RichEisbrouch

Cameron might’ve noticed I was wearing the same shirt, though I almost always wore the same kind of jeans. But he was too distracted by something bigger. The news of the morning was that Bill Grenon wanted to buy the Mill. “Bill Grenon?” I asked, laughing. “Our Bill Grenon? The me, women, and children first Bill Grenon?” “He’s not wrong to see this as an opportunity,” Cameron pointed out. “So he’s put together a group of investors.” “Who’d want to be in the same group as Bill Grenon?

Drew Kohler was 6'-4", proving that physics and logic don't always work in an accident. The improbable, unfortunately, happens often enough. And you simply can't be surprised about who guys in their 20s sleep with, even guys who are just out of their 20s, like Cameron. I suspect the same is true for women that age, but I'm not focused on them in this book. I serialized a novel with two central women and no gay men here a while ago and found no following. So I had it removed. Thanks again for reading along. Always good to see your name.

I didn’t even wait to run into Kevin, and I didn’t just call him. I went to his apartment. There was an outside door, and when I buzzed and said, “Jim,” he let me right in. He was waiting in the hallway, smiling. “I was gonna phone you later,” he explained. “I just got home.” This isn’t about what you think, I wanted to say, to start off completely honest. Then I thought, Why not? Why not just make it about what it seems? I’ll sleep with Kevin and forget everything. Cameron will sleep wi

Kevin didn't really know who Jim was when they first bumped into each other in front of the Founder's House, though I think Kevin might have been there a bit out of guilt, considering what had just happened. When Kevin tells Cameron about his drinking and getting high with Drew, Kevin knows Cameron and Jim better and knows Cameron's the boss, so he's the one more likely to tell. I think the big thing Kevin might be feeling guilty about is his possibly pushing Drew much further than Drew would have gone in terms of the drinking and smoking. Kevin's at least 20 years younger, and what his body can take, possibly Drew's couldn't. That's why he says Kohler might still be alive. Still, the actual cause of Drew's death is that slip in the bathtub. I suspect he was just trying to take his usual shower, to clear his very foggy head, and when he slipped and fell, his foot hit the lever to close off the drain, making it look like he was taking an unlikely bath. When the water came up past his face, he unfortunately drowned. Finally, something that's really tricky: Drew was a good-looking guy, and Kevin knows that sometimes straight guys can be drunk enough or high enough -- or both -- to have a kind of sex they ordinarily wouldn't have. That may have been why Kevin was pushing too hard -- and you've got to remember he was high and drunk, too. So I think that's why Kevin infers to Cameron that he's been sleeping around on his partner, even in Chicago, as their relationship cooled. Still, Kevin's not ready to directly confess the part that sex may have had in Drew's death. That's more than Kevin can absorb at the moment -- which may be why he tries to distract himself by hanging out and fooling around with Jim and Cameron.

“So, you in love?” was the first thing I asked Cameron, Monday. He grinned. “I can barely walk.” “See any of Boston?” I joked. “Yeah, we needed a couple of breaks.” He was still grinning, so I laughed. Then he laughed. Then we stared at each other. “He really is something,” he finally admitted. “Yep, he is,” I agreed. Then what more could I say? Nuttin’, without getting us both in trouble. So for the rest of the day, that was pretty much all we said about Kevin. Cameron never was

Part of the reason the doctors had worried after my accident -- and a part I never thought made any sense -- is they had to make sure it really was an accident. “Why in hell would I ride in front of a car?” I remember shouting, even as I was still trapped in my body cast. “He hit me! He was the one who was drunk! I was just riding home!” “Because,” as more than one well-meaning psychologist told me, “once there’s been a death in your family -- especially when you’re reasonably young -- i

After Cameron and Kevin left, I went home and slept. Dad would never ask questions, not even something as dumb as, “You want dinner?” but I knew there’d be something to eat when I got up. I woke after he’d gone to bed, so it must’ve been past eleven. I’d just expected to nap and planned to call Carrie, especially since I hadn’t spoken with her the night before. Though Mark was back now, at least for a couple of days, and I was sure Carrie would rather be with him. I ate what Dad had left me,

Yep, Kevin knows how to use those looks and intelligence of his. Jim's bright but still somewhat inexperienced. Cameron's not quite as bright but out of his range with Kevin. Still, it's fun to watch the three of them slink around. You should have gotten your answer as to what Jim's excuse for not going to Boston is: He got angry, which he rarely does and doesn't like doing, and told Cameron too much -- far more than he's comfortable with anyone knowing, even though Cameron's his closest friend.

