Mark Arbour

Have no idea why the box keeps popping up in my review, don't know if it will show up when I add the review or not.... Loved this chapter, but was devastated by the news from Matt. It was not impossible to get a false positive, still isn't but by the time of this story it was rare. I am going to hope this is one of those times; especially since Brad was negative and he would have been the link between the Alex/Cody/Kevin troika and Matt. If Wade comes back negative then not sure how Matt could be positive since except with Wade he always practices safe sex. A little disappointed in Cam but it can be really frightening to find out someone you have slept with is positive, even if you used protection. Will was amazing in how he handled the situation though... I loved Will in this chapter. He handled Wade perfectly. Wade needed to hear what Will had to say but no one else was going to say anything. Matt cares to much and just wants Wade happy and Brad seems to have a blind spot for Wade now. I doubt that JP or Stef would have said anything unless Wade directly asked them their opinion. Will was also spot on with how he handled Brad. Brad is going back into the dating pool and needs to understand how that is going to effect everyone else. Plus, if someone doesn't deflate Brad periodically then he gets way to full of himself... Keep up the great work, Mark... A great review, despite the errant quote box. As an educator, I respect your attempt to provide a citation. ;-) I think you pretty much nailed things here, but I will point out that we don't know if Matt's assertions that he only had safe-sex are actually accurate. He was a total slut during his Stanford years, and I have to believe that reached a crescendo after 9-11 and he moved onto campus. Was he always safe? Does he even remember? I can visualize clearly Matt having a drunken bacchanalia one night, waking up with a used condom smashed to the bed, and thinking he was safe when he wasn't.

Thanks for the review! I think it was pretty insightful, the way Zach figured out his situation and resolved to just grin and bear it. And I loved how his calm logic at first frustrated, but then soothed Will. Zach handles Will about as well as anyone we've seen so far.

Thanks! I love the visual of Stef in old-lady-drag. In frumpy clothes no less! I think that Tonto would have said much the same things that Will said, although in a much more couched way, consistent with the wisdom that comes from age.

Thanks for the review, and for recognizing the challenge of having multiple narrators. This is a story about the family moving beyond 9-11, so I knew I'd have a lot of voices, but I really think it was best, and that it was inevitable.

What you said. I'm glad you liked the chapter!

That is a bit rich, isn't it? Yet in this situation, I think Will is in an ideal place to do just that. I'm glad you liked the chapter!

LOL. I think there's a 12 step program for that. You make a very good point, and that is that Wade isn't mirroring very well right now, and he doesn't have anyone with him who will do that for him. Except for Will.

Well, you can't like all the characters, can you? :-)

Flying in smaller planes is always a challenge. Glad you made it back to Des Moines. Next time you get a vacation, why don't you try going somewhere else? You know, away from your family, where you can have fun and relax.

I'm so glad you do. His detractors are usually more vocal.

Well, as they say, sometimes shit needs to be disturbed. In this case, I think he had a point, at least with some of his diatribes.

Double the fun; double-posted reviews!

And you'll have the answer to that in four days, when chapter 38 is posted. :-)

August 1, 2002 Chicago, IL Will I woke up with a smile. Damn, Devon was fun. He was totally hot, he had a big dick, and he knew how to use it. In the bar, he acted like an asshole, but that was just his façade. Underneath that, he was a really sweet guy. He’d woken up this morning, fucked my brains out, then taken a shower and gotten all ready to go, while I lay in bed like a slug, enjoying the afterglow. I thought he was gone, but he came back half an hour later with a bu

I think it's important to remember that how the relics are taken care of today as opposed to how they were handled in the 19th century are entirely different. I've been to Athens a couple of times, and I've always found the Acropolis to be a magical place, with or without its original marbles. And quite frankly, I think Ancient Greek culture is not solely in the possession of the current Greek state and peoples (see: nomadic hordes), so I think it's fair that some of the antiquities are spread around for other descendants of that culture to appreciate.

I think JJ would be a huge pain in the ass to Alex if Matt wanted him to be, because he is loyal to Matt. At the same time, if there was no engineered animosity, I can see JJ getting along quite well with Alex. He's too big a snob to not appreciate Alex' title.

Thanks for the review Miles. I like your thoughts on Brad and Will. I think they are at a good place, such that even their arguments are less intense, and usually resolve themselves without too much pain and suffering. I think you're right about Matt too. He's going through more than he realizes here. It's not just the breakup of his partner (as he sees Wade), it's leaving his undergrad years and all that they were behind him. That aspect you're referring to, his desire for deeper relationships, is part of that.

Thanks for the review! I personally didn't find this to be lighthearted, because relationship conflicts are, to me, more stressful than combat, but I'm glad you did. :-)

It's nice to be right. :-) I've gotten to the point with sex scenes that if they don't seem unique and interesting to me, I don't write them, assuming they won't feel that way to you.

You make a very good point, about Caroline using sex to get what she wants. She seems to be learning how to do that, and it makes one wonder if she's been with other men besides Gloucester and her encounter with Cavendish/Treadway.

What's the penalty for lying in a forum?

Thanks Maarten! Will actually has a good point with his rant, one that Brad will likely embrace. What he's saying is that if Brad isn't totally forthcoming about his status, it will worry the crap out of him; but even more to the point, and what Brad isn't getting, is that if Will/JJ/Darius/Matt/etc. did that to Brad, he'd be losing it. I am mindful of how JP handled things when he thought he was positive, and thinking that is a good model: to be completely open and forthright.

I'm with you on all of this except your inclusion of Wade. I don't see Wade as a 'clotheshorse', rather, I see him dressing in expensive preppy clothes. I can't imagine Wade wearing the latest fashions like JJ and Stef would.

Well, you probably won't see any 'young love' in this story, because we're focused on Matt and Brad. Will and Matt aren't fashionistas like Stef and JJ, so they're more likely to be pretty relaxed and casual in the summer.

Thanks for the review, Kitt. As I've said, I think that Brad is trying to keep the knowledge of who is positive contained until he knows the extent of the problem. You're right: it was a dumb approach. In the same vein, I don't think Matt felt like he had to disclose that he may be positive, and I tend to agree with him. In reality, isn't everyone who has sex of any kind potentially positive?