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    Mark Arbour
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Streak - 50. Chapter 50-Final Chapter

March 19, 2003

Escorial, CA

 

Will

 

“Where have you been?” Zach asked, since I’d vanished for half an hour.

“In the kitchen,” I said.

“Dude, it’s almost time for dinner,” Zach said. “Not even I’m that hungry that I can’t wait.”

“Sometimes you are,” I joked. “I’m in charge of dinner tonight.”

“Yeah, I heard about that,” he said. “Frank is nervous.”

“Nothing to worry about,” I said playfully. “He’ll like it.”

“So what are you doing?” he asked me suspiciously.

“It’s a surprise,” I said, and then before he could argue, I got all task-oriented. “Time to get ready.”

We went into the bathroom together, and he was studying me in an intense way. “What?”

“Are you happy?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, totally wondering why he’d raised this issue. And even more worried about what this new line of conversation would mean.

“I mean, I’ve been living here with you for a couple of months, and I’m just wondering if I get in your way,” he said.

I rolled my eyes at him knowingly. Every once in a while, he’d get these insecurity attacks, as I called them, where he’d start to question whether things were OK, whether he was OK. “Things have been a lot different since you moved in,” I said seriously.

“I’m sorry,” he said, starting to freak out, until he saw me smile, then he frowned in annoyance.

“I have never been happier in my life than I am now, with you here,” I said sincerely, with an intensity that seemed to convince him. “It amazes me how good we are together.”

“I’m happy too, but I did just fall into your world, and sometimes I worry that I’m cramping your style.”

“I’ve been wanting you here for over a year now,” I said. “I usually get what I want.”

He chuckled. “Usually.” We spruced up our appearances, and then headed up to the dining room. The first person I saw when I walked in was Stef.

“You’re back!” I said enthusiastically, and gave Stef a big hug. He’d been in Connecticut for business.

“Thank you for the warm welcome,” he said.

I greeted everyone else, and then sat in my normal place, next to Zach. It was just like old times, with Frank and Grandmaman here, along with Grand and Stef. We were missing Dad, but we’d added Zach. I decided that was a good trade off. “And since you have seized control of our menu this evening, I am interested to see what we are having for dinner,” Grand said.

“You are in charge of dinner?” Stef asked. “I may starve.”

“Since you rarely eat anything anyway, that’s not going to happen,” I said to him, even as I stood up. At precisely 7:05, just as I’d ordained, two of our staff members came out carrying covered plates and set them in the center of the table. “Tonight, you have a choice of two different meals.”

“Indeed?” Grand asked curiously.

“Indeed,” I answered, smiling at him. “For those of you who are true Americans, loyal Americans, sworn to destroy all evil terrorists, we have the all-American special for you.” I took off the lid of one of the plates, revealing a monster cheeseburger with fries. There was a little paper American flag stuck into the bun.

“Do we have to swear to destroy all evil terrorists to eat one of those?” Zach asked.

“Communist,” I accused in a joking way. “This is a half pound of prime ground beef, derived from cattle grown on American land eating American grain, or wheat, or whatever cows eat.”

“I believe the best beef comes from cattle that mostly eat grass, with perhaps some hay mixed in,” Grand said. Of course he’d know that.

“This cheese is American, of course,” I said, “and for your side, you have that American classic: Freedom fries.”

“Freedom fries,” Stef said with disdain. The Congress had declared that they were renaming French fries and French toast to Freedom fries and Freedom toast, to snub French President Jacques Chirac, who wouldn’t go along with their hare-brained plan to invade Iraq.

“And for those of you who prefer an alternative, we have here the French cheese-eating, surrender monkey meal,” I said, pulling the lid off the other plate. “It includes those two French delicacies, escargot and frog legs, along with a sampling of cheeses.”

Stef stood up and looked at both plates closely. “If there were ever a question as to why obesity is such a problem in America, these two meals would explain it.”

