Post by matt on Oct 10, 2022 5:50:08 GMT -6
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Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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Left without any guidance, or worse yet left in the hand of a truly bad advisor, Kimberly tends to go off the rails on a crazy train; just like that Ozzy song she loves so much! Marie Jones convinced her to walk out on her contractually obligated match in SCW. Manager Eduardo, for all intents and purposes, ignored her. All the while both “guides” allowed The Woman Scorned to cause all sorts of chaos and confusion. Something needed to happen, something needed to change and fast. Even the deranged Kimberly Williams could see that her current approach was getting her nowhere. Insert Angelica Jones, former thirteen time World Champion. The same Angelica Jones who also happens to be mother to Kimberly Williams. Angelica promised to guide Kimberly and, unlike her previous managers, she promised to get the job done. Yes, Marie promised to get the job done but she failed. Eduardo promised Kimberly the world and failed to deliver. Now Angelica Jones promised to get the job done. She promised to achieve Kim’s goals. Is it simply because it is her mother? Is it because of Angelica’s wisdom and experience in the business? Whatever the reason, Kimberly felt that she could legitimately trust her mother to deliver on her promises.
But then Angelica Jones threw a curve bell her way. She ditched her. That’s right! Kim’s own mother ditched her! In Kim’s eyes she ditched her. They had a scheduled training session weeks in advance of a big match but Angelica canceled for no real reason and without explanation. And as psychotic and chaotic as she may appear, Kim is no fool. She knows that she will need to be in top condition to defeat Deanna Frost. Yet instead of continuing their weekly regimen of training sessions, Angelica just out of the blue canceled on her.
For most this kind of incident would not be that big of a deal but for someone like Kim it is quite a big deal. Her nickname “The Woman Scorned” is one with quite a story behind it. For a long time she felt rejected by her own family, rejected by society, abandoned by everyone who was supposed to love and care for her. She may act like a foolish maniac but she is a human being deep down inside with real emotions and feelings. She is a human being that cannot stand rejection. The idea that her mother has potentially rejected her for something else, the notion that Angelica may believe that something or someone is more important than her own daughter does bother Kim. It does bring back those bad feelings of rejection. And for The Woman Scorned there is only one person who can help her get to the bottom of this…
“THIS IS A JOB FOR KIMLOCK HOLMES!”
Yes indeed, that is the voice of our eccentric anti-hero (heroine?) Kimberly Williams. She is walking the streets of Boston, Massachusetts. It is dusky out as the sun is just beginning to go down. The demented ginger is dressed in a light brown overcoat, brown khaki pants, a t-shirt that reads “Imma Real Detective!” and she has a deerstalker hat covering her head, the kind of hat that fiction character Sherlock Holmes is famous for wearing. She even has an old fashioned pipe in her mouth. She has her stuffed penguin Wasley in her right hand.
“Detective’s Log Stardate 8675309…I am on the trail of my arch nemesis Professor Angelica Moriarty and…” she looks down at Wasley “...what’s that, Wasley?” She places the plush yet deadly penguin toy up to her ear as if she is listening to it “...ah, elementary my dear Wasley, I am intentionally mixing up fantasy genres in order to fool the audience.” Kim frowns and smacks the penguin. “Hush it, Wasley! I don’t care if there are no cameras around! Let me pretend we have an audience!” Kimberly drags Wasley along as she continues her walk down the streets of Boston. Williams is walking hunched over with her eyes close to the ground. In a cartoonish way it almost looks like those loony tune episodes as she eyes the ground very closely. And as close as she is to the ground, it is very challenging to keep that darn pipe in her mouth. She has to stop occasionally to shove it back in. Suddenly she stops and picks up an empty Sam Adams beer bottle.
“Ah-ha! A CLUE!” Kim uses her free hand to bring the empty beer bottle close to her face and study it intensely. “Sam Adams Boston Lager! This can mean only one thing, Wasley! Angelica is trying to overthrow British Rule in the American colonies! She is a traitor to the crown and…” she brings Wasley up to her ear as if she is listening to the penguin toy “...oh, right, America already won independence from Britain over 200 years ago. I forgot.” Kim shrugs her shoulders and then tosses the beer bottle away. And with that, ‘Kimlock Holmes’ resumes her walk down the streets of Boston, looking for whatever clues she can find. It isn’t much longer before another item catches her demented eye. The ginger approaches the item cautiously and picks it up. It is a marker…
“Wasley! This is another clue! This is a neuro processing ray gun that the Sith Lords are loaning to the Klingon Empire in their fight against Gallifrey!” Kim pauses as she drops the pen and then shoots Wasley the penguin a nasty scowl. “Shut up, Wasley! If I wanna be the hero in a science fiction film I will!” Kim is about to continue lecturing the penguin plushie when she notices a flashing sign just up ahead. The sign reads ‘Cafe’. Kimberly grins from ear to ear. “Ah, see Wasley? The signal of the evil Sith Lord Klingon Alliance leads here!” Kimberly yet again marches her way forward, this time in the direction of the cafe just up ahead. She gets nearer and nearer to the cafe and something tells her…maybe the penguin is telling her?...that her answer is within this cafe. Williams is almost there when she feels a hand on her shoulders. She is startled and jumps around, spying her identical twin sister Marie Annabelle Jones standing there.
“My God, Wasley!” Kim gasps, still speaking to the penguin. “The Klingons have mastered the art of human cloning!”
“Huh?” Marie looks confused by Kim’s babbling. “What are you talking about, Kim? And what are you doing out here anyway?”
“Don’t play coy with me! You are a clone! The Klingons cloned me!”
“This is not Star Trek, Kim.”
“Oh yeah? Then maybe you are a Time Lord and you regenerated into me!” Kim suggests. Marie shakes her head.
“Wrong again.”
“Fine, then you tell me WHOEVER YOU ARE…what is your name, age national origin, race, species, and where are you going?!” Kim tries saying this as seriously as she can. But Marie cannot take any of this seriously and the twin immediately bursts into laughter. Eventually Kim even cracks and starts laughing as well.
“You know who the hell I am, sis!”
“Only a criminal would say that. Right Wasley?” Kim asks her penguin. Marie rolls her eyes.
“I’m pretty sure Wasley is on my side.”
“Oh yeah?” Kim brings the penguin back up to her ear as if she is listening to it. Kim nods her head. “Ok, you’re clean. Wasley believes you…Marie…if that is your real name.”
“It is.”
“Well I am still Kimlock Holmes, the greatest detective that ever lived, and I have my solemn duty to catch criminals!” Kim reaches into her coat pocket and produces a picture of their mother, Angelica Jones. She shoves it into Marie’s face. “DO YOU KNOW THIS WOMAN?!”
“Of course I do. That’s our mother. In fact, I was on my way to see her.”
“Oh so you ARE in on this whole insidious plot she has conjured up?”
“What? No…” Marie chuckles as she shakes her head “...there’s no insidious plot, Kim. Trust me. I’m just meeting mom and a mutual friend at that cafe.”
“Seriously?” Kim looks over at the cafe and then back at Marie. She grins from ear to ear. “Hey! I’m getting pretty good at this detective shit!”
“I wouldn’t quit your day job, Kim.” Marie says with a wink. “But yeah, mom is here.”
“So what the heck is she doing here, anyway? I mean, she has been helping me in the gym, busting my ass like crazy because she knows I wanna win back that Underground Championship…”
“Well if you want advice on brutality then mom is the one to ask. She’s been in some brutal matches even YOU haven’t even dreamed of.”
“I know, right? But see that’s the thing, lately she has been canceling our training sessions. Not on a regular basis, I still get in a good workout, but it bothers me, y’know?”
“No, I don’t know.” Marie shakes her head. “If you’re getting the preparation you feel you need, then what’s wrong if mom cancels once in awhile?” She smirks. “In fact, knowing you, I would think you would feel too constrained with mom holding onto your leash all the time.”
“Well, that is partially true.” Kim smirks. “Mom can be such a killjoy! ‘Oh noooo, Kim, don’t gut Shaun Cruiserweight like a fish!’ ‘Oh no, Kim, you shouldn’t kidnap Jonathan Knots and cement blocks to his feet and toss him into Boston Harbor’, oh no…”
“I get the picture…” Marie says chuckling a little, also hoping that her twin sister is just joking.
“...but uh, I do enjoy my time with her.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Of course you wouldn’t. Marie, you always took your relationship with mom for granted. You were always with her, always around her, she doted on you. I never got any of that. I never got to bond with mom. So any chance I get to spend time with her…even if it is for her to lecture me on why not to murder people…I cherish it.”
“Wow, Kim.” Marie places a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “I never knew you felt that way.”
“Alright enough.” Kim swats her sister’s hand away and throws the pipe away as well. “Stop this crap before anyone sees me showing human emotion. Where’s mom?”
“Just over there…through that window.” Marie points at the cafe. Kim looks at the window that her sister seems to be pointing at. Eventually she catches sight of their mother. But there is another person there with her, a rather unique person; a Carmelite Nun. Kim turns around and looks at Marie bewildered.
“Ok, what the hell is mom doing having drinks with a nun?”
“Oh come on, Kim. Don’t act surprised. You know that mom was once a Carmelite Sister.”
“Her only sister is Aunt Kayla!”
“You know what I mean.” Marie says, rolling her eyes.
“Ok, fine. Mom is here having drinks with a nun because she used to be a nun and they’re shooting the breeze about nunny thingys. What are you doing here?”
“You really want to know?” Marie asks with a knowing smirk on her face.
“Yes!” Kim says out of frustration. “I hate being the last person to know these things!”
“Do you remember when you kidnapped me and locked me in your basement?”
“Yeah…I took your place and no one had any clue.” Kim chuckles. “Fun times.”
“For you maybe. But when I managed to escape your basement the same convent of Carmelite Nuns that mom once belonged to, they were the ones who rescued me, took me in, and took care of me until I was ready to return.”
