Old Rivals Peggy against Kay Update: 23/03/1998 to misc3 Elaine pulled the gray sweatpants up over her smooth, sinewy calves, over her knees, over her bare, muscular thighs, over her husband's silk boxers, worn for luck. She tucked in her souvenir Bulls jersey, another talisman, and checked her look in the mirror on the back of the door to the tiny dressing room. She had pulled her blonde hair back to keep it out of her face, a face she now examined for signs of nervousness. The green eyes looking back at her were steady, the corners crinkling a bit as she squinted to soften her features. As she chewed gum, she smoothed her eyebrows and moistened her thin lips. She extended her arms and shook them to loosen up; they were as firm as years of fast-pitch softball could make them. She pantomimed a couple of steps of jumping rope in the mirror and frowned. Too much bounce, she realized. If she had thought about it, she might have worn one of those sports bras. Of course, if she had thought about it, she might not have been spending this ordinary Friday night in such an extraordinary way. It was all Peggy's idea, anyway. Elaine smiled to think how her older sister had talked her into this. They were knocking back a couple of beers in Elaine's kitchen one afternoon, and in the process of describing her shopping trip in the capital, Peggy told her about the big promotion she had spotted at The Silver Spur, a line-dancing bar she liked to visit. "So it's like those tough guy fight things," said Peggy, "only it's 'Bad Boys/Bad Babes Boxing.' Five hundred dollars for the winners." "That might cover the dentist bill," Elaine laughed. "No, but here's the thing. See, there'll be lots of hardass guys in the contest; always are. But very few women. They always have trouble coming up with enough women." "Well, duh." Leaning over the kitchen table, Peggy had become serious. "Duh this--- you could take any of the heifers they usually get. It's always fat chicks with no teeth and a buzz on and one punch in the gut, they roll right up." Elaine giggled. "For real, Elaine. You're in shape. And sharing a room with me all those years, you know how to keep from getting the hell beat out of you. You've got stamina." Elaine swigged her beer and smiled. "I could take you, that's all I know." "But could you take Kay Philpott?" In the end, that was the question whose answer Elaine had come to seek at The Spur. Kay, her oldest rival in sports, in school, in romance. Friendly competition was one thing, but Elaine remembered the way Kay had always tried to take Spencer from her. Even when Elaine had dropped out of school to have the baby, she could not be sure Kay had not been with Spencer, no matter how he denied the possibility. She was the only person on the planet Elaine could claim to hate, and Peggy had come up with a way to deal with that hate in a very direct fashion. "So the guy Kay's sleeping with runs The Spur, okay, and I know his sister from the mill and she doesn't like Kay worth a damn either. So she's gonna talk him into letting Kay get in the ring with her for a round or two, just an exhibition, 'cause Kay's so good-looking and all, which'd be good play for the crowd before the heifers come on. Only there's a slight change of plan when the bell rings and suddenly there YOU are to beat the holy shit out of that meddling bitch." And here I am, Elaine smiled to herself, stretching in front of the mirror to stay loose. In a way, it was too bad Spencer had to be on the road tonight. She wanted Spencer to see what Kay would look like after she rearranged her face for him. There was a quick knock at the door and Peggy peeked in. "We're still cool. Nobody knows what's up. It's so funny; you got listed as the Moline Mauler." "What kinda stupid name is that?" Peggy shrugged. "It's where Helen's from, I don't know. Who'd ya want to be, Georgia Foreman?" Elaine laughed. "Okay, put on that robe thing and pull up the hood. Showtime. Don't want to tip off Kay too soon." "What about the gloves?" "They put 'em on when you get to the ring." She swung the door open as Elaine donned the shiny yellow robe. "Hey," she said, grasping her sister's arm. "How do you feel? You still okay with this?" Elaine looked her in the eye. "You don't know how okay I am with this." The two women made their way down the narrow hall through swinging doors into the main hall of the club. It was an impressive sight. Where the parquet ordinarily lay for line dancing, a ring had been erected, decorated around the apron with beer banners touting the event. Hundreds of spectators sat in folding chairs around the ring, filling the air with cigarette smoke that gave the room an eerie haze. A hard honky-tonk number boomed over the club PA, barely louder than the din of the audience. In the center of the ring, a man in an ill-fitting tuxedo jacket fiddled with a microphone, creating an earsplitting peal of feedback. He shouted to the crowd, "Are you ready to find out who's the baddest?" Standing in the back, Elaine was oblivious to the ceremony. She was focused on a figure across the room wearing a robe like hers, a figure moving to the ring as the announcer said,"...first match featuring those bad, bad babes; she stands five-foot-seven, weighs one forty-five and measures 36-25-37; give a warm Silver Spur welcome to our first contender, Kay Philpott!" She hasn't changed all that much, Elaine thought, reflexively clenching her fists. Still too much mascara, still the Brooke Shields eyebrows and maybe those thighs were a little thicker than they ought to be. The contender stepped through the ropes and shook her dark brown shoulder- length hair as she took off her robe. The crowd yelled its approval of her attire, a nicely-filled black halter top, yellow satin boxing trunks and Avias. She stood smiling in one corner, well-toned arms carelessly draped across the