“So shall I put you down for the French surrender monkey plate?” I asked. Grand was chuckling, and that made me happy, because that meant I’d achieved my goal. I’d attempted to cheer him up, to get him out of his funk, and I’d resolved to try at least one thing every week to achieve that goal.

“I am a lover, not a fighter,” Stef said, cracking us all up.

“I will join Stefan, and celebrate the fare from my native land,” Grandmaman said. Everyone else took the cheeseburger.

As we sat there eating, I flipped one of my fries onto Stef’s plate, since he was sitting across from me. “Sorry. It’s hard to contain these fries. They’re all into freedom.”

“Or perhaps your freedom fry has realized that true freedom is more than just a flag and a slogan,” he said with a raised eyebrow, even as he took a bite out of it.

“Perhaps,” I said, chuckling. “How was Dad?”

“He is doing quite well,” Stef said. “As long as he is not away from Marc for too long.” Even he was annoyed by how completely linked Dad and Marc were.

“Too long is about eight hours,” I grumbled.

“I think that perhaps you are being optimistic,” Stef said, rolling his eyes.

“So he rushed you back,” I summarized. “Does that mean you didn’t go up and see JJ?”

“Your father spoke to him on the phone and JJ indicated that he would prefer that we not come up,” Stef said.

“And you guys believed that?” I asked, totally stunned at them. “Seriously?”

“Why would we not believe him?” Stef asked, only now he was annoyed with me.

“Because he says that when he doesn’t want to be bothered, but that’s when he needs to be bothered the most.” They all looked at me, confused, but then again, they hadn’t grown up with JJ’s weird moods. “He’s really down about tearing his ACL.”

“Even though the surgery went well?” Grand asked.

“Matt said he was re-examined yesterday and things looked good, but he’s still out for the rest of the year,” I explained. How come Dad and Stef didn’t know this shit?

“I am glad to hear he is recovering well,” Grandmaman said.

“Spring break is next week,” I said. “I’m going to spend it in Boston.”

“Not the ultimate Spring Break destination,” Frank joked. We all chuckled, but it was starting to really piss me off that none of these people seemed to give a shit about JJ.

“JJ’s there, so I’m going to try and cheer him up,” I said.

“Tiffany is about to have her baby, I would think,” Grandmaman said. “Are you going to Boston as well?” she asked Zach.

“I’m going to LA,” he said, and looked at me apologetically, but there was no need. We’d worked this out a while back. “The coach asked me to come down to UCLA over Spring Break.”

“You must stay in Malibu while you are there,” Stef said. “I will make sure you have all the door codes, and there is a spare Ferrari in the garage you can drive.”

I laughed. “Most places don’t come with a Ferrari to drive.”

“No kidding,” Zach said. “I appreciate that, but I’m probably going to stay on campus.”

“Well, it is an option,” Stef said.

“When are you flying to Boston?” Grand asked.

“I’m leaving on Saturday morning,” I told him. “The plane has to come back, so it’s flying out to pick me up on the following weekend. Probably on Saturday.”

“Then, if it does not inconvenience you, I think I will join you on your trek out there, so I can see JJ,” Grand said. “I can fly back on Sunday, or possibly even Monday.”

I smiled broadly at that, at someone finally showing some concern for JJ. “I think that will be awesome,” I told him.

In one of the funnier Escorial dinner moments, there was complete silence after that, while everyone suddenly got that they’d totally blown JJ off. “I think I can join you,” Stef said, as he pulled out his calendar. Zach and I smirked at each other, trying not to laugh out loud.

“Perhaps we can fly out on the following weekend,” Grandmaman said, but it was more of a question, directed at Frank.

“I can do that,” he said.

“I’m sure JJ will appreciate seeing all of you,” I said, then looked at Stef. “If you see Dad this week, maybe you can drop that suggestion in his lap.”

“I will do just that,” he said.

“He can bring Marc along,” I said.

“That is probably the only way we can lure him to go,” Stef said in frustration.

