Neighbors

MEET THE NEIGHBORS: The Residents of Saguaro Park Apartments 

JHETT ULRICH

Twenty-two year-old Jhett traveled cross-country from Baltimore, Maryland to start a new life with his boyfriend in Tucson. Jhett is a free-spirit with a wild streak, which oftens causes him to clash with his straight-laced boyfriend, John. He's a Starbucks barista by day and a dance club DJ by night. Jhett suffered miserably through school and thus has no use for higher education.

JOHN ANDERS

Twenty-six year old John is the polar opposite of his free-spirited boyfriend, Jhett; he's a mature, sophisticated young lawyer that often lacks a sense of humor. John is originally from Tucson, but moved away at the age of 12 with his mother and step-father. He's none to fond of Baltimore, and when his uncle offered him a job at his law firm in Tucson, John jumped at the opportunity. John doubts the existence of intelligent life at Saguaro Park until he meets Ellen, Chris, Sugey, and the strangely captivating Camille...

ELLIOT NEALON

Elliot has spent all of his twenty-four years on earth as a straight, chick-loving man...that is until he meets Jhett, who unwittingly awakens his bi-curious side. He and Jhett strike up a friendship which, to John's horror, promises to turn into much more. His best friend and room mate, Riley Bobek, is confused by Elliot's new love interest, but stands by his buddy's side. Elliot runs his family's bookstore/coffee house in downtown Tucson.

RILEY BOBEK

Riley is a truly loyal friend, a great guy to have on your side; he and Elliot have been best buds since they were five. However, with Riley, what you see is not always what you get. He was happily devoted to his sweetheart of a girlfriend, Beth, until he and his neighbor (and her best friend), Seth, started knocking boots after a summer vacation in New York City. Riley loves his girlfriend, but can't seem to stay away from his tempting boy-toy. Riley owns and manages Body Art, a body piercing/tattoo parlor, which also happens to be just around the corner from Cafe del Oro, Elliot's bookstore/coffee house.

MARTY PRITCHARD

Resident push-over, Marty, has hooked up with the bitchy Zeidy Perez, who also happens to be Elliot's ex-girlfriend. He's a twenty-year-old psychology student at the U of A who hopes to run his own practice one day, specializing in helping men who have spent their lives domianted by over-bearing women. Marty is a closeted bisexual who harbors a secret crush on Zeidy's gay cousin, Saige. His closest friends are the misunderstood Tate and resident nice-guy Ramsey.

SAIGE PEREZ

At the tender age of twenty, Saige has had more sexual partners than any of his peers combined...but when your apartment is a revolving door for men who prefer to pay for their sex, that's to be expected. Yep, you heard right...sexy, blue-eyed, raven-haired Saige makes his living biting pillows, and had only one friend to his name until Jhett moved into Saguaro Park. Saige's mother, a Mexican prostitute from Hermosillo, Sonora that got pregnant by a white GI., dumped her infant on her parents' doorstep, took off for Mexico City, and has never been seen or heard from since. When Saige was still in diapers, his grandparents both passed away within days of each other and he was then shuffled around from neighbor to neighbor unitl his aunt and uncle in Tucson were able to obtain custody of him at the age of fourteen. However, their stable and loving home proved to be to little to late for a teenage Saige, who had already learned how to use sex to his advantage. Saige won't admit it to anyone, but he thinks Cami is the coolest chick he's ever met and has a soft-spot for the Saguaro Park doormat, Marty. He hates Tate, who he claims is just as much as whore as he is, but tries to gloss it over with this rich boyfriend's money; Saige feels that he, at least, is honest about his less-than-desirable station in life.

SUGEY PEREZ

Twenty-seven year old Sugey(pronounced "Soo-hay") has taken it upon herself to take care of each resident in her building at Saguaro Park. She is the "den mother" - a source of comfort, a stable presence, and the voice of reason. Without Sugey, everyone in Saguaro Park would have lost their minds. Her parents immigrated from Mexico while she was three and her little sister, Zeidy, was born in Tucson. Sugey is her cousin Saige's only friend and feels that he is grossly misunderstood. She works as an RN at a local nursing home and her best friends are Camille Smart and Ellen Emmet.

