Carly walked into the studio where the models were. She thought she had seen Brenda Barrett go in.
Brenda looked up to see Carly after the make-up people had moved away from her side. She smiled wickedly. She knew Carly would make a fool of herself in front of everyone there.
But Carly, after confirming to herself it was indeed Brenda, turned and walked off.
Brenda was stunned for a second. "Wow, she must have taken some new medication," she said to no one in particular.
She heard some tittering among the make-up people.
Carly marched into Laura's office.
"What is that - that - that - Brenda Barrett doing here?" she demanded.
"Modeling," Laura answered mildly.
Carly knew the answer to any protests she wanted to make would be to the effect that she, Carly, was never there.
She was in the ladies' room later, when Brenda came in.
She took a look at Brenda but then went back to washing her hands.
"You're not going to demand I leave the company?" Brenda asked.
"Not at all. Do your job, collect your paycheck."
"What a change! How am I ever to adjust?"
"I don't know."
Brenda was absolutely bamboozled. She could put it down to nothing but a sudden attack of maturity Carly was having as the result of multiple motherhood. She started to walk out, then heard, "You can have that damn stupid Sonny! I don't want him anymore!"
Brenda giggled to herself as she continued down the hall. "Maturity! What was I thinking?"
Carly's steam was still going, Sonny realized. He was amazed and his ego was battered, since he had never been in this position before. On the rare occasions where it became her turn to make the next move, she had never made him wait this long.
He had sent Jason to get her and she had refused to come.
Then he went to see her to ask her to come back, and she refused.
The next time she refused to let him in.
He realized Zander was living upstairs and was horrified to find himself wondering if she might go back to him.
He went to see her at Deception. Since he had given her the share she had in that company, she said, she couldn't refuse to let him in and so he was there, but he could only talk business.
Finally he asked her what she wanted in order to come back.
"I'm not coming back, ever," she said.
"You're my wife," he said.
"Only until you say I'm not," she answered.
"Look, Carly, I understand I don't have the right to throw you out. I was upset."
"And next time you get 'upset?'"
"I'll leave for awhile," he said. "I love you, will you please come back?"
Carly was amazed. Maybe he did love her after all. "Only on one condition," she answered.
"What is that?"
"Let my children both have their own fathers."
For awhile Sonny wished he had not had to agree to such a thing, but then, later, thought it best. He had always thought it would be dangerous for his children. That was one of the main reasons he had left Brenda. She had talked about children, and he thought she should have them, and didn't want her to have children who were always in some sort of danger on account of being the descendants of an organized crime figure, and the likely descent into organized crime themselves.
He had changed tacks when he had adopted Michael, but he had done that because Carly wanted him to.
This appeared, in the long run, to be the perfect solution to his dilemma.