Charlie and Jody have Problems Too… Part 3
"Oh, I'm really, uh, sorry… Uh, hold on I'll go check." Galina turned to Charlie. "Is Charlie here?" She asked teasingly.
Charlie thought a minute before shaking his head.
Galina shrugged. "No, I'm sorry Jody, he's not here now, he must be out… I don't know… a date? I'm not sure… I can go ask Sergei… ok hold on." Galina looked back at Charlie. "Is Charlie out on a date?"
Charlie shook his head furiously and whispered something to Sergei.
"He's just out with a friend." Sergei smiled at Charlie.
Galina rolled her eyes. "Jody? He's just out with a friend… a girl? I don't know… he doesn't tell me these things… probably, want me to go ask?… ok, hold on." Galina smiled and looked at Charlie. "Is Charlie's friend a girl?"
Sergei looked at Charlie, but Charlie didn't move. "He didn't tell me." Sergei laughed.
Galina smiled. "Sergei says he doesn't know… they are but I think he was gone before we got home anyway… dinner, I'm stuffed, we ate soo much… oh wait, Charlie just walked in… sure, here he is." Galina shrugged and handed the phone to Charlie.
Charlie grabbed it and glared at Galina. He shut himself in his room and sat at the head of his bed. "Hello?"
"Hey Charlie, it's Jody."
"Oh hey."
"Galina said you were just out with a friend."
Charlie smiled. "Yeah, Jessie."
"So, that's a guy?"
"No, it's short for Jessica."
Jody frowned. "Oh, I see."
Charlie decided not to say anything about how it wasn't a date, or that it didn't even happen. He could tell she was jealous. "Yeah, we just went out to dinner. So, why are you calling?"
"I just… me and Cooper broke up."
Charlie wasn't sure weather to smile or frown. This meant he could get back with Jody, but this also meant Jody was hurt. He hated for Jody to be hurt, because it hurt him to see her like that. "Oh. I'm sorry."
"Oh, don't be, you were right all along. He is a jerk."
"Why? What did he do?"
"I caught him… making out… with another girl."
"Oh. I'm really sorry."
"Yeah, thanks."
Charlie didn't know what to say. "Sure…"
"So, what are you doing?"
"Not much… Look, Jody, I have to go, ok? We'll talk more later."
"Ok, bye."
"Bye." Charlie hung up the phone and crawled under the covers of his bed.
Charlie loved San Francisco, he really did. He could be with 2 of his 5 best friends all the time (Sergei and Galina out of Erik, Eva, Jody, Sergei and Galina). He could be closer to his family in Seattle. His older sister, Lisa, had just had a baby too, Jennifer May. Charlie loved his sister, and his new niece. But now matter how fun and beautiful California was, it would never have Jody Sawyer, the only person he thought he'd ever love.
A week later…
Charlie was visiting his sister for the weekend. It was Friday night and Lisa had her best friend, Callie, over as well. Her husband, Rob, was away on a business trip.
"So, Charlie, what do you do?" Callie inquired.
"I… dance ballet." Charlie said, praying he didn't sound embarrassed.
Callie raised her eyebrows. "Really? That must be… interesting."
"Yeah, it is." Charlie nodded.
Lisa smiled. "Uh, Callie, you wanna help me set the table for dinner? In the kitchen?"
"Sure." Callie realized her friend needed to talk to her, so she followed her into the kitchen, leaving Charlie alone on the couch in the living room.
"What are you doing out there?" Lisa asked.
"I dunno. You're brother is really nice."
"Yeah…"
"He's really a ballet dancer?"
"Yes."
"So, then, is he gay?"
Lisa scrunched up her nose. "No."
"Oh good. He's so hot, it wouldn't be fair to… me…" Callie smiled. "… if he was… haha. He's really cute. Does he have a girlfriend?"
"Well, no. But he just went through a really painful break-up a few months ago, and he hasn't quite… recovered or whatever you want to call it. He was really in love with her."
Callie sighed. "Oh! That's sooo adorable! Do you think you could set us up?"
"I don't know… he lives all the way in San Francisco."
"So? It's not that far."
"Well, yeah, but he still hasn't gotten over Jody."
"Jody?"
"Yeah. Jody Sawyer. She's some big ballet star in the Cooper Neilson Ballet Company, it's in New York where Charlie used to live. They went out for 2 years."
"Whoa. How old is he?"
"20."
"Oh wow. God, I wish he were mine."
"Callie! You are 28!"
"So? How old was Jody?"
"19 or 20."
"Oh… do have a picture of her?"
"I think, come on, let's go check."
Callie followed Lisa into her room. Lisa looked at the framed pictures on her dresser, but didn't see anything she wanted. She pulled out a photo album from a bookshelf and flipped through it.
"Ah! Here we go. That's Charlie and Jody about 8 months ago. They come here to celebrate their friend Sergei's birthday or something. They came up here to visit me for a day and these are the pictures I took. There are like 4 of them." Lisa handed Callie the open photo album.