“Seriously?!” Kim has a look of shock on her face, a look that quickly turns into a look of disappointment. “My evil plot was foiled by nuns?!”
“And our half-sister Jessica. And Kamijo.”
“They never would have known what I had done had I not slept with Kamijo!”
“Sex with him tends to make people run their mouths.” Marie shrugs her shoulders. “Not that I would know.”
“Yeah, well, I’m still left disappointed. Mom skipped out on time with me…her own daughter…to hang with some nuns she used to do nunnery shit with back in the day?”
“Don’t feel bad, Kim. Mom’s time in the convent as a Sister was a significant time in her life. Things that happened there helped form who she is today. Hell, you and I wouldn’t be here had she not been in that convent. You DO remember that she met our dad there, don’t you?”
“Yeah, dad was a Catholic Priest.” Kim says with a devilish smirk.
“See what I mean? Even if it did happen a long time ago, that period of time was significant to her.”
“Yeah, well, I still don’t understand why she has to do this all the time instead of being with me.”
“You know, Kim, you could just ASK her.”
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Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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It has been nearly twenty four hours since Kimberly Williams discovered where her mother has been sneaking off to when she’s ditched out on their training sessions. As it turns out, Angelica Jones meets with some old friends from a Carmelite Convent near the Catholic Church where she regularly attends Mass. Kimberly herself has never been a very religious person but she always knew her mother’s background and history as a former nun. After her mother died, Angelica was practically raised in the convent and eventually became a nun. The scandal of her affair with a priest and subsequent pregnancy that birthed Marie and Kim would ultimately lead to Angelica leaving the convent and, for a brief time, Catholicism altogether. Angelica has since rediscovered her faith. Kim knew all of this but she never had any idea that her mom had still kept in contact with her friends from the convent. Kim is a naturally curious individual and wants to know as much about this as she can. So it didn’t take much encouragement from Marie to convince The Woman Scorned to ask their mother about this aspect of her life, something that she apparently feels the need to keep secret from Kim. And why does Angelica keep this from her daughter? What is so special about this that she doesn’t want to include Kim in it?
Kimberly intends to find the answers to these questions. It is just a matter of finding the right time to ask the question. The Woman Scorned hopes that the right time is today. Kimberly insisted on a special training session today for this purpose.
Kim is sitting cross-legged on the mat of a regulation size wrestling ring that is set up in her mother’s personal gym in Boston, Massachusetts. The Woman Scorned is wearing purple workout shorts, tennis shoes, and a white t-shirt. Angelica Jones is pacing back and forth across the mat. She is wearing black workout shorts, tennis shoes, and a black t-shirt.
“Let’s go over the situation again.”
“Do we have to?” Kim asks, sounding rather bored…which, in fact, she is…
“Yes.” Angelica insists. “It is important to understand what you are up against and to know what you should prepare for.” Kim’s mother holds up four fingers. “You are facing FOUR opponents. Understand that, Kim. Your first Underground Title win you beat Jordan Majors. Your second Underground Title win you beat Konrad Raab. Both were one on one matches and both were contested inside of a steel cage. This time there is no cage and you have four opponents, not just one. So you need to keep an eye out for all of your opponents at all time. The One could…”
“The Onesie!” Kim chimes in cheerfully, correcting her mother. Angelica sighs.
“...The Onesie could pin Wolf and win the title. Autumn Valentine could pin Deanna…”
“DeeDee McFrosty!”
“Right…Autumn could pin her and become champion. You don’t have to actually lose in order to lose out on your chance to become champion. I hate that it has to be that way, but it was the only way I could get you that Underground Title Match you want.”
“That’s fine. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
“Speaking of which…” Angelica’s voice trails off as she considers her next words “...uh, it is Underground rules. You know I have no qualms breaking the rules. If you want me to lend a hand I could…”
“No.” Kim says definitively. She shakes her head. “I do not want any of those assholes out there who doubt me, namely Knots and Cruze, to have any excuses to whine or moan when this is all said and done. I will live or die on my own merits. Like you said, mom, you did your job by getting the match made. Thanks for that. But now it’s time for me to do my job and win my championship back.”
“That’s honorable…” Angelica smirks “...especially for someone who espouses chaos. But speaking of chaos, use it to your advantage. Deanna McFro…Deanna Frost…”
“You had it right the first time!”
“Deanna Frost does NOT have to be pinned to lose the title. So look, you’re my daughter and I know that means you inherited my stubborn streak. But don’t go after Deanna just to make a statement. You can get a one on one rematch with her later on down the line if you want to prove a point. Focus on winning the title back. If it means beating The One, Wolf, or Autumn instead, then go for it.”
“Don’t worry, mom!” Kim playfully salutes her mother. “Chaos is MY middle name! Ok, actually my middle name is Frances but you already knew that!”
“Right…” Angelica chuckles lightly “...so look, in an Underground Rules Match with four other people, I’m not sure what kind of exercises we can do to prepare for this. But if you can think of anything you want to ask I’m all ears. I’ve been through a lot, I’ve done it all. Maybe I can give you some advice?”
“Actually, I do have a question.” Kim says, smiling wryly. Her mother walked right into this one.
“Shoot.”
“Bang!” Kim grins as she hops up to her feet. “I’m gonna get right to the point…I love these training sessions. They’ve helped me sooooo much. I hung in there with those idiots Wolfy and Onesie. And I’ve enjoyed my time with you, and not just because you got me the title match I wanted. I just enjoy being with you.”
“I enjoy that too, sweetie.”
“So why have you been ditching our training sessions lately, or rescheduling them, so you can hang out with your nun friends?” There is a long and awkward silence as mother and daughter stare into one another’s eyes. Kim waits patiently on an answer. Angelica then chuckles softly.
“I forgot that you inherited your father’s stalkerish habits.”
Hey now! Just because my dad and my uncle were both serial killers doesn’t mean I’m a stalker!” Kim shakes her head. “Don’t change the subject! I mean, I may have been stalking you but you should have just been honest with me!”
“Maybe you’re right,” Angelica sighs and nods her head in agreement “but my special friendship with Sister Maria is something that goes back a very long time. And ours is a very special friendship, Kim. We’ve known each other about as long as you’ve been alive. Her and I, meeting at that cafe, that’s our special thing.”
“That cafe is special to you?” Kim furrows her brow. “What’s so significant about a damn cafe?”
“Well that will take a while to explain.” Angelica motions for Kim to sit back down. Kim does sit back down and Angelica sits down on the mat next to her. “I’ll begin when your grandmother…my mother…when she died. You remember me telling you about that, right?”
“Yeah…” Kim’s voice trails off. She and Marie have heard the story before and she does not need to hear the details again. A home invader, potentially targeting their father who was working an important case as part of his job for the FBI, attacked when Angelica’s father and sister were not there. He easily overpowered a pre-teen Angelica and then brutally killed Angelica’s mother, forcing Angelica to watch the whole thing. “..it left you scarred for life.”
“My dad was pretty scarred by it himself. He wasn’t thinking straight. He snapped and he abandoned me and my sister. I ended up getting taken in by the nearby convent of Teresian Carmelites. They raised me. Eventually I became a Carmelite myself.”
“It was that easy?”
“Easy?” She chuckles. “I wish that kind of life WAS easy. But seriously, that was before you were born, so rules were very lax back then. I mean, being a Carmelite wasn’t exactly my choice. But my mom was dead, my dad had abandoned me. What other choice did I have? It was become a Carmelite Nun or go homeless because they couldn’t house me forever. I endured the life, it wasn’t easy but I survived, and I became very bitter and angry at the world. My bitterness had grown to a boiling point at the age of eighteen. But then Sister Maria came along.”
“Yeah, your friend at the cafe.”
“Like me, Maria had joined the convent not by choice. Her parents forced religious life on her. So in a way, her parents had abandoned her too. And she was much deeper into depression than I was. She was about my age when I became a Carmelite and seeing her so sad, so depressed, contemplating suicide. It just moved me. She moved me and warmed my heart. My bitterness and anger became empathy for Maria. Instead of focusing on my own problems and my own despair, I decided to make it my mission to help her through her depression. I saved her from what could have become a suicide, and she probably saved my soul. We’ve been friends ever since.”
“That doesn’t explain the cafe.”
“Oh that…” Angelica chuckles “...the convent felt like a prison to Maria. But the stereotype is that you don’t leave the convent. Religious Sisters leave the grounds all the time wearing their habit. That cafe is one big thing that helped keep Maria sane. Once a week we would go to that cafe and just drink coffee and talk about what was going on in each other’s lives, we would give advice to each other, we would help each other through our problems.”
“I thought you did that shit in the Church?” Kim asks. Angelica chuckles.
“Another stereotype. Maria and I did our best counseling of each other at that cafe. It was there at that cafe where Sister Maria convinced me to abandon the religious life and try and find my family, namely my sister and reunite with our father. When I returned and told her I was going to learn to become a wrestler, Maria was the one who encouraged me to go for it.”
“That’s…” Kim’s voice trails off. She really isn’t sure what to say. Angelica thinks she knows what to say.
“Boring. Right?”
“No.” Kim shakes her head. “That’s an incredible story.”
“Seriously?” Angelica arches her brow out of surprise.
“Yeah. I mean, for the longest time I thought you and I had little to nothing in common even though you were my mom. But now I see it; we were both abandoned, we both had our childhood taken from us and were forced to grow up very early.” Kim grins. “And we were both severely fucked up because of it all!”
“Yeah, I suppose that’s true.” Angelica says laughing.
“Mom? I’d like to meet your friend sometime.”
“Maria?” Angelica asks curiously. “You want to meet Sister Maria?”
“Yes. Yes, I would.”
“Well, of course, but why the sudden interest in religion? I didn’t think you would care about any of this.”
“No one ever bothered to tell me about it,” Kim shrugs her shoulders “soooo how could I make up my mind on it?”
