2005

"Look you're probably wondering what possesed me to get involved with a married woman. Truth was that...your mother was a wonderful person, and I know it sounds dumb...it almost seemed like destiny for me to run into her those three times..." David knew that Charlie would wonder about that issue. "Now I know better of course."

"And if you hadn't felt that or if mom hadn't accepted your invitation for lessons, I wouldn't have existed..." Charlie realized with wide eyes.

"There is that..." David said lamely.

"Did my mother ever consider divorcing ..my...Don's father?" Charlie didn't want to hurt David.

"I fantasized about her doing it..." David sadly thought about his eldest son's slip. "In the end, she broke it off because of him and Don."

"She broke it off?" Charlie repeated in the form of a question.

"Yeah. Did...Don's father ever find out?"

"When I was small I guess, but ..he raised me as his own" Charlie said.

"I'm glad to hear that."

2004

Charlie, still at his office, got lost in memories of his own.

He and his mother were working on a puzzle together on a Friday night. It's hard to make friends in college when your only thirteen.

"Do you have any blue green pieces?" she asked.

"No..." Charlie said.

"Your father called...Don's team won the game!" she announced.

"That's great!" the teen missed his brother and dad.

"Why Don't we see go see a movie?" hismom suggested with a smile.

"It's okay..." there were movies he wanted to see but not with his mother.

"We could rent one and I'll make popcorn, just as you like it!"

"Doing puzzles is fine" Charlie insisted. Besides, what if someone saw him with her at the rental place or the threater? He'd never live it down.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Margaret answered the door. To Charlie's surprise, it was a pizza delivery. His mother paid and tipped the delivery guy, and he left.

"Your favorite! Deluxe with extra cheese!" she announced.

"Thanks mom!" Charlie said; the smell of the pizza was making his weekend better already.

"Go get the plates" she requested. "Let's eat in the living room"

For desert, she prepared him hot chocolate milk, just as he liked it, along with cookies she made with pilsbury cookie dough. Everything hit the spot, and Charlie realized that with his mother around, college life wasn't going to be that bad.

Don's stern calling, caused Charlie to waffle out of his memories.

"Charlie! Mom wants you to come home!"

"I can't, not now!" he insisted in a loud, emotional voice. "Leave me alone!"

TBC