Wayne Gray

Tuesday started strangely for Frank. "Um, sure, Ike. We can talk." He scratched his head as he slid behind the wheel. Ben frowned over at Frank as he shrugged. "Yeah. After work is fine. Ben has to work some things out with Devin anyway, so I'll be in town. Sure. I'm glad you're feeling better. Okay, see you then." Ben cocked his head as Frank hung up. "Soooo. What's going on with Ike?" "I’m not sure." Frank started the car and they were on their way to the city. "He sounded … I don'

Hey, Jeffrey. Thanks for commenting. Troy's lot improves, largely thanks to the intervention of Grant. But, it took Troy too. It seemed that he was just waiting for the moment, for that chance to seize his life again. And he's doing it. The Thanksgiving dinner with Troy's friends will be in the next update on Thursday.

Hi, Tom. Thanks for commenting! Grant is just starting to notice his own frustration and listen to himself as he tells his story. He's still processing, it's still not a possibility that he could be gay. Not yet. Maybe you're right, and that moment is coming. We'll have to see. You're so right, though. Once we figure out what's going on, it's far easier to understand our lives up until then.

Oh yeah! You’ll get to meet the rest of the friends too! 🙂

Oh, look at you - ascribing ulterior motives to sweet little Natalie! She is nothing but pure delightfulness. We’ll see if you’re right. Thanks for the comment, droughtquake!

There's a known psychological bump from altruism. That doesn't make Grant or anyone who craves that feeling bad. It's actually pretty fascinating stuff. https://www.thepositivepsychologypeople.com/altruism-is-selfish/ In this article it explains that altruism is selfish (if done for the do-gooder high it gives us), but not harmful unless the help given wasn't actually helpful. So, yes. Grant is being helpful for that high. Does it make him a bad person? Nah. It just makes him jive with what psychologists know to be true about ourselves.

Hi Danners. Thanks for commenting. Troy really caught a break with Ross and the gig to repair the garage lift. You're right - it took Troy's mind to change for that to happen. Ross could look at him and see something was different. There's a confidence that wasn't there before, a willingness to see life more positively, and overall, a man ready to live again. The Thanksgiving dinner will come in the next update, so I'll wait to comment on that. 🙂 Oh, you have big plans for that journal. Good! We'll see if you're right.

Hehe. My editor said something to the effect of "Every time I see that satchel, I feel this nervousness that Troy will find the journal!" That means that I'm doing something right! We'll find out what Grant does concerning the book, or if Troy does manage to stumble onto it! Stick around. We'll get there. Thanks for the comment!

Thanks, Canuk. It'd be terribly hard to ignore someone like Grant doing yoga. 😏 Grant's a nice guy. He knows that he's very well off compared to most, and he's happy to help others where he can. He's also not self-adsorbed, so he notices when others might need that help. Yeah ... Troy's family is not one that supported him. John's either, for that matter. It's strange to me too. This is a slow burner, though you can probably feel the heat tick up just a touch. Hopefully. 🙂

Troy does like watching Grant as he does yoga. Who wouldn't? Troy finds himself thinking a lot more about Grant even when he's not around, while Grant has some strange difficulty imagining Troy dating other guys. Hrm ... curious. Let's see what the holiday brings! Thanks for commenting, chris!

Thanks, Butcher. They're getting more comfortable, and closer. Grant had some weird little moments, but he agreed to have dinner with Troy's friends. We'll see how that goes.

19 November 2018, Monday 8:59 a.m. "Everything looks like it's in order. Thanks, Ross." Troy grinned broadly and shook the hand of Ross Manos, the manager of the auto shop on Main Street. He had just paid for the work on his van, and she was back in running condition. He had planned to ask Grant for a ride on his way to work, but the man had seemed distracted and unsettled all day on Sunday. So Troy had walked. It was a little less than two miles, and he'd quickly made the trip through t

Thanks for reading and for the comments, kbois! That's right, be strong! You got this. Evil author, trying to make you read ahead! So bad. Troy's hurting, and he has been for a long time. He hasn't had much of a chance to catch his breath, much less mourn for his lost love. He's in survival mode, and just scratching by. I can empathize with your struggle too. I watched my parents do a very similar juggling act with us, bills, overtime just to earn enough to pay for both the phone and electricity, and God help you if one of our two very old vehicles broke down. Thank you again. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Yup. That’s true. Even if we can’t relate to him now, the potential of being in his same shoes should make us feel something.

