Wayne Gray

To the comments by @Philippe and @Danners ... I can't offer much in the way of comment here. Only that I love the fact that you have both offered valid and interesting points concerning Troy, Grant, and Grant's handling of the journal. What is the "right" thing? Even knowing what that might be, is Grant likely to do exactly the perfect thing, to be the perfect friend that Troy needs? Will he try to cover his tracks, and get rid of some of the best memories Troy ever had? What does he have to lose, even if Troy finds out? There are a lot of questions to ask, and there are answers coming. Later this week. 🙂 Thanks for the great comments.

Thanks, Jeffrey. Grant wore him down. The house, the friendliness, the food ... it heaped on Troy until he couldn't justify remaining an island. There's a lot more to come for these guys. 🙂

That's the idea. Our beta readers, molly and Brayon both reported the same reaction to that line. 😄 I'm glad it could make you laugh!

Yup. It’s possible. Though this is a heavily refined version.

At the Monday morning rehearsal, the director, Allan Hamilton, watched the sex scene with Lupe and William Weatherby. He shook his head. “Gary, these scenes are lame.” He was speaking to Gary Chalmers, his assistant director. “They are a bit, yeah.” Gary was tugging down his shirt in an attempt to cover his own reaction to the scene. “They don’t look like they are enjoying the sex. It needs to be more realistic.” Allan threw up his hand while watching. “Cut! Just cut!” The director

I really appreciate all the nice words, and I'm glad people enjoyed Silverwolf. It was tremendous fun to write that story - like having dessert! 🙂

Thank you, Mike. This is one of my favorite chapters I think I've ever written.

Thank you for reading and for the great comment, tim. You're right. That dark, scary place belongs solely to Troy, and has for over a year. Then Grant appears, lowering a hand to lift him out. That's something new, leading to some other place that Troy may not know - or may have to get to know again. Yeah. It takes trust, and to an exhausted Troy, Grant did exactly what he needed to at least start that process. There's more on Thursday. Thank you again.

Great comments, Danners. I like your thoughts concerning the journal. Grant has leaned pretty hard on it in his dealings with Troy, that's certain. Has it moved beyond pure altruism? Was it ever? It'd be terribly easy for Grant to simply destroy the journal. Will he? These are smart characters. I write characters who may make bad decisions in the moment, but they will be mistakes anybody could make if in a similar position. Ohhhh ... very interesting thoughts about Grant and how his actions are venturing into the language of a loving person, and not just that of an acquaintance. We're watching him expend effort, energy, and ... emotion on Troy. When will either of them realize it? Will they ever? That wall needed to come down, though you are right. It's a two-edged thing for both of them. Troy has more to lose, but ... Grant is getting some skin in the game too. Hahaha ... yeah, this story is out there. But you'd miss out on the edited version. I plan at least two new scenes too which will help with the story overall. Stay strong if you can! hehehe Thanks for reading. There's more on Thursday. 🙂

I think Grant has a few things to learn too, and you hit that nail on the head. He needs to see Troy for more than someone who needs his help. If he doesn't, you can be sure that Troy will remind him that he has pride, perhaps in dramatic fashion. Hrmmm, yes. That journal. It has slowly turned from an asset to a liability, hasn't it? *tick tick tick* 🙂 Thanks for reading and for the comments, Parker.

Thank you for reading and for the comment. 🙂 We'll have to see what the future holds for both Harlan and the rest of the Campers. I'm posting Ash and Ember first, but then I'll come back to these guys.

Thank you for commenting, chris. They seem like such small things ... a shared meal, showers, laundry, someone Troy can trust a tiny bit. But they're huge to Troy. He's letting go a little, thanks to Grant's patient, consistent manner. Frankly, he needed to let go some. Grant beat on that wall he had put up, and it finally came down.

