A Lapse in Time

Chapter 1

"You have to relax, baby," I encouraged my wife as I rubbed her shoulders.

"I am relaxed.” She groaned and rolled her head back with her eyes closed.

I leaned down and kissed her lips.

"I can't tell. Your muscles are tense." She groaned again when I applied more pressure.

We were in her dressing room as she prepared for her next fight. Frankincense burned in an electric incense burner to help her relax. Twenty minutes before the fight was to start, our families had gone to take their seats in the crowd.

My wife, Carsyn, was the middleweight women's boxing champion. After this fight, she would have a break for a few weeks before her next one, and I couldn't wait until we could spend some real time together. She was my world, and while I encouraged her to fight, I missed the days when we would chill doing nothing or had time to go on dates. Ten years later, I still loved to court her. I'd known her since high school, but we didn't get together right away because I had a girlfriend at the time. That didn't stop me from being attracted to Carsyn, but I wasn't a cheater.

Our time had been limited between her training and our three-year-old daughter, Nia. Carsyn went hard, and that was why she was where she was. Our families supported us 100 percent, and they watched Nia for us when we needed it.

Carsyn took a year off after she had Nia, and once she was ready to train again, I became a full-time dad. It was the best job I ever had. I loved being able to watch my little girl grow and slowly gain her independence. She was the perfect mixture of her mother and me, with curly hair and a honey-brown complexion.

"I can't wait to relax with you and Nia," Carsyn declared.

I continued kneading the knots out of her shoulders and neck. I hated that she was so tense, but this was a belt match, and her opponent would be tough. I wasn't worried, though, because my wife was even tougher.

My cousin, Evander, and I trained her to be the best at this shit.

"I can't wait either, Care-Bear." I kissed the top of her head.

She had her hair in a tight bun, but I loved it when she wore it down. Everything about Carsyn was beautiful to me, which was why I married her.

"I can't believe you still call me that," she gushed at the nickname I gave her when we were in high school.

"Because you will always be my Care-Bear."

I started calling Carsyn that because her favorite cartoon was Care Bears , and she used to have a Care Bears keychain on her backpack. She also used to wear Care Bears T-shirts all the time. It was also a play on her name.

"Did you check on Nia?"

"Yes, ma'am. She's good. She and Courtney were watching movies. Courtney also assured me she didn't have a fever, but she would check again in a few hours."

Nia had a fever earlier in the day, so Carsyn was worried about her, but she'd been fine since then. She was with our neighbors. Their daughter, Courtney, was seventeen, and she babysat Nia for us whenever we needed her, but her parents would help if needed. We'd been friends with them for years. Sometimes, they would come to Carsyn's fights, but they decided to watch this one from home. We had a great community surrounding us and our little family.

Carsyn stood from the chair and faced me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and laid her head on my chest. She always said my heartbeat helped calm her nerves. I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. This was our routine whenever she fought. The last half hour or so before, she and I would have a moment to ourselves. I always used that opportunity to keep her calm but also pump her up for the fight.

"Thank you for always being here for me, Noah. I love you."

I stared into her hazel eyes. "I love you, too, baby." I leaned down and kissed her.

We got lost in the kiss for a moment, but I had to cut it short. We didn't have sex three days before a fight or the day of, and I didn't want to break our tradition. It was hard not to because Carsyn always turned me on.

"I think we only have a few minutes left." Carsyn reminded me of the time.

I glanced at the clock on the wall. "We do." I released her from my hold and grabbed her hands.

We bowed our heads and closed our eyes.

"Dear heavenly father, we come to you to ask that you keep Carsyn and her opponent safe. We pray that it is a fair fight and that both women come out of it okay. We thank you for the blessings on our lives and for Carsyn having the gift of fighting. We thank you for giving us the chance to live the life we want to live. We thank you for our family and the love we have for each other. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen."

"Amen," Carsyn added, then stepped back.

We never went into a fight without giving honor and glory to God. It was a must. We wouldn't be where we were if it weren't for him keeping her safe every match.

