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Continued from previous page…
Kathy slowly ambled her way over to the bar and sat down in one of the barstools. She held her drink between her knees with both hands and stared off towards the floor in a distant manner. Everyone could see she was in deep thought as she contemplated her previous suspicions about Charlotte and her manipulative ways. What was painfully obvious to the other three girls was now starting to sink in with Kathy as well, even though she didn’t want to believe that it could ever happen. Not only did she steadfastly believe that she could never be hypnotized, but she also did not want to believe in her heart that Charlotte would stoop to such devious methods just to make a few bucks. She felt that she would have been happy to go along with most of Charlotte’s business ideas anyway, regardless of how daring or risky they might be.
“Why would she go to such lengths?” Kathy wondered to herself.
The other three girls slowly began to surround themselves around Kathy in a symbolic gesture of support. Obviously, they all wondered the same thing that everyone was thinking: How could things have gotten this crazy? Surely, mental hospitals and hypnotism were not supposed to be part of the picture. Not for five, fun-loving girls who just wanted to live the ultimate American dream and see it all through to the very end. Nobody in the group wanted any of this fringe crap to be started or carried on to such a degree.
Why did it have to happen?
“Kathy.. I’m sorry if you feel.. deflated about all of this,” Jane started. “I certainly didn’t want to imply that you were… mentally weak or anything like that… That was not my intention when I said that you could be hypnotized just like anybody else.”
Kathy looked up and smiled wryly towards Jane. She nodded her head slightly in affirmation, then continued to look down and away from everybody. Clearly, she felt upset and uncomfortable with the latest developments.
Belinda could not stand to see her cherished friend in such a state of disconnect. Feeling like she was in the same predicament with the same mischievous minstrel, she walked over to Kathy and embraced her in her arms.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she said. “I didn’t.. take any of this into consideration.”
“It’s okay, baby,” Kathy whispered back. “You didn’t know.”
After several moments of the four of them feeling a sense of conformity and togetherness, Gina recited what everyone was thinking in regards to the next step.
“What are we gonna do about her?” she asked. “I can’t go on like this… I can’t go on with this shitty feeling going on inside my body… Either she gets cured of this fucking disease right now… or I’m gonna go over there and bitch-slap the sickness right out of her.”
While everyone appreciated Gina’s archaic approach towards a cure for Charlotte’s condition, the stark reality was much more profound than a spirited spanking from the plucky percussionist.
“I wish that was possible, Gina.. Otherwise, I’d be right over there to help you with the therapy,” said Jane.
“How do you feel now?” asked Gina towards Kathy. “I mean, just outta’ curiosity.. you don’t feel anything.. weird, or.. out of the ordinary when she’s not around?”
“No, that’s just it,” Kathy returned. “I feel completely normal… That’s why I naturally assumed that she didn’t do anything to me… It just didn’t seem possible.”
“And what about this cocaine bullshit, Belinda? If what Kathy said was true.. and Beck Malenstyn did stuff that bag under your couch… then shouldn’t you just forgive Charlotte and move on from everything?” asked Gina.
Upon knowing everything that she had revealed to Gina, both in the hospital and in the car, Belinda could not believe what Gina had just said.
“ARE YOU CRAZY?!!!” she yelled. “Didn’t you listen to anything I said?!! The woman is trying to steal my family!! She’s in love with my husband! I told you all of this, Gina!”
After absorbing her tongue-lashing from Belinda and making all of the proper facial expressions, Gina could only manage a feeble response.
“Yeah, but don’t ya’ think…?”
Belinda waited for Gina to finish her sentence. She was pretty sure she knew what Gina was going to suggest and/or imply. In the meantime, Kathy and Jane had alternating expressions of confusion on their faces. Some of this story was new to them. Belinda noticed and looked over to them.
“What was that?” asked Jane in a state of shock.
“Yeah, you wanna fill in the blanks on that one.. I missed Wheel of Fortune tonight, so I’m a little bit rusty,” Kathy chimed in.
There was a brief moment of silence before Gina decided to go ahead and let Belinda tell the story.
“Go ahead,” she gestured with her hand. “Tell them your suspicions.”
“They’re not suspicions, Gina.. She told me right to my face,” Belinda growled.
Jane and Kathy awaited eagerly for Belinda to continue. As usual, juicy gossip was always on the horizon in GoGoville.