We’d been sitting there for twenty minutes when my phone vibrated. I usually ignored it during dinner, but it stopped, then started again, which meant someone really wanted to talk to me. I pulled it out and saw from the caller-ID that it was Wade. Shit, this could be anything, but it would most likely involve either JJ or Tiffany. I got up and left the room, remembering to give Grand and Grandmaman an apologetic look as I did.

“Hey,” I said as I answered the phone.

“Sorry to bug you during dinner,” Wade said, sounding agitated.

“Well, since you did, what’s up?” I asked pleasantly.

“The war just started,” he said. “I was watching TV, and Bush came on and announced that it had started.”

“Fuck,” I said, feeling the sadness and depression overwhelming me.

“I just thought you’d want to know,” he said, catching my mood.

“Thanks,” I said, and then we ended the call. I paused for a minute to think about what this meant, that we’d be sending a bunch of soldiers into harm’s way for no good reason at all, and that fully deflated what was left of my good mood. I walked back into the dining room and everyone got nervous on seeing my expression.

“Is everyone alright?” Grandmaman asked urgently.

“The war started,” I said, my eyes focused on Grand.

It was incredible to watch him in action during times like this. He summoned one of the kitchen staff. “I am sorry to inconvenience you, but can you set up a tray for me and anyone else who wants to join me, so I can finish this wonderful meal in the television room?”

“Certainly, Dr. Crampton,” she said.

“I’ll need one too,” I said to her, even as I followed Grand into the television room. “Wade said that Bush came on and said that things had started.”

“I’m not surprised,” Grand said. Zach joined us as well, as we flipped on the television and watched the footage from Baghdad, and various other places.

“I’m not saying that this is a good idea, but it’s kind of exciting,” Zach said, then looked at both of us nervously.

“That is a normal reaction, especially in the beginning of a war. The populace is fired up, with expectations of a quick and easy victory,” Grand said.

“They’ve been comparing our forces to the Iraqi army, and it doesn’t look all that tough,” Zach said.

“Especially after the pasting we gave them in Kuwait,” I augmented.

“You would both be wise to avoid falling into that trap of complacency,” Grand said, irritated. That alone told both of us how upset he was. “And even if the initial battle is relatively easy, the aftermath will undoubtedly include a civil war, and that will be messy.”

“We’re there, so won’t we be able to stop a civil war?” Zach asked.

“We will stop terrorists with tanks?” he asked acidly. “Iraq is a dictatorship, with power vested almost exclusively in Saddam Hussein. If he is removed, there will be a huge power vacuum, and as there is no clear leader, it will be ugly. It was much the same during the French Revolution, where once the King was removed; it took time, and a lot of blood, to fill the void he left.”

“Oh,” Zach said, and then we shut up and watched the television. It was fascinating, in that I was totally transfixed on the bombing and the reports that were coming back. There were a lot of segues to discuss new weapons, especially smart bombs, that could zero in on a target in an amazingly precise way. And there were a lot of reports about military successes and advances. But Grand’s words rankled in my mind. He wasn’t always right, but he usually was, especially about stuff like this.

 

March 24, 2003

Boston, MA

 

Will

 

“So what’s your plan for today?” I asked JJ as we sat eating breakfast. He was remarkably pleasant to everyone but me, which didn’t surprise me at all. In a weird, twisted kind of way, it was flattering. I knew how upset he was about his knee, and how hard he was trying to recover from the surgery. I could appreciate that he largely hid that to make sure he was pleasant around Matt and Wade, and that he was charming enough that Alex would want to spend time with him. For Tiffany, he reserved a polite but frigid demeanor, to let her know how pissed off at her he was, without being openly obnoxious about it.

“Same thing I do every day,” he said. “Physical therapy and school.”

“Nice that you have a routine,” I quipped, and got an annoyed look from him.

“Are you staying here all week?” he asked, implying that he wanted me to leave. He didn’t, but he was trying to spark a fight with me to work off some of his annoyance.

“Absolutely,” I said cheerfully. “I’m so glad I get to spend time with you.” It was hilarious to see how much that bugged him.

“What are you going to do while I’m busy?”