top rope. "And from the Quad Cities and parts unknown; she stands five feet, eight inches tall, weighs one fifty-three and she's 37-26-36; give it up for The Moline Mauler!" Before she could even wonder how the announcer obtained that particular tale-of-the-tape, Peggy was pulling her down the aisle to the ring. As the announcer stood holding the ropes, Elaine stepped through and experienced a surge of pure adrenalin. She felt as though the canvas were an acre across; she felt strong and sure and light as a breeze. The noise of the spectators did not even register. Still hooded, she faced the turnbuckle in her corner and tugged on the ropes. Peggy gave her thumbs- up. A bell sounded four times. In the middle of the ring, the announcer, holding two sets of foxy- boxing gloves, stood next to Kay, who shifted her weight from foot to foot. Elaine strode to the middle and flung her hood back. She grinned and said, "How ya doin', Kay?" It was just the reaction Elaine had hoped for: absolute shock. Kay's face was frozen in surprise. Out of the corner of her eye, Elaine spied someone she assumed was Kay's boyfriend waving his arms and screaming at a short chunky woman she assumed was the boyfriend's sneaky sister. No one else in the audience knew anything was awry; they were ready for a rumble. The announcer was saying something about rules. Elaine fixed her gaze on her opponent; Kay's dark eyes glittered. A girl holding a placard sauntered around the perimeter of the ring. Rhythmic clapping broke out in the audience. The announcer said something about lacing them up and Elaine heard Kay say, "Just back up and give us some room, Carl. I don't think we're gonna need them gloves." Elaine pursed her lips and nodded. She took off her robe and threw it, without looking, over her shoulder to her corner. Ringsiders yelled with delight. The air felt good on her bare arms. Kay, fists up, stepped toward her, and Elaine advanced to meet her. The clang of the bell coincided with the sound of the first punch, a left jab landed by Kay. Another followed. Elaine circled to her right,taking her time. She planted her feet, feigned a left to the belly and connected with a hard right to the head that caused the brunette to stumble and back up. Elaine closed in to crash a left to the ribs, then another. Kay pushed off with her left hand and her wild right caught Elaine on the bridge of the nose, bringing a yell from the crowd. Elaine backed up into a corner and Kay followed her in with a flurry of rights and lefts. The blonde covered up well; she heard Kay grunting with the effort of every punch thrown and wondered if she could be worn down. Elaine pushed Kay back and moved out to the middle of the ring. With her open right hand she slapped her rival hard across the left cheek and followed with a huge left that just missed. Kay countered with a tremendous left to the stomach that made Elaine gasp and hold herself. The audience screamed with delight. Kay stood there a moment, breathing hard, measuring her foe. "'What's the matter, girlfriend?" she hissed, and chopped her to the canvas with a short right. Elaine brought herself to one knee. Above the noise of the crowd she heard Peggy scream something indecipherable. Then she felt herself being pulled up from the canvas by the hair. As usual, Kay was going to play it her way. Elaine grabbed Kay's wrists; she was being muscled into the corner. The turnbuckle dug into her back. She jammed one hand into Kay's face, clawing wildly, and with the other punched Kay's ribs ineffectually. The brunette released her grip, backing up a step. Then she clamped Elaine's throat with her left hand and punched her in the face very hard twice. Elaine exclaimed and struggled to escape. Elaine then put both hands on Kay's breasts and pushed as hard as she could. Elaine saw the look of surprise as Kay fell back, off-balance, and she charged out swinging. She felt a throb in her left arm as her fist connected solidly with Kay's nose. The following right cross just missed her chin. Kay was backpedaling now, protecting herself with her forearms. Elaine took a hard shot to the breast as she clinched. The two fighters locked momentarily, working each other's bodies to no avail. In close, Elaine felt Kay's hot breath in her ear as she pounded away, smearing sweat on bare flesh with her knuckles again and again. She heard a gasp as she landed a savage punch to the belly. Then Kay butted Elaine, and the two separated, backing warily away. Elaine pushed her hair out of her face. Kay wiped blood from her nose with her hand, rubbing it on her trunks. Both were breathing heavily. There was no sign of intervention by any referee, not that the crowd would have allowed such a thing by now. Elaine felt her left eye swelling; she knew she would have to finish this thing soon. She feinted and circled to her left. Kay flicked a couple of jabs and smiled a terrible smile. She waded in with fists and knees. Elaine counterpunched furiously but took a hard knee in the side that made her cry aloud. She spun away, but Kay caught her jersey and delivered a thunderous right to the jaw. Elaine froze, trying not to go down. Kay dug her nails into Elaine's upper arms and kneed her deep in the groin. The crowd roared anew, not quite masking Elaine's scream of pain. She clutched her groin and fell to her knees, groaning. Kay grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up. "Take this with ya," Kay snarled. She hit the blonde as hard as she still could, and Elaine fell face forward onto the canvas. The announcer jumped into the ring just as Peggy rolled between the ropes, mayhem on her mind. It took two security guards to restrain one sister, and two more to remove the other. The crowd whooped and whistled. Kay pointedly ignored her boyfriend's offer of assistance. Five minutes later, the rest of the card got underway.