Again, not much to say here except this chapter's plot: Charlie is taking full advantage of the horse races' success, but he notices that Anne Marie has become unhappy, so he and Itchy go out to buy her new dresses, among other things. Meanwhile, Oaklyn, unbeknownst to Charlie, is starting to get jealous of Anne Marie, and how much of Charlie's attention she's getting. The two get into an argument, and Oaklyn storms off. Enjoy, please!

P.S.- this chapter contains bad language! Just thought I'd warn you.

After the first horse race, the money game rollin' in so fast, Charlie was actually surprised.

Races were being won! Frog races, kangaroo boxing matches, turtle swimming competitions, you name it!

Peeking out of that long overcoat, Itchy quickly grabbed a bunch of cash off the table in the collecting area, and Charlie led them away.

Money... money everywhere!! Charlie thought, laying on his back and making a cash angel. Itchy fell next to him and did the same, laughing out loud. Oaklyn was happy, sure, but she was just sitting by Itchy, kind of hurt. Anne Marie sure did take Charlie's attention, that's for sure...

Anne Marie was sitting on a pile of gold coins, head down. Charlie saw her, sitting up. Itchy was still laughing, so Charlie grabbed his head and turned it to the saddened girl; he stopped laughing, and his face softened with sympathy. Oaklyn looked over too; she frowned. She felt bad for her, but... didn't she deserve Charlie's attention, too...?

Maybe money's more important to him...

Charlie and Itchy, holding the ends of the coat, were sort of playing tug-o-war with Anne Marie, and they pulled her into the 'La Petite Dress Botique.'

Looking down, Anne Marie, wearing a brand new light blue dress with a cute little hat, didn't notice Charlie and Itchy clapping until Charlie whistled; surprised, Anne Marie gaped- then she did a little curtesy.

The girl tried on various dresses, and Charlie bought them all. Gotta her her happy. As she tried on the last one, Charlie let out a loud howl, and Itchy kept clapping loudly.

As they carried the boxes back to the junkyard, Itchy got to work on building a new casino, and it was all Charlie's idea. After the blueprints and things like that were finished, Itchy climbed up into a crane, yanking hard on the lever; he picked up several old cars and stacked those up. Then he did a bunch of wiring, and the sign he'd made said: Welcome to Charlie's Place.

Itchy pulled a lever that said, DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE, and sparks flew; the lights flickered on, and finally, construction was finished. Charlie had his own casino!


Things couldn't be going better for Charlie and Itchy: dogs were showing up, business was booming, and Carface hadn't found out! It was great!

Charlie trotted past the stage with dancing girls in costumes and gamblers laughing and talking, hopping on the side of the car in the middle of the room, where the bar was. Then Smiley sat down best to him. "Smiley!" Charlie said, "whaddya know, whaddya say?" He fist-bumped the boxer, who grinned widely at him. "Congratulations on the success, Charlie!" he said, lifting his red, white, and blue hat, revealing his regular one, the first of which he handed to Charlie.

"That's usin' your head!" Charlie laughed, slapping a golden ticket into his paw. "Enjoy!" Itchy popped up from inside the roofless car. "Hey, Itch! I gotta hand it to ya, the place looks great..." He chuckled to himself, looking at his reflection in the side mirror. Hey, good lookin'!

Then Charlie saw Anne Marie in the background, and she didn't look happy- not at all. She pouted and glared at Charlie. "Hey... what is this?" he asked, whipping around immediately. "What're ya doin'?" His hat went flying off his head. Itchy, surprised as well, looked back at the girl.

"I'm leaving!" she declared, grabbing her bag and walking a few steps. "You said-said we-we were gonna help the poor and we didn't! You promised to find me parents!" She put her bag down for a moment to glare at the surprised shepherd, who lowered his ears just a bit, dropping back onto all fours. "Y-you didn't even look!" Charlie actually did feel slightly guilty, watching her begin to walk away angrily.

"All you do is gamble, and it isn't right!" she finished, and, not wanting the plan to go awry, Charlie ran up and leapt in front of her, his back foot landing in a free gifts basket. He tumbled just a little. "Y'know somethin', you're right," Charlie started just as Oaklyn walked in from outside. She was watching the proceedings, and, having been alone for a little while and feeling lonely, she actually began to feel angry; Charlie was going through all this trouble... for a kid?! Why couldn't he just... pay attention to her, too? Yeah, Charlie was selfish and kinda greedy, but... she cared for him, and she liked being with him... now he didn't have time for her anymore!

Charlie started shoving gifts into Anne Marie's hands. "What a selfish, callous cad of a heed I've been!" He threw his arm over his face dramatically. "Blind to the needs of our society's lowly unloved!"