“This afternoon I’m going to spend some time with Matt,” I told him. “He had to go downtown for something, but he’ll be back after lunch.”

“So you’re just going to hang out here until then?” he asked.

“I am,” I told him. “Want to do something?”

“I told you that I’m busy,” he snapped.

“It’s all good,” I said calmly. “I planned to finish breakfast, and then take a nap.”

“Don’t work too hard,” he said, being catty. “I have to go.”

“Have fun,” I said.

“This is not fun,” he said emphatically. “None of it is fun. Physical therapy is boring and painful, and studying is almost worse.”

“Try to have a positive attitude,” I said in a rah-rah way. “If you think it’s fun, it will be.”

“Fuck you,” he said, and stomped out of the room, leaving me in the kitchen, smiling.

“He will not admit it, but he likes that you are here,” Rosa said, grinning at me.

“I know,” I told her. “He needs someone to be pissed off at. For this week, I give him a convenient target.”

One of the nurses came bursting into the kitchen in a near panic. “Miss Tiffany’s water just broke!” You’d think that a nurse would be a little calmer about this thing.

“I’ll go check on her,” I said, and zipped up the two flights of stairs to her level. She was in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet, looking pretty shitty. “Heard you’re leaking.”

“I ooze fluids from damn near every orifice in my body,” she complained. “What are you doing in my bathroom?”

“Checking up on you,” I said pleasantly. I was evidently destined to be her bitch too. “You need to go to the hospital?”

She looked at me blankly, and then nodded. “It’s time.”

“I’ll have them bring the car around while you put yourself together, at least as much as you can,” I said.

“Just get the fuck out of here,” she said, but in a playful way. I called downstairs and had them bring the car around, then let Rosa know what was going on. I waited until Tiffany walked out of the room and then escorted her down the elevator and out to the car.

“You think this is like last time, where it’s just a false alarm?” When she’d had Riley, she’d had a few of those.

She shook her head. “No, it’s time. Both of us are ready for it to be time.” She was pretty big, bigger than she’d been with Riley, and she’d been pretty miserable lately. “Plus you’re here, and you’re my lucky labor charm.”

“Figures,” I grumbled. “None of the fun of conception, but I get to be there for the birth.”

“With Matt and Wade, conception is pretty fun,” she said with a leer, just to mess with me.

“No doubt,” I said. It was a short ride to the hospital, and once we got there, they whisked her off to get her ready, leaving me all by myself. I took that opportunity to call Wade and Matt and let them know what was going on, and I also called Escorial to tell them. I thought about calling my father, but changed my mind. If he wanted to know what was going on, he was going to have to be a little more involved.

Dad had decided not to come out this last weekend, which was fine with me except I was worried it would bother JJ. In the end, JJ seemed happy enough just having Grand and Stef along. I was willing to cut my father some slack on this if he showed up next weekend, but if he didn’t, when I eventually saw him again, he was in for a relatively unpleasant experience.

“Mr. Schluter,” an orderly said.

“Yes?”

“Ms. Van den Boss said that you were her coach,” she told me. “We need to get you into scrubs.”

“Sounds good,” I said, grinning. I went through the familiar routine, putting on the hospital garb and sterilizing my hands, and then they led me in to where Tiffany was in the bed. “Seems we’ve done this before,” I said to her cheerfully.

“We make a good team,” she joked, then cringed as she had a contraction.

“You think this will take a long time, like it did for Riley?”

She shook her head, but didn’t speak until the contraction had passed. “Not this time. This baby is coming out fast and furious. Shit, I’m already almost dilated.”

“You’ve got a body made for birthing babies,” I said, giving her shit.

“Yeah, right,” she grumbled, and then we both laughed.

“Why didn’t you find out if it was a boy or a girl?” That seemed totally out of character for her, and for Matt and Wade.

“We couldn’t tell during the first couple of ultrasounds,” she said. “We could have done another one, just to see if we could figure it out, but I decided that if I was meant to know, I’d have found out during the other ultrasounds.”

