The Underground Fighter

"Hello there! I’m Calypso Fae. No. I’m not a fairy, but I am a fairy godmother of sorts. I am a twenty-four-year-old wedding planner who has dreamed of my wedding day since I was a little girl. I am the woman who makes hundreds of women's dreams come true by planning the perfect happy-ever-after. I love the idea of love. At the same, I hate it too. I am a perpetual bachelorette. Guys are afraid to approach me. Either, because they think I am a snob, or they think I am too much of a goody-two-shoes. I actually try my best to be a nice person.

I’m just extremely shy when it comes to the opposite sex. So shy that it’s painful. Other than that, I’m a ball of lace and sass. The perfect southern bell. I guess that comes off as snobbish at times, but it’s who I am and I’m proud of it. My mother always taught my sister and me three things; be kind, be happy, be classy.

Everything else will fall into place.

Here’s why I’m like kryptonite to men. I don’t hang out at bars, sleep around, or date. Ever. Not that I don’t want to date. Guys my age just don’t ask out little miss perfect when there are so many bad girls to go around. So, to put it bluntly, guys think I’m boring. Ever heard of always the bridesmaid, never the bride? I’m more like the love guru who can’t catch a man, even if I could cast a spell on them. This is my life…”

***

((RING! RING))

Calypso pulled her long blonde hair into a messy bun and tapped the office phone to the hands-free speaker.

"Thank you for calling Fairy Godmother Events! I am Calypso Fae. Fae, as in the name for fairies. More specifically, I am your modern-day fairy godmother, ready to grant you a wish. How can I make your dreams come true?"

"Oh, my gosh! You’re really Calypso Fae! I can't believe it! You are the wedding planner for the stars! I loved you on that reality show about MMA ring girls. You are my favorite Ring Bella on Ring It In. I'm a huge fan!"

Calypso rolled her eyes, hearing the overdramatic girl on the phone gushing over her. She figured some reality show superfan caught wind she now owned a private business. Calypso was an event planner in Miami, Florida, but before that, she was a member of the Ring Bella’s. Ring it In was a reality show about the ring girls of the MMA. She was a pseudo-celebrity in her own right starting at the young age of eighteen with her former job as an MMA ring girl, model, and reality show star. The Ring Bella’s was a unique MMA ring girl troupe. They danced and performed between matches to entertain fans.

After a freak accident regarding a fan, Caly retired from the MMA world and went on to be Miami’s most up-and-coming event planner. Although she was becoming well sought after for her skills in wedding planning, love was something that eluded her in her personal life. The truth of her dateless days had been displayed out for the world to see on national television. It was just two sessions of the show, but it was just enough for her to feel like she would never find true love. The producers set up faux dates for Calypso, making her look even more undateable. She left the show feeling more broken than ever and knowing the dreams of her perfect wedding day were far out of reach.

While Calypso's friends had found true love on the show, or within the MMA community, she was still lonely. Being the wedding fairy godmother to others’ dreams left her little time for her own happy-ever-after. She missed her old life on stage. She was an MMA ring girl and professional model for six years, even former Miss East Coast. Caly had been in the limelight since doing pageants and dance competitions as a kid. Grand events were her drug of choice in her business planning, but popularity in wedding planning was what really took off. It seemed to be some sick joke the universe was playing on her. Plan everyone’s big day but fail miserably to attain it for herself. This was the curse that laid upon her.

Caly loved the exhilarating rush a great event brought. Especially when she was the one on the stage or in front of a camera. Unfortunately, the life of a performer had been behind her for a while now, and she was finally starting to settle into the reality of her new life. Surprisingly to her, she enjoyed every second of it. When seeing a couple so truly in love that their wedding meant something, it was a thrill.

Looking at the large binder on the shelf in her office brought her a great pang. Her own book with every detail of her ideal wedding day. It sat there, mocking her as she heard the woman on the phone gushing over her.

"Thank you, dearest. I love to hear from a fan. How can I help you?" Her southern accent slightly came to the surface as the person on the other end of the conversation started to annoy her.

"Miss Fae. I'm getting married, and I would love to have you plan my wedding. I want you to plan everything. The engagement party, bachelorette party, wedding. The works. Oh! And, I want you at the wedding. My maid of honor! That is if my best friend Caly still remembers little ol’ me. With her new business being all the rage and all, I barely hear from the ol’ gal these days." A very southern accent rang out through the phone.

"Huh? Who is this?" Calypso, aka Caly, was taken back. She didn’t recognize the voice. In her defense, she had been busy running her new business.

"I know you have been MIA from the MMA, but I want --"

"Wait! Roxy? Roxy Cline? Is that you?" she asked her sassy best friend from her years as a ring girl in Las Vegas.

Caly had moved there years before when she was working her way to dance on the strip in one of the casinos. When she realized half the dancers in the US were there to do the same, she took a job as a bartender and MMA ring girl.

“You bet you're sweet little behind it is, doll face! I miss you, Caly. I heard you're doing great since you left the ring girls. Our crew hasn’t been the same without you, darlin’."

Caly smiled at her friend's saucy spunk. She was the only person she knew that had a thicker southern draw than she did.

“I’m doing okay. I miss my Ring Bella’s though."

"We miss you too. How's your neck? Since your accident, I haven't been able to be there for ya. I'm sorry. You are my best friend and I feel like I just up and abandoned ya."

"It's cool, Roxy. I'm getting better. I’m back in the gym, and doctors say I'm healing well. My mom and sister were there for me through my last surgery. I love Miami and found a great place by the beach just out of town — like I always wanted. I know you’re busy and have to work. You can't drop everything for me. Spice says you blame yourself, and that's why you have been afraid to visit, since the surgery. It wasn't your fault a drunken fan rushed our stage at the weigh-in and pushed me off it. It was a fluke accident."