As Anne Marie picked up her doll and left the tiny boxes behind, walking away a little farther, Charlie followed her. He skirted in her path, gently nudging her hand with his nose. "Thank you... thank you for helping me see the light," he said, leading her back over to the bar. "Squeaker, we're goin' out to help the poor!" he announced, smirking triumphantly. Oaklyn was stunned; then she blew a fuse, and she snarled lowly to herself. But Anne Marie was happy again. "Oh, Charlie!" she said. She bent down to kiss Charlie's nose, stopping him from smiling sweetly at her with his eyes closed, and the fur on his neck spiked. "Ah! Bluh, yuck!" he muttered, standing on his two feet and balling his fists, leaning on the bar vehicle.

Itchy was as stunned as Oaklyn, but he didn't get angry like her. "Hey, boss... what is it with you and this little kid, huh? I mean- we got a business to run, y'know..." Charlie glared at him. "Itchy. We gotta keep the little kid happy-" He snatched the rag Itchy had from him. "-right?" Charlie rubbed it hard against his muzzle, cringing.

Oaklyn tapped Charlie on the back, and he turned his head, confused. She tried not to look as angry as she felt- not yet, at least. "Charlie? I need to talk to you... alone."

Charlie and Itchy shared a look; then Charlie sighed and dropped onto all fours once more. "Yeah, fine, ok. C'mon."

Charlie followed Oaklyn outside, and while he stood beside an old car tire, Oaklyn sat a couple feet away. All Charlie had to do was pay attention to know that she wasn't happy; her fur was slightly fluffed up, and her eyes portrayed her anger. He forced a toothy grin, knowing he'd probably get lectured or something. "What's wrong?" he asked, wagging his tail a bit.

Oaklyn looked right at Charlie, and it actually made him a bit nervous; she was mad mad.

Uh oh. What now?

"What's the problem?" Charlie asked again, and Oaklyn opened her mouth. "Where do I start? Hmmm... let me see... oh! I got it! How about I ask why the hell you're spending so much time with this stupid kid, and not paying attention to anything else, including me and Itchy?!All you want is to make money, Charlie! I've realized that that's allyou've ever cared about! What happened to being with me, huh? And whydid you even take this kid, anyway?Was it just to make more money?! I knew it!"

Charlie was shocked; he had never seen her so upset before. His shock started to turn into anger, and his face hardened. "Oh, sure, you're sayin' this now? You know why I took Squeaker away from that filthy rat! I did it for revenge, Snowflake, you knew that! I thought you were with me on this! You didn't care when I took her out of Carface's basement-" Oaklyn was incensed. "I always was, Charlie!! I always stayed by your side, no matter what kind of stupid-ass ideas you had, or whatever you did- I may not have always agreed with you, but I supported you! And now-"

Oaklyn swallowed to avoid crying, not realizing that she wasn't thinking very clearly; her thoughts were clouded by bitterness, anxiety, and anger. "You were always money-hungry, Charlie, but now you're-..." She sniffled, eyes stinging. The fur along Charlie's spine stood on end, but it lowered a bit as she stopped. Then she looked back up at him. "You're just... so selfish."

Charlie was surprised at how much her words stung. He took a step toward her, completely enraged and offended, and bared his teeth, snarling. "You know what? Maybe I am selfish. Maybe I am real money-hungry! But at least I'm not a prissy little broad who always wants everything to turn into a magical little fairy tale!!" he yelled, too angry to think about his word choice.

Oaklyn had never, ever heard Charlie say anything like this to anyone. Not ever. Nor did she ever expect him to. She just stared at him, wide-eyed, and her mouth slightly open. Then her eyes filled with more tears, and she shook her head, baring her sharp white teeth. "I never wanna see you again as long as I live!!" she cried, whipping around and sprinting away. Stunned, Charlie took a step back and watched her run away. His anger began to melt away, but it still burned like fire in his chest.

Hurt, slightly sympathetic, and angry, Charlie turned around and walked back inside, feigning a careless expression. Itchy looked up, taking his head off his paw. "Boss? What happened?" Charlie shook his head, avoiding his eyes. "N-nothin'. She just wanted to tell me... she... uhhh, felt sick, so she was headin' out." Itchy shrugged. "M'kay..." He didn't look impressed either.

Charlie laid down beside the car, putting his head on his paws. He just felt... really guilty.

She didn't deserve to be yelled at like that. Especially not by him...

Then Charlie thought of how happy she'd been when he got back from the pound, and how excited he'd been to see her. Aw, Snowflake...

Memories began to come back to him; that Christmas Eve last year when he and Itchy had eaten all the cookies she made, her surprise 2nd birthday party that Charlie had thrown, and... how beautiful she looked, especially when the moon or sun was shining down on her... Charlie smiled softly, blushing a bit. Then his face fell, and he sighed.

I'm sorry, Snowflake, I am... but I gotta keep the kid happy.


Thanks for reading, anybody who decides to!