jkwsquirrel

Is it jig or gig? I feel like Brett! Anyway, yep, Jack likes to manipulate every situation to his advantage. It would be hard to blindside him. On a totally unrelated note, I was so tired when I posted this chapter that I forgot to click on the option to keep my formatting. I hate the way this chapter looks. Oh well. I'll deal with it.

The answer is already hidden in the story somewhere. Oh sure, I could tell you where it is, but that'd spoil the fun. And if you figure it out, don't tell anybody! If you must tell somebody, send me a PM.

I think Jack realizes the jig is almost up, but who wants to throw their life into a state of chaos? Who wants to destroy their marriage and damage their reputation? Yes, there is more to learn. We'll find out eventually.

Thanks dude! We're moving toward that happy ending! Still some bumps in the road yet to go though! Brett breaking his leg is probably the key to unlocking the rest of the story. Almost everything that's about to happen is a result of that accident.

Almost like he's tired of hiding and wants to be caught after almost nineteen years of lies. Jack's story is more complicated than it appears from Billy's perspective. Can you imagine lying to your spouse for almost two decades? I think he was prepared either way when he told Billy to tell Brett the truth in the hospital. Like it would almost be a relief to have it be over. And you're right, it was make up sex that led to the make-up baby. Joey is a month younger than Brett.

His initials spell WAR for the love of God!

I'll put it this way, Commencement is the end of Billy's story.

Is there an emoji for pointing at one's own nose like you would in charades for when you hit the nail on the head? Lots of unresolved guilt there. But we'll talk about that... in a future chapter! Mwahahahahahahahahahaahaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 Two and a half words: Make-up baby. Joey was the result of Jack feeling guilty over his infidelity.

Yeah, but now they'll start to fall faster!

Thank you! It almost seems like Jen and Paula are coming from opposite directions, meeting in the middle, and will go zooming past each other. As for Jack, I think his brother's legacy had to have left a deep impact on him, one that he's tried to bury for eighteen years. Your memory is spot on! George did tell Billy that he should let Brett "mess around with it.," and that he and Brett would figure out why it is such a big deal together. (It's only taken 35 chapters to start paying that little foreshadowing moment off!)

You will definitely find out the answer to this in a future chapter! And it's WAR, so you know it'll be solved in a mature and reasonable way.

A bored Brett is a dangerous situation for a lot of people!

Thanks jp! A tale of two mothers, for sure. Time is running out for people to come clean to Brett.

This made me laugh way too much! I don't know if it's the gay connection, but certainly Jack could use the name connection as his excuse for his overprotective behavior about Brett. But is it just a coincidence that Jack began to lose favor in Pastor Carl's circle around the same time that Brett's sexuality was becoming public? Not that Carl knows, but maybe Jack doesn't appreciate the direction of Carl's preaching. Another domino? David is better able to talk to Paula about Carl than George was. She could dismiss George more easily because he just didn't understand.

Thanks DQ! Our little Billy is becoming a man. Oh sure, we get the occasional emotional outburst, but not so much at this point. And can we really blame Brett for being a brat after all he's been through?

Thanks! As we get closer to the end we're discovering more secrets as the dominoes begin to fall.

I was so happy to have Brett back home. I was able to stop in and see him every day after school to bring him his schoolwork. He spent the first week home in the hospital bed his mom got him. But after the second week he was able to move to the couch. He wore nothing but a pair of boxers and the giant cast on his leg most of the time. When visitors were coming, he’d pull on a t-shirt and maybe a pair of gym shorts. He couldn’t take a shower or a bath, so he had to have a sponge bath every

Definitely "quasi" mature! Though Aiden is right. Billy isn't someone who likes to get physically rough. He does his fighting with his mouth. Any time Billy's been in a physical situation, he's been slaughtered. Even the girls beat him.

Sort of. It gave us insight into her reasoning. She really thinks she's earned what she has in spite of her father, not because of him. Of course, we all know what Billy thinks she's earned! I'm glad the real Dustin is back. As for a three-way relationship? Brett doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would share his boyfriend. Did I pair the spares in this chapter? We'll find out! As I described up above, Aiden is a different breed than Billy. If the school thinks Billy is bad, they haven't seen anything yet! Although Billy threatening to slap the braces out of his mouth isn't exactly the best way to deal with someone!

There's a very short fuse between his brain and his mouth! Of course, sometimes it backfires on him! He's just really good at it, too much talent to let walk away. I'm sure his coach and the other players were begging for him to come back. He won the batting title as a freshman. Even without the intervention of the police, he was going to fall. Too much pressure, too weak-willed. Getting caught was probably the best thing that could have happened to him. Exactly! We only get half of the Brett-Dustin phone call, but what a phone call it was! The relationship between Em and Dustin is going to be quite interesting in the next couple chapters. Indeed. He's going to make Billy look downright cooperative.

Both classic Billy snark moments. I also liked, "I'll slap the braces out of your stupid little mouth." Such a "Billy" thing to say!

I got the MTM reference! lol I think allllll the way back to chapter 1-1. Billy was moving on to the baseball field, but he couldn't help but stop and watch the kids who had taken over his old section of the playground. Aiden represents those kids who had taken over the swings. Billy is reaching the end of his high school days. Soon he'll have moved on, and the younger kids like Aiden will inherit the school. Aiden is just bold enough to call out the older kids and call them on the way they used their time at school. Just think, here is this sophomore, barely five and a half feet tall, calling out two six-foot tall seniors. Mon Valley High better watch out, because Aiden and the kids like him aren't going to back down when things get difficult.

It was a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially Dustin. It took him a lot of work to get there, but we're finally seeing the young man Dustin could have been long ago if not for his abusive upbringing. Can't say the same for Joey though!

Billy has his moments, but for someone younger like Aiden all he sees is someone who was too ashamed to be honest about who he is. When I think about Billy and the era in which the story takes place, he's almost the last of his kind. He's grown up right on the edge of when marriage equality is about to become a reality. His whole world is being flipped upside down, and he's trying to find his place in that coming world. He's a walking contradiction, conservative upbringing clashing with a liberal sex drive. It's fun to play in that sandbox as a writer, yet frustrating for the people who have to live with him. (and sometimes for my readers!) Aiden represents the younger generation that is coming up behind Billy's era, ones who are not so willing to put up with the bullshit, and less patient with the lack of progress previous generations made.

It was one of my favorite Billy moments too. Glad you enjoyed it!