cleanin’, cookin’….all that shit.”
“Whatdya say?” he questioned at her silence. “I take care of the outside part and ya do it inside” he tried to sound nonchalant, but inside he was wanted the girl to stay with him. Something about her made him want to take care of her. He wanted her to stay here…stay with him.
“Yes”
“Yes?”
“Yes” she answered – a small smile of relief on her face.
“Ok” he smiled back at her. “Now let’s get some sleep….” Stepping towards the bed, he picked up one of the two pillows he owned. “ya take the bed” he pointed out to her, his tone telling her that he wouldn’t be shaken from his decision.
-----
Six months later,
“She looks just like her mama” Logan smiled at his girls – his wife Mariko and ‘his’ daughter….
“Amiko…daughter of Mariko and Logan …sounds good doesn’t it?” he was bursting with joy.
Mariko gave him a watery smile. She was exhausted after twenty hours of intensive labor and had just woken up after a long rest….and was holding ‘their’ daughter for the first time.
“Thank you Logan…” her voice was thick with love and gratitude. “For everything.”
“Na darlin’…” he shook his head, gently caressing his daughter’s cheek. She was the split image of her mother and even if she wasn’t born from him….she was HIS….in every way possible. All the blood and other biological shit be dammed. “….Thankya….fer being ya and for this angel here.”
Mariko had told Logan that she had been three months pregnant when they had met. That was her reason from running away from home. It seems that her boyfriend had gone a bit too far on one date and that had resulted in her present predilection. When she had come to know about the pregnancy, it was in front of her family….that was the first time she had vomited. She had then approached the shit-head, but he was too afraid to do anything about it. Her family had then turned her out….saying that she had dishonored them.
Not knowing what to do…she had decided to move across the country, to a place where no one knew her. What she did not take into account was the financial part of her travels…..and soon she was all out of money.
Luckily for her and for Logan, they had *run* into each other. What had started as him offering her a place to stay along with food, in turn for her household services….had turned into a camaraderie…and then finally into love.
Two months ago, Logan proposed to her over their weekly dinner at the diner where had first met. He had even managed to get a ring from his fight winnings. It was nothing fancy…a simple silver band, barely a couple of hundred dollars worth, but it was the commitment and conviction behind it that was new for both of them. One an orphan, who had lacked love and stability for his whole life, until her….and the other a pregnant teenaged adult who had been scorned by her own family and had lacked support and love…..until him.
Together they were planning to have a future…with each other and with the latest addition to their ‘new’ family.
----
Eight months later,
“Ready darlins’?” Logan said looking at his wife and daughter. At his question, Mariko turned from the building, smiling at him, unshed tears in her eyes.
“Hey….” Logan was at her side in an instant. “…..What happened?” he asked wiping her tears away, their sleeping daughter cradled in her arms, oblivious to the life altering change happening around her.
“Nothing” she said leaning into his embrace. “….Its just...just that it feels odd to leave this place. It has been our home…Guess I just feel nostalgic…feel attached to it.”
“I understand” Logan lied. He didn’t understand….well not completely. Having spent most of his life in the ‘system’ or on the road, the sense of being attached to a place wasn’t something he identified with. For him….home was with this family…..his wife and daughter.
“Come…lets go,” he instructed her, gently ushering towards their ‘new’ second hand trailer. They were leaving Calgary.
Right after their marriage and before Amiko’s birth, they had started talking about moving from their present ‘office’ apartment. Although he had a good thing going with his cage fighting gig, Logan also understood the responsibility that would arise from having a family…especially with an infant.
What he didn’t know was what would he do? That was where Mariko came in. She commented that he could get another job. He then told her about his level of education – grade six and also his skills – mainly fighting and a knack of fixing things….namely mechanical things….automobiles. Mariko had assured him that together they would be able to do it. She had complete confidence in him….and her love and confidence gave him the confidence to set upon a plan to improve his life.
Over the next ten months, he had to save as much money as he could. He even took a daytime job to supplement his income. Paul had been able to get him a job at his cousin’s automotive workshop. That had given him the practical experience that he would need when trying to get a new job.
