 In Austin, Whitman's mother took a job in a cafeteria and moved into her own apartment, though she remained in close contact with Charles.Whitman's father later said he had spent more than a thousand dollars ($ in ) on long-distance phone calls to both his wife and Charles, begging his wife to return and asking his son to convince her to come back.During this stressful time, Whitman was abusing amphetamines and began experiencing severe headaches, which he described as being "tremendous".