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I also hope Manny's friends can pull off a second miracle. Hopefully, we will see that happen soon.

Great comment, especially the last part. Benjamin's loving sacrifice of the puppies needs no forgiveness. The fact that he gave the last of his money for the puppies' welfare tells of his love.

Those ripples have improved the lives of many people, and will continue spreading into the future.

He did choose wisely. He did so using both his head and his heart.

One thing I love about The Boot Universe is that one good samaritan begets another and another.

Benjamin is a good kid, so I hope you are right and tomorrow will be a new start for Benjamin.

Mancunian handled this chapter well. It was descriptive enough to make readers feel sad, but it handled this fragile situation respectfully without distressing readers with constant triggers.

I love this GIF of the Swedish Chef! I also enjoyed your comparison of Jacob & Co. to the A-Team.

Hi @Thomas Wells! I am glad that you enjoyed the story. I had fun working with Mancunian as he created it. I, too, wish to visit England, especially Manchester, after googling most of the sights mentioned in the book. I thought that I might help you with this, as many of the authors here enjoy recommendations and reviews. There are two quick ways to recommend and make a review. To make a Recommendation, scroll to the end of this chapter. Just above the banner for the Story Discussion Topic and to the right of the Reaction button for the chapter is a square, solid blue button with a white 'medal' icon. That is the Recommend button. Push it, check off any or all items you like, and submit your recommendation. To write a review, just stay in the same place you are in this chapter after you make your Recommendation. To the left of the story Reaction button is the Share Your Review Now button. Click it, and it will take you to the Reader Feedback page. You should see your avatar next to a big blue button labelled Write a Review. Click it and you can write a review in your own words and rate the story by the number of stars you select.

It is difficult to write a chapter like this. I know Mancunian struggled with it, and I also felt the raw emotions you commented upon. Joseph's dreams are shocking. We can only hope that these dreams will be less frequent and traumatic when he gets the help he needs. Thanks for the great comments, @Flip-Flop.

I'm doing my Beta/Editing responsibility here. Please, everyone, if you like the rewrite, add your Recommendation on the Title Page. The Recommendation icon is just above the Table of Contents. Recommends promote the story and get more people interested in reading it.

Joseph has suffered much. Unfortunately, there are millions of children just like him. With Ian and Kevin's love and support, he will get the help he needs in Israel or the UK.

I hope that's true. The problem is that you always give us more than we expect. What do you have up your sleeve this time?

I hope you're right, @akascrubber. Although, this could be the calm before the storm. Mancunian does love his surprises. I hope we will love them too. 🤞

With all the great reviews from people whose opinions I respect, this is going to be my next read!

Hi Gary. That's great. Will we see some in the upcoming Poetry Anthology?

Hey Man. That would definitely put some spring in my steps.

Getting up in the morning is exercise enough. 🤪 How are you doing Bucket?

I've been missing you all.

Hi Albert! I'm afraid to ask, but what the hell? How's the weather there? I hope you and Steve are doing well.

Happy to drop in anytime to keep the local rugrat out of trouble.

Don't look at me. You were the last one to use it. I'm totally innocent!

I think that Jacob both likes and respects Ian and Kevin. He may also be a bit envious that they are forming a family with Joseph. It is probably something he desires but has denied himself because of his job and being gay. It happens to a lot of us.

I agree with you about Jacob. He quickly bonds with Joseph. I suspect Jacob will be a bit unhappy to part with Joseph when Jacob has finished his assignment. I hope we find out more about him someday.