Now she looked at her husband. "Were there any girls waiting
outside after the fight?"
"Maybe," said Jim with a smile.
Mae moved around the table. She spoke in a different voice
now, pretending to be one of the women. "Oh, Mr. Braddock,"
she said. "You're so strong. Your hands are so big."
Mae moved in close, and she wasn't joking now when she said,
"I am so proud of you, Jimmy."
That night, as he got ready for bed, Jim stood in the bedroom of
his beautiful home. He looked at their wedding picture. Then he
took off the gold cross from around his neck and kissed it, looking
at his own face in the mirror. It was the face of a lucky man. A
lucky man and a winner.