161
Thursday, February 12th, 1987, 1:01 P.M.
As she rode in the back of Charlotte’s corporate limousine, Jennifer Belfour, a.k.a. Jennifer JuJuBee, squirmed in the back seat of the vehicle as if she were on her way to the biggest interview of her life.
In many ways, she was.
She was enthralled and exhilarated with the prospect of getting together and talking to Charlotte one-on-one, but thoroughly confused as to why it was going to happen in the first place. She had only met her twice before, both times being far too brief in her mind. The first time was after a Go-Go’s concert at the Greek Theater back in 1984, when Jennifer was invited backstage as the president of The Order of the Uterus. The second time was out front of City Hall, when Jennifer knew that Charlotte would be coming out of the building at some point. She waited for her on the steps, then approached her as she was leaving. Charlotte didn’t recognize her at first, but then acknowledged her identity and exchanged a few pleasantries with her. Jennifer felt slightly embarrassed about the whole encounter. When Charlotte had called her on the phone three days ago, she was mysteriously cryptic about her reasons for summoning Jennifer over to her house. At first, she considered the fact that Charlotte might dismiss her as President of the fan club for some unknown reason; perhaps some false indiscretion that had surfaced in The Uterus newsletter or something like that. But after listening to her on the phone, Charlotte’s demeanor seemed entirely different from that of an angry or upset person, leading Jennifer to believe that everything was kosher, and that maybe— just maybe— she was being invited over to Charlotte’s house so that the two of them could be best buddies for the rest of her life.
That was the fantasy part.
At 23 years of age, Jennifer was not completely satisfied with her progress in life at the moment. Her data-processing classes over at the Pasadena City College were not going particularly well, and her comprehension of algebra was not much better than it was back in high school. She considered working more in order to save-up enough money for a trip to Europe, but didn’t want to fall further behind in her studies. On top of all of this, her boyfriend was a complete putz, only adding to her uncertain predicament.
Like many young people, Jennifer was looking for a miracle to bail her out.
Charlotte was about to come through on that calling.
As the limousine pulled into the driveway of Charlotte’s magnificent beach house in Malibu, Jennifer could feel her nerves reach an ultimate crescendo. Her hands were visibly shaking as the chauffer opened up the passenger door for her to exit. He guided Jennifer up the short flight of stairs, then led her to Charlotte’s front door.
He rang the doorbell.
“Don’t be nervous,” he cautiously instructed. “She’s really a very nice woman… She’ll make you feel at ease, I promise.”
“I know.. I’ve met her before,” said Jennifer. “But never like this… Not at her house like this.”
After several seconds, the most beautiful and influential woman in Jennifer’s life opened the door and greeted her.
“Hello, Jennifer.. I’m glad you could come,” said Charlotte, happily. “Won’t you come in?”
Jennifer entered the house and almost felt like throwing-up from nervousness.
“Thank you, Charles,” Charlotte said to her chauffer.
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered back as he walked away.
“Well… why don’t you come in and make yourself comfortable,” offered Charlotte as she closed the door. She put her arm around Jennifer’s shoulder to guide her in the proper direction.
After walking only three or four steps, Jennifer stopped and started crying. She was just too overwhelmed.
“What’s the matter?” asked Charlotte in a consolable manner.
“I’m sorry, Miss Caffey.. I’m just so nervous… I can’t believe I’m here with you,” she sobbed.
“Ohhh, honey… There’s no reason to be so nervous,” coaxed Charlotte, as she put both arms around Jennifer in a warm embrace. “Just relax, okay… I’m just a regular person, you’ll see.”
As she hugged Charlotte in return, Jennifer started to feel slightly faint. An enormous ‘girl-crush’ was starting to explode all over her body. And the fact that Charlotte kissed her on the forehead only fueled her shaky, ambivalent feelings.
Charlotte slowly walked her down the corridor and into the kitchen.
“Would you like some coffee.. Or a soft drink?” asked Charlotte.
Jennifer didn’t know what to think or say. She was stilly incredibly woozy from simply being in the presence of her hero. After hesitating on her beverage decision for a few seconds, she chose the first offering so as not to seem like a little girl.
“Uh.. some coffee is fine,” she fumbled, suddenly realizing that she didn’t even drink that disgusting, black shit.
“Very good,” continued Charlotte, acting like the perfect, formal hostess. “Cream and sugar?”
“Um, yeah, that’s fine,” answered Jennifer.
Charlotte reached into the cupboard, retrieved a couple of coffee mugs, then began pouring from the pot. She then added the proper amount of cream and sugar to both cups in order to make Jennifer feel more comfortable.
“I think I’ll join you in the cream and sugar part.. how’s that?” she suggested. The friendly gesture immediately made Jennifer feel more at ease, as a warm smile appeared across her face. She was starting to think that the fantasy was coming true.
“That sounds good,” she happily answered back.
“How bout’ we sit here at the kitchen table?” suggested Charlotte. “I think we’ll feel more comfortable that way.. How does that sound?”
“Okay,” answered Jennifer in a much more relaxed fashion. Charlotte’s skillful acumen in handling any type of visitor was clearly evident. Her vast business experience was noticeably present in the way she was dealing with Jennifer’s tension and anxiety.
The two of them made their way over to the table and sat down.
“So… how’s everything going with you?” asked Charlotte. “I hope life is treating you well.”
“Oh, well.. I don’t know, ya’ know… Okay, I guess,” Jennifer stumbled. “Things could be better, I guess… I wish I could be better at math.”
“Oh? Are you taking some math classes?” asked Charlotte.
“Yeah, I’m taking some over at P.C.C.”
“Oh, that’s great!” said Charlotte. “That’s a wonderful college… I went to Immaculate Heart myself.”
“Yeah, it’s okay, I guess… That’s what everybody says.”
“Oh, absolutely,” Charlotte reiterated. “I know lots of people that graduated from there.. They all appreciated the experience.”
“I guess,” repeated Jennifer, as she shrugged her shoulders and wrung her hands together in an embarrassed manner. She desperately wanted every word that came out of her mouth to be perfect, but knew that wasn’t happening so well.
“And you say you’re having trouble with your math?” asked Charlotte with a concerned look on her face.
“Yeah.. I suck at it,” Jennifer confessed. “I’m not any better at it than I was in high school.”
Charlotte paused and stared into Jennifer’s face before speaking. She could see that her adorable guest was still tense and edgy with the prospect of sitting at the table in the company of a famous person. At first, she wanted to offer her assistance in Jennifer’s struggles with her lousy math situation. But then she realized it might be better to just jump right in and soothe her rattled nerves with an enticing proposition.
“Well, don’t you worry, sweetheart… What I have to offer you has nothing to do with crummy ol’ math,” said Charlotte with a mischievous smile on her face.
Jennifer was both apprehensive and relieved at the same time. She was completely speechless as she stared back at her cherished heroine. Maybe her miracle was about to come true?
“How would you like to have a little fun?” Charlotte continued.
Jennifer was thoroughly intrigued.