Marty

Famous last words? 😜

I'm intrigued by the fact that the author (@JLynch) has mentioned in both this chapter, and the previous one, a man wearing a long coat, a Zorro type hat, and sporting a pencil type moustache, standing by the wall of the two establishments Carey visited. I'm wondering just who he is, and why he has been introduced to this tale...

R.I.P. Comsie. Gone, but never to be forgotten.

True. And I suppose he did at least attempt to explain why...

What on earth has poor Sami done to make you not like him??? Okay, he and his friends ragged Marco after seeing him holding hands with Giorgio. But the way I read it they were not being deliberately nasty, just acting like the young children they are. I'm not sure of the exact age of everyone, but I think Marco is about 6 years older than Sami. Certainly we were told Sami was only 7 years old when he first appeared in Lanterns in the Dark, and Dani (who I think is about the same age as Marco) was 13. I'm not sure exactly how much time has passed between that story and this, but I doubt it's more than a few. Give Sami a break, for goodness sake!

Don't worry. Some soap operas actually have brilliant scriptwriters!

I second that (final) emotion.

Thank you for this story, @James Carnarvon

I am fast reaching the conclusion that Betta is irredeemable. My one hope is that she doesn't bring Cosmo down with her.

Unfortunately, I suspect that Cosmo has a lot further to fall yet. In fact, I'm not even sure that he is redeemable. But I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for him.

And I'll keep my fingers crossed for the hope I expressed about Cosmo in my original comment.

As I keep reading this story I can't help but think that the following two lines the final verse of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here somewhat summarise Marco and Cosmo's summer up till now... We're just two lost souls Swimming in a fish bowl I worry that the next line (Year after year) could possibly be true for Cosmo, but feel that Marco is too nice a person to stay wallowing alone for too long. Hopefully my worries for Cosmo will prove groundless in the end. 🤞 So, having mentioned the track, I suppose I should finish by linking to it. I deliberately chose this particular version as, although it involves a heterosexual (and adult) couple, some of the emotions shown in the video seem to mirror those of the two main protagonists in this story.

My thoughts entirely.

That comment reminds me of the story of the dyslexic, atheist, insomniac ... who lay awake all night pondering the existence of a dog.

It's always good to return to the Sanitaria Springs universe! Thanks for this charming story, @Dabeagle! For the past twenty years I have been volunteering on a LGBT Helpline, and one of the things I have found most difficult is keeping up with the ever-changing vocabulary. Interestingly, I find that some of the younger callers have the same problem, and often expect me to be the one to put a label on them. All I can really do is let them talk, ask open-ended questions, tell them their feelings are valid, and let them decide for themselves if they need to label themselves.