Callie inspected the pictures. "So this is Jody… he still loves her huh?"
"Totally. And I mean, you should have seen them together… they were perfect for each other."
"Hmmm… you're not helping. How long ago did they break up?"
"4 months I think."
"And he still loves her?"
"Yeah… he's… really…" Lisa didn't know what to say.
"I see… hmmmm… all this can be changed." Callie said slyly as she went back out to the living room. She sat down next to Charlie and handed him the album open to the pictures of him and Jody. "Here. Lisa was just showing me the pictures of last time you were up here."
Charlie took the photo album and looked down at the pictures. He smiled, remembering that day. "Yeah." Charlie said lost in thought.
"Uh, who's that?" Callie asked, pointing to Jody in the top picture.
"That's Jody Sawyer." Charlie said dreamily.
"Is she your girlfriend?"
"Oh no. I mean, she used to be… but we broke up a few months ago…"
"Oh, I'm so sorry. You two must have been really happy." Callie said looking into Charlie's sad eyes.
Charlie slammed the album shut. "Yeah, well, things change." He said, almost angrily.
Callie raised her eyebrows at this. "Oh, sorry."
"Don't be." Charlie said. He glared up at his sister. "Is dinner ready?" He asked nicely.
"Uh, sure."
After dinner Callie went home. Charlie and his sister sat outside on the porch looking at the photo album, and Jennifer was sleeping.
"Can I have these pictures?" Charlie asked when they reached the ones of him and Jody.
"Sure, I have the doubles somewhere… you can these copies."
"Thanks." Charlie took the pictures out and held them delicately in his hands.
They heard screaming coming from inside and Lisa sighed as she stood up. "Jennifer's awake." She smiled at Charlie.
"Need any help?" Charlie offered.
"No, I'm ok, thanks anyway." Lisa went into her house.
Charlie looked at the small pictures in his hands. He stood up and threw them on the ground. He stood on them and then picked them back up. There were marks all over the pictures now. Charlie sighed.
Why did he still love Jody so much? Anyone who doesn't realize that they love a person… and then think they love someone else… was not the kind of person Charlie usually liked. But Jody was different. He loved her.
Charlie ripped up the pictures and sat back down. He pt his arms on his knees and put his hands through his hair. Why did loving Jody have to hurt so much. She was supposed to be a great thing… when she was with Charlie.
Jody herself was lost without Charlie. Without Charlie to tell her she was beautiful and still a great dancer, Jody didn't know where she fit in. Cooper thought she was a good dancer, and he told her all those other things… but it just wasn't the same as with someone who really loved her.
When Charlie went back to his home, Sergei welcomed him with a cheeseburger in hand.
"Here, eat this!" She shoved the food in Charlie's face.
Charlie stepped back and took the cheeseburger. "Why? I ate plenty at my sister's."
Sergei shrugged. "So? We ate at McDonalds and thought we'd get you something."
Charlie pushed his way into the apartment. He laid the cheeseburger down on the counter. "I'm not hungry, I had dinner before we left. And besides, why are you eating McDonalds? Are you trying to get fat or something?"
"Well, no, but we can it sometimes. Besides, it's good."
Charlie nodded. "Yeah. But I had a lot of pasta for dinner and I can't eat another bite."
Sergei shrugged again and picked up the cheeseburger. He aimed for the trashcan and shot. It landed in it. "And he scores!!! Yay!!!"
Charlie laughed. "Come on dude, let me get to my room." Charlie moved to go to his room but Sergei stepped in front of him. Charlie moved another way but Sergei stopped him again. "Come on man, I'm tired."
Sergei smiled. "I'm sorry. I can let you go anywhere until Galina says so."
"Why?" Charlie asked, trying to look past Sergei.
Sergei moved again to block Charlie's view. "You'll see."
"Well how long do I have to wait?"
"OK SERGEI!!!" Galina called from somewhere Charlie couldn't see.
Sergei moved out of Charlie's way. "That long!" He smiled.
Charlie shrugged and picked up his small bag. He walked to his room and threw his bag o the floor. Why hadn't he been allowed to some in here before… Charlie turned around and flew back out to the main room. Someone was sitting o the couch… Jody!
"Jody! What are you doing here?" Charlie shouted, trying not to smiled a lot.
Jody stood up and went over to him. Galina had just helped her get ready for this, so why was she so nervous. She and Galina had picked out a pair of dark blue jeans for her to wear. She was also wearing a tight, light blue, long sleeve shirt that hugged her figurer perfectly. Charlie looked at her and prayed he didn't look to stupid staring at her. She just looked so great.
"I… I'm visiting." Jody explained.
Charlie looked at her. "But… What… Why?"
Jody laughed. "I wanted to see my friends… I miss you."
Charlie forced himself not to smile. He couldn't just take her back that fast, as if nothing had happened. "Oh…"
Jody stood up straighter and kissed Charlie. He kissed her back at first but then pushed her off. "Jody…"
"I'm sorry. I just… I…"
"No, you don't have to explain. It's just that… you see-"
"But I though Jessica wasn't your girlfriend."