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Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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All of Angelica’s children got to be raised by the legendary Hall of Famer, except for Kimberly herself, who was ripped from her mother’s arms at birth. Kimberly never got to have that same kind of mother-daughter bond that her sisters Marie or Jessica got to have. So not only does she get a woman with wrestling knowledge who can negotiate with management to get her what she wants but she also gets to bond with her mother. But the bonding aspect seemed to not happen. It seems as if Angelica just wanted to work on managing her daughter’s career and work on preparing her for matches but when it came to simply being a mother, she wanted nothing to do with it. Angelica was ditching The Woman Scorned and Kim had no idea why.
Now Kimberly has found out where her mother has been going, she has learned why Angelica has ditched her and their potential bonding experiences. Angelica is a practicing and very devoted Catholic and has some sort of religious practice or ritual just about every day of the week. Religion may not be the first thing you would think of when you think about Kimberly Williams. And in truth, The Woman Scorned has never thought much for religion. She never disliked it, either. Religion wasn’t anything she was ever interested in. But what she is interested in is bonding with her mother. She spent the better part of last year learning so much about her father and his family, all to try and feel closer to the man she never got the chance to know and try to understand where she came from and how she came to be this person she is today. It is only fair that she also learn more about her mother, but this time she has the opportunity to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth rather than get it from a second hand source. This is why Kim is willing to learn more about the Catholic faith. If it means that much to her mother, then Kim wants to know about it as well.
This is what brings The Woman Scorned outside of Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic Church in Boston, Massachusetts. She is dressed in a knee length black pencil skirt, a black silk blouse, and black open toed high heel pumps. Standing next to her is her mother, Angelica Jones. Angelica is wearing a black flowing maxi skirt, high heel patent leather pumps, and a white silk blouse with a matching black blazer.
“I must admit that you do clean up well, Kim.” Angelica says with a warm, polite smile on her face. Kimberly looks annoyed by the compliment and rolls her eyes.
“Of course I can clean up well, mom. But I don’t have to like it.”
“Well I wasn’t going to let you wear that one shirt…”
“Oh c’mon? Do you really think anyone here would be offended by a simple protest shirt?”
“A simple protest shirt would have been fine. Yours said ‘Shaun Cruze Can Burn In Fucking Hell.’” Angelica remarks. Kimberly shrugs her shoulders.
“Yeah, well, that’s my cause.”
“Are you sure you want to go to morning mass with me?”
“Yes!” Kim says insistently.
“Oh c’mon, Kim. I know you. You are my wild child. You are just a bundle of fun. You would probably think that this is boring.” Angelica says. Kim shakes her head and then wraps an arm around her mother’s shoulder.
“See, that’s the problem. You don’t know me. And I don’t know you. We need to change that and that is part of why I wanted to work with you in the first place. It isn’t just because you are very knowledgeable about wrestling and can guide me through the cutthroat backstage politics of it all. I want to really get to know you.”
“You mean that?”
“Of course I mean it. I spent a long time researching my father’s family in an attempt to find out who I am deep down inside. But nothing much came from it, mainly because he’s dead. You’re still here, though, and I can learn so much from you. This whole religion thing is important to you, I get that. So if it is important to you, then I want to see exactly what you see in it. What is it about this place that makes you want to devote so much of your time every day to it?”
“Knowing you, you will find it boring.”
“Let me make up my own mind about that.” Kim spots a nun, who she quickly recognizes as Sister Maria, the nun from the cafe. She grins and points her out to Angelica. “Look, its your friend!”
“Yeah, Sister Maria. Come on, I will introduce you to her.” Angelica motions for Kim to follow her. The Woman Scorned gets a devious look of mischief on her face as she follows her mother over towards Sister Maria.
“Sister Maria!” Angelica exclaims as she embraces her friend in a tight hug.
“Sister Angelica!”
“Wait, are you two sisters? Does that make you my aunt?” Kim asks with a grin on her face. The nun breaks the embrace and greets Kim with a polite wave.
“Good morning, Marie. How are you?”
“Marie?” Kim suddenly realizes that this nun must know her twin sister and is mistaking her for her twin. Kim chuckles softly. “Uh, yeah, that’s me! Marie! The Phoenix! The…”
“Hush, Kim.” Angelica says with a roll of her eyes. She looks over at Sister Maria. “Sister, this is Kimberly, Marie’s sister.”
“Ah yes, her twin sister.” She winks at Kim. “Your mother has said much about you.”
“Hopefully only the bad things!”
“Your mother told me that you have a big heart.”
“Oh yeah? Did you know that I once flayed a penguin and a bear in one night?!”
“Huh?” Even the usual calm and collected Sister Maria is taken aback by this. She looks over at Angelica is who is burning red with embarrassment.
“Not actual penguins and bears.” Jones shakes her head. “It was a wrestling match…more of a fight, really…against two guys dressed as a penguin and a bear. And no one was actually ‘flayed.’ In fact, Kim LOST that match.”
“You didn’t have to say that part!” Kim sticks her tongue out at her mother. Angelica rolls her eyes as she still feels somewhat embarrassed. Sister Maria, though, just laughs it off and motions for the mother-daughter pair to follow her.
“Come on, let’s go inside. Mass will begin soon.”
“Huh?” Kim checks her watch. “You said mass doesn’t start until nine thirty. It’s nine twenty. We have ten minutes.”
“You don’t know this priest.” Angelica says with a smirk. “If you are late on time for one of Father’s masses then you are late.” Kim just assumes that she must mean the priest likes to start early. Kim follows her mother and Sister Maria up the steps that lead to the front door. The trio approach the front door. Maria holds the door for Angelica and Kim who walk through first followed by Sister Maria herself who lets the front door shut behind her.
Williams, for her part, has been in a Catholic Church before but those instances are very rare. In fact, the only times she has ever been were due to some ulterior motive or hidden agenda. Maybe she was pretending to be Marie? Maybe she wanted to talk to her family and knew they would be there? But Kim never really went for the purpose of trying to understand the rituals or the logic behind any of it. As a result, she never remembered what to do. With this understanding firmly in her mind, Kimberly stands back and allows Sister Maria and Angelica Jones to walk on a head of her so that she can just simply mimic whatever they do.
First Kim notices that Sister Maria approaches a small dish. She dips her fingers in it and then makes the sign of the cross, beginning with the forehead, going to the chest, and then across both shoulders. Angelica approaches the dish and does the same. Kimberly approaches the dish and dips her fingers in. She finds that it is filled with water. Out of curiosity she puts some on her tongue.
“Ugh! Salty!”
“What was that, Kim?” Angelica asks, turning around to face her daughter. Kim shrugs her shoulders and feigns innocence.
“Oh, nothing!” Kim says, lying through her teeth and secretly hoping God won’t strike her down for lying in church. Angelica turns around and follows Sister Maria inside. Kim quickly uses the Holy Water to make the sign of the cross and then follows them inside the main sanctuary area.
Kim follows them down a long aisle as they look for a seat. Much of the church is already full and finding a place to sit will be difficult. Williams notices that many in the church are chanting. She doesn’t pay attention to that part yet. Instead she just follows Angelica and her nun friend. They inevitably find their way to an empty pew near the front of the church. Angelica genuflects, makes the sign of the cross, and enters the pew. Sister Maria does the same. Kimberly doesn’t get it but she follows suit; she genuflects and enters the pew. Once everyone is settled in, Kimberly pays closer attention to the chanting.
“Ave, María, grátia plena,
Dóminus tecum.
Benedicta tu in muliéribus,
et benedíctus fructus ventris
tui, Iesus.
Sancta María, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.”
Williams leans over and whispers something to her friends. “Uh, like, I don’t wanna sound weird or anything, but are they trying to conjure something?” Angelica and Maria look over at Kim who just smiles sheepishly. “Because if they are, maybe I should leave? I mean, I already conjured a demon once. His name is Bob and he’s annoying to have at the house and…”
“They’re not trying to conjure anything.” Angelica says quietly so as to not disturb anyone. “They are praying the Rosary.”
“Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.”
“Uh, ok, so if this isn’t some conjuring session then what is it? What is the Rosary?”
“It is quite a long explanation, Kimberly.” Sister Maria whispers.
“Do ya got a cliffnotes version for me?”
“Pater noster qui es in coelis,
sanctificetur nomen tuum;
adveniat regnum tuum,
fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in coelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie,
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
et ne nos inducas in tentationem
sed libera nos a malo.
Amen.”
“It is a prayer to the Blessed Mother.” Maria explains.
“Blessed Mother?” Kim asks curiously. She looks at her own mother, Angelica Jones, and quickly shakes her head. “Sorry, mom, you’re great and all but you’re definitely not blessed.” Maria and Angelica share a quiet laugh. Kim shrugs her shoulders. “What’s so funny?”
“The Blessed Mother isn’t a reference to your earthly mother.” Maria points to a statue of the Virgin Mary. “SHE is The Blessed Mother.”
Williams stares at the statue for a moment. She then looks back at Sister Maria and Angelica, both of whom have returned to praying much like everyone else in the church. Kimberly can tell that this is very important to both of them and her constant interruptions will only serve to bother them and maybe even annoy them. Perhaps now is not the time to seek her answers? But Kimberly does plan to get her answers somehow. For now, The Woman Scorned will just sit and listen to the chanting, which oddly enough is rather comforting…
“Ave, María, grátia plena,
Dóminus tecum.
Benedicta tu in muliéribus,
et benedíctus fructus ventris
tui, Iesus.
Sancta María, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.”
