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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. 

Thwarted - 25. Chapter Twenty-Five

Prompt: "Time heals all wounds."

Mark nearly collided with Trey as he stepped out of the bathroom. Trey’s hands shot out and grabbed him as he stumbled backwards.

“Hey, everything okay with your dad?” Mark stepped closer and dropped a kiss on Trey’s lips.

“Yeah, he still thinks we’re moving too fast, but I think I managed to put some of his concerns to rest.” Trey smiled.

“I hope you told him that if we did move in together, they are welcome to visit whenever they’d like.” Mark laced his fingers with Trey’s and headed back towards the kitchen. “That’s what I told your mom.”

“Yeah, I did. I also told him that I’d be able to visit more than I do now.”

“Good.” Mark stepped into the kitchen to see bowls of stew already on the table as well as plates of biscuits. Gary and Diane were already seated and were apparently just waiting on them. Gary eyed their clasped hands but didn’t say anything and Diane just smiled as they both took their seats.

“Well, let’s eat.” Gary grabbed a plate of biscuits and set two on a small plate before passing the plate to Trey.

***

“That was great Diane.” Mark stood and picked up his empty dishes before gathering everyone else’s and carrying them to the sink.

“Thank you Mark, just set them in the sink and I’ll load them in the dishwasher.” Diane pushed her chair back and started to stand but Trey motioned her back down and stood.

“We’ll take care of them, Mom. You cooked, we’ll clean up.”

Mark bit back a chuckle as Trey’s mom looked over at him.

“Obviously you’re already a good influence on him.”

“Very funny.” Trey joined Mark at the sink. “You act like I never help when I’m here.”

Mark started rinsing the plates and bowls. Working together it didn’t take very long before the dishwasher was full and Trey shut the door and started the cycle before turning to face his parents.

“So what do you guy want to do now?”

“Figured you’d want to relax today. We know how long that drive is. I’ve got a few things I have to take care of up at the property so that I can be free the rest of the week.” Gary shrugged. “Well, unless something breaks down. I shouldn’t be too long.” Gary stood and paused by Diane’s chair long enough to drop as kiss on her lips. “I should be back in a couple of hours.”

Trey yawned as his dad left.

“Actually, I think I might need a nap. I had to get up early yesterday and we got an early start this morning.” He grinned at Mark. “We should get rested up because if I know Dad, we’ll probably spend tomorrow at the lake.”

Diane chuckled.

“He hasn’t gone out much lately and I know he was hoping that you’d be up for taking the boat out.” Diane stood. “Why don’t you boys go rest up and I’ll just read for a bit.”

“You sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all, we have all week to catch up.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Trey led the way back upstairs. He waited until they were behind the closed bedroom door to step closer and wrap his arms around Mark’s waist.

“I thought you were tired”—Mark chuckled—“or was that just an excuse to get me alone.”

“Maybe a bit of both.” Trey laughed. “Honestly, it’s a bit odd. I’ve never brought anyone home to meet my parents.”

“Your parents are great.” Mark kissed Trey gently.

“How were your parents the first time you brought someone home?”

Mark swallowed. Trey had never really asked about his parents and he’d managed to keep them out of conversation up until now. He’d known the subject was bound to come up, especially now that Trey had brought him home.

“I never have; well, not since high school.” Mark closed his eyes, hoping Trey would let it drop.

“Oh.” Trey stepped back and moved over to sit on the bed. “Just never met the right guy?”

“That, and because I barely speak to my parents.” Mark sighed. He walked over and lay on the bed, one arm covering his eyes.

“They took your coming out hard?”

Mark couldn’t see him, but he felt movement on the bed and lifted his arm to see Trey lying next to him, propped on one arm.

“They don’t know.” Mark rolled so he was facing Trey. “It wasn’t much of an issue when I was in the army. I never had a serious enough relationship.”

“What about now?”

It was a valid question; they were talking about starting a life together. If only it was as easy as just calling his parents up and setting up a visit, but it wasn’t.

Mark groaned.

“Once I decided to get out of the military, I decided that I was done hiding. I planned to tell them once my enlistment was up, give them time to get used to the idea so that when I met someone they’d be over the shock.” Mark sighed.

“So why didn’t you?”

“Because I underestimated my dad. He had been upset with me when I chose the army over the marines. He was a marine, his brother was a marine, my grandpa had been a marine, it was expected that I’d join the marines.”

“And you joined the army.”

“Yeah, it didn’t go over well, but time heals all wounds I guess and he got over it”—Mark shrugged—“as much as he was going to anyways. I suspect my mom had a lot to do with it.”

“So what happened?” Trey scooted closer.

“I became a disgrace to his name.” His dad’s words still hurt. He didn’t give Trey a chance to say anything. “He got over me choosing the army, but me not making the military my career was more than he could accept. He hasn’t talked to me since.”

