Chapter Ten

Kitchen…

Margaret and Alan saw Irene and both immediately felt apprehensive about her being there, even though they knew she was coming. Alan was particularly worried, as he knew she was always looking for an opportunity to insult him and/or try to convince Margaret to just leave him, which had really gotten worse over the years.

For her part, Margaret was not looking forward to whatever Irene would say to her husband, despite her many attempts to get her aunt to stop and she had no idea what else she could even say to get the older woman to change her mind. She never understood what made her aunt dislike Alan in the first place, as the rest of the family had gotten along with him and she had tried to get them on better terms.

"Hi, Aunt Irene." Margaret managed to say while Alan didn't say anything.

Irene and Alan exchanged eye contact that was filled with coldness and tension, something they have been doing for years. It had gotten worse in the last few years, as Irene outright said that he was nothing short of a hypocrite and a negligent father, as after the infamous protest where Don was present at 3, Irene had really laid into Alan and tried to convince Margaret to divorce him, which also started to strain their relationship.

And there's that infamous argument between Don and Alan, which led to additional new problems with Irene, which no one knew was even possible. The family knew that she had sporadic contact with Don and seems to enjoy rubbing in Alan's face about it on occasion, which has caused him further distress.

Charlie watched his parents and Irene interact, and he knew it was going to be at least a few tense days, he needed to figure out how to get him and Margaret to go meet with Don but he also had to figure out how to keep Alan and Irene apart when they do so, as he worried about what would happen if they were left alone. He did have to think quickly, as he could tell things would take a turn for the worse if he didn't say anything.

"Say, Irene." Charlie suddenly said, "I heard that there was going to be a new book club tomorrow and I think you might like to check it out."

Irene thought about it before answering with a small smile, "I heard the same thing Charles, and thanks for reminding me of that." She said her good night, as she was tired from traveling for several hours, much to Alan's, and Margaret and Charlie's, relief.

"Dad, do the investigators need you tomorrow?" Charlie asked, as he wasn't sure what he was going to do if Alan wasn't as he wanted to talk to Margaret about meeting Don, though he won't say that in that many words.

"Unfortunately, yes and I have to meet with my lawyer to discuss where I need to go from here and one of the agents needs to talk to me about something else." Alan said, really not looking forward to tomorrow but it was also a relief as he will be away from Irene for a little while.

"It'll be okay, Dad, we just need to figure things out." Charlie said, trying to both convince himself and his parents that it will be.

"I know Charlie, I still don't like how it is going right now, that's all." Alan said, hoping that he was right, and that he and Irene will not interact much during her "visit".

He then put his hand on his youngest and said, "We just have to wait it out."