Chapter 29

By the end of the day, Charlie was ready to let Amita call a taxi for their return trip to the inn. They sat on a bench outside of Fine Hall, waiting for the cab. Charlie leaned his head back against the bench and smiled sleepily. "What a great day," he said. "What did you think of Bernie Rumpole's presentation? I thought he showed some great insight."

"I thought he was rude and pretentious," Amita said. She laughed at Charlie's expression. "But brilliant. How are you feeling, Charlie?"

"Tired. But other than that I feel fine. I ate most of my lunch and dinner, and didn't feel too bad afterwards. I can't believe I'm going to have a chance to give my presentation after all this. It seems like it's been weeks and it's only been three days."

"You certainly are sounding chipper, Charles," Larry said as he sat on the bench next to Charlie. "I'm glad you're feeling better, and it's wonderful that you'll be able to do your presentation. Are you sure you feel up to it?"

"Yes, but I'm going to have to go through it tonight just to make sure. To be honest, I am a little nervous."

"Charlie, you don't have to be nervous. You'll do just fine." She paused as the taxi arrived. After they had settled in for the ride, she continued, "You know, Charlie, if you'd like, I can go through your talk with you tonight."

"I'd like that," he said, putting his arm around her and smiling.

"Charles," Larry's voice carried a note of questioning blended with warning.

"What? No! We're going to be doing math."

"One plus one, perhaps?" Larry said, grinning.

"Larry, you have a dirty mind," Charlie scolded. Suddenly, he remembered. "Damn. I have to pick up my suit at the dry cleaner. Amita, do you have the ticket?" When she handed it to him, Charlie tapped on the glass behind the driver's head. "Excuse me, we need to make a detour." He read the address to the driver, who pulled a u-turn to the annoyed honking of drivers all around him. Charlie sat back in his seat, looking rather pale. "That was a little scary."

The rest of the trip to the dry cleaner and then on to the inn passed uneventfully. Charlie lifted the plastic and examined his suit. "Perfect," he said as they pulled to the curb in front of the inn. Charlie paid and tipped the driver and they entered.

Ms. Lindsay smiled at them as they entered. "You're looking a lot better, Dr. Eppes. How are you feeling?"

"A little tired, but very well, thanks." They all went to Charlie's room, where he hung up his suit and made sure he had a clean shirt and tie for the next day's festivities.

Amita nodded her approval. "You'll be the most dashing mathematician there, Charlie. I've always liked that tie."

"You should. You gave it to me." Charlie booted his computer. His cell phone rang, and he glanced at the caller ID screen. "Hey, Bro. How was the flight?" he answered with a grin.

"Charlie, what were you thinking? That upgrade was too expensive. We swapped back to coach. You'll see the credit..."

"Don! What the hell?! I wanted you and Dad to be comfortable..."

"I'm kidding, Chuck. Gotcha."

"What? Don!" Charlie sputtered.

"Calm down. You'll blow a gasket. I just wanted to thank you. That was very nice, and Dad and I really appreciate it."

Charlie took a deep breath and released it noisily. "You're welcome. It was the least I could do."

"So, anything new?"

"Yeah," Charlie grinned, "one of the other professors canceled, and I get to do my presentation after all."

"That's great. Too bad Dad and I couldn't be there to see it. Of course, we wouldn't have understood anything past 'good morning.'"

Charlie laughed. "You're a lot more teachable than you think, Bro. I think I could get you to understand convergence improvement in, say, half an hour."

"Okay, Buddy. Maybe we'll put that to the test when you get home. Hey, our baggage is coming. Gotta go. Thanks again, Charlie, and take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will, Don. See you Sunday." After he closed his phone he noticed Larry and Amita staring at him. "When I booked their flight I upgraded them to first class and didn't tell them. Don started out by telling me they downgraded back to coach."

"They didn't!" Amita said. "Out of spite?"

"He was pulling my chain. They used the first class seats, and he just wanted to tell me how much they appreciated it."

Larry was shaking his head, "Charles, I can understand why Alan has gray hair. Dealing with the two of you..."

"We're not that bad. Now," Charlie tapped a few keys on his computer and deftly changed the subject, "Okay, here's where I wanted to start with my presentation."

The next morning, Charlie was awake, showered, dressed and tapping on Larry's door before Larry even woke up. "Charles!" Larry said as he opened the door, "What are you doing up so early?"

"Sorry. I was just too excited to sleep."

"I can see that. Well, come in, have a seat and let me get ready."

Charlie perched on the corner of Larry's desk in an effort to stay out of the way. He drummed a rhythm on the desk as Larry gathered his things and headed to the bathroom. Once Larry was in the shower, Charlie began pacing, muttering his presentation to himself. There was a tapping on the door, and he went to open it.

Amita stood in the hallway, surprised. "Charlie! What are you doing here? I just checked your room to make sure you were up."

"I'm up, and I can't sit still. Too excited. Do I look okay?"

Amita smiled. "You look great, Charlie. Perfect."

Charlie blinked and stepped back to let Amita into the room. "Uh, thanks. You look very nice. But you always look nice. I mean..."

"Shh" Amita put her finger to Charlie's lips. "No caffeine for you this morning." She looked around. "Now, where's Larry?"

"In the shower. I should warn him you're here."

"Maybe I'll just go back to my room. Come get me when he's decent."

When Amita left, Charlie went back to pacing until Larry came out of the bathroom. "Charles! Please perch yourself someplace. You're making me dizzy. Did I hear Amita's voice a few minutes ago?'

"Yes, you did. She's ready to go to breakfast any time you are. She also told me I couldn't have any caffeine."

"She's a very smart woman, Charles. You must pay attention to what she says. You are a hyperkinetic dervish this morning. You don't want to burn yourself out before we get to the conference."

Charlie grinned and attempted to stay still until Larry was ready. He failed miserably.

"Charles, stop that infernal tapping now. I am ready. Let's go get Amita."

After breakfast, they walked to Fine Hall. "Isn't it a beautiful day?" Charlie asked as they stepped out into the sunlight. You know, back home we take weather like this for granted. But here, you develop an appreciation for warm, sunny days."

Amita gave Charlie's hand a squeeze. "I get the impression you really enjoyed yourself here."

"That's the funny thing. I didn't really. While I was an undergraduate, I was too caught up in all that teenage angst crap. I was only 13. Everybody else was older. I lived with my mom," he rolled his eyes. "How many college freshmen are accompanied by their mothers? It wasn't until later that I started to appreciate what a great place this really is. I wish I'd taken advantage of all it has to offer. But that's water over the bridge. Uh, under the bridge. Over the dam. Whatever. You know, if you two would like, I thought of something fun we could do tomorrow."

Amita glanced at Charlie, suppressing a grin, "A trip to White Castle?"

Charlie grimaced. "No. How about Menlo Park?"

Larry brightened, "The home of Thomas Alva Edison. Charles, that would be wonderful."

Charlie shrugged. "I had to think of something that two mathematicians and a physicist would enjoy. I thought of going into New York City, but this seemed like a more relaxing way to spend our last day here. Or we can just hang out here if you'd rather."

"No," Amita said, "the museum sounds like fun. Is it far from here?"

"About forty five minutes each way."

"That's almost all the way to Newark," Amita said.

"Yeah, but they're closed Sunday, so we couldn't stop on the way to the airport. I already checked. Like I said, it's up to you."

They both turned to look at Larry. "Well, I for one would love to go. And are you forgetting that we live in Los Angeles, which pretty much means we live in our cars anyway? Forty five minutes each way, relatively speaking is nothing."