Wayne Gray

There are these dating advice things out there. They go something like: Don't commit to anyone until you've seen them sick, stuck in traffic, dealing with a major loss, until they have to deal with a situation when they are not in control, etc. I like that as a character exercise too, particularly if your character has never really been in those circumstances. Even if that writing never sees the light of day, it will inform your writing later; it also reaffirms who TJ really is to you. The other folks here have offered some good advice. Read him, take note of his mannerisms and values, check to see if those mannerisms/values shift over the course of the story - and if that was intentional or not. If the story is about his growth as a person, then they very well may shift. The trick is to show it as growth and not as drift (if that makes sense). I wish you luck. I just got back to writing again myself, so I know it's a struggle.

I hope you feel better soon, @Mikiesboy. Speaking of feeling better ... I'm definitely on the mend from whatever had been slamming into my system. I went shopping with the husband this morning. It felt great to get out of the house. Though I drew the line at working out. Even though today is a scheduled workout, I know I shouldn't. So ... another rest day is in store. The lymph node in my neck is still a bit sore, but not nearly as bad as it had been. Yeah, doing a lot better. 🙂

Ohhhhh ... THAT sounds soooo good. Gonna text the husband. He's at work, so maybe he could pick up ingredients for it on his way home. Thanks for the idea, and for the well wishes!

Thanks, Chris. I'm working on it. Lazing around, drinking tea and water, and reading/watching YouTube.

Yeah. I've been clocking in 10+ hours of sleep a night, and trying to just let things be. Lots of fluids, good food, etc. My husband has been really sweet too, and that is nice. Thanks. 🙂

Thanks, KayDeeMac! Concerning the hell Avery returns to. Sometimes, we get what it is that we expect. It becomes the very thing we fear, because it's what we know, and it's what we've experienced. Avery has been in and out of the foster care system. We already know he has had a hard time with that, so now he expects bad things, even when maybe he should not. That'll be for you to decide next week. 🙂

I've been using tea with honey, lemon and ginger. Though I like your cure a lot better. Thanks, rick. 🙂

We've got some thick, homemade, pork/vegetable/rice soup, and it's heating on the stove. No serrano available, but I've got 1/2 a jalapeno. Yeah, I'll do it up. 🙂 Thanks, molly.

Well, this is day four of being sick. I've got some weird Upper Respiratory Infection, and a nicely swollen lymph node on the left side of my neck. No, I don't have CoV-19 or the flu (I was tested for both on Thursday). It really does feel like the flu. Anyway, the timing is as good as it could be, I guess. I've got one more day to recover, and I hope I do. I've got a lot to do on Tuesday. I hope the rest of you are well and having a great day.

Thanks for the comment and for reading, Ford. Yep, it's in a very real, very dear to my own heart spot a couple of hours from where we live. It's a magical little spot. Had I the money, back when the old dilapidated campground was for sale, I'd have been Greg myself. I appreciate the words, concerning the editing. Though @Thorn Wilde is mostly to thank for that. I've been told that I'm improving, and I'm glad. It does make correcting the chapters after Thorn has gone through go quite a bit faster! Stick around for chapter four. Things will begin to get truly interesting soon. 🙂

Thanks for the comments and for reading, Chris. 🙂 Lee is just a bit less insufferable each day. And he's less miserable too, both physically and mentally. Avery did help, that's certain, and Lee is seeming to listen. We'll have to see about that hope you speak of. Let's find out.

Hehe. If they keep finding things to do on it, Clay's right! Avery broke things down in a simple, direct way to Lee. There are no secrets with him, and Lee really is beginning to see that. He doesn't have to guess with Avery. And yes ... it does seem as if he's beginning to get it. Thanks for reading, and for the comment, Dave. 🙂

Wow! hahaha You're so bad, mister. lol Thanks for reading. And for making me laugh!

Hehe. Thanks, tinytoes! Chapter four is coming. And ... that one, I believe, offers the solution to Jeremy's question to Clay. That's just one thing coming. There will be more too. 🙂

Thanks, Parker. Lee has tried being aloof, and downright nasty. Then he feels something lost when he thought he may have pushed Avery too far. Lucky for him, Avery doesn't take long to forgive, and Lee finds a moment of simple friendship with him. Orson and Joseph make plans to be wed, and that's something we can look forward to down the line. It is a rather dark January, isn't it? But ... here we are. Lets choose to shine - all of us.

Avery is certainly trying, isn't he? We know how Avery felt concerning Lee's actions, but why he saved Lee from repercussion is still up for debate. Hopeful for friendship? Puppy love? Hrm. And yes, Orson and Joseph are engaged. Though, Joseph has yet to come out to the police force, and his partner. That will be ahead of us. Jeremy did ask Clay something, and he's given him till Saturday to reply. It must be something big! Thanks for the comments, and for reading. 🙂

Sneaky? Meee? And yes, certainly Lee is beginning to open up just a touch more. Something about Avery is doing it, and uniquely disarms him. Lee finds himself caring what Avery thinks, and he's never really had that in anyone before. The only reason he cared what Eddie thought and wanted was due to fear. With Avery, it's something else. Something new. Why shouldn't they be horny? Nice fresh air, willing warm body beside them. Mmm. Yes, get on it! Literally. Hahaha. It is a little cliffy, isn't it? I should have put a trigger warning in here ... 😈 Thanks for reading and commenting, kbois!

Haha. You just may be right! Avery is slowly wearing Lee down - and I don't mean in a bad way. What IS going on with that Jeremy? How odd! We'll find out next week. 😉 Thanks for reading and for the comment, Jeffrey!

Thank you, Michael. I believe that most people can be saved. It's a matter of giving them the time, understanding, and resources they need. If you do that, then often they will save themselves. And ultimately that is what is needed. If Lee gets the basics handled, then what is possible in his life? That's the question, really. See you next week for chapter four. 🙂

Probably for the best. 😄 Thanks for reading and ... ah, NOT commenting, tim! hehehe

Yes?

17 October (Saturday) It's on purpose. He's ignoring me. Lee stole another glance at Avery. The boy steadfastly refused to look at him, even though they were both helping Clay prepare dinner in the small kitchen. "Lee, that's plenty fine enough. And watch what you're doing so you don't cut yourself." Lee blinked at Clay's voice and looked at the slivers of onions on the cutting board. The knife in his hand had stopped a quarter of an inch from his fingertip. "Yeah. Yeah, okay

Awww, I'm sorry. This was, at times, a hard story to read. It was brutally hard to write. I wasn't quite okay for probably three weeks after I wrote the scene in chapter sixteen. You know the one. In order for me to really write meaningfully, I have to feel what the characters do, and dive into their lives. So some of these scenes were just so hard. But I do think the payoff was worth it. I am still proudest of this story, out of all that I've written. This one inspires the most emotion, and tells a story like I have never seen anywhere else. Yeah. That makes me proud of it. Thank you for reading - for sticking with it to the end. And thank you for the comment.

Thanks for the comment, Parker. Lee is staring down the barrel of a choice, though it may be one he doesn't really know he's making. Right now, he strives to go back to his old life. What will he do if he realizes he has a real choice? Will there be an "Ah hah!" moment? Time may tell, but I sure won't. 😛

About half of my work is from home, now-a-days, so it wouldn't work for me!