==========
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
==========
Tuesday morning daily Mass at the Catholic Church went off as well as could be expected. Sure, Kimberly did get to spend time bonding with her mother over things other than just wrestling and her professional career. But she still got little answers or insight into what makes her mother tick. Finding out what makes her mother tick will help her learn more about herself and maybe help the two of them connect on an even closer and deeper level. She did not quite understand what was happening at mass. She understood superficially that the people there were worshiping. It is a Christian denomination, a Christian Church, so yes, they were worshiping Jesus Christ. But there is something else there, something else that makes this very important to Angelica and thus potentially something important for Kimberly that she should try and understand. A deeper understanding of this is important for Kimberly so that she can have a better grasp of her own personal identity; who is she and how did she come to be who she is? She learned a great deal from researching her father’s past. She learned that her father and uncle were both monsters just like she used to be. But she also learned that both were repentant and that her father at least did try to atone for his sins before he tragically died; much like how Kim has tried to atone for her own past sins against her family. She wants a similar experience and education from her mother. Attending mass did not achieve the necessary goal.
Kim is nothing else if not stubborn. She does not give up so easily. Since yesterday’s mass appearance did not work out, The Woman Scorned opted for a more direct approach. Sister Maria, Angelica’s friend from the convent, seemed friendly enough and seemed willing to share some information. But maybe an interrogation in the middle of mass wasn’t exactly the ideal situation? So Kimberly is now skipping happily down the streets of Boston, Massachusetts. She is slowly approaching the front gate of the Carmelite Convent, the same one where her mother once spent a good portion of her life as a religious sister. She is not dressed nice like she was yesterday morning. Instead she is wearing torn denim jeans, sneakers, and a black t-shirt that reads “Oktoberfest” on the front in red lettering. She stops at the front gate, which happens to be shut. She looks at the wall surrounding the grounds of the convent. It isn’t that large and she could easily climb it.
So why the hell not?!
The Woman Scorned rushes over and begins the slow but steady climb up the short wall surrounding the Carmelite Convent grounds. The deranged ginger reaches the top and swings one leg over the side. It is then that she hears a voice calling out to her.
“Miss?” The voice is coming from the other side, on the grounds of the convent. She looks over and there is a nun, a much older one than Sister Maria, standing there. She looks up at Kimberly partially bewildered and partially angry. “What exactly are you doing here?”
“Who me?” Kim feigns innocence. “I’m uh…”
“Oh wait, I recognize you.” The nun’s scowl turns into a warm, pleasant smile. “You are Marie. You are Angelica’s daughter.”
“Well, yes and no.” Kim hops down off of the wall. She lands in front of the nun. “I mean, yeah, I am Angelica’s daughter but since I’m officially on Holy ground now,” Kim playfully makes the sign of the cross over her chest “I probably shouldn’t lie. I don’t want to invoke any wrath of God stuff. I need to live long enough to try and become Underground Champion in a few days.”
“So if you’re not Marie, who are you?”
“Do the math, sister!” Kim says grinning gleefully. “I’m the evil twin who kidnapped Marie and left her for dead! You chicks saved her from me, remember?”
“Oh, uh, yes…I do remember…” the elderly nun now begins to seem very concerned for her own safety. Kimberly shakes her head.
“No, no, it’s ok! I want to THANK you for saving her from me! I mean, it took spending time in a loony bin and maybe more than a few blunt object shots to my head but I eventually became a halfway decent person since then! I even made peace with my sister and if I had actually managed to kill her back then, well, that would have totally weighed horribly on my conscience. Y’know?”
“Perhaps I should call the authorities?” The elderly nun states. Kim shakes her head.
“I’d rather you not!” She grins sheepishly as she wonders how she will talk her way out of this. “Does my mom need to vouch for the fact that I’m no longer a homicidal maniac?”
“Why did you come here, Miss?”
“I just wanted to talk to…
“Kim!” Now that voice was definitely familiar. The demented ginger turns and then breathes a sigh of relief upon seeing the one nun she was looking for this entire time; Sister Maria, Angelica’s good friend. “What are you doing here, Kimberly?”
“See!” Kim hops up and down happily. “She’ll vouch for me! Tell her I’m not a lunatic, Sister!”
Maria chuckles softly as she walks over to the elderly nun. “She is fine.”
“Ok, Sister Maria.” The elderly nun states. Then she turns and walks away, leaving Kimberly alone with Sister Maria.
“Thanks, Maria! You are a real life saver and not the candy! Although they are good!”
“I just wanted to talk.” She holds up her hands, feigning innocence. “That’s all!”
“Very well.” She smiles warmly. “Come. I can give you a tour of the grounds where your mother spent much of her teenage years.”
“Are you going to show me where my mom and dad had sex and conceived me?”
“No.”
“But do you KNOW where my mom and dad had sex and conceived me?” Kim asks, pressing the issue further. Sister Maria sighs deeply but says nothing. Kim smirks devilishly. “You DO know! Ha!”
“Just follow me, Kim.” Maria starts walking and Kim follows her as they begin to tour the grounds. Kim takes in the surroundings, which even an eccentric psycho like her must admit is rather beautiful. “Kimberly, what had you hoped to accomplish by coming here this evening?”
“I just want to know some information.” Kim sighs out of frustration. “Hell, I don’t even know why I’m asking because I KNOW the story. But they’re not real to me. Y’know? I mean, I know my dad was a priest and mom was a nun when they had their affair that gave birth to me.” She smirks. “Which I still think is funny as hell! But anyway, I also know that scandalous affair is what led to me and Marie being separated from mom. I know that this convent means a lot to my mom because not only did it help her through grandma’s murder but it is the place where the met my dad. But to me, this was just a mythical place. It meant nothing. Now?” Kim grins from ear to ear as she follows Sister Maria. “It looks more real.”
“Does being here help?
“Yeah, yeah it does.”
“Good. Perhaps you could help me.”
“Sure. What can I do?”
“I would like some information of my own. I know some of your background, Kimberly, but not all.” She says quietly. “If you don’t feel comfortable answering, you don’t have to. But what I do know is that your mother was forced to give up both you and your sister out of fear of church reprisal. I was of the understanding that your sister did end up in a good home but she never told me what happened to you.”
“Never?” Kim asks. Maria shakes her head.
“Your mother never told me what became of you.”
“Marie was the lucky one.” Kim says with a hint of sarcasm. “I ended up taken in by a sociopath. For all intents and purposes I was kept away from any and all human contact until I was eighteen years old. My ‘guardian’ bred me to hate and to be violent.”
“But you are not hateful or violent anymore.”
“Oh I am…” Kim shrugs her shoulders “...I am just much more controlled than I once was. And I credit my family for helping me get to that point. And ultimately that’s another reason I came here, Sister. I want to know about my mother when she was younger. I want to know about my mom. Now I know why she ended up here. Her mother was murdered while she was forced to watch. Her father abandoned her. She became just as violent and full of hate as I was. She exorcized that hatred by training to become a wrestler. Everyone lived happily ever after. I get all that. But why is the church so important to her? If this place was full of so many bad memories, why does she keep coming back?” She smirks. “Is my mom a sadist?”
“She isn’t a sadist.” Maria says with a warm smile. “The truth is that for all its faults and flaws, of which there are many, the church did provide your mother safety, protection, and a home after her father…your grandfather…had abandoned her. The church furthered her educated and taught her how to survive in society. The church also helped your mother overcome her suicidal tendancies.”
“Wait, suicide?” Kim asks curiously. “Mom tried to kill herself when she was a teen?”
“She never told you?” Maria asks. Kim shakes her head. Maria sighs deeply. “Well, I’m not sure I should tell you but the cat is out of the bag as they say.”
“What happened?”
“Your mother was very close to her mother, your grandmother. She loved her deeply. You can imagine how much it scarred her when she was murdered. Angelica tried to kill herself multiple times when she was here at the convent. She would have done anything to die and be reunited with her mother. But then she discovered The Blessed Mother, The Virgin Mary.” Sister Maria smiles. “Your mother found what you might consider someone…or something, depending upon your perspective…who could help fill that void in her life.”
“So that’s why she is still so devoted to church?”
“Only your mother can answer that, Kimberly. All I can say is that it did help her overcome some of the most tragic and difficult parts of her life, it helped her overcome thoughts of suicide. In fact, on her mother’s birthday she comes to the convent and spends hours in prayer with myself and the sisters.”
This was certainly a lot to take in. Kimberly spies a nearby bench. She walks over and sits down. Sister Maria walks over and sits down next to her. She wraps a gentle, comforting arm around Kimberly’s shoulder.
“Are you ok, Kimberly?”
“Yeah.” She chuckles softly. “I admit that a few days ago when I first considered learning more about mom’s religious practice and why it mattered to her, I wanted to do it for selfish reasons. I wanted to learn because of how it could benefit me. I never expected to benefit from it at all. I thought I was wasting my time but I was curious and had to find out.”
“Now?”
“Now I have been thinking a lot about this whole religious thing.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I’m still not sure. I have been let down by so many in my life. My own mother abandoned me when I was born…whether she was forced to abandon me or not, she still abandoned me…my father and uncle were serial killers, yet another let down…my foster parent was a deranged sociopath who intentionally turned me into a psychopath…” She stands up and starts to walk away “...I’m just afraid religion will also let me down, just as quickly as everything else and everyone else has let me down.”
“Kimberly.” Kim stops and turns to face Sister Maria. “The decision is yours and yours alone to make. But if you ever do have any questions, you are always welcome to come and visit. You can ask me anything. But the decision is yours. If you do not trust it, I won’t press the issue.”
“Really?” Kim arches her brow. “You’re terrible at the whole evangelization thing, y’know that?”
“So I’ve been told.” She snickers. “But my job isn’t to evangelize. My job is to help. And if you need any help, do not hesitate to ask. I owe your mother a debt of gratitude. She helped me through my own dark and depressing times. I will gladly help you.”
“Thanks, Sister.” Kim says with a warm, pleasant smile. She embraces her in a tight hug before turning and making her exit. As she walks away a strange feeling washes across her. It is a feeling she has never felt before. She doesn’t quite know how to describe it.
Is this what it feels to be normal? To be accepted? Is this the real Kimberly Williams?