Her doctor came in, and this time it was a woman, a very attractive woman. “Dr. Janet Douglass,” she said curtly, introducing herself to me.

“Will Schluter,” I said in a friendly way, but she didn’t really give a shit about me.

“How are you?” she asked Tiffany.

“Good,” Tiffany said, and then cringed from a contraction.

“This baby is in a hurry,” she said.

“The first one wasn’t,” Tiffany said.

“Second babies are often faster, and they are usually easier,” she said.

“Usually,” I augmented, giving Tiffany shit. The doctor gave me a dirty look, since she didn’t understand how Tiffany and I communicated.

“Let’s take a look,” she said, and started to probe Tiffany’s groin.

“I think you did this just so you could get a hot woman to probe your vagina,” I said to Tiffany.

“I don’t need to get pregnant to do that,” she said, cracking me up, and making me laugh even harder when the doctor glanced up at her in surprise.

“Is he always his obnoxious?” the doctor asked Tiffany, referring to me. Tiffany really laughed at that, only it was cut short by a contraction.

“Always,” Tiffany said.

“It’s my way,” I told the doctor, even as I felt Tiffany’s hand grasp mine firmly.

“I’m so glad you’re here, doing this with me,” she said to me sincerely.

“So am I,” I said, with just as much meaning. “You make beautiful babies.”

“I do,” she said. “And it’s nice to have someone here with me who doesn’t hate me.”

“I realize that’s a challenge for you,” I joked, getting a chuckle from her, but her face wrinkled up in anguish. “Look, you had to do this, had to stop coaching. You’d be at the Worlds, like this? No fucking way.”

“I know,” she said, and started crying. “But to do it during a press conference was pretty awful.”

“So why did you do it?”

She shrugged. “It was one of those times where my logic left me. I was there, watching JJ win, and I realized that it just wasn’t all that important to me. And I knew that he needed someone to coach him who was totally into him and his program. I’d been that person, but I couldn’t do it anymore.”

“So it just kind of slipped out,” I summarized. She nodded. “So you owe him an apology for that, but not for quitting. That’s all you. You get to decide how you live your life.”

She grimaced, either from a contraction or from thinking about JJ. “I tried to apologize, but he’s so pissed off at me, he’s not listening.”

“He will, eventually,” I told her. She looked at me and clearly didn’t believe me. “He has to pout and sulk about it for a while.”

“He blames me for his injury.”

“So. It’s not your fault. You know that, I know that, and everyone but JJ knows that. He’ll figure it out in the end.” I squeezed her hand. “I’ll have Darius explain it to him. He’ll toss in a punch or two to make his point.”

She chuckled, but then she grimaced, and this time, the contraction was a long one.

“This baby is ready to make a debut,” the doctor said. And just like it had been with Riley, the attention shifted entirely to Tiffany’s vagina. I hadn’t really thought things would move that quickly, but they did. First we saw that unmistakable shape of the head as it forced its way through her birth canal, and then, with the head out, the rest of the baby came out like a rocket shooting out of a cannon. “Congratulations, Ms. Van den Boss. You have a son.”

“He’s a boy?” Tiffany asked, even as they handed her the crying, wet thing.

“That’s what this means,” the doctor said, exposing his penis.

“Dude, he’s already hung,” I joked, getting a dirty look from the doctor.

“Cut the cord for me, Will,” Tiffany directed. And just like I’d done with Riley, I cut the umbilical cord where the doctor indicated.

“We have to weigh him, and get him cleaned up,” the nurse said, taking the baby from Tiffany. Neither one of them was happy about it, but they acquiesced.

“When Riley was born, you were pretty sure that Wade was the father,” I said. “You know this time?”

She smiled serenely. “I’d say, from the way he was so damn impatient, and from all the pain and suffering he caused me during pregnancy, that this one is probably Matt’s.” I laughed with her, even though I’d gotten the same vibe.

“You decide what you’re going to name him?”

“Not yet,” she said. “Matt likes Joshua, and I do too.”