Charlie shook his head. "She's not. We're just friends. But Callie-"
"Who's Callie?"
"My sister's best friend."
"Your sister Lisa?"
"Yeah, Lisa, my sister." Charlie nodded.
"But she's like 30!"
"She's 29. But Callie's only… 28."
"ONLY 28?? You're only 20!"
Charlie glared at her. "So what? Cooper's 26!"
Jody winced. "Cooper… ok, ok, but… I…"
"Look, Jody… I don't know what to say. You left me for the one person I truly hate in this world. Do you know how much that hurts?"
"Maybe we should go…" Sergei grabbed Galina's arm.
"No, it's fine, stay." Charlie insisted.
Sergei shrugged and sat on the couch.
"I don't know." Jody said to Charlie.
"Exactly. So you can't tell me who I can and cannot date. It's a free country. Who do you hate?"
"No one."
"That's not true." Charlie looked into her eyes.
"Well… Eva's friend Marcy is the biggest bitch I've ever met."
"Ok. So what if I dated her?"
Jody bit her lip and shrugged.
"Just… go away. No one asked you to come here." Charlie stated and locked himself in his room. He kicked his duffel bag a few times until it hit his door. He slammed his back against the door slid down to sit on his bag.
Jody listened to the bangs coming from Charlie's room. She sat down on the couch and tried not to cry. She hated crying. That didn't matter. Charlie was mad at her, and he was really, really mad. Jody could tell he was mad at her for more than one reason, but she wasn't sure why. She loved Charlie. She could feel the hot tears start to come down her face.
Galina stared in amazement at Charlie's door. "He didn't have a girlfriend when he left…"
Jody looked up. "What? What do you mean when he left?"
"He left on Friday to go visit Lisa. He didn't have a girlfriend when he left."
Jody whipped her eyes. "Well, it doesn't matter now. He doesn't love me anymore and he has a girlfriend."
Galina sat next to Jody and shook her head. "No, that's not true. He does love you. He loved you… a lot. You should see him without you Jody. He hardly eats, he doesn't talk… he's miserable.
"Really?"
"Yes." Sergei nodded.
"Then why is he doing this?"
"He's still mad at you for dumping him for Cooper."
Jody sighed. "I know. It was stupid. I thought I loved Cooper… but I didn't. I love Charlie. Charlie is the first guy who ever told me that he loved me. But a week after he told me for the first time… I go off and dump his for that jerk. I never even said that I loved him back… but I do. More than anything. I know that's stupid, considering I'm not even old enough to drink legally but… I don't know… I just do."
"No, it's not stupid at all. Just look at Charlie. He loves you and he's 20. Me and Galina are in love… and we are still only 20."
Jody smiled. "Yeah but… maybe I shouldn't have come."
"No, don't be ridiculous. I'm glad you came." Galina said.
Jody smiled again. "Ok. But now what? I was supposed to sleep in his room… I could sleep out here ion the couch I guess."
"No! I can sleep in Charlie's room. You sleep with Galina." Sergei said.
"Ok… I'm tired."
"Why? We are 3 hours earlier than New York."
"I know, but I stayed up really late last night… so I'm still just really tired. Do you guys mind if I go to bed now?"
"No, go ahead." Galina opened the door to her room and let Jody in.
Sergei gave Galina a worried look before pounding on Charlie's door.
Charlie opened the door and saw it was Sergei. "Hey."
"We have to talk." Sergei stepped in and shut the door.
A while later…
"So, come on, this is gonna be fun!" Galina said to Jody.
"Why?"
"It'll bee like a sleep over or something. You know, girl talk."
Jody smiled. "Yeah, it will be fun."
"So, what do we talk about first?"
"I dunno. What do you wanna talk about?"
Galina shrugged. "How is Charlie?"
"I don't know! He's not talking to me!"
Galina smiled. "I know!"
"Then what do you mean?"
"Nevermind."
"Ok." Jody shrugged. "Besides…… we…"
"What?"
"Well, we never really-"
"Why not?"
"I don't know."
"You guys went out for 2 years!"
"I know! But… we just never…" Jody shrugged. "Did."
Galina squinted. "Wow."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. I just would have thought you two… well, you guys were so in love."
"Yeah, but he didn't tell me that for 2 years."
Galina raised her eyebrows. "Really? That long?"
"Yeah. Sweet isn't he?"
"I guess… if you wanna call that sweet."
"You don't think he's sweet?"
"Well, I do, but if it's based on that, I'd go more with…"
"What?"
"I dunno. Weird maybe… I'm not sure."
"Whatever." Jody yawned. "Good-night Galina." Jody shut her eyes.
"Night."
Meanwhile in Charlie's room…
"Why did you do that?" Sergei asked.
"She's just so…"
"What? Perfect for you?"
"No… she's just so…" Charlie squinted. "Jody."
"So?"
Charlie shook his head. "Nevermind."