Chapter 21: Malibu
We pulled up to Charlie's place in Malibu.
"Huh, nice place," Mitchell remarked, glancing at the entrance.
Claire swatted his arm. "Focus, Mitchell."
I pressed the doorbell, and Charlie opened almost immediately.
"Hey, Jake, buddy," he greeted, trying for a friendly tone as he lifted his hand halfway.
"Hi, Charlie," I responded evenly, giving his arm a pat. A high-five only works naturally with someone like Phil (goofy style) - and Charlie clearly wasn't, given how awkward it looked.
"Gloria Pritchett, Jake's new mother," Gloria introduced herself, since basically no one else had spoken up at the soccer field
"Jay Pritchett," Jay stated with a firm grip that made Charlie flinch. "The brother of the woman you got pregnant."
"Claire Dunphy. I'm his cousin, though more often treated like an aunt," Claire added, wearing her signature judgmental face.
I could see Charlie reacting as he looked at Claire's face (she had certain features that reminded of my mother).
"And I'm Mitchell," Mitch introduced himself awkwardly, since everyone else had shown hostility. "Her brother - and his son," he clarified, pointing at Claire and Jay.
"Alright… I'm Charlie Harper," Charlie said, tugging the man beside him forward. "And this is my brother, Alan."
"Hello, I'm Alan," he replied with a tight smile.
"Come in, let's sit in the kitchen," Charlie motioned.
We made our way through the living room, catching sight of the deck overlooking the ocean, before gathering around the kitchen table.
"So…" Charlie began, attempting to break the silence.
"Her name was Eleanor Pritchett," I revealed my mother's name. "She was forty-four at the time, and she worked as a lawyer."
I noticed him searching his memory until his eyes grew wide, and he muttered silently, "Ohhh…"
"And my full name is Francis Jacob Pritchett," I continued.
"It's Charlie's middle name," Alan pointed out.
"It's also Jay's middle name," Gloria retorted.
"Okay, okay, that's enough," I looked at my family, who were being quite defensive. "I don't think Charlie carries that much blame in this one.
Even if he misled her somehow, she was forty-four years old," I emphasized. "She should've been more than mature enough."
"The age gap is like me and Claire," I compared.
"I'm thirty-nine, Jake," Claire snapped.
"Yeah, Aunt Claire, that one year makes all the difference," I shot back, then added, "Anyway, it was my mother's choice to move across the country and raise me on her own."
"For what it's worth, I was never told anything," Charlie looked at me seriously.
I nodded, "We can do a quick DNA test at a private lab; the results could be ready within two days, though it wouldn't be legally valid."
"I'm not here for any of your money, Charlie," I concluded
"Jake, can I talk to you for a second?" Charlie stood up.
I nodded, and as I was rising, Gloria squeezed my hand. I whispered a quiet gracias to her.
"Alan, entertain our guests," Charlie told his brother, then opened the door leading to the deck.
Alan looked at Charlie in disbelief, then at the unfriendly faces that most of my family were making (except Mitchell). He wore an expression like a man walking to the gallows.
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"Look, kid… Jake… I wasn't exactly planning to be anyone's father. Still not. But I really want to be a part of this," Charlie gestured between us.
"It's okay, we'll take the test today and wait for the results. I'm not here to bulldoze anyone's life. If it gets too complicated, I'll just walk away," I considered aloud.
Seeing that Charlie didn't know what else to say, I changed the subject.
"It's a nice deck, probably works wonders bringing women here," I leaned against the wooden railing and looked out at the ocean.
"You have no idea," Charlie smirked, leaning right beside me.
"You know what," he turned to me, "it doesn't matter what the results say. You clearly could pass as my son, even if you're not."
"We can do so much together," he smiled and waved at a girl walking past the house.
"I have a girlfriend," I replied unfazed, then I murmured, "but not for long…"
"Want to talk about it?"
"Nothing much to say. She's going to Yale, New Haven, Connecticut," I admitted, speaking of Brenda.
"Hmm, are you into the nerdy ones?" He smirked at me again.
"Not really, but I wouldn't mind either. To be fair, in this case, I thought Brenda was just a cute girl," I revealed, making him laugh.
We talked a bit more, then I nudged Charlie, "let's go back," and gave a little wave to Claire and Gloria, who looked like doting mothers watching us from the glass door.
When we came inside, we found Jay already on the couch watching a basketball game.
Even more surprising, Mitchell and Alan were chatting as if they were old buddies.
"What just happened here?" I asked, looking a bit puzzled.
"So, did you two bond together?" Gloria placed her hand on me eagerly. She's all about family relationship.
"Gloria, they were only there for a few minutes," Claire snorted. "And we still need confirmation… even if the two of them are basically identical." She gave us both a thorough once-over.
"Mitchell and I have so many similar interests," Alan jumped in, excited.
"Yeah, glad Mitchell made another purple friend," Jay added with his usual cynicism as he came closer.
"Dad," Mitchell scolded immediately.
Alan looked strangely, then with sudden realization, "Wait, I'm not gay!"
"Really?" This time it was Mitchell who seemed surprised. "I thought your marriage ended because of that."
"That is my wife, she is the gay one" Alan insisted.
"Ex-wife," Charlie corrected, earning a sharp glare from Alan.
Seems like he still has some hope of getting her back (which is weird, since he just said his ex-wife likes chicks).
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