Charlie's Son-In-Law

I went to Charlie
Because I found the bottles
In the cabinets

Bottles everywhere
And I knew...

I knew that he'd had a problem
And that his mother had a problem
And I know that kind of stuff can be genetic
And I was worried

I was worried about my wife

But I also couldn't tell her
I was going to see Charlie
Because she would have killed me
Because she and her father hadn't spoken
In years--about anything

We met at a diner
And I told him
I told him about the bottles
Because I didn't know what to do
And he told me

He said, 'You have to get her help.  Right away.'

I thought maybe there was a misunderstanding
Maybe they were from something else
I started backtracking
But he got really tough with me
And said--

'She's my daughter.  There's a history here.  She needs to get help.'

So I went home
And when she got back from the grocery store
I asked her about the bottles
And she got all defensive
And said it was none of my business

Then I went into the car
And I found bags from the liquor store
And I asked her about them
And she slapped me

Right across the face

I was shocked
I didn't know what to do
She'd never done that

She'd never hurt anyone
You don't know my wife
She's tough, but...

I went into the bedroom
And I just sat down
On the edge of the bed
In one of those 'what the hell do I do now' moments, you know?

Like--'when the hell did this become my life?'

She was sitting in the kitchen
Crying, saying 'sorry'
But not coming to me
Not coming anywhere near the bedroom
Because...

Who knows

I mean...

Yeah who knows

I called Charlie
And I told him what happened
And a couple of minutes later
There was a knock on the door
And I heard her answer it
Then I heard all this screaming

I run into the kitchen
And there's Charlie
Holding her
Like, he's got her by the arms

I went to grab him
But he told me to back off
So I just stayed where I was

And she's screaming at me
Saying I betrayed her
And how could I do this
And how does he think he can do anything for her
He's just a lousy drunk

And she's flailing
And he's pulling her back
Back into the driveway
Where his car is

And after a few minutes
He gets her in the back seat
And shuts the door

Then he walks up to me
And says I'll see her again
In a few weeks
And he gets in the car
And drives off

I know I should panic or something
But I'm just shocked
I'm just, totally shocked

A few weeks later
A taxi pulls up
And she gets out
And I go to hug her
And she says 'No'

Just like that
Just 'No'

Eventually she came around
But for a few days
We didn't talk at all

She'd come and go
And I'd just sort of sit
And wait for some explanation
About what happened

I never got the explanation

All I got was a warning
The first time after we made love
Months later

'Don't ever call my father again.'

I said 'Okay' and that was that

Just another deal you make, you know
Another thing you agree to

I was just happy she stopped drinking

I don't know what Charlie did
To make it stop
But it worked

I think Charlie and his daughter
Are more alike
Than either of them
Would like to admit
But I guess that's not my business to say

What I will say is that I'm sorry
I didn't try to get them to reconcile before he died

When he was hauling her off into that car
She was like a wild animal
And he held onto her

He held her so tight
I could see it

I could see in his face
That he wasn't going to let her go

It's funny when you can see love like that
In a moment of violence
And hysteria

I saw how much Charlie loved his daughter

I just wish she could have seen it too