Mark Arbour

Thanks. I'm sure there won't be any surprises or anything. :-)

Well thank you so much. I'm quite vain and egotistical, so I love to hear those lovely compliments. ;-)

Yes. Everything is set. Just relax.

Messy? Drawn out? I would recommend you re-read "Millennium." ;-)

Thanks Miles. I think that the other factor in this thing is that Matt hates to lose.

You know you would, and you know you want to. As long as it's OK with Paya.

Happy Birthday!!!!

June 6, 2002 Stanford University, CA “Sup?” Tony asked as I walked into our room. He was sitting at his desk studying, wearing just a T-shirt and boxers. “Hey,” I said, and put down the empty boxes I had in my hands. “I’m moving back to Escorial.” “Bummer,” Tony said. “Been good having you around.” “Thanks,” I said. “Been good being around.” “This mean you and Wade worked things out?” “Kind of,” I said, even as I started packing stuff up. “We

I agree with you on contractors, or in this case, carpenters. Just because someone is skilled with their hands doesn't mean they're an idiot.

I'm glad you're seeing the good in Matt. I think it's fair to cut him some slack after 9-11 (as well as the rest of them), since they had some pretty tough shit to deal with. I think that Stef is aware that Evanston is no longer the optimal location it once was for them, but I suspect that condo has such deep sentimental value to him, he'll hang onto it. That doesn't mean Matt has to live there.

Thanks Jason. I don't know if I'm with you on Matt. He's got a rebellious streak, but he's also pretty conventional. Look at his college choice: Stanford. It wasn't what his parents wanted him to pick, but it was still very respectable. I think that's Matt's theme: just a little bit of rebellion, just a little bit unconventional.

I spent some time trying to explain how these guys were thinking to Maarten a few reviews back, and I could have saved myself the effort by just point to your review. Spot on, JB!

LMAO. If only my colleagues could read that, they would do the same thing. I'm a hard-core behavioral finance guy, but I can still recognize the contributions of the EMH guys.

You'll hear more about this in the future (I think it's the next chapter), but the issue with Matt and where he goes is pretty important. I think that following Wade would be a mistake, because Wade would end up feeling like he was being stalked.

Now Terry, you know that in the CAP World, when things are going along so nicely, and everyone is all pollyanna, that's probably not the time to relax and smile. ;-)

I'm glad you liked the chapter. I think that Matt is way ahead of where he had hoped to be with Wade just a few days ago, but it's nowhere close to being partners again. And Matt's presence in Wade's life is suddenly complicating Wade's plans. It's easy to write someone off when they're not standing in front of you, but when it's real, and in person, it is sometimes a different story.

Thanks for the review, Maarten, but allow me to respectfully disagree with most of your conclusions. ;-) I think that Matt, Wade, and Brad are all doing pretty much what they should be doing. Wade has always had a weakness when it came to Matt, in that his normally stoic facade cracks when Wade deals with him. That, more than anything, shows the depth of Wade's feelings for Matt. Matt was pretty reasoned, and calm, and I think you have a point here, in that we might have expected more fireworks from him. At the same time, Matt has a goal to achieve, he wants to win, and he knows that flying off the handle won't let him achieve that goal. As for Brad, he's been out of the dating scene for quite a while, and his game is a bit rusty. That's what you're seeing here...a guy who forgot how to work it. And finally, I think that it's very in character for Stef to step in and do whatever he can for a member of the family. While he and JP have been disappointed in Matt, they both still love him, and he's family.

I think it says a lot about Matt that he kept the conversation with Wade positive. He could have lashed out at Wade and pointed out how he saved Wade from being molested by his father. Wade seems to have written off that obligation pretty easily.

LOL. I could totally see Brad, JP, and Stef at the breakfast table, looking like deer caught in headlights, as their whole normative world was shaken up. You have to be on your toes if you live at Escorial.

I read your comments on "the morning after" and smiled, knowing how it turned out. ;-) Nice call. I'm pretty sure even you'll be surprised at how Ben and Brad turn out.

I don't think they'll have much in common with their relative experiences with captivity. It's probably a bit like prison in the US: if you're rich, you get the lovely minimum security detail (like Granger did in Paris), and if you're not, you end up in the normal prison (more analagous to Hornblower's situation). And who says Hornblower lacks an appreciation of male sex? ;-)

I think that George is not necessarily displeased with how Hornblower looks, he is, rather, sympathetic to his plight. It is a somewhat similar situation to Kingsdale, when he first joined Bacchante.

You know, I labored with that, with showing Granger's life ashore, but that would have embroiled him deeply in politics and carousing, and while those things can be interesting, they're really not why I started writing this story.

I'm way ahead of the times for Robert's bracings, but it is reasonable to think he developed them by this point, and that they could be surreptitiously tested. They would, along with variants, revolutionize how decks were supported.

I'm glad you liked the chapter, and you're enjoying the story. Hornblower had a pretty full career, but there is a gap in time between when he got back from Spain and when he joined Marguerite that presented an ideal opportunity!