Character Background - GRAVEL ROCK

Gravel Rock, who is now in his mid 40's, was born in Sugar Valley as a mixed brown and grey berry and has had to live there all of his life because he is a mixed berry.

Parents

Gravel's Mother was born a pure brown berry and his Father a pure grey berry. Gravel's parents met in a colour coded town, and while they were breaking the law being together, his parent's couldn't help but fall in love and the only way they could be together was to move to a colour mixing town.  The only colour mixing town they knew of was Sugar Valley, so that's where they headed to settle down and make a life together.  Both of his parents have now faded.

Childhood

Gravel had a very good and happy childhood with two very loving parents and an older brother who he was very close to while they were growing up.  Now, however, he has a very difficult relationship with his brother, due to his brothers choice of lifestyle.

At school Gravel was quite an intelligent child and did very well when it became time for him to take his exams. His favourite subjects at school were sport and Art.  He made friends easily and was very popular especially with the girls, he was considered one of the better looking boys, but he only ever had eyes for one girl and chose to hang around with the school nerd, Mango Muffin who was his best friend up until his early teenage years.

Career

Gravel's Dad was his world and he idolized him, so much so that he wanted to be just like him when he grew up and ever since he could remember he had wanted to follow in his fathers footsteps and have a career in the police force which he did and has made a reasonable success of. He loves his job and at times along with his son it's the only thing that has kept him going. His brother, however, chose the total opposite path in life ... the life of crime ... which is what has made their relationship difficult, almost impossible at times which has and still upset's Gravel.

Romance and family

Gravel met Amber, the love of his life, when they were primary school children and they became childhood sweethearts very early on.  They dated all through high school, in fact, his relationship with Amber is the only romantic relationship he's ever had. Shortly after they graduated Gravel got the job that he always wanted and joined the police force, Amber started work at the local primary school.  Gravel and Amber got engaged while they were teenagers, and married quite quickly after graduation and were very happy for the first two years setting up house and establishing their careers. Gravel still lives in the first and only house they brought together.  Amber became pregnant within the third year of their marriage, and they were both really happy waiting for the arrival of their first child, both being family oriented they planned on a large family, and they thought they had a long and happy future a head of them.  

Then tragedy struck out of the blue ... Amber faded in childbirth ... Gravel felt like his whole world had fallen apart ... he was devastated.  He was left a single parent with a baby boy to look after while he was trying to grieve for his departed wife. To take his mind off the unlucky hand he'd been dealt, he threw himself into his career and at the same time juggled bringing up his son Slate completely alone, which didn't leave him with a lot of time or energy in his life for anything else including a love life, in fact, since his wife faded, he has not even been out on a single date, even though he's had plenty of opportunities. The years have flown by all too quickly and up to now he's been quite content with just devoting all of his time and attention between his son Slate and his career.

His involvement with the Orchid Family

His first involvement with the Orchid family, began with Mango.  Gravel has known Mango since he was a small child and as they are the same age they went to school together.  Mango was his best friend until they were separated when Mango's parents sent him away to a boarding school, something that he never quite understood.  While they were best friends as children their separation broke that bond and as the years rolled on when Mango came home from school for the holidays, they saw less and less of each other until they were just a distant memory to each other, they both made new friends and got on with their lives.

Gravels relationship with Mango over the years since they graduated has only ever been in a profession capacity, they have never reformed the bond they had when they were children.  Mango became Gravel's doctor and Gravel was one of the police officers dealing with the murder case of Mango's friend Cosmic who was faded in a intentional hit and run.  

A few more cases involving Mango's friends and family have cropped up over the years, that have caused them to cross paths, another hit and run involving his friend Alpine, the attempted murder of Mango's pregnant wife Lilly, which left her in a coma for four years. Then there was his brother in law Prelude's imprisonment for causing actual body harm to a police officer and a prison guard, the murder of his Nephew Storm, the stabbing of his son Mosaic ... this was definitely not the life he expected his old friend Mango to be having, and the more he learnt about Mango's life the more Gravel feels that Mango, like himself, has been handed a very raw deal in life.

Then there is Mango's troubled son, Tapestry, who has crossed his path at work on quite a few occasions over the past few years and has had more than one ride home in the back of Gravel's squad car.  Now Gravel is the head police officer handling the on going abduction case of Tapestry and his girlfriend Honey, who still haven't been found.

This ongoing abduction case in particular along with the fact that his son Slate is dating and engaged to Mango's daughter Coral, has started to bring Gravel and Mango closer together as friends, and they are slowly starting to rebuild their relationship again.

The future

Gravel is not looking forward to the future.  

Slate his son is very close to graduating and will soon be making a life of his own with his girlfriend Coral. Gravel is scared ... he's built his life around his only son and his career ... and he's worried that his future is going to be a lonely one when his son finally does fly the nest.  He feels being in his mid 40's he's too old to start over with a new life and a new family, his time he feels has passed him by and he's worried that the memories of his wife will come back to haunt him when he's left rattling around his home alone. He's not sure he's ever really gotten over or dealt properly with Amber's premature departure from his life.

So what will the future hold for Gravel?

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A hint of of what might be coming and a song for his future:

"Trying not to love you" ~ Nickleback
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