Mark Arbour

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

LOL. JJ is our Sisyphus.

Reminds me of those early days, when Sharon unwisely agreed to edit for me. Poor woman. I've worked her damn near to death. You know, kind of like that horse in "Gone With the Wind," that Scarlett O'Hara keeps whipping until it drops dead. (Ducks and runs for cover)

January 18, 2003 American Airlines Center Dallas, TX JJ “JJ, fourth place going into the finals isn’t bad,” Tiffany insisted, for the fiftieth time. “Yes, it is,” I said to her acidly. “Anything but first place is bad.” “These are the best skaters in the country,” she persisted. “We knew this would be tough.” “Whatever,” I said, which should have been her clue to shut up, but she didn’t.

I think you may end up being disappointed. We'll see.

You raise interesting issues. I think that Alex and JJ are both very bi. I'm not sure Mary Ellen can be considered 'positive', but she does seem to value Wade's opinion of her, so maybe that will help reign her in.

Your observations are spot-on, in that much of what is happening now is a prelude to our next adventure. I don't think JJ has a chance against Mary Ellen. It's not that he's not smart enough, it's that he's not as evil as she is. Mary Ellen will go to any lengths to get what she wants (witness the pregnancy), while JJ has scruples.

Thanks Maarten. I'm wondering if Wade is really tuned into her feelings, or if he's just observant? Maybe they're the same thing. Either way, he's learned to keep his guard up, his eyes open, and his ears open when he's around his sister.

Sometimes, those who speak the least are heard the loudest. In this case, Darius's comments to Will had to have a major impact on his brother.

Possibly. :-)

Some readers didn't get why Mary Ellen would do this, and why Alex would do this, but they both have very good reasons.

December 25, 2002 Bridgemont, UK Wade “Merry Christmas,” Matt said, even as he collapsed on top of me, panting from our morning orgasm. I was trying to imagine how he could possibly make sex any better, and I just couldn’t. “What?” he asked, since I’d been spacing out on him. “I was just trying to think of how we could make sex more fun,” I teased, even though he didn’t get that yet. “How?” he asked in a frustrated way, worried that there wa

Late to this party. My apologies. Hope you had a great day!

I think it would be more accurate to say that Will craves Brad's attention, and is willing to get it whether it's good attention or bad attention.

Thanks Miles. You make a really good point, in that even if Cody and Kevin aren't on their way to a happily-ever-after, it's great if they can overcome the animosity.

A little behind in posting responses. If I'd have named Will "Tim", you'd love him. :-)

I just responded to a post in the Valiant streak, talking about Lord Nelson and his obsession with Lady Hamilton. That liaison was incredibly damaging to him, yet Nelson could not (or would not) give her up. He let love overrule his common sense and his obligations, IMHO. Brad is not so different than that. When he is in love, or infatuated, he tends to give that center stage, and everything else drops down in priority unless there's a crisis. Think back to how Will called him on that in Paternity, after he became almost obsessively focused on maintaining his relationship with Robbie. Perhaps he knows that love is where he's most vulnerable, and focuses his efforts there to try to control that world and limit the damage it can cause him.

Will is Will. This family needs someone like him to keep them on their toes.

I think that you can probably stay relatively calm, as we're winding this story down. The hard-core turbulence is probably in the past. Probably. ;-)

Why thank you! I actually think that Jackie was but a peripheral figure in this; in the end, it was likely Cody who put up most of the cash from the Diamond Agency and gave the agency the credit.

I really enjoyed writing Darius' lines in that chapter. I could just feel his frustration with his father and Will, that they would be bitchy and put a damper on things.

You know, I think if you're waiting for a JJ explosion, you're going to be disappointed. He's not like that. He's bitchy, he's snarky, and he can certainly hold his own when he has to, but he's not into big explosions, unlike his brother.

Thanks. I think that every once in a while, you have to have closure. :-)

I really don't think that's an option. At this point, Nelson is infatuated with her, and like a love-sick high school boy. He's only listening to his heart, and, uh, another part of his body.

You're the first one. The others are all too stoned. "Nark?" A Freudian slip?