“I’ve got another suggestion for you,” I told her. “He was born on March 24.”

“So? What difference does that make?” she asked.

“I think you should name him Robert,” I told her, even as I felt tears forming in my eyes.

Tiffany gasped, even as she looked at me. “Today was Robbie’s birthday.”

“Nothing would have made him happier than being a grandfather,” I said.

“He would have felt old,” she said, reminding me of Robbie’s battle to stay young.

“I think this would have trumped that, in his mind.”

“You’re probably right,” she said. “Robert Edward van den Boss Carrswold. Has a nice ring to it.”

“Edward?”

“For Matt’s father, so he doesn’t feel left out,” she said, in what was a very intuitive and thoughtful gesture. “Four names though. That’s a lot.”

“I have four names,” I told her.

“Does that mean he’ll be like you?” she asked, horrified.

“No, it’s worse than that. He’ll probably be like you.”

“Fuck,” she said, cracking us both up.

Copyright © 2015 Mark Arbour; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

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Robert! You made me cry....

The dialogue between Will and Tiffany was hilarious!

More please!

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Great until the very end. And such a high note of an ending. Can't wait for the next in the saga. Hope it's soon.

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This was absolutely perfect. I started to tear up at the end, as I do with any mention of him, but since I'm at work I fought those suckers back!!! Hopefully the next book isn't too far away and Brad isn't such an ass.

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I'm with DDK. I didn't realize it was Robbie's birthday until Will said to name the baby Robert. Superb ending to a superb book... tears and laughter... wonderful. Thank you for the entertainment... and Cheers... Gary

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damn, got tears in my eyes after the part about Robbie

It's always fun to read the communication between Tiffany & Will

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Somehow I think I screwed up and accidentally "un-liked" the chapter which couldn't be further from the truth!mmtried to correct but kept getting an error message...

 

A great way to wrap up the story covering a lot of ground.

 

The first segment with dinner at Escorial was classic but had a somewhat somber closing given what was transpiring and recognizing JP's experience was sobering, especially with all that we have seen since then.

 

How does the saying go - if we don't learn from our history we are doomed to repeat it? Will we never learn...?

 

For the "Will-haters", does this chapter redeem him at all? LOL

 

Classic wrap up with the déjà vu birthing experience and all of the dialog byplay in the delivery room...the birth date caught me by surprise and certainly moistened the eyes...

 

Thank you Mark and team for another wonderful story segment of the CAP universe!

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I have to wonder at Brad throwing himself so fully into the relationship with Marc. I have a feeling that despite his words to the contrary, he isn't as over Robbie's death as he thinks. Seems like he is using the relationship as a form of avoidance.

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What a fantastic chapter to end a fantastic book. I could not be looking forward to the future more than I am now.

 

If I may, a quick Less Than Serious Side Note or Two: Hopefully, that future includes a lot of Will-Centric Sex and Drama. You cannot take the pressure off the Will-Haters Mark. Do not hold back, show them no mercy. Do not allow concern for their humanity to stay your hand, to paraphrase Aldo Rein from Inglorious Basterds, the Will-Haters ain’t got no humanity. Also, although we did not get a Saint Patrick’s Day chapter this year (again), I am glad to see that National day in Cameroon did not pass by without commemoration. As long as we hit the important ones, it’s all good ;)

 

On a serious note, the future looks to hold some difficult times, emotionally. Nothing so bad as the 9/11 stuff, thank god, but I am most interested to see how Will and his Grandfather both react to the events of the next few years. The war is going to be so hard, emotionally, on the Professor (doubly so, given Condoleezza Rice’s connection to Stanford), before you even think about including Darius or another close member of the extended family directly in the conflict. And there is no way it is all going to be smooth sailing for Will when it comes to Zach, or J.J. when it comes to, well, at this point in his life, pretty much everything. Given how much of whom we are we discover in the process of reacting to the tragedies in the lives of those closest to us, we can certainly also add Brad to the list of people who, for better or worse, will be very different people in a few years.