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
==========
Left without any guidance, or worse yet left in the hand of a truly bad advisor, Kimberly tends to go off the rails on a crazy train; just like that Ozzy song she loves so much! Marie Jones convinced her to walk out on her contractually obligated match in SCW. Manager Eduardo, for all intents and purposes, ignored her. All the while both “guides” allowed The Woman Scorned to cause all sorts of chaos and confusion. Something needed to happen, something needed to change and fast. Even the deranged Kimberly Williams could see that her current approach was getting her nowhere. Insert Angelica Jones, former thirteen time World Champion. The same Angelica Jones who also happens to be mother to Kimberly Williams. Angelica promised to guide Kimberly and, unlike her previous managers, she promised to get the job done. Yes, Marie promised to get the job done but she failed. Eduardo promised Kimberly the world and failed to deliver. Now Angelica Jones promised to get the job done. She promised to achieve Kim’s goals. Is it simply because it is her mother? Is it because of Angelica’s wisdom and experience in the business? Whatever the reason, Kimberly felt that she could legitimately trust her mother to deliver on her promises.
But then Angelica Jones threw a curve bell her way. She ditched her. That’s right! Kim’s own mother ditched her! In Kim’s eyes she ditched her. They had a scheduled training session weeks in advance of a big match but Angelica canceled for no real reason and without explanation. And as psychotic and chaotic as she may appear, Kim is no fool. She knows that she will need to be in top condition to defeat Deanna Frost. Yet instead of continuing their weekly regimen of training sessions, Angelica just out of the blue canceled on her.
For most this kind of incident would not be that big of a deal but for someone like Kim it is quite a big deal. Her nickname “The Woman Scorned” is one with quite a story behind it. For a long time she felt rejected by her own family, rejected by society, abandoned by everyone who was supposed to love and care for her. She may act like a foolish maniac but she is a human being deep down inside with real emotions and feelings. She is a human being that cannot stand rejection. The idea that her mother has potentially rejected her for something else, the notion that Angelica may believe that something or someone is more important than her own daughter does bother Kim. It does bring back those bad feelings of rejection. And for The Woman Scorned there is only one person who can help her get to the bottom of this…
“THIS IS A JOB FOR KIMLOCK HOLMES!”
Yes indeed, that is the voice of our eccentric anti-hero (heroine?) Kimberly Williams. She is walking the streets of Boston, Massachusetts. It is dusky out as the sun is just beginning to go down. The demented ginger is dressed in a light brown overcoat, brown khaki pants, a t-shirt that reads “Imma Real Detective!” and she has a deerstalker hat covering her head, the kind of hat that fiction character Sherlock Holmes is famous for wearing. She even has an old fashioned pipe in her mouth. She has her stuffed penguin Wasley in her right hand.
“Detective’s Log Stardate 8675309…I am on the trail of my arch nemesis Professor Angelica Moriarty and…” she looks down at Wasley “...what’s that, Wasley?” She places the plush yet deadly penguin toy up to her ear as if she is listening to it “...ah, elementary my dear Wasley, I am intentionally mixing up fantasy genres in order to fool the audience.” Kim frowns and smacks the penguin. “Hush it, Wasley! I don’t care if there are no cameras around! Let me pretend we have an audience!” Kimberly drags Wasley along as she continues her walk down the streets of Boston. Williams is walking hunched over with her eyes close to the ground. In a cartoonish way it almost looks like those loony tune episodes as she eyes the ground very closely. And as close as she is to the ground, it is very challenging to keep that darn pipe in her mouth. She has to stop occasionally to shove it back in. Suddenly she stops and picks up an empty Sam Adams beer bottle.
“Ah-ha! A CLUE!” Kim uses her free hand to bring the empty beer bottle close to her face and study it intensely. “Sam Adams Boston Lager! This can mean only one thing, Wasley! Angelica is trying to overthrow British Rule in the American colonies! She is a traitor to the crown and…” she brings Wasley up to her ear as if she is listening to the penguin toy “...oh, right, America already won independence from Britain over 200 years ago. I forgot.” Kim shrugs her shoulders and then tosses the beer bottle away. And with that, ‘Kimlock Holmes’ resumes her walk down the streets of Boston, looking for whatever clues she can find. It isn’t much longer before another item catches her demented eye. The ginger approaches the item cautiously and picks it up. It is a marker…
“Wasley! This is another clue! This is a neuro processing ray gun that the Sith Lords are loaning to the Klingon Empire in their fight against Gallifrey!” Kim pauses as she drops the pen and then shoots Wasley the penguin a nasty scowl. “Shut up, Wasley! If I wanna be the hero in a science fiction film I will!” Kim is about to continue lecturing the penguin plushie when she notices a flashing sign just up ahead. The sign reads ‘Cafe’. Kimberly grins from ear to ear. “Ah, see Wasley? The signal of the evil Sith Lord Klingon Alliance leads here!” Kimberly yet again marches her way forward, this time in the direction of the cafe just up ahead. She gets nearer and nearer to the cafe and something tells her…maybe the penguin is telling her?...that her answer is within this cafe. Williams is almost there when she feels a hand on her shoulders. She is startled and jumps around, spying her identical twin sister Marie Annabelle Jones standing there.
“My God, Wasley!” Kim gasps, still speaking to the penguin. “The Klingons have mastered the art of human cloning!”
“Huh?” Marie looks confused by Kim’s babbling. “What are you talking about, Kim? And what are you doing out here anyway?”
“Don’t play coy with me! You are a clone! The Klingons cloned me!”
“This is not Star Trek, Kim.”
“Oh yeah? Then maybe you are a Time Lord and you regenerated into me!” Kim suggests. Marie shakes her head.
“Wrong again.”
“Fine, then you tell me WHOEVER YOU ARE…what is your name, age national origin, race, species, and where are you going?!” Kim tries saying this as seriously as she can. But Marie cannot take any of this seriously and the twin immediately bursts into laughter. Eventually Kim even cracks and starts laughing as well.
“You know who the hell I am, sis!”
“Only a criminal would say that. Right Wasley?” Kim asks her penguin. Marie rolls her eyes.
“I’m pretty sure Wasley is on my side.”
“Oh yeah?” Kim brings the penguin back up to her ear as if she is listening to it. Kim nods her head. “Ok, you’re clean. Wasley believes you…Marie…if that is your real name.”
“It is.”
“Well I am still Kimlock Holmes, the greatest detective that ever lived, and I have my solemn duty to catch criminals!” Kim reaches into her coat pocket and produces a picture of their mother, Angelica Jones. She shoves it into Marie’s face. “DO YOU KNOW THIS WOMAN?!”
“Of course I do. That’s our mother. In fact, I was on my way to see her.”
“Oh so you ARE in on this whole insidious plot she has conjured up?”
“What? No…” Marie chuckles as she shakes her head “...there’s no insidious plot, Kim. Trust me. I’m just meeting mom and a mutual friend at that cafe.”
“Seriously?” Kim looks over at the cafe and then back at Marie. She grins from ear to ear. “Hey! I’m getting pretty good at this detective shit!”
“I wouldn’t quit your day job, Kim.” Marie says with a wink. “But yeah, mom is here.”
“So what the heck is she doing here, anyway? I mean, she has been helping me in the gym, busting my ass like crazy because she knows I wanna win back that Underground Championship…”
“Well if you want advice on brutality then mom is the one to ask. She’s been in some brutal matches even YOU haven’t even dreamed of.”
“I know, right? But see that’s the thing, lately she has been canceling our training sessions. Not on a regular basis, I still get in a good workout, but it bothers me, y’know?”
“No, I don’t know.” Marie shakes her head. “If you’re getting the preparation you feel you need, then what’s wrong if mom cancels once in awhile?” She smirks. “In fact, knowing you, I would think you would feel too constrained with mom holding onto your leash all the time.”
“Well, that is partially true.” Kim smirks. “Mom can be such a killjoy! ‘Oh noooo, Kim, don’t gut Shaun Cruiserweight like a fish!’ ‘Oh no, Kim, you shouldn’t kidnap Jonathan Knots and cement blocks to his feet and toss him into Boston Harbor’, oh no…”
“I get the picture…” Marie says chuckling a little, also hoping that her twin sister is just joking.
“...but uh, I do enjoy my time with her.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Of course you wouldn’t. Marie, you always took your relationship with mom for granted. You were always with her, always around her, she doted on you. I never got any of that. I never got to bond with mom. So any chance I get to spend time with her…even if it is for her to lecture me on why not to murder people…I cherish it.”
“Wow, Kim.” Marie places a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “I never knew you felt that way.”
“Alright enough.” Kim swats her sister’s hand away and throws the pipe away as well. “Stop this crap before anyone sees me showing human emotion. Where’s mom?”
“Just over there…through that window.” Marie points at the cafe. Kim looks at the window that her sister seems to be pointing at. Eventually she catches sight of their mother. But there is another person there with her, a rather unique person; a Carmelite Nun. Kim turns around and looks at Marie bewildered.
“Ok, what the hell is mom doing having drinks with a nun?”
“Oh come on, Kim. Don’t act surprised. You know that mom was once a Carmelite Sister.”
“Her only sister is Aunt Kayla!”
“You know what I mean.” Marie says, rolling her eyes.
“Ok, fine. Mom is here having drinks with a nun because she used to be a nun and they’re shooting the breeze about nunny thingys. What are you doing here?”
“You really want to know?” Marie asks with a knowing smirk on her face.
“Yes!” Kim says out of frustration. “I hate being the last person to know these things!”
“Do you remember when you kidnapped me and locked me in your basement?”
“Yeah…I took your place and no one had any clue.” Kim chuckles. “Fun times.”
“For you maybe. But when I managed to escape your basement the same convent of Carmelite Nuns that mom once belonged to, they were the ones who rescued me, took me in, and took care of me until I was ready to return.”
