2005

"Dad has no reason to lie to us at this point" Don tried to reason withCharlie "The cat's out of the bag"

"If I hadn't walked in when I did, he would never have told us!" Charlie retorted angerily.

"Does he know about Charlie?" Don askd the invitable question.

"He called once. Your mother worried that he'd tryto get at least partial custody." Alan explained. "I went to the legal library, and found out that he would have had a hell of a time. Remember this was before DNA tests. On one hand, it was easy for man to deny that a child was his, but very hard to claim the opposite. Depite my assurances, your mother still feared that he'd try anyway."

"Wait a minute..." A memory popped into Charlie's head.

"What?" Don asked.

"I once remember seeing mom fill out a Western Union form." Charlie paced around the room. "When I asked her about it, she denied it."

"She was sending money to your biological father!" Don said. "He must have tried to help out, but mom insisted onpaying him back. With a money order, she didn't have to worry about dad finding out."

1999

The next evening Charlie came home with good news.

"An anonymous donor gave enough money to the math department to help complete that program I was working on!" Charlie said happily.

"That's wonderful honey!" Margaret said, despite the fact that her insitincts told her that the donor wasn't really so anonymous.

2005

Charlie's anger towards Alan became less important as he started to think about what his mother did.

"Whoever my biological father was, he seemed willing to take responsibility." Charlie said as an accusation towards Margaret.

"He must have had a P.I. keep track of you!"Don said aloud. It made sense because Margaret's unwillingness totake the man's money showed that they didn't really stay in touch."That's how he'd know that you were going to Princeton!"

"He shouldn't have had to do that!" Charlie said angrily. "I shoud have found out a long time ago!"

"Charlie, you need to understand..." Alan tried explain. "Your mother..."

"Lied to me all my life!" Charlie countered. "She probably preferred Don. I'm a living reminder of her greatest mistake."

"Don't you say that!" Alan scolded. "You mother loved you both equally!"

"And you...probably stayed with Mom only because of Don." Charlie accused sadly, and with anger.

"Charlie, I raised you from birth!" Alan argued. "I do love you like a son!"

Suddenly, it hit Charlie that David Lev could be his father "Sam once said that my way of speaking to an audience reminded him of David Lev. Let's go to the house!"

So, the three Eppesmen went to the house, and Charlie found a pictures of him on the internet, courtesy of a fansite.

"Look at that!" Don pointed to a picture taken of the man thirty years ago. It was almost like seeing Charlie sport fashions from the seventies, except for a few minor physical differences. The agent could see how Alan was able to figure it out.

2000

"So this is your family?" Kim asked Don when she came to visit him at his apartment. They were still lookingat apartments for the two of them.

"Yeah" Don had a large eight by ten photo of the four of them, which had been taken during his last visit.

"Why is your brother looking sideways?"

"He entered into his own little world, as usual., and he refused to pose for any more pictures because of some math problem. Not even my mom could convince him to try again. He refused to go with us to dinner."

2005

Charlie did lots of research about David Lev over the next few days. Don did as well. The agent found out that for years, the artist had his studio near the farmer's market, where his mother used to go.

"They could have ran into each other there." Don mused as he read a michofishe of an old article about him. A while later, he read something rather interesting and was written in the early eighties.

"David Lev says that he doesn't cook much, but when he does, beef stew is the dish. "The key is to add bay leaves.' he says"

"Mom always used bay leaves when she made beef stew!" Don remembered.

2002

Alan held Margaret, as the doctor broke the fatal news. Later, they told Charlie.

"As you know, your mother's been going to the doctor for tests" Alan began softly.

"Yeah, but they were just routine, right?"

"I'm afraid not, baby" Margaret answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Some of the them came out positive" Alan said.

"For what?"

"Cancer" Margaret whispered.

"No! The tests are wrong!" Charlie was in denial. "Go to another doctor! Take more tests!I'll pay for it!"

"Baby, cancer doesn't necessarilymean a death sentence. There's been lots of advancements in the past few years in oncology" she said with more optimism than she felt in an effort to comfort her son.

Margaret then called Don later that evening.

He and Kim were watching a movie in their apartment, when they heard the phone ring.

"Hello?" Don answered the phone.

"It's me, Donnie. How are you?"

"Great, mom."

"And Kim?"

"She's here with me. We're watching a movie."

"Remember when I told you that I've been doing some routine tests at the doctor's?"

"Yeah why?" Don sat down. He knew when bad news was about to be told, being a constant messager of it.

"They came out positive, for Cancer."

"Oh mom...I'm so sorry!" the agent didn't know what else to say. He was in shock.

"Cancer doesn't necessarily mean a death sentence" she tried to comfort him.

"I'll go visit as soon as I can" Don promised her.

2005

"Tell me what you know about David Lev" Charlie requested.

"His parents first discovered that he had talent, at the age of four, when he did a still life of a flower arrangement that his mother had in the living room. David's father, like you, was a mathematician."

"Really?"

"Yes"

"What was his name?"

"Isaac Lev"

"I've read some of his work!" Charlie could not believe it; he finally had an explanation for his talent in math.

"Anyway, David became the protegee of the great artist Hans when he was just fiftteen and had his first exhibition three years later. It was a success." Sam said, then get into more detail as to the various influences of David's work, how he fit within the context of contemporary art., and changed it.Charlie listened with great interest.

Later, at an Italian restaurntCharlie talked to Don about what Sam had told him.

"Why did he give up trying to contact me?" Charlie asked with a brooding face.

"Maybe he thought that telling a young boythat the man he looked up to wasn't his father, wasn't the best thing."

"What about when I was an adult?"

