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At seven, Nat and I went to a nice place. Loud jazzy music blared, as a server wearing slacks and a white shirt lead us to our table.
Soon, we were given our menus.
"Everything looks great!" Natalie beamed.
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As we ate, the two of us discussed the issue.
"I need to warn you" I began. "Larry likes to tag along with Charlie"
"Okay, Larry seems like a nice guy" she said.
"But I promise, unless it's the boys, I'll consult you before making the invitation" I told her. She is definently not a people person, at least notto the extent I am. When I first met her, I had mistaken it for shyness, but I soon came to realize that she didn't click with people as easily.The fact thatwe had that connection in the elevator, was what Charlie would call an anomaly.I didn't mind though. She's a wonderful person.
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I came home at nine the next night, due to an emergency,to find Charlie and Larry working on some experiment or other in the living room, making a mess of it. Layla hung around exploring, while Rocko lay next to the couch.Alan was at the door, prepared to soften the blow.
"During dinner, Charlie got an idea for some project he's doing, and couldn't wait to get home" he told me in his soothing voice.
Charlie explained what he was doing, but I was so tired, annoyed, and in a bad mood that he could have been trying to prove that the meaning of life was forty two for all I cared.
"I made spagetti with meat sauce!" Alan said "Hungry?"
"Yeah" I said.
After eating, Alan and I played scrabble. Eleven arrived,and they weren't even close to finishing whatever they were doing.
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"Any chance that you two are going to wrap up soon?" I asked Charlie. The mess was grating,especially since it didn't involve some case for Don, and so didn'tinvolve people's lives.Nat looked like she had a hard day at work.
Charlie gave me a long winded explanation of what needed to be done.
"So is that a no?" I rolled my eyes.
"We'll lock the door behind us!" Charlie insisted.
"How are Nat and I gonna sleep with all that racket you make?"" I demanded in a whisper.She was puttering in the kitchen, making us some relaxing tea. "Both of us have work! So do you!"
"I've got to finish this!" Charlie insisted. By the determined look in his eyes, I realized that he had become deeply involved in this project. Why didn't I put my foot down when he first began?
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Since the rented house was one story, Alan and I could hear the noise Charlie and Larry made from the bedroom, where we went after drinking our tea.
"How much longer is he going to be here?" I asked with irritation.
"As soon as he's finished." he said. "Charlie tends to get caught up in his work..."
"I see..." If that guy wasn't Alan's son, I'd sure as hell would be more vocal in my annoyance. To make myself less angry, I tried to tell myself that maybe he was doing something for the CIA or NSA, but knew that given that how open he was about the project, it was a big fat lie. "Why don't we go to a hotel fora night or two?" To me that was the most practical solution to this.
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"We could go to the Huntington Ritz. My treat!" I suggested, knowing that she was very irritated. Charlie and I would have a very serious talk tomorrow.
We quickly packed some necessities such as pajamas, toiletries,and work clothes for tomorrow. Nat put Laylain the guest room, whileI took Rocco to the backyard.
On our way out,I toldCharlie firmly,"I want everything cleaned up by tommorrow afternoon! Understood? You've got a whole house to yourself now!"I gave him a very stern glare.
"yeah..we will" Charlie said more to get me off his back than in agreement.
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"What if Charlie's project becomes too hard to move?" I asked in the car.
"Charlie's smart, he'll figure something out!" Alan insisted.
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To my surprise, he got us a suite. Just as we were about to go to our room, I saw a very familiar face: Don. At least he didn't make a mess of our living room.
"Dad? Natalie?How are ya?" He smiled.
"Charlie kicked us out of our place!" Alan complained.
"What?" Don looked at us in disbelief; his forehead wrinkled and he scrunched his eyes.
"He started a project in the living room. Nat and I had to come here because we wouldn't have been able to sleep with all the racket!" Alan was as irritated as I was.
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I inwardly sighed and decided to have a little talk with my brother as soon as I could get away.
"Why isn't he doing it at his place?" I asked.
"He got the idea while he, Larry and I were at our place having dinner" Dad explained.
"At least you're staying here" I joked lamely. I happened to be in this hotel to follow a lead. Since I had already done that, I would go talk with Charlie.
"Well, I gotta get back to work. Good night!" I told them.
Soon, I was at Dad's place, and I knocked. Larry asked from the other side of the door.
"Who is it?"
"Me!" I said.
Larry opened the door.
"Where's Charlie?"
"He's in the kitchen doing some calculations." Larry said.
"Hey buddy!" I said, when I went there.
"Oh hi!" Charlie said happily.
"What are you up to?" I tried to be diplomatic. "Dad says that he and Natalie had to stay at a hotel!"
Charlie gave me a detailed explanation, after a while, I interupted him.
"You could have done all this at your place!" I tried to be patient. "It's not that far from here! Would it have killed you to wait?"
"I wanted to act before I lost my line of thought" Charlie argued, and just continued to work on his equations. I offered."Look, why don't you take a break, and I can help you move this stuff?"
"Don't touch a thing!" Charlie insisted.
"Come on! This isn't your house!" I reminded him with annoyance. Just then, I got a call from work, and I had to go.
"Dad's gonna hit the roof if he finds this stuff here tomorrow!" I warned him before leaving.
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Alan picked me up from the clinic, and we agreed to see if Charlie had moved his stuff. To my relief, I didn't see his nor Larry's car. My hopes, however, were dashed when we went inside, and the mess was still there. Alan found a note, and read it aloud.
"I've gone to get some data, please don't touch anything"
"I guess he's not done" I commented, trying to sound calm.
"I'll call him. Hopefully he's at his office, or the house" Alan did so. He left messages.
"Charlie, this is your father. Please pick up your mess. Nat and I can't be living like this!"
"What if he doesn't call you back?" I asked with annoyance. Part of me wanted to start cleaning up the mess.
"A Friday nightat theRitz isn't so bad is it?" he joked.
I just rolled my eyes.
TBC