All Comments on 'Scott the Keeper'

This whatever we call it has sex but no story. Straight man married then divorced then six years with no sex?

Thanks Anon for providing an impetus for me to put this down in writing at last. Perhaps it will help others to know the sub-textual story hinted at throughout the story. Like "Harry Potter" "Frozen" and "Star Wars" the subtext is a tale of delusion and mental illness, which is not nearly as fun and happy as the story which is told in its place.

In the sub-textual reading, Scott unfortunately did not have all of these experiences. He was delusional, and the story was the tale he fabricated for his own enjoyment. I dropped little hints about this alternative reading as much as I could without detracting overly from the narrative and of course, the sex. Once you see the signs for an alternative reading, it's not too hard to understand where to look. The key, often, is to focus on the protagonist and his hidden flaws. Is he real or crazy?

The "adults" in the story like Carol and Steve regard him as a "Can't Get Right" type of person. Carol says he's crazy all the time. We know he lacked the willpower to read books for ten years at camp, then he reads them all? The checks are made out to the church? A hint that he doesn't run the camp. Carol later points out that he never bought the camp. Earl did, (and bequeathed it to the church in his will). Earl announced his plan to do so to Scott, and Scott pretended otherwise. Why didn't Earl just give it to Scott? I needed Scott to do something for himself to make him more of a man. Anyway Carol's showing up at camp was explained in the main narrative, but it was a big hint too.

The sub-text and truth of the matter is, Scott was a failure of a man, an overgrown twelve year-old. He was bitter and lonely so he lived almost constantly in an imagined life divergent from but based loosely upon reality. At the end of the day, and the start of the day, he liked to jerk off. He would fabricate fantasies. When there were pretty girls at camp, the fantasies would be about them -- the counselors. Each autumn as his memories of their faces and bodies started to fade, he gave up the fantasies of girls he knew, made up new fantasies, and forgot the old.

Gabrielle was different. She actually had kissed him a few times and made out with him until she realized he was "different."

He thought she was thinking of taking their "relationship" to the next level. When she simply left camp and went back to her normal life, he was hurt. He carried a torch for her for years years, her indiscreet kisses leaving massive scars on his heart and mind. Not that it was her fault. At last she made it clear to him that he was never to speak to her again. Regardless, she stopped coming to camp as a counselor. He pretended a divergent scenario had played out, turning her into the selfish villain.

This alternate reading could have been done MUCH more artfully, For example, Scott's parents were almost never mentioned. At a certain point, I just didn't know how. Normally in these stories the protagonists are tragic orphans. Luke and Elsa, it is implied, killed their parents. There is an argument, a fight, and then all of a sudden, they're dead. Harry on the other hand, puts his adopted brother in the hospital after a fight, again, a sign of violent mental illness.

I didn't want to do that with Scott. He could not be at a camp with kids if he was a violent lunatic. He was not violent. One can imagine his parents didn't want to care for this adult anymore, hoping that some responsibility would do him some good. They found that opportunity at several places, like a hotel laundry facility, etc. but he resisted work. One place he did love was camp. They worked to have him installed there as Earl's gopher. He was harmless, actually somewhat helpful. After Earl passed away, Scott's capabilities and future were questioned by Carol and certain others. Carol thought he was incompetent to do the work on his own, procrastinating as he did -- note he fixes the broken floor boards of the swimming dock on the very day counselors were due to arrive, and mentally pats himself on the back for getting things done ahead of when they are needed.

No, Scott didn't kill Earl. Earl is not Scott's dad either because Scott is white, Earl is black. Scott's mom lives in the neighboring county and is mentioned only once as relating to him what Pastor Steve said about him at church.

Anyway after Scott harassed and chased after Gabrielle summer after summer, no girl in the church dared get near him. He lived at the remote camp with no friends and few family visits. It was only normal that six years could pass where he never had sex. Trust me, people with severe mental illness can and do go a lot longer without getting laid. The sex was wall-to-wall delusional fantasy, but I tried to make it interesting. This story is merely this year's fantasies set in the world of his delusion. It can be read either way, with inconsistencies contribute to one of the two readings.