Nikki Dolson's "Take the Hit" appears in Storyglossia 38. Here, Nikki discusses the story's origins, how setting reinforces character, Kendra herself, and what she's currently working on.

 

Anne Valente: Where did the premise of this story come from?

 

Nikki Dolson: A line of dialogue popped into my head—"I live for this!"—and the image of a woman standing over someone. She wasn't angry just determined. I initially thought that was odd until the rest of the story firmed up for me. Then I knew who she was and why she was there in that moment.

 

AV: I love the details of setting here—old high school gymnasium ready to be demolished, older men in Kendra's bar retired from steel mill factories. How do these details reinforce the story itself?

 

ND: Now that I think about it, these details are like Kendra—discarded, thought to be past their prime. I imagine those older men in the bar to be in their late forties or early fifties. They could definitely do something more with their lives but they are content to sit in a bar and drink and commiserate all day. The old gymnasium has seen better days when it was alive with children and needed for games and dances but all of that has changed. Kendra gave up a lot and ultimately didn't get what she wanted. She had made her peace with her lot in life she is content in her life and then she is presented with an opportunity.

 

AV: Kendra mentions that she's resisted becoming a sex symbol, that she and Athena are an opening act for the main fight between male boxers, and that those men are respected for what they do. How much is discrimination a part of Kendra's decision to ultimately leave boxing?

 

ND: Kendra never wanted to be anything but a boxer. She thought she was good enough not to need the extra flash of cleavage or out of ring dramatics her handler wanted from her. I don't think Kendra cared about what other people thought. She took note of others comments and opinions but she did what she loved, what she believed she was born to do. Discrimination or a lack of respect wasn't a factor yet. Perhaps if Kendra had made it to another level, like the boxer Laila Ali or even the MMA fighter Gina Carano, the opinions would have mattered more and she might have agreed to flaunt what she had.

 

AV: The other part of Kendra's decision is, of course, a lost child and hope for another through a fertility clinic. How did these elements fit naturally into the story for you?

 

ND: Kendra is very independent. Once I figured out why she gave up boxing, it was easy to for me to believe she would go back to boxing to achieve her larger goal of a family. She gave up a lifelong passion to have a child and when that didn't go according to plan she just went on with life. Her window for greatness had passed her by. But her chance for a family was still available to her. She could do it by herself.

 

AV: What are you currently working on? Any stories forthcoming that we can point readers to?

 

ND: I'm working on a story about Kendra's former boyfriend. It's giving me fits right now but I think it'll smooth out into something enjoyable soon. I have a story coming out later this year from The Back Alley Webzine.

 

Nikki Dolson is a fiction major at Columbia College Chicago. Her fiction has appeared in Spinetingler Magazine and the Red Rock Review.