“Seriously?!” Kim has a look of shock on her face, a look that quickly turns into a look of disappointment. “My evil plot was foiled by nuns?!”
“And our half-sister Jessica. And Kamijo.”
“They never would have known what I had done had I not slept with Kamijo!”
“Sex with him tends to make people run their mouths.” Marie shrugs her shoulders. “Not that I would know.”
“Yeah, well, I’m still left disappointed. Mom skipped out on time with me…her own daughter…to hang with some nuns she used to do nunnery shit with back in the day?”
“Don’t feel bad, Kim. Mom’s time in the convent as a Sister was a significant time in her life. Things that happened there helped form who she is today. Hell, you and I wouldn’t be here had she not been in that convent. You DO remember that she met our dad there, don’t you?”
“Yeah, dad was a Catholic Priest.” Kim says with a devilish smirk.
“See what I mean? Even if it did happen a long time ago, that period of time was significant to her.”
“Yeah, well, I still don’t understand why she has to do this all the time instead of being with me.”
“You know, Kim, you could just ASK her.”
==========
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
==========
It has been nearly twenty four hours since Kimberly Williams discovered where her mother has been sneaking off to when she’s ditched out on their training sessions. As it turns out, Angelica Jones meets with some old friends from a Carmelite Convent near the Catholic Church where she regularly attends Mass. Kimberly herself has never been a very religious person but she always knew her mother’s background and history as a former nun. After her mother died, Angelica was practically raised in the convent and eventually became a nun. The scandal of her affair with a priest and subsequent pregnancy that birthed Marie and Kim would ultimately lead to Angelica leaving the convent and, for a brief time, Catholicism altogether. Angelica has since rediscovered her faith. Kim knew all of this but she never had any idea that her mom had still kept in contact with her friends from the convent. Kim is a naturally curious individual and wants to know as much about this as she can. So it didn’t take much encouragement from Marie to convince The Woman Scorned to ask their mother about this aspect of her life, something that she apparently feels the need to keep secret from Kim. And why does Angelica keep this from her daughter? What is so special about this that she doesn’t want to include Kim in it?
Kimberly intends to find the answers to these questions. It is just a matter of finding the right time to ask the question. The Woman Scorned hopes that the right time is today. Kimberly insisted on a special training session today for this purpose.
Kim is sitting cross-legged on the mat of a regulation size wrestling ring that is set up in her mother’s personal gym in Boston, Massachusetts. The Woman Scorned is wearing purple workout shorts, tennis shoes, and a white t-shirt. Angelica Jones is pacing back and forth across the mat. She is wearing black workout shorts, tennis shoes, and a black t-shirt.
“Let’s go over the situation again.”
“Do we have to?” Kim asks, sounding rather bored…which, in fact, she is…
“Yes.” Angelica insists. “It is important to understand what you are up against and to know what you should prepare for.” Kim’s mother holds up four fingers. “You are facing FOUR opponents. Understand that, Kim. Your first Underground Title win you beat Jordan Majors. Your second Underground Title win you beat Konrad Raab. Both were one on one matches and both were contested inside of a steel cage. This time there is no cage and you have four opponents, not just one. So you need to keep an eye out for all of your opponents at all time. The One could…”
“The Onesie!” Kim chimes in cheerfully, correcting her mother. Angelica sighs.
“...The Onesie could pin Wolf and win the title. Autumn Valentine could pin Deanna…”
“DeeDee McFrosty!”
“Right…Autumn could pin her and become champion. You don’t have to actually lose in order to lose out on your chance to become champion. I hate that it has to be that way, but it was the only way I could get you that Underground Title Match you want.”
“That’s fine. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
“Speaking of which…” Angelica’s voice trails off as she considers her next words “...uh, it is Underground rules. You know I have no qualms breaking the rules. If you want me to lend a hand I could…”
“No.” Kim says definitively. She shakes her head. “I do not want any of those assholes out there who doubt me, namely Knots and Cruze, to have any excuses to whine or moan when this is all said and done. I will live or die on my own merits. Like you said, mom, you did your job by getting the match made. Thanks for that. But now it’s time for me to do my job and win my championship back.”
“That’s honorable…” Angelica smirks “...especially for someone who espouses chaos. But speaking of chaos, use it to your advantage. Deanna McFro…Deanna Frost…”
“You had it right the first time!”
“Deanna Frost does NOT have to be pinned to lose the title. So look, you’re my daughter and I know that means you inherited my stubborn streak. But don’t go after Deanna just to make a statement. You can get a one on one rematch with her later on down the line if you want to prove a point. Focus on winning the title back. If it means beating The One, Wolf, or Autumn instead, then go for it.”
“Don’t worry, mom!” Kim playfully salutes her mother. “Chaos is MY middle name! Ok, actually my middle name is Frances but you already knew that!”
“Right…” Angelica chuckles lightly “...so look, in an Underground Rules Match with four other people, I’m not sure what kind of exercises we can do to prepare for this. But if you can think of anything you want to ask I’m all ears. I’ve been through a lot, I’ve done it all. Maybe I can give you some advice?”
“Actually, I do have a question.” Kim says, smiling wryly. Her mother walked right into this one.
“Shoot.”
“Bang!” Kim grins as she hops up to her feet. “I’m gonna get right to the point…I love these training sessions. They’ve helped me sooooo much. I hung in there with those idiots Wolfy and Onesie. And I’ve enjoyed my time with you, and not just because you got me the title match I wanted. I just enjoy being with you.”
“I enjoy that too, sweetie.”
“So why have you been ditching our training sessions lately, or rescheduling them, so you can hang out with your nun friends?” There is a long and awkward silence as mother and daughter stare into one another’s eyes. Kim waits patiently on an answer. Angelica then chuckles softly.
“I forgot that you inherited your father’s stalkerish habits.”
Hey now! Just because my dad and my uncle were both serial killers doesn’t mean I’m a stalker!” Kim shakes her head. “Don’t change the subject! I mean, I may have been stalking you but you should have just been honest with me!”
“Maybe you’re right,” Angelica sighs and nods her head in agreement “but my special friendship with Sister Maria is something that goes back a very long time. And ours is a very special friendship, Kim. We’ve known each other about as long as you’ve been alive. Her and I, meeting at that cafe, that’s our special thing.”
“That cafe is special to you?” Kim furrows her brow. “What’s so significant about a damn cafe?”
“Well that will take a while to explain.” Angelica motions for Kim to sit back down. Kim does sit back down and Angelica sits down on the mat next to her. “I’ll begin when your grandmother…my mother…when she died. You remember me telling you about that, right?”
“Yeah…” Kim’s voice trails off. She and Marie have heard the story before and she does not need to hear the details again. A home invader, potentially targeting their father who was working an important case as part of his job for the FBI, attacked when Angelica’s father and sister were not there. He easily overpowered a pre-teen Angelica and then brutally killed Angelica’s mother, forcing Angelica to watch the whole thing. “..it left you scarred for life.”
“My dad was pretty scarred by it himself. He wasn’t thinking straight. He snapped and he abandoned me and my sister. I ended up getting taken in by the nearby convent of Teresian Carmelites. They raised me. Eventually I became a Carmelite myself.”
“It was that easy?”
“Easy?” She chuckles. “I wish that kind of life WAS easy. But seriously, that was before you were born, so rules were very lax back then. I mean, being a Carmelite wasn’t exactly my choice. But my mom was dead, my dad had abandoned me. What other choice did I have? It was become a Carmelite Nun or go homeless because they couldn’t house me forever. I endured the life, it wasn’t easy but I survived, and I became very bitter and angry at the world. My bitterness had grown to a boiling point at the age of eighteen. But then Sister Maria came along.”
“Yeah, your friend at the cafe.”
“Like me, Maria had joined the convent not by choice. Her parents forced religious life on her. So in a way, her parents had abandoned her too. And she was much deeper into depression than I was. She was about my age when I became a Carmelite and seeing her so sad, so depressed, contemplating suicide. It just moved me. She moved me and warmed my heart. My bitterness and anger became empathy for Maria. Instead of focusing on my own problems and my own despair, I decided to make it my mission to help her through her depression. I saved her from what could have become a suicide, and she probably saved my soul. We’ve been friends ever since.”
“That doesn’t explain the cafe.”
“Oh that…” Angelica chuckles “...the convent felt like a prison to Maria. But the stereotype is that you don’t leave the convent. Religious Sisters leave the grounds all the time wearing their habit. That cafe is one big thing that helped keep Maria sane. Once a week we would go to that cafe and just drink coffee and talk about what was going on in each other’s lives, we would give advice to each other, we would help each other through our problems.”
“I thought you did that shit in the Church?” Kim asks. Angelica chuckles.
“Another stereotype. Maria and I did our best counseling of each other at that cafe. It was there at that cafe where Sister Maria convinced me to abandon the religious life and try and find my family, namely my sister and reunite with our father. When I returned and told her I was going to learn to become a wrestler, Maria was the one who encouraged me to go for it.”
“That’s…” Kim’s voice trails off. She really isn’t sure what to say. Angelica thinks she knows what to say.
“Boring. Right?”
“No.” Kim shakes her head. “That’s an incredible story.”
“Seriously?” Angelica arches her brow out of surprise.
“Yeah. I mean, for the longest time I thought you and I had little to nothing in common even though you were my mom. But now I see it; we were both abandoned, we both had our childhood taken from us and were forced to grow up very early.” Kim grins. “And we were both severely fucked up because of it all!”
“Yeah, I suppose that’s true.” Angelica says laughing.
“Mom? I’d like to meet your friend sometime.”
“Maria?” Angelica asks curiously. “You want to meet Sister Maria?”
“Yes. Yes, I would.”
“Well, of course, but why the sudden interest in religion? I didn’t think you would care about any of this.”
“No one ever bothered to tell me about it,” Kim shrugs her shoulders “soooo how could I make up my mind on it?”
