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Natalie looked hung over as she joined Charlie and me for breakfast. She winced at the sunlight, and only wanted to eat toast. I sighed, but didn't say anything. It wasn't as if she overindulged in drink often.

"How was dinner with your friend?" I asked.

"Great! We talked, and caught up." she said. "Then went to this bar. I had a few too many"

"At least you enjoyed yourself!" I said. The bags under her eyes were deep."I take it that you just wanna stay home today?"

"Yeah, but maybe we can do something tonight?" she suggested with a half smile. "I'll definently feel better by then."

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"Would you like some Advil?" Alan offered. He was a Tylenol man himself, but always had Advil on hand for me.

"I already took some" I told him, happy that he had understood.

Before I knew it, Larry had joined us. He loved to come over quite often. Today, he wore a shirt with a portrait of Newton on it. I guess that I shouldn't find that surprising. I wondered if he wanted some more help on his multidimensional theory. Come to think of it, there were times, when I desperately wished for a chocolate dimension.

"Are you okay?" he asked me. Did I look that bad? Geeze.

"I spent the evening with an old college friend." I began to explain. "After dinner we went to a bar and had a little too much to drink."

"Would you like me to make you something, Larry?" Alan asked him, always the good host.

"That's not necessary. I already had some breakfast" Larry said.

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We had Natalie's friend over for dinner on Sunday night. Charlie was there, and Don showed up at the last minute.

"I come bearing gifts." She gave us a bottle of scotch. It was the good stuff.

"Thanks! Natalie said. "We could have some after dinner." Then, she introduced her to the boys, who were watching a game. "Pam, these are Alan's sons Charlie and Don"

"Pleasure!" Charlie said.

"Nice to meet you" Don commented.

"Same here" Pam responded.

During the meal, Pam said to Natalie "You're very lucky to find a man who can cook!"

"Don't I know it!" Natalie smiled at me.

When everyone finished their dinner, we all had a little scotch. Pam drank more of it than the rest of us, though Don came in second.

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"So..." Don asked my friend after a few shots. "Did Natalie always prefer older men?"

"She's mostly gone out with men her age." Pam told him, as Alan shot his eldest a very dirty look. "Though she dated this guy in his twenties in the mid nineties. He was a nurse" Damn!

"Really?" Don encouraged her. He tried to pour himself another shot, but Alan took away his shot glass.

"So..Pam what made you decide to become a plastic surgeon?" Alan tried to change the subject.

"I wanted to help people such as those who are disfigured by fires, or accidents"

"That's like one zillionth of a percent of your patients!" I scoffed. Part of me was annoyed at her. Helping people my foot! Her practiced catered to the rich, especially socialites. The reception area of her practice had leather furniture even!

"That number doesn't exist!" Charlie told me sanctimoniously.

"Really? Ya think?" I snorted.

"At least I'm not wasting my talents!" Pam put in a delayed reaction, while slamming her half full glass.

"Wasting?" I glared at her. Pam, back in our college days, had tried to get me to switch to premed, even getting me applications.

"Veterinarian medicine is a noble profession!" Alan put in his two cents firmly and gave her an angry look. He had a protective streak in him.

"You could be doing so much more as an MD!" Pam said.

"You could use your surgical skills to do transplants, but you don't because there's not a lot of money in it!" I retorted. She's got nerve!

"Ooh! Medical fight!" Charlie joked.

"Stay out of this!" Pam glared at Charlie.

"Don't talk to my son that way!" Alan angrily stood up. Don gave Pam a furious look a well ."Maybe you should go!"

"And I will!"

With that she called a cab and left the house, leaving the rest of us in awkward silence.

TBC