Another out of order post, my apologies to all my readers but I'd written this story a while ago and never posted it. It is now where it belongs
I’m glad that’s over.”Kim Curzon stalked into the green room. She lit a cigarette. “ What a woeful last night. Small, unappreciative audience, fluffed lines.” She turned on Lucia Mirrabella. “You didn’t feed me properly. Your lines were all stilted.” She talked over Lucia’s protest. “Not that its entirely your fault. Eileen Tanqueray is an unbelievable character- that a convent educated girl would fall in love with –and then forgive – a much older roué is unbelievable by itself. But hell, “The Second Mrs Tanqueray” s a lousy play.”
“Kim be reasonable it’s a famous play, a classic play,” Stewart James walked in, wiping his face with his hand. He picked up a plate and loaded it with sandwiches. “ At least have some food angel.”
“It’s dated, no one cares about a woman’s past. Today Eileen would want Paula’s tips on how on how to pleasure Captain Ardle. Bah, its too old fashioned. I need a shower, a scotch and another cigarette. Shower first.” Kim flounced off slamming the door behind her.
Stewart looked at the sandwiches, then offered them around.
Michael Tippett rolled his eyes. “Where can I find a vase for these?” He waved a bunch of red roses.
“You could always give them to me.” Lucia Mirrabella giggled. She went to find a vase. The other actors huddled around the food and around Stewart who had played Aubrey Tanqueray.
Michael sighed. “She’s high maintenance. “I looked quizzically; he went on. “No I don’t mean Kim has expensive tastes- or at least if she does she finds the money herself. She’s just moody. Some times she's happy and bubbly, other times she’s morose and snaps at everyone. Tonight she’s the latter. Look at her, grumpy going off in a huff.”
“Michael cut her some slack, she’s an actress. She’s drained, washed out. She just finished a performance . ”
“Only to start another; one she acts so well she never needs direction or rehearsal or coaching. Kim Curzon the prima donna.”
“That’s cruel, its no performance, its her personality. Some people are like that-emotionally charged.”
Michael was grossly unfair. He shrugged, “Perhaps I should expect it, dating an actress. I knew this was the last night of this play, so I got her some roses; I was going to take her out to supper at the Union League. “
I raised my eyebrows, “The Union is hardly the place for a quiet intimate supper which is all Kim would be wanting after an exhausting performance. Didn't you see how she looked, drawn, pale and tired? She won't want to go to the Union tonight.”
“What do you mean, its a great place, you put me up for membership. And thank you, I’ve met so many contacts there. All the in crowd go there. And Kim knows a lot of people there.”
“What you really mean is you want to go there so Kim can help you make more contacts. That would be good-if Kim were happy and bubbly. She loves being the prima donna- you got that right- meeting and greeting her admirers. But not tonight. Tonight she needs some down time. Some one on one togetherness. Take her somewhere quiet. But that’s enough of that. Here’s Lucy with the vase.”
“Uh huh. Where's Kelly tonight, she usually comes to these after play suppers?” He picked up a sandwich.
“Seattle, on business again.”
A few moments after Michael put the roses in the vase Kim returned. She wore a long sleeved dress with black and white stripes and a cameo broach. She carried a topcoat and scarf in her hand. Like her outfit she was subdued. She pulled a cigarette out of her rolled gold case and her lighter from her bag. She leaned towards Michael so he could light her cigarette. “I’m sorry Michael, Stewart. I’m worried I’ll be typecast. I don’t want directors to think I’m restricted to classic plays. I’ll never get any breaks on PBS or in musicals or modern drama or even Shakespeare - if everyone thinks I only do Shaw, Ibsen, Rattigan. All the old stuff." She took a draw on her cigarette as she wrapped her other arm round Michael’s waist.
“Your trouble darling Kim is that you are so good in those plays. That’s where you got your break- Rayna in Arms and the Man. “Stewart tried to calm her
Yes but I can sing, I can do musicals, I can do all sorts of plays. I don’t want to just act in those costume dramas.” She waved her cigarette in the air.
