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Don and I ate pizza as we watched the game. During a commercial, I asked him.

"Why are you still seeing Dad?" The question had been bothering me for a while.

"Like I said, no one is worth refusing to see him, Besides, someone needs to take care of Dad" he told me and drank some more beer. "He shouldn't be stuck with just Natalie as company"

"I'd rather watch the game here" I grabbed a pizza slice. "Her dog asks for freebies, then that damn cat lets her legs dangle in front of the T.V."

"At least Natalie doesn't really bug us" Don pointed out. "She just reads one of her little novels"

"Come to think of it, she kinda ignores us sometimes." I added.

"Yeah..."

"I should have set him up with Eva when I had the chance!" I grumbled.

"What?" Don gave me a what the hell look. He had met Eva when he investigated Finn Mongomery's death.

"Larry suggested it once, but I ignored him, thought he was joking..." I shook my head. "Eva may be tough but.. .she's smart, shares some of Dad's viewsand..."

"Is not Natalie!" Don rolled his eyes. "That's the only reason you're even riding that train of thought."

I rolled my eyes and drank some more beer.

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Suddenly, the cell phone rang and I answered. To my surprise, it was Natalie.

"Is Dad okay?" I asked. Why else would she call?

"Not since Charlie stopped coming around or at least calling!" she said. "Could you talk to him?" Man, it sucks to be stuck in the middle. Why did she have to call me?

"I have" I told her. "He just needs time." She didn't need to know all the gory details.

"Look, if I'm the reason he's not coming around, tell him that we can arrange something."

"You'd do that?" I asked in surprise, though I knew the only arrangement that would make Charlie totally happy would be a breakup.

"No one should go without being with their kids." she insisted. Guess she couldn't handle the pressure and the guilt.

"Dad's gonna notice" I pointed out.

"Charlie could at least come on the days I'm working late!" she said. "Alan misses him!"

"I'll uh...tell him your proposal" I promised, though I doubted he would take it.

"Thanks."

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"Who was that?" I asked when Don hung up.

"Natalie" he told me. "She says that you could at least come when she's working late."

"Why should I only get to see my Dad on her schedule?" I demanded.

"You're the one who doesn't wanna visit him at all because of her!" Don said. "She was just suggesting a compromise."

"Let's focus on the game!" I grumbled.

On Monday, as I neared Larry's office, I was surprised to hear Natalie's voice. I stayed just outside to listen.

"Alan's very upset" she told him. "I can see it in his eyes."

"I can imagine" Larry said.

"Maybe you could talk to Charlie?"

"I could try" Larry promised. Why did he have to side with her? Why was she butting in? Angrily, I went into the office.

"Who do you think you are?"I snapped. "You're the one causing problems, then you talk to everyone behind my back?"

"You're the petty one! I wouldn't let anyone be the reason for not seeing my father!" she glared at me.

"I uh...need to go to a ah..class" Larry uncomfortably excused himself.

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This guy was a brat! Man!

"You're the one splitting this family apart!" Charlie snorted. How dare he?

"Your brother was mature enough to put aside any issues he had with me and visit Alan, why can't you do the same?" I asked him. This wasn't the first time the children of a man I was dating disliked me. I've learnt to take it in stride and try not to interfere with the father/child bonds.

"Maybe he wants to make sure you don't take total advantage of Dad." He snapped.

What the hell? I was starting to get angrier.

"Take advantage? Who was the guy who made his dad spend the night in a hotel so that he could work on a project?"

"Who gets treated like a queen by my father only to go around stealing cats on him!" His voice got louder.

Just then, his cell phone rang and he answered it. From his side of the conversation, I could tell that it was Don.

"I gotta go" he said after closing the phone. With that he walked away.

I warned. "This isn't the end of it!"

TBC