For His Own Good by Graeme

[Graeme]

For His Own Good by Graeme

 

Sharon knew that Carl was in a bad relationship. She would stop at nothing to get him out.

 

 

:nuke: :nuke: Spoilers Below!!! :nuke: :nuke:

[Linxe Termoil]

Whoa. I didn't see that ending come at all. I mean, I suspected something, but not what actually happened. I declare this short story to be a cliff hanger. No one said what happened to Mark and Carl.

 

 

~Cliffhanger Committee President,

 

Linxe Termoil

[David McLeod]

Deceptions? I was certainly deceived. The frankness of the early dinner table conversation led me to expect a rather straightforward story. That the story ended not with one, but with two deceptions...and I'm still not entirely who was deceiving whom...was an unexpected reward.

[Nephylim]

Nope... I didn't see that coming, not even remotely. I have to admit that I was a bit suspicious about the way that Ben was acting with the prostitute but I had no idea why, none at all. Fabulous story... easy to read, easy to believe, hard to forget.

[Dolores Esteban]

I didn't see the end coming. I felt truly shocked and I feel very sorry for Ben. I didn't like Sharon and her nasty plan. Luckily, her plan worked for Ben. I would like to know the continuation of the story. What will happen to Carl? And what will happen to Ben? Great story!

 

[Lugh]

Damn it Graeme you made me pull out the tissue. Good story!

[Graeme]

Thanks, everyone!

 

One of the ideas that prompted this story was a discussion on relationships and how communication is key to a good relationship. Ben was breaking that rule by not telling Carl the truth, but was he right or wrong to do so? You can see his justification in the last scene, but is it good enough? He was taking away Carl's decision to decide for himself.

 

Yeah, Sharon didn't come over as a particularly nice person, but she saw a friend in a bad relationship and knew it was going to end in tears. She just hastened the end. She just didn't know all the facts, but then again, we rarely do. The question for her is does the end justify the means? Personally, I think she should have stopped after persuasion failed. But, in her defence, the final idea that broke up Ben and Carl was actually Ben's, not hers....

[Benji]

Thanks, everyone!

 

One of the ideas that prompted this story was a discussion on relationships and how communication is key to a good relationship. Ben was breaking that rule by not telling Carl the truth, but was he right or wrong to do so? You can see his justification in the last scene, but is it good enough? He was taking away Carl's decision to decide for himself.

 

Yeah, Sharon didn't come over as a particularly nice person, but she saw a friend in a bad relationship and knew it was going to end in tears. She just hastened the end. She just didn't know all the facts, but then again, we rarely do. The question for her is does the end justify the means? Personally, I think she should have stopped after persuasion failed. But, in her defence, the final idea that broke up Ben and Carl was actually Ben's, not hers....

 

........Whoa Graeme, nice deception didn't see that coming either! I agree, Ben was the user here, he evidently knew Sharon well enough to goad her into action! Ben's early retirement is now evidently the catalyst of crumbing their relationship. I can imagine Ben's frustration at Carl not picking up the 'subtle hints' he was throwing out. Great story Graeme!!

[Mark Arbour]

Graeme,

 

I'm a little slow in getting to the Anthologies (finals, grading, etc) but finally got a chance to read "For His Own Good." Very well done. You took characters that could have been cliche (ie..Sharon as the doting fag hag..or whatever the PC term for it is these days) and made them live, made them real, like only a really good author can. That's talent. And the ending was unexpected and perfect.

[Graeme]

........Whoa Graeme, nice deception didn't see that coming either! I agree, Ben was the user here, he evidently knew Sharon well enough to goad her into action! Ben's early retirement is now evidently the catalyst of crumbing their relationship. I can imagine Ben's frustration at Carl not picking up the 'subtle hints' he was throwing out. Great story Graeme!!

Thanks, Benji, but it was Ben's diagnosis that was the catalyst. As a consequence of that diagnosis, he had to retire, and with a death sentence over him he had to decide what to do about Carl. To an outside eye, the retirement was the start of the change in their relationship, but it was the diagnosis that really started the process.

 

As for Ben's frustrations, I think you're 100% correct. Ben had his limits on what he would do to push Carl away, but Carl was too willing to make excuses for Ben. And, from Carl's point of view, they weren't really excuses -- they were explanations. He loved Ben and, in this case, love was blind. He was willing to put up with a lot to be with Ben (and it honestly didn't bother him), which must have really annoyed Ben

[C James]

When I read this, I started with one opinion and then slowly had it chipped away as the story continued. By the end of it, I'd changed my mind yet again.

