Mark Arbour

September 10, 2003 Tribeca, NY JJ “It is very late,” Jacinta said in her stunted English. We were standing by the door, waiting for our group to arrive, and her comment made me glance at the clock on the wall, noting it was approaching midnight. “It is,” I said. I rambled on to hide how nervous I was. I had no idea what kind of attitude I’d get from these people, who had all but scorched me last weekend. I hadn’t talked to my b

What they wrote is probably true, but they did allude to the fact that while St. Louis City is broke, St. Louis County is quite wealthy, so the resources could have been there. I think a lot of the reason it fell apart was the strong feeling against Stan Kroenke that pretty much permeates this part of Missouri. His 'home' is (or was) technically in Columbia, MO, some 120 miles west of St. Louis, so he was initially seen as a local boy. I think the expectation was that he was an "Auggie Busch" kind of guy, who would do what he could for his home state. One of those owners who has civic loyalty and wants to win, and will put up resources to make that happen. Someone who gives a shit about the city his team plays in. He's not like that at all.

She probably won't really care about Maddy, since she's not her blood granddaughter. Elizabeth is heartless enough to let that matter. With Riley, she'll probably be relaxed, since he's a boy. Now when he gets serious about someone, I suspect that's when things will get more intense. :-)

I would not have expected a Heart-themed selection, but I like it.

I loved this one. Lmao. Which “outsider” hasn’t felt that way, at some point, when dealing with this family.

When Maddy is 12, Will will be in his mid-20s. I think he'd cope with a punk/emo/rebellious Maddy just fine. Cody, Wade, and Matt, on the other hand...

Hopefully I addressed another reason for this in Chapter 52. Darius is usually so perceptive.

Did your job for you on that chapter. :-)

Such excellent points. I'd also point out that the number of aristocratic admirals was relatively small, especially at this point. From what I've read, the Royal Navy became a popular venue for the aristocracy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, so even if there were an influx, those men wouldn't have been promoted to flag rank.

I am a Rams fan, and while it's sad that they're not in St. Louis anymore, I personally feel they belong in LA, so I'm good with it.

Or at least he's navigated them for now.

September 9, 2003 Escorial, CA Brad I wasn’t looking at JP or Stef, nor was I looking at the beautiful décor in JP’s office: the wood-paneled walls, the oak floors, and the Persian carpet that may or may not have been the same one that was here last year. My eyes may have been scanning those people and things, but my mind was firmly locked on the problem before us. I had known fear in my life, but never on this level. We had dabbled in the

August 1800 Windsor Granger, Treadway, and Gambier rode across the empty pasture, the Life Guards thundering along behind them. Once they had arrived at Windsor, Gambier had re-oriented his troopers so they were in the rear, as there was no need to fear an impending traffic jam. The heat had increased immeasurably during their ride, so much that Granger and Treadway had shed their jackets. Gambier had retained his, as had his men, and their discomfort wa

Thanks for the comments. When researching the Royal Navy of this period, it is amazing how often greed and pettiness over prize money become an issue. Nelson and St. Vincent had a relatively nasty battle over the issue, one that, to St. Vincent's credit, did not damage their relationship overmuch.

August 1800 Portland Place Granger sat down at the table to break his fast, smiling at his wife. “I cannot express how much I appreciate you coming back to London to be with me as we prepare to sail.” Caroline smiled at him. “I was glad to do it, and I have enjoyed myself.” She was reminding Granger of their lovemaking session last night, and then again this morning, and that made him blush slightly. “I have e

September 7, 2003 Escorial, CA Will It had been one long-ass day, and even though I’d spent most of my flight time sleeping, I was still pretty exhausted. I sat in the massive dining room, surrounded by family members, hoping that I could just eat and escape before getting sucked into some long discussion. I probably could have pulled that off except for one person: Stef. When I’d gotten here and greeted him, he’d been incredibly cold a

August 1800 The Thames, London Granger had received word that Valiant was sighted off Margate the previous evening, and knew that with the winds and tides as they were, Valiant would arrive at Sheerness this morning. He’d started off on his journey back to his ship quite early, before it was even dawn, hiring a large shore boat to take him from the Admiralty Steps down to the ship. He had been fortunate in that the weather was balmy and calm, a typical Au

September 7, 2003 Tribeca, NY JJ I was standing in front of Carullo’s door, pondering my next move, when I heard the music stop. I knew his routines, and that meant he was out of the bathroom and probably getting dressed. I looked at my watch, giving him precisely one minute, then knocked on his door. I heard him clomping across the floor toward the door. He was a big guy, towering over me by a good foot, so that expl

To my long-suffering readers, I am very sorry that I've been so absent from GA, both in posting and in presence. I've been doing great with my health, but I've just been incredibly busy. Unfortunately, it looks like that trend is going to continue for the next 6-9 months. I truly do appreciate your patience and forbearing with my slow posting pace. I hope you have a very Happy Holiday Season, and I've tried to contribute to that a bit by posting the few chapters that I've managed to finish up.

I suspect that Brad at 55 is even more cynical than he is now.

August 1800 The Admiralty, London Granger stared at the box curiously, wondering what Spencer would reveal, and wondering what it would mean for his new mission. “This came to us from Lord Elgin. I was of a mind to send it over to you, but after I had mentioned it to Caroline, I felt it was important to give it to you personally, and explain the circumstances.” “As I currently do not have a ship to command, and we were talking about

September 7, 2003 The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel New York, NY Will “God, that’s good,” I moaned, as Patrick thrust in and out of me slowly. We were lying on our sides, and I could feel his abs against my back as he exerted himself. His arms were both wrapped around me, with one holding me tight to him, and the other poised to allow him to stroke my cock in time with his slow, measured penetrations. “I’m gonna fucking f

I'm so glad you didn't, but just so you know, if the day comes that you decide to do that, I promised Sharon that JJ gets hit by a bus.

This is the only thing in your post that I have to vehemently disagree with you about. JJ has ample grounds to whine and bitch about his family neglecting him, etc., etc., but the deal with Maddy was pretty clear cut. Keep in mind that we're seeing this through JJ's eyes, so we don't know if the kids were really being that obnoxious, but even assuming that they were that bad, he had no grounds to interfere, and he had absolutely no right to grab her. That type of physical action is always out of line for someone who isn't the child's parent. He's her half-brother, and even though he's shown no interest in Maddy (or Riley), that status gives him at most the right to talk to them sternly. I would have expected him to say to them, "hey, calm down!" or probably a more snarky "settle down, this isn't a playground." If that didn't work, he needed to talk to Tiffany. Quite frankly, the only person who has, IMHO, the right to voice true and firm disapproval (besides Tiffany) is JP (or maybe Isidore). It's his kitchen, and he likes having his great-grandchildren (as he would consider them) around. I suspect that if he would have been there, he would have treated them indulgently, taking into account that it was a busy morning, one that would have been a bit chaotic with preparations to leave. If it were dinner in the dining room and not breakfast in the kitchen, he would have expected an entirely different type of behavior.

I think Will's biggest problem with the motel was the external door. Will may be many things, but the Pharma Bro persona is definitely not him.