I was in my hotel room, getting ready to go down to the convention center, where a Meet and Greet for Roman Reigns was being held. I took a long, deep breath, and put my hands on my hips. I need to call G before I get too busy.
Just as I reached for my phone, it rang.
"What's up? I was just about to call you before I went down!" I say
"Yeah right!" Galina yells, "Jojo is driving me crazy, asking when you're coming home. I can't keep telling her 'in a couple of days.' She knows what a couple of days are, Joe."
Shaking my head and sighing,"Im not going to argue with you. I have to go meet fans and I don't need this right now."
I hang up the phone and think to myself, My daughter means the world to me, but right now her mother is being unreasonable.
I try to shake it off just as someone knocks on the door. I open the door, and there is a slender woman standing before me.
"They're ready for you Mr. Reigns."
I smile as I grab my bags, and follow her down the hallway to the elevator.
"By the way, I'm Lisa. I'll be your assistant for the day. Anything you need, just ask and I'll get whatever it is." She smiles.
"Thank you." I say as we enter the elevator.
"How many people are down there?" I ask, watching as she pushes the ground button.
"About 4 thousand. I don't think there will be enough time but we'll figure that out later. If you want more time, it's totally up to you if you want to stay and try to get everyone."
Her phone rings, "Oh, please give me one second." She says as she answers her phone.
I can't help but think about how upset Galina was on the phone. I didn't want to argue with her, but I don't think it was a good idea for me to hang up on her, seeing how my phone has been vibrating in my pocket for the last few minutes.
Galina and I have been having problem for the last year and a half. I've been trying to keep my distance from her but it's hard when there's a child involved. I hate having to be away from Jojo as it is, and when Galina acts up it makes it 10 times harder to go home. I've been dealing with her heavy drinking, and most of the time, I simply don't answer her calls. That's all I can do right now.
The doors to the elevator opens and we walk into a room filled with people from wall to wall. I see all kinds of fans, from all walks of life. They are here to see me, and I cant stand to see people disappointed because I can't stay.
I turn to Lisa and say, "I'm going to stay as long as I can."
She nods her head as if she's saying ok. I sit down, grab a sharpie, and start signing autographs and taking pictures.
After about an hour, there was a woman and a little girl walking up on the stage. She looks around the same age as my daughter. The little girl is crying, and the woman with her clearly looks uncomfortable as they approach me.
"What's wrong?" I ask the little girl.
The woman says ,"I'm sorry, she loves you. I don't know why she is crying."
Not taking my eyes off of the little girl, "Alright, come here."
I put my arms up, welcoming her into a hug.
The crowd all 'Awed' as this is a heartfelt sight to see.
As we let go of the embrace, I tell her, "It's okay to be shy."
She wipes her face as she walks back around the table to stand next to the woman who she came with. I look up at the woman she is with, and I'm a little taken aback by how beautiful she is. I look down at the picture to sign my autograph on it, trying not to stare.
"Thank you." She says, "I didn't know she would do this. She's been fine all day, I'm sorry."
"It's okay." I say as I look at her again, this time for a while longer. I notice her eyes, they were the most beautiful green I've ever seen.
"You got some eyes on you girl!" I smile and I look down again and sign another photo.
"Aw, thank you." She says as she blushes a bit, "You know, Roman, I kinda have a bone to pick with you."
She laughs, "A few months ago, we saw you after a show, and my daughter and I were calling your name. You just got into your car and left."
A look of concern grows on my face.
"I'm sorry, I'm sure I had a flight to catch or something. I usually stop and take a few pictures, or sign a couple of autographs."
I notice she's looking at every feature of my face. Her eyes moved from my eyes, to my nose, down to my mouth, up to my hair and over to my right arm, then back to my eyes.
"How often do you come out? Maybe I can make it up to-" I catch myself in mid-sentence," I mean get you guys some tickets to another show. I don't want this sweet little girl to cry again."
"Cassie, would you like that? See, he's trying to make it right. He didn't mean to do that," she says, smiling down at the little girl.
"Your name is Cassie?" I ask, reaching out for the girls hand,"Tell you what, I'll be back in town on Monday for Raw. How about I get you and your-"
I look over to the woman, unsure what to refer to her as.
"Mom." she says.
I look back at her, "How about I get you and your mom tickets to the show on Monday?"
"That would be amazing." Cassie says.
"Okay, I guess that's that then. I'll get your info," I look over to Lisa, "Could you get her info please?"
Lisa takes out her phone, and gets the woman's information. I hear her say her name is 'Gia' as they walk off together. I smile and move on to the next couple of people.
Hours pass as the line seems to get longer. But it seems impossible to finish meeting everyone. I've already stayed 3 hours past the time I was supposed to leave. I stand up and address the crowd.
"Hey guys, I'm sorry, there is no way I can stay any longer. I was supposed to leave at 7 and its 10pm. As you know, I have to kick butt at Fastlane tomorrow and I have to get to Milwaukee. I'm so sorry guys." With that said, I grab my things and Lisa walks me back to my room.
"Here's that woman's information. I wrote it down for you. Her name is Gia Graham. Do you want me to call Allstate arena and hold the tickets?" She asks, handing me the paper.
"No, I got it." I take the paper from her, "I can do it, it's not that big of a deal."
She looks a little confused at my request, "Okay, as you wish. Have a good night."
"You too." I close my door. I gather my things and head out to get on the road for my 2 hour drive to Milwaukee.
Let me know what you guys think about this chapter. I love reading the comments.