Cameron was a little pissed when I told him what I thought I had to. I’d run it through quickly in the shower, then more carefully driving to work. Standing in the parking lot of the Mill, I’d made a fast call to my brother Ron, two time zones closer than my brother Ted. “You don’t lie very well, Jim,” Ron had confirmed. “You never have.” But I’d never slept with someone my best friend was drooling over. ‘Specially when there was a good chance he’d sleep with him, too, pretty soon. Still, Ca

The great thing about Jim and Cameron's friendship is they're more loyal to each other than to Kevin. Their history goes back further, so it would take far more than successive one-night stands with Kevin to break Jim and Cameron up.

As I've said before, Jim's absolutely in love with Dane, partly from their shared past, maybe increased by the fact they'd barely seen each other in the two years Jim was traveling. And you know what people say about absence and the heart.

Maybe the story seems to be picking up steam because it's getting a little steamy. But it can't be all about death and heartbreak. Gotta have a little fun sometimes. Thanks for reading along.

“What you doing tonight?” Cameron asked when I walked into the office. He’d come back right after the service, when the other security guys went home. I might’ve thought he’d ask, “How were things at the cemetery?” or “You all right?” but maybe he didn’t want to pry. “Thought I’d fight with Dad,” I joked. “See how pissed off I can get him. Maybe I won’t have to go to church on Sunday.” “You still doing that?” “Oh, yeah -- every week.” “As long as you’re home, James,” Dad had lectured

Yeah, Jim certainly feels that way about the slumlord millionaire Dane's married. But Jim also has an enormous amount of built-up affection for Dane that we simply have to take on trust. Otherwise, Jim wouldn't be so persistent.

The funeral was at a church in Northampton, halfway between Waldron and Amherst. We knew at least several hundred people would be there, so Cameron and the security staff -- all six of us -- were helping with the parking. I had on a black suit, but the other guys wore various dark jackets and pants. There’d be a graveside service later, but just for family and friends. It was hot, and my suit was too small. I’d forgotten how much I’d been working out. In my jacket, I’d found a program from M

Yep, poor Eileen. Poor Drew. Sad for his whole family. I hate killing off characters, and, as I mentioned in another note, if I'd written more about Drew, and people had gotten to know and like him, it would have been impossible for me to start off with his death. Same thing about Jim's mom and sister.

There was no point pretending I wasn’t going to the Kohlers’ Wednesday night. I didn’t plan to stay long, the funeral being the next day. But it would’ve been rude for me not to stop by, especially since I lived so close. I got there around ten, earlier than Tuesday, so there were still lots of people around. Mainly older relatives I’d known for years, who used to stay at the Founder’s House, visiting. This time, they were all staying in motels. “To give Eileen and the children their pri

I’d been to Denny’s office with Cameron before. He and Denny were friends, though Cameron was maybe ten years younger. Denny’s secretary, Gina, always greeted us as though our stopping by was the nicest thing that could happen. She’d offer us coffee, soda, candy, homemade cookies, then she’d go find Denny. “He’ll just be a minute,” she’d usually say. “Sorry you have to wait.” “Right,” Cameron would answer, laughing. “When’s Denny ever been on time?” As Gina smiled and went back to work, Came

Yep, as I wrote someone else here, there's some funny stuff coming, and Bill is a major part of one aspect of it. And Cameron's just playing with Bill. There's no hint of murder here. Kohler's death is partly explained later, but some of it is just human idiosyncrasy.

I think Jim mentions his accident earlier, but you don't get the details till chapter 4. And I don't think it was particularly tragic that Jim couldn't play college football. It was a means to a full-ride scholarship, and those aren't to be laughed at. But it's not like football was anywhere close to being the center of his life. And, yeah, there's no reason for Carrie to be thinking straight right after her father suddenly dies. I think Jim and the readers all understand that.

Yep, in many ways, it's a character study of Jim, and it follows him slowly over the course of a short period of time as he works some things out.

Cameron was full of all kinds of news when I got to work on Wednesday. The Mill was still mainly closed, with customers and clients, on the phones and the Internet, being greeted by, “Since we primarily like to think of ourselves as a family business, it seems only right, at this difficult time, that we take care of family first.” The heavy words sounded like Grenon’s. Denny Parnell would’ve said, “The Big Guy’s dead. Bad times. Party at six.” I’d barely walked into the office before Cam

As I just wrote you: I don't think Jim has any chance of being a brooding and bitter old man. It's just not in him. He's too bright, and too self-aware. And Waldron isn't rundown. It's solidly suburban, and on an upward swing considering the enviable five college area of Smith, Amherst, Holyoke, Hampshire, and UMass. It's just that the mill shut down 60 years, when many New England manufacturing jobs were lost to changing times and demands. I think Waldron principally produced buttons.

I think you mean Jim, and he came home because Dane was getting married, and Jim thought he could head it off. And, it's funny: for all Jim's juggling, he seems to handle it deftly, maybe because -- at base -- he's a pretty easy-going, low-key guy.

Fortunately, Dane isn't the character you have to like in this story. You just have to understand why Jim loves him.