Dots

Problems

Paul is not sure if it's just the mid life crisis or the whiskey, but his dad is paranoid.
"That bloody idiot, he's a bloody idiot and that bloody idiot is my cousin!"
Paul stares and listens quietly to his dad yelling, bumbling and rambling on about his distant uncle.
Paul is the tech savvy smart one of the family and it's times like this, that he wishes he wasn't.
"... He's bloody jealous, classic family jealousy! He sees how much I'm earning and he's taking advantage of it! He basically owns my network and he has me by the-"
Paul blanks out again.
He doesn't want to hear the end of that sentence. He doesn't want to hear what his dad is rambling on about at all really. It's one thing when people ask him for technical advise, it's a another when they keep pulling conspiracies out of thin air, veiled in the lingering scent of alcohol. However, Paul is good at solving problems. It's practically his job and if he had a super power, problem solving was it.
With great power though... You know the rest.

Carefully, Paul explains to his father as much as he can. He puts it in simple terms, without trying to aggravate him even more ( aggravation is more his sister's line of expertise when it comes to dealing with their father). He's doing pretty good and his dad has stopped swearing. Progress.

Then his dad picks up the phone and the next thing Paul knows, his dad is calling his cousin. This is not a good sign but Paul doesn't have the energy to deal with his dad's problems anymore so he sighs and retreats to his room.
He flips onto his bed and the hum of his dad's voice penetrates the door.
Paul wonders if that will be him at his dad's age. A paranoid old man.

Paul then ponders the situation:
Maybe his uncle is stealing from his dad...
Maybe his dad is just struggling with money...
Maybe Paul needs to move out of the house and get a job.
Because Paul solves problems.
Everyone's problems but his own.