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"Sounds great babe, but wouldn't they rather go on any trip alone?" She sipped some wine.
"They and We would have time alone on this trip." I told Natalie.
"Where were you thinking of us going?"
"Vegas, Santa Barbara,...We all need to discuss it" I told her.
On Tuesday, I called Don on his cell.
"Eppes." he answered.
"It's me!"
"Hey Dad! How's it going?" Don sounded tired. He must have had a long day so far.
"I've got an idea! Why don't you and Jane join Natalie and me on a short getaway this weekend?" In my opinion it would do them good.
"Sorry, Dad, I've got this important case, maybe when things settle down, we can discuss it?"
"Okay" I felt disappointed, but understood.
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A whole weekend with Natalie? No thanks! Besides, I had work, and so did Jane. Even when this case gets settled, I'll just tell dad that Jane has an important case. I told Charlie about Dad's invitation.
"Sounds like a lousy weekend" he commented.
"Tell me about it."
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I called Natalie and told her that Don wouldn't be able to get away for the weekend.
I bemoaned "It would do them good to get away"
"You're just hoping that the time away would get Don to think about proposing" she teased me gently.
"A man can dream can't he?" I asked.
"They haven't been dating that long" Nat reminded me with a soft laugh.
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"Dad asked me about us joining him and Nat for a weekend getaway but I used work as an excuse to say no" I told Jane, while we had dinner at her place, sitting in the square table at her kitchen and eating some garlic pasta that she had whipped up.
"You're not too fond of her are you?" she teased. I had let my doubts about Natalie slip some days back, and Jane had agreed with me one hundred percent.
"Dad could do better, if you ask me" I commented, and drank some more wine. "I mean, what does he get out of this relationship, besides the companionship of a much younger woman, who is weird, and annoying?"
"He'll wise up, just like my father did" Jane assured me. Her own father, after becoming widowed at fifty had dated a much younger woman.
"That's what I figure." I said.
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Natalie and I had a quiet evening at home, with me doing crosswords, while she watched T.V.I started to have a thought.
"The Land lady's kids live out of state" I remarked.
"Yeah, in Texas and Oregon, right?" Natalie agreed. "One is a doctor, while the other is a lawyer."
"I was just thinking that should they inherit the place, they just might decide it's more trouble than its worth and sell their mother's properties"
"That's a good point." she nodded. "Having tenants is a pain in the ass. I've seen the headaches friends of mine have gone through."
After a bit, we changed the subject. Around ten thirty, I kissed her good night and went to bed.
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"Don't stay up too late" he advised before leaving for the bedroom.
"I'll try not to" I said.
The next day, around eleven in the morning, I had a house call. The patients, a couple of tabbies, were getting a checkup. Their owner, named Manny, was an agoraphobe, who wrote instruction manuals for a living.
I knocked and he let me in.
"How are you Dr. Core?" he asked me with a smile. "Thanks for coming!"
"Fine. You?"
"Good, I'm working on the German version of a manual for a toaster oven." He replied. The man knew several languages.
"I see" I came into the house. It was rather messy, with tell tale Ikea furniture. The living room floor had wooden tiles, and the walls were painted a greenish color. A couple of cat trees were near the windows. They weren't cheap ones either.
"Where are the cats?" I asked.
"Tom! Ben!" he called and they came. I was glad that he wasn't totally alone most of the time.
"Hey sweethearts!" I cooed, and gave them both treats. Tom's coat was a light orange with white trimming, while Ben had a brown coat.
"Are there any complaints?" I inquired of Manny while checking one of the cats.
"They're both doing great!" he told me.
"That's good" I said.
"Could you cut their nails?" he requested "I could never do it."
"Sure"
After I finished with the checkup and nail cutting, I decided to have an early lunch since my next appointment wasn't until one, thanks to a cancellation.
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Natalie came to my office, with In and Out bags. They had the best cheeseburgers.
"Thought you'd be hungry" she said.
"I'm starting to be" I told her as we kissed. Then, I asked "How's work"
"I had a house call before going to In and Out" she looked at the blueprints on my desk "Is this that loft project you told me about?"
"Yeah." I rolled them up, and we had lunch around my desk.
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Dad came to my office at Cal Sci one morning in a panic.
"Charlie, I've got a situation!" he exclaimed. Part of me hoped that He had decided to move out, but also worried that it might be serious.
"What's wrong?"
"The landlady at our place died! Her kids are selling the house, so they're not renewing the lease, which expires in a month! Could we move in with you?" Dad gave me his most serious look.
"I don't know...a month seems like enough time to find a place" I told him. I didn't want to have Natalie and her pets moving in.
"We need somewhere close to where we work, that accepts pets, and is within our price range!" Dad argued. "That's going to take longer than a month to find!"
"I don't know..."
"Where else can we go? Don's apartment is much too small!"
"Fine..." I agreed reluctantly. Now I had to put up with Natalie, and get used to sharing the house again. Plus, pets could mess with my stuff! Damn.
Soon, after thanking me, Dad left, and I discovered that not only was I late for a class, but I had forgotten my PowerPoint presentation for it at home.
This just wasn't my day.
TBC