Charlotte fastens in her earring and looks at Cooper sitting on the couch. "I'm going to pick up Ethan now for his monthly visit. Why do you look like your hamster just died?"
"Bernie's alive in his cage. He's just sleeping right now and he's a guinea pig, not a hamster."
"I didn't mean it literally, Coop. I meant…-"
"I know what you meant. I'm bummed because my wife, who's seven months pregnant with twins and who can barely waddle across the room without wheezing has to drive across town and pick up my son."
"We talked about this already, Cooper." Charlotte fastens in the other earring. "I don't want you around Jen. I don't trust her."
"Which also means you don't trust me."
"Look, Cooper. I'm not stupid. I look like an elephant with big huge and swollen ankles, then you go there and see her all hot and perky, I know what's going to happen."
"Which means you still don't trust me."
"I'm not taking the chance. It's not like it hasn't happened before."
"We never had intercourse."
"So what? Blow jobs are just as bad."
"I told you the last time I went there I pushed her off me. Why don't you trust me?"
"Can we drop this, Cooper? I'm going to pick up Ethan. I'll be back soon." Charlotte kisses Cooper goodbye.
Charlotte rings the bell at Jen and Ethan's apartment. "So, he's sending you? I knew he didn't trust himself not to jump me." Jen smells like cheap wine.
"Actually he wanted to come and get Ethan. It was my idea to come."
"So, he does want me then? But you won't let him have any fun." Jen looks Charlotte up and down. "Obviously, you're in no shape to give him what he needs, why don't you let me take care of the big boy? He is a big boy. We both know that." Jen licks her lips.
"You're drunk." Charlotte accuses. "How can you let yourself get like that in front of your boy?"
"Don't pull that shit attitude with me!" Jen shouts. "You're no better than me, Fancy Pants!"
"My name is Charlotte."
"I know Cooper met you on the internet, just like me. Admit you like to get naked with strangers for kinky sex."
"That was a long time ago." Charlotte defends. "I haven't used the internet since I met Cooper."
"Maybe, you've changed, Fancy Pants, but Cooper's the same old freak between the sheets that nailed me to the bed eight years ago and knocked me up."
"Cooper was dead drunk when you came on to him."
"Believe what you want. Be the dumb little wife." Jen lights up a cigarette and blows it in Charlotte's face. "Sucker."
Charlotte turns away and coughs. Jen laughs. "What's the matter Fancy Pants? Can't handle a little smoke blown her way?"
"I'm done, where's Ethan."
Jen points down the hall to Ethan's room. The door's closed, Charlotte knocks and walks in. Ethan's lying in bed with the covers over his head. "Ethan, it's Charlotte."
"he little boy pulls the covers off his head and Charlotte can see he's been crying. "What's the matter, Ethan?"
"I don't want to tell you."
"Okay, are your things ready?" Ethan points to a blue backpack on the floor. Charlotte picks up the backpack and leads Ethan out of the room by his hand. Jen calls him over. "Come give mommy a kiss goodbye." Ethan obeys walking over with his head down. Jen gives him a gentle kiss on the lips and says, "Remember what I told you young man. I am your mother. You came out of here." She sticks her hands between her legs. "I pushed you out of my body and screamed in pain for twelve hours. You remember that when you call Fancy Pants over there, momma. You hear?"
Ethan sniffles and wipes a tear form his eyes.
"Do you hear me, boy?"
"Yes, mommy." Ethan follows Charlotte out of the apartment.
The car drive home is a silent one except for Ethan's sniffles in the back seat. Charlotte finally decides to break the silence. "My momma used to drink and take pills when I was a kid too."
Ethan wipes the tears from his face. "Did she get better?"
"She's better now but that's because she damaged her liver with all the alcohol so she can't drink anymore, if she wants to live and yes she is better. I can talk to her now."
"You couldn't talk to her when you were a kid?"
"Sometimes I could. Sometimes, she was a good momma. She'd made us cookies and played games with us, but when she was drinking she was just like your momma was just now. She'd yell at us and say cruel things."
"I hate when my mother drinks. I lock myself in my room so I don't have to be around her." Ethan tells Charlotte.
"My brothers and I did that too until my father, Big Daddy, threatened to send momma to a rehab hospital if she bothered us."
"Then what happened? Did she stop drinking?"
"No, then she was the one who stayed locked up in her room and my brothers and I were able to l play without worrying about her yelling at us."
"Who took care of you?"
"Sometimes Big Daddy, but he had an important job. He was a busy man so he hired nannies to take care of us."
"I wish I had a Big Daddy or a nanny. When my mother drinks I don't get to eat because I'm locked up in my room. Sometimes I run really fast out the door when she's not looking and go to Sean's house because his mother will give me somethng to eat."
Charlotte tells him, "you have your father now. You can always call Dr. Cooper."
"I rather call you."
"Why don't you want to call Cooper?"
Ethan sighs. "Promise you won't tell?"
"I promise." Charlotte says.
"I don't want to get doctor Cooper in trouble."
"It's okay, honey, tell me what's on your mind."
"One time Dr. Cooper came over and he was drinking with my momma."
"Okay?"
"I was supposed to be sleeping but I heard weird noises."
"What kind of noises?"
"I don't know how to explain it, it sounded like this like this," Ethan mimics moaning "oooooh, ooooooh, oh oh oh oooooh." I went to my mom's room to see what the noise was and my mom was naked. I thought Dr. Cooper was hurting her because it looked like he was biting her private part but she was saying, 'yes, yes, yes' to him, so I think she liked it."
"It sounds that way."
"I think he was pretending to eat her and not bite her because why would she like it if he was biting her? Wouldn't that hurt her?"
"I don't know. You'll have to ask Dr. Cooper."
"I don't want to ask him. He's a weirdo."
"I agree." Charlotte says.
"After I saw him doing that to my mom I wanted to throw up and I never wanted to see Dr. Cooper again."
Charlotte sighs deeply. "Do they know you saw them?"
"No. I ran back to my room and put the covers over my head so I couldn't hear them."
Charlotte sighs. "That's why it's not good to get drunk. You do things that you normally wouldn't do. Dr. Cooper is married to me and he shouldn't have been doing that with your mom."
"I knew they were doing a bad thing. In school they say never let anyone touch your privates and Dr. Cooper was touching my mom's privates and kissing them." Ethan reports again. "It was disgusting. Whenever I see Dr. Cooper I want to punch him and barf." Charlotte nods. "I know how you feel, Ethan."
Charlotte pulls up to the loft. Cooper doesn't know it yet but he's got a lot of explaining to do.