Twenty-two year old Tate is quiet, shy, and well-meaning. He's extremely intelligent and a truly nice guy, but next to Saige, he is the second-most despised resident of Saguaro Park. Why? Probably because he's knowingly playing "mistress" to the very wealthy, very married, and very well-known plastic surgeon Dr. Marvin Blackwell. His boyfriend, who also happens to be twice his age, set him up in Saguaro Park and meets his every need. As a result, Tate doesn't have job, and doesn't need one - his weekly allowance from the good doctor is more than what most of the Park residents (with the exception of Saige) make in one month! He, like Saige, was limited in the friends department until Jhett came along. He has tried to strike up a friendship with Saige, but Saige intensely dislikes him because he feel that Tate is a big, fat phony. His pals are Marty and Ramsey.

ZEIDY PEREZ

Zeidy (pronounced "Zay-dee") is a spoiled brat who likes her men weak and lilly-livered. That's precisely the reason she's taken up with Marty and why her relationship with Elliot ended. When she realized that Elliot could not be pushed around, she set her sights on the eager-to-please Marty. Four years his senior, she makes full use of his weakness and full use of her bitchiness. Zeidy is Sugey's sister and Saige's cousin, a graduate of cosmetology school who hopes to own a full-service spa one day.

SETH BAKER

Seth comes from what could be labeled a privileged background and would have ended up much like his neighbor, Zeidy, if it weren't for his down-to-earth, "new-money" parents, and his best friend, Beth Huber. He and Beth have been friends since third grade, and remained close even after Seth's parents won the Arizona lottery. But when he begins to carry on with Beth's boyfriend behind her back, their once rock-solid friendship is on the verge of being blown-apart...especially once trouble-makers Saige and Zeidy find out. He's an eighteen-year old college freshman at the U of A with an undetermined major who's also considering a career as a paramedic.

BETH HUBER

Beth's life couldn't get any better - she has a wonderful, loving boyfriend, Riley Bobek, and a loyal, life-long best friend, Seth Baker. But what Beth doesn't know is that her life ceased to be sunshine and roses the minute Riley and Seth began a sordid, sexual affair behind her back, and that certain mischief-makers in Saguaro Park harbor this explosive info and would love nothing more than to let the cat out of the bag. Beth is nineteen and loves her work as a Tucson paramedic; in fact, she loves it so much, she's trying to convince Seth, who's not sure what he wants to do, to give it a whirl.

RAMSEY SMITH

Ramsey is the male counterpart of Beth - super-nice and a friend to everyone. However, the lonely twenty-one year old has had nothing but bad luck in the love department. Every date ends in a stalemate and every relationship ends badly. Of course, it may have something to do with the fact that he compares everyone he dates to who he considers to be the perfect man...his long-time crush and brother-in-law, Chris! The uber-caring Ramsey is a CNA at the same nursing home as Sugey and is studying to become an RN. Being the nice guy that he is, Ramsey went out of his way to befriend Tate and the two became fast friends; he's still working on Saige.

CHRIS EMMET

Twenty-eight year old Chris is married to Ellen Smith, his high school sweetheart and Ramsey's older sister. The Emmet's have a seemingly picture-perfect marriage, but like any resident of Saguaro Park, Chris has some shocking secrets of his own. First of all, he's a closeted homosexual who married to appear "normal"; secondly, he's madly in love with his brother-in-law, Ramsey. Chris supports himself and his wife by working alternately as a firefighter and a paramedic.

ELLEN EMMET

Ellen, a twenty-six year old elementary school teacher, knows that by all appearances, her marriage to the hunky Chris is perfect. But she can't shake the nagging feeling that something is off about her husband of four years. If you date someone throughout high school and college, you would know everything there is to know about that person...wouldn't you? Ellen's best friends are Sugey and Camille, with whom she shares everything...except her doubts about her husband.

CAMILLE SMART

Twenty-three year old preschool teacher Camille (or "Cami" as she prefers to be called) stands out like a sore thumb as the only black tenant in her building at Saguaro Park. She is intelligent, witty, and has a good sense of humor...but bad timing when it comes to crushes. When she catches her first glimpse of John Anders, she falls head over heels for him, but then finds out that he has a boyfriend, and curses her bad luck. Things begin to look up for her, though, once she's told that he's bisexual and had dated a woman before he hooked up with Jhett. Cami aspires to run her own daycare center one day and her best gal pals are Sugey and Ellen.

Stay tuned for the next installment of "Neighbors"!!!!!