“So why did you take the part?” Lucia asked sharply. I looked at her more closely. She was a good three inches taller and much more tanned than the elfin pale Kim, her tightly curled brunette hair was cut short like Kim's -it was one of few things they had in common. I'd have guessed she might be 135 pounds- twenty more than Kim. Neither of them ran to fat. Lucia worked out daily. Actors and actresses, stage ones in particular have to be fit. Their job keeps them on their feet all the time.
“A girl’s got to eat. I need the money. Acting is my career.”Kim rounded on Lucia exhaling smoke in her face. Lucia spluttered as Kim took another drag on her cigarette and went on. "And I have to keep reminding the trustees that I am a good actress. I don’t have family who can help my career.”
Lucia flushed, she hated the common slur that her family and especially her aunt Catherine had helped her career.
“ Angel, you did remind them.” Stuart again tried to placate Kim. “ You were a great Paula Tanqueray. You had the female lead- Paula is a great role, she’s difficult to play right because the actress needs to balance all the parts of her character. Some of Aubrey’s friends –and certainly Eileen see her as a gold digger, trying to get social standing by marrying him- an older wealthy widower.” He poured a scotch and held it out for Kim “ And the actress playing Paula has to show why they think that.. But that’s hardly the whole story. She’s truly in love with Aubrey, at the play's start she’s vibrant lively and the actress has to show that. And the actress has to show her collapse when she is so wrongly misjudged. After all she is trying to protect Eileen. It’s a complex role and you played it admirably.”
“Bah, she’s a weak character who can’t take it and kills herself.” She let go of Michael’s waist and took a big swig of scotch.
"I'd love the role." Lucia said.
"I know, you auditioned for it.”Kim snapped. She jabbed her cigarette in the air. “You didn’t get it. You got the second lead. You don’t have the maturity, the experience to play Paula. You thought you were entitled to the role." Kim waved her cigarette around, her Irish temper- never far beneath the surface was erupting Clearly she'd put her disasterous, painful defeat at the hands of Wendy Griffiths behind her. a lot of that was thanks to Michael who tried to restrain her now. She brushed him aside and stepped towards Lucia ". That was why you were so bitchy, so abrasive when playing Eileen. Yes it made for great theartre- at least till tonight. “Again she jabbed her cigarette as if to emphasise her words." All the season you didn’t just act Eileen’s dislike for Paula, her disdain for the “kept woman”, the gold digger who’d married Eileen’s father. No you didn’t just play that. You can’t stand me, you resent that I got the role, you showed all that, all your bile, all your wounded superiority. It wasn’t Eileen struggling to come to terms with Paula, no it was Lucia Mirrablla despising Kim Curzon.
“Well Kim Curzon’s got news for Lucia. She’s here in Chicago and she’s a better actress than Lucia.” She took a big drag on her cigarette and puffed smoke at Lucia. She picked up her drink and took another large sip.
Lucia glared back at Kim. “I was wrong. You are more suited to play Paula than I was- or ever will be. Paula fucked her way up from the gutter. Just like you did. “ Kim choked on her drink as Lucia continued Both you and your role are simply high class whores. And like your role you’re weak. Paula kills herself rather than face life. You fight, you lose, you retch your guts out, and then you crawl to those who beat you up. So you’re ideally suited to the role.”
A redfaced, still spluttering Kim darted forward. “You bitch. You'll apologise for that.”
“Make me, 'Paula' make me.” Lucia sneered mockingly using Kim's character's name to emphasise her point.. She put her hands up defensively blocking Kim's lunging arm as the enraged redhead tried to slap her. Instead Kim spluttered more as Lucia's knee thudded into her stomach. Lucia went after a reeling, gasping, groaning Kim with slaps that rained down on the petite actress's face. Kim scurried away, trying to escape the brunette's furious assault. She didn't succeed, Lucia kept slapping, Kim tried vainly to parry or block all the slaps; while she avoided many- perhaps even most- those that hit elicited another gasp or a groan. Lucia smirked, “Just like I said, you're a weak slut. Save yourself more pain. Beg me to stop.” She slapped again, the blow struck Kim's cheek, snapping her head to the side, her face almost as red as her hair. Lucia swung her other hand to strike the other cheek. Instead Kim bobbed down.
