Ghostlight 2.4

([Clyde and Leo still on stage] Olive enters pursued by Belasco. He presses up against her, continuing whatever was happening off-stage. Rhetta enters.)

Rhetta: Enough of this.

Olive: Ah, shit, you again.

Rhetta: This needs to end right now. You are dividing this company and destroying the sanctity of our purpose.

Belasco: Toots, relax-

Rhetta: I was not talking to you. (beat)

Leo: Not it!

Clyde: Not it!
(both exit)

Rhetta: I need to speak to Oliveretta.

Belasco: Well that's tough, she's busy right now.

Olive: I have time.

Belasco: Doll-

Olive: Go away.

Belasco: You're kidding, right?

Olive: Now.

(Belasco stares Rhetta down, gives up. Slaps Olive's butt on the way out. Olive does not flinch.)

Rhetta: Is this really necessary? Must you carry on in this fashion?

Olive: I like this dress.

Rhetta: You know what I am referring to!

Olive: It suits me. This is of my choosing.

Rhetta: He is using you for his own pleasure.

Olive: You are rather daft, you know that? This is not about that silly man. He has no power over me. I am stronger than I look, and don't you forget it.

Rhetta: Then what? What is the goal here?

Olive: I get what I want. He desires me, he follows me. He would do anything I ask.

Rhetta: And how convenient that your requests line up seamlessly with his.

Olive: What do you care of my requests?

Rhetta: You are causing a rift in our company! We are here to create art! We are part of the most important creation of the Fates. Without us, without this art, those living would lose the ability to understand each other.We have this masterful vehicle to express the thoughts and feelings of others, and you are halting that process with your selfishness and libido!

Olive: Oh, you are adorable! Try, for one moment, to utilize what you value so highly. Understand me. Empathize with me, if you have the time. Do I need to put on a play for you to see my point of view?

Rhetta: I see a pithy, flighty girl who wastes her time with a man's emotions for enjoyment.

Olive: I am an intelligent woman who dwells in a space where "wasting time" is of no concern. I-

Rhetta: Not this again-

Olive: I AM AN INTELLIGENT WOMAN with (boobs out) a purpose. I am a powerful woman who uses the tools that make themselves available to her. What can I help it if those tools are so willing to fall at the feet of others, due to these hands?

Rhetta: What have you done?

Olive: I have allowed Belasco to make me happy.

Rhetta: And what, exactly, makes you happy?

Olive: Comedy.

Blackout.

NEXT SCENE