Maureen stood up on the empty stage, a dozen blank TV screens behind her.

"Joanne, what if I... Joanne?"

Joanne stood with her back to the stage, a large cell phone pressed against her ear. "Yes, Dad, I spoke with him earlier."

"Joanne, hello?" Maureen folded her arms across her chest and waited.

"Hold on a sec," Joanne said into the phone. "What is it?"

Maureen threw her arms up and jutted out her hip, and pasted on a brilliant smile. "What if I start like this?"

Joanne rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Dad, it's Maureen."

Maureen brought her arms back down with a huff. "Joanne, you're supposed to be helping me."

Joanne ignored her and furrowed her brow. "Oh, you want me to call him right now?" She dug in her pocket, pulled out a quarter and walked over to a near by pay phone. She held the two phones to her ears.

Exasperated, Maureen sat down, her legs swung over the side of the stage.

"Steve? Joanne. Just wondering how the Heredia case went. A win!" she laughed, "Good work."

"Joanne..."

"Yes, Dad, they won the case. I know, I didn't even..."

"Joanne," Maureen said again, impatient.

"Hold on," Joanne said into both phones, putting them down. "What?"

"Jo! You're not even helping me, here." She motioned around her. "Do I look like I'm ready to go on in a week?"

"Maureen, I know this may come as a shock to you..." Joanne began.

"Here we go," muttered Maureen.

"...but there are other things going on in my life besides this performance."

"Obviously!" Maureen cried, pointing to the phones still hanging in her hands.

"You can't take up all my time," she said, rationally.

"This isn't all your time! It's right now!" Maureen stood up and placed her hands dramatically on her hips.

Joanne lifted both phones back to her ears. "I'll call you back." With that, she hung up on them both. "Happy? I'm ready now."

"Oh please, Joanne."

"What, isn't this what you wanted?"

"Why can't you even pretend to care about things that are important to me?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

Maureen rolled her eyes. "There's a difference between being present and really being somewhere."

"I don't always have time to..."

"...help me?" Maureen cried.

Joanne clenched her jaw. "That's not what I said!"

"Whatever," said Maureen, shaking her head.

"How can you be so ungrateful?"

"Ungrateful?" she spat. "You know what," she began, brown eyes on fire, "if you don't have time for this, the fine. I'll find someone new."

"Who? Mark?" Joanne said, coldly.

"Anyone. Just not you!"

"Fine!" cried Joanne. "Good luck on such short notice."

"Better luck then I ever had with you!"

"That's it, I'm leaving. I'm gone!"

With that, she turned on her heal and left, leaving Maureen alone, stewing on the empty stage.

What I want you to take: Maureen and Joanne fought. Joanne quit being her performance manager.