Thank you for the great comment! I’m really glad you enjoyed Camp Refuge and Guarded. This story is one of my best, I think. I hope you like it.

I wrote this before I ever knew of Mr. Mike, but I can see him in Brian as well. Perhaps the universe knew, eh? You're right about Brian. He's quick to defend those he loves, and most people back away slowly when they've messed up. Thanks for the comments, tim. The reunion with Brian and Natalie needed to go well, for Troy's sake. And yes! Troy told Grant off. He refuses to be a project. As someone said in a previous chapter's comments, Troy now needs a friend, not an advocate. I think Grant has to adjust to that paradigm. They have seemed to weather Grant's stumble okay, though. Ahhh ... bedtime antics. Fun stuff! Each guy is feeling a powerful attraction, but both have guilt that surrounds them - for different reasons. How are they going to end up? We'll have to see. 🙂

Troy needs his friends. He really does. Grant may have pushed him into things before he was ready, but Troy has enjoyed reconnecting with Natalie and Brian. Though, in the process Grant earned a bit of a tongue-lashing from Mister Troy! Thanks, chris!

Friends are often meddlesome, are they not? Perhaps Natalie can teach meddler Grant that he has not medaled in the illustrious field of meddling - that he is only a meddlesome dabbler, while she is a master meddler, meddling with the best of meddlers. And ... now I have a headache.

Thank you for reading and for the comment! Grant did dodge a bullet ... barely! But now Troy knows he's a well-meaning meddler. Let's find out how this goes between them, shall we?

Grant has certainly been a driven guy for the better part of a decade. He has denied himself a lot ... even that which he could have easily taken in hand had he chose an easier path. Sorry if that sounds obtuse ... you'll see what I mean later. 🙂 Anyway, yes - it's entirely possible that his academic pursuits stunted his emotional growth a bit. At least as it concerns his sexuality. Well, now he's playing catch up.

I'm so happy you like them! I had readers who disliked Brian right off the bat because of his suspicions of Grant. But, they forgot that those are born from his protective instincts toward Troy. I tried to imagine being in the same situation, and I'd be suspicious too. So, here we are. Troy's loss was immense. He had something amazing, and he feels the absence acutely - even after over a year. He's just starting to heal. Time moves so strangely in grief. It can freeze, and hold us locked in its grip for months at a time, and then suddenly a dam breaks, and we're past that point only to deal with another different facet. Troy does deserve another chance. More, he needs it. But there's still a lot of fear there. Wow. Those were like dirty dad jokes. Well done. 😛 I was really oblivious when it came to my sexuality. I avoided men I found attractive, because I despised how I reacted to them. But, I didn't consider myself gay. Grant isn't as self-loathing as I was, but he's still in denial. He's naive when it concerns this sliver of who he is. So ... yes. He's that naive. 🙂 Thanks for the comments!

Thanks for the comment, Parker! From everything we know about John, I don't think there's a way to see him being upset that Troy is just starting the process of finally moving on. I think you're right ... I think he would have been thrilled for them. As for the journal ... when have I ever solved problems the easy way? Grant and that little book have certainly gotten up to quite a bit of meddling. We'll have to see if he can truly put it down, and let Troy live his life as he truly promised that he would. There's a lot more to come for these men. 🙂

You blocked it out. Good! It's for the best ...

Poor @Mikiesboy has witnessed the craziness of Wayne writing firsthand. he knows the splendors and horrors of the character spreadsheet! 🙂 Thanks for the great comments, though. I have to do something to keep track. I had a reader once point out that a character's eyes changed color midway through a story, and from that point on I've had character spreadsheets with all of that information on it.

I'm so sorry for your loss. 😄