Mark Arbour

The next chapter should be up within a week.

November 30, 2002 Goodwell, VA Wade I watched the huge Suburban limo as it drove off toward Charlottesville airport, taking the bulk of our Thanksgiving revelers with it. Yesterday had been a very calm day, and as far as I knew, Mary Ellen and Alex still hadn’t made any definitive plans. There had been no discussion about their situation, or Mary Ellen’s baby, we’d just focused on trying to have a good time. But now the crew was gone, and that left Goodwell occupied by

Thanks for the review! I think that we're assuming that Alex (and the Duke) are as clued in to how Mary Ellen is as we are. They probably aren't. You're suggesting that Elizabeth will have much less influence over the Duke (and in Britain) than she thinks she will, and that's probably right.

Happy Birthday!!!

Well, we'll have to see how things turn out, and hope that regardless, you're not massively disappointed.

My understanding of British Estate laws is that trusts can merely defer taxes, not eliminate them. That may be the big issue here.

That's an interesting observation. I think one of two things is influencing them. They may have decided that Alex went up to see JJ (they're sharing a room, so it makes sense that if Alex left, that's where he'd go), and in that case, they probably wouldn't want to interrupt. The other reason is that they are probably a little gun shy about getting involved with JJ's relationship with Alex. Last time, it didn't go all that well. ;-)

Brad is rolling down the road assuming Darius won't have a clue what he's doing.

Dude, are you and Kevin friends? It's like psychic, how you posted the same thing!

I enjoy feedback, but this is one of those situations where I'm going to pretty much ignore what you said, because I'm not taking requests on what happens next. (SMILE).

I really can't see the Crampton-Schluter clan getting involved in this marriage, even to defend JJ. I'm remembering back to when Riley was born, and how Elizabeth explained to Wade that Jeanine was one of "Brad's people" and it was up to him to control her. I think in this way, they may be thinking along similar lines. I would think that they would largely leave dealing with this whole wedding up to Wade.

I really don't think Alex would do that. He's pretty convinced that's his child. I think it's reasonable for him to feel some level of attachment, even at this point.

LOL. That's typical of this group. It's like working out a Middle Eastern peace deal, where they launch rockets at each other then they have to agree to a cease fire.

JJ being "out" isn't possible as long as he wants to skate. He's in the same situation Zach is in, which is amusing, considering how different their two sports are.

So you really think there's no way, no pressure, they could put on Alex to force him to marry Mary Ellen against his will? I happen to agree with you.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT LINK!!! That was awesome information. Makes me want to turn Darius into a SEAL. If I do, it's your fault.

Or maybe he's not that naive. Darius isn't as smart as Will, but he's pretty good at reading people, and he's got to have Brad figured out by now.

I thought Brad's reaction and plan was spot on, just what he'd do. It is so like him to rely on manipulating things behind the scenes to make things work out the way he wants them to.

Awesome review Kevin (smile). I'll take this opportunity to note that the next iteration of GA stories will most likely have editable reviews.

Well those are some uplifting comments. ;-) I'll try to make it worth your while.

No worries on the SCU deal. I know it's tough to keep up on all the details. Wade did a really nice summation of what is motivating Mary Ellen. Most of the characters have moved beyond the 9-11 horrors, but to do that, they had to face it square on. we don't know if Mary Ellen did that. Regardless, this seems to be her way of making peace with her father.

November 28, 2002 Thanksgiving Day Goodwell, VA Wade The table had looked so neat, with beautiful place settings and other accessories, but now, halfway through dinner, it looked messy and disorganized, as people filled their plates and drank. I thought that was not too unlike what had happened to our group. Everything had started out looking so good, and now it had become messy. What I had planned out to be a magnificent dinner had turned into a disaster. Everyone ha

Excellent points. Just because Claire has not taken a "high-powered" job doesn't mean she can't be influential, and it doesn't mean she's a glorified housewife. Claire has always been more subtle. She's not so much a driven leader, as someone who will make course corrections to keep the ship from sinking. And TIm is right...we have no idea what Marie will or won't do in the future.

As always, I find these discussions fascinating. I thought I'd weigh in and toss out some CAP facts: 1. Mary Ellen's trust should be worth somewhere in the vicinity of $500 Million, since it is comparable to Wade's. When Nana escaped from Virginia and the nursing home hell, she explained that Mary Ellen (and Beau) didn't have that paternity clause in their trusts. 2. A British aristocrat would most likely view an American (any American) as being somewhat nouveau. 3. Matt inherited one-fourth of Robbie's interest in Anders-Hayes, which was sold for $15million. His other big asset is the Google stock he got when he worked with Stef. We have the ability to see how things play out, so unless Matt does something idiotic and sells it, it should be worth about $100 million when Google goes public. 4. If Mary Ellen had indeed been trying to have a child with Matt, her end motives would be different. I can only imagine how much fun she'd have, constantly rubbing Wade's nose in the fact that his boyfriend fathered her child.

Welcome back! You were missed. Thanks for the great review. I'm glad that the story is fresh enough to keep your interest. I work hard at that, and sometimes it's a challenge not to fall into repetitive patterns.