#slg1e3

EARLY THE NEXT MORNING

As Enoch and Hailey were getting ready to leave, Lila came out...

LILA- “Enoch? Is that you?”

ENOCH- “Mother, yes...I have missed you so----

LILA- “And I you son.  You have lost some weight, you are looking good.”

ENOCH- “I’m getting cleaned up ma, been sober for three months now.”

LILA- “Enoch!  That is great news, come give me a hug son.”

ENOCH- “Mom this is Haliey, my fiance. We are going to be married as soon as the divorce is final. We were hoping to stay with you for a while, until I can find a job.”

HAILEY- “Enoch!! You don’t just start asking favors after not seeing your mother for almost a year. Where are your manners? I am sure she taught you better than that. Now, apologize.”

ENOCH- “Sorry ma...but---

LILA- “I know son, but you can’t stay with me. I live here with Corrine and Jackson now.  After your dad died and Seth bought his house, I put our house up for sale. It hasn’t sold yet unfortunately, but I am helping Corrine out.”

ENOCH- “Oh... I see. You said it hasn’t sold yet?”

LILA- “No, there is a lot of work that it needs.”

ENOCH- “What about I fix it all up, and I will buy it.”

HAILEY- “Enoch, how are YOU going to buy a house? You have no job yet, and we have a baby on the way in a few weeks.”

LILA- “Baby?”

ENOCH- “We can buy it directly from mom, pay her as we can, and I will have a job soon enough. The baby is not due for another five months.”

HAILEY- “We can’t ask your mother that, She probably needs the money from the sell of the house.”

LILA- “Baby!?”

ENOCH- “She will still get her money, Hailey, just not all at once. This was my family home.  I grew up in that house. It would be great if it stayed within the family.”

The boys are all moved in and tomorrow is a big day for Mark and Ian, as they will graduate. Ian with a degree in communications and Mark with his degree in Psychology. Seth even made a small office off of the workout room in the basement for Mark once he starts seeing patients. Mark is excited and nervous and is having a hard time trying to sleep, so while Ian is reading in the office, he goes across the hall to Ian’s suite to see how he is doing...

MARK- “Oh, hey Ian... sorry I will come back.”

IAN- “It’s okay, come on in.  I mean you have seen more than this.  What’s up?”

MARK- “Nothing really, just couldn’t sleep and Ian is busy reading in the office, and I just needed to talk. Maybe cure my anxiety at least for a little while.”

IAN- “Come on in, sit down, I am all ears my friend.”

MARK- “No it’s okay, You getting ready to go out?”

IAN- “No not at all. My way of relieving anxiety is to...well you know.”

MARK- “OH!!  I am Sorry. I will let you---”

IAN- “Already finished. and then I showered, come on sit down, talk to me Mark. I can play the psychologist for you.”

MARK- “Thanks, I am really glad you are here with us, Ian. It just wouldn’t be the same without you around, and this big house would be so quiet.”

IAN- “I am really thankful that you and Seth wanted me here. It’s the nicest place I have ever stayed, and it right here by the boat docks, I can see all kinds of hot guys...”

MARK- “You are funny. I was just anxious about tomorrow.  How are you holding up?”

IAN- “Good now that I got a little relief... but what are you so anxious about.  You know you are going to graduate, the hard part is over now.”

MARK- “Just what comes next, you know? Setting up an office, getting clients.  I just hope I pass the State Exam.”

SETH- “Mother is a very smart lady. Okay, I will give you a loan for the earnest money. But we need to have a legal written contract and one non payment, the deal is over, you understand? With me and with Mother”

HAILEY- “He will not miss a payment, I will see to that, Seth.”

SETH- “Okay then. And you pay for all the repairs as well. Mark and I could help if you need it. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, but it is nothing major. Enoch, I am going out on a limb here. I hope I can trust you.”

ENOCH- “You can brother, I swear. Hailey is good for me. She keeps me focused, and I want to do right by this baby and try to make things right with Jackson as well.”

SETH- “It all sounds good, Enoch. Honestly, I am glad you found someone that you will listen to and has helped you. Thank you for that Hailey. Come over Thursday evening and I will have my attorney write up the contract and I’ll have the check for mother. Bring her with you, as well.  It’s good seeing you Enoch, and nice to meet you Hailey. I really have to get to the clinic now.

ENOCH- “Thank you Seth, thank you so much. This mean so much to me...to us.”

HAILEY- “Yes, thank you Seth.”

As they turned to go, Seth watched them.

HAILEY- “Come on Enoch, we need to go see my dad before noon...”

He liked that this girl seemed to have a hold over him, almost motherly.  Maybe that is what he needed.

IAN- “I really don’t want to live in San Myshuno, but----”

MARK- “Then don’t, Ian. We want you to stay here...if that is what you really want.”

IAN- “I do. Brindleton Bay is nice, the people are nice and it is fairly stress free living here, for the most part anyway. Everything is laid back and quiet.  I do really like it here. I do have a friend that said I could move in with him, over at Bayview Condos, but he is being really hard to get a hold of right now.”

SETH- “Ian, listen. You do not have to go anywhere, unless you really want to. I want you to know that I am fine with you and Mark’s relationship, and even if things change in the future as to how Mark feels, I trust him...and you. If it even becomes a physical relationship, I am fine with that, as long as you guys are open and honest with me.”

IAN- “Really?”

MARK- “He really is, Ian. Not that I foresee that happening, but it just makes me love this guy even more.”

SETH- “We are going away for a week, Ian, and while we are gone, we are going to exchange our vows, that doesn’t change anything that we have just said. Take the week to think about things, and let us know oyur decision when we get back.”

