Kitt

Invites the bear to dance in my back yard - at night and inside the confines of our privacy fence. More than twice the average annual snowfall in our area is quite enough!

Thanks Lisa! The old man seems to like talking - maybe he will talk enough to write it down.

LMAO! Yes, I do take it all as a supreme compliment! Perhaps you should not go back and read last years prompts tho. That little voice just shuts up when I get to about a chapter worth. There is only one story so far that managed 3 chapters, although Hil and the old man have whispered at me a bit more, just not enough to publish yet. Maybe I should introduce them! Thank you Mickey!

lol - If I could get that little voice to ramble that far do you think I would have stopped here? We shall see - maybe he will be cooperative for a change. Let me go look at the prompt list...

Thank you Ron. The shop in the story has sat on that main street unchanged since i was about 8 years old. Perhaps next time I drive through I'll take a photo and post it.

Interesting to see Gathan not just parrot what Wally has been saying about Zach for a change. Perhaps he realizes it is time to look at Zach and see what is there and not what he thinks should be there. I would love to have been a bug on the wall when Frank and Wally got into it about Zach. And no blow up from Will about the gal and needing a condom? The boy is growing up. Saying there will be no blame in a situation like that and actually dealing with it are two very different things. Now, correct me if I am mistaken, but Wally is actually Zachs father isn't he? Will be interesting if he decided that Zach has to return to Ohio. I doubt there would be any legal standing for Frank to assume custody, and unless there is a whole lot more happening than Mark has shown us so far I don't see another emancipation on the horizon.

The Shop Briar looked up and down the street. It was horribly cold and there was no one about. The main drag in town was usually bustling with activity, but with the temperatures well below freezing, no one wanted to be outside any longer than necessary. A huge square delivery truck turned the corner and tossed a bundle of newspaper out the passenger side door, slamming it shut again as fast as he could in an attempt to maintain at least some of the feeble heat the old relic

Oh my! Talk about major changes! Guess we don't get to see ALL the drama in this family up front. That must have been one whopper fight between Frank and Wally to get Isadore to agree to buying a place near the school Zach will be attending and move out of Escorial, even if it is only a part time move and only temporary! If I beg "Pretty Please?" might we get a guest narration early in the next book filling us in on just how this came about? Why would Wally suddenly want to drag Zach back to Ohio? Just what is his motivation for ripping the kid apart all the time? He had obviously managed to get Gathan to believe his version of Zach's football career, as evidenced by how impressed big brother was in spite of Will, Brad and Frank singing praises all this time. I get the feeling there is a whole lot more going on here than we are seeing. Makes me want to dig deeper! As usual a fantastic chapter Mark! While you are so busy tying up loose threads to end 911 - you are creating entire skeins for the next book. Something tells me I had best take a few minutes between the two to check safety restraints on this roller coaster!

And you tease me about leaving people wanting more? LOL it's nice to see this time there is more coming! Can't wait!

Chris and his "brothers" certainly do lend themselves to tons of speculation. I can't wait to see where you are going with this!

Well said Westie! I don't think anyone not involved in the editorial/beta process has any idea just how hard it is to restrict oneself to discussing the material that has been published and not let little bits of what is to come sneak into the conversation. All of the people on Mark's team does an admirable job of that!

Hmmm- not a surprise that Wade has had enough of Matt's particular brand of "love", at least for a while. While it is sad, perhaps some time apart will spur a bit of emotional growth for Matt. As far as them being completely over? Never say never. It took a couple decades for it to happen but Stef and JP finally came back together. I have to say, I am surprised that Will did not loose his temper at being told Wally did not want him at the game. He said he would speak to Zach about it. I can't say that had that I been in the situation I wouldn't have called the airport and told them to expect me right after school. Thank you for the latest in a long line of enjoyable reading. You truly deserve the distinction of being the author of the most reviewed story on GA.

Being the most reviewed story on GA lends itself to a couple other possible milestones, most read for example. Thank you for producing such a terrific story that keeps us coming back and talking about it time and again! It's no mean feat to have replied to all those reviews either!

Good lord Russ, don't advertising agencies get enough bad ideas all on their own???

While Mark is certainly quite capable of handling things all by himself, he has CHOSEN to include several people in the creative and editorial process. In the end what Mark wants Mark gets, we get an enjoyable story, and Mark gets a little help along the way. I call that a win-win and if some people get a feeling of accomplishment from having contributed I see nothing wrong with that! In fact, I enjoy the glimpses we get into the research and discussion that goes on. If someone does NOT enjoy it, I suggest they skip over those entries.

Talk about different from your other stories! Intriguing and powerful. I would love to see more about the twins. Guess they were right to worry about twin boys being quiet!

In the words of an old Laugh In character - Very Interesting! Do we get more?

This advert speaks to so much more than its subject. Fidelity, respect, responsibility.

On the other side of the same coin - I tend to find that calling women who are loving and supportive of gay men in their lives "Fag Hags" to be demeaning. Why on earth would someone want to put down the good people in their lives?

Just a little side note - I saw an human interest clip on the news the other night about a luxury condo in Tribeca with a roof garden complete with lawn and hot tub. It was valued at $4.5 mil and all I could do was call my daughter into the room and shout "It's Jeanine's condo!"

WooHoo three cheers for Frank! He is probably the only one that may get through to Wally! Sounds like with Wally and Clara firmly in the middle Zach has zero access to any of his yearly allowance from the trust. Wonder what Brad would say if he realized that? And just where is that money going??? JJ is really starting to shape up as a character, but I still wonder about how well he is dealing - one little fit can't be all it takes to get him on the right track. He is was too complicated for that! Excellent as usual. I can't wait to see the last 4 chapters, yet dread them as well. Please tell me book 14 will follow close on the heels?

I definitely get the feeling there is way more to the brothers than meets the eye! Can't wait till the next chapter posts!

In a review Shyboy85 said: I'm going to take a minority position again, I think: I don't like the apology Will gave Frank, for the arguably od reason that he was right to call bullshit on him. I get the feeling Will is opportunistic here. He apologises for show, rather than because he was wrong. ​Sorry, but I can't agree that it was an apology for show. While I agree that Frank was off base and Will was right to call BS on him, the WAY he spoke to Frank was out of line. Emancipated or not, Frank is still one of Will's grand-parental figures. Just as I felt he was correct in what he said but not in the way he said it to Claire and Isadore back during the Bastille Day planning, I feel Will was disrespectful this time as well and he very much SHOULD have apologized for it. That he realized that on his own, and no one needed to tell him to go make nice shows he is growing up.

I wonder why so many people in the story and in the forum/reviews seem to think Frank's reaction to Aaron first disappearing, then being found, and eventually passing to be so odd. Aaron not only deserted the military - he deserted his family. He allowed the entire world to believe he was dead. While that may have been necessary to make his unauthorized withdrawal from the war and the military believable, it is hardly difficult to understand Frank being very angry when he found out about it. I think it would be sort of natural for Frank to use that as a way to tie his emotions over his dad's slide into alcoholism and violence into a nice neat little package. I am not sure I could be all warm and fuzzy with a long lost brother under those circumstances either, most notably after the way Aaron turned and walked away a second time after they found him on that tropical island.

I keep seeing this huge meltdown coming for both Matt and JJ. Neither one of them is dealing with things in any meaningful way. The others have all had several moments of weaknesses, tears, rage and assorted other outlets. Darius seems to be burying himself in his roll as executor. I can't help but think when things hit the fan in JJ's universe that its gonna be a biggie, as will Matt's meltdown.