Charles26

So do I. Matt is the sort of youngster I would have liked to have been; Kitt is probably closer to the reality (though my father certainly wasn't THAT bad!) But I fear that Kitt will come in for a lot of grief before the end.

I couldn't have put it better myself, so I won't try. Of course the ending leaves all sorts of practical questions completely open but it deals firmly with the key one: they are a couple and they know it!

Apparently the only one even slightly surprised by events was Noah. Somehow I'm not surprised by that. But yes indeed - very cute. Mills & Boone?? Pul-lease. That's not fair😛Much better quality!

Noah's success means more to Jackson than his own (possible) glory. I guess that's what love is all about. Lovely chapter.

Perhaps the only certainty offered by this chapter is that, sadly, Oliver's ankle will never be fully restored. But in exchange Oliver has Julien, and Julien has Oliver. We don't know how - they don't know how - but I have no doubt that they will find a way to stay together for the long term. Probably the very long term. Neither may talk all that much but they do communicate effectively. And they love each other. I'm just sorry that we've come to the end of the story. And if the discussion about each chapter got somewhat lively from time to time it's because we cared about the story and we cared about Oliver and Julien - and I think that's an outcome any author can take pride in. So, my thanks also @Kevin Snell

It does, doesn't it. Noah sitting there with his head resting on Jackson's shoulder - it's about as intimate as you can get in public without risking arrest. So in the unlikely event that anyone in the club didn't already know, they surely must now. And that's great, since they are obviously perfectly comfortable with it. But sooner or later the fans are going to wake up to it too. I wonder how they will take the news.

Je souhaite qu'il ne parte pas - qu'ils ne partent pas. "Close enough to an answer." I think they both want to stay together but are edging oh so very slowly to making that commitment. "“What do you want?” Julien said. ... the answer was simple and the simple answer frightened [Oliver] more than any complicated one would have." Very nicely put.

Oliver's feet in that icy cold water... It reminds me: we were walking in the Pyrennees just on the snow line in early July some years ago. We had to cross a shallow stream and the only realistic option was barefoot. It was snow-melt and cold. (And we had to return the same way later!) But I saw toad-spawn and tadpoles very nearby. When I reached in to scoop them up the tadpoles didn't swim away - they didn't have the spare energy - but somehow they survived. Amazing. (I put them back, of course!)

Losing someone you love is never likely to lead up to a happy ending, exactly, but this comes as close as makes no difference. Good story and thank you @Boy Mercury X

I wonder just how much sleep they got. It will be a shame if it puts them off their game when they finally get to the rink😍 Great chapter - got there at last.

Hmm. Do I gather that Dixie Mae is not greatly loved by the readership? Whatever happened to "hate the sin but love the sinner" or indeed "judge not...". But I agree she seems to have got some of what was coming to her!😁

Well. After the trauma of the previous chapter, this is a relief. But there will be a lot of healing required.

There are, naturally, other "back story" elements that remain unexplained. Perhaps they will never be explained, like Tolkien's cats of Queen Beruthiel in the Lord of the Rings (though his son gave the game away much later), and just add to the richness of the story tapestry. Even so, I'm curious. Most obviously, what happened with Oliver's father that he is so rarely mentioned? Is it connected to his mother's inability to discuss important emotions directly? Does it have a bearing on Oliver's compulsion to manage things and people? And what happened to Julien, that he should favour one knee when sitting? I had thought it might have been the same accident as Thomas, but seemingly not.

Reconstruction. First, the ankle. It was never going to be easy. In "The Boot Comes Off" we are told "Julien walked at Oliver’s pace ... the pace was faster now, closer to the rhythm they’d had on the trail before the injury, but not the same. It wouldn’t be the same. Oliver knew this... It was a fact. He accepted it." The question is whether that is a temporary thing or, quite possibly, a permanent one. This chapter's walk leaves that unanswered. Second, their relationship. Walking together has defined what they do together and it's hardly surprising that they will want to start again. Another metaphor, perhaps. I find it interesting that though he doesn't say too much and he's not especially demonstrative, Julien is always there, he observes everything, especially concerning Oliver, and he responds as the situation requires. And precisely because he's not especially demonstrative, his gestures carry a lot of weight when they do put in an appearance. I do think Julien is trying to mend his great flaw just as much as Oliver, but the fear he is fighting to overcome is probably more acute than Oliver's.

One small uncertainty removed: Eric has died. Not that there was much doubt, but... So far, so sad.