IAN- “Okay...wow, that is fair enough.  This certainly not how I thought this conversation was going to go.  I will give it a week.  And congratulations of the wedding. Take lots of pictures!!

MARK- “We will, trust me.  You know me and my obsession with taking pictures!!  So how about a hug?”

IAN- “You truly are a good friend, Mark.  And I do love you. Thanks.”

MARK- “Same here, and get a hold of Penny while we are gone, invite her over.”

IAN- “I just might do that.”

With that, Ian goes over to Seth and grabs him off the couch...

SETH- “WHOA!!....”

IAN- “Mark is one lucky man to have you as his husband, I don’t think I have ever met anyone quite like you Seth. Better watch out, or maybe I will fall in love with both of you....”

IAN- “Okay... I like you too Ian.”

Graduation went without any issues. (other than the fact that somehow I missed all of it!) So the next evening after graduation, Mark had told Ian that Seth wanted to talk, to both of them after dinner. Ian knew what to expect, or so he thought. This would be the icing on the cake for his week. He had been trying to contact Jake all week, but his calls went straight to voice mail and the texts were no returned with a response.  He even went down to the Wharf to see if he could find him at the bar and apologize and try and figured out what happened that night.  But, the bartender said she hadn’t seen him all week.  Now this with Mark and Seth.  Could it get any worse?

SETH- “Ian, Mark explained to me what happened, and I think we need to get everything out in the open and work through all of this. I hope you understand.”

IAN- “Yeah, I do.  What I did was wrong, and---

SETH- “No, Ian, I am not hear to get an apology, I am not even mad. What you did wasn’t wrong.  Misdirected and inappropriate, but loving someone is never wrong.”

IAN- “Huh? I don’t understand.”

SETH- “I know that you love Mark.  I saw it from the beginning. You can’t help who you fall in love with, we all know that. And I know that Mark loves you as well.  But his love has changed for you. The three of us are living here together and we should not feel uncomfortable in our own home. So this is why I wanted us to all talk together.”

IAN- “I do...I mean I did love Mark.  Hell, I STILL love him, but I understand that he loves me, but in a different way. I get that now, and I do respect the two of you, and your relationship, it may just be better for all of us for me to move out. I found a job in San Myshuno and I could probably find  a place there reasonable.”

Mark told Seth what Ian tried to do to him earlier. Seth’s response surprised Mark....

SETH- “I could have told you he was into you Mark. I have known it for a while now. And, I can fully understand his infatuation with you. You are quite good looking, smart, witty, confidant... all the things that I love about you. Plus the two of you have a history. I mean not romantically, but a close relationship. You just need to be honest with him, like you were. He will back off. Ian is a good person and he does respect us. Sometimes emotions get the best of us.”

MARK- “Who is the one with the psychology degree here? But, you are right. Ian is a good person, and a good friend. I think he will be okay now that I have confronted him about it, and told him that I was going to tell you.”

MARK- “But, I want to be honest with you too, Seth. I did have feelings for Ian, but that was before I met you. I thought he was straight though, so I never even tried to pursue those feelings. I do love him, but not in the way that I love you, or the way he loves me apparently.”

SETH- “Again that is understandable. Ian is very good looking and a nice guy. Like I said you have a history with him, and it is normal to have feelings for someone.  Especially someone you have lived with for over three years. Plus seeing him naked for most of the time adds that sexual attraction.”

SETH- “If you feel that attraction Mark, I don’t have an issue with it. I would understand if you wanted to----”

MARK- “No, I couldn’t do that, Seth.  I love you and only want you. I do love Ian but I no longer have that type of desire or attraction towards him.”

SETH- “Okay, I just wanted to let you know I wouldn’t have a problem if you wanted to, you know sleep with him.”

MARK- “But you broke up with Jake when you found---”

SETH- “Exactly. When I found him with someone else.  If he would have been upfront with me about it, and not lied to me, things may have been different. I love you Mark, and nothing is going to change that. I also fully understand how some people have that desire, if that is what you want to call it. If you desired Ian sexually, that doesn’t mean you love me any less. What we have is something entirely different. If you ever have that need, just let me know. I respect your needs, just promise to always be honest and upfront with me.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Enoch has reappeared in Brindleton Bay with his pregnant new girlfriend Hailey, wanting to see his son...

CORRINE- “You have not been here in over a year, Enoch, and Jackson has no desire to see you. You probably wouldn’t even recognize him.” 

(He aged up while I was playing Seth and his household)

ENOCH- “He is my son, Corrine and I have a right to see my son. Hailey and I are having a child and we want him to know his brother or sister.”

CORRINE- “Well I certainly hope for that baby’s sake, and for Hailey that you are a better father than you have been to Jackson. So just go. You come here at dawn demanding to see your son that for at least a year you didn’t even care about. Thank goodness your father is not around to see this.”

ENOCH- “Corrine, I had a problem then, I was ... I mean I am an alcoholic, and I am trying to make things right now.”

HAILEY- “He has been sober for over three months now, he does want to try and make things right.”

CORRINE- “So you are getting help, then?”

ENOCH- “Yes, and I really want to get my life back on track.  I know I have destroyed our relationship beyond repair, but there is still a chance with Jackson.  Please just let me talk to him, and try and explain things and let him know that I am moving back to Brindleton to be closer to him.  I want him and his sibling to have a relationship.”

CORRINE- “Fine.  But if he doesn’t want to talk, don’t force him, Enoch.”

Jackson comes out, and Corrine was right, Enoch barely recognized him, he was a teenager now, and grown so much. He grabbed him and gave him a hug.