I've had people wanting to know about Mark's parents, and I knew it was going to come up soon, and now seemed like a good time to get started with it. Knowing a bit of Mark's history with his own dad, Trey's dad's first words to him have a little more meaning now... I'd love to know what you thought, so feel free to leave a review. If you'd like to discuss the story more in depth with either myself, or other readers, feel free to do so in the discussion thread!
Copyright © 2016 Renee Stevens; 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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Trey´s parents are great and they´ll have a lovely time with them :) but Mark´s parents or at least his dad won´t be as easy or perhaps he misses his son by now and wants to have him back in his life :unsure2: Looking forward to that meeting :huh:

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Mark is letting his dad define him as a success or failure and that is probably a huge source of his putting off going to school. Hopefully Trey can help Mark define success for himself.

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I think Mark's father is an absolute idiot. I'm sorry, maybe it's b/c I don't come from a military family, for for God's sakes, what difference does it make what division of the military his son is in? He should be damn proud of him for enlisting in the first place! And just b/c generations of men in the family made a career out of it, it is not for everybody. He should be proud that Mark did his tours and came out in one piece, never mind the fact that he was in the army. Be proud of your son for even enlisting. People like that get me so angry.

 

Anyway...Trey's folks are great. I hope Mark doesn't start to resent Trey b/c his parents are so cool with him and Mark's parents won't even talk to their son. That's utterly ridiculous. Life is too short to hold stupid grudges, especially when your kids are involved.

 

Well, I've said my piece. lol Or is it 'peace'? I looked it up once but I don't remember now...

 

Great chapter, Renee! :)

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On 02/19/2014 09:39 PM, Suvitar said:
Trey´s parents are great and they´ll have a lovely time with them :) but Mark´s parents or at least his dad won´t be as easy or perhaps he misses his son by now and wants to have him back in his life :unsure2: Looking forward to that meeting :huh:
I absolutely love Gary and Diane, and I know even more about them than the readers at this point, lol. (Though it's all in my head). I wanted to do something a little different with Mark's parents. It's still up in the air how all of that will turn out, but only time is going to tell. Thanks for reviewing!!!
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On 02/20/2014 12:06 AM, Daddydavek said:
Mark is letting his dad define him as a success or failure and that is probably a huge source of his putting off going to school. Hopefully Trey can help Mark define success for himself.
You could very well be right DDK. I hadn't really thought of it that way *starts making notes*. I only knew that Mark wasn't sure what he wanted to DO, but he's been kinda quiet on the WHY of it. (YES, I do "talk" to my characters). Maybe Trey can give me some help on that front, if I can't get Mark to talk to me :P. Thanks for the review!!!
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On 02/20/2014 03:54 AM, Lisa said:
I think Mark's father is an absolute idiot. I'm sorry, maybe it's b/c I don't come from a military family, for for God's sakes, what difference does it make what division of the military his son is in? He should be damn proud of him for enlisting in the first place! And just b/c generations of men in the family made a career out of it, it is not for everybody. He should be proud that Mark did his tours and came out in one piece, never mind the fact that he was in the army. Be proud of your son for even enlisting. People like that get me so angry.

 

Anyway...Trey's folks are great. I hope Mark doesn't start to resent Trey b/c his parents are so cool with him and Mark's parents won't even talk to their son. That's utterly ridiculous. Life is too short to hold stupid grudges, especially when your kids are involved.

 

Well, I've said my piece. lol Or is it 'peace'? I looked it up once but I don't remember now...

 

Great chapter, Renee! :)

Oh, trust me, I share your sentiments. I have many friends who are military, one of which I've asked a few questions with this story in mind. Some of the things I've seen regarding members of her family and their behavior regarding her and her brother's military service make me grit my teeth. Their circumstances are a bit different in that some of them like it TOO much. I won't go too much into that, except to say that sometimes I just really don't understand people. I really wanted to do something different than the "my parents won't have anything to do with me because I'm gay". I've seen some instances such as Marks, though maybe not to quite the extent that I have it in this story, and so I decided to go that route instead, put a little twist to the story that way.

 

And yes, I love Trey's folks as well. We'll definitely be seeing more of them. I wonder what would happen if Gary ever came face to face with Mark's dad? Not that it would since Mark's dad don't have anything to do with him, but I'd love to see Gary give him a piece of his mind (and maybe his fist)... and yes, it is "piece".

 

Thanks for the review!!!!

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On 02/20/2014 12:43 PM, Menace said:
Oh the parent plot is coming up ahead soon~
Why yes, yes it is. Thanks for reviewing!!!
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To be fair I can understand the pride and tradition aspect of Mark's dad. It is a complex thing with men and even more so when it comes to men who serve on the line.

I know it is the same for family lines of cops and fire fighters and even to some extent EMT's and stuff. It is just the done thing, and surprisingly not uncommon to find family issues bred over this issue time and time again.

As trivial as it may seem to some, it is a big thing for someone that expects their son to keep up appearances for the family's name/credit. It can be a tough pill to swallow for a proud man.

I am not excusing his arrogance, just saying I can understand it.

I'm really interested in seeing how you develop this new twist to the plot. Again I can't help but feel that when you do broach it in more detail, it is going to be a real challenge to keep to the word limit, and I really look forward to finding out how you manage it. :)

I like this development. It complicates things, and that is again true to life. :)

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