Parker Owens

Nigeria is no place to be born gay. One can escape, but will hatred follow one forever?

A Hazard Taken Daniel Akindele stared numbly at the wreckage of the fancy hotel room. The remains of a sandwich still sat on the coffee table, uneaten. An unopened gift, pressed into Daniel's hands as they left their small wedding celebration – their very own wedding reception – atop a small suitcase. The silk sheets on the bed lay wildly disarrayed as he and his beloved Ibrahim – Ibi - had left them. As they had made love – and then slept in them. Now federal Immigration agents bustled about

I am so happy you liked this chapter. It was very hard to write; many drafts worked and reworked. Thank you for reading!

Thank you for your very kind comments. This was a hard chapter to write. Zander and Andy both unsure, each needing the other, wanting the other. And they warmed up the cabin pretty well, didn't they?

A lot can happen in a year, can't it? At the beginning, Andy would never have thought the word 'lovebird' would ever possibly apply to him. But now...Zander and Andy are together, and happy. And that makes all the difference.

Thank you for your very kind words. I really appreciate your reading this. And yes, it is so very, very, good.

Entry for April 1, Saturday, continued… We were married. Father Brewer had said the words, pronounced us bound to one another forever. And now it was time for us to leave the church, to end the party, and let this wonderful, tumultuous, day come to a close. Somebody – probably Frank, the practical joker – had arranged a final touch. Toby Harris had Eustace's truck waiting in the rain at the curb in front of the church. He would drive us home. Down the stairs we went. I yanked the door to the

I am so very glad you made it to the wedding. Wonderful, full of joy and love and laughter. It was so very good of you to come. You must have been part of the crowd Andy can't quite remember, but whose presence supported him and Zander in their unusual (!) life decision. Andy is always surprised that people who get to know him get attached to him. Now he has inescapable proof that there is a crowd of people who love him, and Zander, too. Grandmother Walker's gift leaves Andy with less fear - and a responsibility to become himself, leaving his demons in his past. Zander read to Andy in love, as the verses relate both to Andy's experience and to Zander's experience of Andy as elusive, beautiful and somewhat wild. Thanks for being part of the fun. Did you get a dance with Kaz, or at least a strawberry?

You put it so rightly, my friend. Even with some plot strings to tie up, it was the moment to pull out all the stops and play for pure joy. Andy's new grandmother Walker undid some of the last fears tying Andy down to his past. I'm so glad you came to the wedding; hope you got a glass of bubbly!

I am so happy you enjoyed this part of Andy's journal. It was good that Andy got a day with unalloyed beauty and joy in it. And I'm sure he was blown away by the appearance of so many friends...including yourself! Gland you could come to the wedding, and I hope you got a bit of cake, too.

I am very happy you enjoyed this chapter. Glad you could make it for the wedding, and find a place in the back pew!

You have a very good point, here. I do not think that we are necessarily preprogrammed genetic products of our parents. On the other hand, Andy's mom didn't exactly have a fling; she was determined to have a child, at least if Delia Walker is to be believed. Regardless of his genetic makeup, Andy has overcome a great deal. He is truly himself. Part of his character has been molded by fear and fears of fear. In some ways, he is now free of Gunnar in a way he hasn't been. He beat the odds on his own, but Andy has one less hurt, one less demon to put to rest. Zander's verse spoke so much to Andy's own experience, and to Zander's experience of Andy. It was a lovely, simple wedding, and it was still so full, so joyous, that there is only so much Andy can recall. I am very glad you could come and be there for it!

I am so glad you could make it to the wedding. But at least your sniffles were sniffles of happiness, I hope. Thank you for reading and lend us your thoughts.

My imagination summoned the glorious bells that precede the final bars of the "1812 Overature", bells that aptly emerge over the fading reverberations of cannon fire. I'll save my last toughest for the last chapter . And thank God Zander didn't have to dance with Kaz .... I am so very happy you made it to the wedding, and could squeeze into a back pew. Andy's grandmother Walker snapped the last cord that tied him to Carlsberg and his horrible childhood. Andy's felt truly free. The churchbells ringing all over town had to be the work of someone who loved Andy and Zander enough to make some phone calls, and who knows just about everyone in town. I leave you to figure who that could be...but it was surely a glorious sound. And no cannonfire was present. And I'm sure Kaz saved his dances for Terry, mostly...so glad you liked this chapter. Nice for Andy to have some unalloyed joy. Thanks for coming to the wedding!

Monica and Garrett and Nonna Costanza were able to keep things simple. Your observation that a small wedding can still be lovely and supremely happy rings very true here. I am very happy you enjoyed this chapter; it was a great moment to capture. There were so many things to celebrate here, but perhaps SD said it best - they're married. Hope you stayed at the wedding long enough for a slice of cake

It's good to be right about Delia Walker. Her revelation snapped the last tangible link Andy had to Carlsberg. You are also correct in that he will spend a lifetime erasing the emotional scars left from that chain. You're also right about Andy underestimating the effect he has on other people. The crowd at the church was full of people who love him and Zander, which blew him away. It's that support and love from Zander and everyone else that will help him ultimately heal. I am so very glad you came to the wedding!

So glad you had something good waiting for you at the end of your run this morning. I wonder if Kaz would come to wake you early if you asked... You're right about the most important thing: more than all the revelations and hugs and toasts and dances is that Zander and Andy are married. They've taken a most unusual step so early in their lives, but there clearly many friends who love and support them. Glad you could come to the wedding! Hope you got some cake

I am so glad you liked this chapter. So much happened that there is no doubt Andy had trouble remembering every conversation. Maybe the one with his grandmother Walker was most important, because she could explain why love and not hurt was Andy's real heritage. The protest crowd certainly didn't storm the church, the way Andy feared they would. For once, Andy's joy was pretty complete, and unmixed with anything but love and goodwill. Thanks for coming to the wedding!

Happy Birthday, fair Clochette! Hope this year's the best one yet. For the fairy we adore, let's all wish her many more! Happy Birthday! Joyeux Anniversaire!

Thanks for your generous words. Weddings can be so exciting that one's experience gets kind of fragmented. And what a relief to know Gunnar Ericsson was no relation to Andy. I hope you enjoyed your back-pew invite to the wedding!

No abduction. I couldn't have handled that, either. Hope you enjoyed your invitation to the wedding!

No. No cliffs. Not even a steep incline. Just some unalloyed joy. Andy was a little abstracted, certainly - a very eventful day, and then to be married! Zander's verses really spoke to a wild, almost untamed Andy, appearing from the hills. And it was indeed a huge relief that Gunnar wasn't Andy's sperm donor at all. Thanks for taking a rear pew at the wedding!

Entry for Saturday, April 1, continued… Who was this woman? Who did she say she was? My face must have matched how confused I felt. She spoke again, explaining: "Your mother was my daughter." Then what she was saying hit me. My eyes suddenly turned blurry, and my throat tightened. There was another hug, but I don't know who started it. Something deep inside felt good and achy at the same time. "I'm sorry," I said as I held my grandmother – my own 'nonna,' – "I'm sorry I was so rude when I c

Can I congratulate you for absolutely nailing my life experience with this? Thank you for articulating my own perception.

Oh, I really liked this. Thanks for writing a great 'next day' chapter. Now they can be happy, maybe. Deleriously happy.