I think that's a great way to put it. Grant is sorta cheating, isn't he? The only thing he gets out of a happy Troy is the warm feeling it gives him to help another human being. So long as that's true, then yes ... I think the ends do justify the means. But if that ever changes ... well, then Mr. Grant will have shifted from altruism to something else. Manipulation of another person is already a suspect course of action, so he'd better watch his step carefully. Thanks for reading and commenting. 🙂

16 November 2018, Wednesday 6:58 a.m. Grant stepped outside. The main garage door was open, and the gray, muted light of the overcast sky flooded the room. Troy was dressed in the same clothes he had worn yesterday - an old, thinning jacket, a red-checked flannel shirt, thick Docker work pants, and his scraped, gouged boots. He wore gloves and a knit cap as well. Grant caught Troy as he examined the table saw in the center of the space. Troy nodded at Grant. "Hey, good morning." Gran

I hear you. It's hard to imagine how anybody can justify hurting and abusing kids. But, somehow they do. Elias was lucky ... he got away. I know that's not the case most of the time, but there was no way I was writing that.

Thanks, jaysalmn! I hope you like it even more this time. Thorn Wilde and I have spent quite a bit of time polishing up these chapters ... so I hope you enjoy the cleaner, more refined version.

Awesome. Glad you're reading!

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the little addition. 🙂

Hello, Etotsira. I'm assuming you mean if Troy found out that Grant had read the journal. Yeah ... Troy would likely not like that much at all. Nobody wants to think they're being "handled," and that someone knows far more about them than they're letting on. Grant feels like he needs to be very careful with Troy. He has been snapped at a couple of times now, and that clued him in that Troy is having a hard go of it. Also, the lack of acknowledgement from Troy that the house used to be his home told Grant something as well. Everything points Grant toward a gentle, patient approach. I think how you feel concerning Troy (Grant too, actually) is pretty much right on the money. He is resigned, wounded, and now he's in the place where he's reminded of all of the happy things that he has lost. Stated simply, he's hurting. I'm glad you're along for the ride. Thanks for commenting!

It is heartbreaking. It's awful to watch someone suffer, even through fiction. Grant noticed Troy's pain, and he now realizes that the guy is just aching. He tries to mitigate here and there, but there's only so much he can do now that Troy is there and committed to the job. I hear you about sadness in entertainment. I don't read or watch purely sad things - there's enough of that in the world already. But, it's hard for the highs to mean anything without the lows. There will always be some kind of struggle to overcome in my work. And it's funny that you bring up the comments made to readers during serial works. Essentially, I'm just trusting previous readers of the work to not ruin what's coming for the rest of the readers. I also have to comment carefully so that I don't do that exact thing ... but I do always try to comment. If someone takes the time to comment on my story then I certainly think that deserves a response. Thanks for reading, and for the time spent to comment. 🙂

Troy's struggling hard, and Grant feels bad about forcing him into his current situation. That said, Troy needs to process his grief. His grieving process was stunted, but now that he's back at the house he's forced to feel all of this stuff he had tried to bury. Grant may have initiated things due to his curiosity, but now that Troy's there Grant really wants to help him. How he'll do that, we'll just have to see. Thanks for the great comment, Jim.

You're right. Troy is so prickly and defensive while Grant is tentatively feeling his way forward - taking little steps that he hope won't upset, or drive Troy off. The whole time Troy is there, he is forced to remember, forced to feel, and that is bleeding through all of his interactions. We'll just have to see how things go. Next chapter is coming on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to that one. 🙂 Thanks for reading and commenting, Tom!

Those are some good points concerning the van, the logistics of getting it repaired, and a good theory concerning additional home repairs. Troy will need a place to be while the van is in the shop. Unfortunately, he has experienced sleeping outside, and he just assumes that he will have to figure out some way to survive until the van gets fixed. Grant doesn't seem overly worried about money. He's getting paid well, has a bonus sitting in the bank, and had additional funds when he moved to Barre. More on his financial situation will come later. 😉 The journal is almost a character in this story. It catalyzes many things, and sort of gives Grant a roadmap to "handling" Troy. That sounds awful ... but Troy is in crisis-mode, and has been for over a year. He could probably use a bit of handling until he can level out. It will take something special to break him down, to get him to accept more help. There's more to come. Thanks for commenting and reading!

Debated between laugh and sending a love reaction ... I settled for the middle ground. Feel better soon, tim!

Emotion is the idea. Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed the story!