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“As a matter of fact,” Charlotte continued. “I am going upstairs to get cleaned up.. put on a change of clothes.. then I’m taking her for a walk… But first, I need a fucking drink of water… God, I am dying of thirst… C’mon, girl, you want some water?” Charlotte asked Misfit.
Charlotte headed towards the kitchen while Missy excitedly jumped all over her. Jane and Gina, meanwhile, looked at each other, not sure what to make of these latest developments. Gina was clearly not happy at all with this directive, and had a look on her face like she was about ready to let someone have it. Jane could tell she was pissed. The two of them followed Charlotte down the hallway and into the kitchen.
“You know, Charlotte, I’m not so sure it’s a good idea to keep Missy here all summer,” offered Jane.
Charlotte grabbed a glass out of the cupboard, filled it with ice and water from the refrigerator door, then started chugging it down.
“Why not?” she asked, gasping for air.
“Because it might confuse her,” Jane suggested.
“Oh, come on, guys, I never get a chance to see her,” pleaded Charlotte.
“Yeah, but that’s not Missy’s fault,” Gina rang in, unable to keep silent about this. “You know, Charlotte… With all due respect… We all appreciate you goin’ out there and making us millions of dollars and shit, but Missy needs a home. And I give that to her. I don’t want her to be unhappy.”
Charlotte instantly seized the opportunity to lighten the situation by motioning over to Misfit.
“Does she look unhappy to you?” asked Charlotte.
Everyone could see that Missy was now busy licking her crotch.
“Well, not at the moment, no,” observed Jane.
“Yeah, we all wish we could do that,” Gina cracked, successfully managing to alleviate the tension.
“And you think that letting her stay here all summer is like— What? — going to damage her psychologically, or something?” wondered Charlotte.
Jane and Gina could immediately see that Charlotte was making a valid point.
“Well, no,” Jane stammered. “It’s okay for her to stay here for a little while.”
The crux of the matter was about to surface.
“It’s just your attitude, Charlotte,” informed Gina, as she made a mocking impersonation— “Eww, I want her here all summer.”
Charlotte realized that she had struck a nerve. She gleefully came back with—
“Ohh, NOW we’re getting somewhere!!” she stated. “Okay, I knew it… You’ve got a problem with me telling you what to do, is that it?”
Gina and Jane were somewhat silenced by Charlotte’s keen observation.
“You know perfectly well there’s nothing wrong with her staying here,” Charlotte continued. “You just don’t like me shootin’ orders around… You know… I thought you guys liked it when I did that? … Something about leadership…Wasn’t that it, Gina?”
“With the band, Charlotte,” Gina retorted. “I like leadership in a fucking band. Not in our personal lives. When we’re here, we’re on our own time. I don’t care what you do in the… boardroom… or wherever you conduct fucking business. Just don’t bring it home with you.”
Charlotte remained quiet for a few seconds, letting Gina’s little rant settle into her brain.
“Is that the way you feel, Jane?” she asked.
“Definitely,” replied Jane. “I love everything you do for us, Char, I really do… I love all of this… And I wouldn’t change a thing… But if it gets too heavy… If we fight too much… If there’s too much chaos… I’ll walk away… And you know I will… I’ve said that before.”
The two of them stood and waited for a response from Charlotte.
“Well.. don’t I feel like a pile of shit, thank you very much,” said Charlotte, appearing upset and unappreciated.
“Charlotte, come on…” Jane interjected.
“No, I mean it… I don’t know how this got from— me asking if Missy could stay here all summer… to you two gangin’ up on me like this! … I don’t get to see her that much, okay? I’m sorry! How did this turn into me being bossy?!” asked Charlotte.
“Because you didn’t ask,” Gina responded.
“What?!” exclaimed Charlotte.
“You didn’t ask, you demanded it,” Gina returned.
“Oh, what the fuck, Gina!” said Charlotte, visibly frustrated and looking away.
“Alright, alright, let’s not fight,” instructed Jane. “We’ve all said how we feel… I say we just drop it… Charlotte’s right, we’ve all made way too much out of this. It’s stupid! I’m not going to sit here and get into a great, big argument over something as fucking stupid as this, alright?”
Charlotte and Gina continued to glare at each other in a silent standoff.
“I think we need a group hug,” informed Jane, with a wry smile.
At first, Charlotte and Gina rolled their eyes at Jane’s cutesy suggestion. But, eventually, they managed to conjure up a couple of sarcastic smiles themselves.
“Come on,” urged Jane, putting her arms out and trying to coax the two together. “Let’s all be friends now,” she continued, knowing that her mannerisms were going to make everybody smile and feel fuzzy again.
“Let’s bring it in,” instructed Jane until the three of them were all embracing.
“I’m sorry, Gina,” said Charlotte, tearfully.
“No, I’m sorry,” Gina returned. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”
“There, now, isn’t that better?” Jane intimated, acting like the mommy of the bunch. “Now— don’t you two have something you want to say to each other?” she asked, wistfully.
“I already said I was sorry,” Gina informed.
“Nooo— something more,” Jane inferred.
“You’re not honestly suggesting I say “I love you” to this bitch, are you?” asked Gina, facetiously.
“Yes, I am,” replied Jane, like the dutiful peacekeeper. “Because you do, don’t you?”
Gina looked into Charlotte’s eyes. Charlotte was now standing there with her arms folded and a satisfyingly, smug grin on her face, because she knew that Jane had put Gina into an uncomfortable position. Gina did not exactly like being forced into these sorts of mushy things. On the other hand, neither did Charlotte.
“Yeah, I do,” Gina mustered up.
“Awww, there we go,” gushed Jane, chuckling as she said it.
Charlotte and Gina threw themselves into one, humongous, bear hug.
“I love you too, baby,” said Charlotte.