 

Well done Graeme; that's very hard to do, and especially in a breif span.

 

Thanks, everyone!

 

One of the ideas that prompted this story was a discussion on relationships and how communication is key to a good relationship. Ben was breaking that rule by not telling Carl the truth, but was he right or wrong to do so? You can see his justification in the last scene, but is it good enough? He was taking away Carl's decision to decide for himself.

 

Yeah, Sharon didn't come over as a particularly nice person, but she saw a friend in a bad relationship and knew it was going to end in tears. She just hastened the end. She just didn't know all the facts, but then again, we rarely do. The question for her is does the end justify the means? Personally, I think she should have stopped after persuasion failed. But, in her defence, the final idea that broke up Ben and Carl was actually Ben's, not hers....

 

That's what I liked about this story; the many levels of complexity. I started out thinking well of Sharon, but before the end I thought she was very wrong. The ending... that was a heavy hitter.

 

My take on it all? I'll sum it up with the old parable: the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

 

[Sam Fowler]

Amazing story! The surprise twist really threw me.

Instead of being an ass, Ben was really thinking of Carl all along, a very bittersweet ending.

True love, hurting someone to spare them from more pain.

[wildone]

Great story Graeme How you find time to write such quality stories on top of being the anthology coordinator still amazes me.

 

Like the others said, I was deceived too. For most of the story I was making the assumption that Sharon was just being a beatch and deciding what was best for Carl without any input from Carl. The questions that have arisen from this story are quite complex. When is lying okay? Is it okay to lie to someone who may not accept the truth or cannot accept the truth?

 

I guess I am left with one question that may have been resolved in the story, but I may have missed. Ben mentions to Tom that he has already wasted 12 months trying to push Carl away. Was Sharon always so jaded in her opinion of Ben, or was it only in the past 12 months that she hated him? Did Ben ramp up his 'using' of Carl and especially made Sharon aware of it? Okay, there is two questions .

 

Anyhow, great story Graeme, and thanks for sharing .

 

Steve

[Graeme]

I guess I am left with one question that may have been resolved in the story, but I may have missed. Ben mentions to Tom that he has already wasted 12 months trying to push Carl away. Was Sharon always so jaded in her opinion of Ben, or was it only in the past 12 months that she hated him? Did Ben ramp up his 'using' of Carl and especially made Sharon aware of it? Okay, there is two questions .

Thanks, Steve!

 

Sharon has never gotten along with Ben. Ben had always been the dominant partner with Carl generally letting him get his way. Sharon saw that as a one sided relationship, but she wouldn't have seen what Carl got out of it. As you probably got the impression, Carl adored Ben and there was a good reason for that - Ben really did love him and Carl knew it. As a minor celebrity and a professional athlete, Ben had a lot more demands in his life that Carl, and Carl accepted that; Sharon didn't. Part of Sharon's problem is that she's an alpha female and can't understand that someone can still be happy when they're not the dominant person in a relationship.

 

However, Sharon made a comment about Ben getting worse since he retired, and Carl acknowledged that, though he put it down to Ben trying to adjust to not being a football player anymore.

 

So the answer to your question (both parts ) is: Yes, Sharon was always jaded in her opinion of Ben, but it got worse over the preceding months, and yes, Ben did ramp up his 'using' of Carl to try to push him away. He couldn't have counted on Sharon doing anything to help and probably wasn't aware of that until Tom told him.

[Ieshwar]

I think if I agree with someone in the story, it would be Tom. Like he said, Carl should have been given a choice, instead of being manipulated (by Sharon and Ben). I know that both of them had best intentions for Carl yet it did make me rather uneasy. But it was a good story. Nice plot with food for thoughts. I liked it.

 

Take care,

Ieshwar

[Toast]

Wow. I liked this story. Because it has different points of view. We choose our path. Life forces us down another. All the characters are making choices for themselves and the ones they love. Each choosing and changing each others' paths. Each trying to do what is right in an impossible situation. Who's fooling who?

 

Sam

[jfalkon]

That was quite a shocker! I think the goat has some competition when it comes to cliff hangers. Good Job!