Hey guys! So we’ve talked about all three of the main characters, but now I want to talk about some of the important secondary characters, starting with Mike. My favorite secondary characters are Bailey and Asher, but you’ll learn about them tomorrow and I can’t wait for you to meet them. Today, however, we are going to talk about Mike Parker. Mike is Bailey’s older brother, and by extension, Penelope’s as well. He is important to the story, and I’m so happy to introduce him (and his faceclaim) to you.

Micah Griffith Parker is the older brother of Penelope’s best friend Bailey. Mike, as he’s usually called, was best friends with Penelope’s older brother Cohen practically since birth. With their parents being friends, there wasn’t much time that they weren’t together growing up, at least until the Sawyer’s moved to Michigan when Cohen and Mike were in high school.

Mike has a few defining moments in his life that he is aware have shaped his current outlook on life. The first being Penelope’s birth. He got to share in the magic of being a big brother along with Cohen and even at the age of four, he knew what a big responsibility it was. He and Cohen would spend hours wanting to hold her, and feed her and play with her. When Penelope got more mobile, they got less interested. The second defining moment was the day his Aunt and Uncle died in a car accident. He was eight when his cousin Bailey came to live with them. She was four, and the same age as Penelope. For a couple of years, the four of them became inseparable. Mike was happy to finally have a little sister of his own. The next few defining moments all involved Cohen in some way as they grew up and went through school. Even after they moved away, they would regularly make the six hour drive to visit. Once Cohen and Mike were able to drive, the four of them would meet halfway and hang out almost once a month.

Mike and Cohen joined the Marine Corp together straight out of high school. They’d made the plan their senior year and when the time came, Cohen drove down so they could enlist together. They were lucky enough to be stationed together almost their whole careers. He got to watch his best friend fall in love. Helped him pick out an engagement ring. Then held him in his arms as he bled to death in a place too far from home.

Losing Cohen was extremely difficult on Mike and he didn’t re-enlist afterward. He did go back home and for a little bit of time he could barely get out of bed, let alone attempt to fulfill the dreams that he and Mike had once held. Eventually, thanks to support from his family and the VA, Mike got back up and started working again. He started working with a local construction company and learned as much as he could while he saved his money and made plans for he and Cohen’s dream of starting their own company.

After Cohen’s funeral, he can’t bring himself to look Penelope in the eye so the two of them lose contact. He even goes so far as to not attend the Thanksgiving party the two families regularly held. When Penelope comes to town, he leaves for any assorted reasons, anything he can do to avoid her. When Ryan brings Penelope to town as a surprise, Bailey convinces him to come to the party and surprises him with Penelope. The two reconnect and things get a little better between them.

After reconnecting with Penelope, and a conversation where he gets a lot of things off his chest, Mike feels like he can finally move forward with starting his own construction company. He’s bought a house and is doing well mentally. Things are starting to look up.

Mike is a wonderful guy, he is loyal to his inner circle, but cautious about his friends as well. Cohen was more like a brother and while he knows he’ll never have that kind of relationship with anyone again, but does like the camaraderie of the people he works with. He is a typical big brother to Bailey (and Penelope after they’ve reconnected) and generally likes Asher. There was a long conversation between the two of them early in Bailey and Asher’s relationship that no one knows the specifics of, but afterward Mike was generally accepting of Asher. While Mike doesn’t try to be the overbearing type, sometimes he can come across that way. Especially if he thinks something is wrong with one of his sisters.

Mike is one of my favorite characters. Not for the same reasons as Reid or Penelope, or Ryan, but because he’s the guy who is always in your corner. He’s quick to tell you that you’re in the wrong, but he isn’t going to abandon you over it either. He is awesome and the kind of brother anyone would want. I am lucky enough to have this kind of brother, which is the only reason that I know how to portray a brother worth having.

I hope you guys like this little peak into Mike, and the other views into the characters. I’m thinking of making this a semi-regular thing. Not with this kind of frequency, but once a month or so introducing a new character from a story or something. I’m still thinking about it. These are fun to write so I might do it just for me.

Anyway, have a great day guys! Don’t forget to be generally awesome today!