Chapter 4: When Pie Goes Bad

The facts were these: At the same time Lily was passed out Ned's Father, Nathan Nedderson, walked into Maurice and Ralston's house. Even though he had abandoned him they still loved him and welcomed him. He wanted to talk to all three of this sons and tell them at last why he had left.

When he had walked into the door of the Pie Hole Ned had tried to flee, scared to face his past. Unfortunately for Ned, Emerson Cod grabbed him. So at this exact moment it had been 20 years 3 months, 16 days, and 3 hours ago sense Ned had seen his father.

"Nedderson?" Chuck asked Ned. "Why did you never tell me your last name?"

"Well," replied Ned who happened to look very tense at the moment. "It could be that I just... think it sounds stupid or ....it might just be that ...I disliked my father so much I just couldn't stand the mention of his name." This was all sort of mumbled.

"So sons and Charlotte," Nathan said looking awkwardly up at them. " I am going to tell you why I left you. You might find it rather hard to believe." Maurice and Ralston looked like they were so excited that if you touched them they might explode. Ned on the other hand looked a bit constipated.

"Wait," cried out Ned. "I have to tell you something, It may sound crazy and weird, but it is true. I can prove it. If I ever acted weird or mysterious I have a good reason." He paused and looked at his father, "Besides being completely neglected in my teenage years. I can bring dead things back to life."

Well Maurice and Ralston were surprised and gleeful at the prospect of Ned being able to perform magic Nathan was not the least bit shaken. He just sat there calmly nibbling the pie that had been provided.

"Son," he said. "You make pie even better than your mother and that's saying something." For just a brief second Ned felt proud to be complemented by his long missing father, but then he remembered the pains of abandonment as if they were reopened and stopped on. The smile that had popped up quickly faded from his face.

The Piemaker suddenly stood up with an unusual burst of anger. "Yes," he yelled. "I know I make the best pies in Papan County and I don't need you to tell me so!" Everybody was starring up at him. "Sorry," he mumbled and quickly sat down.

"You don't need to apologize son," Nathan replied. "It is rather stressful having such a gift, I would know I have it to."

"You.. what?" Ned stammered.

"I have the power to awaken dead people," he said through a mouthful of pie. "I haven't used it for years, not sense... well never mind."

"You better tell them everything," Chuck intruded. "They have the right to know." Chuck herself was very curious.

"OK, OK, OK!" he said in his defense. "I'll start from the beginning." He sighed, "The very beginning." All of them started at Nathan waiting for him to start. "Ned, your mother and I fell in love in High School I promised that we would get married after I made enough money serving in the military. In the military I met Charles Charles and Dwight Dixon, not my two favorite people. So we had many grand adventures and we left our separate ways, well we tried to any how. Charles followed me back to Coeur d'Coeur were I grew up. Your mother and I had a lovely wedding almost as soon as we got back. Charles had an extremely... turbulent love life. He fell in love with a young, sweet, kind, and wonderful syinkrinized swimmer Vivian. The problem was that he also loved her sister, Lily. Now that he loved Vivian very much...but he liked adventure." By this time all four of them were enthralled in the story.

"As you two know," he continued addressing Ned and Chuck. "Lily became pregnant with you and well, the rest is history. When your mother was pregnant with you ,Ned, she died. I have no idea why, but she did. I panicked and touched her. I tested it on a baby cat and I found out that if you re-alive a pregnant women you can not touch the child. I was heartbroken, I could not touch my wife or my son. Over time I became distant with you two and fell in love with another women, Maurice and Ralston's mother. Know when your mother died, Ned, I knew at once you had touched her. I panicked fearing what would become of you and sent you to that dreadful boarding school." Ned winced. "I went on to have a relatively normal life with my new family until the twins were about 9. Ralston you had been playing with magic and somehow made an explosion and killed yourself, but you were still intact. I re-alived you killing your mother. I have been watching all of you, including your Aunts Chuck, for awhile know."

Ned sat in shock, he had been dead. Dead, Ned couldn't fathom it. Nathan stood up and did what he did best, left, though this time not for long. "I have to go see V- someone," he muttered.