 

Thank you again for the amazing gift that this story, and the community which exists around it, has become.

I hope that this finds you and yours well.

All the Best,

Jason

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Hi Mark,

 

Thanks for the final chapter of Streak.

 

I had been mentally preparing myself for a completely Will-cWill-centred chapter, and I am glad I did. He was as obnoxious as ever.

 

I am wondering where you'll be taking us. An anti-war plot? Seems to me to be the most likely.

 

Looking forward to the next book.

 

Lots of loving cuddles,

Maarten

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Talk about ending in tears. Despite the waterworks, this is an excellent end to another fantastic CAP chapter. I also love that Robbie memory continues in his grandson.

:wub:

Thank you!

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Wonderful! Wonderfull! Matt's son named after his father. Born on Robbie's birthday. Even the Will haters have got to see this was a good thing, a real good thing. You have me crying and laughing at the same time. A Wonderful chapter Mark. Until now I did not understand that this is the real end of 9 11. What better ending could it be?

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The witty, frequently hilarious dialogue in the CAP stories continues to impress me and I'm in awe of how you intertwine major historical events. I really can't wait for the next installment.

On a final note, I would really like Mary Ellen to die in the 2015 Boxing Day tsunami.

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Congratulations Mark and team on another marvelous story.

 

The coming book should be interesting for who the narrator(s) is(are). Will will return to Harvard Westlake to be near Zach? Will Zach have time for Will? What will Alex do to handle Mary Ellen? How will JJ come to terms with the end of his career, or will he realize yet?

 

Looking forward to what comes next.

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This was a great final chapter to another amazing book in this saga. I found that I really enjoyed learning something new about each of those that were chosen to be narrators in this story.

 

For all of those that seem to hate everything Will does; you can all kiss my hairy white ass... Will rocks and is a worthy successor to JP in the grand scheme of things. I really loved how he handled both the dinner at Escorial and the news that the war started. The way Will was so tuned in to JP was amazing. I thought it was really special that he was the one person that understood that JJ really needed and wanted to have family there with him even as he was telling everyone else no... Will handled JJ perfectly as well. Then you had Will being there for Tiffany again. The give and take between the two of them was just perfect.

 

I truly can't wait to see what you focus on next in this truly gripping saga. I am sure whichever direction you take us will be filled with drama, tears, laughter, and so much more; everything that makes life truly interesting. Keep up the outstanding work, Mark... Bravo...

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I nominate R.C. as Baby Robert's nickname. It would be such a family thing to do.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how the Iraq War affects the family. It's nice that they set up a contracting plant in Claremont.

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What a way to end the chapter! I enjoyed everything and the story hit the heartstrings, JJ's surgery, the war (between Will and Brad as well as the one the US was entering), the baby, the tribute to Robbie.

 

Can't wait until the next segment begins.

 

Thank you for sharing your talents with us, your humble readers!

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Un, Tony and Matt are still alive :P

Thanks Mark and Team for the the latest chapter in the CAP saga. I was hoping for more death and destruction but I am sure we will all get that and more in the next book.

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Hi Mark. You are a fantastic author. You pump out a massive amount of great story with characters that I feel I know personally while making it appear effortless. I can spend hours laboring over my keyboard and end up trashing it after reading it. However, I'm a damn good cook. I think I'll stick with what I can do and just continue to enjoy your talent while I munch out. Thanks for all the good reads. Tom

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Another great chapter to bring "Streak" to a conclusion! I think that this story gave me more appreciation and understanding of Will. 9/11 had a great impact on him causing him to mature a great deal. He can be rough and tough to take a times, but he very obviously cares very much about the people in his family. He is more sensitive and perceptive of them and their feelings and motivations than other members of the family, including his father. He is also very loyal and believable as a character. I know a couple of people a bit like him.

I'm really looking forward to what you will be serving up for us now and from whose POV.

