Chapter Two

The house was cool when Margot entered. Cool and dark. She hadn't left long ago, but everything seemed different. And older, like when you go back to the house you grew up in after living alone for several years.

The place wasn't clean, but it wasn't a mess either. To her knowledge, it was exactly the way she left it. So why did she feel so out of place?

Margot felt she should sit down to wait, but it wasn't right, she didn't feel right here!

"Leave," she mused. "There's no point to this anyway."

But she didn't. She summed up all of her courage and sat down. The cushion exhaled dust and it put her into a coughing fit.

"Are you alright my darling?" Inquired a voice from the study.

"Raleigh?" She called, standing up again.

"I'm in the study," was the reply.

The study. Margot had been in there once, maybe twice tops. It was his haven. Whenever they fought, or rather, whenever she said mean things to him he would retreat to the study. That was also where most of his nights were spent. Raleigh St. Clair was a man obsessed with his work, and if his work required him to pull a few all-nighters (and by a few I mean a few times a week), he was ok with that.

She sat down on the patient's couch and shivered. It was even cooler in here. Raleigh turned around in his chair and took a long drink from his water.

"Well let me have a look at you," he finally said, taking off his glasses. "You haven't changed," he whispered sadly. "Not outside or in."

"I'm in love with Richie," she said frankly looking him straight in the eyes.

"I know."

For a long time they just stared at each other. Raleigh tried to stare her down, but his efforts were futile and she held his gaze. Finally the old man sighed and looked down at his feet.

"I know," he repeated. "I've always known. In the back of my mind. I mean how could I not, right? You're young. It's not to late for you to fall in love again. It's not even to late for you to marry again. But me? I am old Margot. I'm much to old to start again, much to old to even think of starting again! I love you my darling please don't leave me."

"Raleigh. I don't even know what to say to that. But I will tell you now I can't be with you anymore."

"Can't or don't want to?" He asked, for the first time showing any sign of anger towards her.

"Both I guess. I love someone else Raleigh. Even if I did stay with you it would be out of pity rather than love. And who would want that?"

"Margot I can make you happy! I can and I will! This thing with Richie, it isn't real. You'll wake up next to him one day and realize your mistake and you will regret it Margot. You will! I can promise you, you will. Because that's what you do. You make bad decisions and you're forced to live with them. This is a fling I swear it is."

"I know I'm prone to making mistakes. But Richie is not one of them- in fact lets just leave Richie completely out of this. You were the mistake Raleigh. Not him."

The doctor wiped his eyes and stood up. "I'm sorry you feel that way. Please note that my house is always open to you and feel free to come back anytime. For now, I assume you know where the door is?"

And she left

"Chas we are not naming our child Uzi! That's absurd!" Rachel said laughing.

"Why? It's a great name! Better than Brian anyway," he replied defensively.

"Hey. That was my father's name. And he was a, uh… he was a very… noble man," she retorted giggling. "I am putting my foot down on this one. My first-born son is not going to be named Uzi. Where did you even come up with that? It sounds like something right out of a Dr. Seuss book."

"Dr. Seuss was a great man Rachel. You shouldn't mock him."

Rachel looked hard at her husband, trying to see the find the joke in his eyes. It wasn't there.

"Chas are you kidding? I don't get it. You really think Uzi is a good name for kid?"

Chas put the last throw pillow into the chest and flopped into bed.

"I do," he whispered, his lips pressed against her neck, then slowly migrating up to her cheek and finding their way to her painted lips. He put his hand on her leg and pulled away. "The best friend I ever had was named Uzi. I want my son to be everything he was."

"Well why can't we just name him Chas and he can grow up to be like you? After all I fell in love with Chas Tenenbaum not Uzi Whatever," Rachel said rolling on top of him.

"Uzi was better than me. And that's the way I want my son," he declared closing his eyes.

Rachel didn't say anything for a long time but he felt her disappear.

"Good bye Chas," he heard her say.

"No. No not tonight. Tonight you should stay. Please stay I miss-"

But it was too late. Chas woke up in his room alone in the dark. He pulled the pillow close to his face and screamed. He hated it. He hated the dreams. He hated being happy again, and waking up to find he still had nothing. The good dreams were worse than the nightmares. How could he get over his Rachel when every night she haunted him?

At this point in the night Chas felt envy brooding in the pit of his stomach. Envy for every man who was in love. Envy for every man who has someone to love him back. Envy for his brother, who had that even if it was in an unorthodox fashion. He wanted to be Richie Tenenbaum, and he found this odd because he hadn't wanted that since he was 16. And that was a long time ago.