“Oooof!” Lucia stumbled back. A crouching Kim had swung her head forward, crashing into Lucia's midriff. The over confident brunette gasped for breath.
“Oh yes Kim take the fight to her!” Michael cheered his girl on. I wondered just how much he had contriibuted to Kim's regained arrogance.
But Kim stood up puffing, she was in no condition to press the advantage. She launched a few light jabs as she circled her foe, as if testing her out. Lucia responded in kind and for perhaps half a minute the two seemed content to spar lightly.
“It'll take more than that to get Kim back the fight,” sneered Vasto Lanza- the actor who'd played Captain Ardle. Just as in the play he'd been Eileen's fiancé so now in reality he was siding with Lucia who'd played that role.
Kim broke the impasse with a kick to Lucia's thigh. It hit hard, Kim's booted foot snagging and tearing Lucia's skirt. Before Kim could pull her foot back, Lucia's fist had slammed into the redhead's stomach,. Kim gagged, spittle erupted from her suddenly open mouth. Wide eyed with pain she staggered back, her left fist down protectively covering her battered naval. Lucia thrust forward, firing a barrage of punches at Kim's sides. Almost all of them broke through the smaller girl's feeble defence. She brushed aside Kim's one attempt to punch back. She pressed on hammering Kim's ribcage. Kim gagged, groaned and seemed to fold forward. She grasped a fistful of Lucia's hair and gasped.
“I'll finish you, you weak whore!” Lucia sneered. She stepped back as if to give her some space to fire more blows. Kim refused to let go of the hair. Perhaps that was all that kept her upright. She seemed desperate, one hand trying to defend her gut, the other in Lucia's hair., tugging, jerking and twisting her foe's head. Lucia, her face showing annoyance and contempt more than pain, grabbed the hand holding her hair. She yanked on it, trying to pull it away. Valiantly Kim held on, as every jerk Lucia gave the redhead's hand brought a painful jerk to her own head.
The two women remained locked together, Lucia trying to remove Kim's hand till Kim's knee flashed up burying itself in Lucia's gut. It seemed the whole kneecap sank in. Lucia retreated. Kim advanced, she fired a roundhouse punch at Lucia's head. Lucia blocked it but not the following blow that crashed into her chest. She seemed to stagger. Kim ploughed on with more solid blows, hammering her foe. Lucia's defence blocked many but as Kim mixed up her blows, firing some at the brunette's face, others at her sides, some at her breasts and others again at her stomach, some broke through- and those that did , did damage. Lucia tried to regain her advantage and to punch back. Kim didn't let her. She kept connecting, Lucia defended.
Kim smiled grimly. It was the first expression of happiness I'd seen on her face since she'd come off stage. Her fist connected again, Lucia gasped. The brunette clinched, and fired two blows at Kim's ribs. Kim tried to disengage, Lucia came after her firing more blows to the redhead's ribs. Kim gasped, then retaliated slamming her fist deep into Lucia's gut.
“Oh yes angel! You foxed her. You took the pain so you could hammer her!” Stewart James cheered Kim on..
Not that Kim needed much encouragement to press her attack. Once more I was surprised at how much Kim 'punched above her weight' The small girl kept connecting and the now reeling, gasping brunette seemed to have no answer. Increasingly confident, increasingly successful, Kim powered on. Then she grunted loudly. Lucia's knee had pounded her thigh. She hissed, she fired another punch to Lucia's stomach. Lucia doubled over in pain. She coughed, retreated, spluttering. Kim grabbed at Lucia's hair trying to drag the brunette forward. She succeeded too well, for as she dragged a groaning Lucia the brunette grabbed at Kim's knees and surged. Her momentum pushed her shoulder into the ribcage of her astonished foe. She used her weight and force to drive Kim to the floor then knelt herself Kim rolled quickly, but still only very narrowly escaped Lucia's attempted pin.
