TOO CLOSE TO HOME

Chapter 18

It was around 9:30 when Don arrived at the house and let himself in. He found Alan sitting in the living room reading a magazine. "Hi, Dad. How's Charlie?"

Alan shrugged. "He's still in his room. I went up a couple of hours ago and knocked on the door. He didn't answer so I assume he's asleep."

"I'm going to go talk to him," Don said. "Brought him some ginger ale."

"Don," Alan said firmly. "If your brother is asleep, you let him sleep."

"Yes, Dad." Don was already heading up the stairs.

The door to Charlie's room was ajar and Don pushed it open slightly to look at his brother. Charlie was lying with one arm thrown over his eyes as if to block out the illumination from the reading light. After a moment he stirred and removed the arm, blinking in the light.

Don stepped in and said. "Charlie? Sorry about waking you up."

"Not asleep. I was just resting my eyes," Charlie replied. He sat up so he was leaning against the headboard.

"I wanted to see how you were feeling. Brought you some ginger ale. It's supposed to be good for an upset stomach." He set the bottle on the nightstand.

"Thanks. Did you find out anything yet?" Charlie asked.

"Not yet. But we're working on it." He sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up Charlie's discarded book. "Brave New World, huh? A diversion from your mathematics?"

"Kind of. Right now I can't even think. I thought maybe if I focused on something else, I might get back to the equation. It's really a quite interesting book," Charlie answered. He raked his hands through his mop of curly hair.

"I read it in college. I've been thinking. Don't you have a week long break coming up next month?"

"I do. I just haven't decided what I'll do yet."

"I was thinking that maybe I could take part of my vacation then. You and I could go to Florida or somewhere. Forget all about work and just spending it having a great time. We may be working together. But we've never done anything mano a mano. Not in a long time, if ever."

"Sounds good. But I don't think I can afford it financially. I just bought a house, remember?"

"I remember. Neither Dad nor I expected that you'd end up buying the house. Hey, maybe we could get Dad to pay for the trip," Don suggested.

"With the money that I gave him when I bought the house," Charlie added.

"Well, he can certainly afford it now," Don said.

"That's true," Charlie agreed. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "WE could invite Terry along. Then she and I could keep an eye on you."

"Hey, I don't need a chaperone," Don protested. "However, having Terry along might not be such a bad idea. She could help me keep youout of trouble."

"Me?" Charlie's look was total innocence.

"Yes, you. Face it, any girls you meet aren't exactly going to be after you for your intellectual mind," Don pointed out. He burst out laughing at the expression on Charlie's face. A moment later Charlie joined in the laughter.

"So, what are you gonna do tonight?" Charlie asked after he stopped laughing.

"Crash in the guest room. Then tomorrow morning I'll take you to get your bike," Don replied.

Alan had given up on his magazine and was on his way up to bed when he heard the laughter. Sticking his head in the door he asked, "Is this a private joke between you or are you going to share it?"

"Private joke," Don said quickly.

"Well, don't stay up too late and don't make too much noise either."

"Yes, Dad," both Don and Charlie said together and burst out laughing again.

"Well, goodnight," Alan said. He withdrew his head and continued on his way. Sometimes it was hard to figure out both his sons.

A/N I've never been a college student so I was just guessing on what goes on. And I do have a tendancy to write in bold, especially if I am printing it out.

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