15 minute challenge "Ghost"
"Richard Feynman's Ghost"
14 minutes
372 words
one confession

Charlie and Don had confronted Alan about the bong Charlie had found, and Alan had admitted to having designed and built it. Now, after dinner, the three men sat in the living room, the sons waiting for the father to tell them the whole story.

Alan took a sip of the beer Don had so thoughtfully provided. Probably trying to loosen his old man's tongue, Alan thought. "I'll tell you the whole story, boys, but first I need to know one thing."

"What's that?" Don asked.

"Charlie, you said you recognized the bong for what it was immediately. May I ask where you acquired such an easy familiarity with drug paraphernalia?"

Charlie chuckled nervously and glanced at Don for help.

Instead of coming to his rescue, his Fed brother leaned forward. "Yeah, Chuck, how do you know so much about bongs?"

Charlie sighed. "All right. It happened in Princeton..."

"Your mother was supposed to be keeping an eye on you, young man," Alan scolded.

"She did. But she wasn't with me 24/7, Father. Larry got me interested in reading Richard Feynman's writings. After I read some of his lectures, I came across his autobiography."

Alan nodded. "Surely, You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, right?"

"Very good. Anyway, you remember how I told you that I was trying to make sense of all the different aspects of my life, and that I didn't have a lot of great role models."

"I remember that conversation. You mentioned Einstein divorcing his wife and marrying his cousin."

"Ew," Don said. "Chuck, you're not related to Amita, are you?"

Charlie gave Don a withering gaze and continued. "Well, Feynman got involved in experimenting with sensory deprivation tanks and the hallucinations they produced. He mentioned smoking marijuana as a shortcut to the hallucinations. And since I didn't have access to a sensory deprivation tank..."

"You chose the next best thing." Alan shook his head as he sipped his beer. "You always were curious."

Charlie smiled at his father. "I trust you mean that in the best possible way."

"Oh, of course I do, son." He glanced at the bong. "I wonder what your mother thinks about this."

Don chuckled. "She probably was disappointed he didn't use the family bong."