“Angel get up!” Stuart sounded anguished.
Kim scrambled but was too slow to avoid Lucia's kick that hammered her ribs and knocked her to the floor again. Again she rolled, further this time and kicked up forcing Lucia to keep her distance. Kim got to her knees then as Lucia closed grabbed the brunette's leg swinging it up. Lucia struggled to remain upright as Kim got to her feet. Lucia grabbed at Kim who retreated, letting go of her foe's ankle.
The two women circled, carefully alert for the other's move but each seemingly too tired to attack. They had both suffered. Kim's dress was torn and dirty, her face red and scratched, there was a cut just above her eye. Her knuckles were bleeding from other sratches. Lucia looked a little fresher, but she too was battered about the face, she too moved slowly
Again Kim broke the impasse, this time closing swiftly to fire a left and right punch at Lucia. Lucia stepped back. Kim pressed her attack again. Lucia fought back, standing toe to toe. But in doing so she'd foregone her reach advantage. And Kim again proved she hit hard- out of all proportion to her size. She struck through Lucia's defences again and again- much more often than Lucia landed a blow on the redhead- Kim used her petite size to advantage, hunkering down to present an even smaller target. Lucia defended well, she blocked most of Kim's blows, she struck back a few times but each of Kim's heavy blows that broke through elicited a groan, a gasp or a grunt.
“Your sweetheart's softening Lucia up.” Stuart said happily to Michael.
“She's fit, she's tough, she can endure.”
And it looked like both of them were right. Lucia was clearly having the worst of it. She tried to break away. Kim went after her, cutting off her attempt to move into the centre of the room where she could again use her longer reach. Instead Lucia was driven back towards the wall. Kim kept firing hard blows, shepherding her foe. Lucia tried to fend her off with lighter but more frequent blows. She no longer tried to stand and slug it out but wove and bobbed around. Still she was edged back. Kim pressed on with hard slugging blows. But now Lucia evaded more, now Lucia was striking back more often- her lighter blows didn't damage Kim as much as Kim's slugging punches had hammered Lucia but they were more often. A frustrated, panting Kim found she had to defend more.
“Take it to her. Smash the stuck up tramp!” Lanza encouraged Lucia.
Kim’s pressure on Lucia slowed, it seemed she needed time to prepare those slugging blows, time which Lucia denied her. When she struck Lucia dodged. Meanwhile Lucia’s pressure on Kim increased. Her light blows-which she delivered faster and more often than Kim’s slugging blows also hit more often. They forced Kim to a standstill just a few feet away from her goal of driving Lucia against the wall. Kim blanched as Lucia applied yet more pressure. Kim swung a fist, the blow hit squarely on her foe’s chin, snapping Lucia’s face back. Kim stepped up to capitalise. The brunette parried her blow. Kim tried to attack again. Lucia swung to the left then circled, firing some swift punches that Kim just avoided. Kim edged away.
“Come on Kim!” Michael cheered
The brunette’s fists hammered the little redhead’s ribcage. Kim took one backward step to dodge Lucia’s thrust. She parried a few blows, she retreated again to avoid more punches. Her face whitened as she realised Lucia had the advantage. She struck herself, but only lightly as Lucia had sidestepped what could have been a match winning blow. Instead Kim was left stretched out, totally unable to block or dodge Lucia’s thudding knee crashing into her already damaged, weakened gut.
Kim’s mouth opened wide as air and spittle erupted from her lungs and throat. A split second later her face whitened, her eyes widened as the shock and pain registered. She doubled up clutching her shattered stomach. “Oh fuck,” she groaned as she backed away.
Lucia came after her. Kim dodged, she retreated, one arm down defending that ravaged stomach, the other trying to block any other blows. She’d given up all thoughts of attack. Her set pale face, her wide staring eyes told us she was grimly desperately trying to defend, to get through the next few moments to give her some chance. Lucia was equally determined to give her none. Kim’s defence weakened with every moment. She gasped and panted as she fought to suck air into those devastated lungs and as Lucia’s blows thudded home more frequently and -it seemed from Kim’s groans-harder and doing more damage.
