Randomness

Thanks. :-)

Truly, thank you for that. I wanted to Patrick to be confused by Jeff but still committed to Ben. Even if it was not a real choice for him, he made a decision, a commitment to go with Ben. Thanks Gary.

Yep, he does have a good side. I wanted to slowly make sure that we felt that he was worthy of Patrick. Thanks!

In a weird way, I have appreciated when people have a hard time trusting or liking Ben. I have been told how frustrating it is to know only what Patrick knows... repeatedly.

Fight or Flight... it both saves us and hurts us. The older I get, the more I have been able to tap the fight instinct (all verbally of course). When I was young, I was not even close to flight, it was "Where did he go?" lol With these two instinct, communication, and timing are all messed up.

Yes sir. I had debated to myself as to who was the bigger jerk. One is much more up front about it so maybe he is not as bad, at least you can see him coming! I am glad you could feel that Patrick was out of him comfort zone. I hate that feeling. Happy to make you think as well. Thanks Gary!

Yep, life gets in the way and before you know it, things get left behind that you didn't mean to leave. (Like responding to reviews... lol) :-) When writing, I did want to get to the party too.

I am so very happy that you found your way back to me! :-) Thank you. I agree it is too easy to judge the paths men take in life. Although I do not have children, both my partner and ex do. Sometimes the journey is full and lonely at the same time. It is all about the journey and where it leads right? Thanks Gary.

He held still. An arrow sat neatly on a drawn bow, unfortunately, it pointed directly at my face. I wondered how I could have gotten caught this much off guard. The would-be-assassin didn’t appear especially comfortable, but did look determined. “I want it back,” the bowman growled deeply in the common tongue. “I know you?” “Don’t be stupid. I want the armband you stole.” I had no idea what the man was talking about. If he were either serious or experienced, I would have been dead already. T

The forest was dark, very dark. No stars glimmered between the trees, perhaps branches blocked the entire sky. I rode slowly, walking my horse farther and farther away. Night sounds, familiar and unfamiliar, surrounded me. There was no reason the stop. My head slowed, numbness flooded through my body. The horse’s steps were the only movement. The trees seemed gray, the forest covered in a haze. The sun must have been rising. Branches covered the horizon. I dismounted next to a old fallen tre

What happens to warriors when they get old? They need to find new adventures, new places, new peoples, and new ways view themselves.

Considering I am not great with kids, I am pleased with Darrin. Thank you for seeing him for who he was and thank you for letting me know he made you laugh. It literally took Patrick the entire story to say I love you. It was important for him to say it, he needed to. I know… I grappled with ending where I did. I did not want to drag anything out or end too quickly. I prefer to think of them as a pair of friends that we knew for a little while. Life is not perfect but does go on. They had lives before us and will after us. Jeff practically begged me to give him a story. We (you, me, and other readers) all want to see him happy. His route will be different of course. Without a Manual is an evolving work as To Move Forward was. I heartily invite you to read and comment and question me. Private Message if you like. The more I hear, the more possibilities there can be. I definitely value your opinion and look forward to hearing from you. Thank you so very much for reading, writing, and caring.

So Patrick needed to be a little more forceful in opposition to Greg. In the end, it seems to have been appreciated. Again, Greg is just one of those people who year after year gets more obnoxious and you get used to. It takes someone from the outside to see and remind the others that the behavior is unacceptable. Twenty years. Some people need much more time to grow up it seems, even then, there is still more to learn. I am totally with Patrick, I don’t like surprises. Ben still needs to learn that.

Alec would have never let Grant do the interview. He would have thought Grant would have been too soft. Even though we were not in the room, hopefully it came across that Alec did a thorough job and Ben passed. There are always obstacles and Ben is not afraid and is capable of having a sense of humor about something silly like the caller id. Sometimes the jokes that I think are just for me make someone else chuckle. Thanks!

Now this couldn’t be too easy could it? Drew was put in at the end to keep everyone (including myself) guessing. I did feel bad about Jeff. He bothered me so much I am giving him his own story. Patrick has shown the ability to show some spine with Greg, he will again. Don’t worry.

Honestly, you made me giggle. Ben was stupid, but Patrick was stupid first. I am pleased that you feel for Ben. With some of the responses that I did receive about him, I had been worried that he was coming off way too cold and removed from the situation. You understand that there is as much at stake for him as for Patrick.

I admit, here and now, that Jeff was not my idea. Thank LJH for planting that seed. Jeff is light hearted, honest, and sometimes too blunt. Those are some of the reasons why he endeared himself to me. With everything Jeff said, I just wanted to replace the period and put in an exclamation point. He is so full of life.

When it comes to each other, these two really are terrible communicators. Patrick is so ridiculously skittish. He heard only what he thought he heard and followed through on that way too quickly. Rob is about as close to a villain as I get. Someone to throw a wrench in the works. As you hoped, Ben can be very persistent. Thanks for rooting for him.

Like diving into a shark tank right? You don’t know who is about to eat you. I wanted Patrick to feel out of his depth but able to still have a spine. It was fun to make him stand up for the kids. Patrick is a decent guy and knows what is right. This is him going by his intuition, politely of course.

I may have said it previously in other posts, but Patrick’s friends are necessary. They provide the much needed balance to his life and show that he does have a fun, playful side. That dream… first, I apparently have watched The Empire Strikes Back too many times… second, Patrick’s sub-conscious was less blind than he was. Kind of like: you can’t lie to yourself. Grant, to me, is a gentle caring soul. His advice is a balance to the others, but no less untrue.

Cool. I wanted the girls to be intuitive even though they don’t know the specifics. Patrick was all about living in the past making him oblivious and not able to trust what he sees. Reconnecting was the only way to begin. I think you are one of the very few (if not only one) who said up-front that they hope Ben will be persistent. Poor Ben. Going in, he had a bad reputation according to some readers.

"Where did Butch go? “He went off to play Frisbee.” Or “I said throw the Frisbee! Not water balloon! Damn it!” Or “Pretty-boy” “Dancer” and “Cowboy” Archetypical Moai of Gay Easter Island. (Hopefully something there for everybody.)

Cool. I was hoping not to give away the when too early. Thank you. Sometimes I can be too heavy-handed in my mind and then have to fight the urge to be too drawn-out on paper. Hopefully, this means this is balanced between the two properly. As for Nate... same dilemma... too quick or too slow. I very much like this comment/review. Thanks for keeping me on my toes! ;-P

First to understand the timeline! Yay!!!!

Truly, I try to write "friend characters" as people with whom I would like to spend an evening with. When they are at their best and worst, faults and all, that is when they shine the best. I didn't want Jeff to be needy, merely, needing comfort. Hopefully, that depth is what is felt. :-)