A month ago, they had decided to move. Logan had managed to save around fifteen thousand dollars and with the five grand Paul had ‘gifted’ to them, they had enough money to get their new life started. Paul had also managed to get Logan a deal on a truck and trailer. Although he was going to miss his best fighter….he was happy with the way the young man’s life had turned every since that night at the diner.
Minutes later, they pulled out from the parking lot, hand in hand with their daughter asleep behind them.
----
Almost two weeks later, they reached their destination – New York, USA. Here, they would get the fresh start they needed.
Logan had managed to get a job….thanks to another old contact of Paul’s. They had taken up a small one-bedroom apartment in a ‘comparatively’ cleaner and respectable part of the city. Although not very clean, it was safer than their earlier place.
After selling off his truck, Logan managed to pay the deposit for the apartment and buy a decade old mid-size truck.
----
The years had been kind to the happy couple. They very much in love with each other and their beautiful daughter. Although they didn’t have any kids of their own, due to Mariko’s medical condition….they did have many new additions….Marie, Remy, Kurt, Piotr and most importantly….their second daughter…..Jubilation ‘Jubilee’ Lee.
Through his hard work and efforts, Logan had managed to save enough money to buy a large piece of land. There they had opened up his own workshop. A couple of years later he even started selling second hand cars.
They were a happy and content. Once Amiko started with school, Mariko had even completed her G.E.D. Neither of them had planned on her getting a job…..and she didn’t….until Logan started out on his own. The financial aspect of the business had initially unnerved him…and once again, it was Mariko who had come to the rescue. To Logan’s surprise and hers, they found out that she had a knack with handling the day to day running of a business.
Thus begun another chapter in their ‘partnership’. They were able to spend more time with each other ….and loved every second of it.
They were happy.
----
Until three years ago…..until Mariko left them….left him.
Mariko had a heart defect. It had been detected at a young age. Over time, she had forgotten about it. They came to know about it when they were trying to conceive.
It was due to that defect….that she died a few months after Amiko’s ninth birthday and their ninth marriage anniversary. Their last anniversary had been a trip down memory lane. Leaving Remy in charge of the sales part and closing the workshop for a month, they had taken a road trip of sorts tracing their route back to where it had all started…..the diner in Calgary.
Although their first ‘home’ was no longer there….the diner was. They repeated their first meal again….steak for him and vegetable burger and salad for her.
That had been their last anniversary together. A few months later….Logan was left all alone with two young daughters to take care off.
She had died at their home….in his arms.
----
Present,
It was late past midnight when Logan entered ‘their’ home. The sound from the living room drew his attention…someone was there. Walking to the room, he found Jubilee. She was asleep, curled up on the sofa, the television playing out in front of her.
Bending down, Logan extracted the picture frame from her hand. It was a picture of all of them….Logan, Mariko, Amiko and Jubilee. It was in front of the diner….the day they had been there. It was the last picture he had of Mariko. Although she looked a bit tired, her shining eyes and wide smile said everything about her true feelings….about her happiness to be with her family.
Setting the frame down on the coffee table, Logan turned to Jubilee and gently lifted her up into his arms.
‘Ummmmnnn….” She moaned in sleep, wiggling and burrowing deeper into his chest. At that moment she looked just like the eleven year old kid he had come upon…..and not like the feisty firecracker she had grown up to be.
Walking to her room, he gently laid her down on the bed and after taking off her shoes, drew the covers over her. Kneeling down next to her, he moved the stray hair away from her face and gently kissed her on the forehead.
“Hmmm….Wolvie….” she smiled in her sleep. “….Dad”
“Yes darlin’….” Logan whispered to her. “….Sleep”
“Hmmm….Ok” with that she turned sideways, burrowing deeper into the pillow.
Walking to the door, Logan took one last look at her, before closing the door behind him.
Note: Didn’t change this part of the story from the first time, ‘cause I liked it even then.
Next, more RoLo!!
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