“This outta’ be good,” Kathy whispered softly into Jane’s ear.
Considering the utmost gravity that the information she was about to reveal impacted her life, Belinda did not appreciate Kathy’s condescending attitude.
“Charlotte came into my room tonight… Right before Gina did,” she started.
“I can’t believe I didn’t run into her,” stated Gina.
“She came to visit you?” asked Jane.
“Yeah… she came to visit me,” Belinda answered.
“Well, that’s nice,” Jane continued. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Not until you hear what she said to me.”
A great feeling of trepidation suddenly fell over Kathy and Jane as they clung to Belinda’s every word. The way she spoke with such dramatic intent, the two of them were scared to death that Belinda was going to reveal some information that could truly seal the fate of the band forever.
“What did she say?” asked Jane as she swallowed nervously.
“She started out slowly,” Belinda began. “Telling me that I needed more time in the hospital to get better.. Telling me that this was all for my own good… I told her I didn’t need to be in there because I got over everything after Michael was born… That’s when she told me that you guys kicked me out of the band.”
“She told you that we kicked you out of the band?!!” Jane shrieked.
“Yes! She told me that!” Belinda returned.
Kathy and Jane were flabbergasted.
“And.. of course.. my first thoughts were.. that’s impossible,” said Belinda. “How could you guys kick me out of the band? .. I’m everything.. I’m, like, the whole thing… Without me, you guys would be nothing.. Right? … Without me, you guys would all be just a.. washed-up bunch of has-beens.. Ya’ know? .. Without me…”
“ALRIGHT, BELINDA, WE GET THE POINT!!” yelled Jane.
Belinda suddenly realized that she was piling-on pretty heavily.
“Oh.. sorry,” she apologized. “Anyway.. that’s when she started in talking about my family… Talking about them like she was a part of it.”
“Nooo way,” Jane gasped in disbelief.
“Yeah… She started saying things, like, she was making the decisions about me… Like her and Myles were making decisions about me.. together.”
Kathy and Jane’s mouths were hanging wide open.
“That’s when it all made sense to me,” continued Belinda. “She was still in love with Myles.. and she planted that bag under my couch in order to incriminate me… so she could get Myles to fall out of love with me and in love with her… and have my family all to herself.”
After several seconds of shock, Jane managed to speak.
“But I thought she was all over her feelings for Myles… I thought she was done with that a long time ago.”
“Apparently not,” said Belinda.
“You sure she wasn’t speaking for someone else?” asked Kathy. “I mean.. maybe she turned into Patti Smith or something.. and she wasn’t being the real Charlotte.”
“Patti Smith I can handle,” Belinda returned. “But seeing her the way she was tonight.. that I can’t handle.”
“Well, that’s what I’m saying,” said Kathy. “Maybe we should just take this at face value and let it go… Try and get things a little back to normal… Then see what we can do to help Charlotte cure this damn thing.”
For the sake of band harmony, everyone seemed to agree with this assessment.
Everyone except for Belinda, of course. The girls were asking way to much from her.
“You know.. there’s one thing I’m not getting from all of this,” she began.
“What?” Gina inquired.
“Gina… you told me in the hospital.. that all of you knew about what was happening… That all of you knew about the coke.. and Charlotte… And you made it seem like all of you knew that she might be behind it… You seemed to insinuate, Gina.. that maybe she was indeed after my husband.. and that she might have planted that shit under my couch.. in order to implement her devious plan… Now, you, Kathy.. are talkin’ about guys like Beck Malenstyn.. shoving that bag under there in some kind of a drug-crazed, drunken stupor.. which doesn’t make much sense, anyway…”
Belinda decided to let her accusatory tone linger for a few seconds longer in order to achieve maximum emphasis. She glared at each one of them with detective-like suspicion before continuing.
“Yeah, so?” said Gina.
“I’m just wondering… why aren’t you three more in synch with your thoughts… You seem to be out of touch with your feelings about this whole thing… Kathy, you make it seem like you’ve never discussed your Beck Malenstyn theory with Jane and Gina… How come? … Seems to me.. that would be pretty important information, doncha’ think?
Kathy fidgeted nervously while Jane and Gina said nothing.
“What’s goin’ on, guys?” Belinda continued. “Am I right about my suspicions? … Is there some kinda’ conspiracy going on here?”