“That’s a really great commercial,” I said to Charlie.
“What commercial?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said. “I forgot you can’t see that far. I’m talking about the one on the television at the bar. It’s about a man and his daughter playing basketball together. It’s a wonderful message about parents bonding with their children. The message is that they grow up fast and you should spend all of the time that you can with them when they are young.”
“I guess so,” Charlie said. “My dad was always working. He bonded with me by working me like a slave and kicking my butt if I slowed down.”
“My dad worked all the time, too,” I said. “Whenever he got a chance, though, he would come out to the football or baseball game or whatever sport I was playing. I’ll never forget when he took me out for my first drink.”
“I can remember taking Charles Junior out for his first drink,” Charlie said.
“You do?”
“Yeah. I took him to a little neighborhood bar not too far away from our house. I bought him a Budweiser but he didn’t like it so I had to drink it. Then I bought him a shot of schnapps but he didn’t care for that so I had to drink it.”
“That boy was a picky drinker back then,” I said.
“That was just the beginning,” Charlie said. “I got him rum and coke and he didn’t want it. Then I tried some things like daiquiris and margaritas. When he didn’t drink them I had to keep them from going to waste.”
“It sounds like you had to drink a lot of alcohol,” I said.
“I did,” Charlie said. “I got so drunk I could barely push his stroller back home.”
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