Charlie
Don isn't telling me something. I know it! He went from being as curious as I was to taking a sit and wait attitude. All in one day! Why is he lying? Why tell me that he didn't get to see Natalie, when it is obvious that he did? He tells me about the marriage before Dad does, not about what he found out from Natalie.
So, I decided to go to Dad's office. I knew he'd be there alone, as Stan had taken the week off to visit his newest grandkid. To my horror, as I got in, there was a large box with a picture of a crib. Dad admired it. Oh crap! It was true! I kicked the box to get his attention.
"Uh...Charlie..." he looked uncomfortable.
"Are you insane???? What are you thinking???" I started in a loud voice.
"Charlie..."
"THIS IS NOT WHAT MOM MEANT BY MOVING ON!" I yelled. "YOU SHOULD BE BUYING GOLF CLUBS NOT CRIBS!!!"
"Nat and I weren't planning on the baby" Dad told me softly. "But that's life."
"Don't you realize that..."
"I've thought about it..." Dad interrupted as if he knew what I was going to say.
"Why did you lie to me and Don??" I demanded angrily and with hurt.
"Well.." Dad began carefully and paused. "See, statistically, miscarriages happen most often during the first three or four months. So, it's better to wait a bit on making an announcement just in case."
"This crib looks nicer than mine" I complained, as it was still in the garage. This whole situation bothered me. It looked like Dad wanted to start over and forget about mom.
"Charlie, your mother and I were living on her income when she was pregnant with your brother" he said as an excuse. "And I was in my last year of grad school!"
"Does Don know?" I asked sharply. Why was I always the last to find out stuff??
"He found out from Nat..." he replied gingerly as I got angrier. "He wanted to tell you, but I made him promise to let me handle it."
"Is the baby the reason you guys got married?" Were we talking about a shotgun wedding????
"No! We didn't even know Nat was pregnant!" Dad said impatiently.
"So you just decided to marry her out of the blue?" I asked doubtfully.
"Can't you be happy for us?" he started to get annoyed.
I complained. "Mom wanted you to meet lots of new people, not marry and have a kid with the first woman you got serious about!"
Before Dad could respond, a familiar voice remarked, with a deadpan "So, I'm to be an aunt again?"
TBC
