Mark Samuel Belinger was born November 16th, 1978 to parents Lisa and Craig. He was their first born, although sister Cecilia followed five years later. Cecilia was the baby, appropriately spoiled and doted upon and Mark was the typical big brother who alternated between adoring his sister and cursing her existence. Cecilia was flighty and hyper, where Mark was much more reserved. They beat each other up, and played tag in the yard and had a pretty functional relationship for the most part. Mark got along with both of his parents as well. They were both a litttle pushy, academically as they wanted Mark to succeed and go on to secure a strong, well-paying job. They envisioned a very bright future for their son, as most parents tend to do, and Mark tried the best he could to please them. He put academics before his social life and it payed off year after year as he made the honor roll and won the respect of all his teachers.
Lisa was an elementary school teacher and Craig was a chef at a local resteraunt. Their combined salaries were able to provide a decent upbringing for Mark and Cecilia, but it did not make for overwhelming luxury. They weren't poor, but while his classmates started driving fancy new cars in high school, Mark was driving a car that was outddated by about 16 years. He loved it, of course, because it was his and he earned it (it was the product of endless hours toiling at a supermarket afterschool) but still. Besides paying for his car and gas, Mark didn't spend too much money. He was pretty good at saving and put lots of his money away for college.
He met Allie Widmore in sophomore year. She was in a couple of his classes, and she was ridiculously pretty -- she was really hard not to notice. Plus, she seemed to be involved in like every club out there and so she was always around. He spent most of sophomore year trying to work up the nerve to ask her out but would consistently wuss out and just retreat back into his homework and textbooks. Finally, a few months into junior year, he finally went for it. He had never asked a girl out (although he had been asked out a few times; apparently some girls dug the kinda-nerdy thing) and was beyond anxious about it. His friends told him to stop being so lame and he finally took their advice.To his surprise and total delight, she accepted and they went on a date. It went well, and they began dating exclusively. The first time he told her he loved her had been a complete accident. He was dropping her off at her house after they had seen a movie, and as she was climbing out of the vehicle he said, "Later, Allie. I love you." He realized the magnitude of his words instantly, and the next thing out of his mouth was "Shit. Sorry." But right after that, he realized it was true. Somewhere along the line, he had fallen in love with her. So the next time he told her that, it was completely planned and purposeful.
His parents were completely delighted with them as a couple. They praised Allie constantly; she was beautiful and bright and seemed like an all around good girl. Cecilia took a shine to her as well. He had a nagging feeling that Allie's parents weren't quite as overjoyed about him as his parents were about Allie, but they were always pleasant to him so he told himself he was being paranoid.
Allie was the only girl Mark had ever dated. They had never even broken up, they were so completely devoted with each other. They went to the same college in Newark (Rutgers-Newark) and moved in together in a small apartment by the campus. He had known for a long time that Allie was the one for him, and he finally popped the question at the end of junior year. Mark wasn't really good at the huge romantic gestures thing, so he enlisted the help of a couple people and set it up. The proposal ended up being hugely cliche (it was a nighttime picnic) and the ring was not entirely impressive, but it was effective nonetheless. They tied the knot a year later, the summer of their college graduation. July 15th, 2000 saw them become Mr and Mrs. Belinger, and although plenty of people were skeptical that they were getting married so young, Mark knew it was totally right. What did it matter if they got married now or five years from now? It would just be prolonging the inevitable. So it was a good couple months for him. He got his Bachelor of Science, got accepted into New Jersey Dental School, married the woman he'd been into for the last six years and saw the best that Greece had to offer with her during the honeymoon. Allie's parents had signficantly more money than his did, which is what allowed for the foreign honeymoon and the extravagent wedding. Mark tried to push for a basic honeymoon and wedding, simply because he knew he couldn't afford more than that while also affording dental school. Yes, his parents were helping with school as much as they could, and he had student loans out but those loans would eventually have to get paid off. Allie wanted more though, and her parents were willing to pay for it so he relented. This furthered the idea of him needing to prove his worth to her parents. He was going to make something of himself and provide for her, and one day they'd have a gorgeous house and beautiful children and would be able to afford all the trips he wanted. This was the thought that helped propell him through the particularly difficult days of school.
After he finished dental school, he still wasn't done. He wanted more than to be a general dentist, and chose to specialize in orthodontics. So while Allie was getting deep into her career, he still hadn't started his. It was completely frustrating to watch the years pass by and him still not making money, but he knew it'd be worth it eventually. As he started to delve into orthodontics, him and Allie officially began to start trying for kids. Getting to have all sorts of sex with his incredibly sexy wife was a great destresser -- it definitely helped him get by the last couple years. Until they were unsuccessful. Again and again and again and again. There were a couple instances where she was pregnant, and each time Mark got so incredibly excited. They would have a baby, and he would start making money in a few years and they would have the happily ever after he had always envisioned. Unfortunately, each time the pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage. This was a blow to Mark like no other, and grief was never something he had ever really confronted head on. It froze him and tore him up and he was simply unable to deal. By the time he had become a licensed orthodontist and they were still unsucessful, things became strained between the two of them. They used to be able to talk everything out and relate to one another so fully, but they just became sort of ... lost. Their marriage became a habit, and it somehow became easy to start resenting her for things that he had never really minded.
He still loves her, he does. He can't really imagine not being with her. But at the same time, he doesn't know how to be with her anymore either. Nothing really seems to be working for them but it became easier to concentrate on work than his deteriorating marriage.
He got employed at an office in Newark as an orthodontist, but just a few months ago he recieved the offer to join up a private practive in Revere, MA through a contact of his from dental school over there. It was an offer that he absolutely could not refuse; one of those career shaping moves that he would constantly regret if he didn't take up. It meant a significant salary increase, but of course, it also meant relocating. Allie, who was quite comfortable and successful at her job was forced to move to the other side of the country so Mark could thrive at his and it's just added to the tension that has been growing between the two of them.
The two of them now live in an adorable house in Revere, one that Mark promises is only temporary until his loans are payed off and they can put a down payment on a bigger house. He doesn't want to be someone who is haunted by their loans. Still, the house is lovely and they are quite comfortable. Unfortunately, as lovely as things are for them on the surface, it's not going so well for them underneath and Mark can't think of a single way to fix it.
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