"Mom probably fought against that like a lioness protecting her cubs."

"He could've talked to me when mom wasn't around."

"Would you have believed him?" Don asked wisely. "Or even agree to a D.N.A test?"

"I guess not" Charlie admitted.

2002

Soon, Don hung up.

"What's wrong?" Kim had sensed that he had gotten bad news.

Don could barely say it. "My mom was diagnosed with cancer"

"Oh Don!" she comforted him.

"I'm taking some time off"

"I'll go with you"

"It's fine, you've got a big case... "

She took him to the airport, as soon as he booked a ticket and talked to his boss.

By early, the next morning, Don was at the house having a silent breakfast with his parents.

"Where's Charlie?"

"He left early for Cal Sci."Margaret said.

"That's just great" Don thought with some annoyance. "Mom gets sick and he retreats into his little bubble."

2005

"Do you think he knew about mom's getting sick?" Charlie asked.

"It's possible." Don said. "He did manage to find out that you went to Princeton."

"I've got another brother and a sister" Charlie told him.

"yeah... you do"

"I wonder if they know about me"

2002

Students in his first class, of the day,walked in to some rather complicated math on the chalk board. It took a bolder student at eight fifteen to remind Charlie that it was time for class.

"Uh..sorry. I was just working on P vs. NP, ..." Charlie began, and started to talk about the problem and his approach to it. This would have been fine except for one small detail: this was his precalculus class.

"We are in the right class?" a first year premed student dryly asked a friend, who sat next to her. "right?"

"Yeah."

"Dude, what did Professor Eppes smoke?" another student, who sat in the front, wondered.

At eight thirty, a student, who was barely passing the course, came in late, and thought,upon seeing the chalk board,"Geez, I'd better start doing the homework!"
2005

Don shrugged, then changed subjects. "What about dad?"

"What about him?"

"When are you going to speak to him?" Don whispered. He hated the tension that existed between the two.

"Let's see what's on the desert menu"

2002

"Screw this!" the aforementioned pre med student muttered to her friend. "If Eppes is gonna get all rain man on us, then I might as well leave and do the reading for my next class." Wit that she left. Little by little, her classmates started to follow suit. One of two tried to stop Charlie, but were dismissed or ignored.

"Professor Eppes, arent' you going to go over the homework?"

"I'm on a very important line of thought" Charlie said curtly, to everyone's surprise. He was known for being a friendly professor.

"We're not a graduate seminar!" a goth student complained.

"Maybe, but I'm on the verge of a breakthrough."

Around nine fifteen, he was kicked out by the professor of the next class. So, he went into his office, where he continued to work on P vs. NP. Around ten, an annoyed Don came to see him.

"Hey buddy!" Don said.

"Don?" Charlie was surprised to see his brother after a long time. They hadn't seen each other since Christmas. Also, it started to bring home the seriousness of Margaret's condition.

"We missed you at breakfast!"

"I had stuff to do"

"Coming to Dinner?"

"I don't think so"

"Charlie, mom needs us! Get out of your precious bubble!" Don's tone grew sharper. Just then, a student, came in. Charlie was his advisor for his dissertation.

"Is this a bad time?" he had heard some of the conversation.

"No...it isn't." Charlie said quickly, only to get away from things.

2005

"Charlie!" Don exclaimed. "I know that Dad lied, but he suffered because of what ...mom did just like us."

"This explains alot...you were always able to relate to dad more!" Charlie brooded darkly. "If I hadn't had my talents, mom would have given you all the attention." His eyes showed sadness and anger.

"Don't you say that!" Don said firmly, yet gently and put a hand on Charlie's shoulder.

2002

"Actually it is." Don insisted and glared at his brother. "Professor Eppes is going home for the day to spend time with this family!"

"Uh..okay...sorry" the student sheepishly left the classroom.

"Don, his disertation..."

"doesn't matter!" the agent insisted. "Put up a sign, and let's go home!"

2005

"I'm a mistake!" Charlie lamented.

"Charlie..." Don began in a whisper. "Anyone who knows you would disagree."

"This explains the rough patch dad and mom had when I went to Princeton..." Charlie insisted.

"The separation was hard on the two of them!" Don argued and interupted.

"Dad said he had an irrational jealosy!" Charlie told him.

"They would have fought if I had been the one mom had taken to Princeton."

Charlie shook his head. "I don't think so"

"Buddy..."

The professor didn't listen; he was too deep in his own brooding thoughts.

2002

Soon, Margaret started the torture of chemotherapy and some months later, Don, with much sacrifice, moved back to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the drawing moved as the agent arranged the garage to be able to fit his stuff.

2005

"Buddy..." Don repeated. "Mom loved you! To her, you were anything, but a mistake!"

Charlie didn't respond. He was getting deeper into his brooding.

2003

It was a happy day in the Eppes family: Margaret's cancer had gone into remission. All they had to do was wait and hope that it would stay that way. To celebrate, the four went to her favorite restaurant. From afar, she, with worry,saw David eating with a couple of young people.

"Let's go somewhere else" she said suddenly. Margaret wanted to avoid any possibility of a meeting.

"What?" Alan wondered.

"I've changed my mind" Margaret insisted. "Besides, we haven't even ordered yet."

"But mom, you love this place!" Charlie argued.

"Look, I almost died, humor me!"

Reluctantly, the three Eppes men agreed and they left.

That night, Margaret dreamt that she went to the doctor's for a routine visit, but the announcement from her was anything but routine.

"I'm afraid that your cancer is out of remission, Mrs Eppes" Dr. Linda Gorge told her.

Margaret awoke with sadness in her heart, but was glad that it was just a dream. Hopefully it would stay that way.

TBC