Carlos Hazday

It kills me to write about places I haven't visited but would love to. Barcelona's definitely one of them. Considering CJ's personality, I could have him rant about Franco easily. Well, any dictator to be fair. Even when elected President, and aware of how he has to be careful with what he says, he conspires with Liebe to hammer Arab leaders. The only place I've been in with gun-toting people in every corner (except for Alabama) was Israel. Not sure if it's still a requirement, but back then soldiers were required to carry their Uzis even when off-duty. Sitting at an outdoor cafe in Tel Aviv, surrounded by men and women with a machine gun slung over their shoulder while having a good time was definitely different.

Gaudi can be a bit much for me, but he was definitely gifted. I chose Barcelona for many reasons, and one of them was a structure designed by another famous architect from Spain. We'll read about that one next week.

I chose one of the beta readers because he lives in Spain and I hoped he would point out any glaring errors. Now, I want any other Spaniards or residents to relate to what I write. The twins were very young when their father was our ambassador to Cuba, but I'm certain all three will also benefit from exposure to another culture. And the three will be a bit older when they move to New York after CJ heads to the UN. Living in the city will offer an education by itself. Liebe's lived in Mexico and Cuba. She's in Spain and headed back to Australia for a month after the sailing trip. I suspect CJ and Owen will take the kids along often when they travel for business. I think exposure to other cultures and people can only help turn those kids into global citizens with their feet firmly planted in the US.

I wrote this story a while back and I'm slowly remembering how much history I included. Aside from a little more sightseeing, we'll get into political consequences and some of the family=life changes brought on by CJ's election. There may be shirtless dancing at some point too. LOL

@JACC You have no idea how much seeing those pictures meant to me. You validated something I'd written without ever seeing the windows.

Thank you, but I must correct one thing. I've never served. Have had plenty of friends who did and dated a Marine or two in my life, but I was never in. My punctuation's still questionable at times, but its a hell of a lot better than it used to be. Most authors who care follow the Chicago Manual of Style guidance, and I suspect @Cia has the damn thing memorized. However, I recall her saying if we wanted to break rules, we had to first know them and understand them. When I recently sent her something to edit, I prefaced it with a couple of rules I ignore as part of my style. As far as I'm concerned, an ellipse's acceptable punctuation to end a sentence with and so are prepositions. LOL

Me too. In case I never make it there, at least I enjoyed the research and deciding what to highlight.

How did you get your hands on the next chapter? What those three want to be when they grow up might be mentioned in it. CJ's curiosity about the world we know, and he and Owen seem to encourage their kids to explore and ask questions as much as possible. They might humor their parents when they want to visit old buildings, but without realizing it, they're learning more than any kid who spends their days with a phone in their hands. Even when they focus on shiny crystals in the stone or the light coming through stained glass windows, they're lerning.I suspect their exposure to all sort of media will be regulated and limited. The crew will be either won over or drown their sorrows in alcohol.

Although kids could be a hindrance to two young men enjoying themselves, I think CJ and Owen would choose them over going out partying every weekend. They'll be the type type to include those three in as much as possible. I can imagine those three hanging out in the sidelines before Old Glory games thanks to their fathers owning the team. I can guarantee our men will be nothing like Dan Snyder. For anyone who doesn't follow sports, he's the owner of the NFL's Washington Commanders. Hopefully he'll be gone by the time CJ's elected. Once the twins are olde enough, they'll be ball boys at all home games. Rugby teams have players from multiple countires and that will help expand their world view.

@Parker Owens You have your own line of watercraft? This greeted me this morning when I came on to post today's chapter. I think this is the brand of boat Phil Martinez buys his father as a present after signing his first contract with the Baltimore Ravens. I have a bit about Phil and Riley buying the man a present as a thank you for negotiating on their behalf.

Back in Ripper Christmas, we had out first glimpse of how CJ and Owen planned to raise their kids. If you remember, Owen's mother didn't approve. Our second look at her development was in CDMX and the Vail and New York trips. She speaks her mind (gee, I wonder where she gets that from) and her fathers encourage her while providing guidance. In this story, I'm trying to show how things have turned out for her and how she influences her brothers. T

Have you been peeking at my crotch again?

Thank you. Some of the places I've described in previous stories, I've visited and relied on my experience. Barcelona I've never been to. Research provided most of what I share, but the setting for next week's chapter's based on a picture of my nieces sitting at an outdoor cafe in the city.

"I can see CJ waving goodbye..." LOL First, welcome to GA. I noticed you recently joined. Second, Barcelona's one of the world's great cities and provided me the opportunity to describe some amazing locations. No more churches, but there's a bit more architectural stuff in the next chapter. And we get to hear about some people CJ and Ozzie met while living in Mexico.

When writing about such a grandiose structure, it's hard to pick which items to cover, describing everything in detail would take at least a book in itself. I tried to provide a little history along with the descriptions. @JACC shared pictures of the cool and hot windows that matched my descriptions pretty well, so I was happy for that. They have limited time in Barcelona, so even CJ can't do everything he might want to. But over a late lunch after touring the church, we get to hear some of what they did the previous afternoon.

Writing kids can be challenging. I try to keep the dialogue age appropriate and they do give me a new way to inject descriptions and details. BTW Joan Abello's real; Arnau isn't. The trip's an excuse to further the kids' training hoping to turn them into foodies and oenophiles.

We have one more chapter in Barcelona, then we spend a couple of days on the boat. Stick round, it'll be fun.

I'm running errands early so I miss the expected deluge. Had to stop for breakfast and your comment helps me deal with the lousy weather. 😛

Sunday, 2 May 2027 Barcelona Done eating, Ritch excused himself to go change. He expected his suitcase to have been delivered by then, and Lucy followed him. About an hour later, the grinning, flushed couple rejoined the family in the hotel’s lobby. T-shirts or polos, hoodies, jeans, and sneakers appeared to be the day’s uniform. Brett voiced what others thought. “You went to change? Sure as hell took you forever, flyboy.” Before Ritch could object, his father stripped the Aviano A

I know it's a bit early in the day for most of us, but I just came back from the liquor store. Anyone up for a little day drinking? Researching a story, and I need to sample a couple of different gins.

It's a prohibition-era speakeasy and restaurant where CJ celebrated his 21st birthday https://www.21club.com/

After I decided to have Liebe suspended, I thought Parker would make a good tutor. LOL Me, I've been around these books from the first one. LOL

Thank you! I offer the same explanation I did when readers questioned Stephen Northman's employment in CDMX: hiring is an inexact process. Sometimes the value of an employee skyrockets due to outstanding performance; other times they disappoint us. Nina's obviously in between both ends. She's likely talented or she wouldn't have been hired but her personality could lead to her being dismissed.

And with the support of both her fathers she'll steamroll over those people. We've gotten two glimpses at her, and she's indomitable.

Damn! I have an image of CJ, Owen, and Liebe flying to LA, San Francisco (Napa,) and Vegas in 2026 for campaign fundraisers. In Los Angeles, Harry and Meghan are invited to the Sunday afternoon reception where Liebe and Lilibet hit it off. At some point, Lilibet's cousin, George, teaches the younger kids proper British cussin.