==========
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
==========
All of Angelica’s children got to be raised by the legendary Hall of Famer, except for Kimberly herself, who was ripped from her mother’s arms at birth. Kimberly never got to have that same kind of mother-daughter bond that her sisters Marie or Jessica got to have. So not only does she get a woman with wrestling knowledge who can negotiate with management to get her what she wants but she also gets to bond with her mother. But the bonding aspect seemed to not happen. It seems as if Angelica just wanted to work on managing her daughter’s career and work on preparing her for matches but when it came to simply being a mother, she wanted nothing to do with it. Angelica was ditching The Woman Scorned and Kim had no idea why.
Now Kimberly has found out where her mother has been going, she has learned why Angelica has ditched her and their potential bonding experiences. Angelica is a practicing and very devoted Catholic and has some sort of religious practice or ritual just about every day of the week. Religion may not be the first thing you would think of when you think about Kimberly Williams. And in truth, The Woman Scorned has never thought much for religion. She never disliked it, either. Religion wasn’t anything she was ever interested in. But what she is interested in is bonding with her mother. She spent the better part of last year learning so much about her father and his family, all to try and feel closer to the man she never got the chance to know and try to understand where she came from and how she came to be this person she is today. It is only fair that she also learn more about her mother, but this time she has the opportunity to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth rather than get it from a second hand source. This is why Kim is willing to learn more about the Catholic faith. If it means that much to her mother, then Kim wants to know about it as well.
This is what brings The Woman Scorned outside of Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic Church in Boston, Massachusetts. She is dressed in a knee length black pencil skirt, a black silk blouse, and black open toed high heel pumps. Standing next to her is her mother, Angelica Jones. Angelica is wearing a black flowing maxi skirt, high heel patent leather pumps, and a white silk blouse with a matching black blazer.
“I must admit that you do clean up well, Kim.” Angelica says with a warm, polite smile on her face. Kimberly looks annoyed by the compliment and rolls her eyes.
“Of course I can clean up well, mom. But I don’t have to like it.”
“Well I wasn’t going to let you wear that one shirt…”
“Oh c’mon? Do you really think anyone here would be offended by a simple protest shirt?”
“A simple protest shirt would have been fine. Yours said ‘Shaun Cruze Can Burn In Fucking Hell.’” Angelica remarks. Kimberly shrugs her shoulders.
“Yeah, well, that’s my cause.”
“Are you sure you want to go to morning mass with me?”
“Yes!” Kim says insistently.
“Oh c’mon, Kim. I know you. You are my wild child. You are just a bundle of fun. You would probably think that this is boring.” Angelica says. Kim shakes her head and then wraps an arm around her mother’s shoulder.
“See, that’s the problem. You don’t know me. And I don’t know you. We need to change that and that is part of why I wanted to work with you in the first place. It isn’t just because you are very knowledgeable about wrestling and can guide me through the cutthroat backstage politics of it all. I want to really get to know you.”
“You mean that?”
“Of course I mean it. I spent a long time researching my father’s family in an attempt to find out who I am deep down inside. But nothing much came from it, mainly because he’s dead. You’re still here, though, and I can learn so much from you. This whole religion thing is important to you, I get that. So if it is important to you, then I want to see exactly what you see in it. What is it about this place that makes you want to devote so much of your time every day to it?”
“Knowing you, you will find it boring.”
“Let me make up my own mind about that.” Kim spots a nun, who she quickly recognizes as Sister Maria, the nun from the cafe. She grins and points her out to Angelica. “Look, its your friend!”
“Yeah, Sister Maria. Come on, I will introduce you to her.” Angelica motions for Kim to follow her. The Woman Scorned gets a devious look of mischief on her face as she follows her mother over towards Sister Maria.
“Sister Maria!” Angelica exclaims as she embraces her friend in a tight hug.
“Sister Angelica!”
“Wait, are you two sisters? Does that make you my aunt?” Kim asks with a grin on her face. The nun breaks the embrace and greets Kim with a polite wave.
“Good morning, Marie. How are you?”
“Marie?” Kim suddenly realizes that this nun must know her twin sister and is mistaking her for her twin. Kim chuckles softly. “Uh, yeah, that’s me! Marie! The Phoenix! The…”
“Hush, Kim.” Angelica says with a roll of her eyes. She looks over at Sister Maria. “Sister, this is Kimberly, Marie’s sister.”
“Ah yes, her twin sister.” She winks at Kim. “Your mother has said much about you.”
“Hopefully only the bad things!”
“Your mother told me that you have a big heart.”
“Oh yeah? Did you know that I once flayed a penguin and a bear in one night?!”
“Huh?” Even the usual calm and collected Sister Maria is taken aback by this. She looks over at Angelica is who is burning red with embarrassment.
“Not actual penguins and bears.” Jones shakes her head. “It was a wrestling match…more of a fight, really…against two guys dressed as a penguin and a bear. And no one was actually ‘flayed.’ In fact, Kim LOST that match.”
“You didn’t have to say that part!” Kim sticks her tongue out at her mother. Angelica rolls her eyes as she still feels somewhat embarrassed. Sister Maria, though, just laughs it off and motions for the mother-daughter pair to follow her.
“Come on, let’s go inside. Mass will begin soon.”
“Huh?” Kim checks her watch. “You said mass doesn’t start until nine thirty. It’s nine twenty. We have ten minutes.”
“You don’t know this priest.” Angelica says with a smirk. “If you are late on time for one of Father’s masses then you are late.” Kim just assumes that she must mean the priest likes to start early. Kim follows her mother and Sister Maria up the steps that lead to the front door. The trio approach the front door. Maria holds the door for Angelica and Kim who walk through first followed by Sister Maria herself who lets the front door shut behind her.
Williams, for her part, has been in a Catholic Church before but those instances are very rare. In fact, the only times she has ever been were due to some ulterior motive or hidden agenda. Maybe she was pretending to be Marie? Maybe she wanted to talk to her family and knew they would be there? But Kim never really went for the purpose of trying to understand the rituals or the logic behind any of it. As a result, she never remembered what to do. With this understanding firmly in her mind, Kimberly stands back and allows Sister Maria and Angelica Jones to walk on a head of her so that she can just simply mimic whatever they do.
First Kim notices that Sister Maria approaches a small dish. She dips her fingers in it and then makes the sign of the cross, beginning with the forehead, going to the chest, and then across both shoulders. Angelica approaches the dish and does the same. Kimberly approaches the dish and dips her fingers in. She finds that it is filled with water. Out of curiosity she puts some on her tongue.
“Ugh! Salty!”
“What was that, Kim?” Angelica asks, turning around to face her daughter. Kim shrugs her shoulders and feigns innocence.
“Oh, nothing!” Kim says, lying through her teeth and secretly hoping God won’t strike her down for lying in church. Angelica turns around and follows Sister Maria inside. Kim quickly uses the Holy Water to make the sign of the cross and then follows them inside the main sanctuary area.
Kim follows them down a long aisle as they look for a seat. Much of the church is already full and finding a place to sit will be difficult. Williams notices that many in the church are chanting. She doesn’t pay attention to that part yet. Instead she just follows Angelica and her nun friend. They inevitably find their way to an empty pew near the front of the church. Angelica genuflects, makes the sign of the cross, and enters the pew. Sister Maria does the same. Kimberly doesn’t get it but she follows suit; she genuflects and enters the pew. Once everyone is settled in, Kimberly pays closer attention to the chanting.
“Ave, María, grátia plena,
Dóminus tecum.
Benedicta tu in muliéribus,
et benedíctus fructus ventris
tui, Iesus.
Sancta María, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.”
Williams leans over and whispers something to her friends. “Uh, like, I don’t wanna sound weird or anything, but are they trying to conjure something?” Angelica and Maria look over at Kim who just smiles sheepishly. “Because if they are, maybe I should leave? I mean, I already conjured a demon once. His name is Bob and he’s annoying to have at the house and…”
“They’re not trying to conjure anything.” Angelica says quietly so as to not disturb anyone. “They are praying the Rosary.”
“Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.”
“Uh, ok, so if this isn’t some conjuring session then what is it? What is the Rosary?”
“It is quite a long explanation, Kimberly.” Sister Maria whispers.
“Do ya got a cliffnotes version for me?”
“Pater noster qui es in coelis,
sanctificetur nomen tuum;
adveniat regnum tuum,
fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in coelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie,
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
et ne nos inducas in tentationem
sed libera nos a malo.
Amen.”
“It is a prayer to the Blessed Mother.” Maria explains.
“Blessed Mother?” Kim asks curiously. She looks at her own mother, Angelica Jones, and quickly shakes her head. “Sorry, mom, you’re great and all but you’re definitely not blessed.” Maria and Angelica share a quiet laugh. Kim shrugs her shoulders. “What’s so funny?”
“The Blessed Mother isn’t a reference to your earthly mother.” Maria points to a statue of the Virgin Mary. “SHE is The Blessed Mother.”
Williams stares at the statue for a moment. She then looks back at Sister Maria and Angelica, both of whom have returned to praying much like everyone else in the church. Kimberly can tell that this is very important to both of them and her constant interruptions will only serve to bother them and maybe even annoy them. Perhaps now is not the time to seek her answers? But Kimberly does plan to get her answers somehow. For now, The Woman Scorned will just sit and listen to the chanting, which oddly enough is rather comforting…
“Ave, María, grátia plena,
Dóminus tecum.
Benedicta tu in muliéribus,
et benedíctus fructus ventris
tui, Iesus.
Sancta María, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.”
