Well, I invented a random guy to marry Casey Conway, Charlie's mother. I think I'll change that, though. She won't end up marrying Dave since Charlie hates it.

Chapter 3: "You can't, Mom! You can't!"

By the time I got back home, Mom was back from work but my excitement didn't die down.

"What on earth are you so excited about, honey?"

"Mom, you'll never believe what's happened!" Like seriously, she can't guess. So I tell her. "Mom, Coach Bombay got us, the Ducks, to play for the Junior Goodwill Games! Isn't that so cool?!"

"Oh, Charlie I'm so happy for you!"

We both laughed out aloud. "When do you guys leave?" Mom asked, with a hint of worry.

"In two weeks." I knew she'd be like this. I added, "Don't worry Mom, I'll be fine. We'll just be going for a while or so, then after we win, I'll back in no time!" She giggled at my confidence. "And anyway, I'm one who's supposed to be worrying about you. Who's gonna take care of you?"

"There is ... erm, something I wanted to talk about." A bit more serious now. She takes a deep breath and I sense that she's going to tell me something important. "Dave and I have been dating for the past year and a half. Well, he asked me to marry him."

She waited and watched for my opinion. I was more or less disturbed but I didn't let it show on the inside. Initial reactions were going to be "What?!" "Why?!" "What about me?" "No!" "What about the two of us?" Instead I closed my mouth and swallowed for a moment, then said, "Oh. Uh.. when?"

"Today. He asked me this afternoon; it's why I got back early, so I could tell you and ask your opinion."

Clearly she expected me to be pleased. I didn't mind, but I didn't particularly like the guy. Not like Bombay. He's the closest adult to me apart from Mom.

"Well, what did you say?" I said, trying to stall for time.

"I said, I'd think about it and ask you. Well, Dave told me to go home, think about it, and ask you."

The fact that Dave cares about what I think surprises me a little. A little lost for words, I sighed, "Umm.. that's great mom. You want to marry Dave, right?" All I want is her to be happy. If my mom's happy, then I'm fine, I guess.

I sat silent at the table while Mom went and made dinner. I was pondering about the whole marriage thing. Why couldn't things just stay the same way as they were before? But I told myself, I want Mom to be happy. And if marrying Dave makes her happy, then so be it.

But then a little voice, I had no idea existed, said quietly at first, what about me?

What about me? I knew, if I wasn't happy then Mom would never be. My thoughts about Dave - he wasn't that bad, but neither did I want him to be my father. And even if he married Mom he wouldn't seem like my father as much as Bombay did.

My uncertainty deepened to a dislike which I fueled with my thoughts. I added up the pros and cons. I didn't like the way Dave kept calling me "kiddo" even when I didn't like it. Or this thing he has for football, and the fact that he cares nothing for hockey. Those were the big cons. The pros were that he wasn't exactly like the other men that saw interest in my mother, then, when they took sight of me, went dashing away madly in the opposite direction. Dave had an ex-wife and a daughter of his own. Samantha was alright. Didn't know anything about hockey, which is a huge thing on my list of must-haves, though. I suppose Dave wasn't afraid of me like most men because he was used to being around children.

But there was also this fact that Dave hadn't even moved in with us yet; I hardly knew the guy. Well, comparing him to the only other adult I knew, Coach Bombay seemed much more of a father-figure to me than Dave had ever been.

"Charlie?"

I was awoken from my silent thoughts.

"Mm?"

"Charlie is something wrong? Something you want to tell me about?" Mom sounds concerned which is typical of her since she's always worrying about me. I'm the only one she's got, she tells me. But that could all change if she got married.

"Go on..."

This was my chance! This was my chance on telling Mom what a terrible mistake she would be making if she married Dave. I opened my mouth to tell her but held back, not trying to yell at her or accuse her of anything. Oh, nuts, I've gone mute.

"What is it?" She urged me.

I took a deep breath a let it all out - a bit too much, I think.

"Mom, you can't marry Dave!"

Shock and hurt was her response. "What?!"

"Please, Mom, you can't marry Dave! You can't!" All of a sudden, there are tears in my eyes, threatening to stream down my face and I'm pleading with her. "You don't understand! I don't even know the guy! What if he changes his mind? What if you decide to get married but he leaves you at the aisle? What if you guys do end up married but he hates me? Or I hate him? Or he leaves you because of me? What if he hurts you, Mom?"

I know I could end up grounded for my words, or even worse, Mom could end up getting married anyway.

Mom's lips are trembling but she speaks anyway.

"Go to your room, Charlie. Please don't speak like that about Dave, he only means well. I'm going to make a phone call." she says, very quietly.

I give a sniff and run away to my room and I think, now you've done it. She's completely mad at you and you haven't changed a thing.

I drop onto my bed and sob into my pillow, silently, wishing that I'd just kept my mouth shut, then Mom would've been happy, I would've been happy for her, and we could've eaten dinner like normal; just the two of us, chatting. But now our lifelong partnership is ruined as a third force threatens to join us, for good or evil, I don't know. I just know that I'm a stupid idiot for blurting out like that and -

"Hello?"

I listen in to Mom's phone call obviously to Dave.

"Hi Dave. Well, I talked it over with him." A pause. ".. no ... no... I'm afraid he thinks it's too sudden. I just don't think we're ready yet." Another short pause. "I'm sorry, Dave. We can't get married yet. Yes... yes ... no, I'm sorry." A few more words are exchanged. "...Well, thankyou for being so understanding." Her voice isn't happy at all. She's upset, I can tell. "Yes, goodbye. Love you too." She hangs up the phone and turns around. I can see through the crack of my door that she has tears running down her face and I hate myself for putting them there.

Mom sees me watching her, as she never misses a thing and beckons me to come to her. I come silently out of my room and she takes me in her arms. "There. I've done it. We won't be marrying any time soon." Her voice is muffled in the back of my head. I know I should be at least a little joyful but I can't because my mother is still sad.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't know what I was doing." Now it's me who has tears down his face. I'm crying into her neck and she hugs me, just like she used to when I was little, when I ran into her room at night because of a nightmare.

"There there," she comforts me, "there's no need to cry. I just wanted you to be happy."

At this sentence I sob even harder for I now, know the real damage that I've done. My self-hate turns to self-loathing as I realise that if anything could make Mom happy, it was marrying Dave.

At night I lie in bed, thinking. I'm a lousy, lousy son. I break down into tears again. If something happens to Mom, I think I'll just kill myself. And through the whole night I cry myself to sleep, my tears mingled with sadness, self-hate, and guilt, because even though Mom's hurting so much right now, I still wanted, more than anything, Bombay to be my dad.

To be continued...

Hockeypuck :P.