Lucia’s right flashed forward in an uppercut that struck the redhead on the chin, stretching Kim out. The redhead’s arms windmilled. Smirking evilly Lucia send her left fist plunging into Kim’s gut. The redhead staggered, she doubled forward coughing up air and spittle again, her hands clutching her stomach, her face almost a pale greenish hue.
“No, oh no!” Michael screamed, perhaps he remembered how Wendy had destroyed Kim with punches to her gut. Who could forget that night which ended with Kim on her hands and knees retching up her food and drink? And Lucia's kick and punch, coming when Kim was already nearly exhausted from the hard fight, looked as if it would have thee same effect.
Lucia closed, Kim seemed to lurch forward, she gathered a bit of speed and her head crashed into Lucia’s stomach. The brunette reeled back. Kim had staved off defeat.
The two women stood, glaring at each other , their eyes full of malice and hate. Both were too sore, too exhausted to waste energy insulting each other.
After a long moment Lucia strode forward, She circled Kim warily. Defiantly Kim stood her ground. Lucia fired some more light punches. Kim defended grimly and much more effectively than a few moments ago. But she edged back. Lucia pressed the attack. Her smirk told us she knew she was softening Kim up. Kim’s white face told us she knew it too. Kim’s retreat came to an end. She was but a few feet from the wall. She stepped sideways . Lucia blocked Kim’s escape. Kim tried to step away to the other side. Again Lucia blocked it.
“God!” Lucia groaned. Kim had kneed her in the gut. Lucia doubled over.
“Oh yes! Two can play at that game! “Michael chortled.
“Well done angel,” Stuart added.
Lucia stood then stumbled away. Now Kim began slugging her again. Slowly- each movement made the red head gasp. Her blows hit home as Lucia’s defence crumbled. Once again Kim mixed her punches up, some aimed at her enemy’s face, some at her sides, some at her gut. Lucia stumbled back still gasping for breath. Her wide eyes, her pale face, her jerky ineffectual defence, told that she was now panicking. Kim pressed her attack, slamming a punch into Lucia’s face. Lucia groaned, she swayed on her feet.
“Yes, I may be Paula Tanqueray” Kim wheezed as she steadied herself, then flung her left fist at Lucia who blocked it- just. Kim swung a roundhouse punch that would have crashed into Lucia’s jaw had the brunette not stepped at the last moment. As it was it landed on her cheek. Again she swayed on her feet. “But if so, you’re Eileen.” Kim telegraphed a left punch to Lucia’s chest. Despite her best efforts Lucia only partly brushed it aside, it struck her shoulder. She swayed more. Her eyes teared up. “You’re a convent educated milksop!” Kim finished. And her fist to Lucia’s gut finished the brunette who toppled to the floor and stayed there gasping.
Kim stepped over. She stood for a moment, as if summoning strength. Then she raised her right leg and sent her foot crashing into Lucia’s stomach. Lucia spasmed and groaned. Kim slammed her foot into the defenceless sobbing brunette’s stomach again. “You forgot to beg me to stop.” Kim jeered. Lucia rolled and retched, coughing up her drink.
Kim staggered over to Michael. “Don’t start dearest, she deserved it. “ She wrapped her arm round his waist. “God I need a drink and a smoke. And another shower too!”
Michael looked across at me. He rolled his eyes. “I think I need to take you home.” They left, Kim limping and clutching Michael for support.
We went and helped Lucia up. She tottered to the showers.
“Curzon's a thug. Stamping on Lucia like that. An arrogant vicious thug.” Lanza said.
I couldn't deny it. But it wasn't something I was going to tell Kelly. I wasn't going to tell her about the fight at all.
My thanks to those who helped me and to the wonderful original of Kim Curzon, my good friend Kimberleythesp