Bob

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Mark! Another amazing instalment closed. Thank you! I agree with most of the others, I do like Will's insight and friendly antagonism with both JJ and Tiffany. Naming the kid Robert is adorable and I'm really glad Matt gets the kid this time. I remember the night of Shock and Awe when the war started. I was in Boston as well (well, Cambridge) living with a bunch of ROTC kids, I became affectionately referred to as a dirty hippy for the next four years (they did it with love :) )

I am kinda annoyed still at Tiffany. We all agree that the way she announced it was bogus, but her decision in the first place is bothering me more and more. On first inspection her decision to be a full-time mom for her three kids seems fair. However when you consider she had a large role in the raising of JJ, in recent years, larger than his other parental figures, and she certainly had allowed JJ to count on her as such, and finally that we aren't talking about an 80-hour/week job here - it kinda muddies the waters.

The way she said that she was watching this kid she has been help grow up for 4-5 years succeed hugely at something they both have worked tirelessly for, and not care.. struck me as amazingly cold. JJ is right, she is clearly stating that she doesn't care that much for JJ. Now she is annoyed that he is still upset, or acting wounded that it is still an issue. Its like if a girl dumped a guy publicly right after they went on some epic vacation together and everything seemed perfect, then expected the guy to be completely cool with being friends the next week, and acted injured because the guy was hurt. Further as best as we can tell I think, Tiffany has apologized for how she told him, but I seems to think that abruptly leaving, if she had told him in private would be just fine. Given JJ's issues with his parents, and with his previous coach, Tiffany should be far more careful with keeping JJ from feeling abandoned (whether that's having a co-coach for a while, easing out between seasons, or some such thing). It doesn't seem like Tiffany if terribly apologetic or conciliatory about treating the decision to quit so casually.

Yeah, maybe JJ will (or should, even) get over being actively angry at Tiffany, (though I think he is being remarkably fair by being civil) but why JJ should have to like her or have any relationship with her at all, in the future, is beyond me. Tiffany doesn't get to have it both ways. She thinks its fair to choose her family over her just her job, treating JJ like there is only a professional relationship, and at the same time she expects JJ to treat her like family and not an employee that screwed him over. Further while the many relationships involved make things more complicated, but it seems like Tiffany only had JJ mad at her for her stunt and for ditching him. Given her relationship to the kids, Wade and Matt I'm not saying she should be shunned. But I think it would have been fair for some of the family to have expressed their displeasure as well.

I'm torn as to what would be best for JJ in the future. Insofar as it would be fun to spite ME, and because Alex really has been a good guy for JJ, I hope they can stay together. In my opinion JJ deserves it. On the other hand I don't see why JJ should be forced to stay in that house while he deals with the challenges he'll be facing.

I can't wait to see how things progress, both interpersonally and with the war.

Rachel

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Thank you, Mark. Thank you for getting back to Streak, and finishing it so beautifully, even after having to take a break for awhile there. That break put the fear of god into me -- and made me realize that I've come to count on JP (my favorite patriarch), beautiful Stef, Brad (in all his narcissistic imperfection), Will (whom I unapologetically love), suddenly JJ, and the rest of the over-extended family and their shenanigans to get me through my not-nearly-as-interesting-or-luxurious daily life.

In the last few years, since I first found the CAP series, you given me a gift that I really needed at a time when I really needed it, and I've taken mounds of comfort and humor and love from from your work. It's become the healthier replacement for my former go-to fix: Coffee Haagen Dazs. So, once again, I thank you! And I'm waiting with baited breath for number 16.

With gratitude, Clara

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Mark, your description of Johnny Weir was spot on!  When I saw him as commentator of the Seoul Olympics, i had to change the channel.  He is so far out there...and I am a gay man.  He made Adam Rippon look like Sylvester Stallone.  

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 I think that many are selling Tiffany short complexity of pregnancy professional responsibility is very very demanding JJ is as always all full of drama so self-centered and often completely unreasonable.  Once again you have created a wonderful story vibrate characters wonderful motivations and complexity thanks 

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Another Great Chronicle! Thanks again Mark. Will start on #16 Black Widow soon. I am almost caught up with you Mark.

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