I had been working as a coach alongside Artie for the last nine months. Fighting was always a big part of my life, and even though I didn’t want to do it anymore, I still found that I wanted to be around it, and Tyler had signed up as my first client.
“Do you mind if I dip out of here early today? I’m picking Margie up early from school for the surprise.”
“Is that today?” he asked.
“Yeah. She’s pretty excited.”
“Yeah, go ahead. It’s an important day for both of you,” he said.
“Thanks, Artie,” I said.
Artie went back to what he had been doing, and I finished filing away some papers on a possible new client. He was tough and fast but had a lot of trouble focusing. He reminded me of myself, and I wanted to coach him for just that reason. There was more paperwork and less action being a coach, but my life was a lot less stressful. I had more time to spend with Margie, which was what I’d always wanted.
I still had two more hours before I could leave to get Margie and they were ticking by so slowly. After I filed the paperwork, I went into the open gym and helped a few people out with their forms. I noticed a lot more women had signed up to train at the gym since I became a coach. It was a little amusing to me.
They always wanted my help, but I tried to avoid the ones that directly asked for my help because they weren’t there to actually learn or train. Their form seemed to get sloppier as time went on. It was clear to me they were only there to see me, and I didn’t have the time for that sort of thing.
I grabbed my phone and car keys out of desk drawer and headed for the door.
“Hey man!” Joe called from inside the ring where he was sparring with another person. “Good luck today!”
“Thanks. I could use it,” I said with a small laugh.
I left before anyone else could talk to me. I had promised Margie I would pick her up thirty minutes early from school today for a surprise we had planned.
As I walked to my car, I noticed that the sky seemed a little bluer than usual and the birds seemed to sing a little louder. I figured maybe it was just my excitement for what was to come.
I got in my car and drove to the other side of town to Margie’s school. It was crazy to think she was already finished with kindergarten. She had taken a test at the beginning of the year to see if she was ready for it, and she passed with flying colors. I couldn’t be prouder of her.
She had no trouble in kindergarten and was going to be starting first grade in the fall. It was a little bit hard to take in when I thought about it. She was growing up so fast.
I pulled up to her school, got out, and walked through the front doors. I went into the office.
“Hello, Justin. Are you here to pick up Margie?” The front office ladies knew me by name because of the number of hours I volunteered at the school. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember their names. I just knew them as the blonde haired one and the brunette one.
“Yeah. I’ve got a surprise planned out,” I said as I signed the sign-out sheet.
“She told us this morning,” the blonde-haired lady said.
“She did?” I asked, not at all surprised.
“Yes. She was so excited. She came running in here before the first bell to tell us that she would be leaving early today,” the brunette said.
I laughed. “She’s a crazy kid.”
The blonde picked up the black phone on her desk, typed in a number, and waited.
“Mrs. Schwarts, can you send Margie to the office with her things? Her dad is here to pick her up.”
She told the teacher thank you and then hung up the phone. A few minutes passed before Margie walked into the office.
“Daddy! Let’s go!” she said.
The front office ladies laughed.
“See you on Monday, Margie,” the blonde said.
“Okay,” she said and grabbed my hand.