Carsyn bounced around in her spot to get her blood pumping. I clapped my hands to help pump her up. It was almost time, and even though I was nervous, I didn't let her see it. I didn't want to do anything to throw her off her game. I was nervous before every fight because boxing was dangerous, and one wrong blow could affect someone for life. I tried not to think about it, but it was hard not to sometimes. I also knew that some of the fighters liked to fight dirty.

"Let me wrap your hands."

Carsyn's eyes were on me as I wrapped her hands and put on her gloves. She had her signature teal shorts on with Ross on the waistband. My chest swelled with pride every time she wore them because she bore my last name. Whether or not she won, I would forever be proud of Carsyn for pursuing her dream. Since I'd met her, she wanted to be a fighter, and I was happy that I was able to provide that for her.

"Let's go! Go out there and show them why they call you The Handler 'cause you be handing out ass whuppings on these bitches."

Carsyn tilted her head back and giggled.

Calling women bitches wasn't something I normally did, but at the moment, it didn't matter. My wife knew what I meant by it, and it only happened in the moments between us.

There was a knock on the door, signifying it was time to go. Carsyn and I stood facing each other, our foreheads touching.

"You got this, Champ. Time to beat some ass." I kissed her nose, then led her out of the room.

Carsyn never talked too much before a fight, and I was okay with that. I would talk if she needed it or stay quiet if she required that. I was whatever I needed to be for her, in and out of this boxing shit.

We walked down the hall toward the arena's entrance. Carsyn's team was waiting for us at the end of the hall so we could all walk in together. As soon as she was introduced, her theme song started playing.

I saw the fire in Carsyn's eyes as she entered the ring. She was no longer Carsyn, the wife and mother. She was officially The Handler, and I couldn't wait to see what she did. My nervousness before she entered the ring gave way to excitement. After all of this time, I still enjoyed watching my wife fight. The shit turned me on, and I couldn't wait until it was over. Nia was staying with Courtney and her parents for the night, so I was ready to knock the sonic rings out of my wife by the end of the night.

"You got this," I reminded Carsyn one more time before I went to take a seat with our families.

Her parents, her twin sister Carlie, Carlie's husband Bobby, my father, and my aunt Grace were all in attendance. Evander was her official trainer, so he was ringside with her, along with Raheem, the cut man.

"How are you, son?" my father asked when I sat next to him.

"The usual, anxious and shit." My leg bounced as I looked toward the ring.

My father patted my shoulder. "You know she'll be fine."

Besides Evander, my father was my best friend. He was the only one who knew my true feelings whenever Carsyn fought. I never told her parents because I didn't want them to worry, even though they did anyway. I was the one who tried to keep everyone together.

My father, Noel, was the only parent I had. My mother died from a pulmonary embolism after she gave birth to me. Since then, it had been me and him. Aunt Grace helped out as much as she could. She was Evander's mom, which was why we spent so much time together. Evander's father wasn't around, and my dad used to take us to the local boxing gym. He was the reason both of us were so into it. I was surprised to learn how much Carsyn was into boxing, which was one of the things we bonded over.

The arena was loud as the announcer went over the rules. Once the bell rang, I was on the edge of my seat.

"Let's go, Carsyn!" My baby was doing her thing in the ring, but she knew not to get too comfortable until it was over.

It didn't matter if she won the first three rounds. Things could change quickly. Round for round, Carsyn and her opponent went blow for blow. At one point, Carsyn had a cut over her eye, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She was built for this shit.

We were in the final round, and Carsyn had won five of the nine rounds. It was down to the wire, and it was anyone's fight.

"Come on!" I was on my feet when Carsyn hit the other girl, and she stumbled.

Carsyn just needed to hold on for a few more minutes.

"Oh shit."

The entire audience gasped when Carsyn was hit with a hard ass blow that had her staggering. An uncomfortable feeling filled my gut when I looked at my wife.

"Something isn't right," I stated to my father since he was the closest one to me. I could see the look of worry on my in-laws' faces, but I didn't say anything to them.

"She just got thrown off a little," my father tried to reassure me, but I knew something was off.

The ref waved his hands in Carsyn's face, but she seemed dazed. I made my way to the ring because something was wrong with my wife. Before I made it to the ring, Carsyn went down.