==========
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
==========
Tuesday morning daily Mass at the Catholic Church went off as well as could be expected. Sure, Kimberly did get to spend time bonding with her mother over things other than just wrestling and her professional career. But she still got little answers or insight into what makes her mother tick. Finding out what makes her mother tick will help her learn more about herself and maybe help the two of them connect on an even closer and deeper level. She did not quite understand what was happening at mass. She understood superficially that the people there were worshiping. It is a Christian denomination, a Christian Church, so yes, they were worshiping Jesus Christ. But there is something else there, something else that makes this very important to Angelica and thus potentially something important for Kimberly that she should try and understand. A deeper understanding of this is important for Kimberly so that she can have a better grasp of her own personal identity; who is she and how did she come to be who she is? She learned a great deal from researching her father’s past. She learned that her father and uncle were both monsters just like she used to be. But she also learned that both were repentant and that her father at least did try to atone for his sins before he tragically died; much like how Kim has tried to atone for her own past sins against her family. She wants a similar experience and education from her mother. Attending mass did not achieve the necessary goal.
Kim is nothing else if not stubborn. She does not give up so easily. Since yesterday’s mass appearance did not work out, The Woman Scorned opted for a more direct approach. Sister Maria, Angelica’s friend from the convent, seemed friendly enough and seemed willing to share some information. But maybe an interrogation in the middle of mass wasn’t exactly the ideal situation? So Kimberly is now skipping happily down the streets of Boston, Massachusetts. She is slowly approaching the front gate of the Carmelite Convent, the same one where her mother once spent a good portion of her life as a religious sister. She is not dressed nice like she was yesterday morning. Instead she is wearing torn denim jeans, sneakers, and a black t-shirt that reads “Oktoberfest” on the front in red lettering. She stops at the front gate, which happens to be shut. She looks at the wall surrounding the grounds of the convent. It isn’t that large and she could easily climb it.
So why the hell not?!
The Woman Scorned rushes over and begins the slow but steady climb up the short wall surrounding the Carmelite Convent grounds. The deranged ginger reaches the top and swings one leg over the side. It is then that she hears a voice calling out to her.
“Miss?” The voice is coming from the other side, on the grounds of the convent. She looks over and there is a nun, a much older one than Sister Maria, standing there. She looks up at Kimberly partially bewildered and partially angry. “What exactly are you doing here?”
“Who me?” Kim feigns innocence. “I’m uh…”
“Oh wait, I recognize you.” The nun’s scowl turns into a warm, pleasant smile. “You are Marie. You are Angelica’s daughter.”
“Well, yes and no.” Kim hops down off of the wall. She lands in front of the nun. “I mean, yeah, I am Angelica’s daughter but since I’m officially on Holy ground now,” Kim playfully makes the sign of the cross over her chest “I probably shouldn’t lie. I don’t want to invoke any wrath of God stuff. I need to live long enough to try and become Underground Champion in a few days.”
“So if you’re not Marie, who are you?”
“Do the math, sister!” Kim says grinning gleefully. “I’m the evil twin who kidnapped Marie and left her for dead! You chicks saved her from me, remember?”
“Oh, uh, yes…I do remember…” the elderly nun now begins to seem very concerned for her own safety. Kimberly shakes her head.
“No, no, it’s ok! I want to THANK you for saving her from me! I mean, it took spending time in a loony bin and maybe more than a few blunt object shots to my head but I eventually became a halfway decent person since then! I even made peace with my sister and if I had actually managed to kill her back then, well, that would have totally weighed horribly on my conscience. Y’know?”
“Perhaps I should call the authorities?” The elderly nun states. Kim shakes her head.
“I’d rather you not!” She grins sheepishly as she wonders how she will talk her way out of this. “Does my mom need to vouch for the fact that I’m no longer a homicidal maniac?”
“Why did you come here, Miss?”
“I just wanted to talk to…
“Kim!” Now that voice was definitely familiar. The demented ginger turns and then breathes a sigh of relief upon seeing the one nun she was looking for this entire time; Sister Maria, Angelica’s good friend. “What are you doing here, Kimberly?”
“See!” Kim hops up and down happily. “She’ll vouch for me! Tell her I’m not a lunatic, Sister!”
Maria chuckles softly as she walks over to the elderly nun. “She is fine.”
“Ok, Sister Maria.” The elderly nun states. Then she turns and walks away, leaving Kimberly alone with Sister Maria.
“Thanks, Maria! You are a real life saver and not the candy! Although they are good!”
“I just wanted to talk.” She holds up her hands, feigning innocence. “That’s all!”
“Very well.” She smiles warmly. “Come. I can give you a tour of the grounds where your mother spent much of her teenage years.”
“Are you going to show me where my mom and dad had sex and conceived me?”
“No.”
“But do you KNOW where my mom and dad had sex and conceived me?” Kim asks, pressing the issue further. Sister Maria sighs deeply but says nothing. Kim smirks devilishly. “You DO know! Ha!”
“Just follow me, Kim.” Maria starts walking and Kim follows her as they begin to tour the grounds. Kim takes in the surroundings, which even an eccentric psycho like her must admit is rather beautiful. “Kimberly, what had you hoped to accomplish by coming here this evening?”
“I just want to know some information.” Kim sighs out of frustration. “Hell, I don’t even know why I’m asking because I KNOW the story. But they’re not real to me. Y’know? I mean, I know my dad was a priest and mom was a nun when they had their affair that gave birth to me.” She smirks. “Which I still think is funny as hell! But anyway, I also know that scandalous affair is what led to me and Marie being separated from mom. I know that this convent means a lot to my mom because not only did it help her through grandma’s murder but it is the place where the met my dad. But to me, this was just a mythical place. It meant nothing. Now?” Kim grins from ear to ear as she follows Sister Maria. “It looks more real.”
“Does being here help?
“Yeah, yeah it does.”
“Good. Perhaps you could help me.”
“Sure. What can I do?”
“I would like some information of my own. I know some of your background, Kimberly, but not all.” She says quietly. “If you don’t feel comfortable answering, you don’t have to. But what I do know is that your mother was forced to give up both you and your sister out of fear of church reprisal. I was of the understanding that your sister did end up in a good home but she never told me what happened to you.”
“Never?” Kim asks. Maria shakes her head.
“Your mother never told me what became of you.”
“Marie was the lucky one.” Kim says with a hint of sarcasm. “I ended up taken in by a sociopath. For all intents and purposes I was kept away from any and all human contact until I was eighteen years old. My ‘guardian’ bred me to hate and to be violent.”
“But you are not hateful or violent anymore.”
“Oh I am…” Kim shrugs her shoulders “...I am just much more controlled than I once was. And I credit my family for helping me get to that point. And ultimately that’s another reason I came here, Sister. I want to know about my mother when she was younger. I want to know about my mom. Now I know why she ended up here. Her mother was murdered while she was forced to watch. Her father abandoned her. She became just as violent and full of hate as I was. She exorcized that hatred by training to become a wrestler. Everyone lived happily ever after. I get all that. But why is the church so important to her? If this place was full of so many bad memories, why does she keep coming back?” She smirks. “Is my mom a sadist?”
“She isn’t a sadist.” Maria says with a warm smile. “The truth is that for all its faults and flaws, of which there are many, the church did provide your mother safety, protection, and a home after her father…your grandfather…had abandoned her. The church furthered her educated and taught her how to survive in society. The church also helped your mother overcome her suicidal tendancies.”
“Wait, suicide?” Kim asks curiously. “Mom tried to kill herself when she was a teen?”
“She never told you?” Maria asks. Kim shakes her head. Maria sighs deeply. “Well, I’m not sure I should tell you but the cat is out of the bag as they say.”
“What happened?”
“Your mother was very close to her mother, your grandmother. She loved her deeply. You can imagine how much it scarred her when she was murdered. Angelica tried to kill herself multiple times when she was here at the convent. She would have done anything to die and be reunited with her mother. But then she discovered The Blessed Mother, The Virgin Mary.” Sister Maria smiles. “Your mother found what you might consider someone…or something, depending upon your perspective…who could help fill that void in her life.”
“So that’s why she is still so devoted to church?”
“Only your mother can answer that, Kimberly. All I can say is that it did help her overcome some of the most tragic and difficult parts of her life, it helped her overcome thoughts of suicide. In fact, on her mother’s birthday she comes to the convent and spends hours in prayer with myself and the sisters.”
This was certainly a lot to take in. Kimberly spies a nearby bench. She walks over and sits down. Sister Maria walks over and sits down next to her. She wraps a gentle, comforting arm around Kimberly’s shoulder.
“Are you ok, Kimberly?”
“Yeah.” She chuckles softly. “I admit that a few days ago when I first considered learning more about mom’s religious practice and why it mattered to her, I wanted to do it for selfish reasons. I wanted to learn because of how it could benefit me. I never expected to benefit from it at all. I thought I was wasting my time but I was curious and had to find out.”
“Now?”
“Now I have been thinking a lot about this whole religious thing.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I’m still not sure. I have been let down by so many in my life. My own mother abandoned me when I was born…whether she was forced to abandon me or not, she still abandoned me…my father and uncle were serial killers, yet another let down…my foster parent was a deranged sociopath who intentionally turned me into a psychopath…” She stands up and starts to walk away “...I’m just afraid religion will also let me down, just as quickly as everything else and everyone else has let me down.”
“Kimberly.” Kim stops and turns to face Sister Maria. “The decision is yours and yours alone to make. But if you ever do have any questions, you are always welcome to come and visit. You can ask me anything. But the decision is yours. If you do not trust it, I won’t press the issue.”
“Really?” Kim arches her brow. “You’re terrible at the whole evangelization thing, y’know that?”
“So I’ve been told.” She snickers. “But my job isn’t to evangelize. My job is to help. And if you need any help, do not hesitate to ask. I owe your mother a debt of gratitude. She helped me through my own dark and depressing times. I will gladly help you.”
“Thanks, Sister.” Kim says with a warm, pleasant smile. She embraces her in a tight hug before turning and making her exit. As she walks away a strange feeling washes across her. It is a feeling she has never felt before. She doesn’t quite know how to describe it.
Is this what it feels to be normal? To be accepted? Is this the real Kimberly Williams?