EPILOGUE

Alan dropped the casserole he had been taking out of the oven, and chicken tettrazzini lay mostly in a lump at his feet. Some noodles clung to Charlie's shoes, he noted. He looked up from them to his youngest's face. His eyes traveled to Amita, smiling next to Charlie.

"You did what?" He looked desperately at Don. "They did what?"

Charlie took a step forward, skidded a little in the pasta and clutched at his father's shoulder, then continued to wrap his arms around him and grace him with one of the greetings Don had received at the airport.

"I married her," he whispered into Alan's ear, still hugging him. "She married me."

Alan pushed Charlie back. "In Vegas? At one of those dumpy chapels?"

Charlie laughed. "In Vegas, yes, but not in one of those dumpy chapels. City Hall. Marriage division is open 7 days a week,"

"But…But…I could have planned such a nice wedding…"

"We're counting on you doing a reception, Dad. Sometime this summer. After we coordinate with Amita's parents, about when they can come from India."

Alan suddenly couldn't stop smiling. "Amita, daughter, come here," he said, and she fell willingly into his embrace.

"Alan," she said to him seriously as they broke, "part of the life Charlie promised me was that you would stay here in the house with us. In India, it's unheard of for the generations to live apart unless they have to. I would so treasure it if you would stay."

"Absolutely," Charlie added. "It's one of the first things we talked about. We both want you here."

"It will be crowded," Alan began.

"No, no," Charlie assured him. "We'll do some remodeling, maybe. It will be perfect." He looked at Don across the table. "We want you to know you're as welcome as ever, too. Whenever you fall asleep watching the game with Dad, after dinner. We don't want any of that to change. We're just…adding a new dimension."

Don looked at his father, who was embracing Amita again, tears squeezing out his closed eyes. He looked back at Charlie. He couldn't trust himself to speak, so he just nodded and smiled, turned to get the broom and dustpan. He cleaned up for awhile before he took a chance on his voice.

"So I guess this was dinner."

Alan leaned to help him, laughing. "I think we can do better than that, tonight. We'll find somewhere to go celebrate." They stood together and Don took the dustpan from his father, dumped the chicken and pasta in the trash can. He looked at Alan when he turned back, saw Charlie and Amita in the background, sitting across from each other at the kitchen table, holding hands.

"This is…unbelievable," he said quietly.

Alan hugged him briefly. "Believe it. Enjoy it. It can happen." He looked Don in the eye. "It will happen. For you. If you let it." He turned and looked at Charlie and his new daughter, laughed a little when he turned back to Don. "I just never thought Charlie would be the one who taught you how to jump off a cliff."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

FINIS